He is the Risen Christ!

https://odb.org/2025/04/20/the-best-evidence

Acts 2 – 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,

“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand 35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” ‘

36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

It’s true that the best evidence of the resurrection of Christ is the transformation of the lives of those who believed in Him. As much as Peter, the other Apostles, and the believers then  were eyewitnesses of the resurrection, it is their changed lives that gave the strongest evidence of Christ crucified and resurrected. From denying Christ 3 times, Peter preached Christ crucified and resurrected with the power and boldness of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul, from prosecuting the followers of the Way, went through so much pain and suffering to preach Christ crucified and resurrected that Christ used his Pharisee training and Jewish theological education to flesh out the fundamentals of the Christian faith. It was done in a way that related to the Greek thought of the day that the non-Jewish could understand and thus expanded the faith beyond Jerusalem, Judah, and Samaria to Rome and the rest of the world.

Millions have been impacted by Christ throughout the generations, among others, lifting many from a life of crime and poverty to righteousness and abundance. My family is a good example. From making ends meet nearly every month, relying on a sole breadwinner, we have now progressed to become a dual income middle-class family with enough to finance the education of our children. And even as we are approaching retirement age, we have employee providence savings to help us in our old age. Could we have achieved the same had we not known Christ? I’m not sure. But one thing I’m 100% sure of is that even if we could have achieved the same without Christ, we will not have the eternal life and everlasting hope without Jesus in our lives!

The resurrection of Christ can not be untrue. Sometimes, when I read Jewish discourse and unbelief of the Messiah and their denial of the prophesies having been fulfilled, I cry deep within me. It is as clear as daylight, and yet they couldn’t see it two thousand years ago, and they still can’t see it today. Similarly, our cousins who are hell-bent to conquer the world.

Today, as we celebrate Easter Sunday (or as some have chosen to rename it Resurrection Sunday), let us remember and honour Christ for His sacrifice on the cross and His victory over the grave, by living a life worthy of His name. The best evidence of His resurrection is still our lives reflecting His glory and goodness! Amen!

Have a Blessed Esater and Resurrection Sunday, everyone!

Blessed Good Friday

https://odb.org/2025/04/17/life-and-death-in-christ

John 12:23–26 (NIV): 23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honour the one who serves me.

The illustration of a seed used by Jesus is apt as the dying of the seed results in the birth of the plant, which eventually becomes a tree with lots of leaves and fruits. It is from the seeds in the fruits that this process is repeated and the species of that plant is perpetuated. This is how nature works. That is how God has created nature to work.

In the spiritual context, the death of Christ on the cross led us to have eternal life, that anyone who loves their life will lose it, while those who hate their life will keep it for eternal life. Meaning to say we need to prioritise our spiritual life while on earth so that we gain it in eternal life. Even as we may struggle living here on earth with the bills to pay, the scarcity of income, as we live a thrifty life to make ends meet and save up for a rainy day, we must never let our spiritual life take a backseat. One day, we will leave this earth in our physical form and transcend into the spiritual realm, and what we have done for our spiritual life will count for our eternal life.

One way taught by Paul was for us to let our old self die and let our new self in Christ live and be victorious. If we dwell deeper into the seed, the seed never actually died. Because a dead seed will not be able to produce life. The seed transforms into another form and becomes a plant that sprouts flowers, leaves, and fruits. The illustration given by Christ is thus correct. It is the transformation of the seed that gives life. As much as we crucify our old self, it still lives on to haunt us. That is why we need to transform our old self to become our new self in Christ. If Christ just died on the cross, He would not have defeated the devil and would not have overcome sin and death. Instead, He rose again after 3 days, proving that through Him, the sting of death over sin is no more. His death and resurrection are the keys to eternal life. His resurrected body is the glorified body we look forward to one day, so we may dwell again with God and Christ in Eden recreated. That is our hope of glory.

