https://odb.org/MY/2022/02/22/love-your-loved-ones

In my 40 years as a believer, I have seen at least a few instances of people in ministry having falling out with one another leading to splits in church. A lot of pain and sorrow and sometimes our faith is destroyed through disillusionment and disappointment. In fact I was part of a group who left our previous church and started an independent church. But I am glad that after nearly 15 years, a few of us did meet up with the senior pastor of our previous church and shared a meal together and prayed for one another. There is a need to be reconciled and let bygones be bygones, forgetting the past and moving on toward the goal that Christ has set for us for our lives.

The story of Paul and Barnabas and Mark in the book of Acts highlights one important aspect of Scriptures. They are real as to describe what happened then and real to describe what is happening now in the church two thousand years later. The strife, conflicts, tensions, disagreements and falling out which happened then are also happening today. Why? Because believers then and now are just ordinary people moved by the Spirit of God to do great exploits. We are all ordinary people with jobs, life challenges to face, work and family issues to deal with and yet doing ministry to the best of our ability for the good of the congregation and the Kingdom of God. Our current challenges are compounded by the pandemic and the disruptions it brings to our daily lives that a new normal for some churches is perhaps perpetual online or at least hybrid services. It may be many more years to come before we can meet together on site as a church congregation worshipping God corporately like we used to.

With so many things happening in the world and the changes brought about by the pandemic and we know that these are the end times with Jesus possibly coming again in our generation, why do we want to let our past to continue to hound and haunt us? Not a question of sin and guilt but broken relationships waiting to be mended and made whole. Forgive and forget and reconcile. God has lots more stuff ahead of us for us to possess and actualize. The world is still our oyster. Mend and heal whatever destructions we left behind. God heals but we must also heal. If a tank destroys everything in its path with its weight and iron chain wheels, it is time to come down and replant those vegetation and plants that we had flattened before. As we heal our past, God will heal our hearts and lead us on to greater heights. Paul later forgave and accepted Mark, also known as John Mark and regarded as the same Mark the Evangelist who wrote the Gospel of Mark. Always be a Barnabas, the encourager and reconciler of men and women.

https://odb.org/MY/2022/02/21/never-say-cant

I’ll say that this is often a situation faced by many of us in responding to our call from God. God has a calling for each and every one of us. But as we contemplate responding to His call, we look at ourselves and most of the time we feel we are inadequate, not qualified or don’t meet the requirements; and there could be a variety of reasons for that. Maybe we are not ready to lay down our lives for God. Perhaps, we feel we don’t have the right skill sets or the right tenacity of character. Or there are other responsibilities we need to fulfil like meeting the expectations of our parents or we need to take care of our family first.

If we look at the lives of the great men and women of God, we will see that most are defined by their call from God. Abraham is regarded as the father of faith because he responded by faith and uprooted his family to follow after God across thousands of miles by bringing along all of his possessions including livestock and servants. Joshua responded and brought the Israelites across the Jordan into the Promised Land to conquer fortified cities, strong armies and giants and in the process experienced the mighty hand of God working through them to give them victory after victory. The disciples of Jesus dropped everything and followed Jesus when Jesus called them to be fishers of men. They followed and learned from Christ throughout His ministry and later after Christ’s death and resurrection, they continued His ministry and later with the help of Paul, they preached the Gospel to the Gentiles out of Jerusalem and Judea and to the rest of the world. It is through the response and faith of these great men and women of God throughout generations since ancient times that we today have the privilege to hear the Gospel and to respond to God’s gift of salvation and eternal life.

Therefore, we have a responsibility to respond – not only to become the person that God wants us to be but also for the sake of the many who will be blessed by our response whether in the present time or in the time to come. Our response to God’s call will define us in Him as well as define us in the world. Will we be known as someone after God’s heart or will we be just like everyone else, chasing after our own dreams and desires?

