https://odb.org/MY/2022/04/14/and-it-was-night-2

I’m quite sure everyone had experienced betrayal to a certain degree at least once in our lives. Perhaps it was something as simple as someone having promised to keep a secret but started babbling like a canary the moment he was asked the question. Or something as serious as someone we loved having left us for someone else. Or a business partner swindling us of our investment. Or it could be our superior marking down our performance appraisal on instructions from the top. Or a supplier reneging on a promise to deliver having sold our goods or components to the highest bidder.

Betrayal can take many forms but for Christ, He knew who would betray Him and He allowed that to happen so that what was foretold before may be played out before the eyes of mankind. At that moment in time, someone needed to point out to the arresting party who exactly was Jesus and that person was Judas Iscariot. There was something inside Judas that made him do what he did and that’s probably why he was the one who fulfilled the prophesy. Jesus knew it will happen and yet He chose to go through it. He didn’t choose to foil it so that He is not betrayed. There was a larger purpose in play and that is the redemption and salvation of mankind.

There must be a bigger reason why we had to go through what we went through. Perhaps it is to prepare us for mighty things that God will be doing in our life. That our heart is strengthened by our experiences and our spirit is thus not easily defeated like a fragile piece of pottery. Our resolve is like steel, not easily cracked. We excel under pressure. Things like that.

If we knew like Jesus we would be betrayed, I’m sure we will do all we can to prevent it. But we will not know. We dont even know what will happen to us the next minute or the next hour. So let the greater good prevail. Let God work in us through that experience, bitter as it might have been. Let the Lord wash away all the hurt, bitterness and hatred this Easter weekend and let bygones be bygones. Let’s instead hold on to the promise and plan of God declared by Paul in Romans 8:28 that He will work all things together for the good of those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose. He has a purpose for our life and He has a purpose for all that we are going through and have gone through. Trust Him to work things out for our good. In due time, in due course – we will see the wisdom of His ways.

https://odb.org/MY/2022/04/13/carried-by-love

When we read the Old Testament, we see that the LORD when speaking to the Israelites through His prophets like Isaiah were speaking more of their lives while on earth. If they worshipped Him and no other gods and obey His commandments, He will protect them against their enemies. He will help them win battles and wars against the peoples that live in Canaan even as their entry into Canaan had threatened the geopolitical situation existing then. The Israelites believed in the resurrection of the dead for they knew their Redeeemer lives (Job 19:25-27) and yet the concept of eternal life, of living even though we die was not really present or only became more pronounced when Jesus arrived on the scene some 2,000 years back. Technically, the Jews of old could have eternal life through their obedience of the Law, as tough as it might have been without the redeeming blood of Christ on the cross. The Jews of today I believe have a similar mindset, focusing more on what is seen now than what is unseen and what that lies beyond the grave.

With the redeeming blood of Christ, we have an eternal future. A future where we are not afraid of death as Christ has conquered death for us. As Paul famously said to die is gain and to live is Christ. Either way, our lives belong to Christ since He had redeemed us with His blood. So just a matter of whether we are with Him in spirit here or in the afterlife. And that is something we must be thankful of as we approach this Easter weekend, be thankful and grateful to Christ for that confidence and assurance of eternal life, for that everlasting life with Him while alive or after we depart. Thus for a believer, our life here on earth is a pilgrimage, we are merely passing through.

Having said that, God still cares for us while we are on earth. He knows and sees the challenges we face, at times just to live. 80 or 90 years may be short compared to eternity but it is still a long haul for us humans. The beggar may suffer for 80 years to live lavishly for eternity. But is that what life is about? To live and suffer? Surely not! God made us and He will carry us. He says in Isaiah 46:4 that He will sustain us to our old age, our gray hairs. I have made you and I will carry you. I will sustain you and I will rescue you. In Psalm 139, David declares that we are fearfully and uniquely made by God.

