DAY 12: The Harvest is Plentiful but Labourers are Few
What I have found over the years is that, while there is a place for different churches and agencies to be engaged in mission works, no one church or agency can do the work by itself. Our Lord has reminded us that “the harvest is plentiful.” The task is so huge that Christians have to work together to reach out to people who have yet to receive the Good News of Jesus Christ.
DAY 11: Burning Yet Not Consumed
My burning bush experience (Exodus 3) some time ago was when I left the air-conditioned comfort of studying in the university library to walk the streets of Geylang with a ministry to foreign sex workers. Like Moses, I was curious to see not from afar but close.
DAY 10: What is in Your Hands? What is in Your Bank?
We begin this devotional by raising a simple question, ‘What would we think of an employer who sends his workers on an assignment but does not provide the means needed to accomplish the task?’ Would we say that he is a reasonable and therefore good person? When the Lord Jesus gave His Church the Great Commission, was He asking us to serve the Father’s will and glory with our own means?
DAY 9: Bear One Another’s Burden
Over the years I’ve come to learn that “fulfill the Law” is a rabbinic idiom that is found not only in Jewish sayings but even in the New Testament. Some suggest that Paul’s letter was an effort to communicate how complementary the Laws of the Torah and the Love of Christ were.
DAY 8: Burning and Not Burnt Out
My first mission trip was to Southern Thailand 40 years ago. Since then, by God’s grace and mercies, ministry has taken me to various destinations in Southeast Asia as well as further afield in China and India. Each trip was different, yet much similarities remain. If we opt for the “same old, same old”, then we will run the danger of becoming too familiar and begin to take things for granted.
DAY 7: Trusting in the Goodness of God
About 10 years ago, the Lord led me to reside in a town in the United States where guns and drugs ruled some of these streets. A group of young people from my church wanted to make a difference by organising a block party for residents in that neighbourhood again. I decided to join them in their efforts.
DAY 6: May Your Deeds be Shown to Your Servants and Their Children
As we celebrate SCGM’s 40th anniversary, we can thank God for His promised presence (Mt.28:20b) throughout these 40 years. Forty years is a good stretch, but still only half of an 80 year lifespan Moses envisaged in verse 10, and only a fraction of the 120 years Moses may have lived when he wrote this psalm.
DAY 5: Driving across the African Country Roads
There have been many opportunities this year to reflect on the span of my life’s journey with the Lord. Among many things, I would like to recount an incident in which His divine protection was evident. God protected my husband and his vehicle load of passengers when it turned turtle.
DAY 4: How Do We Respond to God’s Call
I, like Moses, can often become so caught up in trying to understand my role in God’s plan that I miss seeing the fire of God. Keeping before me the wonderful reality that God Himself is acting with determined purpose to draw all nations to Himself, for His glory and for the good of the nations, is a constant challenge. We face a world of need, and that need can be overwhelming.
DAY 3: He will Walk with us to the End
Jesus loved the apostles. Although He knew their weaknesses and pettiness, he chose them. After choosing them, He walked with them. He talked with them. He taught them. He showed them great miracles. He showed them true compassion. Jesus was such a friend to the apostles. He is such a friend to us.