Blessed Good Friday, everyone! If you have the chance to go to church today, remember and honour Christ for His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary, for dying for our sins that we may be reconciled with God. We look forward to Resurrection Sunday to honour and commensurate His victory over sin and death! He is risen! Indeed He is alive even today! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

Forget me not

https://odb.org/2025/04/18/to-be-remembered

Luke 23:39–43 (NIV): 39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

The story is that when God was naming flowers, the little flower was worried that God would forget it and blurted out – forget me not! God then named them “Forget Me Not!” Of course, this is folk tale, but it is an interesting story.

In the Gospel, there is the real story of two criminals who were to be crucified with Jesus as recorded in Luke 22:39-43. One mocked Jesus to save them and Himself since He is the Messiah. But the other defended Jesus that while they deserved their sentence because of their deeds, Jesus had done nothing wrong. The second criminal, having faith in the innocence of Christ and believing Christ to be the Messiah, asked Jesus to remember him when Christ comes into His kingdom. In other words, don’t forget him when He really becomes the King. Jesus assured him that he would be with Him in paradise that day itself. So even though he will die, he will live (John 11:25).

For us who are justified by faith in our faith and belief in Jesus Christ, our salvation is assured since we know salvation is a free gift from God. It is not by works of man. Nevertheless, faith without works or good deeds is dead. See James 2:17. If we look at the parable of talents personally taught by Jesus, we will see that there is an expectation that we do something with the life given to us. We are not to hide the talent that represents our lives and the giftings God gave us. We need to put it to work. Practically, it means that we need to serve God and live our lives in accordance with His Word and fulfil God’s plans and purposes for our lives. We need to be like Paul and declare that to die is gain, but to live is Christ (Philippians 1:21). Simply said, we live for Christ and not for ourselves or our own ambitions and dreams even as we align and sanctify our ambitions and dreams with God’s plans and purposes for our lives.

When we die one day, there will not be that need to make that plea – forget me not. We were in constant contact with Christ when we were living, praying, and speaking to Him in our quiet time. When we pass away in the body, it will just be a transition to another dimension into the spiritual realm. We will see Christ face to face. One day, we will live with Christ and Father God in the new heaven and new earth where there will not be any tears or night as the glory of God will fill the place. We will be rightful citizens of the new heaven and new earth as our names are written in the Book of Life!

Anger

https://odb.org/2025/04/16/a-pastry-war

Ecclesiastes 7:9 – Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.

Married couples will bear witness that a small spark can quickly become a raging fire if both parties do not back down. That is why for a marriage to last, usually it is better for opposites to attract (like a magnet) than for both to have a similarly fiery demeanour. If the husband is the fierce type and the wife is non-confrontational, the likelihood that the marriage is peaceful is high, but it is also possible that the wife will always be bullied.

However, I think in the present society, it is less common to find non-confrontational women – women are now more eloquent, confident, and smart. Look at the public universities today. The male/female ratio for 2022 in Malaysian public universities was 39/61!

The best way to avoid conflicts, especially between married couples, is to walk away, more so if you’re the man and the aggressive one. This is because the possibility of the man inflicting harm is much higher. Ecclesiastes 3:9 teaches us not to be easily provoked. It means don’t easily get angry. If we are not angry, we need not walk away. We may remain calm and composed even when provoked. It’s a strong character trait we can be proud of in Christ if we are really able to control our anger when provoked.

We have probably read many news reports of how a sudden provocation can lead to dire consequences. A fight or an altercation may lead to someone being killed, and chances are the perpetrator may face the death penalty. Husbands and wives suffer unwanted deaths when a sudden provocation leads to a homicide. In criminal law, the defence of grave and sudden provocation can reduce a murder charge to a charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder; in American parlance, from first to second degree murder. In Malaysian law, the reduction of the charge reduces the penalty from death to life imprisonment (means 20 years maximum). Sometimes, wars even start from trivial matters due to issues of anger and loss of face.

As a believer in Christ redeemed by the blood of Christ, I think the most important point we should remember is not to provoke our Father God to anger. God is super composed and abundantly patient. But even He is capable of anger even if He may be slowest being to ever be provoked to anger. Nevertheless, we must exercise restraint and caution in the way we live!

