Joel 2:13—“And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.”
In the Ancient Near East, tearing one‘s clothes was the ultimate outward sign of grief or horror. Following the locust plague and the threat of an invading northern army, the Jews had plenty of reasons to mourn. However, the prophet Joel delivers a strong corrective: God is unimpressed by the theatricality of torn fabric. He demands a deeper, more violent disruption of the status quo. The “rending” must move from the linen to the life; the sorrow must be internal before it can be instrumental.
God, therefore, commands something far more searching: “rend your heart”. True repentance is not ritual display, but inward brokenness before God. Psalm 51:17 says, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”
The call to brokenness and repentance is not based on the fear of a tyrannical God, but on the nature of The LORD Himself. Sinners must turn, for there is no restoration without it. Yet the ground of hope lies not in human sorrow, but in divine mercy. Joel echoes God’s self-revelation in Exodus 34:6 that “he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.”
We turn not because we are certain of our own goodness, but because we are certain of His. The ground of hope of forgiveness and restoration lies not in human sorrow, but in divine mercy. The phrase “repenteth him of the evil” does not suggest a change in God’s moral mind, but a change in His disposition toward a people who have changed their hearts. When the heart is rent, the judgment is bent by His mercy. For where there is genuine repentance, there is abundant mercy.
All praise and thanks to the Lord for His grace and mercy towards the Gethsemane Seniors’ Ministry. As we commemorate 21 years of God’s abundant goodness, care and faithfulness upon this ministry, our hearts are overwhelmed with joy and gladness. “O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever” (Psalm 107:1).
This year, we rejoice that the Seniors’ Ministry had the privilege to hold a retreat on 29th April 2026. It was a blessed and spiritually enriching gathering, centred on the theme “Walking with God”. A total of 77 seniors and helpers gathered at the National Service Resort & Country Club (NSRCC) bungalow for a day of fellowship, instruction, and encouragement in the Lord.
The morning session was led by Elder Mah Chin Kwang, and all the participants sang together joyfully to praise the Lord. Our speaker, Pastor Prabhudas Koshy, expounded from Scripture on what it truly means to walk with God, drawing on the example of Enoch (Genesis 5:24). He emphasised a life marked by continual trust, communion, obedience and hope in the Lord, reminding us that our earthly life is brief and swiftly passing. The message was not only doctrinally enriching but also pastorally fitting in addressing the unique spiritual needs and challenges faced by seniors. Pr Daniel Lim joyfully interpreted the sermon for the benefit of our Mandarin-speaking brethren.
We thank God for Daniel Svasti, Thomas Tow and Francis Tan, who testified to the goodness of God in their lives in recent years. Pr Daniel and Bro Peng Kwang interpreted the testimonies. One common thread running through their testimonies was the edification and encouragement they received through the fellowship of the Seniors’ Ministry’s weekly meetings.
The retreat also provided an opportunity for non-Christian friends of our church members (who attended the retreat) to hear the Gospel from those assigned to them. The fellowship among the participants during lunch and in the post-lunch activities (e.g. games) was warm, rich with mutual encouragement. Participants were greatly refreshed by the hymn singing, sharing sessions, and times of interaction, which strengthened the bonds of Christian love among the seniors.
For the glory of God, unknown to many, much effort had gone into the smooth execution of the entire retreat. Behind the scenes were lots of hard work and logistical arrangements, as well as extensive planning by brethren who truly laboured with much love. We thank the Lord for His gracious presence throughout the retreat and for helping all who laboured to make it a pleasant and edifying event.
The Seniors’ Ministry covets your prayers, that we may live graciously for the testimony of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him” (Psalm 28:7).
Participants of Campus Ministry’s Gospel Seminar
Held on 1st May 2026
Apart from our own youths, about 35 non-Gethsemane youths also participated. We thank God that one youth turned to the Lord Jesus in repentance and prayer of faith at the end of the meeting. There were also youths from overseas (Malaysia, Philippines and Canada) who joined the meeting online. Let us continue to pray for all who heard the Word which Pastor Koshy expounded from Luke 12:10–21 on the topic, “A Materialistic World: A Distressed Mind”. Let us prayerfully encourage our youths to be excellent witnesses of Christ amongst their peers!
A Note from a Participant:
Hi Titus, it was truly a privilege to be sitting under faithful teaching tonight. This was a very timely reminder for me, especially being in a season of waiting that often accompanies uncertainty. I thank God for revealing my hidden sins of desiring control, and how tonight’s exhortation was a conviction that walking the way of the cross and thus gaining Christ alone is far, far more precious than the lures of this world. May God help us not to waste our lives on this side of heaven.
