https://odb.org/MY/2021/09/06/resting-secure-in-god

When I was much younger before I knew Jesus, I used to think about who I am. Asking questions like why was I born this way, to this family, in this town, in this country? Prior to that I was living in a more multi racial town in the West Coast of Malaysia. But when I moved to a small town in the East Coast, it was evident that I was different from my peers in school, with funny looking eyes compared to the rest. There were people like me in that small town but they mostly attended another school.

Over the years I began to accept myself as I am on the basis that we can’t choose how we look like and which family or town or country we are raised up. Despite some racism and the institutional discrimination I faced when growing up, I was nevertheless thankful to be born as a non-Muslim in this country. This is because I could accept Jesus into my life at 14 and got to know and serve Him since then, freely worshipping God in the churches I attend and serve in.

As I got to know God, I became more thankful that I was born as I was. Not because I was born into a privileged background but because it was God who created me as I am. I felt privileged to be created by God. But it was more than that – because the Creator was my creator and since He has accepted me as His son through Christ my Lord, I knew I was in good hands. There were unique talents to discover deep inside me, to be birthed and flourished by God and because God is God, He can add on other things, talents and skills, in my life as I follow Him and allow Him to mould and shape me.

As I look back and reflect upon my life, I am truly grateful to God for having reached out and touched me in this small town in the East Coast. I may have had misgivings about who I was when I was young but over the years I am most thankful and grateful that I have had the opportunity to grow up knowing God. In the end, I think it was my good fortune to be born as I was. God was gracious and merciful to me and my family for all the blessings He had bestowed us and will continue to bestow upon us throughout our lives.

I think if we accept that God created us exactly as who we are, we can accept us as we are. Since we belong to God, there is much He can do with us and there is still much He will do us in terms of who we are in Him. We are all unique and special, created for God’s pleasure and service. Embrace our self and our identity in God. There is still much He can achieve and will achieve in and through us.

https://odb.org/MY/2021/09/05/help-from-the-holy-spirit

God’s standards are high and yet He wants us to meet them. Thus He sent Jesus to die for our sins so that we are all redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. After Christ rose again but before He ascended back to heaven, He promised us a helper and the Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost. Such a mighty outpouring of power in miraculous healings, signs and wonders and most importantly, extra ordinary boldness came upon the Apostles and believers to proclaim the power of God in their lives that many were added to the faith daily. The Holy Spirit made a historical change in the lives of believers!

God’s standards are still high today. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. But with the Holy Spirit in us and with us, there is actually nothing that we cannot do – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 3:14). Nothing is impossible with God – or with man this is impossible but with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).

The message today is that if we, like the Israelites, have backslided; God wants to cure us of our backsliding (Jeremiah 3:22). The LORD is calling us to return to Him, to repent of our sins, to turn away from our crooked and rebellious ways. God wants to give us victory over sin. There is no habit or sin that is too difficult to overcome. His standards may be still high but He is gracious and compassionate and forgiving. God is like the professor who wants us to do well. If He is marking our life story, He wants to find all sorts of ways to give us points, to let us pass, to help us overcome, to let us succeed and move on to greater heights in Him. He is not the examiner who is constantly finding fault with us to minus our marks to fail us and impede our progress in Him. The thing is God refuses to lower His standards but He will help us through with the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives! Repent and turn back to Him and He will make our paths smooth and straight again! He will be our God and we His people again!

https://odb.org/MY/2021/09/04/man-of-prayer

One of the testimonies that I heard in a message from the pulpit and which stayed with me till today is the exaltation given to his late father by a pastor in my former church. The pastor’s late father, who was a founding member of a well known mega church in the Klang Valley, was known in his family to be a man of prayer. He is always gathering everyone together to pray whenever there is something on – whether it’s the exams of his children, a doctor’s appointment, birthdays, an interview, someone is not well or they face a small or major family crisis from finding misplaced keys to finance etc.

That testimony led me to think today that I’m not actually like my pastor’s late father as I don’t pray that much except in my quiet time, during meals or prayer meetings, or when my wife and I pray for those we lead and the church once a week (we try to keep this going as regularly as possible). I do speak to God but rarely do I gather everyone together to pray or pray with someone for the things we are facing. Even if we do, it is not a regular feature in my family life.

