Beyond our natural eyes

https://odb.org/2026/03/31/gods-view

Exodus 14:10–14 (NIV): 10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Hudson Taylor was troubled. He’d left England to share the gospel in China, and ministry—though challenging—had gone well. In 1865, as he considered sending more people to a more dangerous part of China, without protection, he felt “intense conflict.” After wrestling with God in prayer, he wrote, “The Lord conquered my unbelief, and I surrendered myself to God . . . that all responsibility . . . and consequences must rest with him.”

Moses received a call from God that likely left him troubled. As he was leading the Israelites out of Egypt, God said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea” (Exodus 14:2). This meant they were trapped between Pharaoh and the sea! The Israelites trembled as “Pharaoh approached” (v. 10). But Moses replied, “Do not be afraid” (v. 13). (Tom Felten, Our Daily Bread 31st March 2026 Condensed)

Exodus 14:1-14 shows the tension between how things can appear to us and what God’s really doing. When the Israelites were fleeing from Pharaoh, God told them to turn back – boxed in between Pharaoh’s army and the sea (v. 2). But this was God’s plan to lure and defeat Pharaoh once and for all (v. 4). When Israel panicked (vv. 10–12), Moses reminded them that their rescue wasn’t dependent on their strength but on God’s (vv. 13-14). (Monica La Rose, Insight, Our Daily Bread 31st March 2026 Condensed)

When it comes to God’s work, sometimes what is apparent in the natural may not be so in the spiritual. It could just be blind faith but usually what God is doing extends far beyond what our minds may comprehend. For example, in church planting, a fellowship of just a family of four may be a catalyst to a full functioning church a few years down the road. That is why an important lesson for us in church leadership is not to manage only by human logic. We have to pray and ask God to show us what He is doing in our midst. Fruits must not only be measured by numbers as what’s more pertinent are transformed lives and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

The advantage of us as believers is we have an insight into the spiritual realm. Our spirit is born-again. We could pray for the supernatural to pierce through the natural world when the Holy Spirit moves in signs and wonders, and healing. Sometimes we need to pray that our unbelief and doubts be broken in the name of Jesus! That our eyes may be opened to see the marvellous work He is doing in our midst. Like how Elisha opened the eyes of his servant in 2 Kings 6:17-20.

For this morning, I just like to remind us of God’s plans and purposes for our lives. Trust in His calling and persevere on. Don’t give up or give in to our own ambitions or desires. Pray for Jesus to open up our eyes to the wondrous work He is and will be doing in our lives. Ask that we may see beyond our natural eyes or human logic.

Just a word of caution – whatever that lies ahead, let it be something genuine that God has placed in our hearts. Not something make believe or something we want to believe or just plain blind faith. If it is real, pursue it with all our heart, mind and strength!

Perseverance

https://odb.org/2026/03/30/keep-going-by-faith

Hebrews 12:1–3 (NIV): Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

To become a lawyer in California, Maxcy Filer had to pass the state’s grueling, three-day bar exam. So he took it not once, not twice, but forty-eight times before passing the tough test. His goal? To advocate for the underprivileged in Compton, his beloved city. Between his first and last attempts at passing the exam—across twenty-five years—Filer and his wife raised seven children, all who went to college. When Filer was sworn in, the judge said, “Three words about Maxcy Filer: perseverance, perseverance, perseverance.” (Patricia Raybon, Our Daily Bread 30th March 2026)

Maxcy Filler is an extreme example of someone who persevered over the years to eventually become a lawyer. 48 attempts at the Bar exams over 25 years! It was not an attempt at a career to earn a living and build a family (like most of us) but instead he had 7 children in the process and by the time he was called to the Bar, most of his children have entered college!

However, Filler’s case illustrates a very crucial point in our walk of faith and that is perseverance. It works very well because our walk of faith is over our lifetime here on earth. It spans 60, 70 or even 80 years – depending on when we accepted Christ and when we passed on.

The difference is that while Filler tried for 25 years to enter the Bar as a qualified member of practicing lawyers, we already entered the family of God from day one. The day we accepted Christ is the day we become a fully-functioning child of God able and qualified to receive His abundant love, grace and mercy. It then becomes a lifetime of learning how to relate to Jesus our Lord, God our Father and the Holy Spirit as our Helper. How to build up our faith, our trust in God that we may progress deeper in our spiritual life. How we may respond to God’s calling, His plans and purposes for our lives.

