https://odb.org/MY/2022/01/16/darkness-and-light-2

When we look at brokenness and despair around us, marriages that end in divorce, siblings estranged from one another, parent and child not speaking for years, we ask ourselves why do people let hurt, bitterness and revenge get the better of their situation? We could see for ourselves how the Wang LeeHom divorce saga became bitter, destructive and acrimonious. Sadly, such brokenness are not limited to those who do not know Jesus Christ as Christians are not immune from failed marriages, family fueds and sibling discords.

There is also a lot of unfairness, oppression and injustice in society. Unfortunately, these had existed since ancient times, in fact since time immemorial. Communism tried to bring social justice to the masses but we know that it brought widespread poverty, instead of wealth and prosperity. Look at North Korea as a clear example of failed socialism.

We know that the origin to all these brokenness is sin that came into the world after Adam and Eve were deceived by the serpent. The knowledge of good and evil somehow brought evil into the picture and we only need to look at a child to see the virtue of innocence. There are things in this world once opened up is difficult to turn back. Like the myth of Pandora’s box.

Fortunately, God so loved the world that He sent His one and only son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Eternal life is brought back into the picture through Christ. There is already victory over sin and Jesus proved it through His resurrection that the sting of sin that is death is now defeated.

I think that the root to all these brokenness is the human nature and tendency to be selfish and self serving. We are always wanting to count, calculate and evaluate whether we have the best bargain, the best deal, the outcome that favours us the most. It is fair so long as we get equal if not better treatment. We are always looking for the long end of the stick. That is why when Jesus appeared on the scene, He taught us to turn the other cheek. He was like asking – so what if the other person gets the better deal, the better treatment? So what if our father loved our brother or sister more? So what if we work very hard but others get the glory and recognition? Is our reward not in heaven? Is our treasures not stored in heaven where moth and rust will not destroy and thieves will not steal? Is our life and destiny not in Christ? Is our inheritance not in Christ? Is not our plans, purposes and dreams those that God had planned for us since the beginning of time even before we were physically formed in our mother’s womb? Are we not like Paul; to die is gain but to live is Christ?

We are the light of the world, the children of the Light. If our eyes are set on things above, if our gaze is towards heaven, I think all these bitterness and despair will evaporate if not in an instant, then surely over time. Such things like unfairness, hurt, bitterness, envy, justice are no longer that important to us. No longer our core concerns. Jesus taught that the Kingdom of God is like a man who found a treasure in a field and sold everything to buy the field. Nothing else really matters once we have God in our lives. If not, then the principle of turning the other cheek will be super tough to take to heart. We will always hit back, demand our fair share, insist on a better deal and if we do not get our way, we become resentful and bitter. Darkness is the absence of light. So how can we light up darkness if we are in the shadows? Step out from the cover of darkness and be the light of the world that we are as children of the Light!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/01/14/practice-what-you-preach-3

I think a challenge every believer probably faces is to live in accordance with the Word. As James said Chapter 1 of his book we are not to just hear the Word but to obey or apply it in our lives. The illustration given was apt. If we do not apply it, we are like someone who looks at a mirror and immediately forgets what we look like, meaning to say, we have forgotten who we are in Christ. We must be conscious that as children of God, we carry the glory of God in us. Our actions must therefore reflect the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord as we as Christians have sought to place our identity with Christ. To the world, we represent Christ. That is why we need to practice what we preach. Even if we do not consciously or actively preach Christ by our words, we preach Christ by our lives. Thus our lives must put into practice the values and character of Christ. Not so much of not having sin or weaknesses but more a spirit to always want to take the character of Christ in all that we do. Will Jesus do this or that? How will Jesus react in such a situation? And we do likewise.

Perhaps as a way to motivate us to do as the Word says than just be hearers, we may want to consider why it is good to apply the Word. Besides our identification with Christ as Christians or “Little Christs”, applying the Word activates the goodness and blessings that the Word itself brings. In reality, we do not lose out when we do good, when we help someone else in need. If we give away RM1,000 we will have RM1,000 less with us. That is true. But we also open up the blessings of God upon our lives and at the same time we are storing riches in heaven. I’m sure the blessings we will have and the riches we will store is very much disportionate to what we give away on earth! That is why people who give almost always experience much more in terms of blessings from God. The more we give, the more we receive. It is a principle that is reversed – right side up and something that will confound the wisdom of the world. It may be ironic that for people in the world, the more they have, the tighter they hold on and perhaps that’s how they had more – by being frugal and tight fisted. But we as Christians, we will apply the Word and do the opposite and we will instead experience that the more we give, the more we will get and thus the freer we are to give even more.

