Jacob and his persistence

https://odb.org/2026/01/13/hold-on-to-god

Genesis 32:22–28 (NIV): 22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
27 The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered.
28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

Jacob used tricky moves to get the best of his twin brother Esau, “wrestling” Esau out of his birthright to their father’s inheritance (Genesis 25:33) and life blessing (27:27-40). But stealing the blessing kept Jacob on the run, forcing him to flee his father’s household, depend on his cunning father-in-law, and live in fear of his brother’s wrath.

Later, he found himself alone, wrestling all night with a man who was God Himself. “Let me go,” the man told Jacob, “for it is daybreak” (32:26). But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (v. 26). Finally Jacob was seeking a blessing of his own, holding tight to God even until his name was changed to reflect his changed heart. (Patricia Raybon, Our Daily Bread 13th January 2026)

If you’re familiar with our Old Testament personalities, you would know that Jacob was a cunning man who used deception to get his way. The Jews pray to the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Jacob is the grandson of Abraham, the founder and originator of the Hebrew faith and people, whose covenant relationship with the LORD God formed the foundation of our faith in Jesus Christ, the Messiah who fulfilled the Law and restored Man’s relationship with God.

As the story goes, Jacob cheated his elder twin brother (they were fraternal twins) of his birthright by exchanging it with a bowl of soup and later pretended to be Esau (by wearing goatskins so he appeared to be hairy like Esau) and tricked his father, Isaac who was by then of very poor eyesight, to give him his blessings (which was akin to a will for material possessions but coupled with a spiritual heritage and legacy).

However, Jacob ran away from home after that as he feared for his life. Fortunately in the later years, he was reconciled back to Esau. But not before he had the encounter with an angel of the LORD (believed to be God Himself) known as Jacob wrestling with God (see Genesis 32:24-28). That was the turning point in Jacob’s life as he emerged from the encounter injured at the hip and with a new name “Israel” which the tribe of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Hebrews, took to become their name and the name of their nation.

There are probably many spiritual lessons we can deliver from this encounter of Jacob with God. One lesson that stands out is Jacob’s persistence in not letting go despite the being he was wrestling with was far superior to him, a mere mortal. The LORD Himself as the angel was also very understanding and pleaded for Jacob to let him go before daybreak, knowing that if the day breaks and Jacob sees His face, Jacob will perish. So the LORD accommodated Jacob’s persistence and blessed Him, bestowing upon Jacob the spiritual legacy and inheritance that carried on across generations until our Lord Jesus Christ. In the end, Jacob obtained Isaac’s blessings through trickery but God’s blessings through persistence.

For our own application, the spiritual lesson this morning is that if we are persistent and faithful to seek Him and His Kingdom and not let go, He will surely bless us richly with His heavenly blessings. Reminds me of Jesus’s exaltation that we seek first His Kingdom and its righteousness. It’s a blessing that’s much, much more valuable than material wealth because if we are obedient and not rebellious, our name in the Book of Life is assured and our place in the mansion of many rooms is assured. Seek the spiritual blessings of God like Jacob did as His blessings are eternal and everlasting!

Eye movements of the LORD

https://odb.org/2026/01/12/a-knowing-eye

Psalm 32:8–11 (NIV): 8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. 9 Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. 10 Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him. 11 Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous, sing, all who are upright in heart.

Jason and Pierre had worked together for a decade putting siding on houses. They were good friends, but neither was talkative. As they worked, they said hardly a word. Yet they knew each other so well that this was seldom a problem. The two could rely on the mere nod of a head or glance of the eyes to communicate. Small gestures spoke volumes.

Psalm 32 evokes this level of familiarity between God and the psalmist. One version renders verse 8 this way: “I will guide you with my eye” (nkjv). God isn’t looking from afar; He’s a loving Father working in partnership with His child. While the psalm begins with confession of sin (vv. 1-5), the focus is not on punishment but on loving redirection as God teaches His child the right path (vv. 6-7). (Matt Lucas, Our Daily Bread 12th January 2025)

There is a sense that we may be close to God like Jason and Piere in today’s ODB life example. Of course it is figuratively an eye movement from God as proclaimed by the Psalmist in Psalm 32:8. Figuratively because we can’t even physically see God, what more His eye. At this stage of our earthly life, God is a spirit and we are flesh and blood. There will come a time, at the end of time, when God will dwell amongst His people in Eden Recreated.

