Suffering in Christ

https://odb.org/2025/01/21/the-gift-of-trials

1 Peter 4:12–14, 16, 19 (ESV): 12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. 19 Therefore, let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

The story of the Wright brothers is a great inspiration as they went through many failures before succeeding in flying an aeroplane. They went through lots of trials and adversity, including money woes, serious injury, and ridicule, and yet, instead of giving up, they triumphed. As their biographer, David McCullough wrote, adversity is exactly what you need to give you a lift higher. Orville Wright once said, “No bird soars in a calm.” In other words, the eagle needs the wind to lift it up higher.

Thus, in a way, like martyrdom is a gift, trials and tribulations are also gifts to help us achieve spiritual maturity. If we don’t go through difficult times, how will we experience the reality of God in our lives? If we don’t go through disappointments, how will we experience the comfort of God? For example, I was really sad that I was laid off after so many years with my previous organisation, but I was glad to experience the provision of God with a job offer elsewhere. Actually, the story was that I was about to resign to accept a job offer at another organisation because of certain unacceptable changes at my workplace then, but I was instead offered a severance package before I clicked. How it all happened in one particular day was the reality and provision of God working in my life. To cap it all, the new job was only a 15 mins drive from our condo in the city that my younger son was already staying in for his college education! There was not any need to relocate to another city or travel for more than an hour through rush hour to my new workplace! That’s the provision of God working in my life! Every time I think of those moments, I shed a tear of joy recounting the goodness of God!

We might prefer a smooth sailing life and perhaps experience less spectacular “miracles” or touches from God, but alas, in life, we don’t actually get to choose. With the benefit of foresight, we might have done otherwise. But life comes as it comes. Could we choose to avoid the MCO that destroyed our just launched business then and left us near penniless? Our dreams and hopes shattered, and our renovations all went to waste because we had zero customers? Or someone we loved could not get vaccinated in time and perished when the Covid-19 attacked his lungs? I knew of that exact person. It is now close to 3 years since all these happened, but frankly, that was the time when I felt that I was really vulnerable when I got sick. I was worried that I might not make it, especially in those early days when the vaccine was not yet widely available.

If you are going through hard times, keep your head up and persevere through. Trust in Jesus and the provision of God. God knows us personally and loves us dearly. The tide will turn eventually. We will see the light at the end of the tunnel. Don’t lose hope. The Wright brothers didn’t give up, and now there are thousands and thousands of flights every day. We could be at another city in the world in a matter of hours.

Have a good week ahead, everyone! Dwell in the presence of God, and may He lift up our spirits to face all adversities and trials that come our way so we may triumphed and become more mature in Christ! Amen!

The righteous shall still bear fruit in old age

https://odb.org/2025/01/19/still-fruitful

Psalm 92:12–15 (ESV): 12 The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13 They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, 15 to declare that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

I noticed that in my local church, there is a sizeable number of older folks. The children at this church enjoyed considerable academic success in the past, leading to many having migrated abroad for work. Also, as jobs are more abundant in the Klang Valley in a challenging job market, many have flund jobs and are working in KL, PJ, and the surrounding areas. They do return home most weekends. It’s just that with the younger generation only around on Saturdays and Sundays, the church has become very much a weekend church.

Church activities thus revolve around weekends and days of festivities like Chinese New Year and Christmas or long weekend breaks. It is quite a paradox as older folks have all the time in the world but perhaps not the energy or inclination while the younger ones are busy with work in another city and thus have limited time but are full of energy and drive. I guess even the mega churches in Klang Valley face the same issue of running church activities mid-week and engaging with the broader community.

God reminds us today that the righteous still bear fruit in old age. They are ever full of sap and green. In other words, old age shouldn’t hinder our service for God since we have all the time in the world. We may get tired more easily and are afflicted with ailments here and there. Yet our fire for God still burns bright and clear. Serve Him while we are still mobile as there may come a time when may face difficulty to move around or are unable to drive anymore. Do hospital visitations or meet other believers in their homes to fellowship and pray for them. Be a Barnabas to those around us. Mentor the younger ones in their spiritual walk and job careers as our spiritual wisdom and past work experience should stand us in good stead. Share how we overcome or avoid spiritual landmines and work hurdles. Share with them our past experiences with God and the Holy Spirit. There are many ways we may become a blessing to many around us!

Have a good worship service today, everyone! As we get older, it’s not the time to slow down in Christ. Continue to serve Him fervently and faithfully as the righteous shall still bear fruit in old age! Amen! Hallelujah!

