We need to cultivate our own garden

https://odb.org/2025/02/06/a-cultivating-life

Genesis 2:4–9, 15 (NIV): 4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the LORD God made the earth and the heavens. 5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. 8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

In the beginning, when the LORD God created man and the earth, He created a specific garden in the East for man to live in. Up till Genesis 2:15, the man was still alone. It was only in the subsequent verses that the woman was created from his rib to be his companion. But the point is that God had instructed man to work and take care of the Garden of Eden with its plants and vegetation.

Anyone who has had a garden will know that trees and plants, including unwanted weeds and invasive species, will grow naturally so long as there is sunlight and rain. God has made it that way since the beginning. Thus, if we want something specific from our garden, we need to plant and cultivate it, and it will grow and bear fruit. For example, papaya or banana trees. Every other creature in the vicinity of the garden will also want to have the fruits of the trees we plant, and thus, we need to take steps to secure and protect them. If not, in the case of my garden, the birds of the air or squirrels or monkeys will devour them.

The Garden of Eden is a picture of our spiritual life. Like Adam and Eve as the first humans who needed to work and cultivate Eden, we need to do the same for our spiritual life. We need to secure the fruits that come with hearing and obeying the Word of God, or else the evil one will come and snatch it away. In fact, if we are not careful, as Jesus has taught us before in the Parable of the Sower, the Word may be taken away by the devil and his minions. Or if we allow weeds (cares of life) to grow in our garden (spiritual life), the weeds will choke the life out of the plants that are growing. In other words, we will get distracted, and the plans and purposes of God will not be achieved in our lives. Instead of serving God, we will serve our own desires of the flesh. See Luke 8:4-15 for the full details.

As I have written before in these pages, we have a responsibility to work and take care of our spiritual life. In fact, we need to work and take care of the garden (or land) God has given us, our inheritance in Him, and that includes His plans and purposes for our lives. Not just our eternal life but the things He has prepared for us during our lifetime on this earth since the foundations of the world.

Focus on Jesus

https://odb.org/2025/02/05/dont-miss-the-point

John 5:36–40 (NIV): 36 “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, 38 nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. 39 You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

In John 5:36-40, Jesus was basically telling the Jewish religious authorities then that in focusing on the law, they missed out on the Scriptures that spoke about Him as the Messiah or Christ. They studied the Scriptures to have eternal life and yet refused to go to Him to have eternal life when He is the way, the truth, and the life. In a similar fashion, the writer of today’s ODB missed her highway exit when she focussed too much on overtaking to get to her lane for the exit! Often, when it comes to highway exits, slowing down to change lanes to exit is a much better strategy than overtaking.

Serving God is definitely one of our obligations and responsibilities as a believer of Christ. Not for fame or fortune. But because we love Him and we want to repay Him with gratitude for what Christ did for us on Calvary, resetting us on a trajectory that will end in eternal life. We want Christ to commend us at the end that we have been a good and faithful servant. That having responded to His calling, we have been faithful to His plans and purposes for our lives. Not so much our achievements in ministry, but did we do the tasks we were supposed to do? If, as a soldier, we are to be a sentry at a guard post, are we measured by how many enemy soldiers we eliminated? Surely, the KPI of a sentry differs from that of a sniper.

The point this morning, however, is a little bit more subtle. It is well and good if we are faithfully and diligently serving God and fulfilling His plans and purposes for our lives. That’s our goal and KPI. But is Christian life all about that only? Surely not! Our faith is more about Christ and our relationship with Him. We serve Him, but we also need to relate to Him. In fact, that’s more fundamental. God created Adam and Eve so that He may fellowship and relate to mankind, unlike the beasts of the earth or the birds of the air. In the same rein, Christ saved us, so we may have fellowship with Him and the Father.

Let’s pause for a moment and consider where we are in Christ. It is better to slow down to change lanes to get to the exit than to overtake to change lanes! Slow down a little and enjoy moments of fellowship with Jesus Christ, our Lord, and Saviour!