Yet, as much as we can’t see Him and we relate to Him in faith, we could sense His presence and guidance. That’s because we are born-again, redeemed by the blood of Christ. We are also spirit although we dwell in our earthly tent. Our revived born-again spirit is able to sense both God, His angels and spiritual forces as well as the evil forces in the spiritual realm. In addition, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us to further guide our conscience and our spirit. It is through the Holy Spirit that we may hear the voice of the LORD speaking to us and sense His guidance and anointing upon us.

Have a good week ahead, everyone! Make it a point this week to sense the presence of God and His guidance. Over time, we will know what we should do or react even without Him telling us. We will become more sensitive to Him as we learn to sense Him more and more. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide and help us hear, listen and obey His “eye movements”! Amen!

The past and our future in God

https://odb.org/2026/01/09/the-future-gods-preparing

Isaiah 43:16–21 (NIV): 16 This is what the LORD says—
he who made a way through the sea,
a path through the mighty waters,
17 who drew out the chariots and horses,
the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again,
extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
18 “Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
20 The wild animals honor me,
the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
21the people I formed for myself
that they may proclaim my praise.

This idea of “scrubbing” the past echoes the prophet’s words in Isaiah 43:18-19. God said, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing.” These verses were spoken to Israel during their exile in Babylon—a period of deep despair and longing for restoration. God commanded His people to not fixate on their past failures or the pain of captivity but to look forward to the new work He was about to do—a new and more significant exodus—their deliverance from Babylon and return to their homeland. He wasn’t just erasing the past but “making a way” (v. 19) to a future filled with hope and purpose. (Marvin Williams, Our Daily Bread 9th January 2026)

The past holds different connotations for different people. Some of us may be basking in the glory of our past achievements. A few of us may have been top students in our respective schools and colleges but soon realised that the real world is a vastly different kettle of fish. We could have found romance and love but sadly things did not work out and our dream of growing old together were shattered and broken into pieces. In retrospect, we wished we would have approached certain things differently or related to some people with more vigour or showed compassion and love instead of anger or hatred. Our past may be filled with regret and disappointment, but also coupled with joy and happiness.

Whatever the past may be, I take the view that it’s a fallacy that it may be erased. It is what it is. It cannot be scrubbed. If we had failed, we had failed. If we had fallen short, we had fallen short. We can’t sugar-coat our past. God however forgives us our past sins and transgressions. He knows it as He knows all things. But He doesn’t bring it up or reminds us of it. To our Lord Jesus Christ, our past remains in the past. He has redeemed us of our sins. As proclaimed in Isaiah, He is doing a new thing! God is giving us a future in Him. A new beginning, not to compensate or substitute our past, but a fresh start. A new road to walk on as the Chinese say.

As we close the week and enter the weekend to celebrate God’s goodness and worship Him with the congregation, let’s just let our past remain there and let us look to the future we have in Him whatever may be our age. Forget our past and dwell in the present and the future the LORD our God has for us in Christ Jesus! Israel returned from exile after Babylon was overrun by the Persians. Jerusalem was rebuilt and over the ages, Israel is now a thriving nation although it is always at war. Look at our future in Christ, He will restore to us what the locusts have devoured! His plans for us are to prosper us, to give us a new beginning, a fresh start in Him. Have a good weekend, everyone!

Small but mighty

https://odb.org/2026/01/08/small-and-mighty

John 6:5–15 (NIV): 5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

On December 9, 1987, a squirrel chewed through a power line in Connecticut, and the Nasdaq’s vast financial machinery blinked, sighed, and went dark. Some of the world’s largest corporations stood limp and listless. Global economies watched, sweating bullets for nearly an hour and a half. All because of one tenacious, furry rodent.