Nevertheless perseverance remains a key feature in our walk of faith. We will face distractions. We will meet temptations to draw us away from our chosen narrow path. We may end up spending too much time at the wayside. Some of us may even have forgotten God’s calling for us for years. Thus just wandering at the wayside not fulfilling God’s true purpose for our lives. We may have ended up doing all sorts of things except the one thing Father God had prepared for us since the foundations of the world.

For we know perseverance produces character and character hope because perseverance enables us to hang on to the narrow path and to continue our journey of faith until we are called home by the Lord. That is why perseverance ultimately leads to hope.

The message this morning is to persevere on. Our walk of faith is life-long. Perseverance is life-long. Never give up at any stage. If we had given up, pull ourselves up again and walk on the narrow path. Don’t let the world or our own ambitions rob us of our eternal reward in Christ Jesus! Persevere on to lay up our treasures in heaven where moth or rust cannot destroy or thieves will not break in and steal – Matthew 6:19-20.

P/S

We returned to Malaysia from the UK on the 18th of March and took quite a while to start sleeping normally again. Then came the Raya break.

Today is hence the new beginning in my writings after a long break. I noticed that despite my last post being on 17th March, there have been daily page views! I am thankful and appreciate all who made the effort to read my previous posts! I pray that you will be blessed even as you allow the Lord to speak to you through my writings.

Pray continually

https://odb.org/2026/03/17/pray-all-the-time

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV – UK
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

When pirates kidnapped Patrick in his mid-teens, they took him to Ireland, sold him into slavery, and forced him to to herd sheep for a druid master. Many might have grown bitter and despaired over six years, but through constant prayer, Saint Patrick (as he later became known) focused his mind and heart on God’s presence. “I would pray all the time, right through the day,” Patrick wrote, explaining that by doing so, his faith and God’s love in him increased. He lived in harsh conditions, sometimes out all day and night in snow, frost and rain. But, he continued, “I would hardly notice any discomfort . . . due to the Spirit within me.” (Anne Le Tissier, Our Daily Bread 17th March 2026)

I believe there are two aspects to “praying continually” that Paul advocates in 1 Thessalonians 5 and elsewhere in his other letters. One is to continually asking God to intervene in people’s lives like to heal someone or to help a brother go through a rough time or to just cover someone with the blood of Christ. These are prayer items that impact lives and every pastor and leader do this every day or at least once a week at weekly prayer meetings. Many people need God and God’s providence and help in different aspects and situations of their lives. This aspect is useful and benefits others as prayer moves mountains as the saying goes or prayer moves the hand of God, as the song goes. We seek the supernatural intervention of the Kingdom of God into the natural, into our ordinary lives, to help us live out our faith victoriously!

Go deeper and we enter into the realm of intercessory prayer, seeking to weaken demonic influence in the spiritual world as ultimately our fight is not against flesh and blood but against dark spiritual forces – principalities, powers and rulers of darkness. This is a ministry by itself and often encompasses areas beyond our personal spiritual journey. As we are dealing with dark spiritual forces, it is advisable to have the covering of our local church if we are to embark on this ministry as most territorial spirits are beyond the reach of an ordinary believer or even an anointed and gifted individual acting alone.

The other aspect of praying continually is to always communicate with the Lord and the Holy Spirit. Some of us have this habit of just talking with God as we go through our day. Thus prayer is not formally asking God by petition or supplication for someone’s needs. It’s just speaking to Jesus in our heart as we live out life. We tell him our struggles, our challenges and our happy moments and disappointments. In my view, it’s a good habit to cultivate as it keeps us honest in all that we do and think. God is real to us and we will experience Him working in us as we respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

Not only should we pray continually but we should also rejoice always and give thanks in all circumstances as Paul teaches in 1 Thessalonians 5. That is why praying continually as in speaking to God continually works well because in the process, we will thank Him and be grateful to Him in all situations. If we made a mistake like we said something wrong that had upset someone, we rejoice and are still thankful because God still loves us. We correct ourselves and apologise. We will read the room better next time. Another example – in life, we will not win all the time. Give thanks even if we came in second or third or last. We tried. We try again another time.