As we usher in Good Friday and Easter Sunday this week, exercise restraint and not be quickly provoked to anger for indeed anger resides in the laps of fools! Do not live by our emotions but by our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ!

Ruth

https://odb.org/2025/04/15/i-will-stay

Ruth 1:16–17 (NIV):
16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”

During ancient times, women were largely not given much prominence. They usually support men in most narratives. The bible is no exception as it was written in the literary style of the then existing period of time. Thus, as much as we know Sarah/Sarai was the wife of Abraham/Abram, those chapters in Genesis were more about Abraham than Sarah. It was the same with Isaac’s Rebecca and Jacob’s Rachel and Leah. The wives were supporting characters to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Another example was Joseph. Although the Egyptian Pharoah made him second in command and gave him a wife, Asenath, an Egyptian aristocrat, who bore him two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim (who later formed two of the 12 tribes of Israel), little is known of her.

But Ruth was different. A whole book in the Bible is about her, with only Queen Esther being the other exception. What made Ruth special was that she was a Moabite who chose to follow her mother-in-law, Naomi, back to Israel and adopt Jewish culture and Yahweh as hers. Her famous and often quoted words are, “Your people will be my people, and your God my God.” It illustrates God’s love and compassion and inclusiveness, way before Jesus commissioned Paul to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. Ruth later married Boaz as the story goes, and she became the great grandmother of David, the most illustrious King Israel ever produced. When Jesus was born, He proudly traced his ancestry to the House of David, and Jesus is thus also a human descendant of Ruth!

The parallel we have with Ruth is that we are also grafted into the family of God as adopted sons and daughters through the blood of Christ shed on Calvary, which we will remember and honour this coming Good Friday. We were not the chosen ones but became the chosen ones through Christ. In a way, we are like Ruth. The God of Israel has become our God, and His people, Israelites, are now our people. We are now a part of the universal and spiritual family of God. Like Ruth, who was a foreigner, we were Gentiles (not Jewish).

God could have chosen to remain God of only the Jews. Instead, He so loved the world that He sent Jesus to the world so that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have life everlasting. The irony is that the Jews rejected His Messiah and Son and His message of hope and reconciliation. We as believers and disciples of Christ are the new spiritual Israel.

This week, as we celebrate Good Friday and Easter Sunday, honour, remember and celebrate Christ’s death and resurrection! The day of His return is not far away. There will be turmoil and chaos. Cling on to Him steadfastly, and we will be saved! Amen!

Gospel resources

https://odb.org/2025/04/14/sharing-gospel-resources

Romans 1:16 (NIV): 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

Recently, I had the privilege and honour to help out in a mission trip by a brother and his son to a faraway people in a faraway land. I only gave him some funding, a small amount I can afford. One day, I hope to be able to be a part of such trips that teach, minister, and share the Good News. Different organisations do this differently as some organise city-wide evangelistic healing campaigns. While others do it on a smaller scale, like joining teaching retreats or camps.

This is what the author of today’s ODB article calls Gospel resources. That is anything given by God to spread the message of His love and salvation. The point is that we must get Gospel resources to places where they are needed most. Small communities that are encouraged and strengthened will go a long way to proclaim and bring the message of hope to the larger community there. We must help, in one way or another, to place the spiritual flag of salvation in such needy places that the name of Jesus Christ is proclaimed.

Don’t look down upon ourselves. We ourselves are Gospel resources. Whatever spiritual talents and giftings God have given us, use them for His glory. Volunteer ourselves that we may be a blessing unto others. Focus on our strengths and not our weaknesses. But if we are unable to personally attend, help by giving finance and pray for their spiritual wellbeing. Pray for the power of God to be manifested in their midst and for the spirit of salvation to prevail and reign!

Have a good week ahead even as we prepare to celebrate Easter Sunday! In fact, have a good Holy Week ahead, the week that starts yesterday as Palm Sunday and eases into Good Friday and Easter Sunday! Remember – the Gospel is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes, whether Jew or Gentile.

