Repent and He will forgive us our sins

https://odb.org/2026/04/06/not-my-fault

Exodus 32:19–24 (NIV): 19 When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. 20 And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.
21 He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?”
22 “Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. 23 They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”

“It’s not my fault!” So says Han Solo in The Empire Strikes Back when his ship is attacked and there seems to be no escape, only because a repair hadn’t been made. When he says it, you wonder if he bears at least some responsibility for his predicament but doesn’t want to admit it.

I’ve been there. Sometimes it’s easier to find someone (or something) else to blame rather than accept responsibility myself. Scripture shows us that this tendency is as old as sin. Adam and Eve both did it (Genesis 3:11-13), and so did Aaron. When Moses was with God on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments, God told him that the people He’d just released from slavery had turned away to worship an idol (Exodus 32:7-8). When Moses returned and confronted Aaron (whom he’d left in charge), Aaron responded, “You know how prone these people are to evil” (v. 22). Then he rationalized about the idol he himself cast, saying, “They gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!” (v. 24). (James Banks, Our Daily Bread 6th April 2026)

I think we all have a tendency not to take blame for things that go wrong, even when we know we were at fault. When it comes to dealings with my spouse, it could well be something like I forgot to tighten the lid of the peanut butter. So we agreed that after every use, we just tighten it even in the midst of breakfast as the last person using it may forget to do so later.

At work, the unwillingness to take blame is understandable as there could be consequences. In the end, a less forgiving environment will lead to less risk-taking and slower decision-making (what we call analysis paralysis). For example, while it is acceptable to award a tender after two years in a traditional telco, it is disastrous if we were to do so in the digital business. We used to say – by the time we award, the solution is already superseded by newer ones.

In God, however, while sin always have consequences, God is loving and forgiving. If we sin, God will punish us but if we seek His forgiveness, He will forgive us. A good example was David’s adultery with Bathsheba. David lost a total of 4 sons as the consequence. But he repented and the LORD forgave him. In the end, it was his son with Bathsheba that continued David’s lineage and in the natural, Solomon’s reign was Israel’s most glorious although in the spiritual,  David’s remain Israel’s Golden Age!

While we may or may not escape the consequences of sin, repentance will lead to forgiveness. Forgiveness is essential to ensure that our eternal destination is preserved although we may suffer some consequences in the natural. Our names remain written in the Book of Life. Any suffering in the present is nothing compared to the glory that awaits us if we fight the good fight and complete the race victoriously. Persevere through and that includes repentance and seeking forgiveness from the Father. God loves us and have compassion for us as demonstrated by Jesus’s love and compassion for the people recorded in the Gospels.

Have a good week ahead, everyone! May the LORD God, Yahweh Elohim the Great I Am grant us wisdom and discernment as we walk in His abundant grace and mercy!

Blessed Good Friday!

https://odb.org/2026/04/03/why-good-friday

1 John 4:7–12 (NIV): 7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

What’s so good about Good Friday? Why isn’t the day called Bad or Sad Friday? After all, it’s meant to be a day of sorrowful reflection, not a day of celebration. Sometimes, this day takes other names, such as Holy Friday. In Germany, it’s called Karfreitag, or Sorrowful Friday. So where did we get the tradition of calling it “Good”? Some believe it may have originated from the older tradition of calling it “God’s Friday.” No matter the origin of the name, it’s still appropriate to call the Friday on which Jesus died “good.” Out of Christ’s sacrificial love, He died for our sins. That’s why Good Friday is good. And the great news is that three days later He rose from the grave in victory. (Alyson Kieda, Our Daily Bread 3rd April 2026)

When we dwell into the history of Good Friday, we will find some interesting facts. Although the answers are not conclusive, they nevertheless point to some history and possible origins. It is the same with Easter Sunday and Christmas. There is some pagan backgrounds to those festivals, unlike the Jewish festivals. This is because the latter festivals were instituted by the LORD God Himself through His Word for the Jews. That is also why there are believers amongst us who refuse to celebrate these Christian festivals but instead choose to celebrate the Jewish ones instead. The major problem with us celebrating Jewish festivals is that we are not Jews and we do not practice Judaism. Jesus has already been sent to the world by God the Father so that humanity will not perish but have life everlasting. The New Covenant has superseded the Old Covenant. The veil at the Temple has been broken and torn into two.