P/S

We’ll be catching a bus to London Heathrow in about 6 hours at 11.25 pm to board our MH flight back to KUL at 10.25 am (UK time, GMT). We are scheduled to touch down in KLIA 7.15 am (MST, GMT +8) Wed 18 March 2026. As I’ll be on a plane, it is unlikely I’ll be able to write another commentary for Wed 18 March 2026. Pray for journey mercy for us. Thanks!

An offering to the LORD

https://odb.org/2026/03/16/lives-offered-to-god

Exodus 35:20-29 NIV UK 20 Then the whole Israelite community withdrew from Moses’ presence, 21 and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved them came and brought an offering to the Lord for the work on the tent of meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments. 22 All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewellery of all kinds: brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the Lord. 23 Everyone who had blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen, or goat hair, ram skins dyed red or other durable leather brought them. 24 Those presenting an offering of silver or bronze brought it as an offering to the Lord, and everyone who had acacia wood for any part of the work brought it. 25 Every skilled woman spun with her hands and brought what she had spun – blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen. 26 And all the women who were willing and had the skill spun the goat hair. 27 The leaders brought onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece. 28 They also brought spices and olive oil for the light and for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense. 29 All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the Lord freewill offerings for all the work the Lord through Moses had commanded them to do.

It’s tempting to take credit for our resources and accomplishments, or use them to bring ourselves praise. What would it look like, instead, to think of them as a lowly “frame” around God’s masterpiece? One example is when Moses invited the Israelites to bring gifts to build the temple (Exodus 35:5). “Everyone who was willing and whose heart moved them” contributed what they had: precious metal and stone, linen, leather, wood, spices and oil (vv. 21-28). These costly goods were offered from willing hearts to fulfil what God had commanded (v. 29). Some master craftsmen were especially gifted. But everyone could contribute something, like the women who skilfully spun goat hair (v. 26). What mattered most then, and today, is the posture of the giver’s heart. “From what you have, take an offering for the Lord” (v. 5). That’s when our resources are put to their best use. (Karen Pimpo, Our Daily Bread 16th March 2026)

The Kingdom of God as the universal church is so humongous that no single living person or human organisation may possibly carry it all alone, except our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. It is always a team effort. Even at the local church, the pastoral or leadership team or the church board is best to be a collection of individual talents and skills, rather than the senior pastor no matter how anointed or gifted he or she may be. Christ is the head of the church but the church comprises of many parts. Paul taught and often emphasises this point to convey the importance of the unity of the body.

Corollary to that, as individuals we could contribute whatever we have to the Kingdom of God for the good of the body, putting aside our self interests and personal agendas. A moment in ancient Israeli history was a good pivot to this fundamental spiritual principle.

The Israelites had just escaped the Egyptians after Moses freed them from slavery and had the Red Sea parted for the Israelites to pass only to have it closed on the pursuing Egyptians who were not too far behind in tandem.

They were then assembled at the foot of Mount Sinai after Moses had come down with the Ten Commandments and have been instructed by the LORD to build the tabernacle amd everyone chipped in with their respective contributions.

However, these contributions were distinguished by their costly nature and the free will willingness of those who gave. Although the Israelites left Egypt with gold and precious things Egyptians gave them, the Israelites did not hold back in giving some of those riches back to God. They were likely grateful to God for delivering them from slavery and at the same time, they were not greedy for material things. In the end, they spent 40 years in the wilderness depending on God for their sustenance with manna from heaven.

At whatever age and season of life we are, so long as we still have breath, we could contribute something to God. It could be baking cookies or cakes for the youths for their Saturday youth meetings or cooking up a storm of a meal for our house fellowship meeting this coming week. Or perhaps we could volunteer to drive someone to church? Or pay someone sick a visit at the hospital? Or visit a senior citizen and bring him out for lunch? Or we could put our names to volunteer to play music or usher or clean up the church? Do something for God, whatever it might be. Start somewhere today, this week, not next year, not when we retire or when we are less busy.

May our lives and service be an offering to God like the children of Israel during the time of Moses in building the tabernacle! Amen!

When there are no easy answers

https://odb.org/2026/03/14/when-there-are-no-answers

Psalm 22:1-11 NIV My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? 2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. 3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises. 4 In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. 5 To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. 6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people. 7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. 8 ‘He trusts in the Lord,’ they say, ‘let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.’ 9 Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast. 10 From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God. 11 Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.

