https://odb.org/MY/2021/09/26/rest-well

While I agree that enforced rest as in the Old Testament sabbath may be too restrictive compared to the relationship based rest in Christ, I feel there is merit in enforced rest.

Even in these modern times, the sabbath is still practiced rigorously by religious Jews especially in Israel and over there, with state support. So let me relate – in my line of work, when we deal with Israeli lawyers on documentation, our interaction with them whether face to face or via video or tele conferencing is usually limited to Mondays to Thursdays. We can do off site retreats but they will usually religiously leave by Thursday evening to meet the deadline start of the sabbath on Friday evenings. In Israel, for those observing the sabbath, all work related activities cease and I understand it can be as extreme as pushing the lift button. But the beauty of it is that the day is spent reading scriptures with family and reminding their children the goodness of God in their lives from the time of their forefathers till now.

As believers of the faith, we do not have to observe the sabbath but I think it is good to have a day of rest among us where we can focus on Jesus and lay off work or even ministry. Sundays do not really work as the church is the busiest on Sundays and most of us nap or catch up on household chores on a Sunday afternoon. Therefore a good time of rest should be on a Saturday and it could be just a few hours in the afternoon spent with Jesus that we can truly rest under His yoke. A time when we can take His yoke upon us to learn from Him for Je promised that His yoke is easy and His burden light.

Perhaps an enforced rest like that of the Jewish sabbath is unachievable by us in the modern context out of Israel and is also no longer required under the New Covenant. But the benefits of an enforced rest remains in both physically for our body and mind and spiritually for our spirit. Coupled with resting in Jesus as taught by the Lord Himself, we will have the best of both worlds! Rest and rest well. We need to enforce that time to rest in the Lord, to rest in God, on top of our daily quiet time. A time spent in His presence, a time to chill with the Lord, to just relax in Him, to soak in His love and compassion.

https://odb.org/MY/2021/09/25/god-knows-we-feel

A couple of years back, something happened to me that caused a lot of distress, sadness and disappointment in my life. It also brought up feelings of wanting to retaliate, to just hit back, to take revenge. I was feeling really down for a few days. Fortunately, that feeling lasted only a few days and I remember that it was really difficult when I was going through it. And yet in the midst of all that, I sensed that God knew exactly what I was going through. My tears and sadness at what happened He felt.

During those trying times, I had the assurance that He was with me, that He will help me through all that. I knew I didn’t deserve His love and compassion and I was not sure at that point what the future will be. Maybe He had other plans for me.

It took a couple of months but in the end the situation was resolved. God made a few moves, I humbled myself before God and man, and persevered on. The clouds lifted and in the end, I saw the sunshine. As I recall back those dark months, I am thankful and grateful that God stood by me through all those times. The assurance that all will be good was comforting but as I was going through it in real time then, I was never sure of the outcome – I could only pray and trust the Lord. But the Lord helped me through, paved the way, changed the whole outlook and now a few years later, everything has changed – the scenery is now different, the trees and grass all have changed but it is still the same land, the same place.

Thus, it is true that God feels us but as God is God, He can do more than that. He can be much more than a shoulder to cry on. He can emphatise, understand and feel for us, and more. He can change scenarios, situations and outlook. He can not only lead us to the light at the end of the tunnel, but He can also brighten up the tunnel as we persevere on. His Word can be a light to our path, His Spirit can strengthen our will and our resolve. Just put our trust and hope in Him and accept whatever outcome He plans for us and in my case, He engineered a change that I didn’t imagine was possible when the situation first occurred. Indeed with man it was not possible but with God nothing is impossible. We must let Him determine the outcome – trust me, if you trust God, it will be good.

https://odb.org/MY/2021/09/24/the-whatevers

When I reflect upon Philippians 4:8, I realise that often anxiety and fear arise when I think of things that have yet to be done. Looming deadlines, missed milestones, outstanding work, yet more and more work piling in. I feel suffocated, hemmed in, unable to breathe, not able to cope. Yet work like most things, needs to be done eventually. You may postpone or procrastinate, but eventually it needs to closed and ticked off, dusted and done. So the best thing is to just do it, tackle it one by one, prioritise but get to it. So thinking about work too much, brings in fear and anxiety unless we are looking for solutions, looking at ways how to write that paper, how to close that contractual point, how to solve that problem. Worrying about deadlines and outstanding work is useless and unproductive. We need to get on with it.