Applying the Word not only opens up the blessings of heavens to us but it also strengthens our character in Christ and transforms us to be more like Christ and the more we are like Christ in our actions and words, the more we will reflect the glory of God. It’s an unending cycle of goodness and blessings! At the same time we are also storing up our riches in heaven! Isn’t it then wonderful and marvelous to be doers instead of just hearers of the Word!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/01/13/a-ludicrous-investment

Today’s post in ODB is interesting and a little astonishing to me for two reasons. One, the LORD actually told Jeremiah to buy a field from his cousin at a time when Babylon was besieging Jerusalem. The whole Scripture reading concerns that episode. Secondly, the LORD actually spoke to Jeremiah at a personal level for a personal action when in most cases God’s message through His prophets is to the nation of Israel.

When it comes to investment, the rule is simple and nearly everyone knows – buy low, sell high. Except that at the moment of decision, we do not know whether our price is really low or high as the price could go either way the next moment and this is especially true when it comes to shares. Thus investment experts teach to just focus on the tail or head and let others take the body or meat with more precise prediction techniques. As long as we make some money, that’s good enough. Doesn’t matter that we didn’t buy at the lowest or sell at the highest. Sometimes we hesitate and wait out for the price to go higher but the market turned the other way and we are back to square one.

But I think it is pretty marvelous that God was actually concerned with the affairs of His servants to the extent of asking Jeremiah to purchase a piece of land at the time when Jerusalem was under siege. It seemed like a ludicrous investment but it proves that He is interested in our personal affairs even if those affairs are not related to ministry or His Kingdom. It goes to show that God is sincere in loving us, not just so that we may serve Him or be of use to Him in His work here on earth. That is why there are people who prayed for God to help them find a parking slot and have had their prayers answered! He wants the best for us even if it’s just something trivial like buying something difficult to get at the supermarket or something important to us but not directly related to His Kingdom like our investments. His care and concern and love and compassion extend beyond just the spiritual aspects of our lives but everything that touches us. We can seek His counsel when we face tough situations at work, or when we messed up or when we face difficult colleagues or demanding customers or uncooperative suppliers. So who can be against us if the Lord God Almighty is for us? Isn’t it a better strategy in life to get the LORD on our side than to fight battles on our own?

https://odb.org/MY/2022/01/12/hearing-us-from-heaven

There is no doubt that God hears us when we pray because we know by faith that through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, we are now reconciled to Him as individuals and not as a nation or a people. Because God is God, He is able to deal with billions one to one and that includes each and every one of us who has accepted Jesus into our lives. He may also hear those who have yet to know Him the same way Solomon prayed that He hears the foreigner in Israel. He will hear our prayers, our plea and uphold our cause. That was Solomon’s prayer to the LORD.

Yet we also know not all of our prayers get answered. Is it our right that God upholds all of our causes? Is that our entitlement as a child of God? Do we have the right to demand? Surely not! Our salvation itself, which is the biggest thing ever to happen to us, is by the grace of God! That was also not our right based on our works but by God’s grace, mercy, love and compassion.

There could be a variety of reasons why God sometimes do not or have not yet uphold our cause although He hears us. There could be unforgiveness in our hearts. There could be sin in our lives. We may have doubts. Our faith is not strong enough. It could be His timing or His will. But ultimately it is still His grace and mercy. Our role is to pray, to make that request, that plea. Our faith must be based on that fact that if we were to humble ourselves and turn from our wicked ways, He will hear us and heal our land. Have faith that God hears us from heaven and that He will uphold our cause, our prayer and our plea in His grace and mercy, love and compassion. The day will come when we will see that come to pass. In the meantime, continue to trust Him and walk in His ways, read and meditate on His Word and serve Him with all our heart, mind and strength, and be thankful and grateful that we have Jesus in our lives. We would not have had the chance to seek the face of God if it was not by His grace and mercy that we have been called to be His sons and daughters in Christ!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/01/11/escape-or-peace

When I was young, I used fantasy as a form of escapism. Not that I was trying to escape the hardship of life as the only stress then for me was to study hard and do well in public examinations. With the quota system in place and not having the means for an overseas education, the only way to get into the top courses in local public universities then was to score straight As at the pre-University STPM level. It was stressful for a teenager but not the kind of stress that a working adult faces coping with demands of life.

