Divine providence and provision

https://odb.org/2025/08/14/god-provides

1 Kings 17:7–16 (NIV): 7 Some time later, the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”
12 “As surely as the LORD your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”
13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first, make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain on the land.’ ”
15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up, and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.

The story of Elijah and the Phoenician widow in 1 Kings 17 is a favourite passage of preachers to convey the rhema Word for His people for a season. It is somewhat similar to the story of Elisha with the widow in 2 Kings 4, where a prophet’s widow in debt was saved by the multiplication of a small amount of olive oil into as many containers as she could find to fill, for her to later sell and repay her debts.

These encounters with divine providence and provision prove and demonstrate that Yahweh could provide much out of little. This is also similar to the miracles of Jesus feeding the 4,000 and the 5,000 in the New Testament. In the latter case, with 5 loaves and 2 fish, while the former, with 7 loaves and a few small fish.

In all such cases, there was a divine objective to be achieved. In the case of Elijah with the Phoenician widow, it was to prove that Yahweh was more powerful than Baal, Canaan and the surrounding territories’s dominant diety and on agriculture, by creating a severe famine by ceasing rain for a period of time. It culminated with Elijah defeating (and executing) 450 prophets of Baal in the contest at Mount Carmel when he, in stark contrast to the prophets of Baal, managed to call on fire from heaven to burn the drenched sacrifice. After that, Elijah prayed to Yahweh, and the rain returned, ending the famine, proving once again that Yahweh was more powerful than Baal.

Can we apply the above to our lives? That God will provide for us in our times of famine and financial difficulties? We have heard testimonies of people having raw rice (beras in Malay) in containers that miraculously do not diminish or missionaries and ministers receiving cheques in the mail or bank transfers at critical times (doesn’t usually appear out of nowhere but because the Holy Spirit prompted someone to do so). 

I believe that God will provide for His people through various means, including opening doors for us to earn our living, which sometimes can by itself be a miracle! We should pray and ask the Lord who is loving and compassionate if we are in dire need of His supernatural intervention. But always remember that it is never as of our right. It is by His grace and mercy. It is His discretion. It is based on His plans and purposes for our lives. It is to achieve a specific purpose, perhaps to demonstrate His love and compassion for us. It is always in His divine timing and will.

The resurrected Christ

https://odb.org/2025/08/13/recognizing-jesus

Luke 24:25–35 (NIV): 25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” 33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

When I was young and living in Pasir Puteh, Kelantan, the year-end school holidays were usually time to chill and read. There was no schooling, and since my dad was a teacher, he also didn’t need to go to school. It was a time when the whole family was together at home. There are times when we will travel back to the West Coast, like pay a visit to my uncles in KL or go see my paternal grandmother and my maternal grandparents in Ipoh.

The weather was usually nice as it was rainy and without fail, the floods would come. It was the monsoon season, and thus, it would usually rain non-stop for one to two weeks, and the town would be flooded. It was just a matter of geography and physics as the ground could not disperse fast enough the heavy rainfall from the mountains to the sea.

One of the books I read during those times, besides fictional works on Perry Mason, was the dual language Malay-English bible, and the notable passages that caught my attention was why no one recognised Jesus after His resurrection? It was only after He opened their eyes that they knew. I only discovered the answer later, although I accepted Christ when I was 14.

The reason is likely that His appearance in His resurrected body had changed. He definitely did not resurrect in the form that He died as His body was badly wounded and afflicted on the cross. We could postulate that His resurrected form was probably His best form to the human eye. It was recognisably human, and yet He did not look exactly like He did when He was walking the earth preaching and performing miracles, signs, and wonders. If He did, He would have been easily recognised.

For me, the most important thing about Christ resurrected is that it gives us hope for our own resurrected body one day. Although our body could have been cremated or buried and left in bones or we could have died when young or badly disfigured by an accident or when we had been ravaged by old age or illness – when we are resurrected, our glorified body will be in our best possible form. It is likely that our glorified body will be our best form with all our earthly disabilities removed. We will all be beautiful because the glory of God will shine forth from our victorious, glorified bodies, clothe in white and shiny unblemished garments! As we will then be holy, righteous, and without sin! Amen!