That’s why I think Paul’s advice and exhortation in Philippians 4:8 is excellent! Whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy – think about such things! Whatever is great, think about those things. Thinking good thoughts lifts us up, brings us joy, makes us happy and puts us in a good mood.

Paul promises, if we approach life this way, the peace of God that transcends all understanding will be upon us. We will be a much happier, joyful and peaceful person if we think of such things more, rather than always worrying about something – whether it is the future, the government or if it will rain! If we haven’t known, worry adds nothing to the situation, adds zero value. Worry is like hatred although not as bad is nevertheless capable of freezing people, stopping us from moving forward. It doesn’t poison us like hatred but it paralyses us. Not so much just “don’t worry, be happy” as promulgated by Bob Marley but more “get with the program”. Meaning to say, just go and do it, get on with it! 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 go!

I believe that thinking good thoughts is also good food for the mind. Nourishes us so we have clearer thoughts and helps us do things quicker. Makes us more productive, more efficient. If we dwell on the Word, our minds will be renewed more and more, and our lives will be transformed more and more to be like Christ. Read and meditate on the Word, think good thoughts, speak to God, engulf ourselves in His presence, pray and intercede for others in need – do all these daily. I think we will find work and life more fulfilling and more can be accomplished in a day.

https://odb.org/MY/2021/09/23/frolicking-in-freedom

I watched a documentary before on the happiness and sheer joy of young calves frolicking in the open fields after being let out of their stables. They will run and run and run, with such enjoyment and such abandonment. They want to stretch their legs, to let it all go after being confined to their stables. Closer to home, a similar picture can and will be seen when we are finally allowed inter-state travel after being stuck in our homes and towns for months due to MCO. We will just want to drive and drive and go to some faraway place, to visit family and friends or even just to eat and chill, just to go somewhere.

This picture of frolicking calves is an excellent metaphor for the joy and happiness of a believer who found Christ. Jesus gave us a similar picture in the parable of the precious pearl, where a merchant after finding that pearl, sold everything he had and bought that pearl (Matthew 13:45-46). It was preceded by a similarly themed parable of the hidden treasure in verse 44 where a man after finding the treasure, hid it again and in his joy, went on to sell everything he had and bought that land.

Accepting Christ has to be the most important decision we have ever made and Christ being the most valuable thing that we ever had. More important than even our decision to marry our life partner, more valuable than all our possessions and wealth. Why? Because it’s a life after death question, a decision that determines our future home for all eternity. When we pass away from this earth, we cannot bring over anything except our soul, our life story and our faith. But since we have Christ with us, He will be there with us on the other side of eternity. He promised us before that He had gone ahead of us to prepare a place for us, a room at our Father’s vast heavenly mansion. With Christ with us, our final destination is assured and our destiny in God is sealed. We are part of the family, we have become a certified member of the Kingdom of God. That is why both the merchant and the man sold everything they had to buy the pearl and the land with the hidden treasure. That is how precious and valuable Christ is.

I guess sometimes we forget (me included) how fortunate and blessed we are to have known Christ. If we had not made that decision, whether just yesterday or many moons ago, we will still be on the path that leads to destruction. We would still be chasing after fame and fortune, after power and position, after status or whatever our interests are. Actually nothing too wrong with all those ambitions except that they will not matter when we face the judgment day. The question that matters is whether the Lord our Christ knows us? Is our name written in the Book of Life? Did we accept the grace that was given to us freely when we were yet sinners and alive in this world? God has been good to us by calling us to Him. Will we not reciprocate and be a living sacrifice that is holy and acceptable to Him? Will we not offer our bodies to serve Him and to fulfil His plans and purposes for our lives? Will we not be frolicking in the fields like the young calves? Be thankful and grateful, do our part for God…

https://odb.org/MY/2021/09/22/no-misunderstanding

Imagine we are deep in our own thoughts, thinking of something, talking to ourselves in our heart of hearts, in our mind. We are just talking in our heart, not speaking out or verbalising our words formulated in our thoughts. Now who can know or “hear” what we are saying to ourselves? Can the devil “hear” or know what we are thinking or saying? Can anyone know what we are thinking or saying to ourselves? In our own thoughts, in our own mind, it’s probably the only place in this entire universe that we can truly be alone and if we are in a quiet place, on our own with nothing to distract us as we close our eyes and just speak in our heart, we are really on our own. Except that we are not really alone and we will never really be on our own all by ourself. The Holy Trinity of God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit are with us and they can hear us and know what we are saying to ourselves. So instead of speaking to ourselves, if we were to speak to them and address them, any one of them and say “Father” or “Jesus” or “Holy Spirit”, we are then speaking to God and when we do that, it’s a prayer and it then becomes our conversation with God.

