God is love

https://odb.org/2024/04/30/we-cant-out-love-god

I think it’s a given that we can not out-love God as much as we can not outgive God. It is obviously so because He is the creator, the supreme being who existed before anything at the beginning and will be there at the end of time. He is all-knowing and omnipresent. On top of all that, God is love. He is the personification of love. We also know that we love Him because He first loved us. It was Jesus who called us first to be with the Father as the Holy Spirit convicts.

But some of us may have difficulty accepting God’s love because of our perception of who He is, coloured by our relationship with our own earthly father. We may see Him as strict, fierce, and always wanting to mete out punishment. Thus, we are intimidated in the presence of God. We are afraid and unsure of ourselves. Fortunately, how we perceive Him does not change Him from what He is. He is still love, and He is still the God who gave Israel many, many chances to repent before He allowed their enemies to overpower them. Even after they were taken into exile, He brought them back to Israel to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and the Temple. God loved Israel despite her insolence and disobedience and rebellious ways.

The second thing is that God’s love also empowers us to love others. He heals us of our painful past experiences. He restores us from what the locusts have eaten away over the years. He makes us whole again so that we may love others again. It is He who enables us to trust others again even if we may have been deceived before. The betrayals and disappointments of the past are in the past. We don’t look back, but look ahead to what God has in store for us in Christ. We look towards what Jesus has prepared for us in the future and for the future.

The message this morning is to accept God’s love and begin to love again. Believe in Him. Trust Him. He will transform us. We will once again be that loving and trusting person we were! Praise the Lord, for He is good, all the time! Amen!

Our spiritual battle

https://odb.org/2024/04/29/pray-and-watch

Paul teaches in Ephesians 6:12 – For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. In other words, our real battle is not against human beings but against dark forces in the spiritual realm whose ultimate aim is to tempt and deceive people to walk the broad path that leads to destruction. It is the path that may be filled with fame and riches where the pride of life and the lusts of the flesh and eyes are celebrated. This is the realm where the minds and souls are imprisoned by beliefs and value systems contrary to Christ.

That is why in Ephesians 6:11, Paul teaches us as believers to put on the armour of God so that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Finally, in verse 18, Paul advocates that we pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests and be alert. Pray in the Spirit all the time and yet, at the same time, be alert. It means that as we pray, we must be watchful, to keep awake. In other words, we need to be aware of our surroundings because when we pray in a heavenly language that we do not understand, we may doze off and be a danger to ourselves and others. This is what happened to the lady in today’s ODB life story where she prayed while driving and closed her eyes and crashed her car!

There is a need to pray as our battle is not against flesh and blood but principalities and powers of darkness. But as we pray, we have to be alert, and may I add also be sensitive to the Spirit and exercise discernment. The latter is nevessary as the Spirit may reveal to us people to pray for that we may free such people from the bondage of sin and the stranglehold of the evil one. Someone may be going through something pivotal in their lives, and the Spirit may prompt us to pray for that person.

Working together in unity

https://odb.org/2024/04/26/serving-together-2

I think congregations serving God together in the context of a local church is normal. For the church activities to run, everyone works together, whether it is Sunday worship services, cell group meetings, bible studies, prayer meetings, or visitations. There could be some minor personal disagreements here and there, but differences will be put aside for the sake of the programme.

What is less common, however, is churches working together for a common cause. I guess individual churches are busy with their own activities. But when churches get together and do things for the community, the impact is greater because it demonstrates the unity of the body. I would say that the latter is not something that comes across clearly. I think the perception in the world is that Christians are a fragmanted lot with many different churches and denominations.

Even less common is probably churches who are well off helping those who are in need financially. Perhaps the principle is that a church must be responsible for raising its own finances. In Philippians 4, Paul exhorts the poorer church in Macedonia for helping him financially more than once, compared to the wealthy but miserly church in Corinth. If the congregation is taught not to hold on too tightly to worldly wealth, shouldn’t churches practice the same and help other churches in need? Sadly, the trend in churches nowadays is to raise funds for buildings. Some mega churches, already blessed with their own buildings, want to build more!

