Hokkien Testimony #34

Hokkien Testimony #34

Today we welcome you to the 34th testimony in our Hokkien Harvest series. Today Pastor James Lim interviews Sister Shen Xiu Li.  Just to look at her makes you realize what a smiling joyful person she is. Let’s listen now to Shen Xiu Li’s Hokkien story. An English summary is also provided below.  

Shen Xiu Li’s testimony:

The first time I went to a church I was very curious and wanted to look around and see what church was all about. I saw the heart the brothers and sisters put into what they were doing, and I was very touched. I noticed the love that they displayed. I was indeed very curious to find out why this religion was different from others. I had attended church when I was small, but really just to enjoy and play around there. My parents told me that Christianity was for foreigners not for us. As Pastor Lim pointed out, sometimes our parents may not have an accurate concept of things. In fact when Christianity came to China, Christians not only shared about their faith, they also gave food and other things to hungry and needy families. So the phrase “Chiah kau” which means that you have enough to eat was often used in referring to Christians and the church as they provided for the needs of families.

So when I attended church, I too was given something to take home with me. Of course my parents and other Chinese families taught that Christianity was for foreigners and not for Chinese families. However once again Pastor Lim reminds us that John 3:16 tells us that God loves all the people of the world.

When I was small, one of my relatives was a Christian, so I did come in contact with the gospel and had a little understanding about it. When I was small I did go to church some. For instance, at Christmas when we attended we would receive things like candy.

I also followed my father on stage and performed. We worshiped a god and also presented entertainment at special times. This was all connected into the worship of idols. We worshiped O-Siau. As a child I didn’t really have any opinion about all of this, I just followed in the steps of my mother. Whenever we observed a special occasion, I helped to prepare for the idol worship or performance. Long ago more people would come out to attend a temple performance, but today few people seem to be interested in this. Originally these performances reflected a lot of Chinese culture; however, unfortunately little by little many superstitions and practices were added into these programs.

As a child I never thought about whether these idols were real gods are not. I just followed after my parents as they worshiped. However, when I saw people harming themselves like mediums did, I was very afraid. Although I think that most of the time I was a happy child who just enjoyed life. Yet, Pastor Lim reminds us that even though we may just drift though enjoying life, we ourselves know the difference between right and wrong. We are aware of what we are doing when we do things such as tell lies, have wrong thoughts, etc. These are all sins against God.

Growing up sometimes I was good and sometimes I wasn’t. I had a temper and would criticize and get on to people. I also later grew up without a father and it was very difficult for me. This one factor made a lot of things tough for our family. It wasn’t easy. My mother was the kind of person who would look to learn from others. My mother did marry again, but no one teased me about this because they were afraid of me and wouldn’t dare say anything bad to me. Many looked at me as though I was very strong and tough, but I personally often felt very weak.

I only studied through elementary school, because I was really not interested in school. Since I didn’t go to school, then I was to help make some money and sing the Chinese opera with my mother.  Later when I did go to church, my mother told me that I could go but I could not join the church. I was the youngest daughter in the family and my mother really loved me.

My pastor had asked me if I wanted to accept Jesus, but I told him that my mother opposed that. However, he encouraged me to take that step. I asked him how, and he said that after I made the decision to believe in Jesus that I needed to make it public and be baptized. I accepted Christ on July 15, 1990, and my mother did not get angry. I think that she saw how I had changed in my behavior. I didn’t get angry like I originally did, and she was willing to accept my baptism. Formerly I liked to play around and loved to dance and drink, and now I didn’t. So my mother could see a big change in me.

I also wanted my mother to become a Christian. I began to pray for her and also shared some truths from the Bible with her, and I told her about God’s love. She also had a dream and was afraid. I shared with her that she could call on the name of Jesus. Later when she had this same kind of experience, she did call on Jesus and was not fearful. She later had another dream and said that she saw someone standing in a white robe. She was afraid, but I explained that white is good. I also told her that she didn’t need to be afraid, she could talk with them. So through this time she too came to believe and accepted Christ.