In the end, we are believers of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are adopted children of God, grafted into the Kingdom of God. We are now the chosen generation, the Holy priesthood, the present-day Israel. We are His people and the Great I Am Jehovah Elohim the LORD God is now our God. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Thus no matter their origins and from where our early church fathers adopted them, it is the meaning behind our festivals that really matters and for Good Friday, it is to commensurate Christ’s death on Calvary as it is through the cross that we have life eternal per John 3:16. He died for our sins as the Lamb of God. The ultimate sacrifice from the only One without sin who bore the sins of mankind once and for all.

Our Christian journey and our walk of faith in the Kingdom of God would not have been possible if Christ had not died on the cross. We would remain as heathens destined for damnation. Instead we are now poised for great exploits for His kingdom in this fallen world and one day we will live in the new heaven and new earth, the new Jerusalem. At the end of time, we will be at the place where God again dwells amongst His people, where the tree of life will be freely available to us to live for all eternity in a place without sickness, pain, tears, sorrow and death.

The true meaning of Good Friday is that we will only experience one death as we have had two births! That’s the Good News and thus the “Good” of Good Friday! One death only when the time comes but to eternal life! Have a blessed Good Friday, everyone!

Holy Communion

https://odb.org/2026/04/02/the-ladle

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 (NIV): 23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Jesus gave us a tangible gift in the celebration of Communion to help us remember His incomparable love for us (Luke 22:19). The apostle Paul reminded the Corinthians how Jesus broke bread, saying, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24). Then Christ “took the cup, saying, ‘The cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me’ ” (v. 25). God’s lavish love is remembered again and again as we take the bread and lift the cup as believers in Christ. (Elisa Morgan, Our Daily Bread 2nd April 2026)

My local church, White Fields Assembly of Seremban, serves Holy Communion on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of every month. Other churches may do it once a month although there are smaller fellowships that practice taking the sacraments every time they gather together for worship. In fact, the early church in the book of Acts, when they meet daily in fellowship and prayer, as they share a meal, they break bread. The essence of the Holy Communion is thus really breaking bread and sharing a meal together. In fact when Jesus first broke bread, it was at the Passover meal just a few days before His crucifixion. Thus this is the Passion week celebrating the days before Christ’s death and resurrection and tomorrow being Good Friday and this Sunday Easter.

One thing we always need to remember when taking the sacraments is that we should examine ourselves and seek forgiveness for any sins we may have committed. We should be clean before God, washed by the blood of the Lamb. In the same way, we forgive others who have trespassed against us. It is this confession that is key to the Holy Communion although we should do this every day anyway.

Another aspect of the Holy Communion is that while it is not magical, we believe there is power in the act itself. His healing will flow through us as we partake the sacraments. That is why sometimes in home visits where we pray for the sick, we serve Holy Communion.

As we celebrate Easter this Sunday and if Holy Communion is served or at the next Communion service, let us partake of the sacraments with renewed intent. We remember Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross for our sins. We remember His victory over sin and death as commemorated by Easter Sunday. We confess our sins and seek forgiveness of Father God as we forgive those who have sinned against us. Come before the Lord, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, unblemished and allow the power of God to renew and refresh our spirit, soul and body that we may be a living sacrifice and glowing testimony to His name!

Integrity as a believer

https://odb.org/2026/04/01/true-integrity

1 Peter 2:11–17 (NIV): 11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. 13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. 16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. 17 Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.