Therefore, the issue of God misunderstanding us can never arise even if we speak out or verbalise something wrongly or inaccurately (some of us may not be able to articulate that well what’s really in our heart). This is because God knows our thoughts, our heart intentions – He knows us inside out, He knows everything about us, all that we have ever gone through, every single moment of our life.

The issue then is that we may have nothing more to say to God in prayer or our conversation with Him. We are at a loss of words even in our heart of hearts. I believe in such a situation, this is when the Holy Spirit comes in and help us say those things deep in our hearts to God, those things the Father already know but we still want to say to them, with Jesus as our advocate at the right hand of the Father interceding for us. The Holy Spirit will give us the utterance. If we can speak in tongues, we could then speak in tongues to God for the Spirit to help us when we are at a loss for words. There can never be any misunderstanding by God for He knows everything including what’s deep within us.

However, we can or may misunderstand what God is saying to us. If we feel God is speaking to us something important that require action on our part, it is best to check against His written Word and maybe seek a sign of confirmation from Him. Speak also to our cell leaders or church elders or pastors for confirmation so they may pray for us too. We can and may misunderstand what God is saying to us although I think if we have been always communicating with God all this while, it is unlikely that we will misunderstand Him. Even then, it may still be good to seek independent verification through the Word and counsel of others.

In conclusion, I pray that all of us will always communicate with God amd learn how to hear from Him so that we will never misunderstand what He is saying to us at all times. It takes practice as practice makes perfect even hearing from God. The more often we converse and communicate with God, the better we will be at hearing Him.

https://odb.org/MY/2021/09/21/truth-lies-and-vigilantes

I grew up reading Perry Mason novels as my father had a stack of those in his collection. The fictional Perry Mason (created by Earl Stanley Gardner) was a very good criminal lawyer in 1930s Los Angeles who was always able to present the real picture of the truth at exciting and often intriguing court battles. The other thing that stuck in my mind was he had a retainer of $5,000 – a princely sum then. Perry Mason pinged my interest in reading law. In law school and in legal practice, I learnt that truth in court is very much dependent on the evidence at hand and that there is always at least two sides to a story. Also truth sometimes depends on the perception of the eye witness as 5 people may witness an event but may nevertheless perceive, receive and describe it differently.

The message today is that in this age of quick transfer of information via private or public social media, a lot of unverified facts pass through us as facts and as truth. Exodus 23 warns against speaking lies against our neighbours, of testifying using falsehoods, of taking bribes to bear false witness against an innocent party. I think in this modern age, we are very less likely to do such things in a real court of law as there are criminal consequences for bearing false witness – perjury is a crime. However, in our society there are lots of unverified rumours swirling around since news may be controlled with certain facts suppressed for political or other reasons as half truths are never the full picture of any situation. Suppression of the certain facts may be the order of the day and thus becomes a hotbed for rumours. There is no smoke without a fire, so they say.

As believers what should we do? I think there is nothing wrong in hearing rumours. Sometimes it is unavoidable in daily conversations. But unless we know, we should not add on and we should not spread those rumours. Also, unless we are able to verify independently what is being asserted, we should also avoid forwarding miscellaneous messages as truth when the same may or may not be true. Perhaps if we feel that the message is very important, we should either research the matter in point or qualify ourselves by saying that it may or may not be true. I think it is highly irresponsible to forward something as the truth when we ourselves have not verified its authenticity. Some things may have fatal consequences like the decision whether to vaccinate against Covid-19. As people who have come to faith, let’s not perpetuate lies even unwittingly and unintentionally as we may end up being used as tools by the evil one to deceive, distract and lead others astray.

https://odb.org/MY/2021/09/20/an-unexpected-guest

When we read the story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10), we could compare Zacchaeus’ response with that of the Rich Young Ruler (Mark 10:17-22), in that while the former became selfless after meeting Jesus, the latter remained selfish and self righteous. Both were wealthy and were rulers (Zacchaeus being the Chief Tax Collector). The Rich Young Ruler was a law abiding religious Jew who kept the law since he was a boy while Zacchaeus was despised as a betrayer of his people for collecting taxes for the Romans.

