Dear friends,
A very Christ-filled, fruitful and blessed new year to each and all!
Christmas has come and gone. The new year has come. How time flies!
And I am thankful for every new breadth and life that God has given me.
We all know that life cannot be taken for granted - just in Singapore alone, we hear and read in the news that many people from all walks of life face sudden deaths and tragedies in unexpected ways. It shows that life is indeed fragile.
Thus Psalm 146:2 has been one of my favourite verses since. It says,
"Praise the Lord, O my soul.
I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God AS LONG AS I LIVE.
This verse has been constantly on my mind eversince the Lord gave to prepare my heart while waiting for the BMA results and full myeloma studies then at TTSH (Tan Tock Seng Hospital) in Sept 2004.It has helped me to fill my mouth with thankfulfulness and to appreciate life more. Most of all, it focuses my heart and mind to know that we do not "put our trust in princes or in mortal men who cannot save, but find our help in the Sovereign God". (Psm 146:3-6)
I have a journal where I only record short notes and mainly thanksgiving items everyday. Had been doing this for many years now in order to learn to be thankful.
But when I look back to see all that had been written, I am amazed to see His hand of mercy on my life. My faith in Christ has never been so tested before though there were real difficult times in my family; in the ministry especially when I was in Russia as a missionary.I am thankful that my faith stood firm when faced with the ultimate crisis of an illness that has not found a cure so far and death. But God demonstrated Himself to be very real even in the darknesses that I faced. My knowledge of Him was growing through all these experiences.And each of you has contributed much to this growth in the Lord.Your faith and trust in the Lord had injected more faith in me to place my complete confidence and entire life in His hands.Thankyou!
Christmas and new year were rather quiet for us as a family. No carolling; no parties; no special events. Though it was quiet, I am glad to receive the best Christmas gift I've ever received in my life - the good news about my condition that's in complete remission now. In fact, there is another gift that I received the following day after the first good news - it was when my 10year old neighbour came over to our place to play with Josh. It was a great joy to see Josh asking him if he(Adrian) knew anything about heaven and hell. Then Josh went straight into his room to take his children's Bible and returned to share with Adrian all that he knows about heaven and hell. In his simple faith, he went on to tell him of the need to forsake and remove all the idols in his home.This joy has been in my heart even till today - to see Josh motivated by the Holy Spirit to share that knowledge of God and the love of Jesus on his own. It brings great joy to see the fruit of fathering, and mothering, as we constantly speak a blessing and pray for the prebelievers whom we come across daily.After all, the most important thing in parenting is to see our children know the Awesome God and grow to share His goodness to all.Please pray with us that Josh will grow up to love the Lord and I hope I'll live to see him grow up as a godly man.
Thank you for praying for my current situation. I am coping fairly ok with the oral GVHD in spite of the frustrations and physical discomfort.The sinusitis is clearing though the nasal discharges keep flowing all day long. Thanks for all your concern and messages.
Let's grow in greater intimacy with our great God and King this year! Together!
dave
Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do,
if it were the last hour of my life.
-- Jonathon Edwards
