Ronnie's Thoughts

A call to prayer

https://odb.org/2024/01/10/a-call-to-prayer

The book of Nehemiah is set at the time when the Israelites were exiled in Babylon. Nehemiah, the cup bearer for the Babylonian King, prayed on behalf of the Israelites that the LORD would forgive their past rebellious ways that despite warnings from Jeremiah of the consequences, they persisted in not obeying and following His law and percepts. The Israelites broke their Covenant relationship with God, and as a result, God scattered them away from the land He promised to Abraham and his descendants. Nehemiah was the one who started the return to Israel when he asked the King for permission to return to Jerusalem. In the end, he spearheaded efforts to rebuild the Temple and the walls of Jerusalem.

But it all started with a prayer on behalf of the people, the children of Israel. A prayer stemming from a genuine desire for the physical return of the exiles that they may prosper again as a people under God even as they now vowed to follow and obey His laws and percepts.

Our individual prayers matter. If we look at our current political situation, we despair seeing the Old Guard trying their best to find ways to overthrow or destabilise the current government. The country is not moving ahead. It is instead bogged down by these political shenanigans. The government needs to be watchful and be on guard all the time. Too much attention is now placed on political survival, thus neglecting efforts to improve the lives of the people. But the latter may well determine the former!

In our quiet time, as we commune with God and speak to Him on things that are of concern to us, pray for our country too. That we will move forward and progress as a nation. That there will be political stability. As a nation, we will live in peace and harmony despite our differences in creed, colour, and ethnicity. We should find strength and take advantage of our diversity.

Jeremiah and God’s love

https://odb.org/2024/01/09/love-beyond-counting

The book of Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, is a little contradictory in the sense that it starts off with fire and brimstone threatening punishment and retaliation, and yet later it speaks of God’s love, reconciliation and rebuilding. To the generation of Israelites receiving God’s prophetic message in real time, it basically means if you don’t turn away from your disobedient, insolent and rebellious ways, Jerusalem will be overrun and destroyed, and her inhabitants killed or captured to become prisoners and slaves of the conquerers. God being God, the Word of God can not be untrue. So, the situation became – as per the warning and prediction. They were exiled twice, but later, they were allowed to return, and they rebuilt the Temple and the walls of the ruined city. As a nation, it was true, but as a person living in those times, you can either be one or the other, not both.

However, as believers redeemed by the blood of Christ, Israel of ancient days is a picture of who we are and can be in God. This means that as an individual with an average lifespan of, say, 80 years, we may be able to live through the life and times of Israel as a nation that spanned hundreds of years. We, as believers, are the spiritual Israel. Thus, Jeremiah, as a book, is applicable to us from its beginning until the end.

Approached in that manner, we are able to see God’s love for us. From the times we were disobedient and rebellious, receiving God’s punishment or discipline to the times He rebuilt our spiritual lives when we repented from our sins and turned away from our fallen ways. Ultimately, like God loved Israel, His heart is for us. If possible, He doesn’t want to see us perish like the others. His heart is always open to receive us back. To forgive us so we may, as Paul said, forgetting what is behind and look heavenward towards what is ahead of us in Christ Jesus.

The lesson of Jeremiah from a bird’s eye view is that the decision to repent and go back to God lies with us. Make that call today and give our lives back to God for us to fulfil our fullest potential and become the person the LORD wants us to be in Christ!

Christ died for us

https://odb.org/2024/01/08/willing-savior

The theology behind our faith is founded upon Adam, the first man and also his name representing mankind, having sinned when he and his wife Eve disobeyed God at the Garden of Eden. Eden is a heaven-like place on earth with God living among His creation and having daily and constant interaction and communion with Adam and Eve. There is peace and harmony in Eden, and no blood is shed because food is from fruits in trees and green herbs for mankind and every living creature. You may see this in Genesis 1:29-30.

Satan, in the form of the serpent, changed all that when he successfully tempted and deceived Adam and Eve to sin by disobeying God’s only rule, then – you may eat of any fruit except the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. That is probably why many years later, when God in the form of Jesus appeared on the scene, He taught that in order to enter the Kingdom of God, we need to have the faith like that of little children. Little children are pure and innocent beings and do not really know good and evil. Mankind was like that before.

In order to restore mankind to its rightful place as God originally created mankind back in the day in Eden, God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, to die for our sins. As a result, our souls, which live forever, shall not perish but have eternal life. But note that in John 3:16, it is written that only those who believed in Jesus shall not perish, not everyone. Eternal life is to live in the new heaven and new earth at the end of time together with God, thus recreating Eden at the beginning. Peace and harmony will once again be on earth.

