Before I Trusted Christ

Before I came to know the Lord, I was self-sufficient and self-reliant. I never thought about religion much because it never occurred to me that I may need God. There were times of dire need when I did pray, but to no specific deity. I just prayed to “whoever may be listening” and hoped that my prayer would be heard in any case. I used to believe that there is only one God but different people viewed Him differently so that's why there are so many religions. Furthermore, I was pretty articulate then, and I practically shot down all my Christian friends then who tried to share the gospel with me. Come to think of it, I think I actually stumbled a few of them and planted doctrinal doubts in their heads.

But one thing I knew for sure was that whenever I followed my mum to the temples I knew that it wasn't what I was looking for. I didn’t think nor feel that there was power there.

How I Trusted Christ

I received Christ on 28th March 1997 during the one-week break after my BMT. It was TGIF then on Good Friday itself. Think my shaved head looked pretty much like an Easter egg as well. I was visiting the cell group of my friend Mishal from my TJC Science B Department Committee, and went through a programme I later discovered to be pretty standard. After the icebreakers and stuff, we went on to watch the video of the crucifixion of Christ, which is an old video, and was definitely not as realistic as Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. I don't know why at that point in time I was touched, and shed a tear. I then heard a voice, which I now recognize to be God's, saying, “Don't you think it’s about time?” Nothing dramatic about my decision - just a feeling of being moved, and I knew I “bo beh zao” (Hokkien for nowhere to run, literal translation would be "no horse run"). Somehow at that point I just realized that God was telling me that the it was time for me to believe in Him, and deep inside I knew it was this God who I was to follow. When Mishal asked me if God spoke to me, I just nodded, and she led me to pray the sinners' prayer.

After I Trusted Christ

I didn't notice any transformation at first. I only resolved to studiously read His Word before lights off every night. The funny thing was in my platoon there was only one other Christian, who had backslid, and after some weeks, I was nicknamed “the Christian”. Strange honour there though. But I knew God’s goodness right at the start. He saw me through the tough times in the army (also known as SOC and IPPT, for I was physically weak when I entered army) and helped me get the full 800 bucks from the army. (Guys should know what I'm saying) I also recognized that God had transformed me into a more patient and slightly wiser man, and provided me with inspiration for my poetry-writing passion when I needed it. And recently, after waiting about 5 years, I finally saw my stubborn mum's salvation coming to pass, although she still seems a nominal Christian at best. I had put aside baptism even though I reached 21 years old to wait for my mum’s blessings, which would only come if she became Christian. It was a long, long wait but it was definitely worth it to see a loved one saved.

I have been helping out my pastor (Ps Yeang Cherng) in one of his projects (Project CRuSH) as an ementor, and writing articles and poems for his network website. I now have a cell group of 8 boys under me, and am in the G12 group of Adrian Chan, a chemical engineering senior. I am currently a teacher, by God's calling, through a vision (I'll leave that for a separate article perhaps), and it is most wonderful to be moving in God’s Will and purpose, resting secured that I'm where I am supposed to be.