God calls and equips

https://odb.org/2025/12/18/gifted-by-god

Exodus 31:1–11 (NIV): 31 Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—4 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 5 to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts. 6 Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I have commanded you: 7 the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law with the atonement cover on it, and all the other furnishings of the tent—8 the table and its articles, the pure gold lampstand and all its accessories, the altar of incense, 9 the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, the basin with its stand—10 and also the woven garments, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests, 11 and the anointing oil and fragrant incense for the Holy Place. They are to make them just as I commanded you.”

Beethoven also had ample opportunity and exposure to music (which developed the aptitude he did have). Yet neither talent nor opportunity fully account for God’s role in endowing us with the abilities we have. Our Creator equipped two men, Bezalel and Oholiab, with specific skills to be used in building the tabernacle. God filled Bezalel “with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—to make artistic designs” and appointed Oholiab “to help him” (Exodus 31:3-6). God gave “ability to all the skilled workers to make everything [He] commanded” (v. 6). (Kristen Holmberg, Our Daily Bread 18th December 2025)

In a recent sermon, I shared on the calling of God. One of the points I raised was that we were chosen even before the foundations of the world (Ephesians 1:4) and God already called us before we were formed in our mother’s womb (Jeremiah 1:5). These verses speak of God’s plans and purposes for our lives, conceived well before we were even born. There’s a sense of destiny in who we are in the Lord.

On the point of overcoming doubts over our calling, I spoke on trusting God’s timing as well as believing that the Lord will equip all whom He calls. We just need to respond in faith and He will prepare and equip us. Exodus 31 today is the perfect example of how God prepared and equipped two ancient men, Bezalel and Oholiab, with specific skills to build the tabernacle during the time of Moses. God had a purpose and He prepared and equipped the people necessary for that purpose.

Likewise when God calls us and He has a specific purpose in mind for us, He will prepare and equip us. Our skills could be our God-given talents that we were born with, honed with the natural skills we acquired from our upbringing, education, social exposure and work experience. Most importantly, trust that He equips whom He calls, even in areas we may have nothing!

God’s compassionate discipline

https://odb.org/2025/12/17/inestimable-worth

Isaiah 43:1–7 (NIV): 43 But now, this is what the LORD says—
he who created you, Jacob,
he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I am the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your stead.
4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
nations in exchange for your life.
5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east
and gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
7 everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”

The Bible paints another picture of underestimated value and forgotten worth. Isaiah the prophet, inspired by the Holy Spirit, told God’s people that even though they would be taken away to a foreign land where they would suffer and be devalued, He would still be with them: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine,” He assured them (Isaiah 43:1). Though they would “pass through the waters” and “walk through the fire” (v. 2), His faithfulness to them would not change. With words that point to His coming kingdom in Christ, God promised that He would one day restore “everyone who is called by my name” (v. 7) and bring them home to Him (James Banks, Our Daily Bread 17th December 2025).

We all know by now that the Israelites in Judah (Judeans) were brought into exile by the Babylonians due to their disobedience towards God. They were exiled for 70 years. This was their second exile, the first was by the Assyrians. That was against the Northern Kingdom of Israel and led to the loss of the ten northern tribes as there was no documented return of the northerners. In other words, those who were exiled then, over time, effectively became part of the Assyrians by assimilation. In the second exile, Babylon was subsequently overrun by the Persians and the Judeans were permitted by the Persian King, Cyrus the Great, to return to Israel to rebuild the Temple and Jerusalem (see the biblical account in Nehemiah).

Isaiah 43:5-7 is postulated as one of the ancient prophesies that foresaw the modern return of the Jewry from all over the world to Israel with the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. Pastor Peter Tsukahira, a naturalised Israeli, often preached on this. However it is to be noted that after 70 years in exile, the Judeans did return to Israel even during those ancient times.

The exile and return of the Israelites during that Babylonian/Persian era speaks of both God’s judgment and compassion. He judged and yet He did not forsake them. It is a theme of God’s heart that we as modern-day believers in Jesus Christ must know. As much as the LORD may discipline or punish us for our disobedience, He is compassionate and forgiving if we were to repent from our wayward ways. Jesus taught this very clearly from the parable of the Prodigal Son.

Do not be afraid or run further away from God if we had been disobedient. Return to Him like the Judeans did after 70 years in Babylon. In our case, He will forgive us. He is a loving and compassionate God. For as proclaimed in Isaiah 43:4 – we are precious and honoured in His sight, because He loves us. Amen!

