Let Your Light Shine Through Us

I gave my heart to the Lord in the year 1980. Receiving the gift of salvation is the best thing that happened in my life. A friend once shared her salvation experience with me. Before she knew anything about Christianity and Jesus, she saw a cross in her dream one day and ultimately she came to know Jesus. This is the amazing power of God of work in people's lives.

More than ten years ago, Monte and I were talking to a pastor who was ministering in Luzon, Philippines.  We came to the topic on salvation and the pastor mentioned that many of the people there came to receive Christ as their Saviour after observing the lives of the Christians around them; usually it took years before they would make the decision to become Christians. As I dwell on the conversion experience of these people, I see how important our testimony is. Wherever we are on planet earth, you and I may be the only 'Jesus' that the unsaved may see. As carriers and couriers of God's presence, we spread the fragrance and light of Jesus in this darkened world. O Lord, empower us to be His channel of love and blessing.

Rising Confidence

In January this year, I started Speech and Drama training in two primary schools. An eight year old boy is one of these schools has made remarkable progress in these few short months. I vividly remember how he was so fearful; he was curled up and squatting on the ground when asked to participate in part of a skit. Recently, I asked him to come to the front of the classroom to participate in an item and I was overjoyed to see that he was no longer afraid. He had conquered his fears in the best of his abilities.

In another incident, a little seven year old girl who is always shy and soft spoken volunteered to be a lead character in a little skit that we were doing a few weeks ago. It was so different in the earlier months; I have seen tremendous growth and improvement. When I see these little ones grow in confidence, I am elated.

I believe Speech and Drama training does not merely comprise of good speech and acting but an important component is undoubting confidence. Children will grow and excel in an environment where they are free and encouraged to explore things around them. If we build them up with sincere encouragement and help them to believe in themselves, they will thrive.

The Gideon In Me

Chapter six of the book of Judges zoomed into a character who is all too familiar to you and I. When God called Gideon to save Israel out of Midian's hand, Gideon's reply was: "how can I save Isreal? 

My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family." 

A few years ago, the late Dr Chin Do Kham from APTS (Asia Pacific Theological Seminary) was scheduled to do a Praise and Worship seminar in a church in Baguio, Philippines. Due to some unforseen circumstances he was not able to fulfill that commitment. 

Dr Kham My name asked if I will be willing to stand in for him. I was honoured and at the same time surprised.

Rhe Gideon in me surfaced and my initial response was that 'this is too big for me". To cut the long story short, I accepted the invitation and I've never regretted it because I learnt so much and grew through it too.

A few months later, Monte was invited to minister in the cold mountainous region of Luzon in Baguio. The door opened for me to speak to some pastors on Praise and Worship. Again, I asked myself: "These are pastors, I'm not sure if I can do this?" At the end I took it on and I thank God for that amazing opportunity to see Him at work in me. Though I am weak, I am strong in Him.

The Lord wants us to know is that He will pave the way to do the impossible. When we step out in faith and obedience, He leads us to higher grounds and greater growth for His glory.

The Question Of The Universe

In my Speech and Drama training with little children, I have often been asked the question of the universe. 'WHY?' Sometimes I am caught off guard because I have not seriously given thought to their questions. The questions will always come for the simple reason that children are inquisitive. But what I am thankful for is that these little ones are comfortable with me to ask any questions with no inhibitions.

One day in either January or February this year, an eight-year-old boy in class asked me a question that startled me, he asked "Ms Jee Fong. Why are you angry?" My reply to him came after some reflections. The reason he thought I was angry was because my face was apparently rosy. You see, the classroom was not air-conditioned, the few fans in the classroom provided some ventilation and I was conducting this training from one to two o'clock in the afternoon. I must have looked rather flustered. I then told the boy that I was not angry, my face was merely rosy.

