John Mark

https://odb.org/2025/01/12/unfairly-judged

The recorded conflict in Acts 15 of Paul with Barnabas over John, also called Mark (yes, it is believed that he is the writer of the Gospel of Mark although not as an eyewitness but based on materials provided by the Apostles, mainly Peter). Paul did not want to bring Mark along for his second missionary trip because the young missionary intern left them halfway in the first trip. Paul saw that as an unforgiveable defection and failure. Barnabas, however, disagreed with Paul’s assessment and parted ways with Paul. Barnabas restored Mark, and in 2 Timothy 4:11, Paul remembered and commended Mark. In the later years, Mark came under the tutelage of Peter and wrote the book of Mark.

2 Timothy 4:11 – Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.

For me, this episode shows that the issues we face today in ministry and church have similarities to what the Apostles went through in the first century when Christianity had just started. Issues of discipleship, of giving up, of restoration and encouragement – are all human issues intertwined with spirituality that they faced and we still face today. God was real then, is still real, and will be real in the days to come. The bible records real-life interactions of believers living out their faith for Christ.

But the message this morning is that if we are unfairly judged, there is restoration if we persevere with God. The LORD will exonerate and vindicate us if we remain faithful to Him. John Mark is one of the shining examples. Paul eventually recognised Mark’s contribution to his ministry in his second letter to Timothy when he was in his second imprisonment in Rome, which he wrote just before he was executed.

Do not lose heart or give up if we have been unfairly judged. At the workplace, we often face this issue as some assessments are politically motivated or made to serve certain objectives. One day, the Lord will vindicate us. He will restore our reputation and name. Trust Him and continue in the faith.

Have a great time today worshipping God in the congregation of His people! May we get a personal touch from Him!

Deceivers out there

https://odb.org/2025/01/10/what-scripture-reveals

2 John 4 NIV – 7 I say this because many deceivers who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.

It is undeniable that we are living in the era of the end times, and even ever since the birth of Christianity in the first century, there were and would always be deceivers out there. Some may even be unintentional. Teaching out of the sincerity of their hearts but nevertheless wrong. There are fundamental tenets, and there are those in the peripherals. It is the fundamental teachings that we must always keep and believe in. For example, we can not say that we are children of God if we do not believe that Christ was God in the flesh, that He is the Son of God in the Holy Trinity. If Christ was spirit and not flesh and blood when He walked the earth, then how could He have died for our sins? More crucially, how could He have resurrected from the dead to defeat the devil of the sting of death? It is only flesh and blood who will die and yet will live again. It is the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ that distinguishes us from Judaism and Islam. It is the hope of glory that forms the basis of our faith. If Christ was spirit, we would not, one day, share in His resurrection.

The focus is on the fundamental issues, although there are smaller issues out there. Should we celebrate Christmas and Easter when these were originally allegedly pagan festivals adopted by Christians in the early days of the faith? Why not when the message is more important than the date, especially when we are not worshipping pagan gods but giving all glory to the Father and the Son? Should Christians drink alcohol socially, or should we practise total abstinence? Should we listen to pop or rock, or should we only listen to Christian music? Should we wear makeup and colour our nails? Should we cover our hair? Should we see the doctor or totally depend on God healing us? Should we be vaccinated, or should we trust God to protect us?

We know the principle between the fundamentals and the peripherals. But have we been schooled enough to know for sure what’s the former? Do we know enough to tell what’s black and white, and what’s grey?

I feel the message this morning is that all of us (including myself) should spend time equipping ourselves with the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. We need to know clearly what we believe and at the same time develop a closer walk with Christ and the Holy Spirit. With better knowledge and a deeper relationship with Christ, the devil will not be able to deceive and lead us astray. In time to come, we will be able to see through the hearts of men and sieve out those self-serving preachers peddling the name of God for their own gain, whether for fame or fortune. If their motives are not right, their teachings could be suspect too.

Your love is better than life

https://odb.org/2025/01/09/better-than-life-2

Psalm 63 NIV – 1 You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. 2 I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. 3 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.

There is a beautiful song written by Esther Mui, which she also performs accompanied by Patrick Lim on Psalm 63 – in fact, I am sure there are many others. We learnt and performed this song in church, and occasionally, a worship leader will sing this song to God for worship.

https://youtu.be/REx6twdA-Gk?si=amlZy_7JWaVWEZmd

The question that I used to ask about Psalm 63 is how it is that David could conclude that God’s love is better than life? During David’s time, the Israelites looked at the LORD as their sustenance of and for life. They held onto the Abrahamic Covenant of the promise that if they followed Him and adhered to His laws, He would bless and protect them. The concept of afterlife or eternal life was likely there in the background but not clearly spoken about until Jesus arrived on the scene.

