Rededication - Eternal Life Assembly

浪子回头：两兄弟因癌症丧母后如何找到归属

Philip Sng — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 10:32:10 +0000

“跟从耶稣直到生命的尽头。”

这是我的母亲对三个孩子的叮嘱。然而，当她在46岁因癌症突然离世时，给了我们沉重的一击。由于父亲因疾病多年无法工作，母亲从我们很小的时候起就非常辛劳，同时打三份工来养家。

“我对神感到愤怒。为什么我反复祷告，求祂医治妈妈，祂都没有回应？为什么神要在我如此年轻的时候将妈妈带走？”弗兰克回忆道。

“我对神感到愤怒。为什么我反复祷告，求祂医治妈妈，祂都没有回应？为什么神要在我如此年轻的时候将妈妈带走？”

哥哥因母亲的突然离世感到深切的悲痛与遗憾。他本计划从军营出来后，在下午去探望母亲。然而，还未等到哥哥赶到，她就在早晨离世了。

悲伤与痛苦吞噬了我们。我们挣扎着如何面对神。不仅留在教会里变得困难，跟随耶稣对我们来说更是艰难。渐渐地，我们不再参加教会，过上了远离神的生活。

金钱与物质享受成了我的追求。我甚至为了寻找能够带来好运和驱除恶灵的护身符而去了寺庙。但无论我做什么，都无法驱散失去母亲的痛苦。我开始酗酒，而哥哥也常陪着我。我们一起喝醉，借此麻痹因失去了母亲而产生的痛苦。

在母亲去世后的十年里，我的夜间睡眠瘫痪变得更频繁了。这些可怕的经历让我感觉生命岌岌可危。有一次，我甚至无法呼吸，也无法说话或移动。更糟糕的是，我还在四周听到了充满威胁的邪恶笑声。

在极度绝望中，我呼求耶稣的名。一瞬间，我的睡眠瘫痪消失了。多年被干扰的睡眠终于迎来了平安，并且我的睡眠也开始好转。耶稣在我背离祂之后，还会关心我吗？

“耶稣在我背离祂之后，还会关心我吗？”

这那次经历后，我内心不断受到召我回教会里的呼唤。我犹豫了，因为我认为自己不配，因为我曾背弃了神。但那温柔而持续的召唤让我无法忽视。最终，我鼓起勇气，重新走进了教会。

当我踏进教会时，教会成员热情的微笑和欢迎消除了我心中可能被拒绝或指责的顾虑。这种感觉就像是回到了家。

“这种感觉就像是回到了家。”

之后，我参加了一次教友营。我永远不会忘记那天神在我生命里做的深入的修复工作。在回应祭坛呼召时，神对我说：“我一直在等你。” 我被祂给予的爱和肯定深深感动。所有多年来折磨我的愤怒和内心的苦涩瞬间消散了。

这感觉就像胸口的一块重石被拿走了一样，让我我感到无比地自由。从那天起，我决心重建与神的关系，每日阅读圣经和祷告。

神开始改变我的生命，并在教会中提供了一个支持与鼓励我的信徒群体，帮助我脱离之前的生活方式和习惯。不管我曾与神走得多远，神无条件的爱仍然找到了我，使我多年积累的愤怒、苦涩和悲伤中得到释放。

从那以后，我开始参做教会的音乐事工，并学习弹吉他来服事神。

跟从耶稣直到生命的尽头，是母亲的遗愿。如今，这也成为了我的渴望。跟随耶稣不再只是母亲对我的期盼，而是我发自内心的选择。

“跟从耶稣直到生命的尽头，是母亲的遗愿。如今，这也成为了我的渴望。跟随耶稣不再只是母亲对我的期盼，而是我发自内心的选择。”

神不仅在我生命中动工，也在伟德的心中作工。在军队服役期间，一位基督徒同事经常向他提供灵修材料，而伟德会在空闲时间阅读。他也会偶尔进入教会，寻求内心的平安。然而，每当他想到母亲曾说 “神无所不能”，却依然没能康复时，他内心总是充满挣扎。

某一次的永生堂礼拜中，在牧师的邀请下，伟德参加了教友营。在营会的祭坛呼召中，神在祭坛前与伟德相遇，让他从多年愤怒、悲伤和痛苦中获得神迹般的释放。

今天，伟德在服事神中找到了新的喜乐和意义。他全职担任教会的设施人员，并常常见证神如何以祂的方式和时间回应了母亲的祷告。伟德说，神在祂的方式和时间里成就了母亲的祷告。

“神在祂的方式和时间里成就了母亲的祷告”

跟随耶稣并不意味着生活会无忧无虑，而母亲对此十分清楚。当她告诉我们 “要跟随神直到生命尽头” 时，我想她的意思是无论生活如何艰难，都要抓住耶稣，就像她曾做的那样。

我的生活里是否仍然面临困难与挑战？当然。但在这些困难与挑战中，我知道耶稣每一步都与我同在。

无论我们离了多远，神总在那里，准备把我们举起，带回祂的怀抱。祂饶恕我们的过错，帮助我们克服恐惧，并赋予我们征服挑战的能力。神将我们最黑暗的时刻转化为他人希望的灯塔。祂为我和伟德做到了这一点。祂从未忘记我们。而祂也记得你。

你能在自己的故事中看到神的作为吗？

The post 浪子回头：两兄弟因癌症丧母后如何找到归属 first appeared on Eternal Life Assembly.