You have set my feet in a spacious place

https://odb.org/2025/02/04/a-spacious-place

Psalm 31 NIV – 8 You have not given me into the hands of the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place.

The moment we are born onto this earth, we face a narrowing space in terms of our life here on earth. We all have our respective expiry dates as God gives each of us a specific period to live out our lives. During that narrowing space, we will find our place in this world. Some of us get married and have someone close to us for the rest of our lives. As the Chinese say, we grow old together – exploring and discovering life together with its challenges, beauty, and joy. But as each of us are individuals, we have our own narrowing space. It may or may not be aligned even between spouses and loved ones.

We know from the Word of God that our narrowing space is due to the original sin by Adam and Eve deceived by the Devil in the form of a serpent leading to them taking a bite of the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They only had one rule in Eden, and that was not to eat from that tree, and yet man, with his curious and doubting nature, was taken advantage of by Satan.

God loved us so much that He sent His only son to die for our sins, and as a result, we are now reconciled back to God through our faith in Jesus Christ. The Lamb of God, the Son of Man, redeemed our souls once and for all! From the narrowing space, we now have a spacious space as spoken and sung by David in Psalm 31:8. It is spacious because it lasts forever. It is eternal notwithstanding that our space here on earth is narrowing. It gives us joy and hope instead of hopelessness and despair. No matter what we are facing now, some of us may already be in old age, we have the assurance that we will not fade away into nothingness like the flowers in the field that wither and die. We will return to the earth as dust as God made us from dust, but our spirit will live on forever in Christ, and one day, we will be resurrected in our glorified bodies and live in the new heaven and new earth where God will dwell amongst His people once again. It will be like the Eden at creation again!

Let our countenance be lifted up even if we are discouraged by the circumstances of our lives. Life can sometimes be boring as it may be the same old, same old. Discover and fulfil God’s purposes and plans for our lives and live in the centre of His will! I am sure we will face exciting and exhilarating times! It is Tuesday only today! 6 more days of this week is ahead of us! Make full use of our given narrowing time here on earth to serve and glorify His name in Christ Jesus! Always be reminded that Christ has gone ahead to prepare a spacious place for us as His Father’s mansion has many rooms!

Humility before God

https://odb.org/2025/02/03/we-are-lowly-and-loved

I am sure we all know by now one secret to the heart of God, and that is to be humble before Him. God loves the humble but hates the proud.

You can see this in Psalm 138:6 ESV – For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar. If you refer to James 4:6 NIV, James was even more direct – “God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble.”

We may say that the life of Saul and David is a contrast between the humble and the proud. While Saul took matters into his own hands and offered the burnt offering to God himself, David fought Goliath when he was still in his youth. Saul thought that as King, he was entitled not to wait for Samuel, the prophet and priest, in the sense that Saul probably treated the offering as just a formality to be complied with customarily.

But in contrast, David depended totally on God when he faced the giant Goliath (who was either 6′ 9″ or 9′ 9″). David repented of his sin when Prophet Nathan confronted him on his adultery with Bethsheba. In the end, it was Bethsheba’s son, Solomon, the wisest man alive then and probably the wisest ever lived, who carried on David’s legacy and formed the lineage that our Lord Jesus Christ, the one and only Son of God, came to earth as our Saviour and Lord. Repentance is humility before God and can turn sin into victory.

As humans and even as believers, we have a tendency to tell others of our achievements. We want to show that we have done something meaningful with our lives. In the process, we may overdo it and become proud. Pride comes because we think we did it with our own strength and ability. In most cases, it is because God blesses us that we are who we are today. The opportunity came about because God brought it into our lives. Perhaps our part is to take up the opportunity that God made available. That may have required courage and boldness. It may have been a step of faith. Remember the parable of the rich man? He had so much grain to last for many months and decided to tear down the old barns to build new ones and enjoy life. But that very night, God took his life.

In the end, who holds the keys to our continued success and prosperity? Our business may not grow bigger and bigger each year. That is why it is always prudent to give thanks to God and always have savings for the rainy days.