I guess different people have different coping mechanisms for stress and some of these are our personal escape mechanisms. But fantasy I guess should be one of the better ones as our limit is only our imagination. We can dream whatever we want and create our own personal worlds. Some people are able to turn their fantasies into creative works, using their imagination to write and create their own make believe universe of things. Like Alice the Wonderland, Avatar, Star Wars, the Marvel Universe, the DC World etc. One may create one’s own universe of things or write fictional stories within the world as we know it. For example, most TV sitcoms are based on the latter although the stories they carry are fictional. Of course, fantasies can be as dangerous as substance abuse (alcoholism, drugs), another form of escapism – if we ended up living in our fantasy world, out of touch with reality or worse, actually living out our fantasies to disastrous consequences.

The question today – is it escapism or peace in Christ? Do we want temporary relief from the pressures of life and demands of the world through escapism or do we want everlasting peace that can only come from knowing Jesus Christ? Jesus didn’t promise life will be a bed of roses for us (sorry, a too oft used phrase that has become somewhat a cliche). In fact, He warned that there will be trouble. The world will persecute us because although we are in the world, we are not of the world. We do not conform to the pattern of this world and neither is our Master the Prince of the World as greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world.

As Christians, it is undeniable that we are faced with both the challenges that the reality of living life itself presents as well as living within the rules and liberty of the Kingdom of Heaven. Except that as citizens of heaven, we have an inheritance in the saints, a hope of glory with all authority and power of the heavenly realm accessible to and by us. Jesus warned us of trouble but He also promised He will be with us, that His peace that surpasses all understanding will be upon us. He promised us a Helper, and the Holy Spirit is with now living in us; guiding us, convicting us and affording us supernatural powers from above.

Do we escape or do we face reality with Jesus at our side?

https://odb.org/MY/2022/01/10/etch-a-sketch-forgiveness

It is well known that the love and compassion, grace and mercy of God as recorded in the Old Testament are all phenomenal. His forgiveness is both outstanding and astounding. David writes, “He removed my transgressions from me as far as the east is from the west and His love is so great that it is as far as heaven is from earth”. In essence, God’s love and compassion, patience and forgiveness know no bounds and are practically infinite. Never ending. New every month morning as the dew is refreshed at the break of dawn, so long as the world we know now remains.

As much as David speaks for himself in his Psalms, the LORD mostly refers to Israel when He speaks about His love and compassion through His prophets like Isaiah, Ezekial and Jeremiah and even Daniel. His first love remains the nation of Israel. He may banish them to be exiled for a few hundred years and yet longs to rescue and restore them. But it is the nation, as individuals would have perished before His rescue and restoration a few hundred years later.

It is only when Jesus came and walked the earth among those He created, among His creation that we see the more personal side of God. Jesus wept when He came back to Bethany to see Lazarus, who had by then beed dead for 4 days already. He saw the emotional Mary and Martha and the crowds, and He was moved with compassion for them. He was often moved by compassion to heal multitudes of people, to drive out demons tormenting people. He was moved by compassion to feed the 4,000 and the 5,000 with a few loaves of bread and fish. He was moved by compassion to turn water into wine at one of His first ministry tasks.

The message this morning I believe is to be compassionate ourselves as God was, is and will be compassionate to us. We must likewise allow ourselves to be moved by compassion following the perfect example of Christ. We must do our part as much as we can, as limited may our resources are. We help and empathise out of all we have, no matter how little that may be. Jesus made that clear in the Parable of the Ungrateful Servant.

