Live Your Now Moments!

Saturday 26th July 2025

I have the most amazing testimony to share!

Many of you may not know this, but I have a favourite pastor here in New Creation Church, and it is not Pastor Prince, but Pastor Julia Lim Lian Neo (whom we call Ps Lian).

She was previously from a Methodist school and used to attend a Methodist church, so our backgrounds are similar in that sense.  She also used to be a school teacher, so she delivers her sermons in a very clear and concise manner.

On 10 June 2025, my best buddy David Tang asked me whether I wanted some of her classic CD sermons from way back in 2006 and 2007, to which I told him definitely yes, because they are not even available from the Rock Bookstore website anymore.

He passed me the sermons but I did not get down to doing anything about them until Thursday night, just before we sent dad's helper Vanessa to the airport.

I managed to find a portable CD player, wiped off the dust that had gathered on it, and got down to ripping the 3 CDs (ie converting the audio to MP3 format).

Yesterday,  I had to look for a software to merge the files into a single one (back then, sermons were split into several tracks (like a pop music album), so that listeners could pause the sermon at convenient intervals and resume where they left off.

While doing the merging of the tracks for the sermon "Live Your Now Moments!" preached on 9 Dec 2007, I listened to Ps Lian relating the story about how a staff at a coffee chain had gotten her so upset, that she kept on repeating the story for 2 days straight.

But what really arrested me was Track 2, which I have used Otter.ai to transcribe:

"I realized I counsel people of all ages, even those in their 40s and 50s and 60s, some of them still don't let go of their past. They're in their 60s, and they're still recounting to me, how they were hurt when they were in their childhood. whole 15 minutes about they were hurt. injustice was done to them. They are so bitter, and it's all about their childhood. 

After 15 minutes, they go on to the husband. So the husband had misunderstood them and and rejected them and made them feel so lousy. Oh, 15 minutes. Then after that, another 15 minutes on the children. Oh, my children, they are so rude to me. They don't respect me nowadays 15 minutes, then the next 15 minutes about the boss, oh, he is, and then another 15 minutes on the colleagues.
 
And I realized, what God wants us to let go and to let God, you know why? Let me show you the verse in Isaiah 43 that tells us why he wants us to let go. 

Because he says, do not remember the former things nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing now. It shall spring forth. Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. 

You know why God wants us to let go? Because he says, Why hold on to the past when I am doing a new thing, and I am doing awesome and wonderful things, and I'm making even a road in the wilderness, and I'm making rivers in the desert. So don't hold on to the past. Don't cling on to all the old hurts and the bitterness and the anger, Let it go."

You can listen to track 2 here

Track 2:

https://app.box.com/s/taf0765ee95aa42bfrmcco5vaz3k987o


This was the Rhema word for me, 18 years on.

But what was truly amazing is that God used Ps Lian's sermon from Dec 2007 to address the very deep hurts that I had in Dec 2007!

I felt God telling me, "Son, why are you still holding on to things that happened 18 years ago?  Just let it go and let me.  Stop re-living in the past." 

I went on to listen to the rest of the sermon and Ps Lian also spoke about how in Isa 43, God does not only talk about forgetting the past, but also about having hope for a better future (a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert).

The overriding theme is for us to enjoy each day at a time and to live in the NOW moments (hence the title of her sermon).

This part of her sermon also spoke to me and I will blog about how I have inadvertently hurt people very dear to me by placing unnecessary pressure and expectations on the vision God had placed in their heart. By doing so, I had become the voice of condemnation and I want to publicly apologise for plucking the proverbial rose before seeing it blooming (to quote my CG Leader).

Meanwhile, here is her Entire Sermon for your listening pleasure.  May it minister to you as it did to me.

https://app.box.com/s/1iquxvkgfgrdsft3xuknfl3f44x8uha5

Whitewashed Tomb Points Out Speck but Overlooks Beam

Wednesday 23rd July 2025

Yesterday I blogged about how Methodist pastors are on the spectrum with regards to the gospel of grace.

I am thankful to God that Rev Reuben Ng is on the extreme positive side, and because of that, God has blessed his ministry and promoted him way above anyone could ever imagine or think.

Sad to say, there is one such Methodist on the extreme negative side, and he is none other than Rev Ho Chee Sin, former Bishop of the Methodist Church in Singapore.

