SarahCity

Dear bro and sis in Christ, friends and relatives, Firstly, with a grateful heart I would like to thank God for His faithfulness. Secondly, I want to thank Him for His grace and mercy . He had softened my mother-in-law's stony heart that she was willing to believe and trust the Lord as her personal Savior.  My mother-in-law worshipped many idols and forbid my husband from baptizing into the name of Jesus.  She was unhappy with me because all my children accepted Christ as their personal savior.  Our relationship was sour but one day I was convicted by the Holy Spirit and repented of my attitude towards her.                                 One day, mum-in-law was diagnosed with a terminal illness and she would not live long.  We were concerned over her salvation....

A sister's testimony: "Praise The Lord for allowing me to share this testimony. My youngest son Judd was diagnosed with mild to moderate autism a year after we moved here to Singapore. As a mother, the reality of my son's condition was a painful truth that I had to accept. Among my many concerns, one of the biggest was whether Judd would be able to come to know The Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.... Judd went through therapy, special education and by the grace of our Lord, was introduced to home schooling. We found a centre where Judd goes to study Christian education and learn God's Word. Judd also grew up attending the meetings here, and through the love of the serving ones and the saints who ministered to him, he also started to thrive. One manifestation of Judd's condition as a child with special needs is his lack of communication skills. I had a challenging time understanding him and and also was not sure whether he understood me. Whenever I prayed to The ...

Matthew 5:13"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. David Wilkerson : Jesus made a definitive statement that we are to be the salt of the earth . Does your life create a thirst for Christ to those around you? Does it provoke a desire to be healed? Can people point to your life and see the full expression of who God is? When we are half-hearted towards God, or in compromise, those around us will not be able to taste and see that the Lord is good. Today God is reaching out His hand to every Christian who is living in sin and He wants to bring you into the victory of the cross. This message urges us that there is a window of opportunity open by God to be salt and light to a lost generation but we, you, must make the break. We are the plan of God for the world. We are the salt and healing for this generation. I like this illustratio...

Below is a sharing by a christian friend:- ASK: I got up early one morning & rushed right into the day. I had so much to accomplish that I didn't have time to pray. Problems just tumbled about me and heavier came each task;'Why doesn't God help me?" I wondered. He said,"But you didn't ask." I wanted to see joy & beauty but the day toiled on, gray & bleak; I wondered why God didn't show me. He said,"But you didn't seek." I tried to come into God's presence; I used all my keys at the lock. God gently & lovingly chided "My child, you didn't knock," I woke up this morning and paused before entering the day. I had so much to accomplish that I had to take time to pray.  My friend's experience reminded me of a quote by Martin Luther :  “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.”

1 John 4:20b. .. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. The above verse is a very good reminder.   We need to love not only in words but in deeds. Just visited a brother who was sick.  He could not come for the church meeting as his sickness has handicapped him.  But praise God, I saw the love of the brothers and sisters who take turn to care for him.  To fetch him to the meeting hall and also to read the bible with him.  By so doing, they have strengthened his faith. 1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 1 John 3:18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. I have read from a blog on how to care for one another: First Thing Is Prayer If you really love your neighbor, the first thing you will do is pray for them. As a human you are li...

Christians are commanded to love one another.   It is easy to love the loveable but hard to love those that are otherwise.   We cannot  love by our own effort.   Romans 5:5 because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.   When we experience or encounter God’s love and allow His love to permeate and saturate us, naturally this love will also flow out from us to others.   Love is one of the fruit of the Spirit.   It takes time and effort to grow this fruit.      Dear Lord, You are love.  Love is your essence.   We can love others because you first loved us.   Thank you that it is not by our self effort but by simply turning to you and abiding in you.   As we read your word, cleanse us with the washing of the water in your word and renew our mind.   Only your word can transform us from within.   We present our body as a living sacrifice...

Tonight in the cell meeting, a sister shared that she has some problems with her mother-in-law.  Her mother in law seemed to be doing many things to spite her and took pleasure to hurl verbal abuses against her before her neighbours.  One day she spoke out in anger but she was overcame with trembling and the Lord spoke to her.."pray for your enemies!".  It was hard to obey.  Out of anger her mother in law went to stay with the other children. God's word is operating in our sister's heart.  She repented before God and obeyed His word and started praying for her mother in law.  She decided to receive her mother in law back to her house and reconciled back with her.  As our sister go ahead by faith and follow God's admonition she found that she would be able to rise above the present unpleasant situation and find love and compassion for her mum-in-law whose presence has tormented her for a long period.  Mum-in-law seemed more kind ...

