Ronnie's Thoughts

Two is better than one

https://odb.org/2024/10/13/conquering-mountains-together

“If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together.” The saying is apt to describe our Christian walk as our walk of faith is never about going fast but far. We want to last until our dying breath or until the Lord returns, loving Him and serving Him. Living a life worthy of His name and calling, a living sacrifice dedicated to His Kingdom and His purposes.

The friendship of David and Jonathan exemplified the strength of friendships in Christ, bringing us far. Despite being heir to the throne of his father, King Saul, Jonathan stood with David and looked to David as the true heir ordained by the LORD. He forged an unwavering friendship with David. When Saul wanted to kill David, Jonathan defended David and nearly got himself killed by Saul’s spear. It is unfortunate that Jonathan died in battle with Saul and did not help David rule Israel. But David remembered Jonathan, and when he became King, he took care of Jonathan’s crippled son, Mephibosheth. David restored to Mephibosheth his father’s house, lands, and servants and gave him a permanent place to dine at his table.

Two is better than one indeed! Mountains look smaller and less insurmountable when you have a partner. Often, my darling wife spurs me on to greater heights in my faith and makes certain tasks or responsibilities manageable because she is there supporting and encouraging me. I tended to believe in myself more when I knew she was with me.

But this is not restricted to our spouses. We should also have a friend or mentor to encourage and spur us on to greater expoloits in the Kingdom of God. Someone to help us achieve God’s promises, plans, and purposes for our lives together. Most churches are started, planted, and established by the joint efforts of like-minded brethren working together for the glory of God.

Have a good and wonderful Sunday worship today, everyone! As we worship God, ask the Lord to partner us with someone so we may serve God together for His sake!

Pray continually

https://odb.org/2024/10/11/pray-always

As parents, we occasionally get that phone call from our sons telling us about the milestones in their lives. Like the day my elder son received his UK skilled worker visa after he and his employer each had invested substantial sums to apply for it. Or when my second son felt he had messed up one of the questions in his exam paper or he was relieved having done well in his Maths paper. As Ivan is working in a fintech and running a small online business, he is very busy. He usually calls us during his lunch time (our dinner time in Malaysia) on his way home to send out deliveries for his customers or to take delivery of his own stock purchases from the concierge of his apartment building. Contemporary telecommunication advancements have enabled inter-continental voice and video calls at the price of a broadband subscription, unlike the prohibitive ISDN or fixed line calls of the past.

Similarly, we may want to give thanks to God for certain milestones in our lives. Or even for more mundane stuff, like having completed a draft of a document for the client or having closed a transaction.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:16, Paul exhorts us to: 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

It can only be good for our spiritual life if we maintain constant contact with the Lord in prayer as we rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances. Even when something bad occurs, we still give thanks to God for preserving our lives that we may live to serve Him another day. We live to fight another battle next time. Constant communication keeps us close with God, like with our sons, despite Ivan, my elder one, living thousands of miles away. We will still miss doing things together, but at least we could speak to him and see him in video calls.

The message this morning is to pray continually, having constant communication with our Lord. In terms of attitude, rejoice always and give thanks for all that we are going through, good or bad, happy or sad. God always has a purpose for the happenings in our lives. Put our trust in Him that He will make all things good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

Forgiveness and God

https://odb.org/2024/10/10/love-beyond-boundaries

A believer husband, in a sudden onset of severe mental illness, took the life of his own 4-year-old daughter. Although the plea of insanity may absolve a person from murder and the possible resulting capital punishment, he will be committed to a mental institution, and the incarceration may last for decades. It is not prison, but he will be living among the mentally ill. Despite such pain, agony, and grief, his believer wife was able to forgive and visit him, and in the process, their love grew despite the heartache. God helped her forgive as much as He commanded us to forgive, for He first forgave us.

Matthew 6:14-15 NIV – For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Mark 11:25 NIV – And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

There are no conditions or prerequisites to forgiveness. It is not dependent on whether the wrongdoer became repentant or whether he or she sought our forgiveness. The command is to forgive, failing which He will likewise not forgive us our sins. If we keep unforgiveness in our hearts, we will become separated from God again despite the redemptive blood of Christ. Unforgiveness may lead to bitterness and resentment and hate – all characteristics contrary to love. That is why we must forgive, no matter painful reality is, as God is love.

Harsh as it may sound, the Lord will not leave us as we are, most fortunately. For He knows our pain and sorrow. As much as His command is to forgive, He will help us forgive. For nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37). That is the key to true, sincere, and genuine forgiveness. Our Lord Jesus Christ will help us. The Holy Spirit will strengthen our resolve and heal us of our pain and sorrow. Our Heavenly Father will encourage and support us to forgive.

