SALVATION TESTIMONIES

The Essence of Life

I was a Roman Catholic as it was my parent’s religion. I used to attend Sunday activities in the chapel located just within our vicinity. I was active and participated in the choir groups and became one of the readers of Bible passages during the worship service. It was called Kasaulogan sa Pulong (Celebration of God’s Word). It came to a point that I wanted to be one of the lay ministers, but it did not materialize for I was already married at that time and my wife was worried it might affect my time for her and the family.

I had an early marriage. When I completed my university studies and got my degree at 21 years of age, my eldest daughter was already two months old. As expected, I had difficulty as I was still studying and did not have a job to support my family. To get by, I did some livelihood business doing wood lamination, and my wife made native chocolates to sell to our friends, neighbors, family members and relatives. Though it was tough, I did not regret that decision. I thought that in life there are these two ways, “the way to heaven is rough and tough and the way to hell is smooth and easy.”

However, I got a job that required me to be away from home for a year in Japan. It was during that time that I began to feel so afraid, insecure and worried about life and work. It prompted me to ask about the essence of life, the purpose of existence, and what is it like when one is dead. I should be excited and happy with my job abroad but it was not so because my mind and emotions were so occupied with those thoughts. I came back home happy to see my family but within me there was still this question. I needed to find the answer. This made me open-minded to everything as I was searching for something. I tried many things. I became an insurance agent, acted as a credit-cooperative founder and leader, had my own small business, studied law, took
an MBA and tried to become a business owner and entrepreneur. Unfortunately after all those years, nothing helped to answer my question. The roller coaster of my emotions and deep thoughts became even worse. The more I knew the deeper I felt the sorrow.

Then one day I told my wife, “I think I need to do something about my spiritual life.” I thought of going back to the Roman Catholic Church to attend masses on Sundays. It so happened that my wife was also like me searching for something. She read the Bible and researched about the Reformation and history of Catholicism. Thus she did not support my idea and I agreed to just read the Bible and pray to God for the solution of my troubles. The idea was fine and I felt we should do it regularly, like weekly, but we were not able to do it.

By God’s grace and timing, I met brother Jose Lagapa who at that time was evangelizing in Bukit Panjang and had a prior meeting with my youngest daughter Camille Dorothy. He was then following up on Camille’s interest in the 2016 Vacation Bible School (VBS) of True Life Bible-Presbyterian Church. The word “Bible School” made it easy for me to give my consent for Camille to participate in the VBS because we really wanted our daughter to be exposed to it. During brother Jose’s visit, I almost asked him, “Why not you preach to me or talk to me about the Word of God?” But I just kept it in my mind. Then in July last year, he invited me to the Filipino Bible Fellowship meeting which was held on Sunday. As much as I wanted to attend, it did not happen due to my hectic work schedule as I needed to work even on Sundays. In August, I was able to attend the fellowship meeting. I brought Camille along with me and told her, “We are going to God’s school.” From that time on I attended all of True Life BPC activities, such as worship services, Bible studies, fellowship meetings, and Far Eastern Bible College night classes to learn and hear God’s Word until I confessed Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior on December 1, 2016.

Work challenges, stress, mental and emotional struggles were still within me. However, by God’s grace and having faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior truly made a significant change in my life mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I felt safe and secure. I was much inspired in my life with God as the center of my life. I entrusted to Him everything. That gave me the peace of mind that I longed for. God answered all my life’s questions. The essence of life is God. Man is nothing, but with God, man can glorify Him. The purpose of our existence or the chief end of man is to glorify God. Death is not the end of life. Christ’s resurrection gives man the great hope for eternal life after physical death. With Jesus Christ as my God and Savior, I have nothing more to ask for in life. What is left is this burden to share what is the true value of life from God’s Word and the Gospel to my immediate family members and to others. Deccarlo Balongcas Igot

I Am Fully Convicted

I was born into a Roman Catholic family. My parents taught me and my siblings the basic knowledge of God, of Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit. My mother, a devout Catholic, taught me to pray and that included praying the rosary. Every time, when my siblings’ and my birthday were nearing (9 days before our birth dates), we were to pray the rosary and the novena. I was always so enthusiastic when it came to my turn to lead in the prayer. This became a habit in our family until only my mother and I would pray the rosary.