Lorna’s childhood years were not easy, leaving her with difficult memories to process. As an adult she became the carer for her husband who has long-term health issues, until a freak accident left her virtually bed-ridden, in tremendous pain and unable to get out. She tries to remain positive, but at times she cries out, “Why, Lord?” and “Where are You?” In Psalm 22, the psalmist David expresses his confusion and distress in total honesty: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me?” (v. 1). There is no hiding, no religious politeness; just the reality of raw questions borne out of suffering. (Adrian Smith, Our Daily Bread 14th March 2026)

It’s difficult to imagine a life that is constantly challenging at differing stages. A tough childhood, an arduous marriage and later being bed-ridden and needed to be cared for. Yet even a cancer-striken life with long periods of time spent on treatment and recovery may invite questions like why me? Why are we not like that person who lives what appears to be a carefree life, travelling and seeing the world? Or that person joyfully serving God in church as an usherer or musician? Or sometimes we wish we could teleport back to our teens when life was much less complicated, when we don’t need to bring the bacon home or put food on the table.

There are no easy answers here. Even David, for all his glorious victories for God, struggled when faced with such difficult times. Like when his own son wanted to take his life to take over his throne. So he cries out – my God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Psalm 21:1 – to which our Lord Jesus Christ copied and similarly cried out when He was about to give up His ghost for the sake of mankind, for your sins and mine.

My answer, and it may well not be a good one to you for what you may personally be or have been facing, is that we each have our own lane to run in this race of faith. Salvation is a free gift in the sense we can’t work towards it and yet we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. In other words, after we are saved, there is work to be done for God as we are to present our lives as a living sacrifice, and faith without works is dead. Thus we all run our own race and we have our own finish line. We store up our own riches in heaven. We take the talent God gives us and multiply it to the best of our ability. We just don’t keep it hidden in the ground but use it for the glory of God.

If we have it tougher compared to our own brother or sister in our family or that brother in church, then we have it tougher. God will judge us accordingly. There is no judgement on what our life was or is, except our response to God. No question of our suffering is fair or tough or unfair as it is our response that counts. Job suffered a lot but in the end, he prevailed because he kept himself pure. If we have it tougher, we still need to prevail and keep ourselves pure before God. I recently heard a very apt joke presented by Douglas Lim. He said Malaysian Chinese are resilient because our traditional game is mahjong. We play on no matter what tiles (or cards) life deals us. We play on and see how it goes. What to do? We cannot reshuffle the tiles because ours were bad.

We cannot choose the life God gives us, the era we are born into or the family or country we grow up in or our race or social station. But we could choose our response. We could choose what to make the hand life dealt us. We could choose how to respond to God. We could choose to accept His calling, His plans and purposes. Respond in faith and in full trust, believing that the LORD our God is gracious and fair. We will one day see the light – if not in this life, then certainly in our life eternal! Amen!

Sometimes just being there is enough

https://odb.org/2026/03/13/sitting-with-the-suffering

Job 2: 7-13 NIV 7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. 8 Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. 9 His wife said to him, ‘Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!’ 10 He replied, ‘You are talking like a foolish[a] woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?’ In all this, Job did not sin in what he said. 11 When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathise with him and comfort him. 12 When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognise him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. 13 Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.

Job’s friends saw his suffering up close too. These three guys are often—fairly!—criticised for their later poor treatment of Job. But it’s easy to forget that, initially, they simply sat with him: “They sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was” (Job 2:13). Jobs’ friends remind us that when someone we love is hurting, it’s our presence—our being there, whether we speak or not—that often matters most. Their example reminds us that even though we may not always know what to say, simply sitting with someone in their suffering may be the greatest gift we can give. (Adam R. Holz, Our Daily Bread 13th March 2026)

Today’s ODB article on Job’s suffering and his 3 friends is interesting in the sense that being with someone may by itself be an encouragement. Sometimes when someone is grieving, our words may not be enough to be of real comfort or we may end up saying the wrong things or we may fail to read the room properly. We may be insensitive and thus it is sometimes better to be quiet, but be there nevertheless.

In the case of Job whom God allowed Satan to afflict with sores all over his body, his 3 friends visited to comfort him. No one said a word for seven days and seven nights. They just sat there on the ground with him for that period of time. It was remarkable that anyone could maintain silence for such a long time, what more all four of them! Not for an hour or two, but for seven days and seven nights. That’s a total of 168 hours!