I think the point that we should take note is that we must change after meeting Jesus, we cannot remain in our old self. In Zacchaeus’ case, Jesus declared that salvation had come to Zacchaeus’ house for his act of repentance in giving half of his wealth to the poor and for his willingness to repay back 4 times anyone whom he had cheated.

As for the issue of wealth, whether it is through hardwork, a better education, boldness to take risks or just plain inheritance, I think there is no real harm having wealth as believers. I know Jesus said that it is more difficult for the rich to enter the Kingdom of Heaven in the case of the Rich Young Ruler. But we also know that while with man some things are not possible, with God nothing is impossible. Furthermore, salvation is by the grace of God and not by works. On the other hand, we know that faith without works is dead.

As believers who have known grace through salvation, we must likewise be gracious to others and thus when it comes to wealth, we should look at it as a blessing from God. Without God giving us the opportunity or allowing us to have the education or the break (like finding the right job at the right company where we excel or finding the right business that we do well) or being born into a wealthy family, we will probably not be where we are today. Therefore, hold lightly to our money if we are well off so that if Christ prompts, we will not be unwilling to part with it to help someone who is in need. Let our hearts be moved by God and compassion. Yes, there is a need to save up for our future, for our children’s education and for our old age. Yet there could be more pressing needs of others in the present. Let God bless others through us and let us use our earthly wealth to gather riches in heaven. If we can’t spare the effort or the time, support the cause with our finance. Everyone has a role to play in the Kingdom of God. If everyone goes full time and live by faith, who will then support us? Thus there will always be a need for more of us to work and earn, to support the church and ministries in the Kingdom.

https://odb.org/MY/2021/09/19/unbreakable

Jeremiah 1:4-10 highlights a few interesting facts on how the LORD related to him. God said that He knew Jeremiah even before he was formed in his mother’s womb and had set him apart then. This means that our spirit was already in existence even before our human body was conceived in the womb. In Ephesians 1:4. Paul exerts that Christ chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be whole and blameless before Him. Thus I believe that there are already millions and millions of spirits/souls formed at the beginning and as human beings conceive in the natural, the spirit/soul will be made part of the physical body to have life, all in perfect order and sequence according to the exact time appointed by God, the same way God breathed life into the body He formed from dust when He created Adam.

The second point from Jeremiah 1:4-10 is that God promised to be with him and he need not be afraid of the people that God sends him to. The same way God promised Moses that He will be with him when Moses meets Pharoah to demand the release of the Jewish slaves, the same way God promised to be with Joshua as he led the Israelites into the Promised Land. Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid for I am with you, says the LORD. That is why Jeremiah was unbreakable although he suffered much, and so was Paul.

The third thing we will see in Jeremiah 1:4-10 is that when Jeremiah said that He was too young and would not know what to say, God touched his lips and put His words into Jeremiah’s mouth. This means that as God called Jeremiah to the purpose He had appointed him before he was even formed in his mother’s womb, He will equip Jeremiah as he responded to God.

I believe that each and everyone of us have an appointed purpose for God to let us to be born at the precise time and era. We were born in this century and not in the first or 15th century. We were born at the exact time and date as God had planned beforehand way back to the beginning of time, into the family and town and country that God had planned. As we grow up as humans and go through life and as God calls us to be His children, we must know that as we respond to God’s calling for our lives, He will be with us like He did with Jeremiah. God has a specific plan and purpose for each and every one of us, which plan and purpose He had formulated even before we were formed in our mother’s womb. As we respond like Jeremiah did, we will be unbreakable like Jeremiah and Paul. Unbreakable in our faith and resolve, because we will see and experience God being with us all the way. That I believe is the reason why many were willing to be martyred for the faith. The hope of eternal glory as well as Christ being present in their midst as they experience the actual tangible reality of God.

