In Lieu of Pastoral Chat
Since Rev Errol Stone and Hien Nguyen our missionary from Brisbane are here, I shall let them express their sentiments for the campers.
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THE BLESSINGS OF AMISSIONMINDED CHURCH
The blessings of the Bible Camp at Colmar Tropicale, Bukit Tinggi (Malaysia) 12th-16th June were many. The surroundings were a beautiful presentation of God’s creation and as the birds and
animals broke the silence of the morning, we were greeted by the sun rising over the mountains. We were treated to the Word of God in its perfection, being encouraged to apply the truth of God’s Word, challenged and encouraged in our daily lives towards missions (Matt. 24:14), by the Camp speaker Rev. Stephen Khoo from Bethel Bible-Presbyterian Church–Melbourne. The Camp theme being “Accelerated Missions Hastens to Bring in Christ’s Kingdom,” was a reminder to us to give willingly and ungrudgingly of both our finances and our time as God has given freely unto us. I am thankful for being given the privilege of sharing the devotions “Eternal Values in the End Times” (1 John 1:5-7), which complimented the theme.
It was a blessing to have our beloved Pastor of True Life Bible-Presbyterian Church and Principal of the Far Eastern Bible College, Rev. Dr. Timothy Tow, travel with us and fellowship with us. In “A Word From Pastor,” Rev. Dr. Timothy Tow reminded us of the soon coming of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, saying “The first thing I’m happy about is the subject. Christ is soon coming! What a warning to us sleepy ones.” Secondly “The speakers will speak vitally so we will not miss the point. When Jesus comes will we follow Him to Heaven or not, you must make sure yourself.”
Praise God also for the complete Camp Committee and their families and others who supported them, for their labours of love.
Camp guests including Dn. Harold and Georgina Watkins (Faith Presbyterian Church-Perth), Missionary Hien (Brisbane-Australia) and others expressed their blessing of being at the Bible Camp. The F.E.B.C. students from numerous countries with us, and the first from Sierre Leone, is evidence of the mission mindedness of the Church. All students and alumni were likewise blessed and ever grateful to the Lord for the ministry of True Life as the Mother Church of the Bible College. Let us be reminded of the hundreds of thousands of lives that have been influenced by God’s Word and God’s Work through the ministry of the F.E.B.C.
It was a blessing to see many families at the Camp and the blessing of parents seeing the salvation of their children, “But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 19:14). Praise God also for the manner in which we see many bringing up their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Prov. 22:6) for these are our future leaders, missionaries and Pastors. Praise God for the Sunday School ministry and for the leaders and all involved in the Children’s ministry at the Bible Camp.
It was so encouraging also to see the families showing love, care and compassion one to another as Christians are to have compassion (1 Pet. 3:8; 1 John 3:17; Jude 22). It was also a blessing and a challenge to view the film Pamela’s Prayer which touched many as they were reminded of the sanctity of marriage.
All glory to God for the blessing of the musicians who played the songs and hymns which challenged us throughout the Camp in a meaningful way. The Word of God says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Col. 3:16).
Both Robyn and myself were personally greatly blessed by the like-mindedness of the brethren and the fellowship with the brethren, some of whom we had not met before and many we have known since 1994. Giving thanks for safety should never be taken for granted (Psalm 121).
The Camp master’s message was fulfilled as the Bible Camp was a blessed time of spiritual feasting on the Word of God, fellowship with one another, refreshment and rejuvenation for our souls. New friends were made, old relationships were renewed as was the time of getting to know each other better. How we from Faith Presbyterian Church-Perth were blessed and greatly encouraged by the Bible Camp and also by the spiritual encouragement and prayer support from True Life Bible-Presbyterian Church.
In His Service, Rev. Errol D. Stone
(Faith Presbyterian Church-Perth)
edstone@space.net.au
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We do thank God for this year’s church camp at Colmar Tropicale, up in the hills of Bukit Tinggi for a blessed time of listening God’s Word and having fellowship with one another. Praise the Lord!