The message today I believe is that if we are worried that we don’t have the right credentials whether in terms of our skills set, our spiritual condition, our character, our ability to speak in public – don’t be as God will provide and equip us accordingly like He did in the case of Moses. So in the case of Moses, why did God not choose Aaron to confront the Pharaoh instead of using Aaron as the spokesman for Moses but nevertheless sticking with Moses? It could be who Moses was, being formerly a Prince in the court of Pharoah. It could be because Moses had the heart for the children of Israel. Whatever may be the reason, God chose Moses and then chose Aaron to complement him.

I therefore believe that God’s call is unique to us and only we may respond to it. If we are inadequate, God will provide the adequacy. If we have a weakness, God will be the strength. If it’s a call to be a missionary and we have no finance at present, God will make a way when there is no way. Keep God’s call upon our lives in our heart, respond to it and start our preparations. The day will come when we will all meet our Egypt and Pharaoh. The day will come when we will come face to face with our Red Sea and the long journey in the wilderness and finally the challenges in taking our Promised Land by going across our Jordan. Take the step of faith forward, believe that God the creator of heaven and earth shall surely able to make His Word for us come to pass. He created heaven and earth and all things by His Word, surely He is able to bring our calling to pass!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/02/19/spotting-god

Today’s ODB life example of spotting as a technique to overcome the dizziness that comes from doing a ballet spin or pirouette is an excellent illustration on how to keep God in focus when we face problems in life. A ballerina will get dizzy and fall when doing a pirouette if she lets her focus to spin along as she spins but if a point of constant focus is established, that point focuses the brain and the dizziness goes away. The ballerina then is able to maintain her balance while doing the spins.

Therefore, when trouble comes and problems surface, focusing on God and not the problems helps us maintain our balance in life as focusing on the problems will inevitably overwhelm us and cause us despair. Fear of failure will paralyse us.

This immediately reminds me of Peter who jumped out from the boat into the water and walked on water even as he focused his attention on Jesus, who was walking towards him on the water. He was full of faith and I guess adrenaline. But the moment he focused on his surroundings, he sank and Jesus had to reach out to him to pull him off the water.

We cannot avoid focusing on our problems when we face trouble. This is because we are right in the middle of it. We have to deal with it. Avoiding it will not make it go away. Problems and challenges have to be resolved one way or another.

I guess focusing on Jesus at such times simply means we are to constantly pray and seek God for strength and guidance even as we tackle our problems and challenges. It also means keeping our standards intact when resolving our issues. It means we put God first as we find a resolution. It means we preserve and protect the character and glory of God in our lives as we deal with the issue at hand. Not our own needs and desires or our wants but what’s best for God and His Kingdom. Will the Lord be pleased with our decision and action? Are we putting God first? Will Jesus take the same action and make the same decision as ours?

https://odb.org/MY/2022/02/18/lift

I had seen a documentary on aircrafts and aircraft carriers and didn’t quite understand until this morning the concept of the aircraft flying into the wind to achieve lift even as the aircraft is catapulted into the air due to the short runaways. The British resolved this issue by using Harrier jump jets that take off vertically like a helicopter. But even the Harriers (introduced in 1969) are now nearly fully retired having been transitioned to the modern F-35Bs.

Actually the natural logic is that the aircraft should fly with the wind behind it but if you research how boats sail against the wind, you’ll realise that sailing boats can still travel against the wind at 40-45 degree angles. In fact that’s how modern sailing boats travel in all directions, whether with or against the wind. For the aircraft taking off from a carrier, the lift is presented when it is launched against the wind and I guess the logic is that as the wind blows against the aircraft, it is lifted up but as it is jet powered, the wind will not overpower it but instead gives it a lift. The lift is thus caused by going against the wind. If it had been reversed, the wind would have helped the aircraft with some speed which the aircraft doesn’t need since it is jet powered, but there will be no lift. The going against the wind or the challenge itself causes the lift.

