BY PR NANCY LIM

Spiritual milestones are significant markers in our spiritual life. They are reminders of God’s faithfulness to us.

We read of various occasions in the Old Testament when God’s people erected stones or altars to celebrate the victories that God had given to them over their enemies or life challenges. One such event is illustrated in 1 Samuel 7 when the Lord sent the Philistines into confusion with a mighty sound and hence enabled the Israelites to counter the attack of their enemies. To commemorate this landmark victory, the prophet Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, “Till now the LORD has helped us.” (1 Samuel 7:12).

BY PR NANCY LIM

            When I think about spiritual friendship in the Bible, David and Jonathan naturally come to mind. To me, there are 3 important qualities of true spiritual friendship.

            The first quality is Transparency. True spiritual friends are willing to be vulnerable and  to share their personal struggles or fears with each other. They build a deep bond that goes beyond sharing the same love for food, shopping or Korean dramas. They are willing to share about the challenges that they face in their relationships, the emotional wounds that they had suffered for years or the deepest fear in their hearts. Most importantly, they share a common bond in their love for God and are concerned for each other’s spiritual walk with God. 

BY DN NG XINYUAN

My husband, Jason, and I have been in San Francisco (SF) for the past 1.5 months for his work assignment. For those who have not visited this city, the name may conjure up images of thriving tech start-ups and affluence. While this is true in part, a lesser known fact is that the State of California, where SF is located, has one of the highest proportions of people experiencing homelessness in the US. In SF alone, a city about one-sixth the size of Singapore, a 2019 count saw over 8,000 homeless individuals.1

BY PR DR JEREMY CHEW

“IF MY PEOPLE WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME HUMBLE THEMSELVES, AND PRAY AND SEEK MY FACE AND TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS, THEN I WILL HEAR FROM HEAVEN AND WILL FORGIVE THEIR SIN AND HEAL THEIR LAND.”

(2 CHRONICLES 7:14)

One of the most amazing truths about our relationship with God is to be called “His people”. This term was first used of the people of Israel, but later extended to include others - even Egypt, Israel’s enemy - who would “return” (i.e. repent and turn) to God (Isaiah 19:22-25)! Similarly, we who have trusted in Christ are also “a people belonging to God” (1 Peter 2:9).

BY PR DR JEREMY CHEW

“IF YOU RETURN TO THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART…

HE WILL DELIVER YOU…”

1 SAMUEL 7:3

The mobile app is not an invention of this century. The year was approximately 1104 B.C. Israel was constantly attacked by the Philistines. “Bring the ark of the covenant,” the Israelites said, thinking that if they brought the ark with them to the battle, it would save them from their enemies (1 Sam 4:3). To their shock and grief, not only did Israel lose the battle – they also lost the ark to the Philistines.

BY PR DR JEREMY CHEW

“RETURN TO ME, AND I WILL RETURN TO YOU,” SAYS THE LORD OF HOSTS.   “BUT YOU SAY, ‘HOW SHALL WE RETURN?’”

MALACHI 3:7

“Return” is the Old Testament word for repentance. It is the watchword of all the prophets that bids the listeners to turn 180 degrees around and go back to God. It is a word that combines in itself the two requisites of repentance: to turn from evil and to turn to good.