Keep up the good work

https://odb.org/2025/01/17/keep-up-the-good-work-2

Galatians 6:7–10 (ESV): 7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

There is a concept called delayed gratification, where people delay the enjoyment of life in order to accumulate wealth or capital for the future. It is more particularly defined as the ability to resist the immediate reward in favour of a greater reward in the future. Thus, if we like a particular guitar, we save up to buy it instead of charging it to our card and pay an instalment plan. Of course, in the modern world, we can not avoid using credit like buying a car or a house. But if we were to invest in a car or house and still save, we may need to forfeit holidays or dress more modestly.

It’s the same thing with our job and career. Work hard to acquire the right skills, and one day, we will be able to command the commensurate pay, rather than jumping from one job to the other for a few hundred more but unwilling to work hard. Putting in the hours is inevitable. Anyone who has learnt any craft, whether you’re an athlete, a musician, or a singer, you need to train and train. Training comes with sacrifices. The rewards will come later. It is delayed gratification.

In our faith, we do good and serve God after we accept Christ. It’s a lifelong journey. It’s a journey of joy and yet fraught with pain and suffering. Happiness mixed with tears. Our rewards are definitely not immediate and may not even be realised here on earth. But we don’t give up. We pursue riches in heaven. We store up treasures in a place where the thief may not steal or moth and rust may not destroy.  Do we have to apologise for wanting to store up riches in heaven? We serve in the Kingdom of God as bondservants, although we are co-heirs with Christ. It is delayed gratification.

Strive forward in our faith. Push on and don’t relent. Always do good and serve God with all our heart, soul, and strength. Sometimes, we get tired. Take a break, but continue on after that. Never give up as our rewards are for all eternity. We will get to be in direct fellowship with the Lord and live in the glory of His presence one day! Hallelujah! Amen!

The easy and hard

https://odb.org/2025/01/16/easy-and-hard

Exodus 14 ESV – 12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” 13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

After Moses, with God having inflicted the Egyptians with the 10 plaques, brought the Israelites out of Egypt, the Pharoah changed his mind and pursued the Israelites. The road to salvation was easy but then became hard when the Egyptians were in pursuit. The Israelites became afraid and blamed Moses for delivering them out of Egypt, preferring to remain slaves serving the Egyptians, a common trait that they carried on even in the wilderness. In the end, none who left Egypt as an adult (except Joshua and Caleb) entered the Promised Land as every single one of them died in the desert during those 40 years.

Sometimes, we could be like those Israelites who were delivered out of Egypt by Moses. Instead of being grateful and thankful for the salvation given to us by God’s love and grace, we grumble that it’s better for us to have remained in our old self. Perhaps Christian life was easy at the beginning but turned hard when we needed to make a stand for God. Perhaps when we live out our faith, we face discrimination and persecution. Perhaps doing the right thing had pleased God. But, it did not yield financial rewards or recognition from our peers. Or we thought Christian life would be rewarding and filled with good fortune when we have Christ in our lives. Instead, we are experiencing hardship and difficult times. Some of us couldn’t understand why God allowed our young loved ones to die in our arms or did not intervene when some misfortune or illness inflicted us.

Like the Israelites and Egyptians, the LORD allows both easy and hard times. He did all the work to convince the Pharoah (the 10 plagues) to release the Israelites but, in the end, allowed the Pharoah to pursue them. The hard part, however, was met with triumph when He parted the Red Sea, allowing the Israelites safe passage but He closed it back when the Egyptians followed so.

I believe that as much as there are easy and hard times, if we have God in our lives, God has a plan and reason for our hardships. Out of those hardships, heartbreaking moments, tears, and mourning, He is doing a special work in our hearts to bring us to the next level of our relationship with Him. When we experience pain and loss, we may become a vessel for God to minister to those experiencing pain and loss. If the Egyptians are at our backs, there will be a Red Sea moment for us to see and experience the glory of God working through us! Trust Him, the time will come! Hallelujah and Amen!

God’s love

https://odb.org/2025/01/15/you-too

Romans 5 ESV – 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from othe wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

While we know that Jesus died for our sins because God loved us, Jesus actually died for all mankind. God’s love was and is for everyone. He died for us while we were yet sinners, and that means He died for everyone else. The atonement and forgiveness of our sins are available for everyone. Salvation is a gift from God. It is by His grace. Mankind on our own, we can not gain salvation. Never a question of good deeds as we are all tainted by the original sin of Adam. Thus, the Second Adam (Jesus Christ) was required to rectify the situation and reconcile us back to God.

As much as the work has already been done, mankind still needs to take the step of faith to accept Jesus into our lives as our Lord and Saviour. This is because individually, we are justified by our faith in Jesus Christ. Everyone needs to come to God through Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6).