The launching of the aircraft against the wind appears illogical and yet it is perfectly logical as we know that faith without works is useless. Life without challenges although peaceful amd serene is boring. How will we ever experience God if we are not challenged? How do we walk by faith if our faith is not tested? The eaglet will never fly if it doesn’t dare to take the first step of faith to launch itself off the cliff and trust on the abilities of its wings to “catch the wind”. The same logic applies to paragliding.

Joshua needs to be strengthened internally – be bold and courageous. Yet externally he needs to face the challenges ahead of him – the strong armies, the fortified cities and the descendants of Anak at the Promised Land. But if he didn’t take the step of faith to cross the Jordan River, he would have remained in the wilderness like Moses and the 600,000 Israelites who fled Egypt, who died there.

Every believer I believe faces this quagmire – remain and rot or move forward and risk certain death. Except that when we have God with us as in the case of Joshua (and Caleb and all those who were born during their 40-year sojourn in the wilderness), we will face our challenges and be victorious! The LORD our God exalted them to be strong and courageous because He the Great I Am will be with them wherever they go. As they face the fortified cities, the strong armies and giants, God will deliver their adversaries into their hands. In fact if we were to read on in the Book of Joshua, we will see that the news and reputation that God was with the Israelites had terrified the communities across the Jordan (see Joshua 2:8-9).

The message today is that we need the challenge to bring the lift from God as we respond to His call and step out in faith. We need to fly into the wind to get that lift. It may look illogical and unnatural but it is actually very logical and natural as without friction, there is no resistance, and without resistance there is no push and without the push there is no lift. Cross our Jordan and face our adversaries and we will conquer our Promised Land, our land that is flowing with milk and honey – with the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit and the grace of God!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/02/17/being-seen

As leaders or seniors or managers serving or working in teams, we constantly need to be on a lookout for promising people under or around us. This is relevant at work as well as in ministry or church. At work, we call this succession planning, basically, identifying others who may take our place in future. At work, we may want to move on to do other work, leave for another organisation or retire and thus having a replacement is the right and responsible thing to do. Of course, there are some of us who are afraid of losing our place and thus may put others down to show and prove that we are irreplaceable. But we know that at work, no one is indispensable. Just a question of how much stress an unplanned vacancy will cause. Even Apple continued to thrive after the passing of Steve Jobs. I believe it is the same in church and ministry too. No one is indispensable. God will raise us up and God will raise others up. Joshua and Caleb took over from Moses and Aaron. Solomon took over from David. Elisha continued the work of Elijah with a double portion of his anointing.

The stories of Barnabas taking in Saul (as Paul was originally known) and later believing in Mark when Paul himself didn’t are real life biblical examples in the book of Acts on how we should look out for and hone the potential in others. This is pertinent in the church and ministry to ensure that we are not led by old men and women who will eventually become older and slower and thus less agreeable to change. Church and ministry will thus become like a slow moving gargantuan ship either drifting aimlessly or on a collision course to hit a gigantic iceberg one day.

Another reason is that the transitioning from old to new usually takes a long time, even years. Leaders need to be made sub leaders first before becoming true leaders. In church and ministry, the congregation needs time to look up to and accept the new leaders and thus if the fresh blood have been around doing leadership tasks for a long time, the transition will be smooth and without much drama. That is why new and current leaders should serve alongside each other with the current leaders ceding more and more responsibilities over time.

The message today I believe is we should emulate Barnabas to see the potential in those around us and encourage and support them to achieve greater heights in their walk with God and their service in the Kingdom. Their personal testimony is important and that needs to be developed and moulded by God over time as no one can be transformed in a blink of an eye. Everything I believe is work in progress, from the laying down of our lives to serve others to leaving behind our dreams and desires for God’s plans and purposes for us. Spiritual maturity and leadership qualities come over time. But if we don’t start on them now, we cannot expect any one to take our place in future and for that I believe a time horizon of 5 to 10 years is not unreasonable, especially in church and ministry.

https://odb.org/MY/2022/02/16/wise-advice

I think in life we realise that it is not always what is said but who says it. And it doesn’t matter what is the context – it is quite a similar situation whether at work, in school or in church. Who says what matters more than what was said. I think that is because any idea or suggestion must be carried with credibility and thus the person with a reputation carrying it brings credibility, realibility and a certain standard to the table.