The evil one has used him and he is even being cited on George Ong's blog, viz

https://www.revgeorgeong.com/rev-ho-chee-sin-former-bishop-of-the-methodist-church-singapore-pastors-elders-of-churches-must-publicly-speak-up-against-the-heresies-of-joseph-prince/

I reproduce below what Rev Ho said about Ps Prince in full

Rev Ho Chee Sin (Former Bishop of the Methodist Church, Singapore): Pastors & Elders of Churches Must Publicly Speak Up Against the Heresies of Joseph Prince (Dated 12 October 2020)

 

“Rev George Ong is a well-regarded and faithful itinerant preacher and teacher. His messages can be interesting and full of humour, and yet on other occasions, it can also be serious and sober. He is an outstanding communicator of the Word of God, which is evident to his hearers. I believe that the Holy Spirit always empowers him to share God’s message.

 

George is very focused on what God has called him to do and does not mince his words when he painstakingly points out the seriousness of errant preaching and teaching as in the case of Joseph Prince, a prominent but iniquitous preacher in Singapore. 

 

Heresy is a dangerous thing that can lead people to the lake of fire. The threat and influence of the Pseudo-grace (or Hyper-grace) teachings by Joseph Prince who anchors the biggest church in Singapore, is not something which is academic, but it has already permeated many of the churches in Singapore and around the world. The battle against false teachers will intensify as Jesus and Paul have already prophesied that false teachers will arise in the last days. 

 

Nourishing the flock with sound doctrine, and guarding the flock against savage wolves is a key duty of pastors and elders. Any neglect is to the detriment of their flock. So, the task of preventing heresies from seeping into the church must be taken seriously by the pastors and elders of churches. We can do something concrete by publicly speaking up against the heresies of Joseph Prince. The sheep need to hear the voice of true shepherds, or the voice of false shepherds will influence and choke them to their destruction.

 

I thank God that Rev George Ong is painstakingly sticking out his neck by highlighting to the church about the threat of such deadly teachings by Joseph Prince. It is a tough and dangerous calling that few would be willing to undertake.”

 

Rev Ho Chee Sin

Former Bishop of the Methodist Church, Singapore


I felt compelled to write the following regarding Rev Ho.  He is the proverbial whitewash tomb that Jesus was referring to, and the classic example of the hypocrite finding a speck in Ps Prince's eye while overlooking the beam in his own.

May God continue to protect His sheep and shake establishments in the last days that are preaching from Mount Sinai rather than from Mount Zion.  God has moved mountains and so should the under-shepherds of His flock. Amen?

Credit goes to ChatGPT for generating the image above as well as the letter to fellow believers below.

Subject: A Call for Accountability — The Case of Rev Ho Chee Sin

Dear Theophilus


I write this with a heavy heart, compelled by conviction and a sense of spiritual responsibility. As fellow believers in the gospel of grace, we are entrusted not only with proclaiming the good news, but also with protecting the flock from those who exploit their position under a façade of righteousness.


I speak specifically of Rev Ho Chee Sin, whose conduct over the years, masked in ecclesiastical authority, has wrought quiet devastation across several churches within TRAC.


He is, in my view, the very embodiment of the whitewashed tomb — outwardly polished, inwardly prideful and politically driven. His actions have demonstrated a pattern not of pastoral care, but of institutional manipulation.


Here is the hard truth:


KHS was a faithful and effective pastor at PL, loved by the congregation and fruitful in ministry. Moving him to Wesley — a shift orchestrated by Rev Ho when he was TRAC President — disrupted that momentum and derailed a thriving work. KHS’s ministry was never quite the same afterward.


DT, relocated from KK to PL, was not a good fit. Under his leadership, the church was set back significantly — a decision that cost PL nearly a decade of growth and stability. Yet again, this was a move orchestrated from above, not out of spiritual discernment, but administrative politics.


IL's transfer from Wesley to Faith saw him become more ostentatious, using GC resources when he was subsequent made TRAC President on high-profile events that did more for his image than for the kingdom. Far from curbing his tendencies, Rev Ho's decision to move him merely amplified them.


CL's move from Faith to KK appears to have done no visible harm, but it completed what many of us quietly saw as a coordinated rotation of pastors — a political game played with lives and ministries.


These weren’t just unfortunate decisions — they were systemic failures of leadership disguised as strategic appointments. They disrupted churches, wounded pastors, and confused congregations. This is not spiritual leadership. This is bureaucracy intoxicated with power.


Jesus warned of such men — those who clean the outside of the cup but leave the inside full of greed and self-indulgence. Rev Ho has projected holiness, but his track record reflects something entirely different: self-righteousness, ambition, and spiritual blindness.