I recall having done something similar with someone who had just lost his younger brother. I just hugged him and sat down with him. We made some small talk and after 15 mins or so, I left. Not total silence, but I was there with him in his deepest moment of grief. Words weren’t sufficient as no words could have comforted him except the assurance of God that his brother was with Jesus. Unfortunately, in this case, his brother was not a believer in Christ Jesus.

Being there can be a very powerful tool. When someone is going through difficult times, just being there along side may sometimes be enough. It may well be so impactful. “I know that someone is there with me as I go through these tough times. That is very encouraging. At least I have one friend in this whole wide world, someone who is with me through thick and thin”.

Often we need not do anything or even say anything. We just need to be there. To have a cup of coffee or a mug of beer. Just to chill and spend some time with that person. We would have proven, at least, that we are not stingy with our time. That can sometimes be the least we could do for God in that situation. Sometimes just being there is enough!

Stand up for Jesus

https://odb.org/2026/03/12/the-cost-of-commitment

2 Timothy 1: 6-12 NIV 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. 9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Saviour, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11 And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.

After the pastor handed out fifteen Bibles he’d brought with him, one woman gave hers to someone else. Like many others, she’d memorised chapters of Scripture so she would have its wisdom secured in her heart if she were to go to prison. She later asked the pastor to pray that their church would be free to gather just like his. Instead, marvelling at how they sacrificed, suffered persecution and risked imprisonment, he prayed that his church would be just like theirs. (Xochitl Dixon, Our Daily Bread 12th March 2026)

During the early days of my Christian faith when I was still a teenager in secondary school, I already heard of Open Doors and the work they were doing supporting the underground church. It had a profound impact on me. Even though Xochitl did not explicitly mention, we know from experience that she was speaking about the underground house church in her ODB life example today. There was a time (perhaps even today) that members memorise Scripture and pass around portions of it as the Bible itself was so hard to come by. Once committed to memory, even if the authorities were to take away the physical bible from them, Scripture was already etched in their hearts. That is why the Word is written in our hearts in this era of Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected! We memorise, remember and live out the Scriptures! We are a living testimony of God’s love, grace and mercy.

This brings us to the second point of today’s message, which is the suffering that Christians go through for Christ. This is a topic that often comes up for discussion during our Young Adults Group meetings. Most of us will likely not go through the persecution that the underground church go through, unless we also live in closed countries like them (closed here means closed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ).

The “suffering” we face is different in the sense that, usually in our context, it mostly depend on whether we are willing to make a stand for Christ, in our family, at work or in school. If we make a stand as per Scripture, we may be branded as extreme or a religious fanatic and in some organisations (not all), that may mean that we are not suited to be senior management.

We cannot blame the world if we suffer such a fate as the world has its own standards while we are guided by Romans 12:2 (not to conform to the pattern of this world). What’s the point in gaining the whole world if we were to lose our soul. For example, I’ve seen Christian business people who became so engrossed in chasing after success and wealth that they dabble in Feng Shui (some are so immersed actually), justifying it as being a science of Yin and Yang. But the whole idea of structuring our lives such that our business may be filled with opportunities, wealth and prosperity is by itself preposterous when looked at through Christian lenses. Wealth is something that God blesses us with as a labourer is worthy of His wages. It is not something to be chased after or coveted. As a believer, what matters most is our faith, not whether we are rich or poor, a mere manager or a CEO or President?

Having said the above, it is not impossible, in fact, highly possible, that we may one day face persecution that our brethren in closed nations face. The time may come in these end-times that every nation may be closed to the Gospel and believers may be hunted down like during period after the book of Acts or like during the Dark Ages. History may repeat itself in modern times but in a different and perhaps more subtle form. Will we be able to say at our last breath – I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith?

Forgiveness

https://odb.org/2026/03/11/the-release-of-forgiveness

Matthew 18: 21-34 NIV Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ 22 Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 ‘Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 26 ‘At this the servant fell on his knees before him. “Be patient with me,” he begged, “and I will pay back everything.” 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, cancelled the debt and let him go. 28 ‘But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. “Pay back what you owe me!” he demanded. 29 ‘His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, “Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.” 30 ‘But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32 ‘Then the master called the servant in. “You wicked servant,” he said, “I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

Decades later a Christian friend said, “You need to forgive them.” Sy’s anger exploded: “Never!” His tormentors deserved no such thing. Yet when Sy finally did try forgiveness, a weight lifted. “[The] hatred was the first thing I let go of,” he recalls, and later he also abandoned his belief “that God’s love was something I did not deserve and could never know”.