Honouring by continuing their work

https://odb.org/2025/04/11/good-grief

2 Kings 2:8–14 (NIV): 8 Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up, and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground. 9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.
10 “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.” 11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two. 13 Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. “Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.

The story of Hachiko waiting for his owner to return despite the latter having passed on is legendary as Hachiko did the same thing, day in day out, for 10 years, whether is summer, spring or winter! Most of us would have watched the movie starring Richard Gere, and I’m sure we would have been touched by Hachiko’s faithfulness.

In life, we also want to be faithful like Hachiko, to the people we love or respect. Like being faithful to our beloved wife. Or being faithful to the cause of our leaders based on their example when they were leading us. When they retire or pass on, we should honour them by being faithful to their cause by continuing their work. Often, when leaders die, their cause die with them. One great example in the bible is that of Elisha with Elijah. Elisha shadowed Elijah for some time as the latter’s disciple, and when Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind by heavenly beings, Elisha saw it and was blessed with a double portion of Elijah’s anointing. In other words, Elisha could do what Elijah did before but better and more powerful. In 2 Kings 2, we see that Elisha parted the Jordan like Elijah did before using Elijah’s cloak. 

If there’s someone we love and respect a lot, and they have departed, the best way to honour him or her is to carry on their work in Christ. If they had been a good and faithful servant of God during their lifetime, we should likewise be a good and faithful servant of God. We honour them by carrying on their legacy, their work like how Elisha did in respect of Elijah. If it’s mission work, we continue that mission. Let the nations be blessed and the name of our LORD be glorified by the work of our hands! Amen!

Helpful brethren

https://odb.org/2025/04/10/the-wright-sister

Romans 16:1-4: I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. 2 I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me. 3 Greet Priscillac and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. 4 They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.

The magnificent cathedral at Cologne, Germany
Standing tall despite the massive WW2 bombings

We returned last week from our multi-city tour of Europe, with a stopover-stay in the UK to spend time with our elder son. But I couldn’t get back to writing these devotional pages expediently as I have been struggling with jet lag for the past week. My apologies for my tardiness. I only managed to fall asleep in the wee hours of the morning. Thus, it was impossible to wake up at 5.30 a.m. to seek God and write.

The Central European tour was whirlwind quick but tiring yet absolutely enjoyable. The cold was a refreshing change from the hot and humid weather we are accustomed to over here. One of the highlights, there were actually quite a few, was seeing the magnificent cathedral in Cologne, which miraculously survived the bombings in WW2 by the grace of God.

Coming to the topic of today, as Paul commended in Romans 16 the brethren who helped the church and his ministry by name, we know for sure that ministry is a team effort. Everyone needs to play their part. I see that even in my life group, where there are those who are taking the initiative to organise a retreat when the leaders are busy with work and other ministry duties.

In the case of the famous Wright brothers, there was Katherine Wright, who helped them in the background running their bicycle shop that was the brothers’ source of income and also nursing Orville back to health after he suffered a plane crash in their quest to invent the aeroplane. Paul remembered those who were helpful and who contributed to the cause of ministry. Jesus will, of course, remember and will reward and honour them accordingly in their time in eternal life. But will we remember and honour those around us for all that they have done in our midst even as we ourselves serve God faithfully in accordance with the talents and giftings He has bestowed upon us? We must encourage and honour all our fellow soldiers in Christ, all who have worked and toiled tirelessly for Christ all these years. As the Chinese say, from dark hair to grey hair, we have all served God in the church all these years, one way or another.

The LORD God our Heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ like to commend each and every one of us today for our faithfulness in serving in the church, for our generosity in time and finance and for our kind and encouraging words of exaltation. Despite our challenges in life and at our workplace, in particular, the expected turmoil the world will face with an unpredictable and manipulative president in the US, we will stand the course to complete God’s plans and purposes for our lives!

Have a good weekend ahead, everyone! Be a good and helpful brethren and at the same time appreciate and honour our fellow helpful brethren, in our quest to fulfil the will of the Father here on earth as it is in heaven!