The Prodigal Sons – How two sons found their way home after losing their mom to cancer

Philip Sng — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 10:31:50 +0000

“Follow Jesus till the end of your life.”

These were the words of my mum to her three children. But when she passed away unexpectedly from cancer at the age of 46, it was too huge a blow to us.

My mother had worked hard, working three jobs at one time, to support our family since we were young, as our father had stopped working for many years due to his illness.

I was angry with God. Why didn’t He answer my repeated prayers to heal Mum? Why did He take her away from us at such a young age?

Victor, my older brother, wrestled with grief and regret over our mother’s sudden passing. He had plans to visit her in the afternoon after booking out of camp.

However, before my brother could even make it to her, my mother breathed her last that very morning.

Sadness and grief consumed us. We struggled to face God. Staying in church was hard, and following Jesus was even harder. Eventually, we stopped attending church and lived our lives away from God.

Acquiring wealth and material possessions became my focus. I even went to temples to seek out amulets that offered good fortune and protection from evil spirits.

Despite everything I tried to do, the pain of losing mum didn’t go away. I took up drinking and Victor often accompanied me, getting drunk together to numb ourselves from the pain of losing our mother.

During these tumultuous ten years since my mother passed, I encountered more frequent episodes of sleep paralysis at night. In these dreadful episodes, I would experience such a strong oppression that it felt like my life was in danger.

On one occasion, I had so much difficulty breathing that I could not speak or move. Worst still, I heard menacing sounds of evil laughter all around me.

In sheer desperation, I called on the name of Jesus and immediately, the sleep paralysis disappeared. After years of disrupted sleep, I finally experienced peace, and my sleep started improving.

Could Jesus still care for me after I turned away from Him?

After this episode, there was a repeated tugging in my heart to go back to church. I was hesitant, thinking how unworthy I am for turning my back on God. But that gentle, persistent call from God could not be ignored. I finally mustered the courage to step into church again.

When I stepped into church, I was met with warm smiles and the welcome of church members, ebbing away any concerns of rejection or condemnation. It was as if I was back home.

It was as if I was back home.

Subsequently, I attended a church camp. I will never forget the day God did a deep work of restoration. As I responded to the altar call, God told me that He had been waiting for me all this while.

Overwhelmed by His love and affirmation, all the anger and bitterness that had plagued me all these years instantly vanished. It was like a weight lifted off my chest – I felt free.

From that day onwards, I committed to rebuilding my relationship with God, reading the Bible, and praying daily.

God began His transformative work in my life and provided a community of believers in church to support and encourage me as I turned away from my previous lifestyle and habits.

Despite how far I had strayed, God’s unconditional love found me and set me free from all the anger, bitterness, and grief that had built up over so many years.

Since then, I started serving in the music ministry and began learning to play the guitar so that it could be used to serve Him.

It was my late mother’s wish for us to follow Jesus until the end of our lives. This wish has now become my own desire. Following Jesus is not just something my mother wished for over me, it’s something that I now want to do.

God didn’t just work in my life. He was also working in Victor’s heart as well. A Christian colleague in the army often brought him devotional materials to read and Victor would read them during his free time.

There were also times when Victor would pop by into church to find peace. Despite this, he would wrestle with God each time he recalled how Mum said, “With God, nothing is impossible”, yet she never got well, and he never got to say goodbye.

During one of the occasional visits to Eternal Life Assembly, he was urged by the pastor to attend the church camp, which he did.

At the camp, God met Victor at the altar call, and he too experienced the miraculous setting free from the years of anger, grief and sadness that he had been carrying.

Today Victor had found new joy and purpose in serving God. He serves God full-time as a facilities staff and always testifies of how God has answered Mum’s prayer of taking care of him. In his words, “God has answered her prayer, in His way and in His time.”

“God has answered her prayer, in His way and in His time.”

Following Jesus doesn’t mean life will be without trouble. Mum knew that for sure. But when she told us to ‘follow Him till the end of our lives’, I guess it meant holding on to Jesus despite life’s challenges, just as she did.

Do I still face challenges today? Definitely, but amidst those challenges, I know that Jesus is with me every step of the way.

No matter how far we’ve strayed, God is always there, ready to lift us up and bring us back into His arms.

He forgives our mistakes, enables us to overcome our fears, and empowers us to conquer the challenges we face.

God turns our darkest moments into beacons of hope for others. He did that for me and Victor. He never forgot us. He remembers you too.

Can you see God in your story?

The post The Prodigal Sons – How two sons found their way home after losing their mom to cancer first appeared on Eternal Life Assembly.