There is a purpose God made us and place us where we are today. As much as eternal life is assuring for our future, let’s discover and fulfil God’s unique and special purpose for us here on earth. That I believe is probably one of the best ways we can reciprocate Christ’s love and sacrifice for us. He died for our sins and bought us the ticket to the train. In the meantime, let’s do our part to play the role that He designed for us even as we board the train. Why are we on the train? Surely it is not just about going to heaven only? Discover and fulfil God’s plans and purposes for our lives!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/04/12/like-us-for-us

As the pioneer of our faith, the founder, originator and author, Jesus Christ was God and yet fully human in every way. He was human and yet sinless so that He could become the perfect sacrifice for the atonement of our sins, the Lamb of God that redeemed mankind once and for all, having victory over sin and death. Thus those who believe in Him and accept Him as their Lord, will have eternal life – though we may die, yet we live because Jesus is the Truth, the Way and the Life! He is the Resurrection and the Life!

Hebrews 2:18 says it unequivocally that since He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted. The evil one is real and he will tempt us with the lust of eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). These temptations seek to draw us away from God, to entice us to follow the world and the desires of our old self but we know that as we ask Jesus to help us fight these temptations, Jesus will help us as He had suffered before when He Himself was tempted. He was made fully human in every way and faced the same temptations that we face as human beings.

As we approach Good Friday and Easter Sunday this week, let’s spend some time to not only thank Jesus for His sacrifice on the cross for the redemption of our sins (He was bruised for our transgressions) and His subsequent victory over sin and death with His resurrection, but let us examine ourselves whether we are a good example of who Jesus is? Are we worthy brothers and sisters of Christ who are worthy to carry His name? Have we worked hard enough to not conform to the pattern of this world and be transformed by the renewing of our minds? Are our bodies a living sacrifice that is reflective of His work on Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday? This week is called Holy Week, the week between Palm Sunday and Easter – let us spend some time this Holy Week to remember Christ and do some self reflection as to where we are in Christ. Are we fulfilling His calling upon our lives? Are we living out His plans and purposes for our lives? Are we getting on with the programme with Him?

https://odb.org/MY/2022/04/11/making-every-moment-count

We know the LORD our God is compassionate and forgiving. So even as we sin, we know when we go back to Him, He will forgive us. We need to of course repent but as we are work in progress, we may still commit the same sin after repentance. More effort needs to put in to break the cycle of sin and bad habits, maybe by replacing these unwholesome habits with more spiritual things like praying or reading the Word or just plain turkey cut them off. Sin is debilitating, makes us weak and infirm spiritually as sin separates us from the Lord, the source of our strength and life. So intentional sin even if we sometimes cannot help it is an issue we need to deal with.

The recent passing of my dad made me realise that as much as we as man can plan, the final decision lies with God. My dad had his second chance at life when he survived his massive heart attack 13 years ago. And even 3 years back he survived a host of medical conditions like ischemic bowels, colon cancer and his abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). Due to his AAA, we knew the day may come anytime and as much as we wished it will come later, it came sooner. That’s the thing about death, we don’t know when it will come. When it comes, it could just be a matter of hours and not days or weeks or months. God has His timing and He is sovereign. Even Kings bow before Him when it comes to this – except King Hezekiah who managed to convince the LORD to extend his life by another 15 years.

God’s compassion is steadfast and is renewed every morning like dew. His forgiveness is certain. But death and the Second Coming of Christ are things we cannot predict. We don’t know when exactly, even Christ doesn’t know. If we knew, then we will be like the owner of a home waiting to catch the thief. The thief usually sneaks in when we least expect. Death also creeps in when we least expect.

Count our moments and do what we must do NOW. Reconcile with God and man now. Spend more time with our loved ones. Do the things we want to do for God now. Don’t wait. Repent and seek His forgiveness now, when we still have breath as we don’t know when we will breathe our last. I have seen it in my mum and my dad, and one of my close friend – once illness strikes us and we are admitted to the hospital, if death were to follow in the days to come, there is nothing much that the person on the bed can do from the moment they are admitted until their heart stops. Don’t wait anymore, repent and reconcile with God now.

https://odb.org/MY/2022/04/10/a-king-on-a-donkey

Today is Palm Sunday, the day when we remember Jesus riding into Jerusalem in a donkey and fulfilling a 500 year old prophesy then that the Prince or Messiah, God’s chosen one, will be riding in a donkey into Jerusalem – righteous and victorious and yet humble and lowly. This event is significant as it occurred just days before His crucifixion on the cross that redeemed us of our sins before God and His subsequent resurrection and victory over sin and death. Like the Jews wanting to be buried facing the Eastern Gate believing that the Messiah will enter by the Eastern Gate, we too are looking forward to the day of Jesus Christ, that all who had passed on before us in the faith especially our loved ones, will be resurrected.