Joel 1:13—“Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God.”
The prophet Joel speaks to the people of Judah who are facing a crisis. Their land is stripped bare by an unprecedented locust plague. Every green thing is gone, the fields are wasted, and consequently, the “meat offering” (grain) and “drink offering” (wine) have ceased.
For the priests, this was not merely a loss of food; it was the interruption of the daily sacrifice. The offerings in God’s house had ceased. This outward famine was but a sign of a far more dreadful and profound spiritual crisis. Worship had withered because sin had hardened the people. The sacrifices of atonement and communion between Israel and the LORD had been severed by the divine judgment of the land.
Joel’s call for the ministers to “lie all night in sackcloth” is a summons to realise that religious routine cannot survive spiritual rot. The “withholding” of the offerings signifies that God will eventually remove the very means of worship if the hearts of the worshippers are far from Him. He prefers a howling priest in sackcloth over a comfortable priest performing empty rituals.
The priests, as spiritual leaders, were to lead the nation in repentance. Their sleepless night in sackcloth reveals that true ministry begins with brokenness before God. Joel calls the ministers to desperate transparency about the dire spiritual state of God’s people. He does not instruct them to restore the land or revive the offerings; rather, he commands them to “howl” and humble themselves before the LORD in repentance.
So, let us ask ourselves: Are our worship, prayer, service, and Gospel work being stripped away? In seasons of spiritual dryness and perceived spiritual famine, what should be our first instinct? When prayer dries up, when devotion fades, when the “offering” of our hearts is absent, the proper response is not indifference but mourning in repentance and return.
If your souls feel like a barren field today, do not hide behind a facade of duty. Gird yourself in humility, lament over your sins, and seek God.
Judges 2:11—“And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim.”
Judges 2:11 serves as the pivot point for the entire book of Judges, marking the transition from the generation of Joshua to a generation that “knew not the LORD” (v. 10). The geographical conquest had largely ended, but the spiritual conquest of their own hearts had failed.
Israel did not live in a vacuum; they lived in the “sight of the LORD”. This phrase underscores the tragic irony of their rebellion: they committed spiritual adultery in the very presence of their Husband, the LORD, whom they were forsaking.
Israel had been commanded to worship the LORD alone (Exodus 20:3). Yet, instead of driving out the surrounding nations, they lived among them and gradually adopted their practices. “Baalim” (plural) refers to the various forms of Baal worship, the fertility gods of the Canaanites, enticing Israel with promises of prosperity and pleasure.
What began as coexistence ended in compromise, and compromise led to idolatry. By serving Baalim, Israel attempted to synchronise their covenant faith with the pagan pursuit of prosperity and pleasure. This wasn't just a change in ritual; it was a total rejection of God’s exclusive sovereignty.
The path to “doing evil” rarely begins with a sudden, total denial of God; it begins with the inclusion of other “lords”. In our modern context, we may not bow to stone statues, but we serve “Baalim” whenever we allow the cultural idols of success, comfort, or validation to dictate our choices.
We must remember that we always live “in the sight of the LORD”. Nothing is hidden. Compromise often feels like “fitting in” with our neighbours, but in the economy of God, it is an abandonment of our identity as God’s people.
Today, evaluate your heart: Are you living for the LORD our God, or have you begun to serve the “Baalim” of your culture? Remember, holiness is not just the absence of sin, but the exclusive service of the Living God.
Judges 1:28—“And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out.”
Following Joshua’s death, Israel stood at a theological crossroads. God’s command was unambiguous: the total displacement of the Canaanites to prevent spiritual syncretism. However, Judges 1 records a shift from conquest to compromise.
As Israel grew strong, they viewed the Canaanites through the lens of utility rather than theology; they calculated that these pagan neighbours were more profitable as slaves than as corpses. They reduced the enemy to forced labour. What appeared to be a practical decision was, in truth, spiritual disobedience. They traded divine obedience for economic convenience.
This verse marks the beginning of Israel’s downward spiral in Judges. Their failure to fully obey God led to continued influence from the very people they were to remove. It teaches that partial obedience is still disobedience. God’s commands are not suggestions to be adjusted for convenience; they are to be obeyed fully and faithfully. By sparing what God had condemned, Israel allowed seeds of Canaanite idolatry and corruption to remain among them.
This verse reveals the peril of choosing pragmatism over obedience to God’s sovereign commands. By allowing the Canaanites to live and pay tribute, Israel placed its own comfort above God’s holiness. They viewed their strength as a tool for financial gain rather than a means to fulfil God’s purification of the land.