Proverbs 16: 2 All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord . Proverbs 21:2 A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart. Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.   Who can understand it?    10 “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”   Dear Lord, Our heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Thank you for actively searching and examining our heart and mind and renewing them by the washing of the water in your word.   Help us to understand your word in Titus 3:5 that it is not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to your mercy you  saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.  We pray as in James 4: 7 that we will actively choose to s ubmit to God, resist th...

I got this story from one email and find it is a good reminder. One day, a very wealthy man was walking on the road. Along the way, he saw a beggar on the sidewalk. The rich man looks kindly on the beggar and asked, “How did you become a beggar?” The beggar said, “Sir, I’ve been applying for a job for a year now but haven’t found any. You look like a rich man. Sir, if you’ll give me a job, I’ll stop begging.” The rich man smiled and said, “I want to help you. But I won’t give you a job. I’ll do something better. I want you to be my business partner. Let’s start a business together.” The beggar blinked hard. He didn’t understand what the older man was saying. “What do you mean, Sir?” “I own a rice plantation. You could sell my rice in the market. I’ll provide you the sacks of rice. I’ll pay the rent for the market stall. I’ll even give you food allowance everyday for the next 30 days. All you’ll have to do is sell my rice. And at the end of the month, as Busine...

The nearer you are to the problem, the bigger it becomes.  We need a renewed perspective.  Our problem cannot be bigger than God.  When Elijah's mind is focused on Jezebel's threats, they become so real and God's greatness fade away and he ran for his life and hopes that God takes away his life. Dear heavenly father, nothing is too difficult for you.  We are easily affected by our problems and see them bigger than you. Help us to abide in you and all difficulties will give way to praises and Thanks giving.  In jesus' name I pray.  Amen!

A christian friend shared with me her frustration when she reached home late one night.  Her mother had been throwing too many toilet papers into the toilet bowl and when she told her mother not to do that, she became angry and thought that she did not want her anymore. Most of us can identify with this friend's experience especially when we are rendering care to our elderly. Taking care of them can be very challenging.  They stumble, drop things, need assistance getting dressed and say curious things.  Sometimes we ask ourselves, how long was this going to continue?  Why are they behaving like small children, throwing tantrums?  They can ask you the same questions several times within the next twenty minutes?  Do I have the patience to answer their questions... Lately I was reading a book on how to care for the elderly from a Biblical perspective.    Caring for the elderly is to honor God and God has made it very clear who is to car...

This testimony is shared by a brother via email.  I decided to post it in my blog as an encouragement to others .  He heard this  encouraging testimony during a funeral wake.  The mother witnessed how God saved her son before he passed away. This is a short summary of her testimony: Her son shared with her that he "saw" a man asking him which way he wants to choose and he told her mum that he does not want to "play games" with God anymore. He confessed that he is a sinner and he wants to believe in Jesus Christ. He also wants his sister and father to believe the Lord Jesus Christ too. Our dear sister asked the Lord to grant her son "easy" breathing because he has difficulties in breathing. Miraculously, at his final hour, he seemed to have gotten some strength to breath better and he managed to sing "Amazing Grace" together with her mother.  Praise the Lord that HE is the GOD of Peace and Comfort. I was wondering that during his last mo...

Yesterday night, I received a sms from my friend, "Pray for me.  I am very angry".  We can identify with this situation.  A mother is angry when the child messes up the whole place as she is reclining after a hard day work.  We get angry when our colleagues misunderstood us or when things are not going smoothly. This morning, I read a book which I bought yesterday "What to say when people need help" by Selwyn Hughes.  My friend is angry.  According to this writer, wrong thoughts or angry thoughts in themselves are not sin.  "We can't stop the birds flying over our heads" said a theologian but wrong thoughts only become sin when the mind fondles them, nurtures them and continues to hold on to them. The best way to handle wrong thoughts or angry thoughts is to lift them up to God in praise.  It sound unscriptural but as I pressed on, I began to understand.  If we push the wrong thoughts into our subconscious mind and try to bury them th...