The Son is not a created being

https://odb.org/2025/03/17/making-peace

Colossians 1:15–20 (NIV): 15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him, all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

In Colossae, there were false teachers who were advocating that Jesus as the Son of God was a created being in the sense that He was created by Father God like all other things. But Paul sharply rebutted this by declaring that Christ was the firstborn over all creation. He asserted that in Christ, all things were created. All things were created through Him anf for Him. He is before all things, and in Him, all things hold together.

John also similarly asserted as follows in John 1: 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. The Word was Logos meaning the life force who existed at the very beginning in Greek thought. Through Him, all things were made. Without Him, nothing was made that had been made.

The Jews however could not accept that their Yahweh, the God who led them throughout generations since ancient times, since the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is also Jesus Christ of Nazareth. They could not accept the Immanuel of God having become flesh to dwell amongst His people.

Although rejected by the Jews, Jesus reconciled men to God and extended Yahweh’s Lordship and rulership beyond Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria to the rest of the world. Indeed, through Abraham and his seed, nations shall be blessed. As God of a small band of people numbering 70 when Jacob settled in Egypt after the LORD sent Joseph ahead to prepare the way, that band had blossomed into a nation of more than 2 million when they left Egypt for Canaan 430 years later with Moses. Still, the Israelites were a small nation compared to the nations around them and the dominant deity then and there was Baal. But through Jesus mankind was reconciled to God, and now Yahweh is the God of millions all around the world, that we as Gentiles are now grafted into the family as adopted sons and daughters through Christ.

Be thankful for this privilege and honour to know Yahweh personally in Christ as much as Christ is Yahweh as He existed at the beginning and created all things. Know that even God’s plans for us as born-again human beings with body and spirit were conceived and prepared even before the foundations of the world. God knows us personally and loves each and every one of us. Give our lives to Him and go for His narrow path. He will lead us to be the best that we will ever be!

Have a good week ahead, everyone! We will be travelling to Europe for a vacation and then meeting up with our elder son in the UK. My postings will be sporadic due to the time difference, and I may be offline until we return to Malaysia in early April. Take care, everyone! God bless and keep on walking the narrow path of righteousness that leads to eternal life!

Created for good works

https://odb.org/2025/03/14/were-made-to-do-good

Ephesians 2:6–10 (NIV): 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

The natural tendency of people is usually to mind your own business. Perhaps it’s a city or urban thing. In the natural, we are not inclined to do evil or to hurt, but we are not obliged to help either. You live your life, and I live mine. I said earlier it may be a city or urban thing as people in the countryside and smaller towns are usually more helpful. Or if you see an accident on the roadside, people stopping to help are usually motorcyclists, ordinary people rather than the elite. In terms of races in Malaysia, the Malays are often more helpful compared to the Chinese, and this could be because of their rural based DNA and upbringing. People in the city are often chasing time, rushing from one destination to another, and are thus less inclined to make pit stops.

Actually, deep inside us, we are created to do good. As human beings, our bodies will naturally release dopamine, a reward hormone that gives us pleasure when we achieve something or do good. Like endorphin that releases feelings of euphoria when we exercise or oxytocin (the love hormone) during feelings of connection, bonding, or intimacy, we are made to do good. But sometimes, when left to our own devices, our fleshy desires take control, and we may want to do harm rather than do good.

However, as born-again Christians and believers redeemed by the blood of Christ and who, by God’s grace, found and accepted salvation from God, we must always remember to do good. In fact, Paul says that we are created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Therefore, in the natural as humans, we have been created to do good. In Christ, we are now commissioned to do good works as God has prepared in advance for us. It speaks of a list of good works that we are tasked to do and complete in Christ. That is why James emphasised that salvation without works is dead. We may be saved by grace, but as the redeemed, we are to do good works. Jesus reminds us of this in the parable of the ungrateful or unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:21-35.

I think it is a timely reminder that we are created in Christ Jesus to do good works. Our bodies will help us achieve this by releasing dopamine, which will make us feel good when we have done a good deed. In the process, our Lord, who is seated at the right hand of the Father, will also be happy with us. It is a “win-win-win” situation! Hallelujah! Amen!