We all struggle with the unfairness of forgiveness—both in receiving and in giving it. Hence, Jesus told the story of the servant who owed his master a debt he would need lifetimes to repay (Matthew 18:24). Yet the master “took pity on him, cancelled the debt and let him go” (v. 27). Was this fair? No, it was astonishing grace!But then this forgiven man threw a debtor—someone who owed him a relatively small amount—into prison (vv. 28-30). How could he not forgive after receiving abundant grace? Such injustice! (Chris Wale, Our Daily Bread 11th March 2026)

“To err is human, to forgive, divine,” wrote poet Alexander Pope. Indeed, it is divine. We tend to fall into one of two traps with forgiveness. The first is the belief that what we do doesn’t matter because we can ask for forgiveness later. The second is that we limit God’s forgiveness. The point of the parable in Matthew 18:23–35 is that God forgives lavishly and infinitely, yet we must accept His forgiveness and behave accordingly. We’re to forgive others as we’ve been forgiven. True forgiveness is unnatural to us. Only through Jesus can we truly forgive. (Tim Gustafson, Insight, Our Daily Bread 11th March 2026)

It is a tenet of our faith that we forgive despite and inspite of what we have gone through. It doesn’t depend on the severity of the offence or wrong against us or our suffering or consequential impact on our life. We forgive because God first forgave us. Not that He commands us. But because we are forgiven. No matter how angry, painful or hurt we are, we forgive because He had forgiven us. When we meet Him face to face and He asks us why we couldn’t forgive, I believe He’ll say the same thing – I forgave you and thus you should likewise forgive.

That in my view is the essence of Jesus’s teaching in Matthew 18 in the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant. How could the servant be so unmerciful? In fact, we could say how could the servant be so ungrateful? Granted his receipt of the mercy and grace from the master doesn’t directly corelate to him being obliged to forgive his own debtor. Yet at the very heart of the Parable, the expectation is that one should be merciful when God was and is merciful to us. That is why, in the same vein, we must be generous when God has been generous to us. Not so much tithing but just being generous as a person.

We all know very well unforgiveness is a poison that kills us instead of the person who had wronged us. So holding on tightly to the hatred and injustice just slowly eats us up from within. Let it go and let the Holy Spirit liberate us. What’s happened has happened. It’s in the past. Let it remain there. Don’t bring it to the present or relive it again and again. Move on to the greater things God has in store for us. There are new adventures the Lord will bring us to. New missions for Him in the Kingdom of God. Great exploits in our own promised land. Be strong and courageous like Joshua. Leave our baggage and burden behind in the wilderness as we cross the River Jordan into the land filled with overflowing milk and honey!

The other thing about unforgiveness besides killing us softly and slowly is that it alienates us from God Himself. In His world, it is a world of forgiveness. The spiritual realm is a realm of forgiveness. We cannot function if we harbour hatred, unforgiveness and vengeance. Forgive and let our past go. Look to our continued future in God!

Christ in You the hope of glory

https://odb.org/2026/03/10/the-hope-jesus-brings

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NIV- Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord for ever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

What was the essence of our conversation that day? We discussed our sadness. And we cried. But mostly we spoke of hope. True, authentic hope based on God’s promises. “We do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope,” the apostle Paul explained. “For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and . . . God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14). For the believer, beyond the grave is life—life eternal. (Dave Branon, Our Daily Bread  10th March 2026)

The loss of a loved one, especially a child, is indeed sad and often traumatising. This is because a parent’s aspiration is to grow old together with their children and to live the day when they get to see and play with their children’s children. That’s the essence of a family. It is also one of the reasons why my wife and I make it a priority to travel 27 hours door to door to spend time with our elder son in Cardiff, Wales. Since 2022, we have made this trip at least an annual affair and we hope to continue doing so as long as we are mobile. We are still working. Thus, our annual leave from work is limited. Seeing the world can wait until we are properly retired. Meanwhile, we prioritise this annual trip to the UK.