That realisation led me to think as to why I am not a man of prayer and why is it that I am not aspiring to be a man of prayer? It is kind of silly, I think, not wanting to be a man of prayer because prayer is the most powerful weapon every believer can have against the forces of evil (the oft quoted Ephesians 6:12). It is a privilege and honour given to those redeemed by Christ to communicate and commune with the Creator of heavens and earth, the all powerful, all knowing and ever present Almighty God, the Great I Am. Our prayers reach the heavenlies, will transcend straight into the spiritual realm and as we pray that Your will be done here on earth as it is done in heaven, we know God will surely do something about the thing we prayed in accordance with His will and in His time. A prayer moves the Hand of God and thus prayers may move mountains and part seas and rivers like we saw in Moses and Joshua. Prayers also may raise the dead or bring down rain in a drought as seen in Elijah. Or in the case of Peter and John, made the lame walk.

Therefore, I encourage everyone including my good self – let’s all be people of prayer. Pray in all things and for all occasions. Aspire to be known as men and women of prayer as a touch from God can only do good in any situation!

https://odb.org/MY/2021/09/03/empty-hands

There is this worship song entitled Majesty by Delirious, with these words, “Your grace has found me just as I am. Empty-handed but alive in Your Hands.”

The Father will accept us no matter what our situation and condition. We are what we are. In His grace and in His compassion, He will take us as we are. With nothing to offer Him, He will take us and make us come alive in His Hands. Like the prodigal son who squandered his inheritance in wild living and was left with nothing but the clothes on his back and who was willing to work as a servant with the pigs, his father rejoiced that he was back and restored his place as his son with a fine robe and a ring.

This reminds me of the little kitten my son adopted two months back. She was abandoned by her mother at our house compound. We took her in, fed her and she now stays inside our house at the guest room with her own toilet. She had nothing and was alone before but now she has a family of humans who love her.

But I think the message today is more than that. I think it is more about the fact that Jesus is able to and will make us come alive in His Hands whether we are empty-handed or have something to offer Him in the form of our wealth, talent, education or fame. We are alive in His Hands in the sense that we will become the person we should be in His Hands, sanctified and prepared for His service. We will realise our fullest potential as a human being with Him in our lives. We will achieve the plans and purposes He had planned for us even before we were conceived in our mother’s womb.

Whatever is our situation whether we have nothing or we have something to offer; come to Jesus today and be a living sacrifice unto Him. He is worthy of our worship and honour and praise as He had died for our sins. Whether we are already in the faith or not, come to Jesus. He will take our nothing and make it into something. He will take our something and make it into something more, a piece of sculpture that will shine forth the glory of the Father. He is and will be the Potter and we the clay. Let Him mould us and make us into a thing of beauty – unblemished, holy and worthy before the Father. As much as God is beautiful beyond description, we can be and will be beautiful too as we come alive in His Hands!

https://odb.org/MY/2021/09/02/the-bigger-picture

I think the foundation to reading the bible and deriving maximum benefit from it is to believe that it is THE WORD OF GOD. That I believe is fundamental. Every word, every passage, every paragraph is true. Even though it is written by men, it is inspired by God. Not dictated by God like to a secretary in verbatim but written using our human understanding, our natural talents, our writing skills as prompted by the Holy Spirit but coloured by the cultural and literal context existing at the time of writing, where certain words may convey a meaning that is different as used today. God always works within the confines and rules of the natural world He created. That is why to save humankind from damnation, He had to send His Son into the world as a man that we may see and witness an example of how we could be – as a perfect sinless human. The same way the Law had dictated that the sacrifice of an unblemished lamb is required for the atonement of sin, the Lamb of God was sacrificed on the cross to redeem mankind from sin.

The second principle that I believe in when reading the bible is that there are things that I may not understand but that doesn’t mean it is not true. Perhaps someone has found the truth but I haven’t read it yet. Or perhaps one day someone will find the truth on that passage. The point is that the mysteries of the Kingdom may not be fully revealed now but I believe God will reveal them to us one by one, by His grace and mercy in His time.

The third thing I hold on to when reading the bible is that if that passage is His Word, then there must be a reason for it to be there. 3 persons may see a situation and literally describe it differently with distinct emphasis and highlights of similar facts. The version that made it as Scripture is God’s will and thus there must be a reason for that version to be there, perhaps as a lesson to us in the future? For example, the feeding by Jesus of the 5,000 and the 4,000 – just because two incidents of such miracles are recorded in the Gospel doesn’t mean Jesus only did that twice in His entire 3-year ministry. It just means that God wanted to only highlight these two specific ones. The same thing about Jesus’s healings. There were times when He healed the whole town but only a few healing events are recorded in the Gospels. There would have been many interactions between Adam and Eve with God in Eden but only those recorded are the ones God wanted us to remember and learn from.

