20 May 2014 by Adeline Lum CM-
What is more invigorating than the personal testimonies of mothers and grandmothers in bringing up their children?
In celebrating Mother’s Day in Cheras Baptist Church on May 11th—Grace Cheah, Lay Khiem, and Timothy and Margaret—came on-stage to share the nuggets of wisdom they have acquired over the years.
All of them stressed the importance of imparting and imprinting the Words of God into their children, as John 1:1 tells us; to know God is to know the Bible.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)
Grace Cheah shared how her daughter realized the impact short Bible stories were to her, now she has grown up. In a letter penned by her daughter, Grace read to the congregation :
“But as I grew older, I came to realize how important these short Bible stories were. How can we start to run when we haven’t learnt to walk?
“I have made many friends from different religions. I’m faced with so many temptations and influences, problems and conflicts, which arise just about every day. But it’s that foundation that I’ve built in Christ that I can always fall back upon.”
Lay Khiem later came on-stage and added, “Indeed, the Bible is a treasure trough of true stories. Today, I want my children to know that I believe in a Living God who taught me lovingness, submission, obedience, humility, and mercifulness.
“We want to build our children on God’s Word because it anchors them on the solid foundations of Jesus Christ that empowers them to have a personal relationship with God, which is to love God with all our heart and soul.”
And drawing from the book of Genesis itself, Lay Khiem taught her children many lifelong lessons.
For one, since men are made in the image of God (Gen 1:27) and individually fashioned in love, she taught her children to accept and love each other despite differences.
From the fall of Adam and Eve, she also taught them how God has limits and brings accountability and conviction to sin. In this effect, she stressed that parents who love their children without limits end up doing more harm than good.
Because of the Word of God that has perpetuated in her family, Lay Khiem is thankful that she is now the 6th in her family who still believed in the living God.
Following Lay Khiem, Timothy and Margaret came next on-stage agreeing with Lay Kheim how important it is to pass down the Christian faith from one generation to the next.
And like Abraham to Jacob, we can also see three generations of believers in Christ in the letter Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy. (2 Tim 1:5; 2 Tim 3:14,15)
I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. (2 Tim 1:5)
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (2 Tim 3:14,15)
Margaret also stressed how important it is to implant the word of God in our children starting from a very young age before the technological era sweeps them into distractions.
While our children’s heart are still humble, tender, moldable, and hungry, Margaret reminded the parents that this is an opportune time to plant the word of God into their fertile hearts and minds, which would produce manifolds of fruit later—one that Margaret particularly saw in her young grandson.
She asked her grandson one day, “Why people were so far away from God?”
He answered with astounding wisdom, “It’s because of the human sins that draw us away from God. Secondly, it’s the busyness of life. And thirdly, it is seeking pleasure in life.”
These answers—albeit short and plain—struck the hearts of even the university students, whom Margaret shared with earlier.
She also shared how our phones and tablets become so much part of our lives that they became our idols. Most of the time, we focus more on our phones and tablets than our pastor’s message.
She shared how a church in Japan took switching off electronic devices seriously. Four deacons would stand in the corners of the church. And if they saw someone using a technological device, they would go onstage and beat the pastor with a stick publicly.
Margaret asked who would do that to their beloved pastor who painstakingly prepared a message for the congregation.
This arise a poignant question for us: shall we put down our phone and tablets down to focus on our pastor?
Some women in East Asia have also already started to teach their young children memorize bible chapters, verse by verse, due to the scarcity of the Bible in their country.
While Malaysia is a liberal country that respects the rights of Christians to practice their faith, we should be thankful to God for the availability of His Word to us.
Shall we not then teach our children the Living Word of God as well?
Timothy sealed the message by saying that children ultimately are seeds bestowed by God upon parents to nurture and grow.
By raising children with the Word of God, they will learn the ways of God and teach that to their children as well. That is how the Christian faith can be passed down from generation to generation.
It’s never too early to teach your children God’s Word.
The best investment for your children is teaching them God’s Word.
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Sunday School |Sunday 8:45am to 10:00am
Chinese Service | Sunday : 8.30am-10.00am.
English Service | Sunday : 10.30am-12.00pm.
Address | 72, Jalan 30A/119, Taman Taynton View Cheras, 56000 KL, Malaysia
Phone Number | 03-91302523
Email | cherasbaptist@gmail.com
Website | http://glus.to/cherasbx
Dear pastor,
We are a group of believers in Nigeria, we seek the truth and we have seen them in your teachings, please we need books and Bibles ,food,for our local congregation ,if possible,because life here is very hard please ,for no amount is too big and no amount is too small.
Pastor Solomon