Devotion by Pastor Bobby Chaw
Dear SOT Alumni Family,
The past one year has been a unique year for every one of us. We have heard of good reports of breakthrough from some of our alumni; and at the same time, we’ve shared the grief of others who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Through it all, I am reminded of Romans 8:38-39, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” I pray that God will keep you strong in His love and grace, and that you will keep pursuing the purpose of God—both in good times and challenging moments.
Personally, I believe that what we are experiencing in this season is not by coincidence. There is a shaking among nations all over the world, with many perceiving it as a negative and depressing time. However, we must see beyond the natural, into the realm of God. Haggai 2:7 says that “I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts.” God’s will is that in the midst of uncertain times, peoples and nations will be awakened and come to the true “Desire of All Nations”, which is in the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ. In that process, He will fill His temple—which is a picture of His Church—with a new glory.
As believers, we should be anticipating a greater outpouring of His Spirit of grace and power, so that we, the Church of God, will shine even brighter in the midst of all the overwhelming darkness. But how can we remain stable and unshaken in the midst of this great turmoil? Jesus repeated this three times in the Gospels—“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Mt 24:35, Mk 13:31, Lk 21:33). The Word of God is eternal, unchanging (Ps 119:89, 160) and cannot be broken (Jn 10:35). Therefore, if we continue to live our lives by the Word of God, we are building on an eternal foundation that cannot be shaken. Just like the early church which grew in strength and grace in the midst of all the opposition, we too, can thrive (not merely survive!) in the Lord despite our difficult environment. We read in Acts 2:42-47, that the believers “continue steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship … in prayers … breaking bread from house to house …” In other words, they persevered in the Word, in prayers, in fellowship and remained connected to one another. The results were supernatural miracles, provisions, favour and salvation for the lost.
It is with the same desire and longing that I am writing to you. You have graduated from City Harvest School of Theology and we value your relationship in this alumni family. We’ve set up this Alumni Portal to maintain connection, offer resources and support, as well as to strengthen the friendships fostered during your time at SOT.
We have four visions that we want to accomplish through this Alumni Portal:
- Connection – to stay connected in Christ; providing you with relevant resources.
- Communication – to maintain a two-way communication for mutual encouragement.
- Community – to provide a strong family you can identify with and belong to.
- Cause – to spread the gospel and make disciples of all nations.
I pray you will regularly come to the Alumni Portal to be refreshed and encouraged by the Word of God and the testimonies of fellow alumni. Hebrews 10:25 (NLT) reminds us, “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” In a time when we cannot travel to meet physically, let this portal be the place we meet together.
We look forward to seeing you all online very soon!