Transformation - Eternal Life Assembly

「从灵媒到传信者」：翁叔的恩典之路

Jennifer Tay — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 04:56:52 +0000

随着《何等恩典》的旋律响起，翁叔心中的情绪也给这水涨船高。他心爱的孙女拨动着木吉他的弦，他则唱着他熟悉的歌词。

这是当年让他眼泪直流的同一首歌——那天，他遇见了主耶稣。如今再次唱起这首歌，他为恩典带领他走了这么远而不胜感恩。

小时候，翁叔常跟着姨妈去教会。那时的他只把主日当作例行出门：诗歌、讲道的流程他都参与，都听，但这一切对他而言没什么特别。

可是，当教会领导层回绝了他姨妈的请求，不愿为她丈夫从中国回国所需的文件背书时，他的中立态度转为失望。在年幼的翁叔眼里，教会显得冷漠又无情。

随着岁月流逝，他与一切有关神的事离得越来越远。少年时期，他结交了不良伙伴，很快卷入帮派活动。打架、暴力，甚至坐牢，逐渐书写成了他的生命故事。

他轻声说：“那些日子让我学会的，是流血，不是流泪。为了生存，我把心硬了起来。”

二十来岁时，他的人生出现了灵性层面的转折。一次他随帮派朋友参加道教仪式，本只打算旁观，却发生了不寻常的事。他感到一种说不清的感觉，仿佛有某种存在进入他里头。从那天起，从那天起，每逢还没走到庙门，他的身体就会不受控制地摇动、跳动，不由自主地舞动。

他因此被视为在生者与灵界之间沟通的“灵媒”。

将近二十年，他做过许多道教仪式，也给人指引；虽然表面看起来颇有意义，可他心深处却感觉越来越空。那些他所事奉的灵并未给她带来安宁，反而只留下深深的疲惫。

尽管如此，日子还是照常往前走。他成了家，育有三名孩子：一女两子。大女儿信了主，他没有阻拦，只是旁观。

他轻声说：“我看见她变了。她变得温柔、善良，也懂得尊重人。若是教会能带来这样的改变，那就让她去吧。”

几年后，小儿子陷入低谷。翁叔照着”过往熟悉的宗教仪式”想帮，却毫无转机。无助之中，他看见大女儿的介入——为弟弟祷告、安慰他，最后还邀请他去教会。

出于好奇，也因着做父亲的那份默默的挂念，翁叔答应星期天跟这一起去教会。他上一次走进教会，已经是几十年前了。他并不期待什么——因为他对教会最后的记忆仍是当年的“冷漠又无情”。他只想看看女儿究竟找到了什么。

敬拜开始，《何等恩典》充满会堂，当敬拜一开始，诗歌《何等恩典》充满整个会堂，他的内心忽然被触动。不一会儿，泪水便止不住地流下来。

他说：“很奇怪，我从没那样哭过。以前打架流血都不掉泪；那天却哭到停不住。”

那一刻的感受，是他从未经历过的。

“过去服事的那些‘灵’，让我心烦、迷失；但这位灵，使我得着平安——这个感觉是温柔的、释放性的、充满喜乐的。”

从那一周起，翁叔一周接一周地回到教会。他渴望更多类似那初次触动的经历。后来，他亲眼看见小儿子把生命交给基督，他的心再次被撼动。同年的圣诞，翁叔也作了决定，接受水礼归向主。

他家人对他的决定感到又惊又喜，他妻子也问他为何这么突然下这个决定。

他只是简单地说：“既然找到了真理，还等什么呢？”

那一刻成了他生命的转折。昔日的道教灵媒，将一切都割舍放在了耶稣脚前。他清理家中之前供奉的神像，抛开了以往的旧习，开始在教会忠心服事。

信主前，翁叔是一位脾气火爆的人；但信主后，他改变了。就算朋友嘲笑他是一个基督徒，他仍学着以平静的心对待，时刻提醒自己要像基督那样。

过去望尘莫及的平安，如今就活在他心里。

今年八十岁的翁叔，身体不比从前，没法亲临教会参加礼拜。可是，他仍持续着一往直前的精神，每个主日都准时上线参加聚会。圣经成了他日常的陪伴。他一天会读上好几次，也常分享圣灵对他是何等真实、何等亲近。