He saw fit to silence others for associating with Ps Joseph Prince — not because of doctrine, but because of pride. He rejected the grace movement not with discernment, but with disdain.


I appeal to you, brothers — you who have been faithful in stewarding the grace message, in shepherding God’s people with humility and truth. Do not remain silent in the face of such spiritual misconduct. If we are to build a church where grace flows freely, we must also confront the systems and personalities that hinder it.


This is not personal bitterness. It is grief for the body of Christ and for the lives disrupted by one man’s unchecked authority.


I trust your discernment and your love for truth. And I pray — with all sincerity — that this letter will be received in the spirit in which it is written.


For His glory alone,

A 4th-generation Methodist (currently in exile)



UPDATE 26 July 2025: The letter has been formally sent to Rev Ho via email to TRAC.  Will keep readers posted accordingly.


UPDATE 29 November 2025: It has been 4 months since the letter was emailed to TRAC.  Yet no picture nor sound has been received from anyone. 


Exalt Jesus, and He Will Exalt You



Tuesday, 22nd July 2025

I am constantly reminded of the unique situation I am currently in.  I still keep my membership with the church of my forefathers (ie. Paya Lebar Methodist Church) on the advice of the then-PIC Rev Jonathan Seet. Yet my wife and I consider New Creation Church as our home church since January 2018.

There is this fleshly part of me that tends to make comparisons between churches, and even pastors, like which are the ones that are "law"-based or which of the ones that are "grace"-based, etc.

Then God gently reminds me of the passage whereby Paul admonished the church in Corinth for having different "camps".  Back then, some prided themselves to be followers of him, while others prided themselves to be followers of Apollos.  Ultimately, what mattered was whether they were followers of Jesus Christ Himself.

1 Corinthians 3:3-8 

The Church and Its Leaders

1 Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,”are you not mere human beings?

5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants,through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.


I recall meeting up  (together with Philip Ng), with Bishop Wee Boon Hup when he was TRAC President and Peter Koh was PLMC's PIC.  He told Phil and me that the Methodist Church is unique in that there is no "official" stand regarding any doctrine, be it tongues, healing, prosperity, the rapture or the grace gospel. Each Pastor-in-charge sets the tone for his/her congregation.

So while we have the likes of Peter and Barnabas Chong on the one extreme side of the spectrum who are ostensibly and vehemently against New Creation Church and its teachings, we have others like Rev Reuben Ng on the other extreme side who went so far as to even invite Ps Lim Lian Neo to guest speak when he was PIC at Toa Payoh Methodist Church!  To be precise, it was on 26 April 2015 and I was wearing my Year of Greater Glory t-shirt when I stepped forward to say hello to her.  She probably thought I was from TPMC haha.  Ps Lian herself was from a Methodist church and even taught in a Methodist school.

Rev Reuben is truly a breath of fresh air.  I see so many similarities between him and Ps Prince. They both preach without having to refer to a script because it is the Holy Spirit giving them utterance.  They never fail to mention Jesus and His finished work.  Because both of them exalt Jesus, God in turn has exalted them.

In my humble opinion, Ps Prince is God's gift to Singapore, while Rev Reuben is God's gift to the Methodist Church. God has prospered the ministry of these 2 men of God because their message is Jesus-centric.

New Creation Church's growth from below 200 in 1984 to more than 35,000 today is a testament to God's goodness and faithfulness.  Similarly, Rev Reuben's promotion up the ranks from Member-on-Trail in Aug 2007 to TRAC President in Nov 2024 is nothing short of the spectacular.

Rev Reuben's godly wisdom shone through very distinctly right in the heart of Covid when Singapore was in lockdown.

Here is the Timeline

24 May 2020: The then-Bishop Chong Chin Chung makes an announcement that all Methodists are banned from partaking of the Holy Communion.  He subsequently issues a formal memo on 2 June 2020.

24 May 2020: That very same day, a handful of us got together to pray in agreement that Jesus would somehow visit Bishop Chong in a vision to tell him not to deprive his congregants of something so fundamental, like how Jesus visited Saul on his road to Damascus to ask him why he was persecuting Him.  And indeed, God heard our prayer and did pay him a visit in his sleep.  We even anointed his photo.

25 May 2020 to 1 June 2020: Meanwhile, God prompts Rev Reuben to come up with a solution so that his members at TPMC can continue to take Holy Communion.  The Methodist Church requires the sacraments to be consecrated (ie. prayed over by an ordained pastor) so that is what he does. On 4 June 2020, TPMC announces that her members can partake of the consecrated elements.