A word from Pastor Lim:

We have had the opportunity today to hear Shen Xiu Li’s testimony. We can see that change in a person’s life is not something that just appears on the outside, but a person’s inner being changes. So we need to look at people from the inside out, not just observe their outer appearance. It’s actually easy to dress well, use makeup or whatever to appear to be a good person; however, inside in our inner heart we know that we are dirty and have done wrong. But we thank the Lord, that the blood of Jesus can cleanse the sin in our life. If we with a sincere heart are willing to believe in Jesus, he will give us a new beginning, a new life. Through this we then can be saved.

At this time if you would like to put your trust in Jesus, then pray with me. I can help you pray a very simple prayer.

Dear Lord Jesus, I am willing to accept you to be my Savior and Lord. Please forgive my sin, and cleanse me with your precious blood. At this time I invite you into my heart to be my Savior and Lord, give me peace and change my life. Allow me to have a life that is good with value and hope. We are grateful Lord. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Hokkien Testimony #33

Hokkien Testimony #33

Today we welcome you to the 33rd testimony in our Hokkien Harvest series. Today Pastor James Lim interviews Sister Tang Jin Hua.  Even though she has had a lot of ups and downs in her life, through Jesus she is indeed a person filled with joy. Let’s listen now to Tang Jin Hua’s Hokkien story. An English summary is also provided below.  

Tang Jin Hua’s testimony:

When I was very young, my mother was a widow. We had eight children in the family. I was number five, right in the middle.  My mother had the concept that we should marry young. So when I was fifteen, I married . . . not really knowing what it was all about . . . but we all were taught that concept. Marry young. As a Hokkien idiom says, “If you have a good husband, then life will be filled with a sweet aroma.”

As was traditional at that time, I married, had children and cared for my family. We had seven children. At that time, the culture mandated that women stay home to care for the children and the home. I thank the Lord because my inheritance was my children and I am grateful. I especially doted over the youngest one, but this child was very challenging. I know that many people give special attention to their youngest, and often times because they are spoiled they may become a challenge to the family.

When my son was in the 3^rd year of middle school he experienced some teasing and taunting and he reacted to it. However, he never wanted to let me know. Because of what he had been through, he would get into fights. He even fought against his principal.

Earlier I had not really paid a lot of attention to the local idol worship. However, my older sister introduced me to the temple and how to worship there. Even though I did this, nothing changed for the better in our lives. The matter with our youngest son was a big headache for me.

Believe it or not, in our family, three of my daughters were Christians. They often tried to encourage me to accept Jesus, but I had a lot of reservations and had no interest. But they continued to exhort me and tell me that it would make a difference in my life and deliver my son from drugs and the terrible life he was living. I thought that if that did happen, then I would reconsider. So my three daughters for a year fervently prayed for me and for our youngest son. During this time I definitely could see a difference. He began to withdraw from the crowd that he ran around with and changed his behavior. Then he found a job and a great girlfriend as well. He was not the same boy. God does answer prayer.

As a result, I began to go to church with my daughter. Over time I began to understand more and even attended the family worships they had in homes. As I worshiped and listened I began to understand more of the gospel. The first time I went with my daughter to church, I felt that the people there really put their hearts into worship and loved each other. They knew how to take care of people, and how to answer questions that anyone asked. I was so happy to be there. I not only could make new friends, I would also have people who could encourage me through difficult times as well. So even from the first time that I went to worship, my spirit began to change. The Lord’s time was perfect as he directed me in all of this. After attending for about a year, I accepted Christ and was baptized. I also arranged for a family worship in our home; however, my husband was stubborn and did not want to hear any of this. In fact, he left the room and went outside. I continued to pray and God answered my prayer. My husband began to change. He eventually went to church with me and continued to change. He gave up smoking and his temperament changed too. He didn’t reflect the fiery temper that he had. He told me that this Jesus whom I worshiped is the true God and he accepted Christ as his Savior.