At a job interview, Carol was asked repeatedly, “Why did you leave your previous job?” The interviewer had an inkling of the conflict she’d had with her former employer. While acknowledging “differences in working style,” Carol refused to divulge her opinion of her former boss, believing that it would be wrong to speak ill of him. Later, after she was hired, her new boss revealed that the hiring personnel liked her response: “We were impressed by your integrity. We wouldn’t want you to bad-mouth your boss—or us next time—either.” (Leslie Koh, Our Daily Bread 1st April 2026)

Peter encourages God’s “chosen people” (1 Peter 2:9) to live honourable and blameless lives, doing good works and living as Jesus lived in an unbelieving, hostile world so as to bring glory to God (vv. 9-21). Paul similarly urges believers in Christ to “live a life worthy of the Lord” (Colossians 1:10)—a faithful and fruitful life that honours and pleases Him (see Ephesians 4:1; Philippians 1:27; 1 Thessalonians 4:1). Believers are to live with integrity as “children of light” (Ephesians 5:8)—letting their “good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise [our] heavenly Father” (Matthew 5:16 nlt). (K.T. Sim Insight, Our Daily Bread 1st April 2026)

As a seasoned employee in the corporate sector, I have both been interviewed and have interviewed. There are generally a few rules we adhere to for interviews. One is to dress properly and sit appropriately (in terms of posture) during the interview. The other is of course to be able to articulate well the things we wrote in our resume. So only write points that we genuinely know or had experienced. Further, always be prepared for forward-looking questions like how you see yourself in 5 years’ time and hypothetical problem-solving questions.

However, one of the things we should all be aware of is never be drawn into a discussion on how your current employer treats you. Instead, focus on your drive and ambition to learn more or gain greater exposure. It’s a big “no-no” to say negative things about your present employer. Lastly, but not the least, don’t ask about the remuneration package that is on the table at the first interview. Your expected salary is usually already known to your prospective employer. If they can’t afford you, they wouldn’t have called you.

It is interesting to note that Leslie Koh highlighted a candidate’s refusal at a job interview to speak about her possible conflict with her employer as part of our integrity in God. It was actually a smart move by the canditate but I think the integrity part goes beyond job interviews. I believe that, as believers in Christ, we should not, as a rule, speak bad about others in their absence. First, they are not there to defend themselves. Secondly, there could be a perspective for their seemingly “bad behaviour” that we may not be aware of.

Most importantly, how we speak of others will reflect on us as believers in Christ. We have a duty and responsibility to glorify His name, to live honourable and blameless lives. We should instead let our good deeds shine for all to see. I think it is a worst ever scenario if we are ever known as Christians who bad-mouth or gossip against others. Or we are Christians, yet we are vindictive and manipulative or we intentionally do certain things to hurt others. How are we then different from the world?

Beyond our natural eyes

https://odb.org/2026/03/31/gods-view

Exodus 14:10–14 (NIV): 10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Hudson Taylor was troubled. He’d left England to share the gospel in China, and ministry—though challenging—had gone well. In 1865, as he considered sending more people to a more dangerous part of China, without protection, he felt “intense conflict.” After wrestling with God in prayer, he wrote, “The Lord conquered my unbelief, and I surrendered myself to God . . . that all responsibility . . . and consequences must rest with him.”

Moses received a call from God that likely left him troubled. As he was leading the Israelites out of Egypt, God said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea” (Exodus 14:2). This meant they were trapped between Pharaoh and the sea! The Israelites trembled as “Pharaoh approached” (v. 10). But Moses replied, “Do not be afraid” (v. 13). (Tom Felten, Our Daily Bread 31st March 2026 Condensed)

Exodus 14:1-14 shows the tension between how things can appear to us and what God’s really doing. When the Israelites were fleeing from Pharaoh, God told them to turn back – boxed in between Pharaoh’s army and the sea (v. 2). But this was God’s plan to lure and defeat Pharaoh once and for all (v. 4). When Israel panicked (vv. 10–12), Moses reminded them that their rescue wasn’t dependent on their strength but on God’s (vv. 13-14). (Monica La Rose, Insight, Our Daily Bread 31st March 2026 Condensed)

When it comes to God’s work, sometimes what is apparent in the natural may not be so in the spiritual. It could just be blind faith but usually what God is doing extends far beyond what our minds may comprehend. For example, in church planting, a fellowship of just a family of four may be a catalyst to a full functioning church a few years down the road. That is why an important lesson for us in church leadership is not to manage only by human logic. We have to pray and ask God to show us what He is doing in our midst. Fruits must not only be measured by numbers as what’s more pertinent are transformed lives and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

The advantage of us as believers is we have an insight into the spiritual realm. Our spirit is born-again. We could pray for the supernatural to pierce through the natural world when the Holy Spirit moves in signs and wonders, and healing. Sometimes we need to pray that our unbelief and doubts be broken in the name of Jesus! That our eyes may be opened to see the marvellous work He is doing in our midst. Like how Elisha opened the eyes of his servant in 2 Kings 6:17-20.

