Author Archives: Ronnie Lim

Naomi and Ruth

https://odb.org/2023/12/11/more-than-enough-4 The story of Naomi and Ruth really shows off God’s grace and compassion that despite the misfortune of losing her husband and two sons in their sojourn to a foreign land due to famine, Naomi persevered on in life and returned to Israel. Ruth, a Moabite, followed her mother in law to the latter’sContinue reading “Naomi and Ruth”

Living sacrifice

https://odb.org/2023/12/07/giving-like-christ Continuing on the Christmas theme of generosity, one of the distinctiveness of Christmas is the giving of gifts. We can trace this tradition to the Magi – the 3 kings of orient land – who travelled from afar following a star bringing gold, incense, and myrrh (symbolising kingship, deity, and death) to baby JesusContinue reading “Living sacrifice”

The true meaning of Christmas

https://odb.org/2023/12/06/st-nick The tradition of Father Christmas or Santa Claus is reputedly based on a generous person named Saint Nicholas of Myra who used his wealth and inhertance to help the poor and needy. Thus, the fable is that he goes around dropping presents via chimneys to children who were good throughout the year. He staysContinue reading “The true meaning of Christmas”

Be strong and very courageous

https://odb.org/2023/12/05/gods-most-comforting-commitment Because they doubted and rebelled against the LORD, all men of twenty years and above who left Egypt were not permitted to enter into Canaan, the Promised Land. The edict originated from the bad and doubtful report of 10 of the 12 spies. Joshua and Caleb, the other two spies, were exempted, for theyContinue reading “Be strong and very courageous”

Listening to the voice of truth

https://odb.org/2023/12/03/zedekiahs-dilemma The LORD told King Zedekiah in Jeremiah 38 to surrender to the Babylonians, and he and his household would be spared, and Jerusalem and the Temple would not be burned down. But he was afraid that those in Judah who were captured earlier and were then already in Babylon would mistreat him. The truthContinue reading “Listening to the voice of truth”

God’s heart for all

https://odb.org/2023/12/01/his-heart-for-all Instead of highlighting (again, sigh…) the racial divisions within the church, which usually often boils down to people just prefering to congregate among their own kind, I should just focus on God’s heart this morning. God is for all, whether we are Chinese, Malay, Iban, Kadazan, or Indian. God has no preference in race,Continue reading “God’s heart for all”

Some trust in chariots

https://odb.org/2023/11/30/trust-in-his-name-2 Israeli Kings of old oscillate between trusting their chariots and horses and trusting God. Usually, those who trust in the latter were successful on the battleground. In Joshua’s case, he brought down the walls of Jericho completely on the instruction of the LORD by marching around the city with trumpets for 7 days. TheirContinue reading “Some trust in chariots”

Still small voice of the LORD

https://odb.org/2023/11/29/just-a-whisper Job, despite his sufferings and losses, was able to hear the whisper of God’s voice through nature. See Job 26:7-14. Although his 3 friends tried to convince him that his predicament was due to his sin, Job insisted and was determined in his contention that he was blameless. Instead, it was the perogative ofContinue reading “Still small voice of the LORD”

Compassion as a skill

https://odb.org/2023/11/28/the-skill-of-compassion I always thought of compassion as a quality we must have as a believer. An attribute. We need to be compassionate as God was compassionate to us that despite our weaknesses and inadequacies, He called us to be His own so that His power may be made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).Continue reading “Compassion as a skill”