The message this morning is that if we feel deep down inside us that our success today is entirely our own doing, we are being proud. To be humble, we need to acknowledge and know that a lot of who we are and where we are is because of the goodness, providence, blessings, and grace of God. Remember, the LORD opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble. Why would we want God to be against us?

The LORD, our sure foundation

https://odb.org/2025/01/28/foundations

Isaiah 33: 5-6 NIV – The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness. 6 He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.

Unless we are a civil engineer constructing buildings, few of us will have experience or even knowledge building foundations to buildings. Generally, a simple foundation like spread (column) footing is required for our usual two or even three story residential houses, subject to soil conditions (see below). Piling is usually only required for high rises. The idea is to spread the load evenly across the floor to avoid cracks at the walls in the future. The foundation is thus built in the present for the future to ensure longevity of the building so that it will stand the loads and elements for hundreds of years to come.

Similarly, our spiritual life also requires a good foundation in the present for the future, that it may withstand the test of time and the trials and tribulations that life brings us. The difference between our spiritual foundation and the foundations of buildings is that the latter is only built once, whereas the foundation for our faith may be continually built upon by God for our future life in Him.

Jesus taught us the need for a good foundation clearly in Matthew 7:24-27 ESV:

24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

We need to build our faith on Jesus as the Rock by hearing His words and doing them so that when the rain falls and floods come and the wind blows and beats the house (our faith), we will not fall. In other words, our faith must be sincere, real, and genuine. Not just saying the Sinner’s prayer, although that’s an excellent start but living out our faith in God with an ongoing relationship and communion with the LORD in Christ. We need to obey His words and do them. We need to invest time to do our quiet time, to pray, and to grow in our knowledge of God and our Lord Jesus Christ. We need to serve Him with our good works and see our faith and the spiritual realm supernaturally interact with the natural and experience His healing, signs, and wonders and miracles. We will experience the reality of God as we see our prayers coming to pass, one by one!

Happy Chinese New Year Eve! Xin Nian Kuai Le! As we celebrate and enjoy our reunion dinner or lunches today or tomorrow, may we always give glory and thanks to the LORD our God, our sure foundation, our rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord, for He is good, all the time!

Elisha and the widow

https://odb.org/2025/01/27/blessed-to-be-a-blessing

2 Kings 4:1–7 (ESV): 4 Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” 2 And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” 3 Then he said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few. 4 Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside.” 5 So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her. 6 When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another.” Then the oil stopped flowing. 7 She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest.”

The key to the widow receiving God’s blessings of the oil that continuously flowed in 2 Kings 4:1-7 is the availability of the empty jars. The oil only stopped pouring when there were no more empty jars to fill. It speaks of obedience to God’s Word as spoken by His prophet Elisha. But more importantly, it speaks of the containment of God’s blessings. God will continue His blessings as long as we may contain them in terms of the size and the number of empty vessels (our hearts and our lives) available.

In the Bible, oil symbolises the anointing of God. Thus, a simple and direct application of 2 Kings 4:1-7 is that our anointing in God will continue to flow so long as we continue to exercise it. The more we pray, the more blessings will flow whether it is healing or word of knowledge or prophesy or words of exaltation and encouragement. The more we preach, the more lives will be touched, whether in terms of witnessing or from the pulpit. In terms of our finances, the more we give, the more God will bless us. Not necessarily to the church only but also to worthy causes, for missions, for the sake of the Gospel or to the needy and poor. Whatever unique talents and giftings God has given us, the more we use them to bless others, even more will be given to us. Jesus taught us this in the parable of the Talents:

Matthew 25:29 NLT – To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.

Have a great week ahead, everyone! Have a wonderful Chinese New Year celebration with our family and loved ones to all who are celebrating! Xin Nian Kuai Le! May we all dwell in the infinite and everflowing blessings of the LORD in 2025 as we use the talents and riches He has blessed us with to help and bless those around us!

True wisdom

https://odb.org/2025/01/26/true-fear

Proverbs 2:1–11 (ESV): 1 My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, 2 making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; 3 yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, 4 if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures,
5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.