The final principle that I hold on to when reading the bible is to look for the Rhema Word that would be applicable in my present context, in my current situation. That is why the Word is a living Word because our God us a living God! Amen! It has the meaning as it was written (Logos) but it can have a meaning for us right now at this present moment. God speaks to us through His Word as the our Lord Jesus Christ is the Word and He was with God at the beginning (John 1:1).

Read the Bible, don’t ever give up. Research the things we don’t understand but persevere on even if we can’t find the answers. The bible is the best and the unfailable way of knowing God personally and in a deeper way. Don’t rely entirely on our experiences. Check everything against the Word. I wish you all the best as you explore His Word more and more each day of your life! See Psalm Chapter 1 Verse 2!

https://odb.org/MY/2021/09/01/fix-up-time

If we are a believer, there is just no way we may remain like the world and not have have kindness, compassion and forgiveness. How different are we from the world if we quarrel and don’t reconcile? How are we a new creation in Christ if we hold a grudge and don’t forgive for days and weeks and months and sometimes years? We console ourselves that God understands; He is kind, compassionate and forgiving – but we are not? It seems like God is kind, compassionate and forgiving to us, but we need not be so to others? Why are we so special? Does that make any sense?

Corollary to that, can we knowingly remain in intentional sin and still fellowship with God? Isn’t that a contradiction? Can we be in a drug rehabilitation programme and yet still taking hard drugs? Replacement therapy is perhaps controversial but it is different. It is not breaking the habit and still indulging in it.

It is true that we are all work in progress until that day and that we cannot be perfect in this fallen body and fallen world. But if we give up and accept that we are immune from being kind, compassionate and forgiving because of our unique situation or accept that we can intentionally sin and yet remain in God, then I think we are just kidding ourselves.

Ephesians 4 is clear, we need to be made new in the attitude of our mind and to put on our new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. If we have sin – be like David and turn to God in grief, sorrow, regret and repentance. Don’t rebel or fight against God like Saul, rationalising in our wrong self-belief.

https://odb.org/MY/2021/08/31/sharing-jesus

I doubt any of us can be like Evangelist Dwight Moody who preached the Gospel to someone at least once a day. Yes, it is proclaiming and not converting as the choice remains with the hearer. Reaching out to someone at least once a week or once a month might be more doable, especially in these pandemic afflicted times.

Even then, I think not many among us actually reach out as much in the sense that it’s a regular thing in our life, done consistently and faithfully. Perhaps the busyness of life, our work, our family responsibilities or even our ministry tasks may make it difficult for us to reach out on a regular basis.

To motivate us to make this a more regular feature in our life, may I suggest that we recall how we ourselves or our loved ones came to the faith? How someone else took the trouble and the determination to reach out to us and our families. Perhaps it was not a one off thing but a constant encouragement to us to consider Jesus? Perhaps that person was always there for us, helping us in our times of need and despair and cheering with us when we were happy and celebrating. Perhaps that person cried with us when we cried and grieved with us when we grieved?

I think reaching out should be a more regular thing in our lives and yet I know that it is not so much a once off proclaiming of the Gospel to a stranger in the street although it can be. I think we should all remember and cherish how we ourselves came to the faith and reciprocate by doing the same to someone else. Make it regular but a long term project that we may be like Christ to this person so that Christ Himself will lift the scales of his or her eyes, the Holy Spirit may touch his or her heart and salvation and eternal life shall indeed be a reality for that person!

https://odb.org/MY/2021/08/30/master-of-mercies

The sunflower growing and standing triumphantly in the middle of a highway next to the fast lane. Josiah, after a long line of idol worshipping and evil Kings of Judah, followed the ways of his forefather David and served and worshiped the LORD. Josiah destroyed the idols, turned Judah back to God and repaired the Temple of the LORD. Both of these examples go to show that God is able to work in unexpected ways; whether in a lonely place like a far away highway or after a line of many disobedient, rebellious and unfaithful Kings. Or we may extrapolate – in cold and dark countries that are violently hostile to the Gospel or in the middle of and among the most isolated Amazon tribes or among the more advanced but liberally lost nations of Europe or even in communist regimes like China, North Korea and Cuba.