Cling and hold on to Christ until the very end! He was resurrected from the dead to show us not only that He had defeated sin and death but also to give us a glimpse of who we would be one day, the glory that awaits each and every one of us if we had fought the good fight, finished the race and remained in the faith (2 Timothy 4:7)!

P/S: For those interested in the Gatacca movie scene referred to in my posting yesterday, please click on the link below: https://youtu.be/ll5qiWa6YDk?si=L6iZp4ocvxI5tNko

For those who missed my post yesterday, please see the link below: https://ronnielim.com/2025/08/12/distance-till-empty/.

Distance till empty

https://odb.org/2025/08/12/distance-til-empty

Exodus 20:8–11 (NIV): 8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labour and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it, you shall not do any work, neither you nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days, the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

It is interesting to use the fuel gauge’s distance to empty to illustrate the need for us to observe the Sabbath as God also rested on the 7th day after creating the world and everything in it 6 days prior. For us Christians, the Sabbath is a day of rest and worship, but not in the religious sense like the Jews. The distance to empty means it’s a hard stop, although modern cars still have reserved fuel before it really goes empty. It is nevertheless not advisable to go really empty as it could damage our car’s fuel pump.

I have dealt with religious Jews before (religious as opposed to secular, but not the orthodox), and they make it a point to fly back to Israel on Thursday night so they are in Israel on Friday evening to observe the Sabbath (pronounced as Shabath). For them, it is total abstinence from work, and time would be spent with family to read the Scriptures and worship Yahweh. I understand they don’t even cook on that day, with food prepared in advance the day before.

As believers in Christ, we should have our own Sabbath on a Sunday for us to attend church and serve God, to worship Him and listen to His Word preached. To just immerse ourselves in His Holy presence as we celebrate His goodness in our lives and express our gratefulness for His calling and purpose for us here on earth as well as His salvation for eternal life. We should take a break from work on a Sunday and just chill (unless absolutely necessary, like when we are chasing or closing a deal). Saturdays are meant to catch up on housework and gardening. But on Sundays, we should just rest in His presence.

Having said that, I remember watching the 1997 movie Gatacca, starring Ethan Hawk, Uma Thurman, and Jude Law. It is a sci-fi world when there are two distinct classes of humans, the genetically perfect (modified) and the imperfect (natural). All the posh jobs were reserved for the perfect, but our protagonist (an imperfect) wanted to be an astronaut, which was way beyond his wildest imagination. So he worked very, very hard despite his not qualifying. One of the most memorable scenes from the movie was when he challenged his brother (a perfect) to a swim into the open sea.  He defeated his brother, proving that the human spirit can triumph over his imperfect physical body. In fact, he had to bring his brother back to shore. How was that possible? He stretched himself to the utmost limit by not reserving anything for the swim back to shore. By not limiting himself, he was able to go much farther than what he thought his body could go!

That is how humanity progresses – by testing the limits of our humanity. But as people of the faith, we have the Holy Spirit in us and Christ and God with us. If we push ourselves beyond our own limits beyond our comfort zones, God will bring us deeper into Him, far deeper than what we could imagine, into the depths of the mysteries of His Kingdom. Like Paul and John, perhaps we could one day see and experience things that a human could not utter! In 2 Corinthians 12:4, Paul discussed the vision where he was caught up to “the third heaven” and heard “inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell.”

Have a good week ahead, everyone! Have our own Sabbath, but don’t allow our own human limitations to limit God’s work in our spiritual lives! There is much more in this world that the eyes can see!

P/S: My apologies for not posting yesterday as I had to wake up at 5.30 am and travel back to the city at 6.00 am.