Being part of the church has been such a wonderful experience, and Jesus has brought peace and blessing into our family. In 2005 my husband went to be with the Lord. Pastor Lim said that people in the church admired us as a couple and we walked hand in hand together. So following his death, this was a very sad time for me. However, in Christ we know that we will have the opportunity to see each other again. Of course when we face these kind of circumstances, we are emotional and shed tears, but the Lord continues to lead our family and carry our burdens.

Sometimes in life my children will have their differences and even argue over different things. In the past I just wanted to fix these things; however, I remember what it took for my husband to come to Christ and I ask God for help. So I take all of these matters to the true God, Jesus, in prayer. We pray for, encourage and care for each other. I feel that God has indeed answered my prayers. Our family has been blessed by God as we love each other. I give all honor and praise to our God for all that he has done for us. As the Bible tells us, God will not abandon us.

A word from Pastor Lim:

Today our program has come to an end. We thank Sister Tang for sharing her testimony with us. We see how the Lord has led, changed and resolved issues in her life. We see how God worked in the life of her son and also brought her and her husband together in Christ and gave them hope. Brothers and Sisters, today the Lord also wants to bless you. Today you can believe and trust in Jesus. He is ready to bring salvation to your entire family. We see how Sister Tang’s family received Jesus, were changed and blessed and even her husband accepted Christ. This is a huge blessing as the two of them together walked the heavenly road. So maybe you yourself are a believer, but your mate has not yet accepted Jesus. Don’t give up, but continue to pray and believe that God will open a door for your mate to receive Christ. If you desire to ask Jesus into your life, then you sentence by sentence can follow after me as I pray.

Lord Jesus, I thank you. You are the Savior and I ask you to save me. Lord Jesus, please forgive my sin. Use her precious blood to cleanse me of my sin. At this time, please come into my heart, save me and protect me. Give me hope. I believe that I and my family will receive your salvation. Thank you Jesus and it is in Jesus name we pray, Amen.

The Lord bless you

Hokkien Testimony #32

Hokkien Testimony #32

Today we welcome you to the 32nd testimony in our Hokkien Harvest series. Today Pastor James Lim interviews Mr. Wang Qi Jun. He will share with us his experience as a child and what he encountered as he grew up. Let’s listen now to Mr. Wang’s Hokkien story. An English summary is also provided below. 

Mr. Wang Qi Jun’s testimony:

As I was growing up I began to notice that life was definitely not fair. My parents worked hard, but we had very little . . . basically no money. As I observed this, it really influenced my thinking. In Singapore my father ran a coffee shop. So as far as the people who came to the coffee shop, there was any kind of person who you could imagine. These were our customers from all areas of life. I was a young teenager and was definitely affected by their lives. I noticed the people who were outspoken and had strong personalities, and some of these were part of the criminal element in our city.

Eventually I went to serve in the military for two years. After I got out of the military I was trying to figure out what I would do to make money. Actually, I had the desire to make a lot of money. I noticed that people who were involved in prostitution made a lot of money. I was interested. However, at about the same time I was not doing well physically. I was about 27 or 28 and my foot was really hurting. After about three years I couldn’t stand the pain any longer. That was 19 years ago. I am 50 now. I went to a lot of physicians but that didn’t resolve my problem. So I went to see a specialist. He told me that I could take some medicine and that should take care of my problem. But I still had terrific pain, and even at night the pain would not subside. Even taking the medication that I was given, after just a few hours of sleep I would awaken and be in such great pain.

My doctor told me that I needed surgery, but I was hesitant and told him that I would have to think about it. The following week as I rested, I began to look through different books including the Bible. As I read the Bible I prayed and asked the Lord for healing, and the pain went away. Not only that, I was a different person. I no longer had the desire to think about prostitutes. Instead I would cry over their plight. People told me that was because Jesus was now in my heart. As Pastor Lim reminded me, when a person accepts Jesus he is a new creature in Christ. Old things have passed away, and you have a new beginning.

