The perfect gift

https://odb.org/2024/12/10/the-perfect-gift-3

Acts 3:6 NIV – Then Peter said, “Silver or gold, I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

As we prepare for Christmas in the coming weeks and as 2024 comes to an end, and as we ponder on the gifts we want to give to our loved ones, always remember that the best gift of them all is Jesus Christ! This is because Christ holds the keys to Hades and death (Revelation 1:8) and is the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). We are saved and justified by our faith in Christ Jesus.

Acts 3:6 is significant as it was the first time the Apostles, in this case, Peter and John, performed a miracle that is characteristic of the miracles performed before Christ died, rose again and ascended to heaven. They enabled healing of a man lame from birth, reminiscent of Jesus’s “the blind will see, and the lame will walk.”

The Holy Spirit, as promised by Christ, had descended on the day of Pentecost and filled the believers with power from above, anointing, and boldness to proclaim the gospel of truth, to perform miracles and operate in signs and wonders. The other thing is that unlike Jesus, who performed miracles on His own anointing and power as the Son of God, the Apostles did so in the name of Jesus Christ. Thus, in the context of the era of the Acts of the Apostles, silver and gold they did not have, but what they had, they called out for the lame man to walk – in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth!

In our contemporary context, we may have silver and gold, but what’s pertinent for us to give is still Jesus Christ. We should not be precluded from giving away our money, time, and talents/giftings to help those in need and to serve God, yet the most precious gift is still our Lord Jesus Christ.

May the Holy Spirit, as seen in the book of Acts, be upon us that we may be emboldened to preach Christ crucified and resurrected this Christmas season and to pray for the sick and needy in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! May we share Christ at least once before 2024 comes to a close and glorify the name of our Father in heaven! Amen!

For I am with you, says the LORD

https://odb.org/2024/12/09/encouragement-in-a-box

As we are not creatures of the water, passing through deep waters is always risky and to some even a dangerous endeavour. It is thus a good picture of what could lie ahead in life. We may be the cautious kind and only walk on dry land and avoid rivers or sea, but life, especially life in Christ, can not be lived without taking some risks. This is because we live by faith, and faith is believing in things unseen. Often, we need to take a leap of faith, trusting that our Lord will be there to let us have a soft landing. Sometimes, we do get hurt a little, but we pray that it will heal over time.

We trust that, as Paul has taught, our God will make all things good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). Things will work out so long as we are moving in the general direction of His will for our lives. Things will work out if we do things for the sake of His kingdom as we take Jesus’s advice to seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these shall be added unto you. 

The exaltation for us this morning and for this week is that the LORD will be with us. In Isaiah 43:5, speaking to the Israelites, the LORD said, “Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west“. The LORD had a similar reassurance to Joshua when he was leading the Israelites and was about to enter the Promised Land of Canaan – “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).

Do not be afraid to live out the life the LORD our God has planned for us since the foundations of the world. For He is with us wherever we go. Jesus Christ has redeemed us. We are a new creation in Christ. Allow Him to sanctify our dreams and ambitions. May we dwell in the house of the Lord forever, and may the goodness and mercy of God be with us the rest of our days! Amen!

Have a good week ahead, everyone! Strive and press on ahead and live our lives for the Lord, in the fullness of His will!

Christmas comes early

https://odb.org/2024/12/06/the-spirit-of-christmas-2

Matthew 25 NIV – 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

When we use the phrase “Chrismas comes early,” we mean that we had received an unexpected blessing or present as Christmas represents a time of blessing in its tradition of giving and exchanging gifts.

But today, on 6th December 2024, we mean that we are going to talk about Christmas, although we are still 19 days away.

What comes to mind when we think of Christmas? Usually, it’s the preparation for the Christmas presentation on Christmas day for most of us who are active in church. It’s a hectic time of practice, decorations, and costumes. This year, I’ll be leading worship, so I would have to prepare way in advance since Christmas is on a Wednesday this year. Music practice has to be on Sunday afternoon after the church service on 22nd December. I’m sure there will be some clash since the Christmas presentation team will also want that slot.

When I was growing up, however, Christmas was a time of just chilling and getting presents. We were Christians by heritage. My family did not go to church, yet we celebrate Christmas. Since it was the year-end holiday season with no school, it was really a nice time of festivities. We get to eat nicer, specially prepared meals, listening to Christmas carols and songs and some nice terrestrial TV programmes on Christmas day (it was before the advent of satellite TV).

Matthew 25 above teaches about our inheritance in the Kingdom of God, and we will get ours when we fed Jesus when He was hungry, when we gave Him a drink when He was thristy and when we clothed Him when He needed clothes or we visited Him when He was in prison or cared for Him when He was sick. In the later verses, Jesus explained that whenever we did all those things to the least of His brethren, we did that to Him.