Yet David proclaimed that God’s love was better than life. One possible explanation is that David experienced God’s love in such a personal way that he felt he owed his life and very existence to God. The LORD probably rescued him numerous times from Saul and later Absalom and preserved him in his many battles against the enemies of Israel. Why would God save him time and time again if not for His love for him? In Psalm 23, David declared that surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Proclaiming that God’s love is with him until his dying day and that he will spend eternity (forever) with God. Did David allude to eternal life, or is it just his way of speaking about his eventual death one day?

Be that as it may, what’s crucial to us is that we know Christ and His love for us, having sacrificed His life for us that we may be able to spend eternity with Him and Father God and the Holy Spirit one day. We rightfully should be able to proclaim that His love is better than life! In other words, His love is so powerful as experienced that we would rather be with Him than be here on earth if given a choice. Like Paul said, “to die is gain but to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21, paraphrased).

Can we say as Paul in Philippians 1:21? Can we say like David in Psalm 63:3 that God’s love is better than life? Would we rather die and be with God than live? Are we so confident of where we stand before Christ in the Bema judgment seat of Christ? Things to ponder and reflect upon this morning.

It is finished

https://odb.org/2025/01/08/a-deaf-heart

John19:30 NIV – When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Hebrews 2:9, 14-15 NIV – 9 But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. 14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil —15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

Jesus, even though He was the Son of God in the Holy Trinity, became human, lower than the angels (who are spiritual beings), in order to share in our humanity. He became flesh and blood like us to defeat the devil and the sting of sin, death. In the process, He freed us. Our lives who were held in slavery because of our fear of death. With eternal life, death will not destroy us and keep us in the grave like in the case of Christ. One day, we will rise again and be resurrected into our glorified bodies, just like Christ!

But what I would like to highlight this morning is John 19:30. Jesus declared that – “It is finished.” It is completed and done. His mission on earth, being Immanuel, was accomplished after 33 years on earth. He fulfilled Father God’s plan and purpose for Him. He did not waiver but achieved God’s calling for Him. He responded and followed through to completion.

Are we doing the same thing for our lives? Can we safely and confidently say it is finished one day? Can we say like Paul in 2 Timothy 4:7 that I have fought the good fight? That I have finished the race? I have kept the faith?

It is a journey. A long one. It’s not a spur of the moment thing. It’s not something we could muster out at the last mile, the home stretch. It’s a culmination of our entire life in Christ on earth. We need to start today to call upon the name of Jesus and to heed His calling for our lives. Not at our dying breath. Not at the last moment. Even if we make it through by the grace of God by the strand of our hair, I feel we will be quite lost in eternity. We want the Lord to confidently and comfortably say to us that we have been a good and faithful servant!

Seeing God in His creation

https://odb.org/2025/01/07/seeing-god-in-creation

Job 42 Then Job replied to the Lord: 2 “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.

When we have doubts, we should look at His creation and marvel at His handiwork and craftsmanship. Look at the majestic mountains – snow capped in other places, but filled with much greenery in Malaysia. Look at the clouds and the blue sky and the sea. The sunrise is so magnificently beautiful. Marvel at the pouring rain, giving the much needed sustenance for the ground to yield its crops. In fact, every time I mow the lawn at my old house, I marvel at how fast the grass grows again! I missed mowing for a few weeks over the Christmas and New Year weekends, the triple effort needed!

But what I would like to point out today is what Job said in Job 42:1-3: I know you can do all things. No purpose of yours can be thwarted, meaning to say God’s sovereign will would prevail because He can do all things. Job concludes that in grumbling about his situation, he was speaking of things he did not understand, as God has a plan and His own timing. Those plans are the things that are too wonderful for him to understand.

We know God can do all things. When we look at His creation, we are astounded by His glorious power. Yet we know nature will run its course. You plunge a knife into a man’s heart, you will kill him. If you add salt to a glass of water, the water becomes salty. Yet sometimes we want to believe otherwise, like when we are stricken with illness or a misfortune befalls us. Can God do all things? Yes, He could, but nature will run its course. Will we blame God if He has not healed us? Will we blame God if He did not perform a miracle for us? Job said that he spoke of things he did not understand. Ultimately, as mere humans, as much as Jesus loves us, we submit and conform to His will. He knows best, and we know that His plans for us are to prosper us (for our good) and not to harm us but to give us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).

When we say we know that God can do all things, we must accept and trust that He knows best, and He knows what’s best for us. If it’s tough, He has a purpose. If it’s filled with hurdles, hardship, tears, and pain, He has a purpose. The light will come at the end of the tunnel because we know that we have all eternity with Him in Christ. That’s what really matters, at the end of the day. Don’t ever lose sight of that, come what may!