Thus, will we listen to the suggestion or idea of a subordinate or a younger person? Or conversely, as a younger person in position of authority, will we listen to the suggestion or advice of an older subordinate. In today’s ODB’s life example, the Fire General chose to listen to the advice of a firefighter named Remi and as a result saved the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. In 1 King 12:8, Rehoboam, who succeeded Solomon, refused to listen to the counsel of his elders and as a result, he lost most of Israel to Jeroboam.

In the Asian context, if we are in position of authority and we listen to those under us, whether young or old, we may “lose face” as not being a true leader. This is because there is this perception (perhaps a misconception) that the boss knows all, he or she should be the most knowledgeable in the team. Perhaps that is the traditional approach. In the contemporary context, with the younger ones being more exposed through the information highway and they being constantly online, there is likelihood that new and fresh ideas will come from them. Thus it is silly and a waste of resource to disregard the views of those under us, especially the younger ones. Every idea or suggestion should be evaluated on its merit, rather than solely based on the experience or expertise of the person carrying it. There is merit in credibility of the person but it is also right to evaluate an idea on its own strength.

I think the lesson for today is we should learn to take advice, whether from God as we seek Him out or from those around and under us at work or in church or school. The contemporary context is to work as a team although we may be the leader. Take all advice and evaluate each on its merit but in the end, we make the decision and take the responsibility for our decision. We learn as we decide, even if we make mistakes along the way. I take the cue from the billionaire owner of my organisation. I know for a fact that when he needs to make major decisions, he never listens to only one person or one adviser, even if that person is his right hand man. He had multiple advisers and consultants. In the end, the decision is his to make but he listens to advice.

https://odb.org/MY/2022/02/15/we-are-one

Romans 12:2 is a well known verse that encourages us to not to conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we may be able to test and approve the good, pleasing and perfect will of God. It basically means we don’t follow the world, inter alia, in terms of our world view, our value systems, our beliefs, and motivations. We need to transform or change to be like Christ, and one of those changes is to be able to sacrifice our own needs or desires for the sake of others.

In today’s ODB example, the farmers all got together and colluded to allow the farmer who had lost his land due to financial difficulties (the bank foreclosed) to win it back at the auction when every single one of them refrained from bidding. Everyone of them farmers sacrificed the opportunity so that the farmer concerned was able to get back his land. This is definitely not the pattern of the world as the world usually looks to self interest first before that of others. In a queue for food relief, one fills one’s plate first without thinking of whether there are more needy folks behind us. What if the food finishes before the needy people get their turn? Will we think like that? Will we be as considerate as that? If not, isn’t it shameful if we as the redeemed of God behave exactly how others in the world would in self interest and self preservation? It may be natural and justifiable, but it is not necessarily the right way.

Thus, interestingly Romans 12:2 was preceded by Romans 12:1 which speaks of living a life that is a living sacrifice. I have always looked at “living sacrifice” as a concept of personal sacrifice to God, in terms of our own choices ceding to God’s choices for us. As Paul rightly puts it, due to God’s mercy that we should offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. More like to reciprocate God’s grace and kindness, and since He had redeemed us, we now belong to Him – thus our bodies are to be lived in sacrifice to Him, to serve Him, to do His work, in denial of our own desires and wants.

However, living sacrifice is also a concept of living a life of sacrifice as I found out today, of putting the interest of others first. Like sacrifice and going the extra mile are prerequisites to love, putting others first is also a prerequisite to a living sacrifice. Christian living is a challenge because it is always going against what’s regarded as normal, as natural or even justifiable by worldly standards. But ours is a life of living sacrifice – rightside up living. We put Christ first and as we put Christ first, we also put others first.

