Giving thanks

It's Sunday night and I am in a reflective mood. We had a good day at our Church. I got up this morning thanking God – it’s the Lord’s Day. I thank God there is freedom of worship in our land. I thank God for The Salvation Army. I've been in the Army 72 years (minus the three and half years when Singapore was occupied by the Japanese.)

“In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thes. 5: 18. It is God’s plan, His will for us to give thanks to him. So I sang,“When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed, when you are discouraged thinking all is lost. Count your many blessing, name them one by one. And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.” Thanksgiving is a daily discipline.

Many people seem to think that happiness is determined by our circumstances. Really our happiness is determined by our attitude. In reality it is in how we see things. Paul wrote these words from prison, "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say it rejoice." (Philippians 4:4). Paul was in prison when he made that statement.

Being a grateful person will also enhance our relationships. There is the tendency to take our friends and loved ones for granted. We benefit from them, but we don’t thank them. Do we remember to say ‘thank you’ for that birthday gift for example? I am saddened to think that many people I know don’t bother to say thank you for gifts received or for help given them. Really there is no excuse. It’s so easy to make a phone call, send an e-mail or sms.

This morning, in our Bible class, we studied Joshua 8. Joshua's victory at Ai. They had learned their lesson in their defeat as shown in the previous chapter. Though the primary cause of their defeat was Achan's sin, the secondary cause was underestimating the enemy, overestimating themselves and presuming on the Lord. But failure need not be final. We need to refocus on God and He will give us the victory.

Thank God for the privilege of conducting the Adult Bible class. I thank God for the support given by those who attend regularly. They have been my inspiration and encouragement. Thanks be to God for these good folk.

Thank God for friends

Emerson, the philosopher wrote, "I woke up this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends - the old and the new." Well, I want to echo his thoughts and I would add; I wake up each morning thanking God for Who He is and what He means to me. He is so great, so good and so gracious and He is my Friend. And He has given me so many friends who mean much to me and my wife. Thank God for family and friends.

Well, I have reached the ripe old age of 77! I received many cards, e-mail messages, sms, telephone calls wishing me 'Many happy returns.' Messages have come from all over the world. Thank God for these wonderful friends who remember my birthday.

I've had so many birthday lunches and dinners this year, I must be putting on weight, but what to do? It is our Singaporean culture - makan! Despite the recession, our restaurants and eating places are still very crowded. We just came back from Liang Court Hotel at Clarke Quay where we had a wonderful meal given by two of our close friends. They belong to our Corps (church) and cell group which meets every Friday morning at our home.

Some friends from another Corps wanted us to have dinner with them last night, but we had to decline as we had already promised our daughter and family to have dinner with them.

The Arabs have this lovely definition of a friend:
"A true friend is one to whom you can tip out all the contents of your heart. chaff and grain together, knowing that the gentlest hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping and with the breath of kindness blow the rest away."

I end with this thought from William Shakespeare in Richard II: "I count myself in nothing else so happy, as in a soul remembering my good friends."

Fellowship with saints

Yesterday, I visited an elderly salvationist in her late eighties to celebrate her birthday. She was a pre-war officer, commissioned as Lieutenant just as the British were about to surrender Singapore to the Japanese early 1942. Then for three years the Army was proscribed. Reinforcement officers were thrown into Changi Prison.

After the war Lieutenant Lim and the others (there were 14 national officers) joined the reinforcement officers in rebuilding the Army. It was hard work. Life was extremely difficult, the allowance given by the Army was very small. She together with a number of other officers were offered jobs by the Social Welfare. So she resigned from officership and worked as assistant in the York Hill Girls' Home. The person in charge was also an ex-officer - Miss Tan Beng Neo. In fact they addressed each other as Captain and Lieutenant even though they were not officers!

Later when Tan Beng Neo retired, Miss Lim took over the same Home. It was moved to Toa Payoh. As Corps officers of Central Corps (1970-1974) we visited her regularly to minister to her. In those days Corps officers (pastors) kept strictly to the rule of visiting at least 18 hours a week.