We may have experienced betrayals by our loved ones. Some terrible things may have been perpetrated against us. We may have lost much in the past due to some evil plot affecting us for certain people’s convenience or progression. Do not look back, but look ahead towards our Lord Jesus Christ, to the things He has planned and prepared for us. Forgive and move on. Grief and shed our tears, but forgive. Don’t allow our past to become a yoke that weighs us down in our spiritual endeavours. Take up Jesus’s yoke, for His yoke is easy, and His burden is light. He is gentle and humble. See Matthew 11:28-30.

Patient endurance

https://odb.org/2024/10/09/lessons-in-patience

James 1:12 NIV –

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

I believe one of the byproducts of our life of accessible and vicarious entertainment is instant gratification. We want to see something, we get it instantly. Just a search and a click of a button, and we are transported into an adventure in the world of movies, sitcoms, travel, and exotic places and animals. We may watch professionally produced or user generated content, and although quality is important, it is not a dealbreaker. In fact, this is the most significant challenge faced by traditional pay TV operators who transmit in HD to 4K and even 8K. Due to YouTube and social media, we want to watch stuff instantly, and we care more for the content than the broadcast quality.

However, real life is not instant. While we may just drive to a restaurant or walk down the street to have a good and reasonably priced meal, most things need time. In fact, the meal we just had needed hours of preparation in terms of sourcing of the ingredients and years of perfecting the craft. For example, a roast duck shop may start selling at 6.30 am, but his work starts at 3.00 am. This means he needs to wake up at 2.00 am, to start sorting out the raw ducks that are delivered at that time and then travel to his shop to start roasting at 3.00 in the morning. His work life is thus a “3 to 3 6 days a week,” similar to the 996 as practised by the workforce in China. He needs patient endurance to do his work, day in and day out.

In James 1:2-4, he encouraged us to rejoice when we face trials in life as believers. This is because the testing of our faith produces perseverance, and if we let perseverance finish its work, we will become mature and complete. Perseverance may be defined as having patient endurance. We patiently endure or wait (if we are praying for something). Very few things in the Kingdom come instantly. Most only come to pass after months or even years of praying and waiting and practice. Our own character in Christ only emerges after many years. Our hearing of God’s voice and the Holy Spirit prompting only comes more intuitively after years of obedience.

Persevere on and stay the course. Having stood the test of the trials of life, we will one day receive the crown of life that the Lord promised to those who love Him!

Bearing fruit in old age

https://odb.org/2024/10/08/running-for-jesus

Psalm 92:12-14

12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree. They will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; 13 planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green,

At the workplace, people do not work until they die unless it’s their own private practice or business. There is a retirement age, and in most jurisductions nowadays, it is 60 or more. If a jurisdiction practices security of tenure (meaning an employer can not remove you from your position without a good and valid reason), it ends at the retirement age. It doesn’t mean you can not continue to work after that. It just means that beyond your retirement age, you will be on a contract basis for a fixed tenure, usually one or two years and renewable on mutual agreement. Once past retirement age, most people work for a reduced remuneration package with fewer responsibilities. Some remain as advisors and come to work, perhaps two or three days a week. This enables them to travel a bit more or pursue other interests like gardening or hobbies like fishing or camping. However, Hock Tan, a Malaysian at birth, at 72, is still the CEO of Broadcom and is one of the most successful CEOs in the world!

The journey is quite different when it comes to our walk of faith and service for God. The moment we accept Jesus into our lives, we embark on this lifelong journey of faith with Him. Not only in our development of the character of Christ in our lives but particularly in our service for Him. There is no retirement age for ministry. We have our boots on the ground until our dying day. We serve until we are called to be with the Lord in our heavenly abode.

Psalm 92 is a good reminder that the righteous will flourish like a palm tree. They will be like the cedar of Lebanon, huge trees that can grow to hundreds of feet and that live on for hundreds of years. The righteous will flourish in the courts of God and will still bear fruit in old age. They will stay fresh and green.

Age is just a number in ministry. So long as we keep ourselves healthy and mobile, we may continue to serve God. We can do hospital visits. We can do house visits. We can lead house fellowships and cell groups. We can continue to preach and lead in worship. Play music for God, run outreach works, participate in missions, help out at shelters, or cook for others or pastor a church. Just remember there is no retirement in ministry as the righteous will still bear fruit in old age, and they will stay fresh and green! Amen!