For this morning, I just like to remind us of God’s plans and purposes for our lives. Trust in His calling and persevere on. Don’t give up or give in to our own ambitions or desires. Pray for Jesus to open up our eyes to the wondrous work He is and will be doing in our lives. Ask that we may see beyond our natural eyes or human logic.

Just a word of caution – whatever that lies ahead, let it be something genuine that God has placed in our hearts. Not something make believe or something we want to believe or just plain blind faith. If it is real, pursue it with all our heart, mind and strength!

Perseverance

https://odb.org/2026/03/30/keep-going-by-faith

Hebrews 12:1–3 (NIV): Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

To become a lawyer in California, Maxcy Filer had to pass the state’s grueling, three-day bar exam. So he took it not once, not twice, but forty-eight times before passing the tough test. His goal? To advocate for the underprivileged in Compton, his beloved city. Between his first and last attempts at passing the exam—across twenty-five years—Filer and his wife raised seven children, all who went to college. When Filer was sworn in, the judge said, “Three words about Maxcy Filer: perseverance, perseverance, perseverance.” (Patricia Raybon, Our Daily Bread 30th March 2026)

Maxcy Filler is an extreme example of someone who persevered over the years to eventually become a lawyer. 48 attempts at the Bar exams over 25 years! It was not an attempt at a career to earn a living and build a family (like most of us) but instead he had 7 children in the process and by the time he was called to the Bar, most of his children have entered college!

However, Filler’s case illustrates a very crucial point in our walk of faith and that is perseverance. It works very well because our walk of faith is over our lifetime here on earth. It spans 60, 70 or even 80 years – depending on when we accepted Christ and when we passed on.

The difference is that while Filler tried for 25 years to enter the Bar as a qualified member of practicing lawyers, we already entered the family of God from day one. The day we accepted Christ is the day we become a fully-functioning child of God able and qualified to receive His abundant love, grace and mercy. It then becomes a lifetime of learning how to relate to Jesus our Lord, God our Father and the Holy Spirit as our Helper. How to build up our faith, our trust in God that we may progress deeper in our spiritual life. How we may respond to God’s calling, His plans and purposes for our lives.

Nevertheless perseverance remains a key feature in our walk of faith. We will face distractions. We will meet temptations to draw us away from our chosen narrow path. We may end up spending too much time at the wayside. Some of us may even have forgotten God’s calling for us for years. Thus just wandering at the wayside not fulfilling God’s true purpose for our lives. We may have ended up doing all sorts of things except the one thing Father God had prepared for us since the foundations of the world.

For we know perseverance produces character and character hope because perseverance enables us to hang on to the narrow path and to continue our journey of faith until we are called home by the Lord. That is why perseverance ultimately leads to hope.

The message this morning is to persevere on. Our walk of faith is life-long. Perseverance is life-long. Never give up at any stage. If we had given up, pull ourselves up again and walk on the narrow path. Don’t let the world or our own ambitions rob us of our eternal reward in Christ Jesus! Persevere on to lay up our treasures in heaven where moth or rust cannot destroy or thieves will not break in and steal – Matthew 6:19-20.

P/S

We returned to Malaysia from the UK on the 18th of March and took quite a while to start sleeping normally again. Then came the Raya break.

Today is hence the new beginning in my writings after a long break. I noticed that despite my last post being on 17th March, there have been daily page views! I am thankful and appreciate all who made the effort to read my previous posts! I pray that you will be blessed even as you allow the Lord to speak to you through my writings.

