Timing of God

https://odb.org/2024/11/08/gods-timing-2

Do we need to pray and seek God in all that we do, including going on a vacation? No, not really. But it is prudent to do so. It could be a part of our daily communication with Him where if we could, we would like to share as much as possible with Him. Yes, God is omniscient, all- knowing. But praying and talking to Him enhances our interactions with Him, drawing us closer to Him. So if there is impending danger, He could forewarn us like He did with Noah or like He sent the two angels to rescue Lot and his family from the then coming destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

The other thing about God’s timing is that He makes all things beautiful in His time (Ecclesiastes 3:11). We may be struggling in life right now, but in time to come, we will be comfortable. We may be going through much persecution now, but the day will come when we experience true liberation from the oppression. Or we may be suffering from an illness and have been praying for healing. Or we may be stagnant in our faith and have been asking God for a breakthrough. Or we may have been praying for the finances to travel for missions or just to go for a mission trip to preach the Gospel or to strengthen the body of Christ elsewhere. Or we may have been praying for the opportunity to start or plant a new church or work. Or we have been seeking God for a life partner to settle down and start a family or just have some progression in our career.

God will come through in His time as He will work all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

Trust in the Lord. Commit our ways to Him, and He will make our paths straight. In all that we do, acknowledge Him. See Proverbs 3:6.

He knows what is best for us, for He loves and careth for us. Jesus is our Lord and Saviour and Father God is our Heavenly Father, and He has sent us the Holy Spirit to live in our hearts and to guide and strengthen our faith.

Have a good weekend ahead, everyone!

Other people’s business

https://odb.org/2024/11/07/other-peoples-business

Philippians 4:2-3 NIV I plead with Euodia, and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.

I was away for the past weekend attending a conference on the Second Coming of Christ in Ipoh during the Diwali break. Although I live in Seremban and Petaling Jaya now, I was born in Ipoh. I never did live long in Ipoh as I grew up elsewhere, but I carry 05 as my birthplace in my NRIC. Ipoh is the city of my parents and forefathers, so it holds a special place in my heart. When I was growing up, we used to go back once a year during the year-end holidays or for Chinese New Year.

On the Second Coming, there are pre, mid, and post tribulation assertions. But the key takeaway from the conference is to be prepared in our hearts and faith as many will be led astray and many will fall away. Persecution is very much in church history, right from its inception as seen in the Acts of the Apostles. Yet the church never fell away! There was always a remnant who prevailed throughout the ages. So it shall be if we have to go through the great tribulation if, for example, the rapture of the church actually occurs post tribulation! God will protect His people and keep us safe, but if martyrdom is our calling, it is a gift of God.

Matthew 24 ESV 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation  and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another

Coming back to the topic at hand, the usual stance of Christians in Malaysia, especially those of Malaysian Chinese, is to mind our own business. We seldom interfere or intervene in other people’s quarrels. However, if it is within the body of Christ and it has an impact on the faith of the body, we will have no choice as responsible leaders and elders to help resolve the issue. In the case of Paul, he intervened in the dispute between Euodia and Syntyche despite his incarceration. He pleaded with the two women to have the same mind in the Lord as their names are written in the Book of Life.

The message this morning is that if our ancestors were originally migrants in a foreign land, we may have been brought up to avoid trouble by minding our own business. There may, however, be times when we may be compelled to intervene in other people’s disputes for the sake of the Lord. Act as we may be prompted by the Holy Spirit. In all situations, by prayer and supplication, so that the peace that transcends all understanding will be upon us! Amen!

Promises of God

https://odb.org/2024/10/30/a-beautiful-surprise

Isaiah 4:2-3 In that day, the Branch of the Lordu will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and gloryx of the survivor in Israel. 3 Those who are left in Zion, who remain in Jerusalem, will be called holy, all who are recorded among the living in Jerusalem.

Scripture demonstrated that Israel, as a nation, although it suffered devastation, a beautiful branch arose out of it that made the Abrahamic Covenant with God come to pass. God promised that Abraham would have offspring as many as the stars in the sky and the sand on seashore, and they would be a blessing unto the nations. The Israelites were overrun by the Assyrians and exiled into Babylon. They were later allowed to return to Israel to rebuild the Temple and Jerusalem. Out of the line of those who returned, Jesus came to earth and redeemed mankind for God and through all of us who believe in Jesus, including those who came before us and those who will come, we are a blessing to all mankind.

I’ve said this before in these pages that if you are a living person in those ancient times, you will not live to see the promises of God as those promises came to pass only generations later. But we are the spiritual Israel, and if we apply the same into our lives, the application is that we will see the promises of God fulfilled in our lifetimes. Israel, as a nation, saw to fruition God’s promises. So will we as the spiritual Israel! There could be times of desolation and destruction like Babylon, and there could be times of exile and captivity. Yet the time will come when God’s promises will be realised and come true.