Open Doors

https://odb.org/2024/10/07/bibles-in-the-back-seat

I learnt about Open Doors nearly forty years ago, a year or two after I accepted Christ. At that time, I was attending a Methodist outreach in my small town of Pasir Puteh in the East Coast state of Kelantan. This outreach work was started by a group of outstation Christian teachers, and the amazing thing was that the Methodist church actually sent a fresh seminary graduate to pastor the work full-time. Later, the outreach moved to the neighbouring Trengganu town of Jerteh, and the work that was established 40 years ago stands tall today as the Jerteh Chinese Methodist Church, catering to the needs of local Christians in the small town of Jerteh.

Jerteh Chinese Methodist Church in the midst of a village

Open Doors was an organisation that had left a deep and lasting impression on me, and I distinctly remember them for the work they did for the underground church in closed countries, especially for the house church in China. I would think the availability of the bible is less of an issue nowadays with the proliferation of bible apps on the Internet and mobile phones. I do recall that in those days, believers in closed countries would rejoice in having just a few pages of Scripture, which they treasure like gold, quickly committing to memory all that was written! It was both astonishing and outstanding!

The foundation to organisations such as Open Doors is Scripture like Zechariah 4:6 NIV –

So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.

It is not by might nor power but by the Spirit of God that countless bibles could cross borders through numerous volunteers who brought along a few when they visited such closed countries. The network ensured that the bibles reached the right people, but it is by the power of God that people who were checking at the borders were blinded or turned the other way. A reverse indeed of Jesus opening the eyes of the blind to see!

If we face seemingly impossible situations in our lives, don’t give up hope. The LORD our God is able to work things out for us through Christ Jesus our Lord. Not by might or by power, but by the Spirit of God indeed! Trust and put our hopes in Him. He is a God of miracles and the supernatural! May He part our Red Sea as we commit our paths and future to Him! Amen!

God and the ordinary

https://odb.org/2024/10/06/no-ordinary-tree

In the world and at the workplace or even in school and university, people always look for extraordinary and exceptional talents. The ordinary are not looked upon because that is the masses. He is the average Joe, or John or Jane Doe, as the average male and female is known in the United States. Thus, in a class action, it is either John Doe or Jane Doe against the state. When we first start out at work, we want to get noticed by senior management so we have better chances to climb the corporate ladder. Or some may just want to break out and try to make it as entrepreneurs in the open market. In which case, you may want to either create your own niche or stand out for the masses to reach out to you.

In the spiritual world, it is slightly different in the sense that God takes the ordinary to make them extraordinary in Him. This means that you don’t have to be an exceptional believer for God to notice you. God actually notices everyone and relates to each and every one of His children directly. Humans can’t do that because we are humans. In the case of Amos, he was not called to be a prophet from birth like Isaiah, Ezekial, or Jeremiah. For example, see Jeremiah 1:5 NIV – “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Amos, as he said, was not born a prophet, and neither was he a son of a prophet. He was just a shepherd who also tended to sycamore trees in Judah, and then the LORD called him to prophesy to the Israelites. See Amos 7:14-15 – Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. 15 But the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go,prophesyt to my people Israel.’

God can and will take ordinary people like you and I and make us great in Him, in His Kingdom of Grace. We can do great and mighty exploits in Him as we respond to His calling for our lives. He can and will make us influential in our own corner of the world and give us a sphere of influence utilising our God-given talents and giftings. Jesus taught us before in Matthew 20: 28, “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” and in Matthew 20:16, “So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen“.

Have a good Sunday worship today, everyone! Always remember that in all that we do, God will take the ordinary in us and make us great in Him! Persevere through, and we will find contentment, peace, and joy in Christ Jesus!

Our stories to tell

https://odb.org/2024/10/05/god-uses-our-stories

Psalm 107:1-2 NIV

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. 2 Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—those he redeemed from the hand of the foe…

Everyone goes through life experiencing some happiness and joy, and yet also tears and heartbreaks. We know from past experience that in a split of a second, our lives may be changed. Like the time my mum passed away, more than 15 years ago, and my dad, who had been with her for more than 45 years at that time, was left to face life without her. But God was gracious. He found my step mum. They married and were together for 13 years before my dad then passed on last year just a few weeks shy of his 80th birthday. It was a story of the goodness of God as my step mum really took good care of him and made him a changed man, in terms of his appearance and also his zest for life! In his last few years with us, he had some medical issues, but I am thankful to God for preserving his life for all those years.

My dad’s story is mine as he was very much part of my life. He and my mum helped raise my children in those 7-8 years they were with us before my mum passed on, and he later married my step mum and moved out. His testimony of God’s goodness and grace is mine, too.

Like everyone else, I have had my own share of God’s goodness facing life’s challenges with my dearest wife and children. As much as we can, we guide our children to meet their aspirations in life and God’s calling for them as we ourselves live out God’s plans and purposes for our own lives. We have our own stories to tell as individuals and as a family. Even the cars that we have owned over the years have their own stories as well as the homes that we have moved on or the pets that we have had and have (Husky, Daisy and now Cotton).

