God’s Word Transforms Our Hearts
By Selina Chow
I first learned about Precept Ministries while attending the Divorce Care course at Willingdon Church Burnaby. At that time, I was devastated with my husband’s abandonment of the family. Looking back, I realize now that God was giving me a “wake-up” call from my abandonment of Him and trying to bring me back to Him. At that time, Barbara Woodring was teaching Precept Upon Precept on the book of Philippians right next door to the Divorce Care course. I thank God that she was kind enough to let me join half-way after I finished my Divorce Care course. God spoke to me through the book of Philippians which helped me find my way back to Him. I discovered the strength and hope in Jesus – “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13).
Since I had been married, I had been putting my husband as “god” in my heart and had abandoned the God that I first loved. I thought I had a fulfilled life—but that was just outwardly. Inside my heart, there was a void that I know now only Jesus can fill. A few verses in the book of Philippians have given me some “aha” moments and made me question myself—“What has happened to my first love in Christ?” They helped me to realize that it was time to “gain Christ and be found in Him” again (Phil. 3:8-9). I did not need to have “righteousness of my own” (Phil. 3:9), it came through “faith in Christ” and “Christ has made me his own” (Phil. 3:9). For someone who had been rejected and felt worthless, it was so comforting to know that God still accepted me as His child even though I had forsaken Him. God also told me to “forget what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead to press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13). At that instance, I knew that God had a calling for me—to pursue Him and to make His name known. I have been attending Precept Upon Precept Bible studies ever since. This will be my thirteenth year studying the Bible with Precept Ministries. I have grown closer to God and been transformed by His Word.
What had once been my struggle, my brokenness, was now being used to point others to the freedom found in Christ alone!
In 2017, I was called to lead the “40-Minute” Precept course for women only. I was able to share the hope found in God’s Word with these ladies. What had once been my struggle, my brokenness, was now being used to point others to the freedom found in Christ alone! I was encouraged by the feedback I received from them. One of the ladies told me that she was able to forgive her husband after studying the “40-Minute” book Forgiveness – Breaking the Power of the Past. Others told me that it was an excellent way to know the truths in God’s Word and be transformed because His Word came alive through marking the key words, interpreting them, and answering all the relevant study questions.
I cannot thank God enough for His faithfulness and for directing me back to Him through studying His Word using the Precept Upon Precept method.