3 June 2020 to 5 June 2020: I write to Rev Kow, the PIC of PLMC expressing my concern about my dad and kids being deprived.  He reads my messages but does not respond. 

14 June 2020: Bishop Chong reverses his earlier decision and allows all Methodists to partake the elements, provided they are first consecrated by their respective Pastors-in-Charge.  This practice is rolled out to all other Methodist churches.



The lessons I learnt from this episode were as follows:

(1)  the prayer of righteous men avail much.  We pleaded on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Methodist churches that they would be able to continue to obey Jesus' command to eat of His body and drink of His blood to declare His death has brought us health and wholeness.

(2) God is more concerned about the well-being of His children than anyone of us can ever be.  Hence, He imparted His wisdom to Rev Reuben to get it to work within the Methodist system.

Conclusion: As long as a preacher exalts the person of Jesus and His finished work in His sermons, God will exalt him and prosper his ministry and influence.  Hallelujah!

How God Turned a "You Siao Ah" Dream into Reality

Saturday, 19th July 2025

I have very fond memories of my mom. I was after all her favourite child (being her son, her only son, the son that she loved).

As a tribute to her, I will blog about the huge impact she had on all aspects of my life, be it during innocent childhood, pimply teenage years, arduous time in the Army, courtship to marriage to starting a family, and even throughout my career.  She was the mom who loved me from the time she carried me in her womb for the 9 months leading up to 20 December 1967 to the time she went home to be with the Lord on 23 June 2012.

Today, I shall blog about my mom’s affinity for comedy and cartoons.  Among her favourite shows were Under One Roof (“UOR”), Kids Say the Darndest Things (“KSTDT”) (featuring Art Linklater) and the Smurfs.

 

We will talk about UOR and the Smurfs in another post.

 

Regarding KSTDT, the host would interview pre-teen children and ask them random questions. Being at that age of innocence, they would respond without any filters and cause much laughter (and sometimes embarrassment) to their parents.

 

Here is a sample for your viewing pleasure

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe4xXzzGKeY

 

Well, yours truly also said something “darn” when I revealed to my parents what I wanted to be when I grew up.  Sort of.

 

I recall an occasion when I was at the age of 4 or 5.  I was in the car with my parents when this huge lorry pulled up beside us at a traffic junction.

 

I looked up into the lorry and was overawed. Back then, its side door was very small and i could see the driver with one hand holding the steering wheel, and the other holding a long huge lever. I told my mom, “mummy I wanna be like that uncle when I grow up.” 

 

My mom said “you siao ah” or something to that effect.  God bless her soul :-) 


Like how Joseph’s parents would have reacted when he told them that the sun, moon and stars would bow to him. 

 
Most kids when asked what they wanted to be when they grew up would typically answer “doctor" or "lawyer”. Well, both those professions evaded me.


At 14, being a doctor became out of the question when I was streamed to the sub-Science class 4E, just about missing out. Mom went to see Ernest Lau to appeal for me to get back into the Pure Sciences.  Will blog about that in another post.

 

At 19, I applied to NUS Law but failed the interview (it has to do with the Smurfs, which aired on Sunday mornings during Church service time, so mom would get me to timer-record it on the VCR for us to watch later on).

 

I ended up being an Accountant, but deep down inside I still yearned to drive a lorry.

 


While still attending PLMC (up until December 2017), I had meanwhile applied for an NCC Noah Account sometime in 2012 so that I could book seats at The Star Vista, if so required.  As part of obtaining that Account, I would receive regular emails from NCC Noah Hub.
 
One such email sent to me in October 2016 was regarding the recruitment of volunteer truck drivers.  I felt prompted to sign up, even though I did not have a Class 4 licence yet. Thomas Liau (ex-Trinity Methodist and now also in NewCre) told me that it typically takes 6 months for the Church to get back, so I figured it would give sufficient time for me to take lorry lessons and to pass the test.

Long story short, God fulfilled my childhood dream on 7 May 2017, some 45 years later.  I received my 5-year Long Service Award in 2022 and this year would be my 8th serving in the Logistics & Transport Ministry.

 

Just as Obed-Edom was honoured to serve as a gatekeeper of the Ark of the Covenant, so too it is my great honour to serve as a driver of these awesome trucks!


Better is one day in God's house than a thousand elsewhere, Amen?

