Sing unto the Lord.

We worship at the Changi Corps (church). It's not a big church, but we have good fellowship and Bible based messages, plus good singing. Our pastors are not afraid to try new songs and choruses.

Music plays an important part in The Salvation Army. The Bible tells us to express ourselves in "singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks to God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ." Ephesians 5: 19-20 (NLT) Make a joyful noise unto the Lord.

We have not heard this chorus sung for a very long time. Somehow it came to us and we have been singing and enjoying it.

Make my life to be like a melody,
Every sounding out the message of the cross. (repeat first two lines)
With Jesus in my heart, no discord can arise,
For He can make the saddest strain to harmonize*
Make my life to be like a melody
Ever sounding our the message of the cross. John Wells

*(Some versions - "saddest heart" or "note" to harmonize)

"Open my eyes, that I may see", played by Calvin Yawn, on piano & organ

Search Me, O God

I'm here - For such a time as this.

Have you ever wished that you were born earlier, say living during the time when Jesus walked the earth in human form, or during the days of Martin Luther, Wesley or William Booth? The past seems to be more glamorous and exciting.

When a person gets old there is the tendency to be nostalgic and long for the good old days. True we can learn much from the past, but to be frank they were not necessarily always good. I don't want to go back to the days when Singapore was under Japanese occupation when we did not know where our next meal was to come from or when a soldier might turn up to arrest one of our relatives.

There is a saying, "Dwell in the past and you will lose one eye. forget the past and you will lose both eyes." So, if we long for the past and keep wishing for the good old days, we would probably be partially blinded by our nostalgic dreams. And if we completely ignore the past and its lessons, we become totally blind.

Some of us might have wished we were born twenty years later. Come to think of it, if God had allowed me to be born 50 years later, I wouldn't have to study and do my homework by kerosene lamp or queue up for hours at a public stand pipe to get a bucket of water. By now I would be in my thirties, probably contending with my peers for positions in the company, or working till all hours trying to pay off my mortgage.

I am here today, because God willed it so "for such a time as this". I am here by Divine design and purpose and it is my daily prayer that I fulfil that purpose God has for me.

We used to sing in Sunday School days a lovely song written by Philip P Bliss.

Standing by a purpose true,
Heeding God's command,
Honour them the faithful few;
All hail to Daniel's band!

Dare to be a Daniel,
Dare to stand alone,
Dare to have a purpose firm,
And dare to make it known.

Blessings abound

One thing about living in Singapore - there is no shortage of food. True, some restaurants are considered expensive, but for the ordinary person like me, I can get food fairly cheaply. There is the Kopitiam,  or the Hawkers' Centre (only that they don't hawk!) Prices are reasonable - depending on location.

Cuisines of the world have migrated to our "little red dot". I notice the younger generation like to dine at Japanese, French, Mexican, Thai, Spanish; you name it - foreign cuisines are here in Singapore. During the week, we went with three friends to Food Haven, the staff canteen at the Singapore Polytechnic to have buffet lunch. Where can we get a buffet lunch for the price they charge? Food is good and inexpensive and we really enjoyed the fellowship and meal together. We were blessed by such good friends.

The next day, we were invited to a French Restaurant, Poulet.  A set meal Promotion Price $9.90! for lovely roast chicken plus bread or mashed potatoes, soup and a glass of lemon tea. Delicious meal.

When we arrived home we found a plastic bag containing local nyonya kueh keuh (cakes) on a stool at our door. A friend came to see us and left the goodies for us. Two of us could not possibly consume that much and we put it in the refrigerator hoping to share with someone.

Lo and behold that same evening, eleven off duty nurses and students turned up at our door. Normally we have these Indonesian young people on the first and third Friday nights, but someone had mistaken the date and turned up on this second week of the month. Well, the first week was New Year and public holiday, so they took the 8th as the first week. Never mind we did not want to disappoint them and invited them in. And we were blessed.

The cakes came in handy. We cut them up into smaller pieces and they all enjoyed them. God knew they were coming and prepared the refreshments for supper. We had a great time singing and discussing English. They are keen to improve their English so at every meeting, we use the song book or Bible, make them read in English, correct their pronunciation and explain the meaning of words. Indonesian is similar to Bahasa Melayu or Malay which is familiar to us.