As we step out in faith to respond to Him, He will equip us and I believe He will do so whether it is ability, opportunity, platform, network or finance. God will be with us and will equip us since it is ultimately His purposes and plans that we are serving. It is ultimately His Kingdom of Grace that we are working so hard for. Why would He leave us to our devices if we are living within His good and perfect will?

https://odb.org/MY/2021/09/18/a-sweet-aroma

We are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing (2 Corinthians 2:15).

I think reaching out is a must for believers but some of us are not equipped as to what exactly to say and some lack courage and boldness to speak up. Like people who dabble in MLM, if we always preach when we meet someone, people may start avoiding us.

Being equipped with the message of the Gospel is a must. We must know the message of salvation that God sent Jesus to die for our sins and salvation is by grace, meaning that we cannot work for our salvation. Go for some training or research it. Be prepared and equipped to preach when the Spirit leads or the situation is right.

However, perhaps a more effective way is to leave the message of Christ behind wherever we go? Be prepared to preach when the situation allows but in any case, leave the sweet aroma of Christ behind as we interact whether at work or in town or wherever we are. If someone has a need, offer a prayer. If someone is unwell or sick, command healing and pray for God’s compassion and mercy. Be kind and considerate, merciful and gracious, be understanding, treat everyone well and with a smile – that’s the sweet and pleasing aroma of Christ.

James had mentioned before that faith without works is dead (James 2:14). Thus preaching without a life testimony is also hollow. No doubt the message of Christ is powerful enough on its own as at the Word of God and at the name of Jesus, demons and diseases will flee. Yet it is not complete if we only preach and not walk the talk. Make the message as natural as possible. In fact make our life the message – that as people see us, people see Christ. But it should be accompanied by the real spoken message, not a silent message by conduct alone. The light should be placed up high on a hill so that it can shine bright for the whole town. Likewise the message of Christ needs to be spoken out as much as it needs to be lived out. They go hand in hand like thunder and rain. People need to see and taste the salt. They must hear and know what Jesus Christ is all about, why He came to walk among us two thousand years ago. Why He was crucified and why He arose from the dead and achieved what no man had achieved before? Let’s all preach Christ with our words and our life, spoken and lived out, sincerely and genuinely that the glory of God may be manifested throughout the whole earth!

https://odb.org/MY/2021/09/17/move-your-fence

When the LORD spoke through Isaiah in Isaiah 43:18-21 to forget the former things and not to dwell in the past, He was not so much talking about Israel’s past failures or rebellious actions but their past successes. Don’t dwell too much on what God did with them in the past like the Red Sea experience, but focus on what He is doing among them now. The past has its good point as a monument, a reminder of God’s goodness in our lives. There are spiritual milestones we want to look back to remind ourselves of His greatness when we face doubts or difficult challenges in the present. They are good points of reference to jolt our memory of what God did and thus the past serves to encourage us that He can and will do the same again today and in the near future.

The past is a good reminder, an excellent monument but it is not a good place to dwell in. We mustn’t live in the past because we actually live in the present, and for the days to come. What we do today determines where we will go tomorrow. Yesterday may have led us to today but today is the stepping stone to tomorrow. That is why God said to the Israelites, “see I am doing a new thing!”. In other words, see the new thing I am doing now. That may include what He is calling us to now and we know the best way forward is always to see what lies ahead for us through the eyes of God which is like that of an eagle soaring high above the air and yet seeing something in sharp focus one mile ahead! There is a high level vision and yet with clarity of detail. Both are essential for our path to the future.

I think the message today is that as much as the past is a good encouragement and assurance to us that God was with us and thus will still be with us, we need to see what the future lies. Thus seek God’s vision on what He is doing in our midst that we may flow right in. See the new thing He is doing now. Forget the former things, don’t dwell in the past, meaning don’t stay in the past but the present. See what God is doing now and do that.

Just a side note that as the pandemic had confined most churches to Zoom meetings, the church must respond in a new way to the new normal especially on the lack of direct fellowship from Zoom. God is doing a new thing in our midst and God works even in this new normal, even amidst the raging pandemic. He is sovereign and in control. What is the new thing He is doing among us, in our families and our churches? Let us not live in the past but move on in the present for the sake of our future!