The Good Samaritan

Luke 10:25–34 (NIV): 25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him.

The key to understanding the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) lies in knowing how first-century Israel answered the question, “Who is my neighbor?” (v. 29). They’d distorted the command “love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18) into “love your neighbor and hate your enemy” (Matthew 5:43). The Jews defined a neighbor as a fellow Israelite, for gentiles were accursed. For the Pharisees (experts in the law), it referred to a fellow Pharisee, for those who knew nothing of the law were accursed (John 7:49). Jesus turned this thinking upside down by making a hated Samaritan (people of mixed race whom the Jews viewed as heretics) the hero of the story. The Spirit can help us today to show compassion to others instead of simply passing by. (Bill Crowder, Insights Our Daily Bread 16 December 2025)

Unfortunately, the world, likely influenced by Satan’s indirect propaganda over the ages capitalising on human nature, had accepted the axiom that one should love one’s own but hate others. Most take the latter slightly or even moderately but some to extremes. But this ingrained thinking likely led to prejudice, racism, bigotry fueling hatred among races over centuries, for instance, between Arabs and Jews.

There are examples everywhere, between whites and coloured people, the British and the French and at home, between the 3 main races in Malaysia – the Malays versus the Chinese and Indians. Amongst the Malays, there is this preconceived idea that the non-Malays, whose ancestors were brought into Malaya to work at the tin mines and rubber estates, are out to take their inherent right to the riches of Malaya. Unfortunately, it was the British who exploited the situation as part of their global colonialism and present-day non-Malay Malaysians are just descendants of their ancestors. They are not migrants but descendants of migrants. Of course, this is not unique to Malaysia. Prejudice, racism and hatred exist everywhere in the world, even in homogeneous societies.

The issue is how can we as believers not only take a different view (which I believe most of us already have) but also make a difference? Can we be the Good Samaritan in situations we encounter in life? Can we put aside our ingrained prejudices, shaped by years of social conditioning, and love our “neighbour” as Jesus intended – everyone else, not just our kind or fellow believers? We probably can’t change others or society at large, but we can be the Good Samaritan!

We are all human

2 Corinthians 2:1–8 (NIV): So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you. 2 For if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved? 3 I wrote as I did, so that when I came I would not be distressed by those who should have made me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would all share my joy. 4 For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.
5 If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely. 6 The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. 7 Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him.

Hippocrates (ca. 460–375 bc) brought medicine out of the realm of the superstitious and into the light of testing and observation. But he didn’t lose sight of the patient’s humanity. “It is far more important to know what person the disease has,” he said, “than what disease the person has.”

The apostle Paul cared for a church with multiple problems, yet he saw the humanity of each member—including a man who’d committed a sin “that even pagans do not tolerate” (1 Corinthians 5:1). Paul dealt strongly with the “disease,” and the man repented. (Tim Gustafson, Our Daily Bread 15 December 2025)

The quote from Hippocrates is interesting because we always tend to look at the disease and illness, and less the person. Not so much what person the disease had. There is the humanity behind the illness that we sometimes overlook or forget. It’s the same with sin and bad behaviour. We want to get rid of the sin, but we must save the person so we don’t end up throwing away the bath water together with the baby.

Practically, what this means is that in dealing with sin or bad behaviour, we forgive the person and reconcile with him or her once he or she repents. We accept them back into the fold, into the fellowship. Life goes on thereafter. No need to pick on the past or recall the past misdeeds or sins. If God wants to dial back time, there will be much for we ourselves to grieve over.

Good practice also dictates that in dealing with issues whether in church, at work or in the family, always remember the person behind the issue. For example, we save long term costs when we retrench someone but behind him are his wife and children depending on his paycheck to pay the bills and build their future. Or in a disciplinary inquiry, we shouldn’t go to extreme lengths just to secure a win unless we know for sure that what was done was really irresponsible and totally reckless. It was unprecedented that the Federal Court just a few days ago imposed a “cooling period” and requested the prosecution to reevaluate their “strategy” in Syed Saddiq’s case.

Have a good week ahead everyone! Everyone we see or meet may just be “someone else” in our eyes, but behind them are many moments, struggles and even aspirations of more. Not that we need to be entangled in everyone’s lives but be kind and forgiving and compassionate as everyone needs to put food on the table and pay bills.