The redemption of mankind requires the shedding of the blood of a pure, innocent, and sinless man, similar to the unblemished lamb offered to God as per the law of Moses for the sins of the Israelites. While those unblemished lambs need to be sacrificed annually, Jesus, as the Lamb of God, dies for our sins once and for all.

As much as Jesus has done the work for us and as much as salvation can not be earned, we have to do our part in the life given to us here on earth. We may be passing through, but we have a job to do, that is, to reflect His glory. Faith without works is dead. We have to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. We have our calling before God. There are God’s plans and purposes for our lives that we need to meet. Let’s get on with the work and prepare ourselves for our lives in eternity. I believe a lot of who we are and have become here on this earth will be useful to us when we start living in the new heaven and new earth.

Restore us, O God

https://odb.org/2024/01/07/ripe-for-restoration

Not every one of us has had a smooth journey with God in the sense that there are fewer ups and more downs. Of course, some of us, especially the more obedient ones, have progressed from glory to glory. That is why, in the faith, obedience is better than sacrifice and results in a fairly smooth journey of faith. However, for those of us in the first group, some may spend too long a time in the valleys, and even sadder, some may have even departed from the faith. We may have become disillusioned with the whole process and gave up on Jesus. Instead of trusting God, we took matters into our own hands. We understand that this journey of faith will not be a bed of roses, but surely it can not be a road where every pit stop is one of sadness, disappointments, tears, and disaster? Perhaps that is a question of our own perception. Maybe we can’t see the blessings of God in all that we have or are going through.

Psalm 80 teaches us that if that has been our journey of faith, we may call upon Him to restore us. Like the time He brought us out of the miry clay and set us upon the rock and make our steps secure, He is able to do it again and again. The Israelites rebelled against God, disobeyed His commandments, and followed other gods. As a result, they were overrun and were exiled. Now, in their suffering and desolation, they call upon the LORD to restore them, to have the face of the LORD shine upon them again. In other words, the hand of God, His grace and mercy, to be upon them that they may be saved. They were restored when they were permitted to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple, and today, the creation and the continued existence of the state of Israel is testimony of God’s greatness.

Call upon the name of Jesus if we have gone astray and left God in our hearts. Call upon Him to restore us like He did to the ancients of our faith. May His face shine upon us again. May He restore us what the locusts have eaten as He promised in Joel 2:25.

Have a blessed Sunday worshipping God today, and may He bless our week ahead, our going out and coming in. Take care, everyone! God is good, all the time!

Follow His law and percepts

https://odb.org/2024/01/05/crossroads

I have written in these pages before quoting Joshua’s example, the exhortation given by the LORD for Joshua to lead the new generation of Israelites (the first generation had already died in desert) into the Promised Land (that was promised by God to Abraham and his descendants). God exhorted Joshua to be strong and courageous, for He will be with him wherever he goes. The LORD promised Joshua that He would never leave nor forsake him. God assured Joshua that no one would be able to stand against him all the days of his life! See Joshua 1:5.

But sometimes, we forget that there is the qualifying condition of the promise of God. Preachers also may forget as I have heard sermons on the strong and courageous exhortation without the accompanying condition.

In Joshua 1:7 – the LORD said to Joshua to be strong and courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you. Do not turn from it to the left or the right, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of Law on your lips,meditate on it day and night so that you must be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

In the crossroads of life, like the life situation in today’s ODB, we need to seek God to show the way and guide us. Should we stay with our sick spouse or carry on with our work obligations out of town?

At the base of the crossroad posers are still our standing with God. Are we righteous before Him beyond the righteousness of Jesus through His blood? Are we careful to follow and obey the law that is now written in our hearts. When we seek God, is our heart right before Him? Are we for Him or ourselves? Have we confessed our sins and sought His forgiveness? Have we forgiven those who had trespassed against us? Are we holding any grudges against anyone?

There is an accompanying condition to this covenant relationship with God. It was there at the beginning between Abraham and God, and it was there between the Israelites in Kadesh Barnea (the oasis at the wilderness) and God as spoken to and by Moses. It is still there in this new covenant relationship established by Christ for us with the Father. We need to love the LORD our God with all our heart, soul, and mind and love our neighbour as ourselves.

Be careful to follow and obey His law and percepts, and He will be with us wherever we go. No one will be able to stand against us. We will be properous and successful in the things we do for Him.