This year, as Christmas approaches, let us get into the true spirit of Christmas. Let’s celebrate the birth of Christ that brought salvation to the world, ushering love, peace, and joy – by helping those in need. The needy, the weak, and the oppressed always have a special place in God’s heart. What better way to the heart of the Lord by helping out those who are dear to Him? Let’s bring the joy of Christmas to those who are less fortunate around us! Amen!

Pray in God’s will

https://odb.org/2024/12/05/a-prayer-for-gods-will

Luke 22 NIV – 41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

Luke 11 NIV – 9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Fundamental to our faith is the ability to connect with God through prayer as we have been reconciled to God through the blood of Christ and the grace of God. Thus, Luke 11:9-10 encapsulates the spiritual principle that if we pray for something, God will answer. If not immediately, eventually, in His time. However, girding this principle is a more rudimentary principle, and that is God’s will. God will surely answer our prayer if it is in His will. In fact, even things we didn’t pray for He will provide as part of His will. Thus, for example, if we pray to serve Him as a missionary and that is His will for our lives, He will not only answer but will provide all the means for our prayer to be fulfilled.

When it comes to God’s will, there are a few as I was taught over the years. The first is the sovereign will of God. Like Jesus being from the lineage of the House of David. No matter what man does, that lineage will materialise. Or the birth of Christ in Bethlehem, a city that is 10km south from Jerusalem. Coincidently, in my trip to the Holy Land in 2013, we stayed in Bethlehem, which in today’s political delineation is actually in the Palestinian territory of the West Bank.

The second is the general will of God in the sense that these are things all believers conform to as part of our faith. For example, we go to church on Sundays to attend worship services. There is no need to ask if it is God’s will that we attend church on Sunday! It’s a given as part of the tenets of who we are as believers. Should we be kind, forgiving, compassionate, selfless, loving, joyful people? Of course!

Then there’s the specific will of God for us. His plans and purposes for our lives. The unique talents and giftings for us to serve Him in His Kingdom. That is the talent Jesus was talking about in the parable of the talents. We are stewards of God’s blessings for us. Do we hide them all, or do we use and multiple them for the Kingdom of God?

As we go deeper into the will of God and pray, we will see and realise that prayer is less about us than others. If we pray for the sake of the Kingdom or for the Kingdom, it is more likely to be in God’s will. Yet, God is personal and loves us as His children. There are things He will give us because we asked. Sometimes, it is to find that elusive parking lot in One Utama. At times, it is to heal us of our infirmities. At other times, it is the strength to keep walking the narrow path. I think the best way to pray is to know God. If we know His heartbeat, we can surely pray in His will!

Chernobyl and life eternal

https://odb.org/2024/12/04/when-life-appeared

A few years back, I saw a very touching and outstanding documentary on life in Chernobyl. Because of the nuclear leaks and the resulting deadly radioactive contamination in 1986, people and animals there had either left or were killed, leaving behind signs of everyday life but devoid of life. Thus, you have left behind homes with food on the table or a fully equipped kitchen with unwashed dishes, full furniture in houses. But no life at all. It was through efforts as described in today’s ODB article that the radioactive waste was eventually disposed of. Nevertheless, there were radiation residuals, and until today, Chernobyl is unhabited by people.

However, after more than 35 years, there are now signs of life. You can find hordes of deer in its midst. Trees and other vegetation have grown around the abandoned houses. There are foxes and even wolves roaming the streets. Void of human activities, Chernobyl has become a wildlife haven, including birds, insects, and bisons and wild horses. You may google it. There is an abundance of information on the Chernobyl Nuclear Exclusion Zone in Ukraine.

Because of the work of Jesus on the cross of Calvary and the grace of God, we have eternal life. But what is that actually? We will live on even though we may pass away and die and be cut off entirely from the land of the living. Once life is taken from us, we will only be left in our human bodies, which will rot away and return to the earth. We can no longer participate in the affairs of this world. A different world awaits us in the realm of the dead. Life and death are in the hands of God.

As believers in Christ, we have the hope that one day we will be resurrected like Christ did 2,000 years ago. We will be raptured to meet Christ in the air to usher in His return and rule on this earth. That’s not the end of time. Other events have been prophesied and will occur before judgment day, and there will be the Bema judgment seat of Christ for believers and the Great White Throne judgment of God for the rest of humanity. The consequences are significantly different. But at the end of it all, there will be the new heaven and new earth where the world we know today will live on, albeit in the form without sin and sorrow anymore. The spiritual and the natural will be merged together. It will be somewhat like Chernobyl refreshed and renewed but much, much more! That’s the hope all believers put their faith on, that if we are all in Christ until the very end, we will one day be reunited with our loved ones who had passed on in Christ in the past.

