Excelsior!

https://odb.org/2024/09/04/excelsior

Excelsior! Excelsior! It is latin for higher, meaning that we strive to do better and better, go higher and higher. Not only do we move on and don’t give up, but we want to progress further. We don’t look back and get bogged down by regrets and ‘what ifs’, but instead, we are driven by ‘what’s ahead?’ or ‘what’s next?’.

We could be in our middle ages (or young seniors, haha), or we may just be young adults, having worked for a couple of years. Whatever may be our age, there would have been crossroads where instead of turning right, we had turned left. We made a conscious decision to pursue medicine in university and not computer engineering, although we have a passion for all things computers. Usually, because of the law of supply and demand, we pursued the most difficult to get in course based on our excellent public examination results. Instead of pursuing finance, we read law, but we are now managing customer experience in a fintech startup. Or, because of the scarcity of opportunities coupled with lack of financial means, we ended up in the workforce after high school and missed out on tertiary education.

Or for some others, it could be that instead of serving God, we partied and enjoyed life to the fullest in our youth with all its decadence and now are catching up in ministry and spiritual knowledge and maturity, and thus lament the waste of our youth when we were strong and full of energy and vigour. We could have done much, much more for the Lord had we started earlier!

Whatever may be our past missteps, follies, or ‘wrong’ decisions, we know that we can not dial back time. Life is lived once, and time and tide wait for no one or as the saying goes, the ship has sailed on and left the harbour. Treat our past as stepping stones for our future in God and use our past misadventures as battle scars for our life in ministry.

For what lies ahead, be bolder to take steps of faith and to trust God more. The LORD is able to restore what the locusts have devoured (Joel 2:25) and make our life henceforth to be like trees planted on streams of water yielding fruit in season as the Psalmist imagined in Psalm 1.

Forget what is behind and look forward to what’s ahead as we press on towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus, as Paul exhorts us in Philippians 3:14.

Have a good week ahead, serving God in whatever manner God has called us, everyone! Blessings to all and praises be unto the only one who matters and who has the words of eternal life! To Jesus Christ, our most precious Lord and Saviour, be all glory, honour, and praise!

(P/s note: I took a short break over the Malaysian Independence Day weekend).

What’s in your hand?

https://odb.org/2024/08/30/whats-in-your-hand-2

When God first appeared at the burning bush and called Moses to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt (you may read this in Exodus 3), Moses queried who was he that the Pharoah would listen to him? The LORD replied that He would be with him. In Exodus 4:1-5, Moses continued to query God on what if the Israelites themselves do not believe him or listen to him or say that the LORD did not appear to him? The LORD replied, “What is that in your hand?” Moses replied it’s a staff and as the LORD asked him to throw it on the ground, it became a snake and as he picked it up, it became a staff again. Thus, the staff became somewhat magical, but we know that it was not the staff but God being with Moses that transformed that ordinary staff to become something that could turn into a snake.

The spiritual principle is that God can use whatever we have or whatever little we have for His plans and purposes. What’s in your hand? Meaning, what do you have? I can use that, says the LORD. Like the widow with a little oil and flour at a time of famine to make her last meal for her son, God through Elijah, miraculously made it possible for her little oil and flour to last for months to feed her, her child and Elijah! But the miracle was only possible because God was with Elijah and the widow, and it served God’s purpose in preserving the life of Elijah. In other words, God must be in the picture, and it must be for His purposes. Inevitably, blessings will flow. But it starts with whatever we have and more crucially, God being with us.

I believe what’s in our hands is an important spiritual principle. When we want to serve God, God will start with what we have. It doesn’t need to wait until we have time, or we have retired or we have achieved our career goals or after our children have left the nest. It doesn’t need to wait until we have acquired our seminary education or like an athlete after we have prepared and trained. It can start immediately with what we have in our hands, like Moses with his staff. But it is crucial that Exodus 4 is to be read with Exodus 3, and that means that God must also be with us. “I am with you” and “What is that in your hand” are the two important phrases in today’s message. Remember them and step out in faith and serve God!

God of justice

https://odb.org/2024/08/29/plant-justice

One of the things I feel we should always remember, even if we have been in the faith for a long time, is that God is a God of justice. What I mean is that even though we have been saved by the blood of Christ and have eternal life, God will not hesitate to punish us if we perpetrate injustice. This is because at the core of His heart is justice. He is a God of justice.

