30 Orange Grove Road, down Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore 258352
Mailing Address: 1 Goldhill Plaza, #03-35, Singapore 308899
Email: admin@truelifebpc.org.sg; Website: http://www.truelifebpc.org.sg
(Ring Pastor Jeffrey Khoo 62561189 Anytime)
“The LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep SILENCE before him.” | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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“Don’t thank me, thank Jesus.”
I was brought up in a Catholic/Buddhist family in Perth, Western Australia. My father was Catholic, and my mother was a Buddhist (who also attended church with him, strangely).
When I was young my parents enrolled me in a private catholic primary school whereupon I was baptized as a Roman Catholic. After graduating primary school, I was then subsequently enrolled in a private catholic high school.
I attended church most Sundays and did things most kids of my age would do back then. I was by and large a good boy. I studied hard and got awards in Chemistry, Physics, Economics and Religious Education. Although I excelled in my religious studies, I was never a particularly religious person.
My first exposure to Christianity was, ironically for some, at university. There, I was able to meet people from different schools, and different countries. There, I met two guys—V and A (names protected). Both were devout Christians.
One day, I was invited to friend A’s church camp. To be honest, he had been inviting me to his church several times gently before that, but I always made an excuse. It was only the lure of a free church camp that made me commit.
The church camp was fun, the people were normal and friendly and I got along with everyone. I felt very comfortable. Having made new friends, I decided to continue staying in touch by henceforth beginning to attend their church—the Perth Chinese Christian Church in Doubleview, Western Australia.
I attended that church fairly regularly for several years. However, being young and distracted by worldliness, I backslided. With this experience, and in hindsight, I can say that I now see the importance and value of young people being members of their youth group.
Fast Forward, I was midway through my studies and finding it difficult to find work experience, either a vacation work, or internships. This was about the time of the GFC. I had applied to many places and was either ignored or unsuccessful. My friend V was working for a Government agency and advised me of an opening. I saw the role but didn’t think I had the experience for it. He encouraged me to still apply and was the first person to ever say to me “Don’t worry, I’ll pray for you.” I applied, and surprisingly got the job. I thanked my friend V profusely who calmly replied “Don’t thank me, thank Jesus.”
I worked for that agency for about 2.5 years then decided it was time to shift jobs towards one in the legal field given I had just obtained my law degree. I applied to many law firms, but again, I was either ignored or rejected. Since my friend V helped me obtain my job at the time, and given he was currently working as a lawyer at another boutique law firm, I decided to reach out to him to get some tips. We met for lunch to have a catchup and he advised me of a paralegal opening at the Commonwealth prosecutors’ office. It wasn’t the dream job I was looking for. But it was a foot in the door. I wasn’t really confident I’d get the job as I know jobs at the Prosecutors office are, anecdotally, in high demand. None the less, I applied and got the job. I called him on the mobile phone to tell him the good news, and again he told me “Don’t thank me, thank Jesus. I’m just a pawn.” (or words to that effect).
I stayed in that job for about 2 years where I completed my articled clerkship to become a fully admitted lawyer. The agency paid for some of my expenses and books and I had entitlements for study leave. I started looking for a job as a lawyer. Again I applied, but didn’t have much success as
by then the Western Australian economy, underpinned by the Mining export sector, was in decline. Then one day, a colleague of mine who I knew to be a Christian, referred me to an advertisement for an entry-level lawyer role advertised at a related government agency. I had earlier applied for this same agency’s graduate program but was unsuccessful. So I was thinking to myself “If I wasn’t successful getting a graduate role, what makes me think I will get the more advanced lawyer role?” I told this to my colleague who replied with words to the effect “Don’t worry man, just apply. I’ll pray for you.” I applied and got the job. I thanked him, treated him to lunch and he replied to the effect: “Thank the Lord”.