When we ponder the many complex global crises in addition to the bewildering concerns in our own neighborhoods and families, we’re tempted to believe that our seemingly small efforts lack power. But Scripture tells us to act in obedience and trust as God helps us—assured that with Him, small things can become mighty (John 6:10-12). (Winn Collier, Our Daily Bread 8th January 2026)

The miracle of Jesus feeding the five thousand men (more when you count the wen and children) with just five barley loaves and two fish, and in another recorded event, His feeding of four thousand (Mark 8:1-10), both highlighted that He is the Messiah as well as the spiritual principle that much may be achieved through small contributions.

They also speak of the abundance of God’s provision in our lives. During ancient times, Elijah miraculously provided a widow, about to have her last meal with her child, with endless flour to continue to make bread for 3 and the half years for the whole duration of the drought/famine.

Although what we may be able to give is small seen in the context of the larger scheme of things (a few hundred to a few thousand Ringgit), God is able to multiply and use it for His glory in His Kingdom. Sometimes a gift of a thousand makes a difference when the recipient was just short of a thousand for that month. So don’t despise your small giving. Like the child with the 5 loaves and 2 fish, Jesus was able to feed five thousand men (more when women and children were counted), Jesus is able to do much with your small giving. In fact there is a famous story of a girl giving just a few cents leading to an avalanche of donors contributing towards the eventual building of a university. Google the story of Hattie May Wiatt, a poor girl who gave 57 cents that was used as a catalyst by her pastor to raise enough funds to buy land that one day became the Temple University and the Temple Hospital.

The other aspect of the feeding of the five thousand is God’s provision for us that may well be endless as augmented by the widow’s experience with Elijah. As small could do a lot also speaks of God’s provision and abundance. There is much God can give and provide for us as we believe in Him and commit our lives to Him.

If we are facing financial difficulties, know that God provides if we put our trust in Him. At the same time, don’t hesitate to give when prompted as our small gift may lead to the opening of the abundant blessings in the heavens for the Kingdom of God that may in due course also bless our own lives!

To stand or to stand down

https://odb.org/2026/01/07/the-bone-wars

Philippians 4:1–3 (NIV): 4 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!
2 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.

In the American West in the late 1800s, the search for dinosaur bones created the Bone Wars, in which two paleontologists battled one another in their pursuit of making the most historic find. One writer noted how the two “used underhanded methods to try to outdo the other in the field, resorting to bribery, theft, and the destruction of bones.” He noted how, in trying to ruin each other’s work, both destroyed their own reputations as well.

Conflict and competition are inevitable in our broken world. How we choose to engage those conflicts reveals what’s in our hearts. Paul learned of conflict between two women in the church at Philippi and wrote, “I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.” He asked a fellow believer to “help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel” (Philippians 4:2-3). (Bill Crowder, Our Daily Bread 7th January 2026)

It is indeed true that conflict and competition are inevitable in our broken world, unfortunately, even among redeemed believers of Christ. Despite having been saved by the blood of Jesus, we are still dwelling in our earthly bodies. We suffer diseases and illnesses like everyone else. We go through emotional moments like the person next door. We face stress and are not exempt from the rigours of life. Yet there is an expectation and rightly so for us to behave and react differently when confronted with conflict and competition, particularly in relation to fellow believers. Rightly so because the Holy Spirit in us compels us to reflect Christ to people we meet and interact with. These issues are not new as they were faced by the community of believers even during Paul’s time when our Christian faith was still at its nascent.

All I can say this morning is that we should act and react as the Holy Spirit prompts. We pray in our heart on what we should do. Sometimes it is appropriate to make a stand but sometimes it is better to stand down. We can likewise demand the same from the fellow believer. Yet the Lord is more interested and concerned with our own action and reaction. How he or she should act and react is one thing but what’s more important is how should we act and react? I just pray that as we pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit, not that He would guide us but that we would obey as He leads. Will we choose the path that leads to spiritual maturity? Just remember that unless we are already 100 years old, we have a long way more to go in our spiritual journey. Do we seriously want to let a minor issue bog us down?