Even as kings and billionaires can not refuse when visited by the angel of death, we know that we will have the opportunity to live this life again one day if we are in Christ. Strive on and never give up our faith until our very last breath or till Christ returns! Amen!

God knows me

https://odb.org/2024/12/03/god-knows-me

Psalm 139: 1 You have searched me, Lord, and you knowg 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.

As Christians, we believe in God being omniscient. In the sense that He knows everything and that includes us, inside out. As David mentioned in Psalm 139:4, even before a word is uttered on my tongue, you, LORD, know it completely. In fact, He knows us better than ourselves. Like a third-person narrator of a story, God knows everything about us, every single detail of our past, every single motivation whether we did something sincerely or out of self interests or out of ill will or envy or anger.

The question this morning is that when we say God knows us, what actually does He know? What is our perception of what He knows about us, and what is our response? Is what He knows our conniving and deceitful ways? Does God know us as though we are Jacob? Is the person He knows us as someone who is selfish, hypocritical, or greedy? You see, no one knows who we truly are deep inside us except God Himself or His Son Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit.

Or does God know us as one transformed? Transformed in our mind per Romans 12:2, having not conformed to the pattern of this world. One who is well on our journey to eternity, walking the narrow path despite our past, despite our fleshy desires. One who has left our old man baggage and burdens behind and has taken the offer by Christ, where His burden is easy and His yoke is light for He is gentle and humble in heart. Have we become the Israel of Jacob as Jacob was renamed after his encounter with the angel?

Perhaps we should ask the question in another way. When we say God knows us, do we want God to say we have transformed to become much more like Christ, compared to the day when we first knew Him? That we have a good measure of the Fruit of the Spirit and we are a good and faithful servant, a living sacrifice that is a sweet incense of worship unto Him? Who we are today and in the days to come? Not so much who we were in the past or even yesterday.

Barnabas the encourager

https://www.odb.org/2024/12/02/people-of-encouragement

In the bible, the most well-known of believers who encouraged is Barnabas. You can read about him in Acts 4, and in Acts 9, you will see that it was Barnabas who brought Paul to see the Apostles and advocated Paul to them. The rest is history as the church was greatly impacted with Paul among its midst even though he had earlier persecuted the followers of the Way. While the believers and Apostles were afraid of Paul, Barnabas saw his true potential. In Acts 11, Luke described Barnabas “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith,” adding that because of him, “a great number of people were brought to the Lord” (v. 24). Paul started his ministry in Antioch, and it was in Antioch that the believers of the Way started calling themselves Christians (from the Greek word, Christanos, meaning followers od Christ.)

It is always better to be an encourager than a destroyer of faith, albeit for the latter unintentionally. Maybe our demeanour is strong and our words sharp. Or perhaps we like to sting rather than heal! Always for the good, but the encouraging approach is always better, especially with the current crop of millennials/Gen Y and Gen Z. At the workplace, people will say that the current batch of young people is quite different from our time. It’s the age of AI, smartphones, and Chat-GPT. For some, even Insta is passe. If you are still on Facebook, you are confirmed old!

No matter where we are in Christ, there are bound to be many who are younger in faith than us. If not now, if you are a new believer, the time will come. It is thus good to encourage than to tear down. Watch our words as we grow in maturity in God and develop our character in Christ. Leaders and pastors also need encouragement as much as they are the Barnabites of this world! A nice word, a pat on the shoulder, a word of appreciation – goes a long way as they are always serving and doing their best for God.

As we embark on a new week today and the last month of the year in December 2024, let’s become that encourager to all who are around us! Amen!

Good reputation for Christ

https://odb.org/2024/12/01/a-good-reputation

Once we believe in Jesus Christ and become a believer and disciple of Christ, we will embark not only on a journey of faith to eternal life, but also a journey of transformation. We discard our old habits and put on new ones even as Christ impacts and works in our lives through the Word of God that we read, the Holy Spirit working in us, our communion with Christ and God the Father in prayer and supplication and, through praise and worship. The fellowship with our fellow believers and our interaction with our church leaders and pastors as well from the meeting together in cell groups, attending Sunday worship services and listening to the Word as it is preached. We cannot avoid a change in our life to reflect His glory. It is impossible to remain in our old fleshy desires. Over time, even our ambitions will be transformed and sanctified by Christ to align with God’s plans and purposes for our lives.