Cling on to the LORD. Hang on to those promises of God. One day, we will experience them. It will become reality! Don’t give up and lose hope. Toil on and persevere through. He is able and will bring them all to pass, one by one, step by step! Amen! Hallelujah!

Pray continually

https://odb.org/2024/10/29/pause-to-pray

Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

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

At first glance, Paul exhortation for us in 1 Thessalonians 5 to pray continually is impractical and impossible. How can we pray continually when we need to live life, involving many other actions, from eating, bathing, travelling, working, etc? We are not monks devoted to a life of only prayer, isolated from the world. We are in the world although we are not of the world.

But if we dig deeper, we will realise that Paul is saying this, knowing fully well that we need to live life. There are many other things to do and attend to. Yet, in the midst of all that we do, we can pray continually. Praying constantly, whether in words or the spirit. Every chance we have, we pray and speak to God. Rejoicing always that we are in Him. Giving thanks constantly for His goodness and blessings. In all situations, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, present our requests to God. When we achieve something, praise God and thank Him. When we missed something – like when we came back to the city late yesterday night, we forgot to bring back the clothes iron we wanted to exchange with, we still thank Him for today and the days to come. This morning, we don’t have an iron to press our clothes. Fortunately, my darling wife has an alternative – a steam iron that people use at boutiques. Not the best, but let’s pray that it works!

Pray continually, meaning we pray and remember God in every situation. In all that we do, we commit ourselves unto Him. We commit our plans to Him, immediate, short-term, or long-term. I will be attending a difficult meeting with the client later – I commit it unto the Lord. I will be reviewing a tough and lengthy document later, and I pray and commit my time and effort unto God. Pray continually for those who need our prayers. For people who are sick, undergoing treatment, in financial need, or going through persecutions. Or for those organising a big event like their wedding. Come to think of it, if we want to, there are a thousand and one prayer items that we can pray for!

Esau and Jacob

https://odb.org/2024/10/28/getting-rid-of-baggage

The forgiveness by Esau of the cunning but changed Jacob is one of the highlights of the book of Genesis and serves as an example of what God expects from us as His children when it comes to our own forgiveness of others.

Jacob committed two major “transgressions” against Esau. The first is buying Esau’s birthright with a bowl of soup – see Genesis 25: 29-43. The second was, with his mother Rebecca, tricked Isaac to give his blessings to Jacob by pretending to be Esau – Genesis 27:1-29. The father’s blessings in Jewish tradition are akin to the last will and testament but encompass more. It includes the spiritual blessing of the covering and goodness of God Almighty. It is reserved for the firstborn. Although Jacob and Esau are twins, Esau was the elder. But Jacob tricked Isaac to give him that and then fled the scene.

Isaac had his fair share of trials and tribulations in facing the trickier Laban, but in the process, he became quite wealthy, perhaps because of the blessings of Jacob opening the heaven’s doors and blessing him. In Genesis 32, he was to meet Esau, and he was fearful and terrified that Esau, with his 400 men, would take his life. But in Genesis 33, God turned the sitiation around for Jacob as Esau forgave him and accepted his atonement for his past transgressions against him.

In our context, it is time as Christians whom God first loved and forgave through Christ Jesus, that we ourselves must move on and leave our past emotional baggage behind. Forgive and even forget. What’s passed is past. Leave them behind. Don’t carry a heavy weight around our neck while we progress in our spiritual walk. God must have had a purpose to allow those things to happen. There’s no point drunking poison, hoping someone else will die. In fact, don’t even pray for God to avenge us. It has happened, and let it be. Because of what we had gone through in the past, God will have better and bigger things for us, even on this side of eternity! Be like Esau – forgive Jacob, and move on.

Have a great week ahead, everyone! May the LORD our God grant us wisdom and discernment in all that we do that we may glorify Christ in all things! Amen!

Born again

https://odb.org/2024/10/27/born-again

John 3:5-6 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.

The most fundamental aspect of our faith is the need to be born again in Christ Jesus, and in this context, Jesus uses the phrase, “born of water and the Spirit” in John 3:5. It means that we have gone through the process of accepting Jesus in our hearts as our Lord and Saviour, who died for our sins and reconciled us back to God the Father. Our salvation is by the grace of God, justified by our faith in Christ Jesus and not by own good deeds as the original sin of man can only be washed clean by the redemptive and sacrificial blood of the Lamb of God on the cross. In the process, we are also given the Helper, the Holy Spirit, who dwells in our hearts.