My story is that the Holy Spirit came into my life and changed me. My thoughts and my behavior all completely changed. From the time that I was a teenager I could see the difference in families that were involved in crime and illegal things. However, I saw in the church how people came together to help others. We have two sons and a daughter. Sometimes as I was busy doing ministry, I know that God took care of my family. My kids have done well in school and I know that God has made a difference in our family life.

In my business I encounter homeless and others in need. This provides me with opportunities to help them and even provide some work for them as well. There are also a lot of workers who come from China and we are able to assist them too. Amazingly enough as we help others, we always have enough money to meet our needs.

Pastor Lim shares:

As we see in Mr. Wang’s life, God has really made a difference. He comes from a very complicated  background with a lot of challenges, but God has blessed him through all of this, and enabled him to help others as well. We know that God will continue to use him in the days ahead and greatly bless his family.

After hearing today’s program, maybe you too would like to ask Jesus into your life just as Mr. Wang did. If you feel moved to ask Jesus into your life, then follow me as I lead you in prayer. I will lead you  sentence by sentence, and then you with your sincere heart can ask Jesus to come into your heart and you will receive a big change in your life. Please follow me in prayer.

Dear Jesus, I thank you. You love me and are my salvation. Lord Jesus I am a sinner. Please forgive my sin. Lord Jesus, allow my life to change and give me a new direction. Give me a future with hope. Thank you, Jesus. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

May God bless you.

Hokkien Testimony #31

Hokkien Testimony #31

Today we welcome you to the 31st testimony in our Hokkien Harvest series. Today Pastor James Lim interviews Pastor Tiu Sui Hai. Formerly people would view him as worthless, but God does a work in this life. Let’s listen now to Pastor Tiu’s Hokkien story. An English summary is also provided below.  

Pastor Tiu Sui Hai’s testimony:

Before I accepted Christ my family worshiped idols. My father was killed in the war with Japan, and my mother then remarried. Of course he was not my birth father, and he treated me very badly. Even when I was just 6 or 7 years old he beat me. At that time we had a neighbor who saw what was happening and told him that he shouldn’t be treating me that way. From that time forward I began to hate him and hope that he would die an early death. The way he treated me had a huge effect, and I had no desire whatsoever to go to school or study. So from the time I was just 10 years old or so, I got into trouble. I gambled, smoked, robbed and joined fighting groups.

When I was just 13 years old my step-father died, and I was very happy about that. I thought that now I would be free to do whatever I wanted to do without having to deal with him. However, I was not free. I was involved in a lot of bad things and eventually I was imprisoned. After my step-father’s death I got involved in business by selling things in the market. Instead of going through proper authorities to do business, I connected with the underground and thought I could make a quick buck. I also continued to participate in fights in our area. Unfortunately on one of those occasions I ended up killing a man, and was apprehended and imprisoned.

There is a thought that by putting people behind bars, that we will change their behavior. But this is not really true. My mother loved me and came to see me in prison, but she couldn’t change me. Friends also came to visit and made an effort to change me, but that didn’t work either. My mother begged the idols that she worshiped to change me, but nothing made a difference in my life. Even while I was in prison I would not cooperate and did bad things.  I would fight and even gamble inside the prison. Believe it or not, people gamble inside the prison and expect the family on the outside to pay their debts. Things inside a prison are very complicated.

Inside the prison there were Christians, Buddhists, Muslims, and Hindus. I began to notice that some people, Christians, began to change. I really did have the desire to change and so I wanted to know what was going on among these Christians. However, I didn’t join their group. There were three men in my cell and one of them was a Christian. When he was ready to be released from prison, he gave me his Japanese Bible. One of the men in the next cell saw that and made fun of me and tried to shame me telling me that I was afraid to die. I immediately denied it, but I was lying. I just said that I was trying to learn a bit of Japanese and was using the Bible to help me. I told them that I had no intention of becoming a Christian. It was all a lie.

