Peter’s citizenship

As I pondered upon what the apostle’ Peter has said, “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people;” (1 PETER 2:13-15, NIV), and, this weekend’s reading has reminded me to submit myself to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake via institutions of government, marriage, employment, education, and in Peter’s day, even slavery (1 PETER 2:18, 1 PETER 3:7, NIV).

Truly, we are to exert a redeeming influence in our nation as responsible and productive members of society besides being intercessors and witnesses to our nation in SG today. Indeed, we are God’s holy people living in a secular state with a multi-religious society. And, we see the invisible hand of God and the visible hand of an exceptional Government ordained by God since 1965. Because the laws are righteous and the fundamentals are right, we can honour our rulers and submit to their authority without compromising our Christian convictions.

As Solomon has said, “Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed;” (PROVERBS 11:11, NIV), we’re truly sorry for not speaking positive words of blessing upon those in authority except blaming them with our words but for us to acknowledge the LORD’S guiding hand upon our strong, stable, and successful Government and speak words of blessings over their lives too, as I did my weekend’s meditation.

As such, we give thanks to God for:
• For pro-family policies that uphold the social norm of the married heterosexual family unit.

• For wise, prudent, and far-sighted leaders who serve with passion and a deep sense of purpose to keep Singapore vibrant, A Home with Hope and Heart.

• For a first-class Public Service, centered on right values: integrity, service, excellence.
• For a strong and trusted judiciary and effective rule of law respected around the world.

• For a culture of zero tolerance for corruption and drug abuse.

• For a policy of religious freedom which guarantees every person the right to profess, practice, and propagate his or her faith.

• For a policy of racial and religious harmony which ensures that race and religion will not be used to incite conflict and disharmony.

• For a policy of social justice that helps the needy in their efforts to live well and make ends meet.

• For an extraordinary healthcare system that has become a marvel to other nations.

• For an excellent education system ranked as one of the world’s best.

• For sound economic strategies that keep our economy robust and future-ready.

• For a strong and vigilant defense force that exercises the power of deterrence and diplomacy.

• For a strong police force dedicated to making Singapore the safest place in the world.

• For a world-class infrastructure of air, maritime, and land transport.

• For excellent strategies that ensure good housing, clean drinking water, reliable power, wireless access clean and green cityscape.

ADAPTED FROM LOVESINGAPORE, DAY OF HIS POWER 2018

Let’s give thanks to God for our strong, stable, and successful Government today!

Profile Background:
Jeremy Koh is a disabled graduate from Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore – formerly known as Spastic Children Association (1987–1997). He graduated with Certificates in Microsoft Office Skills & a HR Administrator Graduate (CHRA) under Human Capital Singapore–SGEnable Collaboration of Partnership – HCS HR PowerBank (7th Dec 2021 to 3rd June 2022). Jeremy has also worked in ServeHope Pte Ltd – Project Assistant/Email Marketing Consultant for 5 years (March 2008 – August 2013); as KeyGuard Specialist @(these)abilites Pte Ltd handling all KeyGuard Operations for 10 months in World United College South East Asia (Tampines Branch); an Executive Assistant with Vision Strategy Storytelling (3 months, Aug to Oct 2017); as GB Connector in GrowthBeans Team in Savior-Asia Consulting Pte Ltd (October 2018 to December 2019). Today, Jeremy is a Founder in the ground up initiative project called – Project Stories for LIFE (Affiliated with Youth Corps Singapore, a former member of the Special Needs Cluster) that serves the Special Needs Community at-large in the society, as well as being a PwD Advocate – a representing voice of the Disabled Community to the public today.

Prayer Response to this featured article:
Jesus, we repent of our ingratitude and cynicism upon those in authority of the Government and that we may speak speaking positive words of blessing upon their lives today.

(Written by Jeremy Koh, 13th July 2019)