It goes against the grain and thus we need to transform our minds. But the end result is we will be able to test and approve the will of God, meaning to say, we will experience God in such a way that we will know that His will is good, pleasing and perfect. In the end, it will all make sense as God will work all things together for good to those who love Him and who are called in accordance with His purposes (Romans 8:28). Putting others first is not a “lose-win” situation but a “win-win”. In the long run, we will not lose out but will instead gain something deeper in God as we all in the faith know; the more we give, the more we will receive. That’s the magic of how the Kingdom of God works. Test it and you will approve of it!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/02/14/the-power-of-love-4

As Christians, we sometimes think of love as something that is beyond just human love because of Jesus’s love for us. We know that the ultimate love is one that is willing to sacrifice one’s life for another and Jesus died for all humankind so that we may be reconciled back to God. Willingness to die fir another is not a standard that is achievable by many but at the very least introduces the concept of sacrifice as a prerequisite of love. The willingness to sacrifice and go the extra mile. Those are the elements of love. But the agape love of God goes beyond all that as it is unconditional and He loves us despite our iniquities. It is proactive and doesn’t depend on our reaction. God loved us first and called us first to Him. He knocked on the door of our hearts first. He loves us even if we reject Him. His love remains true, faithful and unwavering until the end.

Human love is usually described as eros (erotic love) or philia (brotherly love) but I think what’s more relevant to us as Christians is koinonia love which is the intimate spiritual communion between us as believers and Christ, that we are a community that is also the body of Christ with Christ as head, as Lord and King.

Sharing from my own experience, I knew that I loved my wife the day I was willing to sacrifice for her and go the extra mile. Before that what I had was mine alone but when I loved her, I told myself that what I had was hers as well. We will have a shared life together, a shared destiny, a commitment to support each other in everything until the very end. When I had children, I could see that I was willingly able to sacrifice and go the extra mile for my two boys. They may or nay not be able to do so but by being an example to them, they will learn to reciprocate and to emulate.

I have seen and I know that non-believers can equally love whether in romantic (eros) or platonic (philia) relationships, but perhaps what will distinguish us as people in the faith is the willingness to sacrifice and go the extra mile with one another and others as koinonia love. When Jesus taught us to love our neighbour, it extends beyond those in the faith and thus if we are willing to sacrifice and go the extra mile for people we interact with (not limited to those in our church), we will be reflecting the agape love of God that is in us.

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! As the world celebrates the love between couples, let us improve upon our koinonia love within our community of believers and body of Christ, and extend that to others we know and interact with. The more we love others, the more of Christ’s love will be manifested through us.

https://odb.org/MY/2022/02/13/not-forgotten-3

I have written before in this Blog or perhaps earlier that there are times when we do God’s work that the results are not immediate or apparent. Some results are only seen in the longer term or in years to come or even in next generations as often seen in the work done by missionaries in the past in then closed or dark territories. But a touched local or two and at the next generation, villages and cities are turned to God because that local was a catalyst to the Holy Spirit bringing revival to that land.

Thus, no matter how insignificant our work may look right now, God is able to use us to bless many others now and in time to come. As we respond to God’s call, we just do as called from our own sphere of influence, from our corner of this big, big world, from our home, our desk at work, from our computer screen, from our handphone, from wherever we are – God can and will use our work and reach many, and transform lives! Even if we are just ushering people into the church or cleaning the floors or toilets of our church, God will find a way to bless someone with our work and that someone may be the catalyst to a revival in our church and land.

So never look down on ourselves and say our work for God is insignificant. We don’t need to be Billy Graham and reach millions directly; we just need to be ourselves, be who God made us to be as we are all uniquely made by God – for I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14)!