The question this morning is, have you personally accepted Jesus Christ into your hearts as Lord and Saviour? If you haven’t, say the sinner’s prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

I know that I have sinned, and I repent from my sins. I thank you for sending Jesus Christ, your one and only beloved Son to die for my sins, and reconcile me back to You. I believe that Jesus died for me and rose again 3 days later. I accept Jesus Christ into my life and heart as my Lord and Saviour. I want to trust and follow Jesus for the rest of my life. In Jesus’s most precious name, I pray, Amen!

Share with others the Good News and guide them through the sinner’s prayer if they believe that Jesus Christ died for their sins and rose again and was victorious over sin and death. We all need to be on the road of righteousness that leads to eternal life! We all need to begin this journey to fulfil God’s plans and purposes for our lives! Amen!

Walking with God

https://odb.org/2025/01/14/walk

Genesis 5 NIV – 21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. 24 Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.

The Bible uses the imagery of walking to describe our journey of faith with God. Thus, a picture of two sets of footsteps on the beach is apt. As we go through life, Jesus is beside us, is one way to look at our walk of faith. There are times when the footsteps become one, and those are the times when Jesus carried us in His arms.

Perhaps another way, and a better one, to look at the footsteps on the beach is that we are walking with God to wherever He is leading us. God is still there as we go through life, but we are following Him. We are tagging along to where He is going. We are living in the centre of His will, fulfilling His plans and purposes for our lives. We are thus like the Israelites, as God leads them through Joshua, we are following God to enter into our Promised Land, the land flowing with milk and honey. The LORD is telling us to be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid and do not be discouraged for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. See Joshua 1:9.

As God leads us and we follow Him, we need not be afraid or discouraged for He is with us. We do not know what life will bring us as the future is uncharted territory, but what we so know is that we are in good stead if we are following Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. He will strengthen us when we are weak and encourage us when we are down.

How’s our walk with God? Are we walking faithfully with Him like Enoch did? Or are we threading our own path and trying to force Jesus to tag along like a parent running after a toddler? Yes, Jesus will never let us go, and like a parent, He will try to make sure we will not fall down and hurt ourselves. But that’s not the path that Father God has appointed for us. Our own path is not God’s plan for us. It’s not the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey. Most importantly, it’s not the path of righteousness that leads to eternal life.

How’s our walk with God? If we have strayed, come back to Him quickly lest we drift farther and farther away as the devil came to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus came that we may have abundant life (see John 10:10).

Are you a scout or a soldier?

https://odb.org/2025/01/13/scouting-for-truth

James 1 NIV – 19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

It is interesting to note that more often, when confronted or in a conversation, we tended to behave like soldiers. We want to defend our position, and sometimes, in the process, the atmosphere is unwittingly escalated, and we end up quarrelling. This occurs, I believe, more often between husband and wife. A small thing like, “Did you put this here,” could potentially be turned into an explosive argument. Of course, quarrels between spouses are usually quickly reconciled. However, we can not be assured of the same between friends and colleagues as some have long-lasting effects.

That is why it is better to be a scouting soldier than a mere soldier out to defend our positions. In the army, there is always an elite group that goes out first to survey the terrain and possibly infiltrate into enemy territory before calling in the big guns – whether airstrikes, artillery, or the infantry. The scouts usually don’t attack as they are hidden. They are there to observe and report back. They have to be objective and tell it as they see it. Often, the success of the mission depends on their observations. That is why nowadays, people speak of a soldier or a scout mindset. Which are we?

This distinction is a most useful application of James 1:19 as our standard of behaviour is to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to becoming angry. If we adopt a scout’s mindset, who is open to contrary viewpoints and always seeking the truth, it will be easy to meet James 1:9. Unlike a soldier, a scout wants to get to the bottom of the situation. The more information is shared by the counter-party, the more accurate the assessment will be. So we will listen rather than speak. If we are not out to defend, we will be less likely to become angry quickly.

A note of caution. The Word of God also has a standard when it comes to scouting specifically. Remember the 12 spies sent out by Moses to spy and give an account of the Promised Land? In spiritual matters, we need to look not in the natural but with eyes of faith, believing in God’s ability to move mountains. Always remember Joshua and Caleb.

Have a scout’s mindset, and we will be quick to listen and slow to speak and slow to become angry. It will be an excellent testimony of God’s work and grace in our lives if we can live out our lives in that fashion. But also remember that when it comes to formulating plans for ourselves or the church, we must always move with eyes of faith and not with our own strength in the natural.

Have a good week ahead, everyone! Be a scout rather than a soldier!

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.