If crosses come (I'll not turn back

My life must be Christ's broken bread

My life must be Christ’s broken bread,
My love His outpoured wine,
A cup o’erfilled, a table spread
Beneath His name and sign.
That other souls, refreshed and fed, ...
May share His life through mine.

My all is in the Master’s hands
For Him to bless and break;
Beyond the brook His winepress stands
And thence my way I take,
Resolved the whole of love’s demands
To give, for His dear sake.

Lord, let me share that grace of Thine
Wherewith Thou didst sustain
The burden of the fruitful vine,
The gift of buried grain.
Who dies with Thee, O Word divine,
Shall rise and live again.

In 1947, Albert Orsborn was in Berlin on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday (3,4 April) and then in Holland for Easter Day and Easter Monday (6,7 April). He later wrote:

"During my first visit to Berlin, when I met our dear officers in council in the war-damaged temple, I was burdened with a sense of my own inadequacy to match the occasion… I cried to God to help me, in my own spirit, and to let His Spirit work within us all, to bring us together, to bridge what seemed to be, in all reason, an impossible gulf between our respective conditions of living… God revealed to me that not only that day, but always, we have no hope of being a blessing to other souls unless our lives become a part of the Saviour´s sacramental consecration… Before I left Berlin, this song had begun to form itself in my mind. As I travelled toward Holland, along the straight but monotonous Autobahn, line by line the song was given to me, the last verse coming in the early morning following my return home."
The verses were published in The War Cry, 3 May 1947, with the title, ´Christ´s Broken Bread´.(Companion to the Song Book, page 118)

“And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me. “In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying,” This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. Luke 22:19”

Malacca Corps - my first appointment 1954-1959

The congregation waited in suspense for the Officer Commanding Lieut. Colonel Frederick Harvey to announce and present the letters of appointments to the four cadets of the Shepherds’ Session.  When my name was called, I stepped forward, saluted the Colonel, and waited with bated breath for a few tense moments!   “Probationary Lieutenant Lim Ah Ang (that was the rank given to all newly commissioned officers), I appoint you as Commanding officer of Malacca Corps.”   There was loud applause, followed by shouts of Hallelujahs. That was 25 October 1954.

The weekend’s meetings over, we all had to wait till the Thursday to move to our appointments.   Three days of waiting seemed like eternity for me because I had wanted to get to my first appointment straightaway!    The commissioning was the climax for the weekend’s events, and we were all on fire for the Lord!! (In recent years I notice, newly commissioned Lieutenants go for a retreat at a hotel. Times have changed!)

Thursday came, and the Public Relations Secretary Major Stanley Gordon, fetched me to the Sing Liang Malacca/Singapore Express Bus terminal at Beach Road to begin a six hour journey by bus to Malacca.   It had to cross two ferries, at Batu Pahat and Muar.   There were no expressways then!

On arrival, I was met by my predecessor, Lieutenant Douglas Kiff.   He and his newly married wife, Jean, had delayed their departure for Penang Corps in order to conduct my welcome meeting.  We sat in one trishaw, while all my worldly possessions, comprising a suitcase and a small carton of books. Both of us  went into another trishaw.   We did not have far to go from the bus station to 69-A Wolferstan Road.   Malacca Corps occupied the upstairs of a two-storey shophouse.

On the front of the building was the signboard with the words THE SALVATION ARMY in English, Malay and Chinese.   Directly below it was another signboard – CHOP SI SOON, WINE AND SPIRIT MERCHANTS.   What a strange juxtaposition!    We ascended a narrow staircase and entered the corps premises.    The main floor area was the corps hall, with 30 chairs.   A small corner at the back was partitioned off for quarters – a cubicle, which served as a bed-sitting room cum office for the Corps Officer.   It was most convenient for the officer to get out of bed and there was the office desk for me to work!   At the back was a small kitchen and bathroom, but toilet facilities were downstairs.   To get there meant descending the spiral staircase, walking past the living area of the people living downstairs, past a fierce German Shepherd, tied up during the day and freed at night to roam the backyard! No going to toilet at night.

