Author Archives: Ronnie Lim

https://odb.org/2023/10/25/one-door-for-all-2 At the human level, we find that although churches are at the core multiracial, people do congregate based on language or creed. Thus, in West Malaysia, we have Chinese churches (language) and Chinese dominated churches (race) and Indian dominated ones as well as Tamil churches. In Sarawak, churches are largely of 3 types –Continue reading “One door for all”

https://odb.org/2023/10/24/dont-lose-heart-2 They say two things are unavoidable in life; death and taxes. Another is perhaps ageing and its impact on our lives. When we age, we start to have a myriad of illnesses from high cholesterol to hypertension to diabetes to heart ailments. We need to start taking long-term medication. When we travel, we takeContinue reading “Growing old”

https://odb.org/2023/10/23/i-surrender A phrase that we often hear is that God will help those who help themselves. There is wisdom in that in the sense that we need to act in order for God to act. We need to put in the work to see the results. It is conventional wisdom, but it is not biblical.Continue reading “We belong to Him”

https://odb.org/2023/10/20/in-the-garden-3 Most of us would have heard about the Garden of Eden even if we were not yet in the faith. There is a creation story in most cultures and civilisations. Except that in the biblical one, perhaps the difference is that it shows what it would have been if sin had not crashed in.Continue reading “Garden of Eden”

https://odb.org/2023/10/19/first-on-the-list In Matthew 6:33, Jesus tells us to seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. If you read the preceeding verses, Jesus’s argument is that if God takes care of the birds and the flowers and the grass, will He not take careContinue reading “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God”

https://odb.org/2023/10/18/use-what-you-have-2 When I read Acts 9:36-46 of Peter raising Tabitha (or Dorcas in Greek) from the dead, I felt there were similarities with the story of Jesus raising the little girl from the dead, the 12-year old daughter of Jairus (Mark 5:35-43). In fact, this similarly occurred in ancient times when Elisha raised the Shunammite’sContinue reading “Tabitha (or Dorcas in Greek)”

https://odb.org/2023/10/17/our-anchor-2 The longstanding conflict between the Palestinians and Israel, in a nutshell, is basically the former clinging on to a hope of returning to the 1947 borders and land despite the passage of 76 years with more than 7 million Jews already settled in and having developed Israel into one of the most advanced countriesContinue reading “Our Hope in Christ”

https://odb.org/2023/10/15/gods-unexpected-ways I can relate very well to Paul’s exhortation in 1 Corinthians 1:27 that God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. The truth is that in the Kingdom of God, one may be eloquent, articulate, and funny when preaching the Word, and that works well with most congregations. But evenContinue reading “Foolish things of the world”

https://odb.org/2023/10/13/yielding-to-trust That the LORD is our rock and salvation, and deliverer is a common phrase used by the Psalmists to describe God as someone whom they place their hopes on. Isiah 26: 1-4 is no different. Thus, seeing an icy fog turn into a sunny morning looks like an impossibility, but nature has a strangeContinue reading “Trust in the LORD”

https://odb.org/2023/10/12/knowing-and-loving-2 I heard the story of Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 9:1-10) preached once in my local church by a senior pastor and was very touched. I found it fascinating and was very impressed that David, after becoming king, sought to bless the grandson of the previous king, who was all out trying to stop David’s ascension.Continue reading “Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan”