Spiritual gifts

https://odb.org/2025/07/25/god-given-gifts

1 Peter 4:7–11 (NIV): 7 The end of all things is near. Therefore, be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides so that in all things, God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

As believers in Christ, the Holy Spirit gives us spiritual gifts, in addition to our natural abilities, for us to serve others and build up the church. Peter divides these gifts into speaking and serving gifts (see 1 Peter 4:11 above). In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul lists nine gifts: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, tongues, and tongues interpretation verses 8-10). He lists additional gifts elsewhere (Romans 12:3-8; Ephesians 4:11).

Thus, practically, we will all be equipped by God’s grace, on top of our natural abilities, to serve the brethren and build up the church, wherever we are worshipping. That is also why we must make every effort to attend services on site and join a congregation. Worshipping online in isolation from the body of Christ is self-serving as our physical attendance itself is an encouragement that is a form of service to the body of Christ. There is no point getting saved if we practice our faith within the four walls of our room, unless, of course, if we live in a closed country. If we are not in the latter situation, we must join a church and be part of a community of believers to serve and build up the spiritual lives of each other.

I have been serving in music since my teens. In fact, my repertoire comprises mainly church songs. As much as I play both acoustic and bass guitars, my musical abilities are not much of use outside the context of church services. I only know a few pop songs, and they are so old that the younger generation may not even have heard! Do I wish I had learned some good non-church songs so I can show off some nice riffs? I actually do wish so. Haha. But it doesn’t matter to me because I learned to play the guitar to serve the needs of the church then that worshipped only in a capella, and perhaps God had always wanted me to be good at only church songs so I may serve Him this way for the rest of my life!

Whatever spiritual gifts we are given and whatever natural abilities we have, and that includes administration and book-keeping skills and counselling and listening skills, use it to serve others in the body to build up the church. Be happy so long as God is happy, even if our skills may only be useful in church!

Right time and right place

https://odb.org/2025/07/24/right-place-right-time

Esther 4:10–16 (NIV): 10 Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, 11 “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.” 12 When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, 13 he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

Sometimes, God places us at a certain place at a certain time for a specific purpose. We may wonder why? It may not even be a pleasant place. For example, due to circumstances prevailing then, we had to leave our former workplace and ended up where we are now. We are thankful we found another job, but it is somewhat discouraging as it’s a lower grade position with less pay. Is there a specific reason that God had placed us there? Is it because the Lord wants us to reach out to a specific person? Or have more time to serve Him? Or perhaps God wants to humble us to deal with issues of pride in our lives?

In the case of Queen Esther, she was placed at the court of the King of Persia for a specific purpose. There was a plot by some people within the palace to annihilate the Jews and Queen Esther was at the right time and right place to expose the plot and appeal to the King on behalf of her people. The LORD had enabled Esther to be chosen as the Queen for a purpose. Similarly, Joseph became the Prime Minister of Egypt through an arduous journey for a specific purpose, which was to save the clan of Jacob of 71 from the coming great famine. It is from those people that the near 2 million strong Jewish slaves were rescued by Moses from Egypt 430 years later.

But there was a catch. Queen Esther has not been summoned to see the King for more than 30 days. If she goes to see him uninvited, she will be put to death if the King does not excuse her by extending to her the gold sceptre to spare her life. Sometimes, being at the right place at the right time by themselves may not be enough. We may be called to take certain risks. We may need to exercise our faith and move out in boldness. Then, the purpose is achieved.

We may question and wonder why we are at this place of work? We may even be asking why we are serving in this local church? Trust that God has a bigger purpose for us. Listen to His still small voice as He speaks to us through the Holy Spirit. Pray and seek Him. Then, move out in boldness. Take the step of faith to do the things He has called us to do at the place or the church. We will thus know and confirm that His will is indeed good, pleasing, and perfect! Be at the right place at the right time!

The Holy Spirit

https://odb.org/2025/07/23/led-by-the-holy-spirit

John 14:15–20 (NIV): 15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—17 the Spirit of truth. The world can not accept him because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day, you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.