By allowing the root of idolatry to remain, simply because it paid a tax, Israel ensured their future seduction by those very same idols. We, too, may tolerate certain sins, manage them, or keep them under control rather than putting them to death. Like Israel, we may justify compromise because it seems beneficial or manageable. Yet what we spare today will trouble us tomorrow. Compromise is a slow-acting poison. Sin that is not mortified will eventually master us. Therefore, let us not manage sin, but forsake it. Only wholehearted obedience brings true spiritual safety and blessing.
Job 16:19—“Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high.”
Job is at his lowest ebb. He has been stripped of his wealth, his children, and his health. Worse still, he is enduring his friends, who have become the “miserable comforters” beside him. They are no longer his friends, but his accusers, insisting that his suffering is proof of hidden wickedness. Earthly justice has failed him; his reputation is in tatters. It is from this pit of isolation that Job lifts his eyes. He realises that while the earthly court has found him guilty, there is a higher tribunal where the truth remains untainted.
While human judgment fails him, he is convinced that God Himself bears witness to his integrity. Beyond his immediate distress, Job finds enduring strength in the unchanging truth that ultimate justice and vindication belong to God. God alone is the righteous Judge who sees with perfect clarity and records with unfailing faithfulness.
This verse introduces the idea of a Heavenly Advocate. Job uses legal language: “witness” and “record”, referring to one who testifies and confirms the truth. In a world full of misunderstanding and false accusations, Job appeals to God's perfect knowledge. He affirms that God is his heavenly Witness who fully knows and upholds the truth of his integrity. This insight anticipates the intercessory work of Christ, who, as Hebrews 7:25 declares, “ever liveth to make intercession” for His people.
When you are misunderstood or your intentions are twisted, remember that your reputation is not held by men but by God. You need not exhaust yourself defending your character against those determined to misjudge you. Rest in the comfort that the Lord sees your heart and stands as your Witness even when the world stands as your accuser.
Job 14:14—“If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come."
Job’s question, “If a man die, shall he live again?” arises from the depths of his suffering, as he reflects on the brevity and frailty of human life. Surrounded by loss and pain, Job wrestles not only with present affliction but with the seeming finality of death. Earlier (vv. 9–10), he observes that a tree, if cut down, may sprout again at the “scent of water”, but man appears to return to the dust without hope. Yet, in the midst of this lament, a spark of hope emerges as Job moves from questioning to quiet resolve.
He recognises that his suffering, and even the prospect of death, is not a chaotic accident but an “appointed time”, a fixed and purposeful season determined by God. His days, and all that befalls him, are not random events but are ordered by divine wisdom and sovereign purpose.
Theologically, this verse points to hope beyond death. Job held a deep confidence that death is not the end, but that a “change” awaits. This “change” suggests renewal, a transition, like a garment being replaced. Job trusts that the God who appoints his trials also appoints his transformation.
Life may be filled with trials, and death may seem final, yet we are called to wait upon God with patient hope. Our times are in His hands (Psalm 31:15), and our future is secure in His promise. Job’s wisdom is seen in his posture: waiting, not in despair, but in expectation. Our trials have an appointed limit, and God will bring the “change”. Thus, the Christian answers Job’s question with confidence: in Christ, the answer is “Yes.”
Joshua 23:10—“One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the LORD your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you.”
As Joshua nears the end of his life, he gathers Israel for a farewell address. This is not merely a military debriefing; it is a spiritual charge. After years of witnessing the walls of Jericho crumble, and the sun stand still, Joshua reminds the people that their past victories were never a product of numerical strength, tactical genius, or human courage, but of divine fidelity.
He reminds them of a remarkable truth: “One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the LORD your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you.” Israel’s victories were solely because the LORD Himself fought for them. Joshua speaks after years of conquest in the Promised Land. Israel had witnessed time and time again that divine presence, not human power, secured their triumphs. The strength of His people lies not in themselves, but in His abiding presence and power.
This verse also teaches an important truth about how God works with His people. Our strength does not simply add up to help us accomplish what God has sent us to do. Only when our efforts are directed and sustained by God’s power will the result be more than we could imagine. Joshua shows this clearly: the man is the one who “chases”, but it is the Lord who truly “fights”. We act, but God gives the victory. We are only the instruments; He is the One who triumphs.
Amidst the modern battles, whether spiritual, emotional, or vocational, we frequently buckle under the crushing weight of our own daunting challenges. We look at our bank accounts, our health, or our influence and conclude we are outnumbered and undone. However, Joshua’s exhortation invites us to stop counting heads and start counting on God. When the Lord fights for you, the math of the world no longer applies.
