Title: Serving for the glory of God
Main Sponsor: Bob Jones Memorial Bible College
Venue: Gospel Light Baptist Church, Philippines
28 May to 30 May 2013

Taking off 27 May
It only seemed like yesterday when we first heard about this Bible conference to be held in the Philippines.  After signing up for the trip, we were hoping that more would sign up but nonetheless we were thankful that Brother Chew’s boss eventually approved his leave application at the eleventh hour; and that Samuel could join us for the full trip.

With much anticipation for the refreshing and rejuvenation of God’s words, apprehension of the extreme hot weather and possible anti-Chinese sentiments owing to the recent island spat between China and Philippines) and work burden for Chew, we were grateful to be on our way to the land of thousand islands. We were also thankful for the sweet fellowship of faithful brethrens and sister who sent us off at the airport, and for the assurance that the church was praying for us.

Touching down
We touched down safely in the Philippines and were welcomed by Brother Cedric’s family.  They were all waiting to pick us up to send us to the hotel.  We marveled at the number of high-rise buildings which were mostly condominiums that had sprung up around the airport area.  We were spared the notorious traffic jam as it was well after 10pm and with Brother Cedric driving like a local who knew the short-cut ways, we headed for our dinner/supper at a much-anticipated Jolly Bee outlet within one hour. With happy tummies, we headed into dreamlands to prepare for the great feast of God’s blessing the next few days.

by Samuel Chng

1.    Be a non-conformist
Don’t let the world squeeze you into its mould, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” – Romans 12:1

Don’t let Hollywood or your friends be your guide to what is proper and improper in dating. Your standard should be God’s Word, the Bible.

Your unsaved friends will probably laugh at you for this, but we shouldn’t be surprise, as “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” – 1 Corinthians 2:14.

2.    Honour your parents
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise)” – Ephesians 6:1-2.

As children, we need to obey our parents in the Lord and submit to the rules and regulations they set down concerning dating.

by Lee Kai Ling 

My Sunday school class recently concluded our study on the Book of Job, a book that is set in beautiful, perfect prose and draws attention to numerous themes pertaining to the very nature of man - his righteousness, his suffering, his pride - and the sovereignty of God. Though dissecting nearly every chapter into its smaller bits to fully understand God’s word in a short frame of time was ‘mentally stressful’, I have been deeply blessed by the lessons. I trust that the youths in my class share similar sentiments and beholding these wondrous truths and teachings will certainly strengthen our spiritual walk with the Lord.

The fiery interaction between Job and his three friends was heavily discussed as it reflects a larger picture of how society works today – how we view the actions of others and act upon them. As Job’s friends brandish their best weapons to smite him and persist in breaking down this most righteous man while he painstakingly tries to uphold his integrity to those who are ever ready to correct him in order to prove themselves right, the issues of Humility and Judgment set in.

How often do we detect the errors other people make and spring up at the chance of catching them red-handed?
How often do we stand on the pedestal and cast disapproving eyes on the sins of others in order to prove our worth?
How often do we single out little details and minute errors and put a brother or a sister down whilst establishing ourselves to be better off?
How often have we sat down with a brother or sister-in-Christ and speak to the person in the spirit of meekness and love, rejecting the sin, and not the sinner?
Do we share each other’s burdens?

by Bethany Khng

“And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills” (Deuteronomy 33:15).

Philippines. The verse in Deuteronomy 33:15 describes a land that belonged to Joseph one of the sons of Israel, a land that was bountifully blessed by the Lord God.  However, the land of Palawan, one of the 7,000 islands of the Philippines, was nothing like Joseph’s mountains.  There were ‘precious things’ indeed, the indigenous local natives, who live in small crude huts or shelters tucked out of sight in the ‘lasting hills’ of Palawan.  Poverty, however, is etched on the faces of the people, although the land is rich natural resources.

This is the journal entry of a ‘reluctant missionary’ who tagged along, ‘reluctant to let go’ of her half-completed school work to go on a missions trip organized by the Church from 11 – 17 December 2012.  With an attitude such as this, one wonders if the Lord’s blessings will flow or cease because one person is not getting her priorities right! 

But God is good.  He did bless us – He did bless me, despite my unwillingness to ‘let go’ and let Him have His ways with me.   He watched over us, guided and protected us; He kept the mini bus we were travelling in from breaking down (it was known to be unreliable!) so that we were none the worse from the experiences, except throwing up a couple of times (in handy plastic bags or in the sea!)  Still, we survived the ordeal with precious lessons learnt.

by Samuel Chng

Regardless of how old you are, I am sure your mother nags.

If you would look at the order of the alphabets, 'n' comes after the 'm', and so it is probably very natural for a Mum to Nag!

Our mothers nag at us to eat our vegetables at age 2, wash our hands before eating at 5, to study and watch less tv at 12, about staying out late at night at 16 and what's more, to find a partner quickly at 25 or even at 35! It doesn't stop there...at 40, mums nag about the lack of grand children...and the list goes on.