RESPONDING RIGHT
by F. D. Peralta
From the worship, the word, to the willing surrender of lives at the altar, it was the Spirit’s inner moving that drew the people back to God.
A TRIBUTE TO THE MOTHERS
In my deep sleep
The bright stars were my guards.
The moon was my security.
Being with my mother,
life was like heaven.
These are lines from a popular Filipino lullaby Ugoy ng Duyan sang soulfully by Sis. Mary Rose Rojo to serenade the amazing mothers in Evangel Tabernacle. The huge stage seemed to have shrunken as they stood in front of the congregation beaming with a kind of smile that only mothers can make while receiving a hearty treat prepared by the church. Each one was recognized and appreciated, not forgetting Rev. Lily Lim, for mothering Evangelites like her very own.
Indeed, mothers are God’s little everyday miracles to the children of the world.
HOW TO RESPOND WHEN YOU COMMIT A WRONG DOING
Rev. Toh Nee Lim’s message awakened everyone to see the seriousness of sin, the torment of guilt and its dehumanizing effects, and the horror of condemnation that plagues a person like a prisoner standing in the courtroom to be sentenced. But, for life and living to take on a new meaning, he stressed that confession of sins is necessary for forgiveness to come and forgiveness is what brings man into a happy state.
“The highest and the best part of a happy life consist in this: That God forgives a man’s guilt and receives him graciously into His forever.”
With the Holy Spirit at work, many of those who came for the first time received Christ as their savior and experienced freedom from guilt and condemnation. For long-time Christians, it was a moment of deep introspection, and all were led to see their wrongs and turn from their stubborn ways.
Truly, it was one harvest pleasing to God, for more and more mothers, who are nurturers of families, were won for Christ. What great rejoicing there may have been in heaven!
With the courtroom experience long past, Evangel Tabernacle, having braved the ‘surging waters’ yet preserved in God’s hiding place, has emerged anew and is now taking service to God to a whole new level.
Not only was it a salvation call for the invited visitors that came, but it was also a reminder that brought all Evangelite believers, young and old, back to the realization of this one simple truth that a life well-lived is a life lived with God. Apart from this, one cannot be truly happy.