Besides the fact that God can use us no matter how insignificant we think we are or how little we think our work for Him is, it is my belief and confidence that God remembers every single thing that we have done for Him before, no matter how long ago or how recent. Paul exhorts us in Hebrews 6:10 that the God that we serve is not unjust, He will not forget our work and the love we have shown Him as we have helped His people, and continue to help them. God and our Lord Jesus Christ will not forget what we have done for Him. Our work will never ever be in vain. God will use us to turn things around way beyond us and He will not forget what we have done. One day we will receive our crown of glory and one day we will see and get to enjoy our treasure in heaven and remember whatever is ours in heaven is for all eternity! That is why Paul always reminds us that whatever suffering we go through here on earth pales in comparison to the glory that awaits us – our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us (Romans 8:18).

Have a good Sunday celebration today whether at home via Zoom or other means or on site! Bless the LORD for His goodness upon our lives! Let our hearts overflow with a good theme as recite our verses for the King as we bow before His throne! Bless the Lord, bless His holy name, forever I will let his praises ring!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/02/12/living-by-faith

A fundamental aspect of our belief system as a Christian is faith. We are justified by faith, not by works. Our salvation and our place in heaven is a gift from God, made possible only by the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection thereafter. Therefore, our faith in Jesus Christ believing that He is the Son of God, the Lamb of God is the basis upon which we will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

It is by faith that Abraham heeded the call of God to depart from the Ur of the Chaldeans to the Promised Land, upon which God made a Covenant with him to make his descendents as numerous as the sands on the seashore or the stars in the sky, that some of his descendents may even be kings.

We believe in God even though we can’t see Him. We believe in Jesus Christ based on what was written in the bible, which we believe is the Word of God and God Himself. All those stories and narratives written in the various books of the bible, we believe every single one of them to be true even though we were not there to witness them when they occurred or there currently might not be available independent coroborative support like the story of creation, the fall of man, the great flood or the parting of the Red Sea.

We heed the voice of the Holy Spirit convicting us of our sins and turning us to God eventhough we can’t see Him. But we know He lives in us, and as we pray He strengthens and empowers us and enables our fullest potential in God to be realised since God raised us up with Christ and we are now seated together with Christ in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 2:6). We are now partakers of the riches of His glorious inheritance (Ephesians 1:18).

With such fundamentals, therefore, how difficult it is for us as believers to live by faith and not by sight? The very foundation and basis of our belief is faith and faith is believing in the unseen. In Hebrews 11:1, Paul elaborated that faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Thus, it is true that living by faith is trusting in God’s character and power. We know that if we live by faith and not by sight, God will be there to support us, to help and guide us. He will not let us rot or die and neither will He allow anyone to throw us under the bus.

I think a good illustration is that of a blind man that is familiar with the surroundings of his home. He knows that as he walks straight from his bed, he will meet the door of his room and a few steps away will be the staircase and as he walks down, he will have his sofa on the right and this dining table on the left. With God, it is more than just that familiarity because as the blind man moves around his house and if someone had repositioned his chair, God is like a person looking after the blind man and will put the chair where it was originally, so that when the blind man reaches out for his chair, it is there. As he reaches out for his mug, God is like the person who will place the mug at his hand. He will not struggle to find the mug as God is like the person who is there for him, constantly watching over him so that he doesn’t stumble or fall and who will watch and guide him as he steps out of his house to the outside world even though he has no sight.

I believe that as we respond in faith to God and His call upon our lives, He will work all things together for good (Romans 8:28). When we move out in faith, we will then be like Abraham who trusted in His power and character. His power that can make all things possible and His character that loves us and will thus protect us. Walk in faith and not by sight, and we will realise our fullest potential in God because by doing so, we will be fully dependent on God and God being God, He will never fail or abandon us for we are all special and precious to Him. He is our God and our Lord and our Heavenly Father.

He who watches over Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The sun shall neither harm you by day nor the moon by night. The LORD will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore (Psalm 121:1).