As I reflected on the matter, I am thankful that the little boy asked me that question because if you did not, he would have gone away with this wrong idea, which may affect him negatively. I reckon, there is so much to learn from children; they ask questions freely, whereas we adults are often held back by inhibitions or have unfounded fears that we might reveal our lack of knowledge of ignorance when we ask questions.

Clean Hands and Pure Hearts

The story was told of a pastor who was at his "farewell" as he was retiring.  He had served more than forty years in small town or rural churches in Nebraska and Minnesota. 

He said: "My brothers and sisters in the Lord, I have come now to the end of my pastoral ministry. I never served a large church, never received much recognition of crowds, and never wrote a book, but as I stand before you today my hands are clean before God."

The Lord wants purity and holiness. The pastor in this story is not boasting of himself, on the contrary he displayed contriteness.  He knew what is important in God's eyes. 

Ps 24: 3, 4 read "Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false." 

The pure in heart see the Lord.  The pure in heart hears the Lord.  The pure in heart knows the heart of God.  

God's hand rests on the pure in heart.  The pure in heart shall move in the power and the anointing of God.

Hey Mickey!

About a year ago, my brother, Edwin, bought a cute dog called Mickey. The whole family adore him utterly. He has become a part of the family. He brought so much joy to us. Monte and I love Mickey a lot. Every time we visit my parents at Bukit Panjang area, we will try to bring Mickey out for walks near my parent's flat.

Each time before reaching my parent's front door, I will whistle to attract Mickey's attention. Lo and behold, he will meet me at the door. Isn't it amazing!

Mickey never fails to meet my elder brother, Nicholas, from his work, he gets home between two to three in the morning. No matter what happens, Mickey will be welcoming him home faithfully. This feat can hardly be met by a human being. We might be able to do it occasionally but not long term. We love Mickey!

The Tenderness of Christ

This goes back to the early 90's when the evangelist, Roy Durman, was featured as a speaker for one of our crusades here in Singapore. The atmosphere was so charged up and the Lord's powerful anointing was on Bro Durman as he was used by the Lord to touch many who were there; some were in desperate need for healing and other needs. I remember praying to the Lord for this anointing that I saw in this servant of God. I was drawn by the tenderness and compassion of the Lord that is oozing out of him. It reminded me of many instances when Jesus ministered to the needy people out of such overwhelming love and compassion.

Another servant of the Lord who has impacted my life is none other than the late Dr Sam Sessar. His genuine love and compassion was so infectious. One time, he was our speaker in a church camp in Malaysia. What touched me most was when I saw how the campers were so comfortable with him. During our meal time, he will freely mingle with us. On the last day of camp, many approached him to have their photos taken with him, something I do not usually see. It was heartwarming. He loved people deeply with the love of Christ.

Bowing Down To Him Alone

Last Sunday, while we were on our way to church, Monte (my husband) and I witnessed something that was rather perplexing. The church was located a stone’s throw away from a temple, a couple who was walking in front of us stood in front of the temple briefly to bow to the deity in the temple before proceeding to go to church. There is a possibility that this couple may not have been born again and they could just be visiting the church. However if they are Christians, I have to say that they did not fully comprehend the meaning of salvation, as anyone who comes to a saving knowledge of Jesus needs to bow and worship Him alone. He wants our total allegiance and devotion. The need to follow up and disciple young believers is vital, we need to guide them in their journey of discovering, following and loving the Master.

A Pastor with a Heart of Love

A few months ago, I heard a pastor who said over the pulpit that he would be inviting another minister to minister at the church. Apparently this minister is trying to get back to ministry, he could be out of action for a period of time for reasons we are not aware of. I believe he must have gone through some form of counselling and restoration process. What the pastor has done is that he has modeled to the people under his care on the importance of acceptance and restoring a person to serve again. For all you know, this minister may still be shunned by others around him. It pains my heart to hear or see Christians who involved themselves in loose talk and gossip with a judgmental attitude. A brother or sister who has fallen away for one reason or another desperately needs love, concern, understanding and oftentimes a simple listening ear. If there is anything we can do for them; that very thing is to pray and intercede for them. May the Lord help us to love them back to His kingdom.