The difference is that to us in the faith the prophesy of the Messiah entering by the Eastern Gate had already been fulfilled 2,000 years ago while the Jews are still waiting for their Messiah. We are instead looking forward to the second coming of Christ and this time Christ will be coming as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, where every name on earth and in heaven and under the earth will bow down to. He holds the Keys of Hades and it is by His name that we will either take our rightful place with God in the place where He will dwell among us or be condemned to the place of gnashing of teeth forever.

As we prepare to celebrate Good Friday and Easter Sunday, also known as Resurrection Sunday, let us today on Palm Sunday acknowledge, proclaim and worship Christ as our King and Lord. Indeed Hossana, Hosanna to the Son of David, Hosanna to the King of Kings, Glory in the highest heaven, Jesus Lord Messiah reigns! Indeed only Jesus has the words of eternal life as Jesus is the Prince of Peace, the Lord of heaven and earth, the Son of Righteousness whom angels bow down before – as Jesus Christ is the Lord!

Have a happy and blessed Palm Sunday, everyone!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/04/08/permanent-address

Those of us who have moved homes will know what a major hassle that is. I moved from my varsity days from rooms to rooms and finally to two rented homes shared with my brother in law when I got married. Later we moved to our own home, bought at a time when new off-plan landed 24×75 link homes were still below RM200k – it was a princely sum then but if we had graduated one year earlier, slightly smaller ones (22×75) were available at the RM150k region. After that we moved to a home with a larger compound in a smaller city where we raised our two boys, and finally to our current home close by in the same city. When we look at some stuff at the store rooms, we straight away knew which era in our lives those things are from and the funny thing, we still have things from our varsity days! We still maintain our address as that of our previous home but for most correspondence, we use our latest address. For us and our children, our permanent address can be at either homes and I think for a few more decades to come.

At the physical side of things, some of us may still be looking for a permanent address. We are still saving for the down payment to our home in our name or we have bought one already but will need a bigger one when the kids come or grow up. There are many permutations depending on which stage of life we are, but we are looking for a permanent address where we can raise our kids and build up our life in God, to settle down and have some measure of stability; where instead of movable furniture, we will be putting up built-ins.

The great thing about our life in God though is that we have a permanent address the moment we accepted Christ in our life. Our address is Jesus Christ and it is as permanent as the Word of God is, that is unchanging from generations to generations as Jesus is the same yesterday, today and in the days to come. His love for us is steadfast and renewed every morning like dew. His faithfulness endures forever.

David spoke of dwelling in the house of God all the days of his life in Psalm 27. He used a similar expression in Psalm 23 that “I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever”. The thing is that David was then on the run and hiding in a cave and he was speaking about dwelling in the house of God. We know that Jesus has gone back to heaven to prepare a home for us in the Father’s mansion. But until the day of Jesus Christ, our permanent address in God is wherever we are in His presence. The place where we stand, where we live – where we worship Him and read His Word and spend time in prayer in our quiet time with Him – that’s our permanent address in God. Our home is an extension of God’s kingdom, an embassy of God. It is also our permanent address in God. As we close our eyes and worship and pray, God’s presence is with us and that’s our permanent address. In fact, wherever we are and may be, and it need not be at home, we can reach out to God and His presence is there, that’s our permanent address.

The beauty and amazing thing about our present relationship with God is that we are actually His dwelling place and as much as we want to dwell in the house of the LORD like David said, we are His dwelling place. As we reach out, God is with us. So wherever we are, we are our own permanent address with God! We carry the glory of God, the presence of God. Shall we fear evil, shall we fear the dark forces of the air? Though He may lead us through the valley of shadow of death, we shall fear no evil for His rod and staff comfort me, for the LORD is my shepherd and He now lives in me! Amen

