CULTURE

In Singapore, we must choose life

by Serene Ho | 29 August 2017, 4:57 PM

“Father, can You take this burden away from me?”

With my hands clasped tightly and my head bowed down, tears fell in fat drops onto my hand while my mind struggled to understand what was happening to my body. I was trembling at the Burning Hearts prayer room as Jennifer Heng asked us to stand in repentance for our lawmakers and leaders for passing the Abortion Bill in 1969.

“Abortion stands for death. Every successful abortion is only successful because there is death.”

Jennifer’s words rang in my head.

“Abortion stands for death. Every successful abortion is only successful because there is death. It is absolute death versus absolute life.”

When I learnt that Burning Hearts has committed every first Wednesday of the month to praying for the culture oflife – as opposed to death even before birth – to be established in Singapore, I was ecstatic.

This monthly meeting feels like an answer to the cry of my heart.

“When is abortion justifiable? If our premise is circumstantial, there is no end to the debate. As Christians, our premise is God’s truth. That will not change,” Jennifer continued.

The truth is, an innocent life is lost with each abortion.

Why is building a culture of life the burden of some Christians but not of the Church? Is God not interested in life and death issues? Didn’t He ask the Israelites to choose life, that both they and their descendants may live, to love, obey and cling to Him, for He is their life and the length of their days? (Deuteronomy 30:19-20)

In her work with women who had abortion, Jennifer shared, not one said that their life had become better after abortion. They did not feel empowered, as pro-choice literature would want us to believe. On the contrary, they felt that they had no choice but to abort.

Ours is a Life-giving God. We need to repent of our apathy towards women who are suffering in silence. We need to repent that as a Church, we shirk that responsibility of loving the most vulnerable members of our society: The unborn.

At 5 weeks, your circulatory system is beginning to form and your tiny heart will start to beat.

At 6 weeks, your nose, mouth and ears are starting to take shape, and the intestines and brain are beginning to develop.

At 7 weeks, you have tiny hands and feet.

By 11 weeks, you are almost fully formed. You are kicking, stretching, and even hiccupping as your diaphragm develops.

But somehow, in Singapore, you can still be legally killed up to the point you are 24 weeks in the womb, because we are one of the countries in the world with the most liberal abortion laws.

Since 1970, when the Abortion Bill was passed, how many hundreds – thousands – of babies were sacrificed because of fear, helplessness and benefits? At its peak, in 1986, a total of 23,035 babies – 37.51% of pregnancies in the country – were aborted. More than a third of babies in the womb didn’t get a chance to fight to see the light of life that year.

Is my education, career, reputation or convenience more important than this child in my womb, such that I can sacrifice him to remain status quo?

There is a deafening silence with regard to abortion, not only in Church but also among the ministers. We don’t know how to deal with it.

What happens when a pregnant teenager comes to the Church, seeking help? Will we rain down judgment and let her go away in shame? Or will we embrace her, support her in her difficult circumstances before we say, “Go and sin no more”? (John 8:11)

Someone once asked me, “What is the greatest gift of God in your life?”

For me, it’s this second chance I’m getting at life. I nearly died – that’s another story for another day – but now live in and for Christ.

Maybe that explains why my heart aches at the thought that people might intentionally take their own lives, or the lives of others.

There is a deafening silence in the Church with regard to abortion. We don’t know how to deal with it.

At the prayer room, some of us went up to be prayed over by the youths who were at the prayer room. As a young lady prayed for me, my heart wanted to cry out: “I should be praying that you take over from here.”

My prayer is that more youths will take up the baton in the fight for life. Those of us who say we embrace the commission to spread the gift of eternal life should be passionate about contending for life itself.

http://thir.st/blog/in-singapore-we-must-choose-life

A Beautiful Mind in Christ

About 1.2 per cent of the local adult population suffer from bipolar disorder in their lifetime, according to a 2010 Singapore Mental Health Study (SMHS).  From 2012 to 2014, the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) saw an annual average of 1,200 patients with the condition.

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks.

There are four basic types of bipolar disorder; all of them involve clear changes in mood, energy, and activity levels. These moods range from periods of extremely “up,” elated, and energized behavior (known as manic episodes) to very sad, “down,” or hopeless periods (known as depressive episodes).

