THE past few months have
been a difficult time for our Church and for me personally. Anonymous
letters have been circulating about the bishop's remuneration
package, making various allegations against the Church and its
leaders. Newspaper articles followed.
As a result, the Commissioner of Charities enquired the Church
about this. We answered all their questions and supplied them
with all the necessary documents. We are glad that the Commissioner,
after examining all the records, has come up with a statement
that was reported in the press. We praise God that our Church
and its leaders have been cleared of any wrongdoing, and the matter
is closed.
Adversity helps to sharpen us, and we pause to learn the lessons
that the Lord has for us. We regret the inadvertent administrative
lapses, and thank the Lord that the matter has been thoroughly
investigated and cleared by the government authorities. Our Church
is not perfect and we are always open to improve the way we administer
and minister. As bishop, I will do my part in assisting in making
such improvements. Let us move on as the united Body of Christ
to continue the good works that the Lord has enabled us to do
in the Church and society.
Let us continue to pray for the Church and its leaders and members.
It is the Lord Himself who has established His Church and the
gates of Hades cannot prevail against it (Mt. 16:18). I want to
thank the many who have been praying for the Church and for me.
May the Lord continue to guide and protect His Church, so that
together, with faith, humility, unity and compassion, we can serve
the Lord for the glory of His name.
I write this to share my own personal experience during this difficult
period and to encourage those who may be going through a trial
of their own, whatever it might be.
When we suddenly find ourselves in a storm, our first question
may be "Why Lord?" or "Why this?" or "Where
are you Lord?" Often God answers our questions His own way,
and He shows us that He is still around.
I found, in this situation,
that God often sustains us through the spiritual disciplines.
In our difficult moments, the Word of God becomes a special means
of grace, when God speaks to us clearly. The Psalms became a special
place of encouragement and refuge for me. In times of trial I
have often found the Psalms helpful; this time they were particularly
real. God's voice is richly present in them.
Other parts of Scripture also came alive and communicated God's
presence and promises. In fact, I found so many parts of God's
Word speaking to me directly that I began to compile a list of
passages that were particularly and clearly God's word to me.
Many of them are very personal in nature.
Sometimes God seems to be silent in our trials. However, often
God gets through to us to assure, encourage, strengthen and challenge
us. Besides the Bible, God sustains us through prayer. It is strange
how we pray more when we face trouble. God often allows trials
to draw us closer to Him, to deepen our love for Him, and to strengthen
our commitment to Him. In trouble, we often pray more, and more
fervently, but as we learn to trust God, the quality of our prayers
changes.
IN DIRE circumstances, Paul wrote something quite mysterious -
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the
fellowship of sharing in his sufferings… (Phil. 3:10). Paul
knew that suffering deepened his personal knowledge of God. Somehow
suffering sweetens the fellowship we have with the Lord; I have
found this to be true.
It is in difficult times that the Church can also best reveal
its nature as a community of God. I have been personally touched
by the prayers of people, and by the encouragement from Methodists
and others in the Christian community. Many were praying; some
even fasted and prayed for the Lord's grace and mercy to be upon
His Church. There are many largely unknown and "ordinary"
Methodists who have shown me that they live a vibrant Christian
life, quietly serving the Lord - they shared encouraging words
from their own faithful devotional lives.
We may face different kinds of personal trials in our lives, but
it is the same God who loves us and sustains us with His grace.
He fulfils His larger purposes in our lives, making us holy and
Christ-like, humbling us and strengthening us. He allows us to
sail into storms, not because He enjoys seeing us suffer but because
He often tests our faith. Our ships may creak and be stretched
to the limits; our sails may tear in a few places, but we come
through the storm strengthened because God was with us, and the
stuff of our faith, though sorely tested, is largely safe and
intact.
In my study Bible I came across a phrase that I found helpful
- suffering helps us to look upward and forward. Recently I came
across a verse in the Bible that helped me to understand this
even more deeply. For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold
of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear, I will help you
(Is. 41:13). After reading the verse I was praying it into my
life when I thanked God for holding my right hand with His right
hand (Is. 41:10). The idea was that God was walking with me into
the future as He guided me.
Then as I realised that it was an awkward way to walk together,
a picture came to mind. If God were to hold my right hand with
His right hand, then I had to face Him. I would see past Him into
the past. I would then trust Him who can see my future and walk
with Him - backwards - if I were to keep looking at Him. As I
look more closely at Him, I would see reflected in His eyes the
future that He can see. I would be guided only if I did that.
Surely, the writer to the Hebrews knew this for he writes, let
us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix
our eyes on Jesus… (Heb.12:1-2). How do we run the race by
keeping our eyes on Jesus? It is possible only on the way of the
cross as the writer explains. Sometimes, we learn such lessons
best in storms.
EDITOR: For the full statement from the Commissioner of Charities,
please visit the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and
Sports website at: http://www.mcys.gov.sg
QUOTE:
It is the Lord Himself who has established
His Church and the gates of Hades cannot prevail against it (Mt.
16:18).