May 2004
Fellow pilgrims,
What a beautiful gift God has given us in the form of Holy Scriptures. The translators responsible for the NIV version of the Bible believe 'that it contains the divine answer to the deepest needs of humanity, that it sheds unique light on our path in a dark world, and that it sets forth the way to our eternal well-being." Most important of all it faithfully testifies to our Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word of God.
I want to add my testimony, for what it's worth, to the truth of the above underlined statement in my own pilgrimage the last thirty years. But it is in the last few years that the light shines brightest as I serve the Lord in community service and now, even more so, as I get involved in the mission work on TB.
The profoundest truth is also the simplest one: There is a God who loves sinners and who is in the work of reconciling the world to Himself. (2 Corinthians 5:19) As I write, I remain amazed at the grace that grants me a role in the same work of reconciliation.
At TB, the powers of darkness are active in ways that blur the line between the seen and the usually unseen. A fiftyish sister of a recently baptized believer came to see me about some evil manifestation in her life, claimimg to see spiritual hands grabbing her and smelling a foul odour at 5 a.m. each morning.
Trusting that the Name of Jesus is able to dispel the forces of darkness, I encouraged her to turn to Jesus and call on Him for help. She candidly told me that she found some of these gospel related truths hard to believe. Nonetheless, I prayed for her in the Name of Jesus that this evil force would not disturb her. She bowed her head and closed her eyes, half-believing, I suspect. Join me in praying for her salvation please.
The land deal is signed, sealed and delivered sometime last month. Rev. Tay and myself witnessed the final transaction at the home of the deceased seller. We are presently in the thinking and planning stage of how to refurbish the place. Pray for a spirit of unity and wisdom for Rev. Liew, myself and the local leaders. Some of our youths will be visiting the island from the 4th to the 7th of June, under the leadership of William Heng and Pastor Paul. They will spend half a day cleaning up the "promised land". Chin Hong will also be with them. He is slated to teach the Walk through the Bible program for the adults.
Here is a passage from GK Chesterton's The Everlasting Man that I find beautiful and that I hope you'll find uplifting.
"on the third day the friends of Christ coming at daybreak to the place found the grave empty and the stone rolled away. In varying ways they realised the new wonder; but even they hardly realised that the world had died in the night. What they were looking at was the first day of a new creation, with a new heaven and a new earth; and in a semblance of the gardener God walked again in the garden, in the cool not of the evening but the dawn."
Jesus is the Light of the World ( John 9:5)
Shine Jesus Shine,
Jye