First of all I began reading the book of Matthew and was very touched by the story of the leper who followed Jesus and wanted to be healed. Jesus told him that if he was willing that Jesus would heal him and make him clean again. I couldn’t believe that Jesus was willing to touch him, and I thought that this Jesus was really good. So that gave m the courage to know that I could go to Jesus and he would receive me and change me. I wanted to believe in Jesus. I saw scripture that talked about taking oaths and the truth and I was very convicted and started to cry. (Matthew 5:33-37) I saw my sin more as Jesus saw it, and was so sorry for the things that I had done.

At that time there was no person around to help me pray or tell me anything. I just cried and didn’t know what to do. I went downstairs in the prison and ran into a man who told me that I needed to join a small group where we would sing together and study the Bible. My first response was that I didn’t want to go. I told him he could go, but not me. I was afraid. However, the man wouldn’t give up and convinced me that I should attend the small group. I attended the group and as I listened to the song they were singing I was convinced that I was a sinner and had done wrong. They asked me if I wanted to become a Christian and I nodded my head yes. Then he led me to accept Jesus. He prayed sentence by sentence and I followed after him. I asked him to wash away my sin and come into my heart to be my Lord and Savior. It was amazing.

I can say that my greatest blessing in receiving Jesus was that my sins were forgiven. Before I received Jesus I didn’t know the difference between God and the devil, heaven or hell or any of these things. However, after becoming a Christian God gave me this understanding. After I accepted Christ I began going to church. After making this decision I really did have peace and was able to relate to other people and do what was right.

After I was released from prison God gave me a wonderful wife and three adorable daughters. I had nothing to give, but God blessed me. My children are in school and I do have a great wife. I lack nothing. God has blessed me. We have a house and I pastor a Gospel Church. The last thing I have to say is that I hope everyone will make the decision to follow Jesus.

Pastor Lim shares:

As we have listened to this program I am sure that you have been moved in your heart. What an amazing story to see someone who seemingly cannot be reformed and is imprisoned to find Jesus inside the prison walls. And in the end God greatly blessed him with a wonderful wife and three adorable daughters.

You too can be changed. Please follow me as I lead us in prayer. I will lead one sentence at a time and you just repeat after me.

Dear Lord Jesus thank you for loving and saving me. Lord Jesus I am a sinner. Forgive my sin. Use your precious blood and cleanse me. At this moment I invite you into my heart to be my Lord and King. Change my life. I know that you will never leave me. You will give my hope and cleanse me. Please Jesus. And it is in Jesus name we pray, Amen.

God bless you.

Hokkien Testimony #30

Hokkien Testimony #30

Today we welcome you to the 30th testimony in our Hokkien Harvest series. Today Pastor James Lim interviews Mr. Lim Ke Hui.  Listening to Mr. Lim’s testimony once again reminds us that God indeed loves us no matter who we are or where we come from in life.Let’s listen now to Mr. Lim’s Hokkien story. An English summary is also provided below.  

Mr. Lim Ke Hui’s testimony:

I traveled a long way to come to Singapore. I am from the Hokkien province in China and grew up in a Christian family. Very early on my grandmother accepted the Lord. When she was first married and before she accepted Christ, she had children that died, and it was at that time that friends encouraged her to believe in Jesus. She did accept Jesus, and she also took in a little girl to raise as her own.  My grandparents had five boys and one girl. My father was the oldest son. His name was Chu Un (The Lord’s grace). And each of the children’s names had this Christian tie, the word “Un” which is part of many Christian words such as gift, grace, etc. My grandmother is still living and in her 90’s.

