CELEBRATING MY HOPE IN CHRIST

By Abhishek Singh

My wife, Swati, and I were invited by Mr Loh Meng See to attend the Celebration of Hope at the National Stadium held from 17 - 19 May 2019. We did not hesitate because he is a well-known personality as well as a respected elder whose guidance we valued. Furthermore, he knew we were exploring Christianity as our religion of choice.

We knew his invitation would be a strong validation of the quality of the event, so we immediately decided to go.

The experience of visiting Celebration of Hope was very enriching and the message was inspiring. Several speakers shared their testimonies of God’s grace and how faith in God has transformed the lives of thousands of people. In fact, the message that touched us the most was that every believer has a direct relationship with God.

Following this, we attended four Bible Study sessions at BFEC. During our Bible Study, we were told about the message of the Bible and how to read it effectively. We learnt the valuable principles of Love, Faith and Forgiveness and how to surrender to the will of God. We also learnt about the love of God for all His children and how Jesus Christ, through his ultimate sacrifice, has cleansed us of all sins. Since then, we have read the New Testament and have also started living our lives based on the fundamental Christian values of “loving thy neighbour” and believing in the one true God, his Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

I became a Christian because of three key reasons: 1. My relationship with God is that of a close and direct relationship between Father and son. 2. Faith in God conquers all fear and failure because man shall not live by bread alone. 3. Loving your neighbour as you love yourself is as important as your love for God.

It was very difficult for me to take that step to turn from Hinduism and put my trust in Jesus. Making the decision required me to overcome the Hindu belief system I had been born into and raised in for 40 years of my life. The hardest part was to let go of the Hindu ways of worship and mindset, specifically the belief system of Karma to forgiveness in Christ.

We have officially changed our religion in official records to Christianity. We intend to continue our journey of self-discovery guided by the Bible and Christian values for the rest of our lives.

Abhishek and Swati at the Celebration of Hope