Thankful for the Opportunity

In the middle of June 2000, Monte (my husband) and I left for APTS (Asia Pacific Theological Seminary) in Baguio, Philippines. The Lord miraculously provided for us during those ten months there. One of the many things that I am thankful for was the opportunity to be a part of the worship team. I was not a full-time student and I was merely auditing some classes and yet the Dean of Students allowed me to be involved. What an experience, my team members were from different parts of the world; there were Filipinos, Japanese, Americans, Indonesians and Malaysians. Wow! It was such an amazing time ministering together. The Lord even opened the door for us to minister in a nearby church. The fond memories still lingers in my mind today.

31 Days of Praise

The book 31 Days of Praise is written by Ruth Myers. It was published in 1994 by Multnomah Books. Ruth Myers recounted that the story of this book went back to the 1960's when it began as 'Personal Praise Pages' a twenty-day mimeographed reminder of things for which to praise the Lord. 

The book began during her years as a widow. In her words on page 17 of the book, she recounted: "It was born during my years as widow. It flowed out of truths that had long motivated me to trust and worship the Lord in the varied seasons and experiences of my life-as a single girl in my native land...as a young wife sojourning in Taiwan, in the Philippines, and in Hong Kong...during my first husband's months of intense suffering with cancer before the Lord called him home...during my years as a young widow with two young children."

I like to quote a portion of her book found in pages 155 to 156. She entitled this as Acts of Praise. It reads "Your most basic act of worship...Lord, I'm Yours. Whatever the cost may be, may Your will be done in my life. I realize I'm not here on earth to do my own thing, or to seek my own fulfillment or my own glory. I'm not here to indulge my desires, to increase my possessions, to impress people, to be popular, to prove I'm somebody important, or to promote myself. I'm note here to be relevant or successful by human standards. I'm here to please You. I offer myself to You for you are worth. All that I am or hope to be, I owe to You. I'm Yours by creation, and every day I receive from Your life and breath and all things. And I'm Yours because You bought me, and the prize You paid was the precious blood of Christ. You alone. the Triune God, are worthy to be my Lord and Master. I yield to You, my gracious and glorious heavenly Father, to the Lord Jesus who loved me and gave Himself for me to the Holy Spirit and His gracious influence and empowering."

I have reread this book many times. Each time, I am inspired to praise the Lord. We are made to worship God. As we worship the Lord, He brings us to a deeper depth in Him. In the presence of our mighty God, all we see is His glory and grace.

Divine Exchange

A couple of years ago, I heard the song Divine Exchange for the first time. I was so captivated by it. God is so awesome, His unending mercy and amazing grace is so real. Though we are so unworthy and undeserving of Him, He chose to pour His life into us, He chose to bless us so that we can His channel of love and blessing. Let all that is within us bless His holy name!

Divine Exchange

My heart is captivated Lord by You alone
Captured by the awesomeness of You alone
Melted by the grace and mercy You have shown
I stand in wonder

I reach to You the One who makes the blind eyes see
Who breaks the chains of sickness with authority
Restoring what was broken
So it may fly again

I live to worship You
I breathe to worship You
All of my days Your face I will seek
For as I worship You
You lead me to that place
To that place of divine exchange



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Our Eighth Wedding Anniversary

Wow! Monte (my husband) and I have been married for eight years today. I cherish each day that we have together. In many ways, growing a marriage is very much like tending to plants. With ample sunlight, water and good soil, the plants will thrive. If we nurture our marriage with love, patience, forbearance, forgiveness, understanding, and openness, God will cause it to blossom. Marriage is also very much like running a marathon. We need to persevere when the race gets tougher; when we are taken over by exhaustion, we continue to soldier on with the finishing line in mind. God is the one who makes our marriages stronger, meaningful and lasting for His glory.