God the Father, Jesus His Son, and the Holy Spirit are 3 distinct persons, yet they are one in the Holy Trinity. That means when you see Jesus in the flesh, you also see God the Father (see John 14:9). Yet as a distinctive being of God in the flesh, Immanuel, it is Jesus the Son who walked the earth and preached the Good News of Salvation 2,000 years ago. In the same rein, it was Jesus Christ the Son who died on the cross for our sins and defeated sin and death when He rose again 3 days later.

But on the 40th day after His resurrection, He ascended to heaven to be with Father God and has not been seen again in the flesh ever since, until He comes again to later rule the world and usher in the new heaven and new earth at the end of time. But Jesus did not abandon His disciples or us His present-day believers when He ascended to heaven. He promised that in John 14:15-20 and on the 50th day after His resurrection (10 days after His ascension), the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles and all believers.

Thus, when we say God lives in us or Jesus lives in our hearts, the distinctive being is actually God’s or Jesus’s Spirit, and He is the Holy Spirit. He is not actually Jesus or God the Father, although they are one in the Holy Trinity. This is also something unique in our faith as no other faiths have the concept of an external diety who lives in us as a distinctive person.

Not only does the Holy Spirit live in us, but He guides us in our faith. He prompts us to obey God’s Word and to apply the rhema Word as spoken to our hearts. He speaks to us to trust God in faith in the things we do and to serve Him. He empowers us to pray for the sick and cast out demons. He helps and strengthens our spiritual formation as a child of God, in our transformation into the image of Christ. He helps us to fulfil Romans 12:2 that we do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

This morning, as we get ready to work, pray that the Holy Spirit will grant us the discernment to make wise decisions that will glorify the name of God and Christ. That we will have the diligence to do our part at our workplace and give our best to God. Amen!

Unceasing prayer

https://odb.org/2025/07/22/persisting-in-prayer

Luke 18:1–8 (NIV): 18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town, there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ 4 “For some time, he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’ ” 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

I feel Luke 18:1-8 illustrates more of God’s love and compassion rather than just pure persistence in prayer. Even though an unjust judge will give justice when continually bothered, it does not mean that if we keep on bothering God, He will likewise do the same. God is God. He is sovereign. He is love. As much as He is a God of justice, I dont think it is right that He is to be bothered in this manner. He will serve His justice in His time, and it may not be in the form or substance that we are looking for. For instance, if we are so unfortunate to have been scammed of RM50,000 by scammers, our persistent prayers will not likely bring back the money lost, and we will never know even if we constantly pray that the scammers be caught and sent to jail. Moreover, we are to love our enemies and forgive those who have sinned against us.

When we pray, we ought to pray with thanksgiving in our hearts and the peace that surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7). Prayer brings peace that will keep our hearts (spirit) and minds (soul) to remain true and faithful to God, that we will not abandon our faith or lose the hope of our salvation because of a tragedy or bad thing that happened to us. I have seen people lose their minds (become mentally unstable or enter into deep depression) because of failed relationships or during the Asian financial crisis, people took their lives due to mounting debts.

Having said that, we have also seen in the bible of God intervening when the Israelites were subject to acute suffering in the exodus of the Jews from Egypt to Canaan. The LORD proclaimed that He heard the cries of His people. You can see this in Exodus 3 – 7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

Ultimately, it is not the persistence of our prayers that will lead to tangible results in our lives, but it is God’s heart for us, His love and compassion. Similarly, it is not the measure of faith itself that can move mountains, but the faith itself (even as small as a mustard seed) that can make changes or bring transformation. Pray unceasingly but always with thanksgiving and not vengeance (or anger or evil) in our hearts and the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard and protect our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus! Amen!

Shelter from storms

https://odb.org/2025/07/21/shelters-of-gods-care

Isaiah 32:1–4 (NIV): 32 See, a king will reign in righteousness, and rulers will rule with justice. 2 Each one will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land. 3 Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen. 4 The fearful heart will know and understand, and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear.

The picture of trees lining up open spaces to protect homes and people from storms is a good picture of how God and His Word protect His people from the storms of life. If you live in open spaces, you can not avoid storms when they come your way. That is why planting strong trees is an excellent idea to shield homes from strong winds. Of course, if not properly maintained, trees can pose us danger when uprooted during storms.

That reminds me of the genius of the Sydney harbour, the world’s largest natural deep water harbour. It is naturally deep that the biggest of ships may moor. I have personally seen a warship anchored at its wharves right there in the city! Yet Sydney harbour is protected from the open seas and storms! An amazing natural creation of God! See below:

Sydney habour’s natural topography

This also reminds me of Psalm 1, in a somewhat different context. Blessed is the man whose delight is the law of the LORD and who meditates upon it day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruits in season and whose leaves do not wither. One who spends time reading and studying the Word is someone who is properly and strongly planted in the faith like a healthy and flourishing tree planted besides streams of water.

The message this morning is to spend more time reading and studying His Word. Read about the ancient times in the Old Testament of how God delivered Israel from her enemies, of how He taught His people lessons in life when they disobeyed His law and worship other gods. Spend time reading and analysing Paul’s teachings and exposition of spiritual principles in the New Covenant under grace in Christ. Don’t just take famous verses literally, but look at the context they were written.

The Word is the spiritual equivalent of trees planted to shield homes from storms. It protects us from the attacks of the evil one or the temptations of the world. As shared by Pastor Bernard yesterday in our local church, the Word will help us redeem our soul to overcome and defeat old strongholds in our mind (the most dominant part of our soul) to make it obedient to Christ. The Word is one of the keys to transforming our minds that it no longer conforms to the pattern of this world (Romans 12:2).

2 Corinthians 10:5: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

Have a good week ahead, everyone! Spend more time with God and His Word. May the LORD our God grant us wisdom, discernment, and patience as we deal with issues and personalities at work! Amen!

The poor and us as believers

https://odb.org/2025/07/17/loving-jesus-most

Deuteronomy 15:1–11 (NIV): 15 At the end of every seven years, you must cancel debts. 2 This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel any loan they have made to a fellow Israelite. They shall not require payment from anyone among their own people because the LORD’s time for cancelling debts has been proclaimed. 3 You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your fellow Israelite owes you. 4 However, there need be no poor people among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, 5 if only you fully obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today. 6 For the LORD, your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations, but none will rule over you.
7 If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. 8 Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need. 9 Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,” so that you do not show ill will toward the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing. They may then appeal to the LORD against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. 10 Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then, because of this, the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. 11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore, I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.

I have always remembered Jesus’s saying, “You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me” (John 12:8). Thus, it was OK to pour a pint of perfume worth a year’s wages on Jesus instead of selling it to give the proceeds to the poor. It doesn’t mean that helping the poor is not important. It’s just that honouring Jesus is more important at that point in time. The reason is God in flesh, the Immanuel is with us for a fraction of time, and He will soon sacrifice Himself for the sins of mankind.

Furthermore, as Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 15:11 above, the context is there are already provisions in the Mosaic law dealing with the poor. As the LORD will bless everyone in Israel, there should not be, in the first place, poor people. But if there are, the law provides for the year of jubilee to free them of their debts while mandating the well off to help the needy, not really expecting to be repaid. Instead, the LORD will bless those who lend for their generosity.

In applying these principles to modern times, I believe the correct approach is that it is not our responsibility to resolve societal issues. These are macro and structural issues to be managed and rectified by the government of the day that collects income tax, duties, and other taxes from the general public and corporations. In other words, these issues are just too big and are way beyond us. Even if we are billionaires, what more when we are just ordinary wage earners. That is why Jesus said you will always have the poor among you.

Having said that, it doesn’t mean that we mustn’t help the poor or needy among us. We must still help them. Deuteronomy 15 compels us to if we have the means. Yet there are times when other priorities are to be pursued as in the case of the pint of perfume for Jesus. In other words, if it is time for the church to invest in a new 88-key portable digital piano, we shouldn’t say that the money should instead be given to the poor. There are priorities that need to be pursued, and yet we should help the poor and needy in our midst at the same time, for example, by creating a fund to facilitate those in need to attend the church camp.

Be transformed by the renewing of our minds

https://odb.org/2025/07/16/habits-and-the-holy-spirit

Romans 12:1–3 (NIV): 12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then, you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will. 3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

Romans 12:1 is preceded by verses and verses of what Christ has done for us. God’s grace and mercy towards us through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, because of such grace and mercy, we ought to, in appreciation of God’s love and mercy, present our bodies as a living sacrifice. Meaning to say, our lives are a sacrifice towards God in terms of our persona, our character, and who we are as human beings. How do we relate to God and the people around us? Do we come out as someone kind, humble, easygoing, forgiving, accommodating, and generous? Or are we egoistic, mean, difficult, vengeful, and selfish?

Paul suggests that to be a living sacrifice, we ought to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We are not to conform or follow the pattern of this world, which basically exalts the self against the needs of the body. Thus, we ought to be selfless and put others first and let the Lord bless and reward us instead in His own timing and will. For example, practising delayed gratification instead of instant gratification is one way to be transformed. This is because the quest for instant gratification will tend to cause us to compromise our faith and principles in life.

If we are transformed and do not conform to the pattern of this world, we will then be able to test and approve, as in experience, God’s will for our lives. We will then see that His will is good, pleasing, and perfect! In the process, we will willingly discard our own will in favour of God’s. We will find that instead of restricting and restraining us, He blossoms us into such a beautiful butterfly that brings good cheer and joy to those around us while glorifying the name of God! We will gladly exchange the richness and fame we were previously chasing for a life lived in the house of the LORD as surely goodness and mercy shall follow us for the rest of our days! See Psalm 23:6. We will indeed experience a glimpse of heaven here on earth as we allow the supernatural power and goodness of God to penetrate into our natural lives.

All these earthly spiritual rewards and experiences start when we decide to transform to become a living sacrifice by renewing our minds so that we do not conform to the pattern of this world! We refuse to bow down to the Baals and Asherahs of this modern times, but instead only worship the one and only true living God, Yahweh of the ancient Israelites and our heavenly Father and that our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen

Jesus prays for us

https://odb.org/2025/07/15/the-prayers-of-jesus

Luke 22:28–34 (NIV): 28 You are those who have stood by me in my trials. 29 And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, 30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
31 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
33 But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”
34 Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”

I think we know that Jesus prays for us even now as He did for Peter when He walked the earth as Immanuel, God in flesh. Paul said that He is seated at the right hand of God, interceding for the saints (Romans 8:24). This means that in His heart, He really wants us to do well in our walk of faith despite our human weaknesses, despite the temptations that the devil will throw at us or what the world may entice us with.

That is why in my bible study yesterday with my Young Adults group, I emphasised that everything good that we have done throughout our life will not be wasted even if no one sees or appreciates. This is because Jesus sees and He will show them all to us when we meet Him at the Bema Judgment Seat of Christ. As much as Christ will judge us, He is also our advocate. He will seek to give us the best reward that He could give us based on the good works that we did while on earth.

2 Corinthians 5:10 – For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

Even if Satan seeks to test us, Jesus will pray for us that we will be strengthened and emerge victorious. Jesus prayed for Simon Peter, and as much as he denied Jesus three times, Simon Peter was nevertheless the driving force of the Way’s movement and the leader of the Apostles evangelising the people from the start.

Pick ourselves up if we fail. Try again and do better the next time. Again and again. The road to victory may be arduous, but we persevere on as Jesus prays and intercedes for us. We will eventually make it if we don’t give up. No matter how difficult the road ahead may be, we keep at it. In a way, the key to keeping the faith until the end is never to give up! As long as we push through, we will make it across the finish line one day! Amen! Praise the Lord!

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for interceding and praying for us!

Our own broken cisterns

https://odb.org/2025/07/14/digging-for-meaning

Jeremiah 2:13 – “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

The background to Jeremiah 2 is that the Israelites had forsaken God and worshipped the prevalent dieties of the lands surrounding Canaan notwithstanding Yahweh having brought their ancestors out of slavery in Egypt, through the wilderness for 40 years and into Canaan, the land promised to their forefathers. Despite the miracles in Egypt, in the wilderness and their victories in Canaan led by Joshua against all odds (the cities were fortified, they had strong armies and some were descendants of Anak), the Israelites forgotten God and forsook Him for mere idols. Idols that are dead and do not speak. Or so it seemed.

The reality of the situation is not that simple or as it seemed. This is because Baal and Asherah were the prevailing dieties of those lands. They were not just idols made of stone that are dead because behind them are real spiritual power of the air. They were the reigning spiritual force of the lands – what we in modern Christian speak and times call “territorial spirits.”

