EASTER TESTIMONIES
My mum and I were Taoists and we were devoted to
our ancestors. Mum thought that we have to remember them or they will
become straying spirits. I also went to temples.
My Christian brother and sister have been praying for
our salvation for many years, but we procrastinated. Sometimes, my
brother invited us to attend church or rallies, but we declined; and he
would always say that we would regrezzt one day.
A few years ago, my mum met with many
life-threatening disasters – a car accident; fell down and fractured her
right arm and fell down from a flight of stairs, seriously injuring her
head. But God is very merciful and preserved her. Both my Christian
siblings would pray to the Lord Jesus for her early recovery. And God
answered their prayers and healed her and blessed my mum with strength
and good health.
We did not realize then that God is so good and these
blessings are from Him through their prayers. Praise the Lord.
Then, my mum was diagnosed with lymph node cancer in
November 2006. At home she called to the Lord to save her. She underwent
six chemo- therapy cycles. After the last cycle, she was weak and pale;
and had to be warded for further investigations. My sister shared with
her Christian friend who attends Life BP Church. Her friend invited
Elder Sng and his wife to visit my mum. They were from the same Kampong
Silat and they could bond with my mum. They shared the gospel with her.
She was stubborn initially and did not accept the Lord. But they
persisted, and kept up with their visits and counselled her.
My mum also kept asking Jesus to heal her. She also
asked my other sister to be a Christian. Then, before she passed away,
Elder Sng led us in a sinner’s prayer; my mum followed and meant it;
asking Him to forgive all her sins and she invited the Lord Jesus into
her heart. As Elder Sng asked her, she said a cheerful "Amen" to our
prayers. We looked at her, and she was beaming with the joy of
salvation. She went to be with the Lord on 25 May 2007.
During that painful period, I have accepted Jesus as
Saviour and Lord and asked Him to forgive me of stubbornness and all my
sins. I am very grateful and happy that I have new life and forgiveness
in Christ. I do not have to work to pay for my sins. Jesus died for all
my sins; He paid them for me. I need to grow in the Lord by studying and
keeping His Word, praying and fellowshipping with God’s dear children.
Other religions could never give me the joy and happiness of knowing the
Lord Jesus Christ. I wished that I have followed Jesus earlier.
—Lilian Tan Poon Choon
I have been observing my wife, Cheryl Wong, for
the past year or so. Whenever she had matters troubling her deeply, she
would pray to God for guidance. And after that she would calm down and
have peace in her. I was very glad about that, therefore I gave her the
support to go to the church every Sunday and let the children attend the
Sunday School. Then I noticed that my elder son has a profound change in
his behaviour after he accepted Jesus as his Saviour.
Soon Elder Sng paid us a home visit by my wife’s
request. I learnt that God has a plan for everybody. Elder Sng testified
with his testimonies. After the conversation, as we were having the
closing prayer, there was a tranquillity and peaceful feeling. That made
me to seriously think that God is working.
—Loh Meng Chye
"And this is the record, that God hath given to
us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath
life: and He that hath not the son of God hath not life." 1 John 3:11-10
Being a second-generation Christian, my parents have
taught me from young the importance of reading God’s Word and spending
time in prayer with Him. I have heard countless Bible stories until I
progressed to reading the Bible on my own. Then, I could do my own quiet
time. However, that was just a daily routine that I performed and in a
way, I did QT just for the sake of doing it.
It was only last year that I truly accepted Christ as
my personal Lord and Saviour. It was miraculous the way it happened and
until now, it still serves as a reminder to me of God’s presence in my
life and how He is continually working in me. That night, I simply could
not fall asleep and so I flipped open the Bible which was just by my
bedside. One of the few verses I read was the one above and the simple
and direct words really spoke to me at that time, for I realised that
without Christ, I am nothing and I needed Christ to fill the emptiness
in me. I felt an urge to want to accept the Lord and to put my whole
life in His hands. Thus in the peace and quiet of that night, I believed
in my heart that Christ died on the cross to deliver me from the wages
of sin. So, I prayed and asked the Lord to come into my life and be my
personal Lord and Saviour. I acknowledged my sinful nature and really
thanked the Lord for His grace and mercy, as well as for shedding His
blood on the cross for my sins. Praise God!
Gradually, I experienced many changes in my life
after God started to abide in me. Presently, I want to make God a
priority in my life and to remind myself that He is in control. I really
enjoy QT now, for it is the time for me to have communion with God and
to develop a personal relationship with Him. I look forward to coming to
Church to hear His word being preached. Also, I don’t want to be part of
the world anymore and the material things of the world are no longer as
important to me as wanting to please God. With God’s help, my rebellious
attitude changed too and I do not argue with my parents anymore just to
prove I am "right". Furthermore, I can sense the Holy Spirit’s prompting
in all I do, which oftentimes make me think twice before committing
certain sins which would have displeased God. God also moulds me little
by little as I slowly find it easier to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit
to those around me, as I, having experienced His love in saving me, have
a desire to show others God’s love too. Every other sacrifice of mine
seems so minute in the face of God’s love.
