i Sabbath in Jesus (2025)

25/11/2024

Here’s why:

God’s law of love is the highest standard of all standards — this is God’s glory, i.e., His character, and we all have fallen short of it. God justifies us, i.e., declares us righteous by His grace, and we accept this justification by faith.

The fact that God can only justify us by faith and not by our own works tells us that the law is way, way up there.

The closer we come to Jesus, the more clearly we see ourselves as falling far, far below His perfection. This is why as we uphold justification by faith, we’re actually upholding the continuity and the high standard of the law.

Our asymptotic approach to the law’s righteousness will only tell ever so clearly how much we need grace, and how much we need God to intervene and say, “My child, I’m declaring you as just through the perfect righteousness of Jesus My Son, as if that righteousness were truly yours.”

16/11/2024

know a friend who questions their salvation?

04/11/2024

𝗣𝗬𝗖 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟬 𝘃𝘀 𝗣𝗬𝗖 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰

𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮

𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟎 𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐔𝐏

We only made sure of our airfare. As far as the pictures can tell, there were 13 of us from our Mindanao group: 10 from Iligan and 3 from CDO. The AUP president’s wife shared a testimony — she’d been impressed to cook a huge batch of food earlier, not knowing it would end up feeding our lot when we arrived later that day.

We were thrilled. Of course, we felt like Elijah. We were at the mercy of other people’s extended graces. We were college students. We were walk-in registrants. When people at PIC learned we were from Mindanao, some offered to pitch tents for us on campus grounds. We enjoyed a Sabbath potluck in the host AUP barangay. We shared our multiple-tries debit-card plane-booking testimony. The Palads soon opened their home to us, while others gave us free vegetables to cook.

Needless to say, we were sufficiently provided for. But, we couldn’t raise enough resources from others until we’d given all we could ourselves.

𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐚𝐭 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐌𝐌 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐬

It’s a smaller group this time. The three of us had already been staying in Silang. This was an opportunity for me to join PYC again after 14 years, with no airfare needed.

We were early-bird registrants. I signed up for the with-food package. We were no Elijah — we were more like the freelance tentmaking Paul who no longer had to ask for other people’s help. We had learned to be “self-supporting” — or rather, just a little more systematic in our stewardship. We were ready for every expense. We had saved ahead for the trike fare between the 1000 MM Campus and our rented home.

Needless to say, we were sufficiently provided for. But, we wouldn’t be attending if not for God’s non-monetary divine appointment of allowing the venue to be in the same municipality as it had been over a decade ago, and our having already moved here months prior.

𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩-𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙚

𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟎: “𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝”

It was raw and straight from the Bible. “Empowered” matched our fresh-blood fervor. The owner of the vineyard paying a denarius to all workers regardless of the difference in clocked hours, the deconstructed Prodigal Son story, and the John 3 Nicodemus vs. the John 4 Woman at the Well encounters — all these were unforgettable.

I still share these stories with others to this day.

𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒: “𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝”

It was contemplative and needed regurgitating. “Restored” matched my weary and worn years. The core messages were simple, but they would be most touching to those who have experienced a fall once or more.

The most impactful insights came from the no-PowerPoint, open-question, straight-from-the-Bible talks. They were “nutrient-dense.” They nourished the soul and were rich in fiber. Unlike listicle presentations, they weren’t juiced out for the listener. Instead, these talks allowed the hearer to experience chewing the fiber: the fiber of taking one passage and breaking it down, munching it along with other passages, here a little, there a little. These were more like that 2010 spirit.

𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨

I’ve realized that if we were just dependent on the occasional “potluck” messages for soul nutrition, we would be found wanting. Sustainable daily nourishment is in personal Bible study and prayer. Potlucks are fun, for sure, but you can’t starve all year and rely solely on a four-day feast.

If anything, I’m happiest that we’re no longer as alone as we were years ago. The most stubborn youth have become the most hands-on missionaries. United prayer is already widely accepted and appreciated, as opposed to questioned and debated. Attendance has significantly grown.

However, I’m just a tad concerned. Might our wider acceptance be a sign of a little toning down somewhere? Or have I simply grown too calloused, so that some swords don’t cut as deeply anymore?

If anything, I’ve learned not to make spiritual potlucks my primary nourishment source, but rather to contribute to the table for the feeding of those who, at this time, are in the fresh-blood fervor that was formerly mine…

…much like our experience in that “international” table-less table under the trees, on that recent PYC Sabbath lunch — a divine appointment that felt serendipitous.

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