Part-time Job

Last Saturday, I accepted the offer to work part-time as a pastoral intern at a local church here in Toronto. The church is a branch of the main church where I used to pastor back home in the Philippines. One of the things that I told the lead pastor here in Toronto was that I didn't want to work at the youth ministry. It was quite an odd request since I was a youth pastor for 2 years and the youth ministry will always have a special place in my heart. I just felt that I needed to be exposed to other areas of church ministry to broaden my experience. Besides, they already had a youth worker who's doing very well and I didn't want to take his job away from him. The church gave me the task of developing the small groups, training leaders, and overseeing the young adults ministry. I find the task quite overwhelming and challenging but certainly exciting. I'm open to God teaching me different things in the months or even years that I'll be working at this church. The only thing I don't like about it so far is the title "pastoral intern." I've already had that title for 2 years. I guess that's just trivial matters anyway. ;)

The Student Life

I never thought I'd become a student again after college. I'm no longer used to it having completed an undergrad 2 years ago. I guess the saying "never say never" appropriately applies here.

I stayed up until 3 AM last night working on a paper for a history class. I haven't done that in years. Although I didn't have to finish it last night, I felt like completing the paper anyway. It felt really good to place the final punctuation mark and sit back after a job well done--a sensation I haven't experienced in a long while.

Classes in the past 3 weeks have been very academic in nature. I'm learning a lot of stuff but most of it is really just for head knowledge. I'm trying to juice out as much practical stuff as I can from the lessons but there's really not much. I hope all my classes aren't like that. I'm really interested in learning things that will directly affect my ministry.

I had to wear several layers of clothes to school today. Tonight's outside temperature was a whopping 4 degrees Celsius. And so I put on a shirt, a sweater, and a jacket to escape the cold. I even turned on the heater in the car. The cold isn't so bad yet. I heard though that when the real winter strikes, it can get a bit crazy over here.

Setyembre '09

It's been a long while since I've posted anything. I was complaining weeks ago that I have nothing to write about--and it's true because there really was nothing happening to me. I wasn't going to write about "Bum Day #17." Now that seminary classes began last week, I have things to write about but unfortunately, I can't seem to find the time. Anyway, here's a summary of the things that happened in the past week or so.

Tyndale Seminary. School officially started last week. I find the idea of going back to school exciting but at the same time daunting since I haven't been back in 2 years. I guess that's fine considering I have classmates who haven't been back to school in 15 years. I'm wonderfully surprised to see many young people in grad school--people even younger than me. I met a Filipino who's a year younger than me. He recently quit his dreams of becoming a lawyer to follow God's calling--a story that's very close to my heart since that's exactly what happened to me too. There seems to be a growing desire among young people recently to devote their careers to God. It's something that I've already noticed at my home church in the Philippines.

Preaching. My speaking engagements have been piling up again. Last Sunday, I got the chance to speak at the 2 branches of my home church that are located here in Canada. It was a crazy Sunday morning. The 2 branches are 30 minutes apart from each other. The Peel branch ends their service at 11 AM which also happens to be the same time the Toronto branch starts theirs. Therefore, right after I spoke at Peel, we rushed over to Toronto so that I could get up on stage just in time. I spoke on prayer using Jesus as an example since the 2 branches are on a sermon series on building their relationship with God. I believe God did a wonderful job that morning. I'm also scheduled to speak at a youth event this Friday at a local church in downtown Toronto. It should be a fun weekend.

Driver's License. Until today, I don't have my upgraded driver's license. I need that upgrade to be able to legally drive alone. Unfortunately, all the testing centers that administer the exam for the upgrade have been on strike for almost a month now. Nobody is able to get a new or upgraded license until the strike is over. Only God knows how long that will take. I heard the last strike lasted for 2 months. It's such a hassle. I'm currently using my Philippine license to drive since the government allowed an extension to all out-of-country licenses.