A Pleasing Sacrifice

The woman who lavished expensive perfume on Jesus found in Matthew 26 verses 6 to 13 was reprimanded by people around her, she was deemed to be foolish. They echoed: "Such a waste, the money could have been put to good use, maybe even for a more worthy causes." The reason why they could not comprehend why she did what she did is because they have not encountered the Lord Jesus; they had not experienced the love and mercy of Christ. They did not comprehend the height, the depth, the width; the extent of the love of God. They certainly had not tasted His goodness and graciousness.

Giving our lives to the Lord is not a 'big' price in view of all that the Lord has done for us. He has given us joy for our sorrow, release for our pain, peace for our anxiety, laughter for our tears, gladness for our heaviness, freedom for our bondages; the list goes on and on. We can never ever out give Him. The woman who lavished precious perfume on Jesus did the right thing; oftentimes people do not comprehend why Christians sacrificed high paying jobs, the promise of a huge bank account at retirement, the luxuries this life offers for the things of God. Only those whose lives have been touched and transformed by the Master can comprehend that what really consume us is the life and light of Jesus, the precious and abiding presence of our Lord. May our life be a pleasing sacrifice to the Lord, may He consume us through and through and our deepest desire on this side of heaven is "Lord, let your will be done in us". Someone once said that the best place we can be is to be in the will of God.

The Lord has blessed me with Monte

A couple of days ago, Monte was away for one night due to some work commitments. My mother was over to spend the night at my place. As we lazed around, the conversation geared towards Monte. I shared my heart with my mother telling her that Monte is an excellent husband. As I reflect on the highs and lows; the ups and downs, the victories and the challenges, my heart wells up with gratitude for the blessing that God has poured into my life.The Lord brought us together and grace us with His loving presence daily. Time really flies, on 20th March, we would have been married for eight years. As I have told my friends at different occasions, I certainly enjoyed my single hood but I have to say that I enjoy my marriage so much more. I look forward to many more good years with him. He always loves, believes, encourages, trusts, motivates, supports and inspires me to pursue and love the Lord without reservation.

The Robbery

I wrote the following script for seven and eight year old children. The children enjoy playing the different characters. The setting is familiar to them.

The Robbery

Melissa Tan, a seven year old girl is playing with her toys. Look at her! She is beaming from ear to ear. She is certainly having a great time playing with her toys. She has Barbie dolls, Monopoly, Scrabble, Uno, Boggle, Cluedo and many others. In fact, she had a cupboard full of toys and game sets. She could play all day and all night if she is allowed to do so.

While Melissa is enjoying herself, her daddy and mummy have gone to the market to get her favourite food and that is fish balls. She loves them. Yummy! Yummy!

Just at this time, guess who showed up? The thief! He walks gingerly to the front door and peeps into the house. He notices that Melissa is alone at home and there is no adult around. He manages to enter the house and upon seeing the thief, Melissa screams her lungs out. She yelled: “Help! Help!” The thief warned her to be quiet or he would harm her. He uses a rope to tie her up and stuffs a handkerchief into her mouth. She screams but she could not be heard as the handkerchief is in her mouth.

The thief roams throughout Melissa’s house. He takes all the toys and game sets. As he is taking off, the door suddenly flew opened. Lo and behold, Melissa’s daddy and mummy are at the front door. Mr Tan is fuming. He shouts at the thief as Mrs Tan calls the police station. Meanwhile, the thief begs Mr and Mrs Tan for a second chance. He cries out: “Please let me go, I am sorry, I will never steal again”. Mr and Mrs Tan do not relent. The policemen arrive within a short ten minutes. Again, the thief begs the policemen for another chance but they refuse to listen to him. They handcuff him and send him off to the police station.

Mr and Mrs Tan untie the ropes and remove the handkerchief from Melissa’s mouth. Melissa cries as her parents hugged her tightly. She says: “Daddy and mummy, I am so glad that you are home.”