We are very glad and thankful to the Lord to have our dearly beloved Pastor Rev Timothy Tow in our midst with two speakers, Rev Stephen Khoo and Rev Errol Stone, who spoke on the themes “Accelerated Missions Hastens to Bring in Christ’s Kingdom,” and “Eternal Values in the End Times.”
Rev Stephen Khoo challenged us with very relevant and edifying messages: (1) See the World as God Sees it (Matt 9:35-36, 28:18-20; Acts 1:8): Our church must be a Vision Church. Like our Lord Jesus, seeing the multitudes, we should be moved with compassion, going about preaching, teaching and caring the needy in this world of darkness and sins; (2) Be Overwhelmed about Missions or Catching God’s Heartbeats (Eph 4:4-16): Our God is a missionary God, so our church must be a Mission church; (3) Be Driven to Our Knees as a People of Prayer (Matt 9:35-38): Our church must be a praying church, praying fervently, specifically according to God’s will with faith and trust in our mighty God; (4) Create a Supportive Mission Base in the Church (Rom 12:1-13): All members of our church must be involved in the Mission work. God grants each of us different talents and expects us to serve Him faithfully; (5) Give Financially to World-Wide Missions (Matt 6:19-34; 2 Cor 9): Our God is a generous God and He loves cheerful givers. We never out-give God and if we sow sparingly we shall reap also sparingly: one seed, one tree. God is able to make all grace abound toward us as we faithfully honour the Lord with our substance and increase (Prov 3:9); and (6) Choose to Live and Set Our Personal Priorities (2 Cor 5:17-21): We only have one life to invest. As a lad’s five barley loaves and two small fishes were multiplied in our Lord Jesus’ hands, our lives will be a blessing to others in Jesus’ hands.
At our morning devotion time, Rev Errol Stone also challenged us with the edifying messages: (1) Eternal Light (1 John 1:5-7): As our God is the Source of Light, our lives must reflect and shine forth His light in this world of sin and darkness. We are to be born again and walking in the Light; (2) Future Promises (2 Cor 5:1): Thank God that we have precious promises for our future: a resurrected body, a glorious body and future rewards; (3) End Time Service (James 1:22): We are to press on, reflecting upon our service, advancing our service and renewing our zeal for service; and (4) Eternal Blessings (Rev 21:1-8): We are looking forward to a blessed joy, a blessed hope and a blessed fellowship with our Lord in Heaven, where no tears, no sins, no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, nor pain shall be there.
– Hien Nguyen from Brisbane
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Meditations from Psalms
by Pastor Tow
PSALM 1
ONLY TWO WAYS
In this jet age, it is possible not only to fly from one country to another in a matter of hours, but also by many alternative routes. To fly from Singapore to New York, you can go West or East and have a choice of twenty airlines. There are so many routes. There are so many ways.
In the eyes of God, there are only two ways in man’s goings. The Psalmist has discovered this. It is such an important issue in life that he must tell us on the opening page of this Divine poetry book.
The two ways are: 1. The way of the godly that leads to heaven. 2. The way of the ungodly that leads to hell (v. 6). In the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7) Jesus confirms what the Psalmist has said. He says, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matt. 7:13, 14). Reader, on which way are you?
At the end of life’s journey, v. 5 tells of a judgment day when every soul must appear before God. The ungodly will be pronounced guilty and sent downwards. The godly will be happily acquitted and sent upwards. Which verdict will you hear for yourself?
In this earthly life also there is a great difference between the two. The man who follows God and keeps himself from bad company, who reads the Bible and meditates on its teachings, morning and evening, grows sturdy like a tree planted by some waterway. He draws his strength daily from God’s Word and leads a prosperous life, luxuriant in good works that glorify God and benefit men. Is that not seen in the life of the Psalmist himself, even King David?
As to the ungodly, the man who plots evil and holds on to his unrighteous gains, we see how he must come to ruin. He is like the husks of grain, blown away by the wind in the winnowing process. The sad ending of David’s enemies, for example, Ahithophel and Joab, is like this. There is not only a dead end in the judgment to come, but also a sad end in the way he goes from now.
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