Cover Story
01 Mar 2017

A Pastoral Letter from the Episcopal Office

Source/Author: Bishop Dr. Ong Hwai Teik

As God’s people in the Methodist Family in Malaysia, we continue to humble ourselves, seek the face of our Sovereign Lord and pray with penitence as well as with hope in this Lent Season.

Together, we seek Almighty God for His sovereign guidance and breakthroughs over issues that we lament about personally and also nationally, refusing to be defeated by discouragement. In the words of the Apostle Paul - “we are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair” [2 Cor 4:8]. 

The believers of old wrestled with the world view of wicked people in a vast perplexing terrain of the “real and fallen world” in their songs of lament in the Psalms, which led them to new learning experiences and truth encounters with the Sovereign God, the Maker of heaven and earth. 

They chose to “walk by faith and not by sight” [2 Cor 5:7], choosing to view all things within the larger context of an unchanging trust in the Sovereign God – the Supreme Guide of all personal, communal and national journeys of lament. Lamenting is real, but scripturally [especially in the Psalms] it is always a song of hope - for God’s people. 

Let us then choose to continue to unwaveringly seek our Sovereign God in prayer in the midst of our lamentations for:  

  1. Pastor Raymond Koh – his well-being, release and his family; that the law enforcement agencies will continue to act diligently in bringing this case of abduction to a closure. 

  2. As we pray for a just and moderate Malaysia governed by the Constitution, which is the supreme law of this land, we need to pray for God’s divine intervention pertaining to the private member’s bill to enhance Hudud punishment by amending RUU355. An Open Letter to Members of Parliament was issued by the CCM on 14 Oct 2016 calling on our MPs to “take the right, and courageous stand to vote against the Bill” and “do the right thing to safeguard the democracy that shapes the life of our nation.”

  3. We also need to pray and prepare for the “not too far away” 14th General Election [on or before 24 August 2018].
    1. RSV Psalm 130:1. Out of the depths I cry to thee, O LORD!
      2 Lord, hear my voice! Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!.........

    5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; 6 my soul waits for the LORD more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. 7 O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plenteous redemption. 

    Bishop Ong Hwai Teik
    The Methodist Church in Malaysia
    03 March 2017