In other words, we have personally accepted Jesus into our lives. Once we have done that, our spirit is made alive, and we can communicate directly with God with the help of the Holy Spirit. We thus have a new birth in the spiritual realm. The spiritual realm is now open to us, and we can operate in that realm, interceding for the saints and fighting spiritual battles with spiritual forces. That is why believers have two births and only one death, but those who reject the message of the Gospel have one birth but two deaths (physical and later eternal death).

The message this morning, I believe, is a reminder that once we are born again, we are activated spiritual beings. We are and always have been spiritual beings. It’s just that once Christ comes into our lives, our spirit is activated and made alive. We have power and authority in Christ Jesus. We have a destiny in Christ. God’s plans and purposes for our lives are also activated, and we need to align our goals and aspirations with God’s plans and purposes.

Have a good time praising and worshipping God today in church at the Sunday worship service today! Remember that we are born again activated spiritual beings! We will be able to meet the Father face to face as we worship Him in spirit and in truth! Hallelujah, Praise the Lord!

Running away from God

https://odb.org/2024/10/25/whale-watching

Jonah in the belly of a large marine creature

While it is generally true that if we do not respond to God’s calling, He will choose or call someone else to do the work. The principle is true because the sovereign will of God will be achieved independent of the originally chosen one. Thus, when Saul didn’t meet the LORD’s expectations, He raised up David and Jesus came to earth through the lineage of David. When Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus and accepted the silver from the Pharisees out to kill Jesus, the LORD raised up Paul to be next Apostle of Christ even though Paul did not have the privilege of living with the Christ during his 3 years plus ministry tenure on earth. Nevertheless, Jesus met and taught Paul in the spiritual realm, showing him certain things that he was not allowed to tell the world.

2 Corinthians 12:2-4 NIV: I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. 3 And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— 4 and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter.

There are, however, times when God will pursue His chosen one until he relents and accepts his calling. Jonah is a great example. When God asked that he preach to the people of Niniveh for them to repent, seeing their wickedness, he ran the other way. But God pursued him until the belly of the great fish. Jonah was about to die, and he called out to God, and the LORD answered him.

Jonah 2:1-2 NIV: From inside the fish, Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. 2 He said: “In my distress, I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead, I called for help, and you listened to my cry.

In the end, Jonah preached, and the people of Niniveh accepted his message and repented of their sins, and God spared them their lives.

If God calls us, don’t run away. Let Him achieve His plans and purposes through us because His plans and purposes are for our lives. We will live in the centre of His will when we positively respond to God’s calling for us. If we are like Moses, who felt he was handicapped, God gave him his brother Aaron to be his spokesperson. Likewise, God will send us help to train us up in our areas of weakness. Commit and trust our lives unto Him. Nothing is better here on earth than living in the house of the Lord as surely goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives – Psalm 23:6. Relent and allow the goodness and blessings of God to overwhelm and overflow in our lives! Hallelujah, praise the Lord!

Feed the hungry

https://odb.org/2024/10/24/food-for-the-hungry

In Isaiah 58, Isaiah prophesied in verses 3 to 9 about God’s rebuke to the Israelites about their self-serving fasting to fulfil their religious obligations, hoping to gain some personal benefit for themselves. Actually, there is nothing wrong with such an approach to fasting except that at the same time, they ignored the needs of the less fortunate before their eyes – the hungry, the unclothe, and the homeless. It was much worse if they had fasted and were also the ones who oppressed the needy. Verses 6 to 9 are reproduced below:

NIV 6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to lose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter — when you see the naked, to clother them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk.

The poor and needy will always be there. In a laissez-faire economy, you work and earn your keep. Some for lack of education or opportunities earn less, but if they are willing to hold two jobs, they are likely to get through unless they have large families to feed. There is nevertheless a question of practicalities of living within your means. Still, there are others who live in a cycle of drug addiction, crime, violence, unemployment, and imprisonment to the extent that it might be better for some to be inside than outside without food or shelter.

We as individuals can never solve the needs of society. But we must have compassion. In anything we do, whether we have a role in government policy or not, we should support efforts to eradicate poverty, homelesness, and hunger. Everyone should be given a roof over their heads and a hot meal.

The message in Isaiah 58 is that we must know our God and what is in His heart. He seeks to help the unfortunate the downtrodden and the oppressed. We can not solve the woes of the world, but at the very least, we must not be part of those who perpetuate such injustices. Instead, we must be selfless, have compassion, and do our part whenever we can. In the end, what’s in our hearts must match our actions in praying and fasting. Then, the glory of God, the LORD our God will be our rear guard!