Epiphany

https://odb.org/2025/01/06/little-town-of-bethlehem

Today, January 6, is the day the church celebrates Ephiphany (also known as the Feast of Ephiphany) to commensurate the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles through the Magi from the East, who travelled to Bethlehem following a star and presented baby Jesus with gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The Magi were likely astrologers from a place, possibly modern-day Iraq or Iran, and reflects that God’s grace through His Son, Jesus Christ, as encapsulated by John 3:16 is for all humanity and not only to Israel eventhough Christ first ministry were to the Jews. Jesus Christ came for everyone.

John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”.

Ephiphany is similar to revelation in the sense that there is a revealing scene or moments or that something is revealed. Yet it is different when it means the manifestation of a divine being, a sense not shared by revelation.

Let’s praise God for raising up Apostle Paul, whose primary goal in life was to preach Christ crucified and resurrected, particularly to the Gentiles, notably the Greek world, then existing in the first century. Western Europe was the centre of Western civilisation, and if the faith had not penetrated the Western world, Christianity would have remained a sect within Judaism and would have died a natural death as can be seen in modern day Israel. That is why the New Testament was written in Greek as opposed to Hebrew of the Old Testament.

Praise the Lord that Paul made the stand that new Gentile believers need not embrace Jewish customs to be accepted into the Kingdom of God. In fact, what started as a sect of Judaism began to be known as Christianity or its followers Christians in Antioch, the city from which Paul started his first missionary journey.

As the church celebrates Ephiphany, let us give all glory to God for His love, grace, and mercy that nations and communities from the world over have known Him through generations, enriching our lives with heavenly blessings while enjoying a communion that one day will extend beyond this natural realm into the new heaven and new earth where God in all His glory will dwell among His people.

As a Malaysian of Chinese ancestry that stretched hundreds of years in the Nusantara archipelago, I am indeed most grateful and thankful that the grace of God touched our family, my deceased parents, myself, my wife and our children. I pray that His grace will extend for generations to come in our families until He returns to this earth as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Amen!

You, O Lord, know everything about me

https://odb.org/2025/01/05/god-knows-everything

Psalm 139 NIV – 1 You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue, you, Lord, know it completely.

We know that God is omniscient. He, being God, knows everything, and that includes everything about us. Our inner thoughts. Our desires and wants. Our dreams and fantasies. Our ambitions. To those on the verge of retirement, God knows our retirement plans of how we hope to fund our retirement by the grace of God. How to take care of our health as we grow older and face more health issues. How we would need to have a balanced diet with less carbs and sugar and more fibre. How we would need a life filled with exercise and less stress. Of serving God in perhaps a different capacity. Of going for travel and mission trips.

Unlike people, whom we may deceive with our fake smile and positive demeanour, we can not deceive God. This is because He knows our heart and motivation. He knows whether we are sincere or are faking it. Nevertheless, He is gracious and forgiving. His steadfast love never ceases. It is renewed like dew every morning. His faithfulness endures forever.

This morning, I just like to remind us to do everything for God in all sincerity. Respond to His calling for our lives. Live our lives for Him. To fulfil His plans and purposes for our lives. We can not live a double life anymore. Living a holy and righteous life in church, but a selfish and self-serving life elsewhere. We need to be real and genuine before God. Don’t wear masks anymore to conceal our true self to the world. Don’t delay anymore. The time will come when we have nothing to do anymore with the realm of the living. At that time, we could not do anything for Jesus, even if we wanted to. In fact, Jesus taught us this before:

John 9:4: “I must work the works of Him that sent Me while it is day; the night cometh when no man can work”

Have a good Sunday worship service today! Fellowship with the congregation. Meet up with friends in church. Be real and sincere before God and man. Encourage and support each other for the glory of God, for His Kingdom’s sake. Pray, worship, and reflect on where we are in God today and where we want to be this 2025! Pray for a life changing spiritual encounter with the Holy Spirit!

Fear of the unknown

https://odb.org/2025/01/03/fear-of-the-unknown-2

John 16 – 33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

As we enter 2025, some of us may feel some apprehension of what lies ahead. Like these past few years, the mood is sombre, rather than upbeat. Instead of feeling that we can conquer the world, we feel a little defeated, perhaps overwhelmed. The reason is real. Things are getting increasingly expensive. A bowl of noodles now costs around RM8.50 to RM9.00 when it was RM5.00 to RM6.00 just a few years back before Covid. You go to a mixed rice shop and order a few dishes, and it is around RM12.00. Tenaga recently announced an increase in electricity tariffs, which is perplexing when it is making billions in profits, to be precise, RM2.27 billion in 2023.