Caring for the oppressed

https://odb.org/2025/08/08/caring-for-the-oppressed

Jeremiah 22:1–5 (NIV): 22 This is what the LORD says: “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and proclaim this message there: 2 ‘Hear the word of the LORD to you, king of Judah, you who sit on David’s throne—you, your officials and your people who come through these gates. 3 This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor, the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. 5 But if you do not obey these commands, declares the LORD, I swear by myself that this palace will become a ruin.’ ”

The Malaysian Christian is believed to be largely middle-class, whether Chinese or Indian or Kadazan, or Dayak, although we do actually span a wider band of the socio-economic spectrum in both East and West Malaysia. The tendency is self-preservation, and thus, we are less vocal publicly as much as we may be well versed with the social and political issues plaguing our country lately. For example, the government boasts of high foreign investments, yet at ground zero, we find more taxes are introduced or increased, and things are getting more expensive while the average daily wage has remained mostly stagnant.

The call to the believer, however, is to “do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor, the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.” Jeremiah 22:3.

There is a call to social activism, although most of us are just busy working to put food on the table, pay bills, and save for the rainy day. For the younger ones among us, our wages may just be enough month to month. In other words, we will likely be living from paycheck to paycheck for a considerable period before we may see a healthy bank balance in savings. It is tough for an average Christian to work hard, attend church, and serve God while also devoting time to social causes. However, I just found out yesterday of someone who is now working for an NGO helping Orang Asli build simple homes, hence combining work with socialism.

God’s heart, however, is always for the oppressed – the foreigner, the orphans (fatherless), and the widow (this is perhaps more “single parent” in our present context). We must always remember that. We may not be directly involved in social activism, but we should help in whatever way we can, based on our affordability, to lend our voice to their cause or extend financial support. Even a donation of RM10 each by crowd funding could go a long way to help these marginalised or oppressed people in society.

Have a good weekend ahead to break from work, rest, and worship God this Sunday! This post concludes my posts for the week – you would have noticed by now that I only usually post during weekdays nowadays.

Take care, everyone, and God protect you and your loved ones, and bless the work of your hands!

Walking in the light

https://odb.org/2025/08/07/walking-in-his-light

Ephesians 5:8–13, 15 (NIV): 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness but rather expose them. 12 It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient does in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. 15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise.

It is a good practice to switch on some light at home in the night, especially if we have a large house although nowadays with our phone always beside us, it is less of an issue. In our room, a side lamp is useful if we wake up and need to use the toilet in the middle of the night.

Thus, a light under the bed that illuminates our path, triggered by movement, will be very useful as we grow older. We need to be wise as we age because if we fall and become bedridden, we will be a burden to our family and will less likely live a long life.

In the spiritual context, we have the light of Christ illuminating our paths in life ever since we left the darkness when we accepted Christ. Will we stumble and fall? Not likely as Christ lives in us, and we read and abide by His Word, which is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our paths (Psalm 119:105).

Yet, as we all know, our soul is on the path of redemption, and our soul consists of the mind, emotion, and will. We need to transform our minds not to conform to the pattern of this world as per Romans 12:2. Then only may we control our will to acede to God’s will and His Word. Mankind has the free will to do as he or she wishes, and it is out of this free will that we need to choose to stay in the light to eternal life, and not step back into darkness and destruction. God let us have the freedom to choose, and we must always choose Him as He calls us to Himself.

Be very careful how you live – not as the unwise but as wise (Ephesians 5:15).

Have a good day ahead even as we approach the weekend! May the LORD our God grant us wisdom, patience, and discernment in the next two days at work to do things effectively and efficiently! Amen!

Love your neighbour

https://odb.org/2025/08/06/tree-debris

James 1:19–25 (NIV): 19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. 22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

The real-life story of today’s ODB writer of him dealing with a damaged roof and fallen tree debris and branches after a major thunderstorm is an excellent illustration of the Christian teaching of “love your neighbour.” This was because the trees that caused the mess were not his, but his neighbour’s! Under normal circumstances, we would have asked the neighbour to clean up the mess and pay for the repairs.

In fact, if the neighbour’s trees were causing such issues, we could call the Council to cut them down or at least trim the branches. I personally had an experience of about 4.5 years back during the Covid pandemic of a large oil palm tree at the reserve land crashing into the grounds of our old house and damaging the parameter wall. Fortunately, we managed to claim against the Council’s public liability insurance.