A Wedding and A Funeral

Monday, 14th July 2025

Back in 1994, there was a highly-successful box office movie starring Hugh Grant entitled Four Weddings and a Funeral that also featured the chart-topping song Love Is All Around by Wet Wet Wet.

Well, I have entitled today's blog entry ONE Wedding and ONE Funeral, because it relates to exactly that: the wedding being that of my daughter's (whom I affectionately refer to as "sweetie") and the funeral being that of my father's (whom I affectionately refer to as "dad").

Those who have been following my blog would be aware of the multi-generational involvement of my family in Methodism, specifically Paya Lebar Methodist Church ("PLMC").  My great-granddad Rev Wee Chin Kam pastored her Peranakan service in the 1940s-1950s.  My grand-dad Loh Khie Lock served in the LCEC for decades, chairing the Stewardship & Finance Committee for a number of years in the 1960s.  

My dad Dr Michael Loh was the most illustrious leader of them all, serving in the LCEC for close to 5 decades, from the 1970s into the 2010s.  Not only was he in the PPRSC (it was known as PPRC then) for a decade, he even levelled-up to the General Conference and served as its Layleader for a full 4-year term in the 1990s with Kim Seah as Assistant Layleader.

In fact, the Loh family was featured in PLMC in a coffee-table book entitled "Being & Beginnings".  You can read that article entitled Legacy of Faith

I naturally followed in his footsteps, serving in the LCEC upon graduating from NTU in 1991, and was appointed Treasurer in September 2006 (after declining it twice in 1992 and 1999 because I was not ready, having just gotten married and starting a family respectively) and a CG Leader in January 2007 when Bishop Emeritus (then-Rev) Wee Boon Hup was the Pastor-in-Charge ("PIC").

However, because I could not find satisfactory answers to my son's medical condition, sometime in May 2005, God took me on this journey of discovering the true gospel of Jesus Christ (which the apostle Paul explained so clearly in his letter to the Galatians). The journey culminated in my wife and I officially making New Creation Church our home church in 2018, some 13 years later.  You can read about My Journey of Grace through Faith

Truth be told, I had wanted to move on as early as 2008 when the then-PIC of PLMC, the law-based Peter Koh relieved me of my leadership roles and disbanded my CG. But God in His grace and mercy prompted me to stay on by arranging (through by then the President Boon Hup) for Rev Reuben Ng (now President) to be posted in as her youth pastor to replace another law-based pastor in the form of Barnabas Chong.  So we stayed on in PLMC by attending the Youth Service (located in PLMGS) and then started attended Toa Payoh Methodist Church when Rev Reuben was posted there as her PIC in 2013.

Meanwhile, my daughter has grown roots and remains in the church of my forefathers as a 5th-generation Methodist, while my son now attends (and works in) a Brethren church near to where we stay.  While not ideal for my immediate family to be worshipping in different churches, what is more important is that we all love and serve the same God.  After all, there are no denominations in heaven.

Upon semi-retiring in July 2020 (my last full-time job being CFO of a listed company), I had much more spare time so I took golf more seriously, playing once, twice and even thrice a week.  Among those I golfed with were ex-churchmates Roland Teo, Choo Kim Gang and James Tham, amongst others.

The subtler ones would ask me when they would see me back in PLMC to which I would reply "when I walk my daughter down the aisle".

The more blatant ones would ask me when this "prodigal son" would "return home" permanently, to which I told them frankly that I am currently very settled in NewCre, and the only push factor would be if a new covenant, grace-based pastor (such as Rev Reuben Ng) was posted to PLMC as its PIC.

Now onto the title of today's post.

I have stepped into the church of my forefathers just twice since 2018, viz:

(1) WITH REFERENCE TO THE WEDDING

walking sweetie down the aisle
I walked my sweetie down the aisle on 21 September 2024.  
You can watch the video here.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/M5bEHCTKwl4

But what was more amazing was that my dad actually took the effort to physically witness the ceremony in person! Since Covid hit in 2020, he had only watched PLMC's services online.  That's him on the bottom left of the photo.

Dad witnessed sweetie's wedding in person

(2) WITH REFERENCE TO THE FUNERAL

My dad went to heaven on 2 July 2025. 

We held the wake at home and numerous PLMC members came to pay their respects.  

I will blog about his funeral in a future post.

To honour his memory and legacy, my wife and I decided to attend PLMC's 93rd Anniversary service on 13 July 2025.

Here are snapshots capturing the main highlights of the celebration.

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