Seek Him and you shall find Him

https://odb.org/2026/01/06/seeking-the-christ-child

Matthew 2:7–12 (NIV): 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

When writing teacher Peter Turchi sees a map, he looks for the adventure it holds. “To ask for a map,” he says, “is to say, ‘Tell me a story.’ ” I seized on that idea when preparing to teach a Sunday school class during Christmas on the “Faith of the Wise Men.” As I studied maps, I learned the Magi traveled some nine hundred miles—perhaps over several months—to find the Christ child, finally finding not a babe in a manger but a toddler living with His parents in a house. Their reaction after such a long trip? “They bowed down and worshiped him” (Matthew 2:11).

Distance didn’t deter their worship. Nor did danger or delays. Herod’s deadly demand was ironic: “Go and search carefully for the child” (v. 8). Nobody had searched more diligently for Jesus than the Magi. (Patricia Raybon, Our Daily Bread, 6th January 2026)

I always believed that if we seek God with all our heart, we will find Him as Jeremiah 29:13 proclaims. The reason, theologically, is simple – we were created by God in His image to fellowship with Him. So if we seek Him hard enough, we will surely find Him. He doesn’t play a game of hide and seek with us where He stays hidden until we find Him or does He dissappear once we are near. Instead the more we seek Him, the closer will He come near us and before long, we will be staring at Him right in front of us. The scales that blinded us from seeing and believing in Jesus will be lifted if we search for Him wih all our heart. Not the work of man, but the work of the Holy Spirit.

The thing is once we have gotten to know Jesus and accepted Him into our lives as Lord and Saviour, the mysteries of the Kingdom will be opened to us. The LORD will reveal Himself and His mysteries to us. So the more we read His Word, the more we will gain in our knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and of God.

As we obey His Word, we will experience Him and mature in our faith and grow in our relationship with Him. So long as we persevere on, much will be gained by us of the spiritual realm. Perhaps we may experience what Paul saw and heard when he was brought unto the third heaven by Christ (2 Corinthians12:2-4). In first century Jewish thought, third heaven means beyond the first heaven (sky) and second heaven (outer space). We could see things we may not be able to reveal to anyone in the land of the living. In the book of Revelation, John was explicitly told not to reveal certain things he saw (Revelation 10:4).

As we pursue Him more and more, there will be things we will see and experience that will edify and strengthen our faith, and some of which we may not be allowed by God to reveal. Ultimately if we seek Him with all of our heart, we will surely find Him! Amen!

Praying for others

https://odb.org/2026/01/05/care-prayer

1 Samuel 12:19–24 (NIV): 19 The people all said to Samuel, “Pray to the LORD your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king.”
20 “Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. 21 Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. 22 For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own. 23 As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. 24 But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.

A woman was unusually nervous as she sat in the dentist’s chair. Family burdens troubled her greatly, and it was noticeable. Her dentist sensed her anxiety and asked her about it. Her story led him to ask, “Can I pray for you?” When the dental hygienist came into the room, she also prayed for the woman. Two prayers and one completed dentist’s visit later, the woman left the office knowing that she’d truly been cared for. Praying for others is one of the best ways for us to show that we care because it calls on the greatest resource we know—our heavenly Father—to be actively involved in the lives of others. (Dave Branon, Our Daily Bread 5th January 2026)

One of the easier things we could do in reaching out is to offer to pray for others. It takes less time compared to sharing our testimony and I believe is perceived as being less controversial. In fact praying for someone may be considered as neutral or even caring as we are calling upon the supernatural in the spiritual realm to break into the affairs of the natural world. Everyone loves a positive outcome. So if we pray and God answers, it’s win-win. Also praying for others is one of the best ways for us to show our empathy and compassion, our genuine care and love because it calls on the greatest resource we know—our heavenly Father—to intervene in the lives of others.