Some photos of the fallen tree during Covid

Loving your neighbour will often involve tolerance and patience if we have a difficult one. This is because our calling as a believer is to love and be slow to anger. Some do this better than others, but do we must if we bear the name of Jesus. This is practically what it really means to listen to the Word and do what it says. The effect is that it makes us stronger in the faith when we are able to love our neighbour despite the difficulty. Christian principles and teachings are real in the sense that they transform us from within and in our mind as we apply them in our lives. Always remember that God sees and remembers all that we do for Him or in His name. Nothing is ever wasted or lost.

Loneliness

https://odb.org/2025/08/05/never-alone-8

Deuteronomy 31:1–8 (NIV): 31 Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel: 2 “I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to lead you. The LORD has said to me, ‘You shall not cross the Jordan.’ 3 The LORD your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the LORD said. 4 And the LORD will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their land. 5 The LORD will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” 7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. 8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

As I’ve written before, we can be lonely even in a crowd. This is because we do not know anyone in the crowd. Even at work, we can be lonely if we are not able to fit in and be part of a group. Our interactions cease after the workday ends. Thus, having a spouse, soul mate, partner, or close friend is pretty essential. Someone we could relate to and just talk about anything under the sun. If not, then it is likely that some of us will immerse ourselves in a favourite pastime like fishing or running or for the younger generation in social media or gaming.

When speaking with my wife, I realise that she can cover a variety of topics within a short conversation span! The truth is conversations with her are seldom short! I learned long ago that speaking with her is a way to break my loneliness as much as it is therapeutic for her. So, l also learned to be an avid listener. Sometimes, just being a good listener will help us find companionship and break our loneliness.

But if we have Jesus in our lives, we know that God will never leave nor forsake us. The exaltation is to be strong and courageous, like Moses’ exaltation to Joshua to be strong and courageous as the LORD is with him and will go before him. Notwithstanding the challenges we face in life, despite the struggles we go through, Jesus is with us and will never leave nor forsake us. Hold on tight to the faith until the very end. Be strong and courageous!

We will not be lonely with God as He will never leave nor forsake us. But at the human level, open ourselves up to have close friends so that we are not alone on this earth. Be willing to be vulnerable. Start trusting people. Be selfless, helpful, and friendly. Don’t always be counting dollars and cents in the things we do. Not everyone needs to pay their fair share all the time! Be willing to spend with close friends. 

Have a good week ahead! May the LORD bless us with wisdom and patience to deal with issues of life and at work, and may we be able to forget close friendships in due course! Amen!

God’s faithfulness is forever

https://odb.org/2025/08/04/forever-faithful-2

Isaiah 40: 6-8, 10-11 NIV – 6 A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?” “All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. 7 The grass withers and the flowers fall because the breath of the Lord blowsl on them. Surely, the people are grass. 8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” 10 See, the Sovereign Lord comest with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. 11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.

The exile—God’s people taken from their country first by Assyria and then Babylon—came as a result of His judgment for His people’s failures. However, the suffering it caused raised serious questions about His faithfulness. Had He forsaken His people? Or was God not able to do anything about what had happened to them? In Isaiah 40, God offers a resounding no to both of those questions. He hadn’t abandoned His people. His promise to be faithful to them could be trusted, for “the word of our God endures forever” (v. 8). They’d return from exile, and God’s presence and glory would be with them (vv. 3-5), and He would care for them

The above was extracted from today’s ODB, and as I’ve mentioned last Friday, God’s justice and deliverance transcend a few generations. The Assyrian exile lasted between 190 and 195 years, while the Babylonian exile was for 70 years. If you’re an individual living in those times, it is likely that you would have died in exile before returning to the homeland.