他笑着满脸感恩地说：“我们全家都认识了主。儿女和孙辈中好些人都在教会服事，我的孙女，甚至被呼召成为牧师呢！”

提起主的恩典，他眼里闪着泪光：“我原本破碎、不配，神却给了我新生命。

祂不只救赎了我，还把祝福延续到世世代代，赐给我一个同行信仰的家。这就是恩典——何等恩典。”

所以，当翁叔与孙女合唱《何等恩典》时，这不仅是一首诗歌，更是他的生命见证。

这不仅是一首诗歌，更是他的生命见证。

每个字，都回荡着救赎的旅程，也见证那位从不从未停止向人伸手的神——无论他曾多眼盲、犯了多少错、离了多远、甚至被多坚固的营垒深深的捆住。

翁叔的一生，宣告着一个坚定不移的真理：没有哪段过去破碎到恩典触及不到；没有哪颗心刚硬到恩典软化不了；也没有哪个年纪太迟，迟到恩典来不及给予。

反思：翁叔他没有去找神，是神来找到了他。他昔日追求的“权能”，如今在恩典里得着——基督把他从捆绑中召回，进入新的人生。

他的故事也呼应圣经以西结书 34:16的应许：迷失的，我必寻找；被赶散的，我必领回。确实，没有哪个过去太破碎、哪个人太遥远，到神不能把他呼唤回家的地步。

The post 「从灵媒到传信者」：翁叔的恩典之路 first appeared on Eternal Life Assembly.

“From Medium to Messenger”: A Journey of Grace

Jennifer Tay — Sat, 27 Dec 2025 03:50:00 +0000

As the melody of 何等恩典 (Such Grace) filled the room, emotion welled up within Uncle Oon. He sang the familiar words as his beloved granddaughter gently strummed the acoustic guitar.

It was the same song that had once brought him to tears – the day he first encountered Jesus. Singing it again, he was overwhelmed by how far grace had carried him.

As a little boy, Uncle Oon would tag along with his aunt to church. At that age, church wasn’t something he took seriously – it was simply a weekly outing. He sat through the hymns and sermons, but none of it meant much to him then.

Yet that neutral view shifted to disappointment when the leadership turned down his aunt’s request for help to endorse documents needed for her husband’s return from China. To young Oon, the church appeared cold and heartless.

As the years passed, he drifted further away from anything to do with God. As a teenager, he associated with the wrong crowd and soon became entangled in gangsterism. Street fights, violence, and even time behind bars became part of his story.

“Those days taught me to shed blood, not tears,” he said quietly. “I hardened my heart to survive.”

In his twenties, his life took a spiritual turn. During a Taoist ceremony he had gone to with his gangster friends, only as a spectator, something out of the ordinary happened.

He felt a strange sensation – as if something had entered him. From that day on, before he even reached the temple gates, his body would begin to move on its own, dancing involuntarily.

He became known as a medium, a bridge between the living and the spirits.

For nearly twenty years, he performed rituals and offered counsel. Outwardly, it seemed meaningful. But deep inside, he was empty. The spirits he served never gave him peace, only weariness.

Nonetheless, life went on. He got married and became a father to three – a daughter and two sons. When his eldest daughter became a Christian, he didn’t stop her. He simply watched.

“I saw how she changed,” he said. “She became gentle, kind, and respectful. If the church could do that, then let her be.”

Years later, his youngest son went through a crisis. Uncle Oon tried to help him through familiar Taoist rituals, but nothing seemed to change.

Helpless, he watched as his eldest daughter stepped in – praying for her brother, comforting him, and eventually inviting him to church.

