Lives changed through Bible literacy classes

This article was adapted from one originally published by British and Foreign Bible Society.

Our counterparts in Pakistan are working to bring the Bible to life for 7,000 women in 2016 by teaching them to read. Will you help?
It costs just S$40 to help teach a woman to read and give her a New Testament.

AratiArati* was a cotton picker in rural Pakistan. She worked long hours to earn around S$2 a day. She was being cheated out of payment but didn’t know it – she couldn’t read the scales that weighed her cotton.

But at our literacy class the Bible changed Arati’s life for good. As she read the Bible for the first time, she met Jesus, discovered His love, and learnt that her life mattered.

Arati said, ‘Jesus died for us and there’s no one in the world who has died and rose again. We appreciate this love.’

Now I am literate, I feel empowered.

Today Arati teaches young children in her village to read. And since learning to read she’s realised the cotton traders were cheating her and others out of their wages.

She said, ‘After studying I read the scale and I knew the actual weight of the cotton and now the men can’t cheat us. Now I am literate, I feel empowered.’

Seven families in Arati’s village have become Christians since our literacy programme started.

‘There’s a big change in our village since the start of our literacy class’ Arati told us, ‘We are very happy and my family is very happy.’

Will you help more women like Arati learn to read?

Change for good

Arati is just one example of a life changed for good through the Bible. Through our literacy classes many women like Arati learn that their lives matter as God speaks to them through the Bible.

Just S$40 can help teach a Pakistani woman to read and give her a New Testament.

Your support could help teach Pakistani women to read and bring the Bible to life for them and their families. Will you join us in teaching more women like Arati to read?

*name changed


Life-Changing Impact of the Bible

This article was first published in the December 2013 issue of Word@Work.

Since Rev Dr Robert Morrison’s request for 1,000 Chinese New Testaments to be sent and distributed amongst Singaporeans in 1823, the Bible mission work has continued to impact the lives of Singaporeans who receive and read God’s Word.

When God’s Word is sowed into the hearts of people who need its life-changing power, there is a great harvest.

The gospel is capable of changing even the most hard-core offenders. Here is a testimony of an ex-offender whose life was completely transformed after reading the Bible:

“Years ago, I was involved in a gang clash with two seriously injured and one killed, and was sentenced to prison.

I felt hopeless, suicidal and cried out to idols, but there was no response. I was surrounded by enemies, two of whom became Christians and started reading their Bibles. They stopped smoking and using foul language. I was amazed and wanted to know their Jesus.

I was then transferred to Changi Prison, where one of my cellmates had a Bible. Immediately I asked his permission to read it. After reading Matthew 5:33-37, I was convicted of my sins…I had done nothing good. The Word gave me consolation… I saw Jesus shedding His blood to redeem my life. I prayed to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour right away.

I now feel peace and joy flooding my soul, because I have become a child of God.”

The power of God’s Word is able to capture the hearts of those who have turned towards chasing material wealth and idols, as evident in this testimony.

Chua was a success according to material standards, so much that money had become his master. One day, he had a serious motor accident which left him partially paralysed and gave him a bad case of gastric ulcers. This incident caused Chua to start pondering the true meaning of life for the first time, and he began to explore various religions and cults, burning incense and candles to idols for success.

However, the secret of true peace and joy continued to elude Chua, until he was given a Bible by a fellow businessman he met.

In his own words, Chua said, “God had laid it on my heart to read His Word… I met Jesus in the gospel of John. I cried and asked God to forgive my sins…With tears pouring down my cheeks; I came to know the true God. Jesus healed me completely… He healed my nearly paralysed body, my gastric ulcers and helped me forsake my bad habits… Praise the Lord.”

The Bible Society of Singapore (BSS) provides Bibles, New Testaments and Scripture Portions for distribution in Singapore and overseas, and this Bible mission work has been touching and transforming lives of people like Chua and the ex-offender for 190 years. We pray that you will continue to support the work of BSS, so that we can continue to sow God’s Word and make an impact on people’s hearts and lives.


Bible verses about caring for foreigners

This article was adapted from one originally published by United Bible Societies.

God makes it absolutely clear in the Bible that we are to care for the ‘foreigners’ or ‘strangers’ in our midst. Jesus himself experienced life in a foreign land in his early years, and always preached about the importance of showing love to the most vulnerable in our societies. Read and share these verses about the importance of welcoming and caring for the most vulnerable people.

1. Do not mistreat foreigners who are living in your land. Treat them as you would an Israelite, and love them as you love yourselves. Remember that you were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
- Leviticus 19:33-34 (GNT)

2. He makes sure that orphans and widows are treated fairly; he loves the foreigners who live with our people, and gives them food and clothes. So then, show love for those foreigners, because you were once foreigners in Egypt.
- Deuteronomy 10:18-19 (GNT)

3. “Long ago I gave these commands to my people: ‘You must see that justice is done, and must show kindness and mercy to one another. Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners who live among you, or anyone else in need.”
- Zechariah 7:9 (GNT)

4. I am the Lord, and I consider all people the same, whether they are Israelites or foreigners living among you.
- Numbers 15:16 (GNT)

5. See that justice is done – help those who are oppressed, give orphans their rights, and defend widows.
- Isaiah 1:17 (GNT)

6. If you give food to the hungry and satisfy those who are in need, then the darkness around you will turn to the brightness of noon.
- Isaiah 58:10 (GNT)

7. Remember to welcome strangers in your homes. There were some who did that and welcomed angels without knowing it.
- Hebrews 13:2 (GNT)

8. “Whoever has two shirts must give one to the man who has none, and whoever has food must share it.”
- Luke 3:11 (GNT)