Pray continually

https://odb.org/2026/03/17/pray-all-the-time

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV – UK
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

When pirates kidnapped Patrick in his mid-teens, they took him to Ireland, sold him into slavery, and forced him to to herd sheep for a druid master. Many might have grown bitter and despaired over six years, but through constant prayer, Saint Patrick (as he later became known) focused his mind and heart on God’s presence. “I would pray all the time, right through the day,” Patrick wrote, explaining that by doing so, his faith and God’s love in him increased. He lived in harsh conditions, sometimes out all day and night in snow, frost and rain. But, he continued, “I would hardly notice any discomfort . . . due to the Spirit within me.” (Anne Le Tissier, Our Daily Bread 17th March 2026)

I believe there are two aspects to “praying continually” that Paul advocates in 1 Thessalonians 5 and elsewhere in his other letters. One is to continually asking God to intervene in people’s lives like to heal someone or to help a brother go through a rough time or to just cover someone with the blood of Christ. These are prayer items that impact lives and every pastor and leader do this every day or at least once a week at weekly prayer meetings. Many people need God and God’s providence and help in different aspects and situations of their lives. This aspect is useful and benefits others as prayer moves mountains as the saying goes or prayer moves the hand of God, as the song goes. We seek the supernatural intervention of the Kingdom of God into the natural, into our ordinary lives, to help us live out our faith victoriously!

Go deeper and we enter into the realm of intercessory prayer, seeking to weaken demonic influence in the spiritual world as ultimately our fight is not against flesh and blood but against dark spiritual forces – principalities, powers and rulers of darkness. This is a ministry by itself and often encompasses areas beyond our personal spiritual journey. As we are dealing with dark spiritual forces, it is advisable to have the covering of our local church if we are to embark on this ministry as most territorial spirits are beyond the reach of an ordinary believer or even an anointed and gifted individual acting alone.

The other aspect of praying continually is to always communicate with the Lord and the Holy Spirit. Some of us have this habit of just talking with God as we go through our day. Thus prayer is not formally asking God by petition or supplication for someone’s needs. It’s just speaking to Jesus in our heart as we live out life. We tell him our struggles, our challenges and our happy moments and disappointments. In my view, it’s a good habit to cultivate as it keeps us honest in all that we do and think. God is real to us and we will experience Him working in us as we respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

Not only should we pray continually but we should also rejoice always and give thanks in all circumstances as Paul teaches in 1 Thessalonians 5. That is why praying continually as in speaking to God continually works well because in the process, we will thank Him and be grateful to Him in all situations. If we made a mistake like we said something wrong that had upset someone, we rejoice and are still thankful because God still loves us. We correct ourselves and apologise. We will read the room better next time. Another example – in life, we will not win all the time. Give thanks even if we came in second or third or last. We tried. We try again another time.

P/S

We’ll be catching a bus to London Heathrow in about 6 hours at 11.25 pm to board our MH flight back to KUL at 10.25 am (UK time, GMT). We are scheduled to touch down in KLIA 7.15 am (MST, GMT +8) Wed 18 March 2026. As I’ll be on a plane, it is unlikely I’ll be able to write another commentary for Wed 18 March 2026. Pray for journey mercy for us. Thanks!

An offering to the LORD

https://odb.org/2026/03/16/lives-offered-to-god

Exodus 35:20-29 NIV UK 20 Then the whole Israelite community withdrew from Moses’ presence, 21 and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved them came and brought an offering to the Lord for the work on the tent of meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments. 22 All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewellery of all kinds: brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the Lord. 23 Everyone who had blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen, or goat hair, ram skins dyed red or other durable leather brought them. 24 Those presenting an offering of silver or bronze brought it as an offering to the Lord, and everyone who had acacia wood for any part of the work brought it. 25 Every skilled woman spun with her hands and brought what she had spun – blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen. 26 And all the women who were willing and had the skill spun the goat hair. 27 The leaders brought onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece. 28 They also brought spices and olive oil for the light and for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense. 29 All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the Lord freewill offerings for all the work the Lord through Moses had commanded them to do.