The grief that comes from losing a child. That’s unbearable to many. Parents, particularly mothers, may lose their bearings. The emotional spiral may lead some to deep depression and other mental illnesses. Not just the loss of the companionship but also the dashing of hopes, dreams and aspirations. Suddenly there is a vacuum. An acute one. Even for families with a few children, what more for those with an only son or daughter. I have a friend who always remembers and cherishes the child she miscarried. She has 3 living children but in drawings she will depict 4, not forgetting the one lost in the womb… 😔 ☹️ 🙁 😢

As believers, Paul reminds us that we should not grief like the rest of mankind who have no hope. We have hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. We have eternal life. There will be Eden Recreated, the new heaven and new earth, at the end of time. God will bring with Jesus those who had died in Him. The rapture is our hope of glory when Christ returns for His church, those who are with Him. One day, we and our loved ones will be reunited in Christ. Those who departed earlier in Christ will join us if we are still alive when Christ raptures all who are in Him.

No words can comfort you if you have lost a child. As the Chinese say, the black goes first before the grey. We should not outlive our children. God however is sovereign and we acede to His will. We cling on to the hope that we will see our loved ones again one day. Work out our salvation with fear and trembling so that we may be found worthy of His name! Amen!

Our job is not the centre of our life

https://odb.org/2026/03/09/true-satisfaction-in-god

Genesis 25:7–11 (NIV): 7 Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. 8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people. 9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, 10 the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi.

Thirty years ago, I participated in an activity at an unemployment workshop that I still remember today. My fellow laid-off coworkers and I were asked to write our retirement speeches. Huh? We were looking for work and far from retirement age. But the facilitator revealed the purpose of the activity by saying, “Your speech will probably have little to do with your work.” She explained to us that a job really isn’t the center of our lives. And while we may be grieving the loss of a job, our lives mean much more than being employed.

The details about the end of Abraham’s life remind me of this lesson. He died at a “ripe old age” and had lived a “long and satisfying life” (Genesis 25:8). Throughout Scripture, we read about Abraham’s faithfulness in following God’s instructions, but we don’t read much about his work. The faith the patriarch displayed (15:6) reminds me of the Teacher’s conclusion in Ecclesiastes: “To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness” (2:26). The Teacher said this after considering the meaning of life and how one can find enjoyment in the midst of work or toil (vv. 24-25). (Katara Patton, Our Daily Bread 9th March 2026)

It is interesting to note that while we may be socially defined by our job, vocation or business (i.e. what we do for a living), God looks at us beyond what we do. In fact, I believe that even as much as the LORD may have a calling for our lives, plans and purposes prepared for us before the foundations of the world, He still looks mostly at our faithfulness to Him. So an oft-repeated phrase is, for example, not what a pastor has done or so much what He does as pastor but more His faithfulness to God and His calling. Thus, a good Pastor is remembered as one who is a faithful servant, rather than his achievements or work amongst his congregation.

In society, a pastor may be defined as man of the cloth in terms of how large his congregation is (that’s really how the world looks at things), yet to God that’s actually of less importance. It’s not about achievements but his faith and his faithfulness. This is something I think most of us don’t take full cognisant of. We are still very much driven by results and measurable KPIs, very much like the world.

In the spiritual realm, it is God who will do the rest – in this lifetime or in generations to come. In these few years or in the next 30 years! Our role is just to remain faithful to the thing God has placed in our hearts to do. We persevere on notwithstanding the lack of tangible results. There are, for instance, house fellowships that do deep work although there are only a handful of members. I’m not saying results are unimportant or unnecessary but they are less essential in the larger scheme of things. For church program planners and/or church budgets, it is more prudent to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit than to rely on pure logic or just tangible results. The church is not the world or of the world. Our work brings changes to the spiritual realm that our natural eyes cannot see.

What’s God message for us this morning? Like the ODB human story of today, a job is not the centre of our life. Yes, it pays the bills. It helps us own assets. It prepares us with savings for our retirement. It helps us in raising our family. Our faith is more important. If we trust in God and keep our faith in Him, a job loss now may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. God may mould and bring out the best of us. For instance, if we had remained as a lawyer, we could be just a mediocre one but if we branch out into HR, we may end up being an excellent HR person. Sometimes, a job loss may cause us to pivot our careers and in the process, we find an area that we excel in. Let God mould and guide us as we put our faith in Him!