Thanking God

https://odb.org/2025/12/12/cultivating-gratitude

Psalm 9:1–4 (NIV): 1 I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High. 3 My enemies turn back; they stumble and perish before you. 4 For you have upheld my right and my cause, sitting enthroned as the righteous judge.

“Dad, can you get me some water?” my youngest daughter asked. “Sure,” I said, bringing her a full cup. She took it wordlessly. Then my oldest daughter made the same request. She didn’t respond either after I got her some water. Annoyed, I blurted out, “Is anyone going to say, ‘Thank you’? Why is that so hard?”

Sometimes there’s nothing like parental frustration to open the door for God to work. Immediately I felt the gentle nudge of the Holy Spirit: Yes, Adam, why is it so hard to say, “Thank you”? Busted. Turns out a lack of gratitude isn’t just my kids’ problem; it’s mine too. (Adam R. Holtz, Our Daily Bread 12th December 2025)

Yesterday we just spoke about being kind and generous as a reflection of our thankfulness to God for His blessings upon our lives. Click on the link below if you had missed that devotional write-up: https://ronnielim.com/2025/12/11/kindness-and-generosity/

Today the topic is on the same theme except that it concerns us thanking God and Jesus for His goodness and blessings upon our lives. Specifically, verbally confessing with our lips our thankfulness and appreciation. Just like we are happy and glad that people acknowledge us by thanking us, the Lord is also likewise happy and glad when we do so.

Although He knows we are thankful and grateful, we must nevertheless thank Him verbally in words. It’s not a difficult thing to do. We hust add thanksgiving into our prayer routine amd praise the Lord every time we see and experience a good and positive outcome. Thank the Lord when our boss praises us for closing a deal because it was the Lord who enabled us to do so. Sometimes we see everything just goes to plan and we know it was the Lord aligning all the bricks for us. Trust in the Lord and He will make our paths straight! Thank the Lord. As the Psalmists say, never cease thanking and praising God for He is our deliverer and the protector of our faith, He is our stronghold and our salvation!

Have a good weekend ahead! Remember to physically attend church, to congregate and worship the Lord together with and amongst His people! Praise the Lord as we thank Him for His goodness, mercy and grace in our lives! Amen!

Kindness and generosity

https://odb.org/2025/12/11/the-shoes-off-his-feet

Colossians 3:12–17 (NIV): 12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 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.
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

An older man jogging down a street in New York City stopped in his tracks when he noticed a pair of battered sneakers placed near a homeless man’s sign requesting help. When the jogger learned that the two men wore a similar size, he gave the younger, homeless man the shoes (and socks!) off his feet and walked home barefoot. But not before explaining, “I’ve been blessed my whole life. God has been very good to me, so I feel like I should bless you too.” (Alyson Kieda, Our Daily Bread 11th December 2025)

From giving away money to the things we own, it is showing kindness to another that points to Jesus. If we are well-off, giving away our pair of shoes could well mean an excuse to buy the latest one in the market! I digress. The truth is parting with things is not as easy as it looks. But if motivated by our gratefulness to and love for Christ, we could do much more. Ultimately however it is not our duty to help every poor and homeless person we see. As Jesus once said, the poor you will always have with you but you will not always have Him when the disciples criticised Mary (sister of Martha) for breaking her very expensive bottle of perfume (which she kept for her marriage) to wash Jesus’s feet using her hair (see John 12:3). What Mary did was special and significant as she was unknowingly preparing Jesus for burial (for He would soon be crucified for our sins) but the point made by Jesus was nevertheless that the poor will always be there in our midst.

Be that as it may that we will not be able to abolish poverty (it is the government’s role in making structural reforms as evidenced by China’s success in alleviating millions out of poverty), we should be kind when confronted with the poor or the needy or the oppressed. That kindness could be motivated by our thankfulness to God for blessing us or it could be because of the generosity already ingrained in us due to Jesus residing in our hearts.

Whatever may be our motivation, just be kind and generous to those around us, especially the poor and disadvantaged – the widows, orphans and the foreigner, whenever we can. Ultimately our act of kindness and generosity will point to Jesus as we are His brothers and sisters in Christ in the family and kingdom of God! Anything that we may do that will give glory to God, do it without hesitation! Amen!

Trust in the Lord

Proverbs 3:1-8 NIV– 3 My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, 2 for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. 3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Then you will win favour and a good name in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. 8 This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. 9 Honour the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. 11 My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke 12 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.