There was plenty to occupy me – Sunday Holiness meeting in the morning, and Salvation meeting at night, the Sunday School in the afternoon and an open-air meeting prior to the night salvation meeting.   During the week there was a tuition programme, Joy Hour and Thursday night Holiness Saturday night English meeting.

Malacca Corps has an interesting history.   Early in 1940 Adjutant and Mrs Harold Matthews were appointed to pioneer the work.   Soon after their arrival they befriended a Mr Tan Kok Liat who gave them considerable assistance.  The upstairs of the shophouse mentioned above was rented to hold meetings.   At the end of that year twelve senior and a number of junior soldiers were enrolled.

 From the first session of cadets before the war, Lieutenant Edward Touruan was appointed as an assistant.   He was of Indonesian origin and spoke the language widely used by the Peranakans in Malacca.  Sadly he resigned after less than a year and Lieutenant Mollie Yeo Phaik Lean (later became Mrs Captain George Tan) was appointed to replace him.

When Malacca was invaded by the Japanese, Adjutant Matthews was arrested and put into an internment camp in Malacca.    Amongst the prisoners was one of Adjutant Matthews’ converts.   He had been engaged in raising funds to help China fight the Japanese.    Now he and his friends were in prison awaiting execution.   Adjutant Matthews was able to comfort and pray with him.   Another man, Mr Ong Teck Ee a confucianist, accepted the Lord and prior to being executed said, “I don’t mind death now that I have found Jesus as my Saviour.”

After the war, in 1946 Adjutant and Mrs Stanley Gordon were appointed to reopen the Malacca Boys’ Jubilee Club (A Boys’ Home)  This was sponsored by the Silver Jubilee Fund of Singapore set up in honour of King George V.   (Malacca was one of the states which made up the British Straits settlements.)     Adjutant Gordon was designated as the superintendent of this centre, which had twenty-one boys in need of care and protection living there.  

In the meantime Adjutant and Mrs Gordon worked hard to re-establish our Corps work.   The downstairs tenants – the Wine Shop, now occupied the whole property at 69 Wolferstan Road, including the upstairs part rented by the Army before the war.   Adjutant Gordon managed to persuade the owner to agree to lease it to the Army again, but there was some difficulty in getting the new tenants to move out!    After some hard negotiations the Army managed to regain occupancy. At the end of 1947 the Club ceased to operate and Adjutant and Mrs Gordon were transferred to Ipoh.

In March 1948, Captain and Mrs George Tan were appointed as Corps Officers.   The Tan family with three children used the hall as part of the quarters.   On Sunday and weeknights the place was a worship hall again.   Everything had to be moved into the cubicle at the back.   The pre-war soldiers who had been worshipping at the Chinese Methodist Church returned to the Army.   They brought their friends along as well to the Army meetings held above the wine shop.   Captain George Tan soon found himself busy with social work in the community.  He was a member of the Prisoners’ Aid Society, Association for the prevention of Tuberculosis and other welfare groups.   For his services to the community the British Government awarded the captain with the British Defence Medal and the 1939-45 Service Star.

In 1953, Lieutenant Douglas Kiff was appointed to command the Corps.  Malacca was a Hokkien speaking corps and he had to depend on interpreters amongst whom was Mr C Y Chang, a Methodist lay preacher.   The Lieutenant started tuition classes for the young people and the corps continued to grow.   I followed the Kiffs in October 1954.

 During the time of Captain Joan Bavin in 1967 the Army bought its first property, a two storey shophouse at Jalan Ong Kim Wee.   It was officially opened by the Officer Commanding, Lieut. Colonel George Engel, who received the funding from the U.S.A.   The corps functioned at this shophouse, till, with the increase in traffic and business in the area, the place was not congenial for worship.   The facilities became inadequate for our Army activities.

In 1978, during the time of Lieutenant and Mrs Alan Hickman, the corps moved to its present location, 321 Jalan Parameswara.   The sale of the shophouse was adequate to purchase and renovate this compound house.   It was previously used as a Doctor’s Surgery.   Lieutenant Hickman started the centre for the handicapped, using the corps hall during the week.   Since then the Army has added new facilities and even acquired the land adjacent to the corps property. The Army marches on in this historical town of Melaka!

 

Thank God for friends who care

Nowadays as I age, I find it comfortable to stay home. There are so many things to do around the house. Yes, just to do housework. – sweep the floor, wash clothes, the list goes on.  It keeps me busy and I don’t mind at all.  If I am engrossed in an activity or pursuit then time really does fly by as I am having fun. The older I get the more I just want to stay home. But the Lord has other plans for our benefit. He has provided us with friends who care for us.

My wife and I were invited out to a meal by some kind and very close friends. And it’s on the western side of Singapore – Watten Estate to be precise. O we did not feel like going, but we could not decline this kind invitation for the host even arranged transport for us.

So we accepted the invitation and went. I tell you once we got there, we enjoyed every moment of it and that lunch in a Vietnamese Restaurant lasted a long time. Time simply sped by while we chatted.

Looking back, glad that we went or we would have missed out on that lovely afternoon. It did us good. Thank God for friends who care.

I know thee who thou art

Allan Lord - He sacrificed his life for another.

In our former Command Headquarters at 207 Clemenceau Avenue, Singapore, there was a room named “Allan O. Lord Memorial Primary Room.” After the war when plans were made to renovate the old Headquarters, Commissioner and Mrs Herbert Lord, pioneers of our work in Singapore gave a special donation for the fitting out of this Primary Room in memory of their son Allan. Even in the early seventies when my wife and I were the Corps Officers (pastors), this room was still used for the Primary children on Sundays. Other groups such as the Torchbearers Youth Group, servicemen and others used it too during the week.

Regrettably as years went by, leaders unaware of the history of the place, removed the sign. I can still see the signboard in my mind as I write this article. The tiny tots who made use of the facility would now be senior citizens. I wonder how many still remember attending the primary in this” Allan Lord Memorial Primary Room”? One Officer Commanding, faced with the pressure for space for an expanding Headquarters, annexed this hall and used it as an Office. Allan’s contribution to the Command was forgotten except by the very few now in their eighties. Such heroism needs to be told again.

Allan came with his parents in 1935 and knew something of the challenges of pioneering work. Singapore was a backwater, far from being a developed country like it is today. Life was hard and money was scarce. Throughout the seven years he was in Singapore till the fall of Singapore in February 1942, he rarely missed Sunday School. He loved the children and gave of his best to develop the Young People’s work. He was kind and gentle and much loved by the young people especially.

When war came he joined the Volunteer Forces of the island. Following the tragic defeat of the British by the Japanese, he was taken prisoner of war. Lieut. Colonel Arch R. Wiggins in his book Campaigning in Captivity had this to say, “Allan Lord, twenty three year old son of the Colonel in command of the Army’s work in Malaya…he fell in with the idea of beginning Salvation Army activities in Changi (meaning the Prison camp). Allan became a librarian at this new camp of which he was also practically the padre. The padre of the civilian camp, who often met him, spoke most highly of his influence, his cheerful spirit, good attitude and his constant willingness to help his fellow prisoners of war. When young Allan Lord heard that men of more than twice his age were being sent to Thailand or Burma, he offered to take the place of one of them. Eventually, having volunteered, he went to Burma and took part in what became known as the Death March, from which he never returned.”

What heroism, courage and sacrifice for a young man! Allan sacrificially gave his life for another. Had he not done this, he might not have died. We think of Jesus who gave Himself for the whole world. Jesus Christ who was our Substitute is clearly stated in Scripture. Most scholars agree that the Gospels see Jesus as the Suffering Servant portrayed in Isaiah 53. He was the One who “took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows… pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed… The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:4-6.

The high priest Caiaphas concerned with political expediency, but not with innocence or guilt of person made a statement”… it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation should perish.” John 11:50. That statement was an unwitting prophecy!

Jesus Christ, the entirely righteous One, took upon Himself our sin, endured the punishment we deserved of death and separation from God. He became the substitute thus made it possible for us to received His righteousness and be reconciled to God.