When I was in high school at Don Bosco Technical Center, Cebu City, Philippines, I became one of the school’s acolytes (sacristan, as we usually called them) and I got the post of ‘the candle bearer’ as I was very short. As an acolyte, I began to gain deeper attraction to Jesus and wanted to serve under Him. I even wanted to become a Salesian priest just like John Bosco. My mother asked me to weigh my choices, whether to become a priest or be a successful somebody, a family man. I eventually chose the latter.

During my late High School and early College years, I slowly distanced myself from Jesus Christ without realizing it and eventually learned to have fun with my friends which led me to the perversion of my religious beliefs, despite still going to church and having mass from time to time. This went on for a long time since there was no one to guide me and everybody else seemed to do it. I became a drunkard, a heavy chain-smoker, took drugs, and engaged in the lusts of the flesh and of the eyes. I still went to church on Sundays but not as someone who came for mass and to pray. I was an empty shell going to church. I became a grave sinner who had no regard for anything even the salvation of my soul!

In 2003, I had a car accident. Thank God I was not hurt at all. I went out to check the other party who crashed onto the opposite lane and found out they were Catholic priests. They had gone to a party earlier in the afternoon. They were bloodied and hurt and I was so afraid to know if they had died from the crash. Apparently, they were driving very fast and were probably eager to reach home the soonest. The next day I was summoned for investigation and the priest’s uncle, who was a retired military officer, came on behalf of his nephew (the priest). Both the investigator and the priest’s uncle lashed out at me, and they were accusing me as the one at fault, mentioning that a priest cannot ‘lie’ as they are holy servants of God. This experience awakened me and I started to dislike Catholic priests. I researched and discovered a lot of things about Roman Catholicism and their deceptions. So I protested in silence.

In the course of time, I came to work in Singapore to earn money and to live normally, surviving in this urban jungle. I would pray by myself as someone without affiliation to any church. There was only God and me; and of course my wife and daughter and the rest of my family who are back in the Philippines. After roughly seven years of working here, I suddenly felt that something was missing in my life like a hard feeling in the heart, a miserable score that I felt had to be settled. At the same time I felt the emptiness inside me welling up. I suddenly found it difficult to live, and felt a lot of pressure weighing upon me, not physically but the soul which was hurting. It was like my prayers were useless prayers.

Then I remembered what Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30).

That was the time I decided to study the Bible: read Revelation twice, and then Genesis. Still, nothing seemed to work. I thought that maybe I just wanted to go back to the Philippines for good and spend the rest of my life with my family. I thought I just needed a new working environment as work was pressing on me as well. It was in September last year that my colleague Deccarlo Igot, a new member of the then Filipino Bible Study (FBS), shared with me about this Bible study group and I got interested. The next Sunday I joined the FBS but did not get to hear much because we had to practice for a song item for the worship service. I did not actually want to be in a Christian worship service as I did not want to join any ministry but only to hear the Bible, the Word of God. Well, I had no choice, I was already there so I decided to join and hear the pastor’s sermon (25^th September, “Jesus Our Provider”, Mark 6:33–34, by Rev Dr Khoo). When I heard the gospel, I felt like there was something or someone calling for me. My heart felt like I needed to hear more, like a spark ignited.

That afternoon was the 3^rd Filipino Bible Fellowship meeting. I did not attend as I had some work to do, but I could not actually do my work. I was thinking if I should join them again or not. My heart was saying yes but my mind said no, not yet. Eventually, I joined them again and again, and it went on until the spark that was ignited during my first worship service attendance became a fire that burned in my heart, screaming, and wanting for more. I became fully convicted after a few weeks of hearing God’s Word in the Old and New Testaments. That was the first time I felt true passion for Christ, for the gospel, and I now truly understand what it is to be a true Christian! I felt a wonderful and warm feeling inside my heart that Christ is calling me to serve Him, to become His tool to preach and evangelize to the lost souls and to be saved according to the truth and grace of Jesus Christ. Whatever it is that our Lord Jesus Christ has called me for, in His time, it will slowly be unveiled, and that would be for another testimony in God’s due time. With brother Jose’s guidance, I became fully convicted of Verbal Plenary Inspiration (VPI) and Verbal Plenary Preservation (VPP) which I came to understand and accept through the study of the Word of God in the basic theology class. All I can say is that God planned these things for me without fail and I gladly accept what He is asking me to do. God is perfect, and so is His Word. Amen. Jude Thaddeus P Gabales

Golgotha or Calvary, “the place of a skull” (Luke 23:33)