Quiet faithfulness

https://odb.org/2024/01/04/the-quiet-breakfast-guy

Work hard, mind your own business, and live out your faith as we wait for Christ to come again. That is the theme of Paul’s message to the Thessalonians. He backed it up with his own life example; he himself worked hard night and day so as to preach to them without burdening the church. In a way, Paul is a perfect example of a lay church leader, working hard in the world to earn his own living while allocating enough time to provide spiritual guidance and input to the congregation. The church remains a support, whether for financial or spiritual needs, but he himself does not add stress to the system.

Quiet faithfulness is an aspiration. We do our thing in the world. Diligently and faithfully. No drama. No fireworks. There is no need to be emotional over things. We just do our job. If you’re a manager or team leader, what you will dread most is the need to deal with human relationship issues. He said something wrong. She said something too loud. He got offended. She was irritated. Less of that and just get on with the work. That’s what we need when working. Surprisingly, also in the church. Less human infractions, the better. Conflicts and disagreements can not be avoided, but the less, the better.

Quiet faithfulness at work, in ministry, and in living out the faith. We do our part and let others do theirs. There is no need to draw attention to ourselves. The Lord will reward us one day. He sees our dedication and commitment to the cause. To righteousness and His Word. We do our best not to conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we may test (experience) and approve (agree to) the good and perfect will of God.

My prayer for myself and everyone is that we will all work hard, be good at what we do while living out our faith in order that our lives reflect the glory of God. Be the pillar of strength and source of encouragement wherever we are as Jesus is with us. We will have the favour of God, and everyone around us will be blessed.

The Word of God

https://odb.org/2024/01/03/spotting-hope

For those familiar with the creation story in Genesis 1, we know that God spoke creation into being. The LORD said let there be light, and there was light. Thus, to create, God used His words as spoken. This is opposed to the Big Bang theory that postulates that everything just evolved over time with things just came into existence just like that in the beginning. There was a big bang, and things just started. No one did anything. Of course, the joke is that the big bang only occurred when God said so at the beginning. John reiterated this by proclaiming that the Word or Logos in Greek, the supreme being or force, was already in existence at the beginning. See John 1:1 – In the beginning was the Word (Logos), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Greek thought understood that there was a supreme force right at the beginning when all things began.

As believers, we also know that the Bible is the Word of God, and thus, it has the same power and authority as the spoken Word that created all things. The Word is not only in the written form in the context that existed at the time of writing, but it also transcends time as the Rhema Word of God. This means that some words spoken or written many years back may speak to us today to our situation. In fact, God speaks to us mostly through the written Word being applied to our present circumstances and situations. An encouragement to be strong and courageous, specifically directed to Joshua to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land, may be applied by us as we journey with God in our walk of faith. The context may be different, but the encouragement is the same. The same power and authority that created the world and all things are still present that we believe that as much as we are encouraged, God’s strength and boldness will become ours.

A word of caution, though. As much as God or Jesus or the Holy Spirit speaks to us through the Word, it is usually for His Kingdom’s sake and our own spiritual growth or relationship with Him. Not so much our own personal interests even though God loves us and has our interests at heart. Some things are a matter of choice and preference, and it is not for us to put it up for Him to decide for us. For example, the colour we like or the shirt we wear or the car we drive. Or should I buy a Taylor or a Gibson or a Martin? Or a Nikon, a Canon or Fuji or Leica. Android or Apple or Huawei? Thus, we should not say that it was God who decided that I should use an Apple phone and not an Android or Huawei.

In closing, I just like to remind us that the Word of God has power and authority over both spiritual forces and the natural. Remember that Jesus spoke to the raging storm, and it calmed down to a whisper. The wind and the waves still know His name today. Call upon the name of Jesus in our difficult struggles, and He will give us rest and the strength to overcome and emerge victorious!

Vanity of vanities

https://odb.org/2024/01/02/the-son-also-rises

Life, as we know, it is, in a way, meaningless. We are born, and our parents raise us up. We go to school, then later to university (some straight into the workforce after school). We learn about life in school and mix with our friends. Celebrate birthdays. Go through things we fear, like seeing the dentist or sprinting. For the former, everyone shudders when the nurse comes to class and starts calling names. For the latter, I recall that running even 100m was daunting when I was 7 or 8 years old. 400m was quite impossible. Later, we enter the workforce and work until we retire. We fall in love and get married. Have children of our own. We bring them through the same process.

In the midst of living, crisises occur every now and then. As an example, I remember the first time I met an accident with my new car, at a roundabout in Subang Jaya. I was so focused on clearing the roundabout that I forgot the car in front had not yet moved and knocked straight into it. There was no damage to that car, but my bumper dropped down. Had to claim insurance as I didn’t have much money then. Made a police report. In our early work days, we didn’t have much as we were just starting out. We have to count every penny and make every ringgit count.