In Amos 2:6-7 NIV, it is written:

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Israel,
even for four, I will not relent.
They sell the innocent for silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals.
7 They trample on the heads of the poor
as on the dust of the ground
and deny justice to the oppressed.
Father and son use the same girl
and so profane my holy name.

The LORD told Israel that they would be punished for their sexual immortality as well as their injustice for selling the innocent for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals. Instead of helping the poor, they sold them into slavery and treated them like dirt. When you read on in the chapter, you will find God’s punishment. Although these divine retributions occurred during ancient times in another era before Christ came, it is still relevant to us today as they show forth clearly the heart of Father God.

In Amos 2:13-16 NIV, it is written:

13 “Now then, I will crush you
as a cart crushes when loaded with grain.
14 The swift will not escape,
the strong will not muster their strength,
and the warrior will not save his life.
15 The archer will not stand his ground,
the fleet-footed soldier will not get away,
and the horseman will not save his life.
16 Even the bravest warriors
will flee naked on that day,”
declares the Lord.

We can not be a hypocrite singing praise to His name but perpetrating injustice in our midst whether at home or at work. We must remember God in all that we do and always be thankful that we have been redeemed by the blood of Christ to have eternal life. We must remember, the Lord redeemed us for a purpose, and that is to fulfil His will for our lives, which is to follow after His heart, and His heart is a heart of love, compassion and justice!

Waiting and the promises of God

https://odb.org/2024/08/28/worth-the-wait-3

The story of Abram (he later became known as Abraham) is central to the biblical narrative as the nation of Israel came through him. The Messiah, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, also came through Abraham’s line of descendants, including the House of David, and consequently, all the nations of the earth are blessed through the salvation and eternal life brought about by Jesus’s death on the cross and His resurrection thereafter.

It started with a call from the LORD and his stoic and unwavering obedience to the call, to uproot his family, and all he had, to sojourn to a far land with very little details except the direction to travel west. Even to the point of his willingness to sacrifice Isaac, his only son, and his only hope of perpetuating his line. More so, as Isaac only came when he was 100 years old, but the promise of him having descendants as many as the stars in the sky and the sand at the seashore was given to him when he was 75. He persevered and waited and persevered and waited. In the end, God came through for Sarah and him with Isaac, and through Isaac came Jacob, Joseph, Ruth, David, Solomon, and many others until our Lord Jesus Christ. The rest, as they say, is history – in this case, biblical history.

The way God works, as demonstrated by His ways in the life of Abraham and other mighty men and women of God, is that we need to wait but at the same time respond and move. The promise will come true eventually, but in the meantime, we can not remain passive. Neither can we wait and only move when the promise materialises. The latter is not an option as sometimes it is only by stepping out in faith that we will see the promises of God come to pass.

I am still waiting for a few promises of God to come to pass in my own life even as I am ageing day by day. In the meantime, I serve Him as He calls me to the best of the giftings and talents He has bestowed and blessed me with. I work harder in areas where I have less natural talent and to compensate for my lack thereof with my other giftings.

We need to wait for God, not idly or lazily, but with the fervency and determination like that of an otter building its home by the river or the honey badger fighting off predators much bigger than it. We persevere in our faith and serve Him diligently and tenaciously – one day His promises for our lives will come to pass!

Camouflaged Christians?

https://odb.org/2024/08/27/look-more-like-jesus

John 17:14-17 NIV:

14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

Once we accept Christ, we are no longer part of the world as we are now destined for eternal life. A life to be lived in the presence and will of God. Our spirits who were dead because of the original sin of man have been made alive again, and we may now have direct communion with God the Father. All of this is made possible by the redeeming blood of Christ. Thus, from sons and daughters of Adam, we are now children of God in Christ Jesus. Amen! Hallelujah!

Notwithstanding our changed status in the spirit, we are still in the world. Physically, we are still where we were before and will be until our dying day. Except that we now have a special mission to serve God and fulfil His plans and purposes for our lives. To strive for His Kingdom’s sake, in whatever ways we can. Do we stand out like a peacock, or should we be in camouflage like the grey owl? Do we blend in, or should we be different from others?

Jesus taught before that we are the light of the world, and a lamp should not be hidden but be placed on a lampstand to give light to all:

Matthew 5:14-16 NKJV:

14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill can not be hidden. 15 Nor do they slight a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Thus, it is debatable that, as believers, we should be camouflaged Christians. In fact, we should look, behave, and act like followers of Christ, demonstrating God’s love and will on this earth, having attitudes, and actions that do not conform to the pattern of this world. We should not stand out like sore thumbs but stand out we should as people of God so that His name may be glorified and His glory may be manifested throughout the whole earth. Not as sore thumbs or proud peacocks, but as the salt and light of the world. Indeed, let your light shine forth before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven!

