I want to share some thoughts from my recent devotion based on an ancient hymn – Be Still My Soul. This hymn was first written in German in the 18th century during the time of a movement called Pietism that impacted Germany, after the decline of the Reformation.

The Lord Is Risen! Hallelujah!

“Yet not I but through Christ in me”! How amazing and how wonderful this truth is because of the death and triumphant resurrection of Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God!

Let’s go forth today and every day, to live in the light and hope of Jesus’ resurrection!

We are in the season of Lent. I thank God that Lent is included in the Church calendar for Christians around the world to take a deep hard look at ourselves, in the light of God’s great love for mankind, and the sufferings that Christ underwent for our salvation.

I have been meditating on John chapter 13 for the past weeks and I would like to share with you some of my reflections especially regarding the full extent of God’s love in Christ, and the way he demonstrated this to his beloved disciples.

I cannot help but echo the first two stanzas of Isaac Watts’ (AD 1674-1748) hymn as we enter this new year:

O God our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.

Under the shadow of Thy throne,
Thy saints have dwelt secure,
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defense is sure.

We are grateful to God for this season of Advent! I have been meditating on the book of Titus where Paul instructs Titus to teach sound doctrine that will lead to right living. In chapter 2, after giving instructions of how different family members in a household should live and thereby adorn Christ and make the gospel beautiful, Paul commands Titus to teach the gospel with authority by summarizing the contents of the gospel in a succinct and powerful manner.

The idea of an indigenous mission was conceived at the Singapore General Hospital in 1960! My late father, Dr G D James, had sustained a massive heart attack and was recuperating in the hospital when the Lord gave him a vision.
He saw thousands, if not millions of souls, heading for a Christless eternity. He heeded that vision and upon his recovery he established the Malaysia Evangelistic Fellowship, which was later changed to Asia Evangelistic Fellowship (AEF).

As we approach Reformation Day, I can’t help but think of how it all began!
On 31 October 1517, Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses on the door of
Whittenburg Church in Germany that set the Reformation in Europe in motion,
resulting in the split of the One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church.

Let us run this race with intentionality and purpose…
Let us run, and not be weary, let us walk and not faint because He,
the everlasting God, who pours his strength into our weak and frail
bodies, he will cheer us on and will be with us till the very end!
(Isaiah 40:31)

This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it! August has been a month of events and new beginnings! Many Asian nations celebrated their Independence Day, including Singapore which celebrated 59
years of peace, stability and freedom of religion.

We struggle and strive to want to be a follower and a fisherman for Christ through our human efforts and through our man-made structures, programs and policies.

As we continue in our journey together as pilgrims in this path of discipleship, the Lord Jesus is our Shepherd and Guide. Let us turn our attention to Psalm 1 on how blessed it is to walk with God, meditate on His truths, do the right thing and delight in His Word.