One day, our children will go through the same process. One day, we will become old, and our turn will come to leave this world even as we attend more funerals than weddings as we grow older. The question is, what is life all about? We live to only exist? We have dreams and aspirations. We achieve those dreams and aspirations. Is that life? An endless cycle of births, living and dying? I guess in that sense, we are better than animals, some who live just to be food for others. Yet is this life?

The conclusion Solomon made (believed to be the author of Ecclesiastes) is that life is indeed vanity of vanities (meaningless) if lived without God. God gives meaning and purpose to our lives as we live a purpose-driven life. A life lived to fulfil His plans and purposes for our lives. A life lived in fulfilment of His calling for us.

Everyone aspires to live a better life, but we live within òur means. With God with us, we find contentment with life. There are others worse than us and others better. It doesn’t matter so long as we are living in the fullness of His will. There is equilibrium when we live in the centre of God’s purposes. That is why John the Baptist declared that the Kingdom of God is at hand. Jesus came and made it possible for the Kingdom of God to penetrate into the natural that as believers, we became the Kingdom of God.

The icing on the cake is that we also have eternal life. We will get to live in the fullness of His will forever and ever in the new heaven and new earth. Jesus will return for His bride. It is believed to be within this generation. We need to quickly find our purpose and call in God and live life in equilibrium.

Blessed New Year, everyone! May 2024 be the turning point in our lives! May we find our true self in God and excel at becoming the person God had always wanted us to be, even before the foundations of the world!

Righteousness

https://odb.org/2023/12/31/the-righteous-city

Once we have believed in Jesus and accepted Him, our pursuit in life becomes a pursuit for righteousness. We are made righteous before God because of the blood of Christ shed on Calvary, and we want to be righteous henceforth in the things we do, the words we say, and the thoughts we think. We want our words and actions to reflect our righteousness in God. Of course, along the way, we are tempted, and we fail. We compromise our standards and conform to the world. But we do not give up and continue to strive. Sometimes hardship comes, and we want to take the easy way out. Perhaps we did, but maybe we didn’t. Either way, we continue on this journey of righteousness. We persevere on. We look forward to the new city, the new heaven and the new earth, the day righteousness will reign and evil will be no more.

If we look back at the opportunities we gave up and the paths we forsook because of righteousness, we know the Lord is proud of us. There were times we suffered consequences because of our insistence on doing the right thing, on righteousness. We may have resigned from our job because we did not want to compromise our stand and beliefs.

This life is a sojourn. This is not our permanent abode. We are mere pilgrims passing through the earth. The things we should build up and keep are those of eternity. Store up our treasures in heaven. Do good deeds, serve God, and love the Lord with all our heart, strength, and mind. Give Him our all. Live in righteousness. Our time will come one day. On this earth or beyond. In the meantime, we push on towards the crown of glory that awaits us as we complete our race until the finish line.

Blessed Sunday, everyone! Have a meaningful time worshipping God today!

Crown of life

https://odb.org/2023/12/29/keep-running-2

A recurring theme in these pages is that of perseverance, something common in the New Testament letters of the Apostles. This is because during the 1st century era, just after the death and resurrection of Christ, believers of the Way were under tremendous persecution. In the early days, it was mostly economic persecution, and their solution was to pool their resources together so that everyone in the community of believers were able to live as one. I guess they were driven by their common destiny in Christ, and perhaps at that time, they expected Christ to return soon. Little did they know or expect that their persecution would get worse as time moved on with believers being caught and burned on stakes. Even later, they were thrown into the Roman arenas for entertainment as wild beasts devoured them. It was martyrdom and death for the followers of Christ.

At the spiritual level, it was probably Satan’s attempt to snuff off the faith, but instead, it continued to spread from Jerusalem, Judea to Samaria, and across the rest of the world touching Jews and Gentiles alike. Unfortunately, until today, the Jews still reject Christ, but there remained Christians in Israel who descended not only from these first century believers but also those from the time of the Byzantine Empire who ruled Palestine after the Romans.

There are no direct parallels in the present age as Christians are generally well-off, whether in Malaysia or the United States or elsewhere. However, there will come a time of intense trials and tribulations before Christ returns, and many believe, looking at the signs of the present time, that the time is near. No one knows for sure, only the Father knows. But it’s best we are prepared for it in our generation. A time will come where, without the mark of the beast, we will not be able to buy and sell.

James 1:12 then becomes relevant. Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

We don’t know what lies ahead in the Great Tribulation, but we hold on to the promise that the Lord will not test us beyond our point of endurance and that He will strengthen us to persevere on when the time comes.