Psalm 84:6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. Psalm 107:35 He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs. We can take great comfort in God's word.  Though we pass through the Valley of Baca, we are not alone.  Though in our walk, at times, the journey seemed difficult and tough, like the valley of Baca, we can take courage that God is with us.  As we focus on Him and not on the siutations, He turned the desert into pools of water and also the parched grounds in our lives into flowing springs.  As we received comfort from Him personally, with the same comfort we can comfort others.   In the past, I like to wiggle out of a situation and not willing to turn to God to learn the lesson He has planned for me.  Thus I lost many blessings in term of knowing Him deeper.  However, as I learn to pray for His grace and hel...

Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:3 Praise the Lord!  Today we visited an old lady whose heart has been very hardened and not willing to accept Jesus as her Savior.  It has been many years.  But lately for the past few months, we started to see changes in her.  In the past she could always scold her maid and would complain non-stop.  However, as the brothers and sisters visited her, the grace of God also comes upon her.  She welcomed each visit. During the visit, the brothers and sisters will sing simple hokkien song "真正好" and read a simple bible verse with her.    Today, it surprised every one that she said "thank the lord" in hokkien.  No one is able to say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.  Today, the verse we read with her is "Roman 10:9 你 若 口 里 认 耶 稣 为 主 ， 心 里 信 神 叫...

Joshua 4:21 He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea [ b ] when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. 24 He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God. ” I have not been blogging for awhile.  However, once again I was reminded to put down my experiences in writing.  Each time as I set aside my fear, disappointment, discouragement and trust in His promises, I am in fact collecting a small memorial stone to remember this experience.  When I am down or forgot about His faithfulness, I can once again take out these stones which I have collected in my blog to remember God's ...

I find the following story interesting.... A man dies and goes to heaven. St. Peter meets him at the Pearly Gates and says, "Here’s how it works. You need 1000 points to make it into heaven. You tell me all the good things you’ve done and I give you points for each item, depending on how good it was. When you reach 1000 points you get in." "Okay," the man says, "I was married to the same wonderful woman for 50 years and never cheated on her, even in my heart." "That’s wonderful," says St. Peter, "That’s worth 3 points!" "Three Points, the man yells?" he says. "Well, I attended church all my life and supported it’s ministry with my tithe and service." "Terrific!" says Peter. "That’s certainly worth a point." "One point?" "I started a soup kitchen in my city and worked in a shelter for homeless veterans." "Fantastic, that’s good for 2 more points," he says. "Two po...

Sometimes I wonder why do some christians zealously chase after God even after many years being a christian while some fall into complacency after a short period of time. Below is a story I found in the website which I found amusing and quite clearly explained the reason why. The story: One day a young man stood in front of an old Christian who was sitting on the porch with his dog stretched out before him taking in a beautiful sunset. The young man posed this question: "Why is it, brother, that most Christians zealously chase after God during the first year or two after their conversion, but then fall into a complacent ritual of church twice a week and end up not looking any different than their neighbors who aren’t even Christians? I have heard you are not like that. I’ve been told that you have fervently sought after God throughout your years as a Christian. People see something in you that they don’t see in most people who became Christians. What makes you different?" T...

This brother shared a testimony on how he came to know Jesus. His testimony is divided into 3 parts: before and how he became a Christian and what happen to his life after he became a Christian. Part 1 – Before He became a Christian He shared a bible verse to describe his condition : Eph 5:8a For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Before he became a Christian, as what the Bible say, he was in darkness. What does Dark-ness mean? He used the word "D-A-R-K" to describe. D stands for "darkness". Separation from God who is the true light. It is like a blind man groping in the dark, having no idea who God is and how He is like. When his mother asked him to go to a temple, he just went. He prayed to the statue but there is no personal relationship with him. A stands for "Aimless". Life is without direction. He just followed the life cycle like everyone. He hoped after his study, to go to work, marry, have children and then one da...

Which way will you choose: the way that leads to life or the way that leads to death? The Bible tells us that the way that leads to life is a narrow way, a way that very few people will choose, because it is not an easy way. It is the way of the cross. Few go there. Those who travel there are often seen in solitude and singularity. Matthew 7:13 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. Matthew 7:14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. We were entreated to make every effort to enter through the narrow door... Luke 13:24 "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. The way to death, on the other hand, is broad. Many people will choose to take this path. It is the great highway in which people go. They fall into it easily and without effort, and go without tho...