https://odb.org/MY/2022/04/07/real-hospitality

It didn’t happen often but there were times during my Varsity days when I had to skip a meal or downgrade a meal to something simpler like a packet of nasi lemak or just roti canai because I had ran out of money that month. I remembered that my pastor then was perplexed that I didn’t have RM35 to buy a set of bass strings back in 1988/89 so that I could take the church’s spare bass home and practice. Those were difficult times but we could survive a whole year of public university study on a RM3,500 PSD (JPA) loan plus a monthly allowance of RM100 from my dad – just about RM5,000 a year. Nowadays, 30 plus years later, a local private university student needs at least RM5,000 A MONTH to cover tuition fees, accommodation and food. A plate of mixed rice was RM1.40 then and even though things were relatively cheap, our shoe string budget still meant that we needed to ration our money for every meal. What I’m trying to say is that putting aside the value of money, the lifestyle was also quite different, compared to now. For example, eating fast food or at shopping centres was considered a mini-luxury when nowadays it is just another regular meal.

I was thus very touched when someone offered to buy me a meal. Not likely from a fellow student, usually from a working adult or an uncle or auntie who is a professional. Or just getting to eat a home-cooked meal. This is because for every meal that I need not use my own money, I have extra and that will help me go for a better next meal. It is an act of little kindness but it goes a long way for me the student struggling with limited resources. It is an act that also had lasting impressions that sort of personified the kindness and love of God in tangible form, especially if that person buying us a meal is also a believer.

That is why I truly believe that showing God’s love need not always be about preaching a powerful message or planting a church or reaching out to thousands but just a little act of kindness. There will always a rightful place for the Billy Grahams of the world or for that all powerful ministry of deliverance and healing, signs and wonders to demonstrate the power and reality of God that Jesus Christ is alive today and yet it is those little acts of kindness that are more accessible to most of us and will have a lasting impression on those around us.

Rebecca was special as she offered Abraham’s servant, a stranger, a drink and gave water to his camels. We are special too when we offer hospitality to others when they least expect. Let us become a tangible instrument for God’s love even as we dwell into the finer details of His Word. Faith is real when practiced! It is not a mere concept in the mind or for theological discussion. Practice kindness and see God move in our midst!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/04/06/parking-lot-quarrel

I guess nearly everyone would have experienced this before, some of us more but I think at least once in our life. We were so lifted up during the Sunday worship service, maybe we had a very good time interacting with God and was filled in His presence during worship. Or we were so inspired by the Word that was spoken that we want to make a new start and change the world tomorrow. We want to go out there and live for God, to make a difference. We resolved to read His Word everyday and spend at least one hour in our quiet time. Or we will now be kind and compassionate with our family, friends and colleagues. Then as we leave the church, fortunately not at the parking lot at the church, but further away and pas we were traveling, some car just jumped queue and cut right into our lane without signaling and nearly caused a minor accident. So we blasted our horn and shouted at that car, in language not usually used in church! So there we are, a disappointment after the euphoria. We have failed again to live up to the name of Jesus in our lives. We feel guilty because we have become an embarrassment to God, instead of being His pride and joy.

The challenge to transform our minds and develop the character of Christ in us is constant. It’s a daily affair and is continuous. As mentioned yesterday, God will carry through His work in us till completion. We are all His handiwork – from the days before the foundations of the world till the day of Jesus Christ, God will mould and shape us into the image of His son.

I guess on our part there will bound to be failures and disappointments, snapping at our spouse and kids, at our colleagues and family. Our mood is not always uplifting and good. There will be bad days and bad moments and sometimes those moments come too soon after church! My encouragement to all of us, myself included, is not to give up and dwell in sorrow, guilt, self pity and regret. With God’s grace and help, we can do it. We can change for the better. We can hear and be doers of the Word. We will succeed. We will not always fail. We can and shall be the Psalm 1 believer who delights in His Word and meditates on it day and night and is someone who is like a tree planted by streams of water. Strong, rich in nourishment and always bearing good fruits in season and whose leaves shall not wither and whatever we do for God prospers and grows!

