i was about to sleep.. but something stirred in my heart.
I was reminded of my brothers and sisters in christ in china. i thought especially of the adult brothers and sisters i befriended last year in the mission trips. my spirit is stirred as i think of them, their persecution, their great faith in God, their immense love for God. they love God so much! they love God even though serving God means for them hurt, agony and pain! memory brought to my mind a particular brother.
when i first knew him, he was always full of humor, and always laughing. Little did i know that he had left his home to serve God in another town and missed his wife and child alot! Once we gathered in the living room after dinner to sing worship songs. It was a spontaneous act, so everyone just randomly picked the songs to sing. There was this particular song that one of us chose, and they picked this brother to sing this song for us. They said that whenever this brother sings this song, he would tear, and told us to get him to sing for us. I never knew how much this song echoed the heart of this brother till he obliged and sang for us. As he sang the song, tears welled up in his eyes. It was then that i realised why. That song spoke of his unspeakable agony and heartache of being separated from his own family. The truth that his one and only hope is in Christ, and that one day, the hope to be brought back home to heaven with God.
as he tried hard to maintain his composure to finish singing the song.. some of the sisters who knew this brother's story also teared. for a "foreigner" like me, i can't help but also teared. how could anyone not be moved by this brother's love for God? he left everything to follow Christ. He denied himself the need to be with his family, and followed God's calling for his life. I stand in amazement at this brother's life; his great faith and his great love for God. love for God that puts God first, a love for God that chooses to deny his own self.
then there was another elderly brother we got to know whose prayer request to us was - that God gives him strength to labour on for God till the end of his life, that he will serve God till the end.
even as i think about this brother and many other brothers and sisters in china, i was burdened and moved to pray.
and one of my cries to God was " Father, deliver them from the evil one. Give them the strength to serve you till the very end. " and i heard God say to me 2 Cor 12:9-10;
"But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
Serene, 25, Christian
a sinner saved by God's grace.
a beloved child of God.
a social worker (youth).
a daughter.
a sister to 2 younger siblings.
Your Love
"This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." -1 John 4:10
Loves n Adores
*God; the Father, Son Jesus and Holy Spirit
*Family; Tan
*Church; Grace Assembly of God
*My close friends
*My cell group; AHH (After His Heart)
*Youths
*Missions
*Children
*Good food, Chocolates and Ice-cream!
