A few days ago someone who knew that we can’t eat good beef on our island treated us to a real tasty Porterhouse steak.  Ruth and I enjoyed the tender medium rare meat immensely.  While we were looking though the menu, we noticed something interesting.  Maybe it is the health conscience culture of our time.  Each dish has the number of calories.  Thus when the time came for dessert Ruth just passed it up and had coffee.  I know how much she loves cheesecake, but once she saw the number ‘1,200 Cal’ she couldn’t do it.  The next morning, probably out of slight regret, she looked up on the internet how many calories we burn as we walk around the lake in our neighborhood for 2 miles in 30 minutes.  She got so frustrated once she found out the number, a meager 125 cal. “Thank goodness I skipped that cake!  I have to walk around the Elk Horn 10 times!  Six or seven bites in 10 minutes, but to burn it we have to walk 5 hours!” In the same token, a few months ago while we were talking with Pastor Jamie about my new role as the GP/USA director, he commented, “It took you guys 16 years to build the SICAP Ministry in toil and sweat as it is now, but it would only take a year maybe even less to topple the ministry.”  I thought to myself, “So true.”
Aren’t our lives often like that?  It is so easy to take in 1,000 Cal, but to burn it off, it takes pain and sweat. It takes years to build a relationship, but it only takes a simple stupid incident to destroy it.  You have to put in at least 8 hours a day to keep a job to make money, but to spend that money, it only takes the swipe of a card.  It took us 16 years of hard work and pain of separation, but who knows… That is why Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.”  To find and walk through this narrow gate and road does require time, effort, sweat, or occasional pain.  In contrast, the other road is easy, comfortable and natural.  Automatically our feet take us there.    Lately I have noticed this road is getting more traveler-friendly.  Faster, broader, more comfortable…
Should we follow the crowd?  Without much consideration should we just travel as our feet take us?  Since I am a typical type A person, before the days of GPS, I had to have a map before I traveled.  It didn’t matter whether I knew the road or not.  I needed to make sure I was going to take the right path.  Since there are so many choices and roads which we can take in our journey of life, how can a person think that one can travel without a map as the guide and just follow the crowd?  We do have the perfect map, the ultimate guide which we can rely on daily to find the narrow gate and the path.  The Word of God is the map, the GPS.  It guides and tells us every turn, every street and avenue. 
Ruth and I have traveled as missionaries the past seventeen years in Samar Island.  We have depended on the Map everyday for the right path where not many people traveled. However we came to a junction where we need to make an enormous turn.  Thus for some time we have to travel slower than usual and keep on referring back to the Map for the right direction since this is a brand new path.

From Pastor Daniel’s Heart
December 9, 2012

It’s only the first week of December and I already see Christmas decorations everywhere. Even at my house, we have a Christmas tree that we purchased a few years back which started our family tradition of putting it up every year the week of Thanksgiving. It was first bought as a gift for my wife and now it has become a source of joy for my whole family. My two kids certainly love seeing the tree light up every night and they get excited to see other houses with Christmas decorations. I just wish that I could share the same excitement as I did when I was a kid. Even as I write this column, my mind is preoccupied with things that I have to prepare for Christmas and the end of the year programs. Churches across the world are preparing programs and special worship services for Christmas because it certainly is one of the most important days for us Christians. In fact, we already had our annual Christmas Banquet last night. It was a refreshing reminder that Christmas is not a time of stress and busyness but a time of joy. We sang Christmas carols, ate good food prepared by the Philippines missions team and we certainly enjoyed a warm ambiance created by beautiful decorations. Thanks to everyone who worked hard to put together such a wonderful banquet for people to enjoy.
With Christmas only a few weeks away how are you and your family preparing for that day? Are the children in your family putting together a list of things they want to receive as this year’s Christmas gifts? Or is your family planning to spend good quality time together as 2012 comes to an end? Recently I heard on the radio that many people are not looking forward to this year’s Christmas due to the bad economy. The thought of getting gifts for people and the money associated with the gifts are too burdensome that people would rather skip Christmas. I, for one, am already looking through websites and store advertisements to find good deals for Christmas gifts. It has become one of my priorities to prepare for every Christmas. I already have more than four Christmas related parties where a gift exchange is involved. Satan has twisted the true meaning of Christmas and it has now become a holiday where many people don’t even call it “CHRISTmas”. More and more, today’s culture seems to emphasize the glitter of this world rather the One who was born in the small town of Bethlehem.
There is a popular song called “All I Want for Christmas” that’s played over and over during this Christmas season. My wife and I especially enjoy Mariah Carey’s version of that song. “I don't want a lot for Christmas. There's just one thing I need. I don't care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree. I just want you for my own more than you could ever know. Make my wish come true, all I want for Christmas is you...I don't need to hang my stocking, there upon the fireplace. Santa Claus won't make me happy with a toy on Christmas day. I just want you for my own. More than you could ever know, make my wish come true. All I want for Christmas is you.” As many people sing these lyrics over the next few weeks, I wish and pray that what people want will be Jesus Christ. No matter how many gifts we receive for Christmas, the joy and satisfaction won’t last long. Only Jesus Christ is our source of eternal joy and peace. Let the peace of God rule in your hearts as you prayerfully prepare for Christmas. I also pray that the joy of the Lord will be your perfect strength as many have end of the year exams and projects at schools and work places.

From Pastor Brian’s Heart
December 9, 2012