It’s tempting to take credit for our resources and accomplishments, or use them to bring ourselves praise. What would it look like, instead, to think of them as a lowly “frame” around God’s masterpiece? One example is when Moses invited the Israelites to bring gifts to build the temple (Exodus 35:5). “Everyone who was willing and whose heart moved them” contributed what they had: precious metal and stone, linen, leather, wood, spices and oil (vv. 21-28). These costly goods were offered from willing hearts to fulfil what God had commanded (v. 29). Some master craftsmen were especially gifted. But everyone could contribute something, like the women who skilfully spun goat hair (v. 26). What mattered most then, and today, is the posture of the giver’s heart. “From what you have, take an offering for the Lord” (v. 5). That’s when our resources are put to their best use. (Karen Pimpo, Our Daily Bread 16th March 2026)

The Kingdom of God as the universal church is so humongous that no single living person or human organisation may possibly carry it all alone, except our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. It is always a team effort. Even at the local church, the pastoral or leadership team or the church board is best to be a collection of individual talents and skills, rather than the senior pastor no matter how anointed or gifted he or she may be. Christ is the head of the church but the church comprises of many parts. Paul taught and often emphasises this point to convey the importance of the unity of the body.

Corollary to that, as individuals we could contribute whatever we have to the Kingdom of God for the good of the body, putting aside our self interests and personal agendas. A moment in ancient Israeli history was a good pivot to this fundamental spiritual principle.

The Israelites had just escaped the Egyptians after Moses freed them from slavery and had the Red Sea parted for the Israelites to pass only to have it closed on the pursuing Egyptians who were not too far behind in tandem.

They were then assembled at the foot of Mount Sinai after Moses had come down with the Ten Commandments and have been instructed by the LORD to build the tabernacle amd everyone chipped in with their respective contributions.

However, these contributions were distinguished by their costly nature and the free will willingness of those who gave. Although the Israelites left Egypt with gold and precious things Egyptians gave them, the Israelites did not hold back in giving some of those riches back to God. They were likely grateful to God for delivering them from slavery and at the same time, they were not greedy for material things. In the end, they spent 40 years in the wilderness depending on God for their sustenance with manna from heaven.

At whatever age and season of life we are, so long as we still have breath, we could contribute something to God. It could be baking cookies or cakes for the youths for their Saturday youth meetings or cooking up a storm of a meal for our house fellowship meeting this coming week. Or perhaps we could volunteer to drive someone to church? Or pay someone sick a visit at the hospital? Or visit a senior citizen and bring him out for lunch? Or we could put our names to volunteer to play music or usher or clean up the church? Do something for God, whatever it might be. Start somewhere today, this week, not next year, not when we retire or when we are less busy.

May our lives and service be an offering to God like the children of Israel during the time of Moses in building the tabernacle! Amen!

When there are no easy answers

https://odb.org/2026/03/14/when-there-are-no-answers

Psalm 22:1-11 NIV My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? 2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. 3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises. 4 In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. 5 To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. 6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people. 7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. 8 ‘He trusts in the Lord,’ they say, ‘let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.’ 9 Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast. 10 From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God. 11 Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.

Lorna’s childhood years were not easy, leaving her with difficult memories to process. As an adult she became the carer for her husband who has long-term health issues, until a freak accident left her virtually bed-ridden, in tremendous pain and unable to get out. She tries to remain positive, but at times she cries out, “Why, Lord?” and “Where are You?” In Psalm 22, the psalmist David expresses his confusion and distress in total honesty: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me?” (v. 1). There is no hiding, no religious politeness; just the reality of raw questions borne out of suffering. (Adrian Smith, Our Daily Bread 14th March 2026)

It’s difficult to imagine a life that is constantly challenging at differing stages. A tough childhood, an arduous marriage and later being bed-ridden and needed to be cared for. Yet even a cancer-striken life with long periods of time spent on treatment and recovery may invite questions like why me? Why are we not like that person who lives what appears to be a carefree life, travelling and seeing the world? Or that person joyfully serving God in church as an usherer or musician? Or sometimes we wish we could teleport back to our teens when life was much less complicated, when we don’t need to bring the bacon home or put food on the table.