Desert places

https://odb.org/2024/08/26/desert-places-2

Christian life, like any other life, has its ups and downs. While we look forward to the mountain top experiences, we dread the valleys. That is natural as everyone wants to have a fairytale ending, to live happily ever after, after getting past all the initial struggles and sufferings. But any ending when extended will likely return to the up and down cycle of life.

Ancient biblical history shows us that God is found in the desert places. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were led through the wilderness to the Promised Land as they travelled and lived in tents in search of the city, whose foundation is built by the LORD. Moses stayed in the wilderness for 40 years before God called him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, and in their journey to the Promised Land, they spent 40 years in the wilderness, mostly in Kadesh Barnea, an oasis just a little south of the Promised Land.

It is through these desert experiences that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses saw first hand the power and love of God. It was also in the journey from prisoner, slave to prime minister that Joseph experienced God’s favour and fulfilled God’s purpose for him to rescue the clan of Jacob that grew from 70 to 600,000 abled bodied men that Moses delivered from the Pharoah in Egypt.

In my life, I’ve had my share of disappointments, failures, and unrealised dreams. But I’ve also had my share of experiences where God intervened supernaturally to lead me to a fruiful conclusion despite injustices perpetrated against me. There were times I cried out in desperate prayer, and the LORD saw me through those desert experiences. The key is to trust in Him and to commit our future to Him. We do not dictate where our future should be or how it should look like, but trust that Jesus will lead us to a place that is flowing with milk and honey – a place that is beautiful and will reflect the glory of God!

Do not dread and shun the desert experiences. Neither fear nor approach such experiences with trepidation. What matters is that the LORD is there with us and we will be safe!

Have a great week ahead, everyone!

Politics in the church

https://odb.org/2024/08/25/space-race

It is common to have politics at the workplace as different groups of individuals align themselves with certain leaders. Sometimes, it is inevitable because a business division needs to achieve its business objectives and thus need to work closely with other business divisions, and as a result, some of the business leaders are politically aligned. But at the very top, the CEO or Group CEO will tell everyone, don’t compete internally as the customer is out there in the market. Internal competition weakens the organisation as the time and resources spent competing with one another would have been better spent acquiring new customers and growing existing ones. Usually, the progress of one division is impeded or blocked or even sabotaged so as not to outshine the other or no help is extended for the smaller one to grow, especially if it’s a startup business.

Sadly, a similar situation may exist in the church when we identify and align ourselves with certain leaders or personalities within the church. In the process, we may create divisions within the church when the enemy is out there in the world. In fact, such a pattern of conduct was prevalent in the church at Corinth two thousand years ago, and Paul had to call them carnal or worldly. This is because politics led to divisions and then envy and jealousy, all negative traits that may eventually destroy the brethren if allowed to fester and grow. Paul had to teach that in the end, it is God who brings forth the fruits and the growth. We are all just sowing the seed and watering the plants.

1 Corinthians 3:3-7 NKJV:

3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?

5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.

The message this morning is that we must be watchful for politics in the church and the resultant division, envy, strife, and jealousy. We will still be carnal and baby Christians and can only be fed with milk. In verse 2 of the same chapter, Paul wrote: “I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able” (NKJV). In other words, politics in the church will make us weak and unable to grow the same way politics at the workplace weaken the organisation. Always remember that we are all co-workers in Christ, and it is God that will give the increase.

Our objective in church and as individual believers is always to grow in the Lord so that we are progressing in maturity to become the person God wants us to be, fulfilling His will and plans for us for the seasons of our lives.

Repentance

https://odb.org/2024/08/23/a-repentant-heart

When I was a younger believer, I was taught a very important lesson that perhaps nowadays we place less emphasis on. The lesson is that even as we confess our sins and seek forgiveness before God and accept by faith Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we need to also repent from our sins. Repentance means turning away and starting anew, and it is crucial to avoid a cycle of us committing a habitual sin, confess, seek forgiveness, and then do it again and again. We will not grow spiritually if our battle with sin ends up that way, endless.

The reason for the need for repentance can be seen in Jeremiah 4:3-4 NKJV:

3 For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your fallow ground,
And do not sow among thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
And take away the foreskins of your hearts,
You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Lest My fury come forth like fire,
And burn so that no one can quench it,
Because of the evil of your doings.”

