Honesty before God

https://odb.org/2024/08/15/convicted-and-freed

Can anyone ever not be honest before God? Since God knows all things, even the things in the depths of our hearts. It is impossible for man to hide from God. For example, after Adam and Eve sinned, they realise they were naked and covered themselves up with leaves. Or after Cain killed Abel, God asked Cain where Abel was, and Cain answered, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” In other words, before God asked, He already knew what had happened.

I think the problem with humanity is that although we know we can not hide from God, we may refuse to acknowledge our sin before God. By pushing it aside and out of our minds, we may be hoping that it never happened or that God will eventually forget about it. Unfortunately or fortunately, we have a conscience in us, and as believers, we have the addition of the Holy Spirit on top of our human conscience. Even if we want to forget, the Holy Spirit may remind us. Our own guilty conscience may also remind us. The reason is that the Holy Spirit and our own conscience know that it is in our best interests that we come clean with God and deal with our sin with Him.

David was the perfect example. In Psalm 32:1-7, he expressed his remorse and repentance for his sin with Bethsheba. He suffered the consequences. He lost a few of his sons, including the son from his initial adultery with Bethsheba. But God nevertheless forgave him and his son with Bethsheba, Solomon, became the wisest and wealthiest King Israel ever had. In the Bible, three of the wisdom books are attributed to Solomon – Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon.

Pushing things out of our minds will not change things. Neither will asserting that we are following His will when it is our own desire and will. It is futile to play mind games with God. He is omniscient. He is all-knowing. We can not hide anything from Him. It is best that we are completely honest before Him. Let Him see our iniquities and weaknesses and sins. It is from our ashes and weaknesses that He will raise us up again to be the person He had always wanted us to be.

Have a good coming weekend, everyone! Spend some time to reflect on our life and our journey of faith. Be completely honest before God. Let Him examine our motives and desires. Let us always be frank and real and completely honest with the LORD, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. Amen!

Love and forgiveness

https://odb.org/2024/08/14/generous-love

Colossians 3:13-14:

13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

I like the phrase used in today’s ODB that love is not an accessory in a believer’s wardrobe but the main piece. This is because God is love, and we can’t love God if we do not have love. Love thus forms the essence of who we are in Christ. As believers; we love God, we love one another, and we love our neighbours as we love ourselves. From our love, other virtues like grace and mercy, compassion, and kindness flow, and one of the significant virtues we should have and that we need to continuously work on is forgiveness. Forgiveness flows from love because it is only with genuine love that we may truly and sincerely forgive those who have harmed or hurt us.

Forgiveness is also necessary because unforgiveness may lead to bitterness, and bitterness may, in turn, lead to resentment, and the latter, as demonstrated in the case of Cain and Abel, may lead to terrible sin. Unforgiveness also separates us from God. Since God forgave us on the account of the blood of Christ while we were yet sinners, we must likewise forgive those who had harmed or hurt us. Or as expressed in the Lord’s prayer, those who had trespassed against us as we seek God’s forgiveness for our own trespasses.

As much as love and forgiveness are fundamental cores to our Christian belief and faith, it is easier said than actually done. Many of us who had gone through the 70s and 80s as youths had to endure institutional discrimination that, to many of us, had life-changing consequences. Many had to make do with whatever courses that were offered to us, and some, because of financial constraints, did not pursue tertiary education. We are now well into our 50s and 60s, and I’m sure we still think about what could have been if we were given equal opportunities back then? Are we still angry? Do we still harbour resentment against the government? Are we able to see beyond our past and see the goodness of God in our lives and thus forgive and move on?

At a more personal level, we might have gone through personal disappointments and heartbreaks and much sadness. It is time to truly let go and let the past be the past and remain in the past! Focus on our journey ahead, don’t look back, and let the Holy Spirit guide and lead us as we gaze heavenward to God in Christ Jesus!

I am doing a new thing

https://odb.org/2024/08/13/behind-prison-bars

I think it is important as a believer that we grow and progress in our spiritual life and not remain stagnant or backslide. We must leave the past behind and move on, not just past disappointments and tragedies but also past victories and achievements. If David had remained only with his monumental victory over Goliath, he would have remained a child as though time stood still. Instead, he grew from victory to victory and became the most successful warrior-king in Israel’s history. With so much blood in his hands, the LORD did not permit him to build the Temple for Him, although He gave David the blueprints.