Miss Lim has been a faithful salvationist all these years and attends the Central Corps with her daughter Joy. Joy was one of my young people when I was the Corps Officer at Malacca Corps. She started attending Army when Cadet Teo Poh Leng and I went to Malacca as cadets for a campaign.

I was appointed Corps Officer of Malacca Corps in October 1954. I sent her into Training in 1957. She became a cadet in the Faithful Session. Later she resigned from officership but continued working as secretary to the Social Secretary, later General Secretary, Lieut. Colonel Thelma Watson. Joy retired from her last job at the Family Centre in Beo Crescent. She gave many years of faithful service.

I give thanks to God for such faithful salvationists, always faithful to God and the Army. I went there to minister to these dear folk, and in turn was being ministered. Their faith in God greatly inspired me.

We are all fellow travellers along the road of life. Let us encourage one another. We all make mistakes, we sometimes trip and fall. We get up again and by the grace of God we continue on our journey. The power of God has kept these dear saints faithful all these years.

We are kept by the power of God. This means that God continually protects us. There is never a moment we are not under the guardianship of Almighty God. The word ‘kept’ is a military word which means to guard. This verse says the sentry standing watch over our souls in God Himself. How wonderful to live with this assurance of the living presence of God in our lives. To Him be the glory.

Peacehaven

The Lord has given us a wonderful ministry at Peacehaven. It is always a joy to visit the staff and residents of our Salvation Army Nursing Home. The Director Madam Low Mui Lan is a great friend of ours. She is doing a tremendous work, certainly God glorifying.

We did chapel service at HOPE centre- home for those who suffer from different degrees of dementia. My wife spoke on the Ascension and ended the message about Hope of His coming.
You should be there to hear these people, saying Amen. The meeting is always done in three languages. She speaks in Cantonese and I interpret into Hokkien and English. And I provide music using the concertina.

We then went to Level 2 to visit other residents of Peacehaven. Many of these are wheelchair bound or bed ridden. We normally go round to speak and pray with the residents and nurses.

We joined the staff for lunch and they celebrated my birthday. I felt so humbled that people should show so much love and concern. They do this to us every time our birthdays come round. So thoughtful and kind of them.

The Army is doing a great ministry here touching many lives. We thank God we have been able to contribute in a small way to bless the residents and staff.

We pray for Peacehaven day and request your prayers too.

A bonus for us when we visit Peacehaven. We visit our daughter Dora Poh Chin who turned forty last month. I shall write about her another time. She is God's precious gift to us and we are proud of her. And thank God for the staff of Peacehaven who provide such tender loving care.

Don't play with sin

As usual we spent a profitable day in church yesterday. The day began with Adult Bible Class. We are doing a series on Joshua and yesterday was on Achan's sin. There was good discussion and all of us profited from the different views expressed. The punishment seems very harsh for not only was Achan punished, but his whole family also were stoned to death. No individual can sin without affecting others especially his family and those near and dear to him. No Christian can grow in his spiritual life without lowering the temperature of those around him. The power of influence for good or bad can be extremely strong.

God does not delight in the death of the wicked. He wants them to repent and live. Still the Bible implies a point of no return beyond which judgement is inevitable. We are glad we live in the age of grace, when Jesus took the punishment on our behalf. Sin is sin whatever name we may call it and has to be dealt with.The important thing to note is that we must not play with sin.

Augustine wrote a biography of sin in four words: a thought, a form, a fascination, a fall. Take heed, don't play with sin.

I think I should stop sermonising. Today is Monday, not Sunday! You've heard enough long sermons already.

Words of Life

Wait please.

Psalms 27:14 - "Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD."

We all must learn the art of patience. Not easy for most people, certainly for me. One person calls it "wait-training." One exercise we regularly participate in is the exercise of patience. It seems that there is always something we are waiting for.

We wait on traffic and we wait in lines at stores, restaurants, and even to go to the wash room. We wait while an automated voice goes through 1,000 options on the phone - Press 1, press 2 etc. We wait to complete school to earn a living. We wait to retire. We wait for a decision to be made. Wait…wait...wait! We cannot escape the web of waiting!Because of this, Patience is an essential quality of a happy life.