Fortunately for us, we are the “spiritual Israel,” and Israel of ancient times serves more like a picture of our relationship with God. The ancient nation of Israel can be likened to the universal body of Christ of present times. What all of this means is that as an individual, if God had “exiled” us as some sort of disciplinary action against us, know that He will not abandon us. He still loves us and will restore to us what the locusts had eaten. He remains faithful to us, His people, and His children, for the Word of God endures forever. Meaning if He says He is faithful, then He is! His Word never changes throughout generations. It endures forever!

Return to God if you have moved away. Like the father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, God will welcome us with open arms. He will cook the fattened calf for us, put a ring on our finger, and give us new robes and shoes to wear! We will have honour and recognition in His presence, even if the world treats us badly. He is our rock and salvation! Amen

Life may be unfair

https://odb.org/2025/08/01/inherit-the-land

Psalm 37:5-11 NIV  – Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. 7 Be still before the Lord
and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. 8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. 9 For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land. 10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. 11 But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity.

In the Old Testament, with little knowledge of the afterlife, the Israelites’ concept of God’s justice is very much here on earth. Thus, in their view, evildoers will be punished or destroyed while the meek (righteous) will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity. God will make their righteous reward shine like the dawn (Psalm 37:6 above). Invariably, prosperity equates the blessings of God and righteousness.

The reality is that as a nation, they did experience God’s justice and protection over the years. For example, their delivery out of slavery in Egypt to Canaan. Or Joshua’s and later David’s victories in their battles against the surrounding tribes and nations. But as an individual living in those times, it was a different story as God’s justice and protection sometimes transcends a few generations. Everyone who was 20 years old above died in the wilderness and didn’t enter the Promised Land to enjoy of its flowing milk, and honey is another example.

After Jesus came, He redeemed mankind by His blood shed on the cross of Calvary. Now we know that as much as the Kingdom of God is where His believers are here on earth, there will be a day when His redeemed righteous saints will receive their just rewards. Now we know there is a concept of Eden recreated as revealed to John in Revelation 21.

Yet, as we believe that the nation of Israel of ancient times is a picture of our spiritual life as an individual in Christ, we seek God’s justice and protection while still living in our earthly vessels. Thus, as much as we know we are pilgrims passing through this world on the way to our eternal destiny, we still seek justice, providence and blessings from God for ourselves, our loved ones and our fellow believers. By God’s grace and will, if we live till we are 80, it is still a long time here on earth. In fact, a day can be a long time if we are waiting.

The message this morning is that life can and may be unfair to some of us. But often, what’s fair or not can also be relative. The LORD may or may not intervene on our behalf. He has His timing, His plans and purposes, and He is sovereign. But know that if we keep to the righteous path and fight the good fight and keep our faith until the very end, we will have our just rewards. What happens to those who had wronged us, leave them to God and His mercy, grace, and compassion.

2 Timothy 4 – 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

1 Timothy 6 – 12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

Have a good weekend, everyone, and have a wonderful time communing with God this Sunday in worship and humble adoration!

The Jersey of Christ

https://odb.org/2025/07/31/looking-like-christ

Brazillian national football jersey with the image of Jesus the Redeemer statue

Matthew 5:6-10 – 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The idea of the kingdom of God as we believers all wearing the same Christ jersey is excellent as it illustrates that although each will have an individual number, we are all of the same team. We identify as one through Christ, but we are still individuals saved by Him and called by God for a specific purpose in the kingdom of heaven. Each of us has a role to play. Each of us has been given a talent, a spiritual gifting to serve one another.

But in reality, we don’t wear a jersey. We are all part of the crowd, nicely blended in as Malaysians if we are in Malaysia or as Americans if we live in the States. The thing that distinguishes us from the rest is our heart. We are born again in our spirit, albeit our soul is still on the road to full redemption. We do not conform to the pattern of the world, but we are being transformed by the renewing of our mind (the dominant element in our soul). We thus hunger and thrist for righteousness. We are merciful, unlike the world. We are peacemakers and are not out to stir trouble. Our hearts have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and are pure.

Today, as we go back to the grind to earn a living for our families, remember that we are different from the world because we have Christ in us. The Holy Spirit lives in us. Instead of destroying, we help others. Our mission in life is to glorify His name in all that we do! Amen!