About twenty years ago my grandmother encountered a huge problem. At that time she was in her 70’s. One morning she woke up and as usual went to brush her teeth. She had false teeth. However, all of a sudden her teeth went down her throat, but she didn’t spit them out. Instead, she swallowed them. As a result, she had to immediately be taken to the emergency room. The false teeth had lodged inside her intestines so told them that they must perform surgery to remove them. Our family was very concerned and we gathered together to pray. Then the doctor told us that it would be better not to operate. They waited and two hours later they were able to retrieve the teeth. We felt that the Lord had really given the doctor wisdom in how to resolve this problem. God answered our prayers.

As I grew up I followed my father and was always in church. My impression of the church was that it was filled with loving people. In typical Chinese worship we not only have worship services, but we also have small groups as well as family worship times where we invite others to join us. Our church is quite large. When we gather together for worship we have more than 2,000 people in attendance. So this is the kind of church in which we had the opportunity to grow and learn. The most meaningful part for me has always been hearing truth preached by our pastor as well as testimonies that are shared. This is a great encouragement for us to continue to live in the right way and not go down paths that are bad for us. Jesus has also given us peace.

I accepted Christ when I was young, but I wasn’t baptized until I went to Japan. As a young child I went to church and of course heard about Jesus, but I didn’t have a deep understanding. As children we enjoyed playing and being together; however, as I grew up I began to listen to the truths that were taught, studied my Bible and little by little I began to understand about Jesus. The first time that I left China I traveled to Japan. I was very young and didn’t know anyone. Life was pretty empty, and I was all alone. I decided that I would try and find a church. I felt that Christians would show love and kindness. The first church that I found was in Japanese and that was tough for me because I really couldn’t communicate much in Japanese. However, in this church was a man from Taiwan who introduced me to a Hokkien/Taiwanese congregation. So I started going to this church, made friends and also had the opportunity to serve with them. The pastor asked me if I had ever been baptized, and I told him that I had not. He took the time to teach me from the Bible about following Christ and baptism. So at Christmas time I made the decision to be baptized. I was so joyful and happy and felt like a new person. I gradually began to grow spiritually. I lived in Japan for six years. After six years I went back to China to get married. I had a bride waiting for me.

After we were married we began a business, but it wasn’t long before we felt that we were not suited for business like this. We just didn’t have true understanding about the business market and procedures. After six months we already were in debt for several hundred thousand dollars. We were in the food industry. We had borrowed the money from the bank and were in real trouble. This was a huge burden. However, during all of this time my parents continued to encourage us so we never lost faith or felt badly toward God. The truth is that in life we will all face discouragements and failure so this is something we must realize. We were very fortunate in that my parents each month began to pay back the money that we owned.  My wife and I also worked to pay off this debt. In 2006 we moved to Singapore.

While in China we also had children. One of our children was born with extra toes and fingers. We were really stunned. My parents encouraged us and said that this child was a gift from God and that we could rest in that and trust in God. Later we took our child to the doctor and they operated and removed the extra appendages. We praise the Lord that everything went well and our child was fine.

Right after we moved to Singapore we were challenged. Our child had a problem and the doctor said that it was a heart condition. We were really in turmoil. We were new to Singapore and faced so many challenges. We also looked for a church. We shared with the church about our child and our struggles. Immediately the pastor gathered people together to pray for us. Our child had heart surgery and everything went very smoothly. Also our church from Xiamen, China also gave us $5,000 to pay for the surgery. We are grateful to God and to the churches for all they did. We were able to pass through this difficult time with peace. The Bible tells us not to worry about tomorrow, because the Lord will lead us. We are grateful to the Lord for all that he has done..  

A word from Pastor Lim:

This is the end of our time today, but before we close I would like to lead us in a prayer. If you have been moved and would like to accept Jesus into your heart, you will be truly blessed. Please follow me as I pray.

Lord Jesus I thank you because you came into this world to save us. At this time we ask you to wash away our sin, save us from evil and come into our heart to be our Savior and Lord. We know that you will never leave us. From today forward we will experience your love, as well as the miracles that you perform in our physical bodies. Thank you, Jesus. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

The Lord bless you.