Out of curiosity and perhaps a father’s quiet concern, Uncle Oon agreed to go along that Sunday. It had been decades since he last stepped into a church.

He wasn’t expecting much, as his last memories of church were cold and heartless. He only wanted to see what his daughter had found there.

When worship began and the song 何等恩典 (Such Grace) filled the sanctuary, something stirred within him, and the next thing he knew, tears began to flow uncontrollably.

“It was strange,” he said. “I’d never cried like that before.

During my gang days, I could fight, bleed, and never shed a tear. But that day, I couldn’t stop.”

What he felt that morning was unlike anything he had ever known.

“The spirits I served before made me restless and lost. But this Spirit brought peace. It was gentle, liberating and full of joy.”

Uncle Oon returned to church the week after that, and the week after, and the week after. He was hungry for more of what he had first experienced.

When he witnessed his youngest son give his life to Christ, something moved within him. That very Christmas, Uncle Oon made his own decision to be baptised.

His family was pleasantly surprised by his response and his wife even asked why he decided so suddenly.

Uncle Oon simply replied, “Once you’ve found the truth, why wait?”

It became the turning point of his life. The man who had once been a Taoist medium laid everything down at the feet of Jesus. He cleared the idols from his home, left all his old practices behind and began serving faithfully in church.

Before knowing Christ, Uncle Oon was easily angered and quick to erupt. But after his encounter with Jesus, he became a different man. Even when friends ridiculed him for becoming a Christian, he stayed calm, constantly reminding himself to be Christlike.

Now, he lives with a peace that once felt impossible.

Now at 80, it is physically more challenging for Uncle Oon to go to church in person. But every Sunday without fail, he joins the service on Youtube.

The Bible has become his daily companion. He reads it a few times a day and often shares how real and close the Holy Spirit feels to him.

Beaming with gratitude, he says, “My whole family has come to know Christ. Many of my children and grandchildren are actively serving in the church, and my granddaughter is now a pastor!”

His eyes glisten as he speaks of God’s goodness.

“I was a broken man, so undeserving, but God gave me a new life”, he says with tears in his eyes.

“He didn’t just redeem me – He blessed me through the generations, with a family that walks in faith. That’s grace. Such Grace.”

And so, when Uncle Oon sings 何等恩典 (Such Grace) with his granddaughter, it’s more than a song; it’s his story.

it’s more than a song; it’s his story.

Every word echoes the journey of redemption and the God who never stopped reaching out – no matter how blind he was, how wrong he had been, how far he had gone, or how deeply he had been entrenched in other strongholds.

Reflections:

Uncle Oon’s life declares one unshakable truth: No past is too broken, no heart too hard, and no age too late for grace to reach.

Is there an area of your life you’re believing for God to bring breakthrough?
Is there a loved one whom you’re interceding for?

Uncle Oon’s story echoes Ezekiel 34:16: “I will search for the lost and bring back the strays.” Indeed, no one is ever too far for God to call home.

The post “From Medium to Messenger”: A Journey of Grace first appeared on Eternal Life Assembly.

“Death seemed so much easier” – A story of a coach who struggled through depression to find renewed purpose in Christ

Jireh Tham — Sat, 28 Dec 2024 13:40:44 +0000

TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of suicide, self-harm

“What’s the point of living when all I’m encountering are dead ends and never-ending challenges?

My name is Lydia, and I’m 30 this year.

Coaching is my passion, and I believe it stems from everything I’ve been through in life.

Growing up, my parents worked tirelessly to provide for the family. Everything my siblings and I needed, they gave to us. Because of that, I grew up believing that if I ever wanted to achieve anything in life, I could do it through my own efforts.

In secondary school, I began seeking the approval and attention of others. My teachers and teammates became the markers of my worth.

I realized that I could earn their respect through achievements. Success became my source of validation. Each validation felt almost like love.