Coming out now as one who was diagnosed with this condition eighteen years ago, is not easy. Two weeks ago, I lamented with a few friends that I would rather not have this past. A friend reminded me that God can redeem everything. Indeed, as Ray C.Stedman said, "On the cross, Jesus paid the debt we could not pay, and He redeemed us from slavery to sin, death, and Satan." If God can use my past to help another person to write a better present and future, every tear that I had shed, every relationship that I had lost, is worth it. 

I would like to reiterate the following points:

1. Though I still take the minimal dosage of one tablet every night, I believe that I have been healed by God. I have no relapses since I received Christ in the year 2006. God can use medication/doctors to help us and in His time, God will also reveal His ultimate plan on this. While medication can stabilize a medical condition, only God can give us the meaning of life. I remembered declaring thrice in front of would-be pharmacists, that it is my faith that helped me in my recovery. There is no denying of this fact.       

2. I had the most patient psychiatrist who believed in me. Because he would not be angry with my tantrums and self-righteousness during the onset of my condition, I had no choice but to cooperate with him. His therapy was his humor and his wisdom in differentiating what my personality traits are and what is abnormal. I remembered telling him enthusiastically, "Doctor, doctor, I have received Christ!" and to my surprise, he said calmly, "I'm also a Christian." Imagine my shock at how God had put him strategically in my life, unknowingly to me. 

3. The diagnosis of mental weakness is merely for treatment. It was never and it is not my identity, just like having a disability is not who I am as a person. Now I know, that I am a precious child of God, wanted and useful to Him. Now I have a moral compass, a living Manual, a final destination, a Cheerleader in me, cheering me all the way on this journey called Life. I am not alone. I will not be lonely anymore, come what may.

4. Brilliant and famous people were thought to have Bipolar disorder. World renowned Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh ultimately committed suicide with a self-inflicted gunshot wound at age 37. Until recently, I did not know that people chase after the highs in the manic episode, by indulging in drugs and alcohol and not taking the required medication. God created us to have talents and spiritual gifts. I do not need the fake highs because I have the genuine love and joy of God to be constantly victorious in Him. I do not need to be sick in order to excel.

5. Mental weakness is a manifestation of our deepest longings and fears. In the deepest recesses of our hearts lie these issues:

-The yearnings to love and be loved, to know and be known

-Who am I? What am I here for? What can I do? (our identity)

-Dysfunctional ways in relating to self and others

-Eustress and distress, ways of overcoming the challenges in life

-Lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh and pride of life

-etc

Like suicide, mental weakness is caused by a variety of factors. Don't shortchange ourselves and others by magnifying our agenda. While the society can and should do its part in accepting people who are facing difficulties in life, each one of us is responsible for our mental health. There is restoration, if only we seek it earnestly.

6. Know that this too is a spiritual warfare. The mind is the battlefield. Who wins? God or Satan? Jesus has won two thousand years ago and victory is already His. The word of God is my antidote. Any moment that I do not have Christ in my mind, it would be I, me and myself. As long as I cling to Him, I have assurance that I have His victory. Self-care is extremely important, for EVERYONE, not just for some people, perceived to be weak. I thank God that I can sleep very well now. I am now serene in Him.

I love this, "We can choose to reject our bitter experiences and flaws, to wish and will them away, to regret, to pine, and to live in the land of “If only…” We can disguise with false-self personas, cover up with defences, distract with busyness.

Or we can choose to see these experiences for what they are: our golden seams.

The times when we get scratched, chipped, cracked and broken can feel totally shitty, but there can also be a strange beauty in the way we process them and the lessons we take from them afterwards… if we want.

Our experiences don’t define us, but they do influence us. We can decide to hide, or we can decide to embrace these experiences that have shaped us in some small way, the experiences to which we’ve applied our own special coating of gold-laced resin. We can decide to cover up, or we can decide to walk out into the world as ourselves, mended breaks and all."

http://www.becomingwhoyouare.net/japanese-pottery-can-teach-us-feeling-flawed/

I hope my story encourages you. It is normal to be weak, for we are made strong in Christ. Please feel free to email me at loveastranger2016@gmail.com if I can be of any help.

Shalom and Jesus bless you! :D