Our heavenly Father is the creator of the universe and everything in it and we have access to Him through prayer. Of course we can never be sure He will answer our prayers or when He will do so. That’s up to His will and His timing. Ultimately, God is sovereign. But at least we made the effort to make the connection. It is up to the Holy Spirit to do the rest. We trust in God’s wisdom and timing.

Blessed 2026! In a blink of an eye, 2025 is now history. But the things we went through – our work challenges, our health issues, the changes in our lives – will remain memories etched in our minds. I pray that all our tears and heartbreaks will serve as a lesson and reminder for us not to repeat the same mistakes in 2026 and beyond. There may be significant changes for some of us in 2026. We may need to adapt. I pray that we will all come out victorious as we make lifestyle changes to adapt to those changes. In the end, we will need to persevere through for the sake of our family and loved ones, for the sake of God’s plans and purposes for our lives. I pray that the Lord will grant us the strength, resilience and wisdom to overcome the challenges of 2026! Have a good year ahead, everyone!

Favouritism in the church?

https://odb.org/2025/12/23/no-favoritism

James 2:1–4 (NIV): 2 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

In 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant was stopped for recklessly driving his carriage through Washington DC. One published account says that the officer, an African American named William West, warned Grant, “Your fast driving, sir . . . is endangering the lives of the people who have to cross the street.” Grant apologized, but the next night he was racing carriages again. West stopped Grant’s horses. “I am very sorry, Mr. President, to have to do it, for you are the chief of the nation and I am nothing but a policeman, but duty is duty.” West arrested the president.

I admire this brave man for doing his duty. So did Grant. He praised West and made sure he kept his job. God also was pleased, for He hates the injustice of favoritism. James wrote, “Believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism” (James 2:1). That includes not giving special favors to the rich and powerful, leaving only leftovers for the poor (vv. 2-4). Instead, we’re called to love our neighbor as ourselves (v. 8). If we play favorites, serving our platinum club neighbors rather than the less privileged, we “sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers” (v. 9). (Mike Wittmer, Our Daily Bread 23rd December 2025)

Showing favouritism is a human issue we face everywhere including at work, but sometimes unfortunately also in the church. The rich and famous are somewhat favoured, the former perhaps because of their contribution to the coffers of the church and the latter likely because of the fame itself. We tend to be proud if we have someone famous in the family, and the church or its community are no exceptions.

This favouritism shouldn’t be prevalent as it creates a class divide within the church, from the haves and the have nots. James already warned of this many years back but it’s still an issue to this very day. The church must not treat the rich as special because each and every one of us are special in the eyes of God. In fact, God’s heart is for the poor and the underprivileged when He made a law to favour the widows, orphans and the foreigner. When Jesus came, He went to the masses to heal the sick and not the select few in the synagogues or the Temple.

I’ll say that fortunately most churches do not actually and consciously favour the rich. They have programs to reach out to the poor and underprivileged instead. In fact, it is the rich with their money who contributed most to the efforts by the church to reach out. In the end, every one, whether rich or poor, will have a place at the table of the Lord and thus a seat in the congregation to worship the Lord, whether you pay your tithes or not. Everyone in the congregation has an equal opportunity to be involved in ministry, in fact, some ministries like hospitality or hospital visits may be self initiated. I’ll say most churches are aware and conscious of James 2 and are doing pretty well in this regard. Praise the Lord!

Send me your people

https://odb.org/2025/12/22/send-me-your-people

1 Corinthians 12:12–20 (NIV): 12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

When my friend Maritza took a job that required traveling to many different cities by herself, she often felt lonely. But over dinner one night, she leaned in and told me, “Jen, I prayed and asked God to send me His people.” She went on to say it wasn’t long before she’d begun to meet other believers in Jesus on a regular basis. Once, she met three in one day!