When I was a young believer, I couldn’t understand why anyone would struggle to choose wisdom over riches as, ultimately, with wisdom, you will get riches. It’s a no-brainer. It’s as easy as ABC. In other words, you don’t really need the wisest man in the world then, Solomon, to tell you this.

But wisdom is not just intelligence and being wise. True wisdom encompasses more than just the intellect. In the working world, we know that smart is not just academic ability but also street smartness, and that includes the ability to read situations, trends, body language, and people’s unwritten and unspoken preferences and aspirations. IQ, as well as EQ, and making the best of our own personality traits.

But the wisdom in the Bible that Solomon advocates is actually simpler than all that. From Proverbs to Ecclesiastes, in the end, Solomon concludes that true wisdom is the ability to choose God over everything else. In Proverbs 2:4-5, Solomon teaches that if you seek it like silver and search for it like hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.

It is simple, yet God chose Solomon to teach it. Why God wanted the richest and smartest and wisest man then and possibly ever to teach it? Because the natural tendency for man (English caselaw uses the phrase “the man on the Clapham omnibus’) is to go the other way. We will seek riches first, instead of God, as we may somehow believe that in seeking God first, we will never be rich, or we could never be as rich as we could be. Perhaps we are of the view that money could solve anything and everything, and thus, having money is the key to a good and happy life. While there is some truth to it, people who have gone down this path always advise that things that can not be solved with money are the toughest of all things. Meaning to say that money can not solve all things.

Jesus taught it brilliantly in Matthew 6:33 – “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” It is the same wisdom taught centuries before by Solomon during ancient times. Choose God, and everything else will come into place. Jesus went on to say in Matthew 16:26 for what profits a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul? In Matthew 13:44, Jesus taught the following:

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

In other words, our soul and our eternal life are worth everything we have and more! In fact, if everything we have is the whole world, it is worth more than that!

It is OK if we are not Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk or Bill Gates or Warren Buffet, or even that family down the road. We live by and in accordance with what we have and what God has blessed us with, knowing and always appreciating that the real blessing from God is His gift of salvation for us and our loved ones. That’s what matters most. Always choose God and put Him first in all things! That’s the wisdom taught by the Word of God.

Have a good Sunday service today! May we all see Him face to face in the spirit in worship!

Christ matters most

https://odb.org/2025/01/24/what-matters-most-4

Colossians 2:6–12 (ESV): 6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

I think most of us would have gone past the stage in our Christian walk when we were told not to watch Hollywood movies and television or listen to secular music or songs, if ever we had such a stage in our walk of faith. There was a time when I was taught not to even read other Christian books or publications as I might get confused. As much as shielding young believers from the myriad of ideas and thoughts outside may prevent confusion, I have established from my own experience that allowing independent exploration of thoughts, even in the context of our faith, is the best approach to gaining knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The real world is not black and white. The ability to stand firm in the blurred lines of grey is thus essential for the long-term survival of our faith. How we manoeuvre amidst the different thoughts and ideas out there is the real test of our faith and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, we may indeed be confused and may lose our way. But if we seek the Lord hard enough, He will be found. The truth will prevail in the end. That’s what I believe in.

That is why Paul advises us in Colossians 2:6 to be rooted and built up in Christ and be established in our faith. We need to put effort in to learn more about Christ and our faith so that we will not be swayed by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world (spirits associated with earth, wind, fire and water as Paul’s way of referring to the evil side of the spiritual realm).

Nowadays, I look at movies and television content as mostly fictional work conjured up by creative writers and played out by talented actors. So yes, I can see certain worldly ideas perpetuated like violence and sex or that what matters most is our happiness. The latter is particularly dangerous as it champions the idea that we may change our spouse based on our happiness when the Christian principle is to be married to one for life. Obviously, Hollywood or content writers write based on their own prevailing worldview. For example, the pressure to be inclusive has led to many Netflix movies portraying same sex relationships as something normal and acceptable.