Isaiah 43:18–19 (NKJV):

18“Do not remember the former things,
Nor consider the things of old.
19Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert.

God is always doing a new thing in our midst, to encourage us on, to lift us up so that we may fulfil His plans and purposes for our lives. As a church, we must find and discover God’s work in our midst. What is the new thing He is doing? Then, encourage our people to embark on that journey with God. There are new lands to conquer, like Joshua, new frontiers to overcome. Perhaps it is a mission trip. Perhaps it is an evangelistic rally. Perhaps it is a new outreach. Or is it a new initiative to feed the poor and hungry? A project to help the homeless and destitute?

Do not remember the former things or consider the things of old. I will do a new thing. I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Both the latter are now a reality in modern-day Israel. Will they be a reality in our lives? Can God make a road in the wilderness of our lives? God will make a way when there is no way. Can God make rivers in the desert places of our lives?

1 Corinthians 3:1–2 (NKJV):

1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able;

God is doing a new thing in our midst, and we have to grow up and not remain as babes, who can only take milk and who are still carnal. We can not be babies forever in the Lord. We need to grow in maturity in our knowledge of God and in our relationship with Him. We have to equip and prepare ourselves spiritually to serve Him in the new thing He is doing in our midst! Step out and step forth in faith! The Holy Spirit will lead and guide us!

Welcoming little children

https://odb.org/2024/08/12/welcome-mat

There are three concepts in Jesus’s teaching in Mark 9:30-37. The first is that Jesus needed to die first before He rises again. At that point, the disciples of Jesus didn’t understand what He was talking about. The second is that the least is the greatest, and it speaks of servant leadership in the Kingdom of God. This essentially means that in God’s Kingdom, it is about serving and not authority or power. That also means that in the church, it is not about attending but more to respond to the various needs in the church, to help out in the various ministries like ushering, visitation, follow up, prayer, music, hospitality, evangelism and many others.

The third is the most tricky, and that is to welcome others. The thing is that when we welcome people into the church, we tend to naturally focus on what they can do or how they could contribute to the church. If possible, we would like to avoid problematic people as such people could be a source of strife and division, leading to partisan politics within the church. Although the human logic is there, this is clearly against Jesus’s teaching in Mark 9, which is to welcome others like little children. The thing about little children is that as much as they are the future of the church, they are a long way away from adulthood and service. Instead, the church needs to provide for them. Therefore, the point is that we welcome others to our church regardless of what they can do or even if they can’t do much like the little children.

When we flip to the other side, we will see what Jesus meant. We are to welcome also the discards of society, the poor, and the downtrodden, including the drug addicts and beggars on the street. They may not be useful to us, and yet we are to welcome them as Jesus teaches. We don’t know their life stories, and it is not our place to pass judgment, but most importantly, Jesus loves them and died for their sins, too. Our obligation and responsibility is to help them and nurse them back to health so that they may become useful to society again.

Have a good week ahead, everyone! May Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour open doors for us to reach out and touch others through our lives that Christ may be glorified. The Kimgdom of Heaven is for the destitute, the poor, the hungry, and the thristy. Welcome all with open hearts so that everyone has the opportunity to be redeemed by Christ and accept Him as their Lord for eternal life!

God’s Word

https://odb.org/2024/08/11/scripture-lovers

Psalm 119 celebrates the love of the Psalmist for the Torah, described as His law, His precepts, or His commands, statutes, or commands. As in Psalm 1, the wisdom is that if we love His Word, we are like a tree planted by streams of water that will be properly nourished to bear fruits in season and prosper.

Psalm 1:2-3:

2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.

For the ancients, where prosperity is a sign that God’s favour is with us, being grounded in His Word (delight and meditate on it day and night) is a sure way to gain God’s favour and thus a good and prosperous life. In the book of Job, Job persevered in his faith despite losing everything and being inflicted with a terrible illness and was ultimately blessed with a double portion of all that he had lost. Success, in the eyes of the ancients, is a life wealth, power, and authority, as can be seen in Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in Joseph and Daniel as well as David and Solomon.

But the New Testament, after the coming of Jesus, takes a slightly different approach. In John 1:1, John declared that the Word (Logos) was Christ and He existed at the beginning:

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. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

The intention then was to declare that Christ is the logos to the contemporary Greek thought of a supreme power (logos) existing at the beginning. It also meant that the Word of God is Christ. It is the embodiment of God. It is how we may know who God is – as we witness His interactions with mankind and beginning with Abraham, His interactions with His people, and the workings of the Abrahamic Covenant, which spans through to modern-day believers in Christ.