We thoroughly enjoyed the evening with these young people all in their early twenties. Even at our age, we thank God there is a ministry for us.

Take an interest in life and in people and discover a whole world of richness and value. Life is not boring, we always find something to do, someone to minister to.

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart" Psalm 37:4

The Dream of General Eva Burrows

My wife and I had the privilege to work with General Eva Burrows when we served in Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines and in the United Kingdom. We came to know her well. She was a great woman leader who never failed to inspire others. We always valued her hand written notes of encouragement to us especially during the days when we served in the Philippines. Life was difficult and her notes of encouragement written personally herself meant a great deal to us. I want to share with my readers a statement she made in one of her speeches.

"I dream of an Army that is spiritually-vibrant, Biblically-strong, culturally sensitive,
evangelistically-passionate, community-concerned and Holy Spirit empowered.
Such a Spirit-filled Army will be ready to sacrifice and serve in obedience to Christ's commission, and through a strong prayer life be open to the changes the Holy Spirit is ready to initiate in our strategies for the future."

I say "Amen" to that statement.

Covenant Day Message

I was invited to give the sermon on Covenant Sunday - 3rd January. I was led to speak on "Fulfilling our covenant." I've given a number of Covenant Day sermons in this church at Changi and did not want to repeat myself. The Lord led me to base my message on 2 Samuel 9: 1-13

David was now safely on the throne. Enemies like Assyria had moved back to the north east, Egypt to the south west. There were no more threats and he had time to reflect on the past and plan for the future. In his reflection he remembered the covenant had had made with his friend and brother-in-law Jonathan. 1 Samuel 18: 3-4.

This remembrance led David to do something for someone in Jonathan's family - one way to fulfil the covenant. David was reminded of Jonathan's son, Mephibosheth, now a cripple living in a remote place called Lo Debar ( meaning 'land of no pasture) When David became king, all of Saul's family fled for their lives for fear that David might take revenge on them for the way Saul had mistreated him in the past. In their haste to escape the nurse had picked up the five year old Mephibosheth to carry him to safety. Unfortunately she fell resulting the boy injuring both his legs and crippled for life.

David showed compassion and sent to Mehphibosheth, brought him to Jerusalem and settled in the palace and be treated like one of the princes. It's a beautiful story of kindness and forgiveness and the fulfilling of a covenant made with Jonathan so many years ago.

What a joy for Mephibosheth to hear the King speaking peace to his heart; the restoration of his wealth and glory that once belonged to Saul, his grandfather. David promised to a place on the King's table. It was a joyful and humble heart that embraced the treasures of grace.

In a way we are like Mephibosheth. We were crippled by sin - born in sin and bred in iniquity living in the land of No Pasture. But God kept His covenant to bring us to Himself.

Let us in turn look for the Mephibosheths and ask ourselves, "Is there any Mephibosheth we need to seek to fulfil our covenant with the Lord. Retired General John Gowans has beautifully put the mission of The Salvation Army in a sentence.
"to save souls, to grow saints and serve suffering humanity.

By The Love That Never Ceased to Hold Me

Thoughts about the New Year 2016

We begin a New Year today. All kinds of thoughts come to my mind. What will the new year bring? How will I cope? Will I be around this time next year? Questions come to mind, but one thing I know. God is sovereign, He holds the universe in His hands. I cling on to God's promise.

Jeremiah 29:11"For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.  NLT  Praise the Lord.


A New Year's Prayer
I would commence this brand New Year with Thee.
But for Thy hand, the time and space this year
Presents. could stretch like sullen. open sea.
'This the strong hand assures me of care.
Created love had planned for me a way,
And, born of love, this way must be the best.
I therefore gladly dedicate this day
And know that I can trust Thee for the rest.

I am concerned just what the year may hold
Of burden, even sorrow. strain or stress.
But grace, with its resources makes me bold.
I will hold on, I know that Thou will bless.

The challenge of this year, I gladly take.
And face it well - and that for The dear sake.  -Harry Read.