Unfortunately, our salaries are either stagnant or increasing at a snail’s pace. It is not uncommon nowadays to have 1% salary increment. That means if we made RM5,000 a month last year, we would make RM5,050 this year. Certainly worrying if we are starting out. Will our jobs be safe? How will we provide for our families this 2025? Will we be giving out RM5, RM10, or RM20 ang pows this coming Chinese New Year?

As a believer of Jesus, He anticipated that we would experience trouble. Like everyone else, but even more because we hold on to our Godly principles to be righteous before God. But His promise is that He has overcome the world, meaning He has defeated the ruler of the world through His victory on the cross. He told us before not to fear those who destroy our bodies but fear Him who is able to destroy our soul. (Matthew 10:28: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but can not kill the soul; but rather be afraid of Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”)

We have the promise of eternal life. We are assured of where we will be when our skin and flesh perish. We may die but will live because of Jesus Christ – He is the resurrection and the life! On top of all that, He lives in us and is there with us whatever we may be going through.

No matter what 2025 brings, we put our trust and hope in Christ. We trust it will be good for us, but even if not, Christ will find a way to bring us forward. Most importantly, we keep our soul and faith intact. He will make all things beautiful in His time (Ecclesiastes 3:11) and in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). His Word shall be a lamp unto our paths and will make our paths straight even as 2025 is predicted to be choppy waters. Let Jesus hold our hands and guide us along in 2025 as we look to the Holy Spirit for support and encouragement!

Restoration amidst ruins

https://odb.org/2025/01/02/a-promise-beyond-the-ruins

Isaiah 51: The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.

Sometimes, we ask ourselves why certain events happen? Why do natural disasters continue to occur in the world, bringing destruction and misery to many, including loss of life? In fact, some question why God didn’t intervene to prevent such calamities  and protect human life and property? Often, if we look carefully, it is mankind who chose to build civilisations close to where trade and commerce thrive, which are usually along coastal lines that are exposed to the open seas. Or along deltas of major rivers which habitually flood its banks. The flooding brings fertility to the soil, and that attracts human economic activities. Common traits of the Irrawady and Mekong basins, for example.

But as believers, we sometimes question even deeper. Why God didn’t save His people? Why did He allow road accidents to occur? Or household fire or mass murders of church congregations? Or why allow us to go through tough times when we are living in the centre of His will? There are no easy answers here. But as history has shown in His interactions with Zion, He allowed Israel to be overrun for her sins and transgressions, but He never let them remain desolate and transgressed. He always returns to turn her deserts into Eden, her wastelands into the garden of the LORD where joy and gladness, thanksgiving, and singing will be found! That’s His promise! He will turn our disasters, whether spiritual or natural, into peace and joy. Our dry bones into living beings with breath. Our dead spiritual lives into thriving and strong spiritual forces to wage war in the unseen realm!

Let our life disasters and past mistakes be annals of history and let us move forward to conquer new lands as God opens up new opportunities for us, whether at work or in ministry, as long as the Lord leads the way! Let us be freed from the shackles of sin and our past baggage and move forward in the Lord! Amen!

Happy New Year 2025 – our Jesus story

https://odb.org/2025/01/01/the-jesus-story

As 2025 arrives and the train of time rolls on forth, remember that time waits for no man, but Jesus Christ is our Lord and Saviour. Christ came to give us the gift of salvation by dying on the cross for our sins. It is by the grace of God that we are saved. Yet faith without works is dead.

There is a Jesus story in each and every one of us. How we got to know Him? How we had a spiritual encounter with Him? With the help of the Holy Spirit, how we have grown closer to Jesus and Father God? It’s a story that transcends all believers in the sense that we all experienced it, and yet each of us has our unique story to tell. It’s a story that we wrote together with Christ. It’s the story of our life, of who we are in Christ. Of how far have we walked the narrow path. The distractions, the falling off the path. Of how sometimes we give in to sin and temptation and fall. But we did not remain fallen. We picked ourselves up and called upon His name. We sought His forgiveness, and we repented of our indiscretions. With Christ living in us, we want to continue to write our Jesus story with Him.

It is my prayer for all of us that we will continue to write our Jesus story in 2025 in a more fervent fashion. That we will live in the centre of His will. That we will be fulfilling His plans and purposes for our lives as much as we are living in this world but not of this world. That we will continue to serve God faithfully in His Kingdom of Grace.

Have a great 2025, everyone! May the peace of God, His grace and mercy, and goodness fill us, and may we dwell in His sweet presence every day in 2025 and for the rest of our days here on earth! Happy and blessed New Year!