Corey Brooks—“The Rooftop Pastor”—spent 343 days living on the rooftop of his church on Chicago’s south side to inspire community transformation. Online, Brooks posted a “shout-out” to his elementary school teacher Joe Stokes, who taught him four unforgettable lessons: the power of perseverance, the importance of integrity, the value of community engagement, and the impact of education.

By embracing Solomon’s wisdom in Proverbs 3, we likewise can strive to live in ways that have community impact. Solomon taught four lessons: “Trust in the Lord” (v. 5); “fear the Lord and shun evil” (v. 7); “honor the Lord with your wealth” (v. 9); “do not despise the Lord’s discipline” (v. 11). Such wisdom compels us to be God-focused, but there are people touching dimensions to our faith too. (Arthur Jackson, Our Daily Bread, 10th December 2025)

Wherever we are and at what station in life, we must always remember the LORD in all that we do. In Solomon’s words, “do not forget my teachings but keep my commands in your heart” (Proverbs 3:1). Whether we are a young man or woman or we are already in our old age, the principle remains. We keep His commands (His Word) in our hearts.

Keeping His commands may be broken down into many parts but in Proverbs 3, Solomon summarised it down to 4 main principles: (1) trust in the LORD, (2) fear the LORD and shun evil, (3) honour God with our money, and (4) do not rebel against His discipline. The results are that we will have a long life, have peace and prosperity and we will win favour and a good name in the sight of God and man. In other words, we will live good and honourable lives on earth. And since we are also sons and daughters of God through the redemptive blood of Christ on Calvary, we are assured of our place and treasures in eternity at the new heaven and new earth. In other words, we will live comfortably here on earth and thereafter.

As part of the living, we will no doubt still face challenges and rigours that life itself brings. The tears and joys, the heartbreaks, the health challenges as we age after years of neglect. But our eyes remain focused on Christ and our hearts still trust in the LORD. As Paul points out, “we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). “He makes all things beautiful in His time”, Solomon in all his wisdom says in Ecclesiastes 3:11.

Ultimately, trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our understanding and He will make our paths straight.

Being the church

https://odb.org/2025/12/09/being-the-church

Acts 2:36–47 (NIV): 36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

On a sunny afternoon, I drew with sidewalk chalk with the Sudanese family next door. We could hear singing coming from the house next to theirs, where a small group holds worship services. The young mom I was talking with was curious about what was going on, so she and I walked over and listened in. They invited us to gather with them. A young man, standing in a tank filled with water for baptism, spoke about receiving forgiveness for his sins and committing himself to follow Jesus. This was a unique opportunity for us to hear a testimony of salvation in the yard right next door. This group was being the church in our neighborhood. (Anne Cetas, Our Daily Bread, 9th December 2025)

I always believed that we bring the Kingdom of God to wherever we are because as believers, God is with us and within us. In other words, we don’t only represent but we are the Kingdom of God with its full power and glory accessible through us. That’s why we can pray or as some circles say, command healing in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. We embody the Kingdom of God.

But being church takes that reality one step further as “being church” means undertaking church activities. We know that when two or three are gathered in His name, He and His presence is with us (Matthew 18:20). Thus we could gather as a house fellowship to study the bible, pray and worship. Or we could be a house church, where the Word is preached, the Holy Communion is partaken and like in today’s ODB life story, baptism is conducted. One distinct advantage of a house church is that we are right there deep within the community and if we have a potluck, more may be attracted to join in. A different set of dynamics is at play when church is in a home compared to a formal setting in a building. Nevertheless, we must always be reminded that our faith cannot be practised in isolation.

Perhaps we could open our home to our cell group and have a house fellowship? Or we allow the church to use our home as an outreach to our community, where Christ is preached, His crucifixion and His resurrection. Our home could well be the avenue for the manifestation of the power and glory of God! A place where the Holy Spirit will reign with His healing miracles, signs and wonders. This Christmas season, we could consider inviting the carollers to come by and open our home to our neighbours for a time of feasting and fellowship or we could just have a Christmas party with our church members and neighbours.

Hospitable generosity and gleaning

https://odb.org/2025/12/08/hospitable-generosity

Deuteronomy 24:17–22 (NIV): 17 Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. 18 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this. 19 When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. 21 When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. 22 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.

A few years ago, our church hosted refugees fleeing their country because of a change in their political leadership. Entire families came with only what they could fit in a small bag. Several of our church families opened their homes, some with little room to spare.