Because of this experience, I developed a core belief: “Do well, be useful, and you will be worthy of love.”

“Do well, be useful, and you will be worthy of love.”

Yet, little did I know that this seemingly simple belief would eventually lead me down a path of self-destruction, since this belief left no room for failure.

I lived life as a teenage girl constantly gripped by the fear of losing my sense of self and self-worth. In class, I pretended to understand everything the teacher was saying because I didn’t want to look foolish.

Before races, I was so overwhelmed with fear and anxiety that I’d put on my shades so no one could see my eyes. I’d cry my way to the start line while everyone else on the shore assumed I was destined to win.

At home, I portrayed myself as the independent child who had everything under control. Since my worth and identity were tied to my achievements and how I believed others perceived me, failure was not an option. Failure would mean becoming a nobody.

When I embraced this belief, my academic results became the be-all and end-all of my existence.

In Junior College, I enrolled via the Direct School Admission (DSA) program through my sport, kayaking. I was constantly surrounded by students who excelled both in sports and academics.

Trying to keep up with them as well as the demands of the national team was exhausting. I buried myself in 11 to 12 training sessions each week. This became my escape from the pain and disappointment of my studies.

Before I knew it, I burned out, and it affected my kayaking performance. I failed to make the cut for the 2011 SEA Games — just one second off.

Unable to process my emotions, I started harming myself. I was trying to numb the pain, but it only deepened my despair. I spiraled so badly that suicidal thoughts consumed me 24/7.

These thoughts eventually drove me to make an attempt on my life. I reached a point of unbearable pain and asked myself, “What’s the point of living when all I’m encountering are dead ends and never-ending challenges? Death seems so much easier.”

“What’s the point of living when all I’m encountering are dead ends and never-ending challenges? Death seems so much easier.”

I attempted to overdose on pure caffeine powder, hoping it would end my life along with the pain.

Yet miraculously, I survived. I woke up in the hospital and saw my parents’ faces filled with heartbreak and misery. Their pain hurt me more deeply than I could have imagined. In that moment, I realized two things:

We don’t get to choose when we leave this world. If it’s not our time and we attempt to go, we’re only left to suffer the consequences of our actions.
I vowed never to do something so impulsive again. If I were to die by suicide, I’d be gone, but my family and friends would be the ones left to suffer.

But knowing these didn’t make the depression go away. I still held on to the false belief that I needed to earn the approval of others, and this belief kept me in darkness. I couldn’t break free. All I could do was try my best to hold on.

Some years later, after graduating from Junior College (JC), a few old friends reached out to me and offered to walk with me.

One friend in particular told me, “I feel it in my heart that God wants me to bring you back.” Another friend asked, “Since you’ve tried everything else, why not give God one more chance?”

I had previously attended church regularly during my JC years after being invited by some friends. But at that time, I didn’t consider myself a Christian. God was simply an item on my calendar. With nothing to lose, I decided to give God one more shot.

With nothing to lose, I decided to give God one more shot.

These precious friends walked with me, prayed with me, and patiently answered every single question I had. I knew that whatever they did for me was more than just words.

I felt so deeply cared for. Through them, I experienced God’s unconditional love. It was this love that helped me keep fighting through recurrent depressive episodes.

All seemed well until an event in December 2022 left me in deep depression. I had a fallout with someone very close to me, and it completely shattered me.

Within the span of two months, I attempted to take my life three times by jumping off a HDB* flat. The pain was so unbearable that I’d forgotten the vow I’d made. I just wanted the pain to end.

*HDB – Housing and Development Board (HDB) is the national public housing authority of Singapore that houses approximately 77.8% of Singaporeans (Source: Singstat 2023).

But then something unexpected happened on the third occasion. I stood on the 40th floor, looking toward the horizon one last time. Then I heard a voice — God’s voice. I was ready to jump, so I knew it couldn’t have been my own voice. The voice said:

“Child, I know what you’re thinking. Honestly, there’s no one to stop you right now. But you will have to face the consequences of your actions. Your family, your friends — think about them again.