In addition, going to LTF helps me in my Christian
walk. When trials come, fellowship with fellow Christian brethren has
always encouraged me. The verses they point me to often help in
reminding me to trust the Lord more, and that His ways are perfect. I
have grown in faith, through fellow Christians who, through their
sharings, teach me many lessons and make me see even more examples of
God’s infinite grace and mercy. They also remind me to be a good
testimony and do things that are glorifying to God. More mature
Christians are always ready to answer my spiritual questions and I
really thank the Lord for blessing me with all these people in my life.
Now, I can readily trust God for He is almighty and I
thank the Lord for building up this faith in Him in me. I make it a
point to commit every test I take in school into His hands and I feel
privileged to have such an Almighty Father to pray to. He’ll carry my
burdens and I do have the assurance that He answers prayer, whether yes,
no or wait. I am sure that whatever answer He may give, they are all
good for God is good. Although I may experience trials, big or small,
God will surely not test me beyond what I am able to take, and will
provide the strength for me to overcome them. Sometimes it may be God’s
way of teaching and chastising, for example, when I have backslidden,
God sends trials to show me how helpless I am without Him, so I will
turn back. It is also comforting to note that it is all part of His
perfecting of me and to make me more like Him. I may not be able to face
these trials with much joy and gladness yet, like what Paul exhorts us
to do, but I am still praying that God will continue working in me and
give me spiritual joy, even in the face of such trials. I must admit
that I still sin against God in my daily life, and therefore I am glad
to know that if I humbly repent of them, God is sure and merciful to
forgive.
All in all, I know I definitely need the Lord for
without Him I have no eternal life. If I give my life to Him and follow
Him, He will lead me with Fatherly love to wherever is best for me.
—Magdalene Huang QingLing
"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that
saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found, was blind and
now I see". I was saved in 2003 in my former church. But way before
then, I was lost, without hope, just like the other unsaved. In fact, I
was rebellious, I did not believe in God and hated Christians. In my
eyes Christians were a bunch of hypocrites but the Lord had mercy on me,
opening my eyes that no one is perfect. I recalled the first time when I
entered a church. I just wanted to prove to Christians that God doesn’t
exist. Though they couldn’t out speak against me, it’s me who lost. I
was touched by Him. One day, a Christian gave me a Bible. I spent a
month reading it, trying to find a chink in the armour. I was wrong. I
couldn’t find anything wrong with His Word. Unknown to me, my heart
started to open to Him.
Slowly I was changing. I changed the way I treat
people: From being harsh to understanding. Once I met a fellow NS man,
who told me that in the past when I told them I’m going to Bible study,
they could not believe their ears, but now they believed. I’ve learned
to have mercy on people because no one is perfect. Even my mum agreed
that I’m calmer and less hot tempered. The Lord is my provider, He
provides all my needs.
"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy
staff they comfort me. During my training as an apprentice aircraft
engineer, He is always there for me. Some of my fellow apprentices are
against me. They plot to get rid of me but the Lord is always with me,
not allowing anyone to harm me. At times I feel like taking revenge but
revenge is of the Lord. I’ve seen Him taking revenge for me. I learned
to forgive my enemies and even to pray and help them. I remember the
night when the Lord spoke to me. He assured me that I will get the job.
Whenever I feel down, I remember this. Through the tough times of
clearing CAAS exams and my final interview after 3 years of training, He
was my strength, He brought me through. I learnt to grow in faith. My
superiors even requested the training department to post me to my
current hangar.
I thank the Lord for bringing me to fellow Christians
and those who had backslided. The Lord used me to bring fellow
Christians to church. One of them who didn’t attend church for years
attends Life Church and now he’s attending Shalom church (his mum
attends there and it is very far from his place) after attending
services in Life. I learnt to use Matthew 5. Everyday I’m learning to
grow in the Lord, practicing His Word. I learnt the importance of daily
time alone with God.
Words can’t really describe His Love for all of us.
I’m not very good with words. Without Him I think I would be on the
other side of the law still. I don’t think I would’ve go on to
polytechnic and now be an engineer. Without Him, I am nothing. When I
fell from the aircraft landing gear, I could’ve been seriously injured
or died. But as I thought that I was a goner, I stood perfectly upright
as I landed. Everyone was shocked. I could’ve been knocked down by a cab
while crossing the road to church, I don’t know how I retracted my steps
so fast. Everyday I thank the Lord for taking care of me and providing.