The point is that we must always give thanks to God for His grace and mercy for preserving our lives thus far and bringing us to where we are today. For His goodness, blessings, and providence. None of us know how long we will live as life and death are in the hands of God. In a split second, things may change drastically. There is always a story to tell as the redeemed of the Lord of the goodness and graciousness of God. The challenges we faced, the difficult times we went through; are our life experiences that God uses to inspire and encourage others to trust Him more and to live for Him. We dread those tough times, those complex issues we had to deal with and face, yet we know that our God will somehow use them for His glory! Amen!

Defusing tensions

https://odb.org/2024/10/04/a-hard-day

After a hard and long day at work, we are usually tired and just want to chill. Unless something pleasant had happened during the day, our mood would lilely be bad. So, even a simple neutral gesture or word may irritate us and cause us to react negatively and sometimes harshly. Or we may just want to vent our frustrations on someone. There are two aspects to this. One is to maintain our calm and patience when faced with someone who had a bad day, who is getting all worked up over something small and unprovoked. The other is not to be the person making a big fuss over things just because we have had a bad day. We should defuse the tension instead of adding fuel to fire, or we should not start the tension in the first place.

This is the aspect of Jesus’s character that we should learn and emulate as despite insults hurled at Him, mocking, and humiliation, Jesus did not retaliate whether verbally or by calling fire from heaven. He had a mission to save mankind from their sins, and nothing was going to distract or prevent Him from fulfilling His destiny.

What’s our mission and destiny in life? In addition to earning a living, we are to live a life that is a living sacrifice unto God, to live at the centre of His will for our lives. Our lives must give a good testimony of our God, of our Lord Jesus Christ. We must live to glorify God. If we are led by the Spirit, will we react by our fleshy and carnal desires and motivations? We may be only human, but we are also born-again spiritual beings. Our spirit should have control over mind and emotion. He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world. Even as the devil uses our situation to provoke us to react in an un-Christ like manner, we must never take the bait.

Be the peacemaker and not the catalyst to tensions. Be like Christ. Don’t add fuel to fire to make things bigger and worse. Tensions will lead to bad situations, and as heated words are exchanged, things may get out of hand. Follow and emulate Christ. He is our mentor and role model to follow. He is, after all, our Lord and Saviour!

The 10 spies

https://odb.org/2024/10/03/saying-yes

In Numbers 13 and 14, we will find the account of the 12 spies who were sent to Canaan, the Promised Land, to investigate and give an account of what they saw and their assessment of the land. The spies were no ordinary people as each represented a tribe of the Israelites who had just been delivered by Moses and Aaron out of Egypt through the parting of the Red Sea into the wilderness south of Canaan.

10 out of the 12 spies came back with a discouraging report in the sense that although they saw that the land was flowing with milk and honey (meaning fertile and prosperous), it had strong armies, fortified cities and even giants (descendents of the sons of Anak). These were undoubtedly the facts. But it was their assessment and conclusion that was damning as they took the view that the Israelites would not be able to conquer the land. They concluded that they would instead embark on a suicide mission to be brought out of Egypt to die by the sword in Canaan. Only Caleb and Joshua took a contrary view, believing and contending that if God had taken so much trouble to deliver them out of Egypt, why would He not follow through and see them to victory notwithstanding the fortified cities, strong armies and giants? The rest was history as God’s judgment was strong and exacting. All who were 20 years and above when they left Egypt will not set foot on the Promised Land except for Joshua and Caleb (Numbers 32:11-12).

The message this morning is that if the LORD leads us on a mission, whether it is a calling to go full-time or to be a missionary in a far land or to participate in a particular ministry or even to take up a job offer that will uproot us or anything else, He will see us through like He did with Joshua and Caleb. He will be with us even as we respond in faith to His calling. We will face obstacles like fortified cities, strong armies, and giants, but like Joshua and Caleb, we will prevail with God’s help. The rewards will be sweet as the land will be flowing with milk and honey. In our context, it means that we will be living in the centre of His will and enjoy of His goodness and grace and mercy. As David proclaimed in Psalm 23, surely goodness and mercy will follow me the rest of my days as I dwell in the House of the LORD forever and ever.

In our life as a redeemed of the Lord, we always need to look beyond the natural into the spiritual realm as we do not live by sight but by faith in the LORD our God, our Lord and Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ. Like Elisha’s servant Gehazi in 2 Kings 6:17-20, if we see with our spiritual eyes, we will see the multitudes of angels on our side!