As we develop our character in Christ and become more and more like Him, what is our reputation to others around us? Do we have a good reputation? Are we dependable, trustworthy, friendly, approachable and responsible? Are we generous and like to bless others? Are we a gracious and humble person? Are we known to follow principles that transcends those of this world? For example, do we only look out for our own interests or also that of others too? If we always want the best deal for ourselves, will we not be sacrificing the best deal for others? Think about that. Are we content to always have a “win-win” situation, or do we always look for a “win-lose” one? Sometimes it is even wise to allow a “lose-win” situation if the Holy Spirit prompts us. Surely it is OK to lose for the sake of Christ if it advances the cause of the Kingdom of God? No doubt the blood of Christ and the grace of God have set us on a course for eternity. Nevertheless, we will still live in this world until Christ returns or calls us home. Therefore, we must have a good character in Christ and a good reputation to others. All those things we have learnt in church like don’t be just a Sunday Christian, an angel in church but a devil the moment we step out of church are true! Only a Christian on Sundays but of the world every other day in the week!

A good reputation is helpful as pointed out in today’s ODB article – it helps us to speak or even correct bad behaviors around us. People respect our point of view because of our good reputation. We are not only to others a Christian or deeply religious person, but a generally good and respectable person. Our words carry weight. We have a sphere of influence. Others listen to us and respect us. Our reputation goes beyond our achievements in life, our wealth or education. It is who we are regardless of our station in life. It is something totally within our control.

Have a good Sunday worship service today, everyone! I pray that each and every one of us will have a personal encounter with God as we meet Him face to face in worship! May our knees be strengthened and may we be encouraged to persevere through our walk of faith while honing our character in Christ, always preserving our good reputation to the world!

Frailty of life

https://odb.org/2024/11/29/restraining-order

We just heard yesterday the sad and unexpected news of the passing of Mr T. Ananda Krishnan. Known as AK to the outside world, but TAK to us in his group of companies, he maintained a low profile throughout his life. The statement on his passing was issued by Usaha Tegas, which I joined way back in late-1995. I left Astro for a telco in 2022 after 27 years. In my whole career in the UT Group, I only met the old man (as we used to call him among ourselves reverently) 3 times, twice in Moscow when we were looking at a potential M&A target. We were in awe just speaking to him over breakfast! I remembered Mr Krishnan to be a small eater, just cereals and milk, but with a sachet of honey added on. His passing is unexpected as his mentor, our Dr M, is very much alive and kicking at 99, and one of the persons he admires a lot, Robert Kuok, is 101.

Life is indeed fragile. AK is known to be very health-conscious. For example, he is known to only eat either Japanese or steamed stuff and used to swim every day. Yet when death comes a calling, even billionaires can not escape the call.

This brings us to the topic of the day. Should we tell the Lord, please stop inflicting me? In the case of Job, it was Satan, but God allowed it to test Job. To his credit, Job never once blamed or cursed God. His faith was unwavering despite his misfortunes. He may have grumbled and complained a little, but in the end, he knew that God had a purpose, which he did not understand.

Job 42:3 – “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know”.

Whatever troubles or issues we face in life, surely nothing compares to being alive? Appreciate and be thankful we are still breathing, that our time is not yet up. We don’t know what tomorrow lies, but we have today. Live today to the fullest for God! Fulfil His plans and purposes for our lives! An eternity is waiting for us because of the grace of God and the blood of Christ, but that’s a totally different reality altogether. Make the best of today, of our present situation and life! Today will pass and will never reappear again.

Who is a God like thee?

https://odb.org/2024/11/28/pardoned

Micah 7 NIV-

18 Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. 19 You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

Having grown up in an environment where my father’s side of the family were Catholics while my mother’s side were Taoists, I recall that God was perceived more as a protector and benefactor than a forgiver. I was not familiar with sin and the forgiveness of sin until I accepted Christ and got to know my Saviour and Deliverer. In fact, it was a fundamental and foundational tenet of the Christian faith that God first loved us because He first forgave us our sins and accepted us into His family, His Kingdom of Grace.

The message this morning is that even in the Old Testament, ancient times, God is compassionate and is the one who forgives. Even before God, in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, came to live with us and died on the cross for our sins. Is there any God who is like you, oh Lord? No, there is none like thee! You are the only one and true living God, and you pardon sin and the trangressions of the remnant of your inheritance, your people. You will not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy! Micah, whose name means “Who is like the LORD,” prophesied this many, many years ago. The message was true yesterday and remains true today and in the days to come.

Repent, if you have sinned against God. Seek His forgiveness and return to Him. Do not persist and continue in your rebellious ways! Remember, the LORD our God delights to show mercy! He is a gracious and compassionate God! Who indeed is like thee, O God, the LORD of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and our very own Heavenly Father?