When we encounter others who have faith in Jesus, we share a spiritual connection. In a hard-to-explain way, this lights a spark within us. We have the most important thing in common because we believe what the Bible says about Christ and how it’s possible to have a relationship with God through Him (Romans 10:9). (Jennifer Benson Schuldt, Our Daily Bread 22nd December 2025)

I’ve never prayed like Jen’s friend, Maritza, for God to send His people to meet her when she traveled alone to multiple cities for work. There was a time in the early 2000s that I traveled a lot for work at my previous workplace but it never occurred to me to pray for the LORD to send His people my way. I was mostly alone and missed home. However, I don’t believe I have knowingly ever met a fellow believer in those business travels which I estimate numbered around 50 times! How good it would have been if I had met with a fellow believer in my travels! Somehow there would have been a connection because we both believed in the same Lord Jesus Christ and have the same Holy Spirit living in us.

As Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 12, we all have a connection with one another because we are all part of the same body of Christ. We all have our respective roles to play based on our God-given talents and giftings and our calling in God. Yet we are all one. We are all part of the universal body of Christ. We need to work together and function as one to be effective for Christ.

The next time we travel, pray for God to connect us with His other children in the Kingdom of God. I’m sure we will revel in the fellowship and praise Him for the time together, connecting in the Spirit as we share our testimony with one another and our role in the body of Christ!

Have a good week ahead, everyone and have a great and blessed Christmas! I’ll be working until Christmas day as I’ve exhausted my annual leave this year travelling twice to Europe, partly for a tour and at the same time to see my son in Cardiff. But I’m sure most of you are now clearing leave and can’t wait for the festivities to start! Have a good time in the Lord in fellowship with one another!

Rest in God

https://odb.org/2025/12/19/still-sleeping

Acts 12:5–11 (NIV): 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. 6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists. 8 Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. 11 Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”

Did the apostle Peter feel likewise after being thrown into prison (Acts 12:4)? He was likely to face execution, yet the usually impulsive disciple “was sleeping between two soldiers” (v. 6). The angel had to “[strike] Peter on the side” to wake him up (v. 7)—suggesting that he was completely calm and at peace. Was it because he knew his life was in God’s hands? Verses 9 and 11 suggest that it wouldn’t have mattered whether he was rescued or not; perhaps he recalled the assurance of salvation and glory that Jesus had given him (Matthew 19:28), as well as Christ’s call to simply “follow me” and not worry about what would happen to him (John 21:22). (Leslie Koh, Our Daily Bread 19th December 2025)

One of the things I learned from my recent battle with high blood glucose is that insulin resistance can be caused by stress. Of course the primary reason is an inactive lifestyle due to the body cells having been permeated by fatty deposits over time leading to resistance towards insulin. Consequently, the glucose in the blood are unable to enter the cells and thus remain high in the blood which may lead to numerous health complications if left untreated. Medication, coupled with exercise and resistance training as well as dietry restraints will thus break down those fatty deposits and bring back the natural balance.

Stress at work however is unavoidable in this modern world as work demands and deadlines will always be there. Some cope better than others but ultimately if stress leads to sickness like high blood pressure, high cholesterol or high blood glucose (prediabetes or diabetes) or even mental illness, there is case for a change of job or the job environment. For us who are on the verge of retirement, we may want to consider early retirement.

From a spiritual standpoint, stress in life may be lessened if we rest in God. Like the case of Peter in jail, about to be sentenced and likely executed the next day, he slept like a baby in jail and in chains flanked by two guards! We always look at Peter’s story in Acts 12 as more of a supernatural rescue by God through an angel but often overlook the demeanour of Peter who faced certain death the next day. But actually I believe if we dwell deeper into the annals of recorded history, we will find that all martyrs of God are at peace when thrown into the arena of the beasts or just plain executed. They are at peace because they are 100% certain that Christ will be at the other side to welcome them when they cross over into life after death.

This morning, I believe, that the calmness of Peter in facing possible death is a lesson for us on how to deal with stress in life. Rest in the Lord. Trust in Him. For we know that God will make all things work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). Our lives are no longer ours when we accept Christ. “To die is gain but to live is Christ” is Paul’s rallying cry.

Have a good weekend ahead, everyone! Rest in the peace of God and may He give us peace that’s beyond our understanding! Amen!