Every last Monday of the month, we visit Gracehaven to conduct staff devotions. We had a wonderful time this week; great fellowship, plenty of laughter, good discussion, times of quietness and prayer. We all had a profitable time together.
Staff take turns to lead the meeting and I give the message.This time, it was our good friend, Tan Bee Yit who was the leader. He started with the Founder’s song, ‘O boundless salvation, deep ocean of love.’ Bee Yit has been with the Army since the seventies. I understand he was converted during an evangelistic campaign and then joined Central Corps during Lieutenant Hickman’s time. He has been very faithful all through the years. He was for many years responsible for the youth and children's work at Central Corps and also at THQ. At the moment he is one of the staff at Gracehaven.
He is a Salvationist through and through in fact if he gets a cut, the blood that flows from him will be yellow, red and blue! (These are the colours of The Salvation Army flag). It was my privilege to enrol his son Ming Hui as a soldier of Central Corps on Easter Sunday. What a joy it was for me to perform this duty.
We spent some time in prayer and intercession then went to discuss the tenth commandment. “Thou shall not covet.” One of the causes for the present global financial crisis is certainly covetousness or greed. The sin of covetousness is pretty universal, don’t you think? Certainly the temptation is! Yet it remains one the most private transgressions. This commandment deals with inward thoughts and desires and it certainly is more difficult to deal with. To control one’s action is one thing, to control one’s thoughts, feelings and emotions is quite another.
Coveting is a matter of the heart, an attitude and strong emotion. It is the desire to have something we do not have, or which we think we do not have enough of. We want more! It is not content with what it already has, no matter how much that might be. It is desire not only for what we do not have, but also for what we cannot have. It wants what is forbidden, that which belongs to another and we have no right to it.
Every one in the room had something to contribute to the discussion and we learned a lot from each other.
At my age, it is good to interact with the young. What a thrill to sit with Khai Ling, MingJie, Sophia, Esther and who else, sorry I am getting forgetful. Raymond and Cathy were not there as she had a medical appointment at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
I am glad I have many young friends. Don’t get me wrong, I like the elderly too, we can always talk about the ‘good old days.’ Don’t quite like the expression for it implies the current days a bad! Past or present - we have good days and bad days. We thank God for the past. We can learn so much from our past experiences, but we must not live in the past. We have to live in the present and prepare for the future.
When the meeting was over, Bee Yit, very kindly fetched us home. How kind of him! And we talked all the way about the past - yes the good old days! Wonderful to hear of how he, a non believer met the Lord and nurtured in the Salvation Army. So many have contributed to his spiritual growth and maturity – the Hickmans, Ruth Pascoe, the Corfields, the Bungays, Jim and Marjorie Webb and many others. I came home, praising and thanking God for these good people who gave of themselves for the sake of people like Bee Yit and me! I pray that the Lord will enable me to have a good influence on others.
"Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time.
Footprints that perhaps another
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again. (Longfellow)
O Lord help me to live a Christlike life.
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