Most of us would think nothing of driving to work but consider this: 2
years of not driving and jump straight in. The Lord knows and He
prevents accidents though I lack practice.
I pray that my life will continue to improve and
glorify Him. Amen.
—Shawn Wong Zihang
I come from a typical Chinese family who worship
idols and for a long time, I had no religion although I wondered about
what/who is God. Throughout my life, I was preoccupied with worldly
pursuits (schooling, career, marriage). I recalled there were
evangelists who talked to me about Christ but I did not understand.
However, after I had settled down, I began to wonder
about my life and what there is in life. Something was missing. In 2006,
I delivered my son and experienced the joy of birth. But we discovered
that my baby son has a congenital health problem. It is not
life-threatening but I feared a lot and blindly, I prayed to God and
asked him for strength to carry me through the ordeal and the struggles
of early motherhood.
Through God’s grace, my son is fine. I was still
clueless about how to seek Him but I began to feel the urge to find out
more. I started to read the Bible. The Holy Spirit soon revealed
Christian colleagues around me and enabled me to open up to them. I was
greatly encouraged by the fellowship. I was hesitant to accept Christ
initially as my husband is a non-believer but was inspired by an
ex-colleague who was in a similar situation. A friend too encouraged me
to pray for the Lord to soften my husband’s heart and open his eyes too.
I was introduced to Life Church and met mentors who
guided me. Initially, I was eager and impatient and wanted to learn
immediately all there is to know about God and Jesus Christ. After
accepting Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour, I experienced a peace
within me. He helped me to cope with personal problems, relational
problems and I recognised the sinner that I am. I realised that it is
indeed a walk and a life-long walk with Christ, and it requires certain
sacrifices. I still have much to learn about Him and to prepare myself
till the day I am ready to meet Him. Since then, I continue to meet
fellow Christians and do feel the joy of belonging to God’s family. I
know there will be hurdles and challenges ahead but I will trust in the
Lord with all my heart. —Han Hwee Ping
AT THE AGE of six, when I was in kindergarten my
mother explained to me about Jesus and asked me if I wanted to accept
Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I just said yes not knowing the
significance of it. I always did a lot of naughty things such as lying
and cheating about buying sweets. I didn’t think that I had to be
accountable for my actions. I just did them according to my time and
pleasure.
When my father fell sick in 2004, my family and I
prayed to God to spare his life and give him another chance and God
mercifully accepted our request. I was thankful to God and saw His power
and lovingkindness. In 2005, the cancer came back and I asked God why he
sent it back. At that time I was very sad and did not read the Bible to
get comfort but I later realized that by reading His promises, believing
and hoping I could get comfort.
Life is short. We can go anytime when God calls us
back. I reaffirm my faith knowing that if God were to call me back, I
would have a place in heaven because of Jesus Christ. "For God so
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
—Amos Tan Yi Wen
* * *
1) Catechumens-meet-the-Session Lunch.
All those who were baptised, transferred, reaffirmed in the faith, and
parents whose infants were baptised today are cordially invited to the
Fellowship Lunch with the Session at the Chinese Service Hall.
2) Prevention of Theft: Worshippers are
kindly advised to watch their belongings in the church premises to avoid
losing them.
3) Family Worship at the home of Mr &
Mrs Paul Wong, Friday, 28 Mar 08, 8.00 pm. Address: 469A
Admiralty Dr #13-109, S751469, Tel: 6452-1443. Speaker: Eld Tan Yew
Chong.
4) Wednesday Night Bible Class
commencing 2 Apr 08 (9 weeks). Cults and Charismatism by Bro Ho
Chee Lai. 7:30 to 9:30 pm at the Chinese Service Hall. Kindly drop
registration forms into the box at the reception counter.
5) VBS 2008 (28-30 May). Teachers and
helpers needed. Please register now. Drop the form at front entrance or
register online www.lifebpc.com/vbs
Contact: Keng Khwang @ 98293292 or vbs at lifebpc dot com.
6) Life BPC Bible Camp: 9-13 Jun 08 at
Awana Genting Highlands, Malaysia. Theme: "Living Like Citizens
of Heaven on Earth" by Prof William Harding. To register, please submit
one camp registration form and one photocopy of passport details per
person to the Camp Registration Office. Closing date: 25 May 08.
7) Turkey Bible Study Tour (23/5 - 3/6/08). Closing date
extended to 20 Apr 08. Details and forms at front counter.
Register and submit forms and deposit to church office. Contact Mark
Chen, mchen at lifebpc dot com or 9843-6398. Website:
www.lifebpc.com/turkey.htm
* * *
GOSPEL SUNDAY