The Comforter

https://odb.org/2024/10/23/the-spirit-is-present

Day of Pentecost

After Jesus died and rose again, He ascended to heaven 40 days after His resurrection. On the 50th day, it was the Jewish festival of Pentecost, which celebrates the giving of the Torah to Moses at Mount Sinai. The night before Jesus was crucified, He had the last supper, and it was the day of the Jewish festival of the Unleavened Bread, also known as the Passover which celebrates the passing over by the Angel of Death over Jewish homes in Egypt marked by the blood of an unblemished lamb. Thus, we will see that Jesus’s last days on earth had a lot of symbolism intertwined with the festivals in the Jewish calendar, somewhat tying Christ to the Old Testament religious laws introduced by God during ancient times.

When Jesus ascended to heaven, it left a vacuum in the hearts of the disciples of Christ (Apostles), although with the 40 days Christ spent with them and other close followers, they caught the vision of His true mission on earth. The physical Jesus was no more, even in the form of His glorified body. But that held the promise of what we could expect of our bodies at the end of age. Jesus gave the disciples a promise in John 14 25-27 NIV:

25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid.

The promise was His Father in heaven will send the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, who will teach them all things and remind them of everything Christ had said and taught them before. The Holy Spirit descended in a rushing wind and tongues of fire on the Apostles and other believers on Pentecost and empowered and emboldened the Apostles and other believers. The rest, as they say, is history. The faith spread like wildfire engulfing Jerusalem, Judah, and Samaria and across the Greek world of the Gentiles and later to the rest of the world. We are who we are in Christ today from the first fire 🔥 of Pentecost with the descension of the Holy Spirit. The faith spread and prevailed despite persecutions and all sorts of obstacles by the ruler of the world.

Going back to the original promise of Jesus in John 14, for us modern believers who have both Jesus and the Holy Spirit in our hearts, be reminded that the Holy Spirit will comfort and encourage us like He did the disciples. Do not be afraid or be troubled when we face difficult situations in life or at work. Be bold and courageous like Joshua! Trust that the Holy Spirit will help us and embolden us as we plough through life. Jesus is our Lord and Saviour, Father God is our Heavenly Father, but the Holy Spirit will teach us all things and grant us wisdom and discernment in our walk of faith. He will prompt us to do the right thing at all times, He is the voice in our conscience and more. He will lead us to what God’s will is in all situations. He will lead us to fulfil God’s plans and purposes in our lives and for us to live in the centre of His will!

We thank you, Lord Jesus and Father God, for giving us the Holy Spirit to be our Advocate and Comforter, to stand with us in all that we do! Amen!

Transformed from the inside

https://odb.org/2024/10/22/transformed-from-the-inside

One of the struggles faced by any believer, I believe, is the desire to be true to God from the inside. The journey of transformation may go this way. We conform on the outside but remain carnal and selfish on the inside. People can only deduce who we are from our external self, like the way we speak and act, but no one knows what is really in our hearts, even Satan doesn’t know. Thus, we become hypocrites like those people Jesus condemned in Matthew 23:23-33. We are “spiritually” beautiful externally but rotten on the inside. No one can really tell, except God, our Heavenly Father.

Then, later, we realised that being a hypocrite is not only terrible but also tiring. It’s just a facade, an appearance that’s illusionary. In a rebellious streak, we show the world who we truly are. So we do not conform anymore, and our external become like that of our inside; carnal and selfish. We only have one life to live. Why should we live any other way but the way we want? Children raised in strict Christian families have a tendency to morphe this way and just throw caution to the wind as they grow up and become adults. A time may come when they may break free from the shackles of strict family rules and become who they truly are.

Actually, I think the best way is to gradually transform but always from within first. Battle within ourselves. Pray for our Father’s intervention in our spirit. Ask for the strength of the Holy Spirit to break free from our natural tendencies. Learn to be selfless from within. This way, our external self will reflect Christ who transformed us from within. This, I believe, is the message of Matthew 23:23-33. Clean the inside first, and the outside will be clean.

Ultimately, even if we may fool everyone in the world, God knows who we are. Jesus knows our true self. On that day when we face Jesus, our true self will be for all to see. Jesus looks to our hearts and not our outside as only our spirit will face Him. How are we to explain to Him that after all those years of His grace and goodness, we are still as rotten on the inside like we were before we knew Him? The gift of the gab and twisting words will not help us when what’s seen by all is only our spirit. We have nothing to conceal our inner self on judgment day as it is our inner self that is judged. Our salvation may still be intact as we are justified by our faith in Christ, saved by the grace of God. But what a hollow victory will that be? Can we hold our heads up high to Jesus and say we have fought the good fight if we had been a fraud all this while?

No amount of rationalising will help as Jesus knows our hearts, our true self. Work on insides in ernest. In the end, what’s inside us that counts. Discard our old self, our carnal nature, and our selfishness, and embrace and become the person God truly and always wanted us to be, even before the foundations of the world! Fulfil His plans and purposes for our lives. Strive for the prize that awaits us as we look upwards to Christ, the author and finisher of our faith!