The second point I believe is as much as the love and compassion of God appears to be infinite, it is not. Even as He may forgive us and Jesus taught us to forgive 70 x 7 times, it is actually finite. We must therefore not take God’s love and compassion, grace and mercy for granted. It will most likely be there when we turn back to Him and repent from our sins, transgressions and rebellion but we have to repent while we still have breath here on earth. There is no second chance once we have crossed over to the other side; always remember that, my beloved brethren. As much as His compassion is as far as the east is from the west or as far as heaven is from earth, it doesn’t extend beyond that.

https://odb.org/MY/2022/01/09/washed

If we are already a believer, we will understand the significance of this simple act of faith in confessing and repenting of our sins and seeking the forgiveness of God and accepting Jesus into our lives as our personal Saviour and Lord, in the most precious name of His Son, Jesus Christ. That in essence is the sinner’s prayer, the start to the world of the Kingdom of God, where as a child of God we stand to inherit the richness of His glory in the heavenly realm, where Christ is our benefactor and we the beneficiary of His bequest to us with the Holy Spirit as our executor and advocate, who also acts as the deposit given by God of the exceeding riches of glory that awaits us in eternity. A foretaste of what is to come.

The sinner’s prayer may be simple and it is by God’s grace that we may be saved, not of our own effort lest we boast of our accomplishments before God and man. But the saving grace of God required an ultimate sacrifice in the form of the Lamb of God, the Holy One of Israel. So that we may be washed clean of our sins and be sanctified and justified before God and that in essence is the “born again” experience of every believer of Christ. We may have been born of man in the flesh, but in order to know and be reconciled to God, we need to be born in the spirit, and thus born again. With the acceptance of Jesus Christ into our lives as our Lord and Saviour, the scales are lifted of our eyes and we can now see God and Jesus and experience the Holy Spirit with the mysteries of the Kingdom opened up to us through the Word of God and the revelation of the Word that comes with the Holy Spirit in our lives. Things that were hidden from us when we knew God not are now revealed to us; the mysteries, wonders and power of the spiritual and heavenly realm as whatsoever we bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever we loose on earth shall be loose in heaven and we pray each day that may the will of God be done here on earth as it is done in heaven.

I identified as a Christian from a very young age without knowing what it entailed but my life only changed for real after I accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Saviour, after professing the Sinner’s Prayer and thus being born again into the Kingdom of God and becoming a child of God and a citizen of heaven, as co-heirs to Christ to the inheritance that we can now claim in Christ while still on earth.

If you haven’t been born again or are doubtful of your status as a child of God and a citizen of heaven, please confess before God, our Heavenly Father, that you are a sinner and ask Him to forgive you of your sins as you repent from your sins and accept His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, into your life as your Lord and Saviour. Profess and confess that you believe that Jesus died for your sins and rose victorious over sin and death, and it is only through Him that you will have life everlasting as He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Amen and all glory and honour be unto Christ, our Lord and Saviour!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/01/08/drawn-near

Today’s post concerns the protocols established in Leviticus for the Israelites to enter the Most Holy Place (also called the Holy of Holies) to meet God at the Tent of Meeting during the 40 year period when they were in the wilderness after departing from Egypt. This was after Aaron’s two sons died after doing so and God told Moses that Aaron will suffer the same fate unless he observes the protocols. At that time the tangible presence of God was present at the Most Holy Place. Even at Mount Sinai, the LORD gave instructions to Moses on how to approach Him lest he also dies.

Consequently, the same protocols were implemented when the Temple was built and only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies with a specific offering once a year to offer the sacrifice for the atonement of the sins of the people of Israel. During those times, a rope was tied to the High Priest in case he didn’t make it in front of God. The reason why a human could not stand in the presence of God then was that humankind was sinful due to the sin of Adam but the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago changed the status of humanity when Jesus as the Lamb of God took upon Himself the sins of mankind and became the ultimate sacrifice to atone our sins once and for all. Now, you and I could approach God if we have accepted Jesus in our lives as our Lord and Saviour. This is because we are seen as sinless before God due to Jesus Christ in our lives.

However, as much as the protocols of the Old Testament are no longer relevant today in the era of the Church, there must still be reverence and respect in approaching God. We could speak to God, Jesus and Holy Spirit like a friend and yet they are still the same God of Genesis and Leviticus. In this post Jesus era, the reverence and fear of God I believe extends beyond just approaching Him once a year like during the days of the Temple, but continually as to how we live our lives and interact with others. It’s now all encompassing since God lives in us nowadays. Our lives are to be sanctified daily and our thoughts and actions are to be in line with His thoughts and actions. It’s a daily thing as we are now a living sacrifice unto Him, in Christ where the glorious riches of our inheritance are now accessible by us. The consequence of non compliance may no longer be death but as it is now all encompassing, we will miss out on the infinite blessings and empowerment of the heavenly realm that our inheritance in Christ as a child of God affords us. The letter of Leviticus protocols may no longer be relevant but the spirit of those protocols lives on in our redeemed and sanctified lives as a living sacrifice in Christ unto God. The curtain was torn into two and we can now enter in, but as we enter we now carry the responsibility and accountability of the High Priests of old as a royal priesthood and a holy nation. All praise and glory be unto God!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/01/06/dealing-with-disagreement