There is power in unity. God is pleased when we work together as a body, putting the needs of others first before ours. It is an excellent way to reflect His glory and goodness upon our church when we extend financial help to other churches. To God be the glory for the things He has done in our lives!

Age is no barrier in serving God

https://odb.org/2024/04/25/god-is-my-helper

In my local church, I see that probably 70% are already elderly or approaching there, and that’s a phenomenon I believe is across most churches except a few well-known mega churches with large younger congregations. Whether my hypothesis is correct or not is irrelevant, as the topic that I am sharing today has to do with our age and our service to God.

Like the guy Raleigh in today’s ODB article, he is 85 and has completed a manuscript and a ministry initiative since retiring. My late dad at nearly 80 before he died was still busy counselling someone in his cell group that morning before his final hospital admission in the afternoon. He passed away the next morning. Indeed, age is no barrier to serving God.

Joshua 14:6-12 is another good example. Caleb was 40 when he and Joshua, together with another 10 spies, were sent off to Canaan by Moses from Kadesh Barnea, and they both returned with a good report that the Israelites could take the land with God’s help. Despite the sons of Anak, the fortified cities, and strong armies. They believed they could prevail as they knew the LORD was with them. By Joshua 14, Caleb was already 85, and he is as strong as he was when he was 40! With the LORD helping him, he knew he could drive out the inhabitants of Canaan as Moses said he would 45 years ago.

Are we already 60, 70, or 80 years old and are already complaining we have no more strength to serve God? Why are we slowing down when we have all the time in the world? We have no work commitments, and we need not plan our annual leave anymore to go on mission trips. We can go as we wish, finance permitting. Actually, the best time to serve God is during our retirement. We can fully focus and concentrate on ministry with no work issues and deadlines distracting us. We are as free as the birds of the air!

Age is no barrier when it comes to serving God. Serve Him until we drop dead. Serve Him while we still can, while we are still mobile. Approach Jesus Christ boldly and confidently on the other side since we have given Him our best while on this side until our dying day! Amen

Indispensable in Christ

https://odb.org/2024/04/24/united-diversity

In 1 Corinthians 12:22, Paul asserts that the weaker ones in the body are indispensable. In verse 23, he said that the parts we think are less honourable, we treat with special honour. Meaning to say all have a part to play in the church, but we give special honour and consideration to the weaker ones.

Having worked for more than 30 years now, the phrase I am more familiar with at the workplace is that “no one is indispensable.” Everyone may be replaced at any time, and if you are weak, you will be left behind. Treating the weaker ones with honour is unheard of as the world celebrates success and the strong and the fittest. Very few organisations give a special place for the weaker ones as the game is to churn out profits. It is not about being charitable.

I think the message this morning is that everyone has a role to play in the body of Christ in the universal church. Yes, it is true that the sovereign will of God will be achieved regardless of our response to His calling. Yet the role that we are to play is indispensable. No one can substitute our unique God-given talents and spiritual giftings. Each and every one of us has a special place in the Kingdom of God. God’s plans and purposes for us were formulated even before the foundations of the earth.

Start discovering what part we are to play. For example, putting in the effort to wake early and write and send out these morning devotional commentaries is my part to play. It is unique as I believe there are not many actually doing this on a regular, daily basis. I have discovered my role, my niche. This is on top of the other things I help out in church. What about you? What’s your unique and special God-given talent and spiritual gifting? Have you discovered, developed, and started serving Jesus with your talent? Everyone of us in the Kingdom of God is indispensable! Take up your role, do your part, onward Christian soldiers!

True peace

https://odb.org/2024/04/23/the-true-peacemaker

Warring nations have been at it since time immemorial. Most of us, I would think, hope for an end to wars and sufferings, having heard of the pain and sufferings brought about by the two World Wars. Most of us are not old enough to have experienced WW2 in Malaya, the cruelty and the many deaths afflicted by the Japanese during their occupation of the Malay peninsula. But we hear stories passed down through the generations of the near genocide of our forefathers, of the need to live deep inside the jungle and on just tapioca. Many Chinese babies then were passed on to Malay families for a better chance of survival, and that probably explains why there are contemporary Malays who are as fair as porcelain besides mixed marriages.