Personally, I draw the line with the horror genre as I believe that there are dark spiritual elements in play there. As much as I know werewolves and vampires are purely fictional and folklore, other aspects of the horror genre may be based on some reality of that realm. I hold on to the fact that – greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4). But we also know that as children of the light, we are not to dabble in the occultic and dark forces. The avoidance of the horror genre is my own personal conviction and is not a teaching on the fundamentals of our faith.

The message this morning is that Christ matters most, not our happiness or wellbeing. Pursue and focus on the eternal as much as we need to live in the present and in the natural. Make sure that the latter does not take precedence over the former, and we should be fine.

Treasure chest

https://odb.org/2025/01/23/treasure-chest

2 Corinthians 4:16–18 (ESV): 16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

I think it is really encouraging that if we have someone we love who suffers from dementia that God has a treasure chest of his memories in heaven. Dementia is really sad and debilitating. The sufferer lives physically healthy but forgets his past. If he meets you today, tomorrow he will forget who you are or that he had even met you.

It is difficult as sometimes it is the memories of the past that keep us going for the future. Our younger times when growing up, doing silly things. Our courtship days. Our days at college or university. Our first bible study. Our first introduction to the Word of God. The birth of our babies and their infant days. Feeding them milk in the middle of the night. Our children’s school speech days and concerts and sports days. Our trips holidaying as a family. Basically, the longer we live, the more memories we have. Most we cherish, some we rather forget, but at least we can bring them back to remembrance. Alas, a dementia patient loses that ability. But our LORD has kept them in a treasure box for him or her! Praise the Lord, indeed, for His goodness and grace!

We live for the unseen as the things that are seen are transient and temporal. They are beautiful and functional. But as things age, they break down, and after years of neglect, they lose their lustre. Consumerism encourages us to discard the old and buy new ones. Moments are even more fleeting. They come and they go. Lost forever. Not everything may be preserved for posterity. Only the Word of God will be perpetual and will outlive even time.

This morning, while we are still mentally well and good, treasure the memories of the past, with our loved ones and with God. If possible, create more memories in the days to come. With our children and grandchildren, with Christ as we walk with Him. Make them memorable. Maybe we can not remember all of them, but God has kept for us in heaven a treasure chest of all our memories. Even if we were to lose them in the natural, we will get them all back in the eternal! Amen! Hallelujah!

Recognising God

https://odb.org/2025/01/22/recognizing-god

Hebrews 1:1–4 (ESV): 1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

During ancient times, God spoke through His prophets. They were the likes of Isaiah, Ezekial, Jeremiah, and Daniel. Later, God had people like Hosea, Joel, Amos, Ezra, Jonah, Zechariah, and many others. The LORD also passed down the 10 Commandments through Moses at Mount Sinai.

But in modern times, God sent His only begotten Son so that whosever believed in Him shall not perish but have life eternal. Thus, He spoke through the words, deeds, and life of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. The Immanuel of God who became flesh and blood and yet without sin to die for the sins of mankind and rose victorious over sin and death. That is why the Apostles preach Christ crucified and resurrected.

Because of the Holy Spirit, given by God to us believers after Jesus ascended to heaven to be at the right hand of the Father, we are able to pray and hear the voice of God too. As much as we can see God, through Jesus as recorded and depicted by the writers of the Gospel, we can also see God as He speaks to us through Scriptures. We need to pray and learn to recognise the voice of God as He speaks to us to encourage and support us to live out our faith and fulfil His plans and purposes for our lives.

The message this morning is that we need to recognise God in our lives. Recognise His voice in Scriptures and as He speaks through the Holy Spirit. Recognise Him through His creation, through nature and the events that occur in our lives. Recognise Him in our trials and tribulations. Recognise His hands working in us, moulding us to be more Christ-like each day.

In these last days, the devil will double up efforts to mislead believers to distract us from the narrow road. Therefore, we need to be vigilant against the tricks and snares of the evil one. Recognising God’s voice is our best defence and offence against the devil.

His sheep will know His voice as He is the good shepherd, and we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Always take heed of the prompting of the Holy Spirit.