Be inspired, be uplifted! After the euphoria, as we face the harsh biting reality of life, I pray that God’s Word will always be a blessing and a shield to protect and guard our hearts and minds against the ravages of sin and evil. We will stand strong in our faith and composure and maintain our character to reflect His glory and love in our lives. We shall be that balm of Gilead who heals rather than spark raging fires. We will be that person who unites rather than divides, who encourages rather than to destroy. We will be genuine doers and hearers of the Word!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/04/05/a-good-work

Our journey with God begins the day we accepted Christ in our lives. Different ones of us have a different start. Some of us might have started in our teens. Some of us when we were in University. Some of us after we started working and yet some of us later in life, after we married and have kids. For me, it was when I was 14 and later my whole family accepted Christ over the next few years – my sister, my mum then my dad. For some it could have been an immediate transformation but for me, I struggled for quite a number of years before giving my life fully to God and even then, there were ups and downs and times of backsliding and re-dedication.

So indeed our life with God is a journey. Our life on earth itself is a journey. It’s a discovery of the world and ourselves and how we could fit in, earn a living, raise a family and possibly make a name for ourselves and leave a mark and if we knew God already, how to leave a mark for God, make a difference for Christ in the lives of people we interact with.

The thing is our journey with God doesn’t actually begin the day we accepted Christ. It actually begins way, way before. God knew us even before we were formed in our mother’s womb. We were indeed fearfully and wonderfully made, knitted together in our mother’s womb and yet we were made in the spirit even before the foundations of the world. He chose us even before the foundations of the world (see Ephesians 1:4). Thus, even if we were physically formed in our mother’s womb, we were already created as spiritual beings by God much, much earlier.

The message today is that as God created and chose us at the beginning, He will complete His work in us. He who began a good work will carry it till completion until the day of Jesus Christ. See Philippians 1:6. As much as we will always remain work in progress, God will make sure we will be the completed product one day and the process will not be ceased and it will be relentless until we become complete. Only we can stop that process. Only we can mess things up by our rebellion and going against Him. It is not the devil. It is not the world. It is us and the God given free will to choose that will change the course that God wants us to travel on. There will be second, third and fourth chances as the Lord is gracious and compassionate but so long as we still have breath, and we do not know when we will breathe our last! God will carry the work to completion, we just need to let Him do it!

I think there are in essence two extremes in the type of leaders and managers. One who delegates everything and another who takes on everything himself or herself. There are pros and cons to both approaches. The main weakness of the one who delegates fully is he is not hands on and thus could be out of touch with reality. He could be accused of taking the position and not doing anything since all the work is done by his subordinates. However, that could also be the best use of his talents and time and he could correspondingly achieve much more in the process. On the other hand, the good thing about the person who does everything himself is that he is fully hands on. He is a leader who rolls up his sleeves and gets dirty to get the work done. However, there is just so much he can do himself. A team is always able to do more than one person, no matter how talented or efficient that person is.

Moses was the leader who started off doing everything himself. He was the sole person in the company of nearly 600,000 families who had fled Egypt as slaves, who was adjudicating and arbitrating disputes between them. So he heard and administered the law and percepts of God for that fleeing community from dawn to dusk day in and day out. Jethro his father in law immediately saw the absurdity of the situation and advised him to appoint layers of capable and upright leaders so that only the difficult and complex cases reach him. The same thing was also done during the early days of the church following the explosion of power and might after the day of Pentecost with the Apostles withdrawing into prayer and teaching while other capable leaders were appointed to do day to day administration of the community of believers. The record shows that Moses heeded the advice of his father in law.

Are we a leader who wants to do everything ourselves? Will we heed the advice of those around us, our loved ones, to start delegating our work and let others take on the responsibilities and grow?

For the past few months, I had assigned my own cell group members to take turns to lead and teach each chapter in our bible study. In our local church we call these cells Life Groups and I had assigned so far 3 chapters of the 7-chapter study to be handled by them and there are 2 more in the pipeline. So in the end, I would have led only 2 out of the 7 chapters. So far, they have done much better than me in terms of delivery and the use of cutting edge teaching tools like slides, online resources etc. More importantly, my cell group leaders felt empowered and sought God themselves and thus experiencing first hand the spiritual lessons from God before teaching and leading the study.

It’s time to start delegating if we haven’t. It’s time to heed the advice of our loved ones. It’s time to empower others as the best way for others to grow is to let them do the thing themselves. Let more people come into the presence of God to draw strength and inspiration. Let the Lord be the source of all knowledge and inspiration! Amen