Even as we look at the present-day wars between Russia and Ukraine, or Israel against Hamas and possibly its proxy, Iran, we also hope for the wars to end. However, if there is genuine peace on earth, it will be a lull before the antichrist emerges, and thereafter, the sequence of events revealed in Revelation would unravel, leading ultimately to the second coming of Christ and the end of the world as we know it.

Seek Him, hold on to Jesus, and never ever let go. He is the Alpha and Omega. He was there at the beginning and will be there at the end. He holds the keys to Hades, and He will open the Book of Life to search for our names. Are we sheep or goats, or wheat or chaff as Jesus separates us with his winnowing fork (Matthew 3:12)? 

Jesus warned that there would be trouble in the world, but He would give us true peace. A peace that transcends all understanding. A peace that will keep us steady despite the turmoil of the world. A peace that others can probably only experience when they are in the realm of the dead. But that is the peace Jesus promises us while we are breathing, a peace that indeed transcends all understanding.

Peace on earth is beyond us. There are superpowers on earth and powerful territorial strongholds in the spiritual realm at work. What’s within our reach are our own hearts of hearts, deep within our soul and spirit. In the end, that is what that will matter in the Bema judgment seat of Christ.

A cord of 3 strands

https://odb.org/2024/04/22/strength-in-numbers

A human being may live alone in a Robinson Crusoe context or in isolation despite being amongst a sea of people, but it is a sad and depressing situation. Without family, friends, and loved ones, we may end up immersing ourselves in a make-believe world of television, computer games, or other worse indulgences.

Similarly, a Christian may also worship alone in isolation whether through online access of a worship service or just singular solo worship by himself with God. But it is unhealthy as there is no social interaction with other believers. In addition, a believer worshipping solo in silo is not serving God in any context, and we know that service and ministry are part and parcel of Christian life. Thus, a Christian in silo misses out on both fellowship and service.

Ecclesiastes 4:12 teaches that though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not easily broken. Ancient wisdom teaches that there is strength in numbers. That is why a church is not so much a place of worship but more a congregation of believers. It is more a community than a building. It is a community whose main goal and purpose is to ensure that everyone stays on the path of righteousness that leads to eternal life. We want to make sure that as Jesus has purchased us the ticket, we don’t disembark from the bus prematurely or hop on another bus that will lead us to destruction. Also, in a community, certain needs may be met, and false teachings, if any, corrected.

If we have not been attending church in fellowship with warm bodies, we need to do so immediately. We can not be anti-social and worship in isolation – online services are not a good substitute. Yes, there was a time when that was necessary, but that time has long passed. The world itself has transitioned out of that and has moved on. If we have already started attending worship services on-site, continue to do so. Jesus Christ deserves all of our honour and worship. Honour God by continuing in our fellowship with one another as a community of believers – indeed, a cord of three strands is not easily broken!

Stolen sweetness

https://odb.org/2024/04/21/the-bitterness-of-stolen-sweets

Proverbs is a book that contains wisdom literature, and yet some are just observations on life, like a statement of fact. For example, Proverbs 20: 14 – “It’s no good, it’s no good!” says the buyer – then goes on to boast about the purchase. This verse speaks of dishonest people who disparage the value of a product to extract a lower price. That is certainly not wisdom. Yet if it teaches us not to be like that, then it is wisdom because dishonest gains may be sweet at the beginning but may well become gravel in the end as taught in Proverbs 20:17. Food gained by fraud tastes sweet, but one ends with a mouth full of gravel.

I believe if we are honest and true, the Lord will see us through. See Matthew 6:33. Perhaps we may not be overflowing with riches and precious stones. Perhaps we may not enjoy the finest luxuries of life or travel in opulent style or to foreign cities and exotic places. But perhaps also we may not get caught in the web of intriguing deception spun by the evil one and becoming chained to the world of substance abuse, alcoholism and other worldly vices – perpetually needing something extra to turn us on or get that rush of adrenaline. Why wait when we can enjoy the suffering and pain of hell here on earth? That I believe is the sweetness and curse of ill-gotten gains as we see how 1MDB unravelled right before our own eyes, setting back our nation by years.