There are no easy answers here. Even David, for all his glorious victories for God, struggled when faced with such difficult times. Like when his own son wanted to take his life to take over his throne. So he cries out – my God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Psalm 21:1 – to which our Lord Jesus Christ copied and similarly cried out when He was about to give up His ghost for the sake of mankind, for your sins and mine.

My answer, and it may well not be a good one to you for what you may personally be or have been facing, is that we each have our own lane to run in this race of faith. Salvation is a free gift in the sense we can’t work towards it and yet we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. In other words, after we are saved, there is work to be done for God as we are to present our lives as a living sacrifice, and faith without works is dead. Thus we all run our own race and we have our own finish line. We store up our own riches in heaven. We take the talent God gives us and multiply it to the best of our ability. We just don’t keep it hidden in the ground but use it for the glory of God.

If we have it tougher compared to our own brother or sister in our family or that brother in church, then we have it tougher. God will judge us accordingly. There is no judgement on what our life was or is, except our response to God. No question of our suffering is fair or tough or unfair as it is our response that counts. Job suffered a lot but in the end, he prevailed because he kept himself pure. If we have it tougher, we still need to prevail and keep ourselves pure before God. I recently heard a very apt joke presented by Douglas Lim. He said Malaysian Chinese are resilient because our traditional game is mahjong. We play on no matter what tiles (or cards) life deals us. We play on and see how it goes. What to do? We cannot reshuffle the tiles because ours were bad.

We cannot choose the life God gives us, the era we are born into or the family or country we grow up in or our race or social station. But we could choose our response. We could choose what to make the hand life dealt us. We could choose how to respond to God. We could choose to accept His calling, His plans and purposes. Respond in faith and in full trust, believing that the LORD our God is gracious and fair. We will one day see the light – if not in this life, then certainly in our life eternal! Amen!

Sometimes just being there is enough

https://odb.org/2026/03/13/sitting-with-the-suffering

Job 2: 7-13 NIV 7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. 8 Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. 9 His wife said to him, ‘Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!’ 10 He replied, ‘You are talking like a foolish[a] woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?’ In all this, Job did not sin in what he said. 11 When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathise with him and comfort him. 12 When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognise him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. 13 Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.

Job’s friends saw his suffering up close too. These three guys are often—fairly!—criticised for their later poor treatment of Job. But it’s easy to forget that, initially, they simply sat with him: “They sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was” (Job 2:13). Jobs’ friends remind us that when someone we love is hurting, it’s our presence—our being there, whether we speak or not—that often matters most. Their example reminds us that even though we may not always know what to say, simply sitting with someone in their suffering may be the greatest gift we can give. (Adam R. Holz, Our Daily Bread 13th March 2026)

Today’s ODB article on Job’s suffering and his 3 friends is interesting in the sense that being with someone may by itself be an encouragement. Sometimes when someone is grieving, our words may not be enough to be of real comfort or we may end up saying the wrong things or we may fail to read the room properly. We may be insensitive and thus it is sometimes better to be quiet, but be there nevertheless.

In the case of Job whom God allowed Satan to afflict with sores all over his body, his 3 friends visited to comfort him. No one said a word for seven days and seven nights. They just sat there on the ground with him for that period of time. It was remarkable that anyone could maintain silence for such a long time, what more all four of them! Not for an hour or two, but for seven days and seven nights. That’s a total of 168 hours!

I recall having done something similar with someone who had just lost his younger brother. I just hugged him and sat down with him. We made some small talk and after 15 mins or so, I left. Not total silence, but I was there with him in his deepest moment of grief. Words weren’t sufficient as no words could have comforted him except the assurance of God that his brother was with Jesus. Unfortunately, in this case, his brother was not a believer in Christ Jesus.

Being there can be a very powerful tool. When someone is going through difficult times, just being there along side may sometimes be enough. It may well be so impactful. “I know that someone is there with me as I go through these tough times. That is very encouraging. At least I have one friend in this whole wide world, someone who is with me through thick and thin”.

Often we need not do anything or even say anything. We just need to be there. To have a cup of coffee or a mug of beer. Just to chill and spend some time with that person. We would have proven, at least, that we are not stingy with our time. That can sometimes be the least we could do for God in that situation. Sometimes just being there is enough!