“For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” Hebrew 4:12 (NLT)
This verse did not hold truer than when CityParents held its first Bible sharing session on May 18. A group of nine mothers, all members of the CityParents group from City Harvest Church, gathered at a fellow mom’s house that Thursday morning to get to know one another and to share their personal revelations on Scripture.
Food being the most common language of all, the women began the morning by bonding over breakfast. Then they sat in a circle, and Lilian Ong, a mother of 2 and facilitator of the session, laid down the ground rules: that the session was meant to encourage one another, and to give them an avenue to share their reflections and personal revelations of what God was speaking to them in the current season of their lives. In the event that deeper clarification on certain topics are required, then those would be brought up separately to their leaders in the church.
Before that morning, the women had been given verses about Eve so that they could read up and seek God about the verses. Hence the session opened with each participant sharing her personal reflections of the given Scriptures, and how the verses applied to their lives.
Reflections And Revelations
Some mothers shared openly about struggles they were going through and situations happening in their lives. Each had penetrating views on Eve’s character and purpose.
Ong noted that Eve was created out of Adam’s side—not his head (to rule over him) or his feet (to be trampled by him) but to be his helper, his equal in life’s journey. She felt that a wife’s role is like the Holy Spirit’s—to walk alongside the husband, to guide and to be a comforter.
Vivien Yap, the Content Editor of CityParents and a mother of one, shared her personal revelation that women are created with tremendous power to bring about shifts in the natural and spiritual realms. Drawing from Genesis 1 and 2 where God pronounced the sixth day as “very good” after He created Eve, Vivien believes that “our prayers and confessions too can turn a situation from ‘not good’ to ‘very good’. As the Bible says, whatever we bind on earth will be bound in heaven.” She encouraged the mothers not to despair in the face of issues such as trouble parenting a teen or even having a husband who is not the head of the household—these situations can be changed by a praying wife and mother.
Yuan Wenhui, mother of a baby boy, shared how, in Genesis 3:20, women have a great calling to motherhood and God has placed in them a maternal instinct to nurture. Over and above the nurturing of her own child, Wenhui felt that she has a call to nurture the next generation. She pointed out that it is all part of fulfilling God’s redemption plan: when Adam and Eve fell, God also provided—through women—a solution and that was Christ.
Teo Meishan, a mother of three, pointed out a unique learning point she received in her study of Eve. “Eve didn’t understand God’s boundaries,” she noted. “She wasn’t absolutely clear about God’s commandment, which became evident when she interacted with the serpent.”
Meishan drew the parallel with parents. “As parents we say no to our kids over many things, but do our children understand the true intention of the boundaries we set for them? Do we take time to explain our point of view in an age-appropriate manner?” she asked. “We need to help our children appreciate the reasons for boundaries. Likewise, a deeper understanding of God’s commandments will keep us from falling into temptation and sin.”
The wife’s influence over her husband can be a gift or a curse. That is what Fiona Lim, a new mother of 1, realised. “Wives need to understand that we have influence over our husband, in the same way Eve successfully persuaded Adam to eat the fruit of the tree of good and evil. We need to guard our hearts and spirits, so that we influence them in the right spirit and with Godly perspective. Instead of being a negative influence, we can be positive influences our husbands.”
After the fruitful sharing session, the group prayed and ministered to one another as the presence of God descended upon them.
Given the success of the inaugural meeting, the group will be meeting again on 13 June, Tuesday at Suntec for the next Bible study session where they will be studying on another woman of the Bible – Sarah. Do join us and email info@cityparents.sg for more details!