The ultimate wisdom of Proverbs and Solomon is to teach that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. In other words, true wisdom is to put our trust in God. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon taught that life is meaningless (vanity in KJV) but gains its meaning when we have God in our lives. A life lived for fame and fortune is meaningless because, in the end, all will be left behind. The only way to cross over to the other side with our soul flourishing is by our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only one thing true, as a song says, and is thus worthy of our praise and worship! Have a good Sunday worship today dwelling in the presence of God, everyone! May we see Him face to face in the spirit! Amen!

The Valley of Berakah

https://odb.org/2024/04/19/the-valley-of-blessing-2

There will be times when we may face impossible situations like the people of Judah being confronted with invading armies much more powerful than them. Instead of requiring them to be like the brave Spartans of ancient history, God intervened and caused confusion between the invading armies that they fought with one another and among themselves. Their defeat was so bad that it took the Israelites a full 3 days to gather the plunder from the massacre! Everyone in the invading armies was killed. It looked very unfair from the outside, but it took a king who knew God to pray and decide to love the LORD their God, to keep and obey His commands and law, to hold fast unto Him and to serve Him with all their heart.

The lesson for us in this present time is that God works in seemingly impossible situations, although it may look unfair to some. But it needs prayer as well as genuine obedience and faithful service from us. Not just a question of prayers and intercession. But accompanied by genuine life transformation towards Him, in terms of our character as a person and our service in His kingdom. Ultimately, what the Lord wants to achieve in us is for us to be more and more Christ-like while on earth.

Are we facing seemingly impossible situations in our lives? Situations that keep repeating or a tough medical condition or maybe even difficult challenges at work or facing our business. We need a supernatural breakthrough from God. Pray but also obey and follow His commandments and serve Him with all our hearts.

Remember Joshua 1:1-9 – be strong and courageous for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. Look at the few conditions in verses 7 and 8.

In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will make our paths smooth (Proverbs 3:6).

A place of despair and impossibility becomes a valley of praise! That’s the Valley of Berakah!

The path that leads to destruction

https://odb.org/2024/04/17/choices-matter

We make choices all the time, whether young or old. Choices may be driven by self-preservation or fleshy desires or even selfish ambitions. But mostly, as humans given the will to make our own choices, we make decisions that benefit us most. Sometimes, we pray and seek God. Sometimes, we move on because the choice appears to be obvious.

As believers, we sometimes make choices, trusting that God will make all things good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). I believe that is true in the sense that there are no bad choices – it is up to us to work with God to make good the choice we made. A choice may be perceived as bad or not the best because it yielded the least financial or other returns, but it will remain a wise choice so long as it is not a path that leads us on to destruction.

In my career, I was given and made two major choices. After 4 years in UT, I was given the option to join Maxis or Astro. I chose the latter, and that enabled me to do cross-border transactions, but financially, the former would have been the better choice in terms of  branding and better stock options. Neither would have led me to the path of destruction. After Astro wound down its international ventures, I moved to the domestic business and was also given a choice – either join the content or the strategic contracts team. I chose the latter and, in the process, acquired a new skill set on strategic procurement. Perhaps the former would have given me a more specialised skill and ensured me a longer tenure in Astro?

As per Proverbs 14, are we the fools, the wicked or the wise? We are the wise so long as we fear and love God in the choices we make. Always choose a path that has God written all over it as that’s the path that leads to eternal life. It may not be the path that benefits us the most in terms of financial rewards or career progression or even acquisition of skills or exposure or adventure but it actually still benefits us the most if we eventually end up spending eternity with God. We may look like fools in terms of earthly rewards, but we are actually wise if we choose God because the LORD is able to indeed work all things good for those who fear and love Him! Solomon taught so, and so did Paul many, many years later!