Whether it leads to prosperity on earth or eternal life, the wisdom remains that it is highly beneficial for us to read, study, and meditate on Scripture. There is both power, authority, and life in the Word of God. The more we know, emulate and live it out (some use the expression ‘eat’), the better we will be in Christ and the knowledge of God and the mysteries of His Kingdom.

Have a good Sunday worship service today as we celebrate His goodness and blessings upon our lives!

Doing good for Jesus

https://odb.org/2024/08/09/love-in-action-4

Hebrews 13:15-16 (NIV):

15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices, God is pleased.

I think it is a good idea to link Hebrews 13 verses 15 with 16. This is because as part of our sacrifice of praise, the fruit of our lips that profess His name, we should not forget to do good. For it is such sacrifices of praise that do good that pleases God. In other words, we are not merely paying lip service. Instead, we are actually doing something tangible in our sacrifice of praise. Jesus taught before that when we do something good to one of the least of His brethren, we are doing the same unto Him (see Matthew 25:40-45). In James 2:26 – it is written that for as the body without spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

One of the easiest ways to do good is actually to be kind to one another and others. Displaying kindness doesn’t cost much, in fact, costs us nothing! But it may have a profound and far-reaching impact. An act of kindness may give hope to someone, and sometimes that hope may mean believing in the sanctity of life and in living. It may lead to a realisation that there still exists humanity in people. Not everyone is out to get you or take advantage of your situation. We need to always reinstill and reinforce the belief that there are still good people out there. If Christ is glorified in the process, well and good. If not, we are still good with Christ by doing so.

Even though today is already knocking at the door of the weekend, and thus the week is nearly over, it is not too late to be kind. Do good, be kind today and the weekend even as we prepare ourselves to worship God and celebrate His goodness on Sunday.

God bless you, and have a good weekend, everyone! TGIF and take care!

Confession of sin

https://odb.org/2024/08/08/cleansing-confession

In the Catholic church, there is a practice where a believer confesses his or her sins in the confession booth before the priest who represents God, and through the confession, that person seeks to obtain forgiveness from God. It is possible that this practice originated from James 5:16:

16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

This act of confession is not formally practised in the evangelical or charismatic circles, but if anyone wants to do so, the pastor and the elders of the church will oblige and pray for that person’s spiritual life and well-being. But it is informal, and it can just be between two believers or husband, and wife. The important thing is to pray for each other so that we may be healed. So that we may progress in our faith and continue to grow in the knowledge and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We know that if we confess our sins before God and it can be done between us and God, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). It is through the blood of Christ shed on Calvary that we are made righteous and holy before God.

This morning, if we have any hidden or habitusl or persistent sin in our lives, do the right thing and confess and repent from it before the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do not let sin and unrighteousness in our lives hinder us in our relationship with God. May we dwell in the comfort and security of His wings that surely goodness and mercy will follow us for the rest of our days as we dwell in the house of the LORD forever! May the LORD bless the work of our hands and grant us a double portion of His anointing as we walk on the narrow path of righteousness that leads to eternal life!

Discretion and wisdom

https://odb.org/2024/08/07/the-voice-we-can-trust

Proverbs 2:11 (NKJV): Discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you…

With advancements in technology and communications, the world, in a way, is at our fingertips. At the click of a button, we can find out about virtually anything or be transported into another city or culture. The Google search engine made learning so accessible when just twenty to thirty years back, we needed to buy books to learn about things. With YouTube, we can learn much more about the world around us. I especially find unboxing videos, particularly useful when setting up stuff like when I bought a battery-operated grass cutter recently or when I got myself a Karcher water jet 2 years ago. Now, with Open AI’s ChatGPT, AI can even shape our line of thought and way of thinking.

Some of us who want to reach out to others for the Lord find that YouTube makes hearing the Gospel possible for many closed communities if they have Internet access. Thus, we could broadcast to the world our own thoughts, messages, and teachings as well as our church’s worship services, including evangelistic sermons. The reach for the Gospel has never been that wide and far before.

Consequently, the Internet being a neutral platform is a double-edged sword. While we may have access to the yet unreached, the devil also has access to us. Besides confusing us with the myriad of messages out there, he could also lead us astray through wild exotic teachings. Although there could be people seeking fame and fortune for selfish reasons, many sincere and genuine people could still be manipulated by the enemy to lead us away from God. Anyone is at liberty to teach or offer a point of view since the Internet is only a platform. There is no accreditation required.

