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.