With profileration of social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, we tend to give comments quite freely and publicly. I’m not familiar with Twitter but for Facebook our comments may be limited to a wall of a friend but it is nevertheless accessible by whoever the friend allows access to his wall and most Facebook accounts are defaulted to public viewing. Even if limited to the friend’s friends, it is still “public” as there are bound to be people we ourselves do not know among the friend’s friends. That is why most companies have policy on what an employee could write on such sites. This is because if people know where you work, your comments may have implications on your organisation or employer.

The issue today is how do we write on such social media platforms as believers? Do we get carried away with the prevailing sentiment? Using curse words to curse and scold is definitely out of bounds as that so wrongly reflects us as bearers of the Light. But beyond that, how do we conduct ourselves?

I think it’s necessary that we write with decorum and respect. Even if the prevailing sentiment is to condemn and rage on, we should exercise restraint and write with compassion and understanding, forgiveness and love. We may be anonymous in the sense that few may know us publicly (unless we are a public figure ourselves). But anonymity must not be an excuse to hide our true self as a son of God. Just because we are in the shadows doesn’t mean we are not or don’t have to be children of God. As believers, we carry the same face, in private, in public, at work or in church, outside or in the security of our home. Even as an anonymous keyboard warrior, we must never forget who we are in God, a child grafted into the family by the blood of the Lamb. As Christ has love and compassion for us and in His love has forgiven us, we must likewise be loving, compassionate and forgiving on others, in the physical realm as well as in cyberspace. Our words should reflect our identity in Christ. We stand against injustice, unfairness, incompetence and mediocracy but always taper it with love, compassion and forgiveness. Others may swear, curse, condemn and shout with rage and anger but we must write and respond with cool heads, knowing who we are in Christ, taking the character of Christ as guided by the Holy Spirit.

https://odb.org/MY/2022/01/05/back-to-the-basics-2

Today’s post is another slant on New Year resolutions. In my post just 3 days ago, https://ronnielim.com/2022/01/02/fresh-start/, I wrote about the need to hear God’s Word for us and make that our New Year’s resolution. What is God speaking to us for 2022? What’s Christ message for us for this new year?

But I guess not everyone is good at hearing from God or perhaps we are in the process of still learning how to do that accurately. So basically we are a little fuzzy as to what God is saying to us. Maybe we need more time to get this right. Or maybe the grind has started and we are busy back at the grind, catching up on work as our colleagues and bosses start to return to work. Is there a viable solution out of this quagmire, this predicament?

One solution is to perhaps put up achievable New Year’s resolutions like smiling more or wave at people more or be gentler on the road. While these are certainly achievable – these are perhaps just cheeky bordering on sarcasm. Maybe it is good to fill up words in a blog but I think quite meaningless in the personal context. Why? Because an easily achievable goal is not a goal. We are just doing what we are doing. It cannot be a resolution to wake up at 8.00 am if we are already doing so? There is no stretch and thus no progress. No improvement. It’s status quo.

However, from another perspective, an achievable goal is perhaps still acceptable if couched as going back to basics. This is what Ezekial is talking about in chapter 45 of his book – “give up your oppression and violence against the people, offer your burnt offerings, observe the festivals”. In our present context, read the Word daily (instead of resolving to finish the whole bible in 2022), pray and spend quiet time with God (instead of allocating 1 hour a day to pray and worship God), serve God in church and doing social work (instead of putting in 5 hours weekly to do ministry and welfare work).

Perhaps a good New Year’s resolution for us is to do the basics first as we, in parallel and concurrently, seek God’s Word for us for 2022. I believe the return to basics will help us hear Jesus better and thus help us to receive our “commission” for 2022 from the Lord of Hosts. With that, I wish everyone all the best in hearing from God and in your fulfilling of God’s plan for you in 2022!