That is why when we surf and follow the teachings of various people on YouTube or the Internet generally, we need to exercise discretion and wisdom. It’s best that we equip ourselves first from credible sources with basic knowledge before we embark on more difficult and subjective topics. For example, perhaps we should buy a good book on Christian apologetics before attempting to learn from the web more controversial subjects like the age of the earth?

We have the Holy Spirit with us. Pray and ask for discernment and wisdom as we seek to better ourselves in the knowledge of God and the mysteries of His Kingdom. Always go back to the Bible and its commentaries. While the LORD may give us and the teachers out there “revelational” insights into the spiritual realm, everything must be grounded in our tenets of faith and the Scriptures.

We worship God in all seasons

https://odb.org/2024/08/06/behind-the-scenes-6

We know by now that Christian life is not a bed of roses. We are humans, and we go through life like any other. Meaning to say, we face heartbreaks, disappointments, tears, sadness, and loss like we also experience happiness, joy, peace, exciting and exhilarating times, as well as laughter and moments of proud achievements. We celebrate birthdays and weddings, but we also attend wakes and funerals. Like Lee Zii Jia, who just won a bronze medal in the current 2024 Paris Olympics, he went through a lot to be where he is today, especially harsh and biting criticisms from Lee Chong Wei. But his win in the Olympics proved his critics wrong! He is championship material!

Likewise, we must strive to stand tall in the Lord amidst all the struggles and challenges we face in life. Maybe our career didn’t progress as high as we wished. Maybe many did better than us. But are we on the streets? Do we have to beg from meal to meal? Don’t we have a spouse, a family, and children, and a roof over our heads? In the Bible, Job lost everything and yet stood tall before God. He never once accused or criticised God. His faith was intact despite his life journey.

In all that we go through in life, it is important to hold on to God come what may, no matter what we go through. Like a boat pulling a rope, we must hold on to that rope no matter what. If we let go, we will drown in the vast ocean. Hold on tight. Hang on until we reach dry land. Like Jacob, we must not let go even though the day will break soon!

The reason is simple – He is God, and we must let Him be God! We must allow Him to be who He is. We worship Him regardless of our situation. It is not our place to question Him. He is sovereign. We do not wish for bad times, but we worship Him in good and in bad. He deserves our worship and is worthy of our faithfulness regardless of what we might experience in life. One day, whether here on earth or in heaven, we will triumph like Lee Zii Jia did yesterday in Paris! Remember, Jesus already died for our sins! He already did the hard part. All we need to do is cling on to the faith He gave us and serve Him until our dying breath!

Romans 12:18

https://odb.org/2024/08/05/it-depends-on-me

Romsns 12:18 (NKJV) If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

In the earlier chapters of the book of Romans (1-11), Paul taught us that salvation is by the grace of God through our faith in Christ Jesus. In the subsequent chapters (12-16), Paul taught about the practical aspects of how our beliefs impact our conduct and our relationships with others. In other words, the pattern in Paul’s writings is to first spell out the theology of what we believe and then elaborate on how we are to live and behave. Faith is not just about believing but also how to apply our beliefs to our day to day living, in our interactions with others. It may look like rules, but the latter may sometimes include principles to activate the blessings of God by opening the floodgates from the heavenlies. But mainly to ensure that our conduct does not compromise or contradict our beliefs.

Taken in that context, Romans 12:18 is first to make sure that we ourselves do not create or cause conflicts with others (believers and non-believers alike). But more crucially, if someone else were to bait or provoke us, we avoid that outright confrontation. We may have healthy discussions, I guess, but we need to maintain harmony or, as the NKJV puts it, live peaceably with all men. This is because, fundamentally, our faith is about reconciliation, love, grace, and mercy. We build up rather than destroy. We lift up and not tear down (unless we are talking about spiritual strongholds).

As much as it depends on us and if it is possible, we must live in peace and harmony with others. Let’s take that to heart and practice this for the coming week. Avoid conflicts and preempt confrontations. Let things proceed smoothly. Wouldn’t that be living a better life for everyone? Have a good week ahead, everyone! May the Lord grant us discernment and wisdom to deal with issues at work, at home, and in the church in a harmonious and peaceful fashion?