Perhaps our life has been uneventful in the spiritual space all this while? Perhaps our church have been praying for a spiritual breakthrough all this time? Perhaps we have been praying for a miraculous healing for ourselves or for someone? Or perhaps we have been waiting for a long time for that recognition at work, that promotion, that jump in salary?

The message today is God is in control and may work whether through nature (sunflower) or man (Josiah) unexpectedly. God can work even when the odds are heavily stacked against Him. The Lord will work in you and I even if we are one of those whom most will not expect to see change and becoming like a King Josiah. Respond to His call, step up in faith and see His miraculous Hands working in our midst, in our life, brightening up our surroundings and blessing us and those associated with us with His grace, mercy, love and protection – all under the shadow of His mighty wings! He is the Almighty God; the same God who grew the majestic sunflower in the middle of nowhere and the same one who raised Josiah after a long line of evil Kings! Praise the Lord for He is a good and mighty God!

https://odb.org/MY/2021/08/29/the-gospel-of-rome

Interesting to know from today’s ODB writer that the Good News used to mean that the Roman Empire had no boundaries or end and that it meant Augustus was decreed by Zeus to be the divine son and saviour of the world to usher in a golden age of peace and prosperity. Except that the harsh reality was the Roman Empire was built on the backs of thousands and thousands of slaves who were legally the property of their masters (generally, slaves were spoils of war who were given the choice to be slaves and live or death).

The Gospel of Jesus Christ as preached by Paul first to the Jews, then to the Gentiles was the real Good News, promising hope and salvation to all including the multitudes of slaves who had no future but also to the free who were shackled by sin, living in spiritual blindness. The Gospel is the power of God to bring salvation to everyone who believes. For in the Gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith.

Although we are all legally free today as rightful and lawful citizens of our country, we are not completely liberated by the shackles of sin. Some of us remain in spiritual blindness. The enemy increasingly wants to keep us bound by sin as well as entangled by the attractions of the world – to distract and keep us away from God’s perfect plans and purposes for us.

The Good News of the Gospel is thus still relevant today, even to us who are believers – as a reminder that we were previously slaves bound by sin with no identity in God and separated from God by sin. We are now lawful and rightful children of God in fellowship with God where our prayers can reach and penetrate into the heavenlies with the power to change the natural, with the hope of glory for an eternal life to come.

Thus, take our place in the Kingdom of God and begin to act with authority over sin and the devil as rightful and lawful children of God. Don’t be passive anymore, looking on at the sidelines and sitting tight in our pews. Get in the ring and fight for the Kingdom, for God as our battle is not against flesh and blood but principalities of the air and dark forces. Use the power of prayer given to us and begin interceding for our family, friends, church, country and the world! Be active and participate in the work of the Kingdom! Let’s all do our respective part in the body of Christ!

https://odb.org/MY/2021/08/28/a-great-ending

Revelation 22 is the goal and motivation of every believer, the life eternal promised by John 3:16. It is the great ending, except that it is the start of a new beginning. Somewhat akin to the fairy tales’ happy ever after ending. Fairy tales endings are wishful thinking as life is never a happy ever after experience and yet Revelation 22 is not wishful thinking. It is real and will occur as promised because the Living God said so in His Word as revealed to the Apostle John. Because Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. He is the Bright Morning Star. It will be eternal life living with and a life of fellowship with God the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. The tree of life that was rightfully ours in the Garden of Eden before the Fall, will rightfully be ours again!

As much as the great ending is such an excellent motivation for us to strive on in our faith, we need to actually strive on in the present. As much as salvation is by grace, there are still good works and faithfulness to God’s plans and purposes for us that we need to pursue while we continue on this journey of faith here on earth in the present.

Well and good that we are assured a great ending. But like every novel that we have read and every movie that we have seen, the plot matters more than the ending. How we write our story, the story of our life, determines what we will present to our Lord when we reach the finish line. Our life story can be like the fruits brought by Cain or the fatted portions from the flocks brought by Abel. On that day, we cannot bring over any of our possessions and achievements but our life story. Did we fulfil God’s plans and purposes for us?

Therefore, let us write our life story with the end in mind so we may present our life to the Lord as our rightful gift for His redeeming grace and sacrifice on the cross for us. Make our life story a story worthy of such a great ending, worthy of a life of eternal fellowship with God and deserving of our right to partake from the tree of life!