Fallow means unplowed, and from an agricultural perspective, no farmer will sow seeds before ploughing the ground to loosen the earth. Neither will a farmer sow seeds before clearing the thorns and the weeds as they will compete for the richness of the soil and may eventually overwhelm the crops. Circumcision for the Israelites was part of God’s covenant with Abraham as a sign for the people to be set aside for Him.

Figuratively, Jeremiah 4:3-4 means that God is not able to work with us if our hearts are not conditioned and not set apart for Him. If we still have sin and are unrepentant, we are like unplowed and thorny ground and have not been set apart for Him. How can we then grow in the faith and become spiritually matured?

I think we need to be reminded of the importance of repentance in our relationship with the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Sin will be that chasm that will separate us again from the glory and presence of God. Confess our sins before Him, seek His forgiveness, and repent. He will surely forgive and accept us back into His fold and the shadow of His wings.

Putting our prayers on God’s plate

https://odb.org/2024/08/22/gods-plate

Recently, I had some worries and anxieties over a piece of work, basically how to tie in and align our contract with the client as the prime contractor with our contracts with our subcontractors. I eventually figured it out, but I recalled after having committed the whole thing unto the Lord. Sometimes, I also start the day by praying for wisdom and discernment when dealing with people and work issues. Things will become smoother if we have the Holy Spirit guiding and showing us the way.

Thus, I think that putting our worries and anxieties on God’s plate is an excellent suggestion. Things may or may not work out as we envisaged, but when we know that the Lord is with us, we have more confidence that things will eventually turn out well. Even in situations where someone close may have betrayed us, like in the case of David with his close confidant, Ahithopel, who turned against him and sided with Absalom to usurp the throne and kill him. It was heartbreaking enough that his own son Absalom was going after his blood!

A lot of things are actually beyond our control, although sometimes they look like they are. By a split of a second, something could happen and change the course of our lives, some temporarily, some forever. Lives could be lost by a mistake on the road while driving, or we could meet with an accident while cycling or running or hiking. If we are suddenly diagnosed with cancer, there will be treatments that will turn our lives upside down, and we will never know whether we could survive. Worse is when a wrong choice of words was said, and the impact may be long-term and affect relationships.

In a world of uncertainties, the only thing certain is our Lord Jesus Christ and His love for us. His steadfast love endureth forever. His love is renewed every morning like dew. Cast all our worries and anxieties on God’s plate and trust Him that all will work out for good even as we love Him and are called according to His purposes.

Glorify Christ every way

https://odb.org/2024/08/21/a-life-in-four-words

These four words are very apt to describe how we as believers should live our lives. “Glorify Christ every way” is a paraphrased shortened version of Paul’s encouragement in Romans 15:6 NKJV that reads:

6 that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In essence, if we were to live our lives and interact with others on the basis that we seek to glorify Christ in every way, we will not go wrong in our spiritual walk. When faced with any situation, if we were to ask, will our response glorify Christ? Then, surely what we do will be good and pleasing to God. For example, if someone rudely cuts into our lane as we drive, will we glorify Christ if we were to get all worked up and angry? We know the answer, and so our response should be one of forgiveness and grace. Or if we are presented with an opportunity to be boastful of our achievements, will we glorify Christ if we were trumpet ourselves instead of giving glory to God? So we will know what to do.

A corresponding verse in Romans 15 is verse 3, where Paul quotes Scripture (which in his day comprised only the Old Testament) taken from David’s Psalm 69:9 –

NIV 3 For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”

Thus, if we are insulted, please know that Christ takes our insults, and thus, our reaction that glorifies Christ is not to respond harshly or get into a fight. Instead, we could perhaps correct the person insulting us and continue the discourse in a civil and cordial manner so that our lives may be an inspirational testimony to the glory of God.

Alas, we are only human, and as much as we seek to glorify Christ in every way, the reality is that we may not be that successful. Even in the simple traffic intrusion above, we could have got all worked up and blasted our horns at the rude driver!

Nevertheless, as Christians, our motto is not “once fail; we will always fail!” Instead, we pick ourselves up and do better the next time. We persevere through and keep on doing this until we succeed. We can surely do it with the strength, power, and guidance from the Holy Spirit. Remember these 4 words – “Glorify Christ every way.” Make it our way of life, and I’m sure our faith and salvation will be kept intact until our dying day! Amen!