Author Archives: Ronnie Lim

https://odb.org/2023/08/25/what-a-friend The shortest verse in the Bible is found in John 11:35, “He wept.”. Just two words and yet so powerful. It is evidence that Jesus is truly human, although He is God. In the story of Cain and Abel, God was so upset with Cain for killing Abel that He cursed the ground vis-a-visContinue reading “Jesus, our friend”

https://odb.org/2023/08/24/openhearted-generosity Having a heart that is both open and generous is not only Christ-like but also Godly. These are attributes that Paul speaks about in Romans 12:2 on not conforming to the pattern of the world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds so we may prove (test and experience) the good,Continue reading “Open-hearted generosity”

https://odb.org/2023/08/23/witnesses-2 Hebrews 11:4 – By faith, Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith, he was commended as righteous when God spoke well of his offering. By faith, Abel still speaks even though he is dead. And the writer of today’s ODB added – so do the bones of those long forgottenContinue reading “Abel still speaks”

https://odb.org/2023/08/22/gods-eternal-church We know that we are all a part of the universal church of Christ that, although we are separate branches, we all reach out and worship God together and collectively. Thus, as believers, we are a part of this universal body of Christ that is like many candles of lights illuminating the whole worldContinue reading “The universal and the local church”

https://odb.org/2023/08/21/the-gift-of-encouragement-2 Unlike the Ziphites (a tribe in Israel) who betrayed David to Saul, Saul’s son Jonathan made a covenant with David before God. Jonathan encouraged David that God would not allow Saul to take David and that David would be King and Jonathan would be his second in Israel. In a subsequent encounter with Saul,Continue reading “Jonathan, David’s encourager and friend”

https://odb.org/2023/08/20/finding-open-spaces We hear this expression, “give him some space,” which literally can be translated to, “cut him some slack.” Work-wise, we say give him some breathing space, meaning, don’t keep on loading him, he needs time to recover, to catch his breadth. In our spiritual life, we also need to have some space, some openContinue reading “Open spaces”

https://odb.org/2023/08/18/festivals-of-worship Our Jewish brothers back in the day would travel three times a year to Jerusalem to attend 3 festivals, namely, the Festival of the Unleavened Bread (the Passover), the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles. It’s a treacherous journey filled with danger and harm from bandits. Thus, the Jewish pilgrims will singContinue reading “The congregation of believers”

https://odb.org/2023/08/16/the-power-of-persistence In our faith, the qualities that are expounded are often contrary to that of the world. In terms of Christian living, it is “right side up living,” an expression that is inverse to upside down. So, selflessness is valued as opposed to selfishness. Humility is admired compared to pride. Servant leadership is emphasised. ItContinue reading “Persistence and perseverance”

https://odb.org/2023/08/15/jesus-our-brother Theologically, we know that we are children of the most high God, the Great I Am, the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Paul used the term “co-heirs” with Christ in Romans 8:17, and thus Jesus is our elder brother. While all that is true, Christ is also our Master and Saviour. HeContinue reading “Jesus as our brother”

https://odb.org/2023/08/14/forgotten Joseph in the Bible is the epitome of faithfulness. He is someone betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery and, as a slave was wrongly accused by his master’s wife of trying to take advantage of her. He ended up in jail for that and stayed there for quite a number of yearsContinue reading “Forgotten”