"One Step at a time"

I could still remember Mom bringing us week after week to Geylang Chinese Methodist Church for our Sunday School lessons. These lessons laid the foundation of my spiritual life. However, I was led to receive Jesus into my life at a Vacation Bible School organised by Jesus Saves Mission when I was in secondary two. After that, I had several years of wonderful time with them until I was caught up with the "youth culture". As a result, I went away from the Lord and pursued what the "youth culture" was offering, thinking that was how youths should enjoy.

It was by the mercy of God that I was brought back into the fold. After a few years, I resented my way of living, blaming it partly as the cause for my missing the opportunity for tertiary education. I realised that this kind of life cannot persist, and it was about time for me to turn to the Lord, pleading for forgiveness for my waywardness. "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6) How appropriate this verse is to me!

I felt ashamed to meet friends in Jesus Saves Mission, so I went back to Geylang Methodist Church thinking that I could slip back unnoticed. The road of returning was gradual, and the Lord was gracious to provide me with opportunities to serve in the Church covering various ministries. This was also the time I knew Mui Khim who later became my wife. We knew each other for six years before we said "I do" in the presence of the Lord. During those years, our understanding of one another grew, and we encouraged each other in the Lord.

At a revival meeting in my Church then, we both expressed the desire to serve the Lord; hers was serving while working but mine was full-time service. After a while, the desire for full-time ministry cooled off. Then suddenly, one Lord's Day, my pastor and another leader of the Church approached me, one before the service and the other after, to ask me to consider giving my life to serve the Lord in the full-time ministry. That leader of the Church, who knows my family well, had even pledged to support me through Bible College. I discussed this with Mom and Mui Khim. Mui Khim was agreeable but Mom was a bit apprehensive. I understood how she felt then, because as the eldest son, I had the responsibility of supporting my younger brothers and sisters through their education. As a result, the desire was laid off again, and this time it was for more than six years.

When the time of our marriage drew near, we had to make a big decision. I was active in Geylang Methodist Church, but Mui Khim was attached to Life Bible-Presbyterian Church. We knew that this "separation" could not go on after marriage. I must admit it was not an easy decision to make. As a matter of fact, we prayed over it for nine months and asked God to show and lead us. When we finally felt that it was best for me to move to Life Bible-Presbyterian Church, we knew that it would be difficult to break the news. We thank God that Mom, though not in favour initially, later granted us her blessing. We were misunderstood by some of my church members, but it was bearable.

After my transfer to Life Bible-Presbyterian Church, I enjoyed sitting in Rev. Tow's Sunday School class, listening and learning, hoping that this would go on and on. In the meantime, I pursued my ambitious career with some success. Serving the Lord full-time was completely forgotten. This reprieve lasted only slightly more than a year, until Rev. & Mrs. Tow encouraged me to consider helping in the Sunday School of the Mandarin Service because sister Sang Chiew was leaving for the work in Kelapa Sawit. The pursuit of my career went on, evermore ambitious to climb the ladder of success. Although I enjoyed a certain degree of success materially, I had always felt something missing which material wealth was unable to fulfil. There were times when I felt miserable, and it was always Mui Khim who was there to comfort me and remind me of my desire to serve God. This struggle went on until one Tuesday night prayer meeting where Rev. Tow preached on the topic, "Are you wasting your life away?" I thank God that message broke my resistance and I submitted to the Lord and decided to enrol in Far Eastern Bible College to be trained. We approached Mom again and this time she told us, "If it is God's will, you cannot run away anymore since God has made it possible for the other members of the family to take over now." What a blessing!

I was rather apprehensive of my ability to cope when I enrolled in Far Eastern Bible College because I had not sat for any examination for many years. Thank God that by grace He has sustained me these four years, and I have benefited much from the training I received. The teaching of "Sola Scriptura" ­ the inerrant and infallible Word of God ­ is the emphasis of our training. The clear biblical instruction with reference to God's Word is that it cannot be compromised and must be upheld. Standing for the truth will not be popular, but we learn to obey rather than seek man's approval, and I appreciate this teaching. Next we learn how to communicate the truth accurately and effectively. We encountered nightmares in our hermeneutics and homiletics classes, scratching our heads to find the meaning of the texts and presenting it through our sermons. The discipline we were put through becomes our joy because we now understand the Word of Life in a deeper way, and we can share it with others. The lives of our lecturers have always been an inspiration to us. Amidst their busy pastoral schedules, they devote their time to impart to us their learning. This goes beyond the mere intellectual training, and it will always be remembered. I want to thank God for them and for their devotion.

Now that I am graduating, and Life Church is so kind to provide me with an opportunity to serve in the Mandarin Service, I thank God that all these years He has led me one step at a time.