Yahweh, the one true and living God, instead of choosing one of the prominent tribes of the land, chose one person from a faraway land to build His own tribe. He chose Abraham from the Ur of the Caldeans, believed to be near the city of Nasiriyah in modern-day Iraq. It likely took Abraham months of travel to reach Canaan. That is probably why when God rescued the Israelites from Egypt (from a clan of Jacob of 71 becoming 600,000 men not counting women and children), He showed them countless miracles. From the 10 plagues in Egypt to the parting of the Red Sea to the water from the rock and manna from heaven, God demonstrated that He was and is the true and living God.

However, after years having passed by, the Israelites forgot about their past and God and worshipped Baal and Asherah. They forsook the living water and dug their own cisterns that are broken and can not hold water. They broke the first and most important of the 10 Commandments.

This morning, we may be far away from the supernatural experiences of our past. Most of us are nevertheless still faithful following Jesus and God’s Word in our lives. A few of us may have drifted far away along our own path of glory and may have achieved fame and wealth, but as proclaimed in Jeremiah 2, cisterns that are broken and cannot hold water. But for the majority of us still with God, attending church and serving Him faithfully, we must be careful that the spirit that is reigning and prevailing in the world do not seduce and draw us away from God. The same way Baal and Asherah overwhelmed the Israelites despite their miraculous past experiences with Yahweh, the spirit in the world can cause our spiritual senses to be dulled. Instead of pursuing God’s plans and purposes, we get carried away with our own dreams and fleshy desires or even just to survive in this world.

These are the end times, and our Lord will return anytime. The schemes of the evil one are subtle to ensnare and deceive us. Like the Israelites, after some time, it became natural to worship Baal and Asherah like everyone else was doing. Be alert and be on guard that we don’t end up digging our own cisterns instead of going with the living water. Our own cisterns can never be good. They are broken and can not hold water properly. Remember that and have a good week ahead! May the LORD our God grant us wisdom to deal with the challenges at work! Amen!

Life in Christ

https://odb.org/2025/07/11/life-in-christ

Amos 5:4-6: 4 This is what the Lord says to Israel: “Seek me and live; 5 do not seek Bethel, do not go to Gilgal, do not journey to Beersheba. For Gilgal, will surely go into exile, and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.” 6 Seek the Lord and live, or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire it will devour them, and Bethel will have no one to quench it.

Just a few days ago this week, I attended the wake of the youngest brother on my mother’s side of my family. My maternal uncle was 67 and was diagnosed with stage 3 urethra cancer in early August 2024 and passed away in less than a year. He underwent chemotherapy immediately after diagnosis and surgery, and by around the end of October last year, the cancer had receded after 3 rounds of chemotherapy. However, later, we heard it came back and spread in February this year, and a few weeks back, he was admitted to hospital and then hospice as he was not eating much. Just two and half years ago, I lost a cousin on my father’s side to colon cancer about a year after diagnosis.

The thing is, although there are cancer survivors, cancer patients can leave us within a year of them finding out about their condition. Chemotherapy is a difficult process and makes recipients susceptible to other illnesses. Yet there are cancer patients who survived through divine healing even at stage 4. But generally, the prognosis is poor at stage 4 and even at stage 3.

I wish we could say to those afflicted with cancer to choose God and live or “seek me and live” as in Amos 5:4. If God has a continued plan and purpose for that person’s life, there is a good likelihood he or she will survive. Indeed, God can heal!

Having seen the fragility of life, I just like to remind us this morning to treasure the time we still have. Spend more time with our loved ones as we or they will not live forever. Marina Mahathir was overjoyed to celebrate Tun Dr Mahathir’s 100th birthday yesterday, and yet she admitted that she must brace herself for the inevitable. We will all die and leave this world one day. While here, do our best to fulfil His plans and purposes for our lives. Serve the Lord in the Kingdom of Heaven. Live in the centre of His will. When the inevitable comes, we have no fear or regrets. We have done our best for God. We have fought the good fight and have finished the race (2 Timothy 4:7).

With that, I like to take this opportunity to wish my eldest son, Ivan, a blessed and happy 25th birthday! May the LORD our God bless the work of your hands even as you pursue your dreams in a foreign far away land! We do miss you here at home even though you call almost daily. Do your best in all that you do, and always remember Jesus and act on the prompting of the Holy Spirit. God bless and take care. Pa and Mi love you dearly and always.