Think about what they went through in 2015. Is that what you want them to experience for the rest of their lives? You’ve tried so long and hard.

If you jump now, I can’t use your life to show others that there’s hope in living. I know it’s hard, but can you give yourself one more chance? Trust me, I will help you.”

With that, I decided to entrust my life to God. I stepped away from the ledge in tears before I could change my mind. I took the lift down, ran to my bike, and called Pastor Daphne.

She picked up right away. Like before, she stayed with me on the phone for as long as I needed. She listened as I cried. She prayed as I cried. She stayed calm.

I choked on my words, telling her I couldn’t do this anymore, that I wanted to die. But she kept telling me it was okay, that God was in control, and that she was with me. She reminded me over and over how much God loves me.

If God hadn’t sent someone like Pastor Daphne into my life, I wouldn’t be here sharing my story today. This incident made me realize how closely I’d walked with death.

This incident made me realize how closely I’d walked with death.

I knew that God would help me, but I also had to help myself. So I made a pact with myself:

Suicide will no longer be my first option. If I’m struggling, I will seek help. I’ll call or text my friends, or anyone God has placed in my life.
I will live through the darkest night. If I’m unable to help myself, that’s okay. But I will not harm myself. I’ll stay in bed until I’m ready to move around without harming myself.

This pact marked the beginning of my healing. I sought therapy and inner healing courses to process my pain.

Community played a key role in my healing too. When I went to Eternal Life Assembly, God brought me into a new community called the Sycamore Life Group.

They are filled with crazy, fun-loving people who are always full of joy and laughter. They provided me with continuous prayer support, and people like Ps Daphne, Mei Yun, and Ying Ting continually journeyed with me and prayed for me through my ups and downs.

Through this journey, I’ve come to know God as the builder of my life. He’s the one who takes away the old parts of the house — the destructive patterns and harmful thoughts that dictated my life — patterns I thought would never go away. Over time, these thoughts grew smaller and became more under control.

He’s the one who takes away the old parts of the house — the destructive patterns and harmful thoughts that dictated my life — patterns I thought would never go away.

Not only that, but God also continues to add new bricks to my house. Day by day, He adds these bricks by speaking to me whenever I read the Bible, pray, or listen to worship songs. He tells me that He loves me very, very much — unconditionally.

Believing in God doesn’t take away all my problems and pain. But believing in God gives me the courage and the strength to face them. In the midst of my suffering and pain, I know God is here with me.

In the past, whenever I thought about my future, I would be filled with suicidal thoughts and fear. But now, because I know He is with me, I can have hope for the future.

Life is not perfect. I still have moments when my suicidal thoughts return, and that’s okay. I know I’m still a work in progress, and God is still building this new house.

I used to despise having to manage the challenges of borderline personality disorder, major depressive disorder, and ADHD. But now, they have become a part of me. They serve as a testament to the grace that God gives me to live each day.

Friends, if you’re having a tough time, I want to encourage you: Stay alive. Every single day that we live is a gift from God. No matter how hopeless things seem today, they will not be the same tomorrow.

So, back to the question that I’ve always asked myself: What’s the point of living when life is filled with dead ends and never-ending challenges?

This is my answer: I live for the One who created me, and I depend on the One who loves me.

I live for the One who created me, and I depend on the One who loves me.

Death may seem like a much easier choice, but death will not end the pain. Death will only transfer the pain to our loved ones.

So fight on. Fight to live on. Use all your energy to cling to God. His love will never fail us. He will not guarantee that our life will be without pain and suffering, but He will definitely be with us every step of the way, through our highs and lows.

So rely on the people around you. Together, you will be able to see that there is purpose, and there is hope, even in your suffering.

The post “Death seemed so much easier” – A story of a coach who struggled through depression to find renewed purpose in Christ first appeared on Eternal Life Assembly.