Fast forward another 3 years and I met my current fiancée in Perth. She was a Singaporean and a Christian. From the moment we met we knew we were the ones for each other. We kept a long distance relationship with each other for a few months then decided that I would try to find a job in Singapore. From about June 2016, I began applying for jobs in Singapore. I applied for many roles and contacted numerous recruiters but my weakness was a lack of relevant private sector experience in finance. My fiancée and her mother told me (quite persistently) to “Pray every day” or “Pray and God will find you a good job.” Then by November 2016, a miracle happened, I was contacted by a firm and through a string of coincidences and commonalities I shared with the CEO and other management staff—I got the job. Given how the ducks lined up in this role I was convinced it was an act of God. My CEO even said at one point that I was a God send, given no other suitable applicants with my legal and regulatory experience applied. No prizes for guessing what my fiancée and her mother told me to do once I got the job.
It was at this point that I realised God had chosen me to be in Singapore and live with my fianceé as a Christian. I look back at how after I backslided Jesus continued to knock on my door by showing me his influence, but I didn’t answer until now. Now, with a Christian fiancée and friends and relatives, it has become a part of my life. I now attend church devoutly every Sunday and encourage others to do so. I regularly spend time reading RPG at night to learn more about Jesus to understand His will better. Byron U.
“Are you sure you will go to heaven?”
I was born in a Roman Catholic family. From young I followed the Roman Catholic teachings and when I was in Primary 4 I was baptized. I was baptized because I need to partake the Eucharist. A few months after that, my mother passed away, followed by my father not long after. I was only 11 years old that time. Since then I stayed with my uncle in a village called Soe (in East Nusa Tenggara). Because my uncle is a Protestant, I followed them to the Protestant Church.
After a few years in the Protestant Church, they asked me to go through the catechism classes. I went through all the classes, but I did not really understand about Baptism and Holy Communion. Having attended the catechism classes, I was not baptized again because they said that the Roman Catholic baptism is enough.
I was diligent in prayer and also in reading of the Scriptures, but I did not understand to whom I prayed to, and who is Jesus Christ. I professed to be a Christian, but I did not know how to live as a Christian. Then, before I was baptized, I ran to Malaysia, and in 2008 I started working there. My life was in a mess. I did not care what is right and what is wrong; if I am happy, I will do it. I never thought that I was sinning against God, and I had gone so far from Him. For years my life was in a mess, even without acknowledging it.
After that, I went back to Indonesia. Those who asked me about my religion, I just said that I am a Christian. But I knew from all aspects, I was so far from being a Christian. In fact, every Sunday morning I was just sleeping on my bed. I did not fear to commit sin, and I know that my sin is great.
Finally, in the year 2016 I planned to go and work in Singapore. On October 2016 I started working in Singapore, for a Christian employer. In that month, for the first time, my employer brought me to True Life B-P Church. For me, going to Church was merely my duty as a worker in my employer’s family. I was thinking to follow them to Church because they are my masters. At the first meeting in the Indonesian Bible Study, I felt normal.
One day, after a few months, the teacher in the Indonesian Bible Study asked me personally this question, “Are you sure that after this life you will go to heaven?” I was confused on what to answer him. I only can say, “Maybe”. I got the answer that day—every true believer should be able say that they will surely go to heaven. Since then I asked myself, “Whom do I believe? Who is the Lord that I should believe?”
Since then I continued attending the Bible Study diligently and I learned much concerning the doctrine of salvation and who Jesus is. Finally in the Gospel of John 11:25-26, the Lord says, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” The Lord also says in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
There are many lessons that I have learned from the Indonesian Bible Study, which caused me to realize what is true salvation. I know there are many sins that I have done in my life, but I also believe that the Lord Jesus has forgiven me of all my sins, because every sinner who believes in Jesus have all his sins forgiven. I thank God that I found work here so that I might find the true salvation, which is from the Lord Jesus.
I thank God for my teacher who has taught me. I also thank God for my employers (Andrew and Kate) who have always brought me to Church and have always given me time to learn the Word of God. Oktaviana M.
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