He died that we might be forgiven,
He died to make us good,
That we might go at last to heaven,
Saved by His precious blood.
Cecil Frances Alexander

Contentment

Contentment enables us to grow where God Has placed us.

I have passed my 85th birthday. Whether I shall live to see my next birthday here on earth, no one knows except God who is Sovereign – He decides. One thing I am certain, I’m in His hands. Eighty years ago I made my way to The Salvation Army at Balestier Road and I am still a salvationist and will be till He calls me home.

Whatever my limitation, it is a gift from God, and He wants me to serve Him using this gift. It is a fact whether our limitations are - emotional, physical, or intellectual, God has allowed it. Paul was right when he boasted in his weakness for it was in weakness that God’s power was revealed in him. “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” 2 Cor. 12:9

My faith in God enables me to go about my duties with confidence and courage. It is not right to complain, feel sorry for myself; I make myself available to God for His intended purposes.I just learn to accept things as they are and to be content, knowing that in the love, wisdom, and providence of God this moment is as good as it can possibly be. And I am well supported by my wife and family and friends.

Daily I pray for my family – son, daughters, grandchildren all loving and serving the Lord. He has added to the list two great grand children. It was my privilege to conduct the dedication ceremony on 11th June at church, Singapore Central Corps. To me that was the event of the year- to hold little Josiah in my arms and dedicate him to God. O I almost burst out in tears of joy - that precious moment given by God.

Normally I need my walking stick or tongkat, but I had the confidence to dispensed with it and just trusting the Almighty God to hold me. He did, He never fails me. My wife stood by me, the pastor Major Mark Hall behind me – I did not falter or fall, the Lord upheld me. Praise the Lord Almighty.“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41: 10

Pray: Dear Lord, thank you for being so good to me and my family for four generations. Continue to be with them and bless them as you have blessed me and my wife all these years.

Let me share my favourite song.

I shall not fear though darkened clouds may gather round me;
The God I serve is one who cares and understands.
Although the storms I face would threaten to confound me,
Of this I am assured: I'm in his hands.

Chorus
I'm in his hands, I'm in his hands;
Whate'er the future holds
I'm in his hands,
The days I cannot see
Have all been planned for me;
His way is best, you see;
I'm in his hands.
2.
What though I cannot know the way that lies before me?
I still can trust and freely follow his commands;
My faith is firm since it is he that watches o'er me;
Of this I'm confident: I'm in his hands.
3.
In days gone by my Lord has always proved sufficient,
When I have yielded to the law of love's demands;
Why should I doubt that he would evermore be present
To make his will my own? I'm in his hands!
Stanley E. Ditmer

Four generations.

My wife and I are great grand parents! Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined I would live to see this day – four generations. 

The first great grandson to arrive is Elias Aw from our daughter’s family. He was born 10^th May 2016 so over a year old, now learning to walk.

The second one Is Josiah Lim from our son’s family. Josiah was born on  16^th April 2017. The Lim family worship at Singapore Central Corps. So I was given the privilege of dedicating Josiah on 11^th June. 2017. What a momentous time for me – dedicating my own great grandson..

Importance of reading

John Wesley, writing to a younger minister, said:

"What has exceedingly hurt you in time past, nay, and I fear, to this day, is lack of reading. I scarce ever knew a preacher who read so little. And perhaps, by neglecting it, you have lost the taste for it. Hence your talent in preaching does not increase. It is just the same as it was seven years ago. It is lively, but not deep; there is little variety; there is no compass of thought. Reading only can supply this, with meditation and daily prayer. You wrong yourself greatly by omitting this. You can never be a deep preacher without it, any more than a thorough Christian.

Oh begin! Fix some part of every day for private exercise. You may acquire the taste which you have not; what is tedious at first will afterward be pleasant. Whether you like it or not, read and pray daily. It is for your life; there is no other way; else you will be a trifler all your days, and a pretty, superficial preacher. Do justice to your own soul; give it time and means to grow. Do not starve yourself any longer. Take up your cross and be a Christian altogether. Then will all the children of God rejoice (not grieve) over you, and in particular yours."

(quoted in D. A. Carson and John D. Woodbridge, Letters Along The Way (Wheaton, 1993), page 169)