Such gracious hospitality echoes God’s command to the Israelites before they inhabited the promised land. As an agricultural society, they understood the importance of the harvest. Every bit of food would be essential to get them through until next year’s harvest. God told the Israelites when harvesting not to go back to retrieve what they may have missed. “Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow” (Deuteronomy 24:19). They were to practice generosity not by giving when they knew they had enough but by giving out of a heart of trusting in God’s provision “so that the Lord [their] God may bless [them] in all the work of their hands” (v. 19). God always has enough. (Matt Lucas, Our Daily Bread, 8th December 2025)

The law in Deuteronomy for the Israelites not to go back and glean the harvest but to leave the leftovers to the foreigner, widows and orphans is one of more intriguing aspects I learnt from the Lord these past few years. It is through my morning devotional preparations that I learnt of this and I have not ceased to be amazed ever since.

It goes to show where our LORD God’s heart is and it is something we need to emulate when dealing with people in general. Unfortunately, the Israelites didn’t practice this law religiously as much as they didn’t adhere to the Mosaic law most of the time as can be seen during the reigns of their kings, most of whom rebelled against God whether in Judah or Northern Israel. This was amongst the reasons why the LORD allowed them to be exiled by the Assyrians and then by the Babylonians.

In the world, we are conditioned “not to leave anything on the table” when negotiating. This means we extract as much as we can from the other side. Similarly, we bargain for as low a price as possible when procuring. Process efficiency means we have zero tolerance for wastage or leakage. In fact, auditors conduct exercises to test for revenue leakages in businesses. That is why although RM1,000 may mean much less to a very wealthy person, like a multimillionaire, it is surprisingly painful for such a person to give it away.

As a Christian, however, in our own affairs, we need to practice generosity in giving to God, His causes or in just helping those in need. It is indeed a tragedy of the faith if we have RM100 million and yet find it hard to give away RM10,000 although we have less issue buying a car worth RM500,000 or more for ourselves.

In fact, we are to practice generosity not by giving when we know we had enough but by giving out of a heart of trusting in God’s provision “so that the Lord God may bless us in all the work of our hands”. God always has enough! We give willingly because we trust God! Amen!

Have a good week ahead, everyone! As we usher in the spirit of love, compassion and generosity this Christmas season!

Walking the “wrong” way

https://odb.org/2025/12/05/the-power-of-influence-3

Galatians 5:7–10 (NIV): 7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? 8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9 “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” 10 I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty.

It was Tuesday at the gym, so the people walking around the track were supposed to go clockwise. The first walkers my wife joined were doing that. But then another person walked onto the track going counterclockwise. A couple of her friends joined her—and then another. Suddenly there was chaos on the track—and it took a few minutes to restore order.

While the wrong-way walkers intended no harm, I couldn’t help but think about the power of influence. One person headed the wrong way leads to another, and on it goes. It’s a bit like Proverbs 13:20: “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.” Following a person going the wrong way leads to trouble. (Dave Branon, Our Daily Bread 5th December 2025)

There is an aspect of going the wrong way that we should be careful in these end times. Not so much wrong teachings although that would well lead us astray. The point I like to highlight this morning is how strong we want to hold on to a certain belief or spiritual principle. For a simpler example, in the area of divine healing, there were teachings that focussed on our faith such that our faith must be strong and unwavering to the extent of excluding medical treatment. It is like if you do not go for medical treatment, you are telling God that you are 100% dependent on Him and vice versa. In a way, it’s an appealing principle because the LORD does expect us to totally depend on Him. But the flaw in that principle is that we are sort of putting God in a spot – heal me or I die. A bit like the temptation of the devil to Jesus to jump down from the top of the Temple. Always remember that medical science is part of the natural world.

The overriding spiritual principle remains that as much as healing is real, it is still at the grace of God and that means it is discretionary and not compulsory on the part of God. We should all know by now that we cannot “force” God into anything as He is always sovereign in how He responds and His timing is always His choice. Of course at the other extreme is to be dismissive of healing and to only have unbelief cloud our hearts that we completely miss out on the supernatural side of our relationship with God.

If we find ourselves being too dogmatic or taking unconventional or radical views over certain things especially on spiritual matters, we need to check ourselves and pray that the Lord will enlighten us to see if we are going the wrong way. Some views if taken to the extreme may have irreversible and even fatal consequences. Not all unconventional ways are wrong but in most cases, it is better to follow the crowd walking clockwise, rather than walk the wrong way, anti-clockwise. The crowd is not always right though. So it still boils down to how well we know our God and our Lord Jesus Christ.