Script written by Tan Jee Fong on 20 February 2007

The Great Explosion (a mime)

I wrote the following script for Primary Three students (9 year old children). The mime allows the children to vividly express the varied emotions involved in the story.

The Great Explosion (a mime)

“Boom!” a great explosion had taken place. The people were running everywhere. There was utter confusion. In their panic, people lost their loved ones as they were running away from the site of the explosion. People pushed and shoved one another to get ahead. The scene was extremely messy and maddening.

Fear was written on each face. They are fearful of what had happened. They are fearful of the unknown. What will happen to them now? What are they to do?

Many were injured, many were crying out in their pain and agony. Help! Help! Many needed medical attention badly.

In the midst of the confusion, people were looking anxiously for their loved ones who were separated from them. They looked high and low in desperation.

The people were filled with despair. They felt that doom day had come. There was no hope and there was nothing anyone could do to help them. They cried out and asked why such a terrible thing had happened to them.

After two long days, help finally came to them. They were jumping with great joy. Some were clapping and waving their hands. They have hope that a better tomorrow is coming to them.

The End

Explanations

Paragraph I
“Boom!” a great explosion had taken place. The people were running everywhere. There was utter confusion. In their panic, people lost their loved ones as they were running away from the site of the explosion. People pushed and shoved one another to get ahead. The scene was extremely messy and maddening.

From the start, the people will be walking around as they are living their normal lives. Suddenly, a loud explosion is heard. They will all lay down on the ground. Sixty seconds later, they will rise to their feet and begin to run around in confusion. Some are pushing and shoving others.

Paragraph 2
Fear was written on each face. They are fearful of what had happened. They are fearful of the unknown. What will happen to them now? What are they to do?

At this point, every person will be lying back down on the ground. One group will emerge and portray their fearful faces and use their body gestures to show the fear that is in them.

Paragraph 3
Many were injured, many were crying out in their pain and agony. Help! Help! Many needed medical attention badly.

As the previous group goes back down to the ground, a new group emerges. Many are hurt. Some are screaming in excruciating pain. Others are limping around with no one to help them.

Paragraph 4
In the midst of the confusion, people were looking anxiously for their loved ones who were separated from them. They looked high and low in desperation.

As the previous group goes back down to the ground, the next group comes on. They are walking around in great anxiety, searching for their loved ones. They walk aimlessly in desperation.

Paragraph 5
The people were filled with despair. They felt that doom day had come. There was no hope and there was nothing anyone could do to help them. They cried out and asked why such a terrible thing had happened to them.

The next group will portray the image of great despair. They are hopeless and helpless. They do not know what they can do now.

Paragraph 6
After two long days, help finally came to them. They were jumping with great joy. Some were clapping and waving their hands. They have hope that a better tomorrow is coming to them.

To signify the passing of two long days, everyone will be lying on the ground for a full minute. Help finally came. They all jumped up in elation. They are overjoyed. They are celebrating and dancing now.

Script written by Tan Jee Fong on 30 November 2006

Cotton from the Tree

Cotton flowing from the tree
Seem so llight and free
Carried by the wind
With such sweet serene
As I gaze at them in awe
They continue to soar

Composed by Tan Jee Fong (15 February 2007)

Oh, I Love Nature

The river flows
The flowers grow
Oh, how I love nature
The trees are tall
They will not fall
Oh, how I love nature
The mountains resound
The birds are never bound
Oh, how I love nature

Composed by Tan Jee Fong (9 February 2007)

I wrote this poem while I was in training with eight year old children during my Speech and Drama programme.

Flowers in the garden

Flowers, flowers in the garden
See them but they are not to be eaten
Purple, yellow, white and red
Oh. how they make my heart so glad

Composed by Tan Jee Fong (5 February 2007)

I wrote this poem while I was in training with seven year old children during my Speech and Drama programme.