I guess that's it for now. I'll try to post more consistently provided I'm not too busy reading that thick book entitled "Biblical Interpretation." Only God knows how long that will take too. :)

God's Forgiveness

I was contemplating yesterday on the ability of God to forgive people. Does God really forgive us for every sin that we commit? And does He really forgive us even if we've sinned against Him for the nth time (n being whatever possible number out there)? Doesn't He get tired of seeing us sin, say sorry, then sin again?

Matthew 18 shows us one of the most logical and reassuring proofs of God's unlimited forgiveness. In verse 21, Peter asks Jesus, "How many times do I need to forgive someone who sins against me?" Peter proceeds to make a suggestion, "Up to seven times?" If I'm not mistaken, in Jewish tradition, a person is required to forgive the one who sins against him up to three times. After the third time, that's it. He doesn't have to forgive him anymore. In Peter's suggestion, he plays it safe by doubling the required amount and then adding one more bringing the total to seven. Jesus gives a profound response in verse 22, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times."

Jesus isn't being literal here. He's not expecting us to count to 77. What Jesus is simply saying is forgive the sinner as many times as he sins against you. In short, display unlimited forgiveness. This is the standard which Jesus has placed upon the believers of God. We are to display unlimited forgiveness.

However, take a look at the other logical implication of this standard. If this is the standard which we must uphold, then that must also mean that this is the standard which God, Himself, must also uphold. Therefore, logically, God must also (and He does) display unlimited forgiveness!

And so going back to our original question: Will God really forgive us for every sin we commit? According to the standard of God which He, Himself, gave through His Word, the answer is a resounding yes.

Do Not Worry

I've read Matthew 6 dozens of times especially the part where it says "Do not worry." However, I never realized that the statement "Do not worry" was more than just a suggestion. It was a direct command from Jesus to his followers. Jesus commands believers not to worry.

There are instances when I do worry a lot. I worry the most during the days before I speak and in the moments before I get up on stage. It's nerve wrecking to say the least. This Sunday, I've been invited to speak at a youth service and so now is about the right time I start panicking about it. I've been worrying about it all day until a friend of mine pointed out to me this nugget of truth: "To not worry is more than a suggestion. It's a command." Maybe this time I'll take the advice of Jesus and try not to worry but instead "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33).

The Sound of Music

My aunt took me, my mom, and my sister to watch the broadway rendition of "The Sound of Music". "The Sound of Music" was originally a music film released in the mid 60's. I never got to watch the original film but I've heard much about it. The broadway musical was actually very good. Kudos especially to the production efforts found in the stage design and lighting. The stage was a sight to behold. The company sang familiar songs such as "Do-Re-Mi," "Sixteen Going on Seventeen," "My Favorite Things," and "Climb Ev'ry Mountain." A fantastic cast, an interesting story, and songs I haven't heard in such a long time will certainly make this performance one of the most memorable ones.

It's just not as exciting

To say that my one month stay here in Canada has been "uneventful" is an understatement. Truth be told, I find Canada life quite slow and boring. Time is slow. Days are long here in the summer. The sun comes up early (I've never actually been up early enough to see it though) and the sun goes down late at 8:30. Not much of a night life here--at least none that I know of yet. The only consolation is that the weather is great. Now if I could just find a couple of friends to share the great weather with.

I haven't made many friends yet. There's so little opportunity to meet new ones. I guess part of it is because school hasn't started (it starts in 3 weeks), I don't have a job, and I haven't found a regular church yet. I hope things will pick up when school starts.

There's also really not much to do here. Like I said, b-o-r-i-n-g. Even the malls don't manage to look cheerful. Malls are small and lifeless! They simply cannot compare to the malls in Manila.

I'm already starting to miss it back home. I miss my church and my friends. Of course I miss my family but my mom and sister (she happens to be studying here too) arrived a few days ago so that makes up for that. I especially miss the excitement of everyday life. Unlike here, there's always something interesting going on in Manila. In my one month of absence, here are some of the things that have passed me by:

1. One or two outings with friends. I see the pictures!
2. I heard that four of my friends have gotten into relationships! It's about time for some of you. ;)
3. A bunch of my friends recently attended a "singles" conference. I heard it was an awesome event.

Stories like these make me miss it back home even more. It's just not as exciting here.