I read the Salvation Army Daily Devotional Reading everyday and have been much blessed by doing so. Get a copy if you do not have one. Today the caption says WAIT.

The writer refers to a Poem entitled "At the door" written by Michel Quoist. He describes a boy frustrated and angry behind a closed door; stamping, shrieking and eventually crying as he tries to force the door open. Quoist compares this to himself and his impatience and ends with a prayer "Grant me, Lord, to be respectful and patient, loving and praying in silence, standing at the door till it is opened."

It is Saturday, and there is much preparation to be done. I am going through my Bible notes for tomorrow and also preparing for Monday's devotion at Gracehaven. So much to do, so I must learn to wait on the Lord.

I've committed Michel Quoist's prayer to memory. I keep repeating it for my own benefit.

Not weary yet!

Retirement is a modern idea. In the olden days people used to work till they died, or too sick to work.

We live in a world today where a person's worth is measured in economic terms. As soon as he retires he is automatically relegated to the ranks of the unproductive. Some are made to feel they have nothing more to contribute to society.

For me my calling to the ministry does not end at retirement. It is a holy calling and there is no time frame to it. I may not be able to preach and teach like my younger colleagues, but I still have a ministry. This calling has its origin in the heart of God.

Everytime I stand up to preach to a congregation, or teach a Bible class, I am conscious of the fact that God inspires my soul.

In my younger days, we used to sing in the Songsters

"Not weary yet, Ten, fifteen, twenty, thirty years and more
Still at the battle front delighting in the war.
Not weary yet, still fighting yet,
True soldiers never tire
Praise God, I'm not weary yet."

Like Charles Wesley I would say

"Happy, if with my latest breath,
I may but gasp His name,
Preach Him to all, and cry in death;
Behold, behold the Lamb.

To God be the glory.

When to applause

Worship the Lord in reverence.

"When applause is given before a speech begins, it is given in faith. When it is given in the middle of a speech, it is given in hope. When it is given at the end of the speech, it is given in charity." This was spoken by someone with tongue in cheek, of course!

However, there is a place for applause. Applause is primarily the expression of thanks, appreciation or approval. Audiences are usually expected to applaud after a performance, such as a musical, concert, speech or play. It is good to give encouragement to others.

Performers and speakers in different fields such as politics may receive applause when they first appear on stage before they render the item or make the speech. This is an acknowledgement of their past achievements. The audience appreciates their presence and anticipate a good performance or speech.

Applause does provide encouragement and stimulus. When we hold concerts and the different sections of the Corps (church) such as Songsters, Band, Singing Company, soloists take part; we clap after each item and sometimes even before the item is given. We greet the speaker with a round of applause. We do that during our Christmas concert, Youth concert or when we hold a party to celebrate an event.

What about applause during Sunday Worship? Everything we do is an act of worship. When our Songsters, band or soloists give an item, it is an act of worship, not a performance. We sing and play our instruments unto the Lord to glorify His name. When we hear an item rendered well, in our hearts let us thank God and give Him the glory. I do not think it is appropriate to applaud by clapping. We can always show our appreciation by telling the person after the meeting how much we have been blessed by the song, item or message.

Of course, we clap our hands in our meetings or services, for example when we sing "Glory, glory Hallelujah" or "There is power in the Blood of the Lamb." We rejoice in the Lord, but we are not applauding anyone. This clapping is the expression of the joy in our hearts. We are encouraged to clap our hands and praise Him with voices and instruments. Of course, this should also be done in decency and order. We cannot allow our free and easy method of worship to degenerate into flippancy.

In the midst of our rejoicing, there need always be reverence. Let there be a reverential spirit when we worship. "But I, by your great mercy, will come into your house; in reverence will I bow down toward your holy temple." Psalm 5: 7

fire shut up in the bones

"God's Word is in my heart like fire, a fire shut up in my bones." Jeremiah 20: 9. Although I have been retired for twelve years, this Divine compulsion is still there. I keep reading, reflecting, meditating, studying and proclaiming His word - it is like fire in my bones.

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.