https://odb.org/2023/10/09/slow-fashioned-grace

Have you ever bought a genuine Polo Ralph Lauren shirt or t-shirt? I bought one at a factory outlet at a significant discount 15 years back in Sydney during a company trip. Recently, in my family trip to Melbourne, I dropped by a Ralph Lauren factory outlet and saw the same shirt there! The thing about Ralph Lauren is that their fashion remains the same throughout the years and seasons. There are definitely changes in terms of colours and materials, but they are slow and gradual. This means that a Ralph Lauren shirt bought years back will not go out of fashion today.

That reminds me of Jesus and God as they are the same yesterday, today, and in the days to come. The LORD of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament.

The second thing about the slow fashion of Ralph Lauren, as highlighted in today’s ODB, is that it reflects Jesus’s grace and the transformation power of the Holy Spirit. When God works in our lives, if we let Him, it also takes time. Change comes over months and years. It is never forced or make-believe. Genuine change takes time, and it becomes second nature, part of our life and personality and character. Over time, we have become our new self, a self sanctified by the blood of Christ and refined and purified by the Holy Spirit. We are spiritually empowered with authority in the spiritual realm. While we were selfish in the past, we are more selfless now. We are able to forgive and love our neighbours more than before, much more than in the past. Our tolerance for wrongs towards us is much higher. We have now come to terms with our destiny in Christ. Our dreams and ambitions are now alligned with God’s plans and purposes for our lives. We are actively pursuing good works and storing up riches in heaven where rust and moth can not destroy or the thief is not able to steal. Our inheritance in the Kingdom of God is intact, and one day, we will get our crown of glory from our Lord Jesus Christ!

Keep up the good work and continue on this path of righteousness. Continue to allow God to mould and transform us. One day, we will indeed be like Christ!

https://odb.org/2023/10/08/wisdom-we-need

Proverbs 4 teaches that we should follow the path of wisdom as it is like the morning sun, shining brighly till the full day of light. Contrast with the way of the wicked, which is like deep darkness for they do not know what makes them stumble. In the way of wisdom, our paths are straight – when we walk, we will not be hampered, and when we run, we will not stumble.

Thus, when left to the wickedness of humans, the cost to human lives and property might become irrelevant. World War I was a good example that despite knowing that wartime will unleash a new wave of diseases, the western nations went to war, and as a result, it is estimated that 50 million died from the ensuing epidemic on top of the 20 million killed as a direct result of the war. In our present context, we witnessed Hamas unleashing nearly 5,000 rockets into Israel yesterday, killing 250 Israelis, and when Israel retaliates, thousands more will die. So what do Hamas and the people behind them seek to achieve by starting this war? Do they intend to chase the Jews back to the ends of the earth? Or why is the US conducting a proxy war with Russia by prolonging the war and causing turmoil in the world economy the same way it has caused havoc in the chip industry by sanctioning China to prevent the latter from advancing further in technology. They promote free trade when it benefits them. Otherwise, they will destroy you like they did to Iraq.

When Jesus came, He postulated different terminology for the same thing. Instead of wisdom and wickedness, Jesus used the narrow and wide paths. The former leads to eternal life, while the latter leads to destruction. It is less about prosperity in this life but more of what awaits us in our afterlife. Be afraid of He who is able to destroy both body and soul – Matthew 10:28.

In whatever we do, always choose the narrow path that leads to eternal life. The other way is the way of the wicked that is like deep darkness. It is a way that we will not know what stumbles us. It’s a downward spiral that leads us deeper and deeper into sin and destruction that after some time, we will not be able to distinguish right from wrong. It is a slippery slope to an abyss of deep darkness that will eventually destroy our soul if left unchecked.

https://odb.org/2023/10/06/what-could-be-better

Indeed, what could be better than serving the one and only living God? He is after all the creator of heaven and earth and everything in them. He was there at the beginning and will be here at the end of time.

We all know that the Christian faith can not be practised in isolation. Yes, it is a relationship between you and God. Yet, it is also a relationship of service for God that involves interaction with others. That is why every believer should attend church and get busy there in whatever capacity, whether as an usher or a musician, in the AV department or in follow-up or hospital visitations or even in grieving ministry or as an intercessor. Or if we have a calling, we can be a missionary while holding on to our full-time job. In fact, for closed countries, the best way to be a missionary for Christ is to apply for a job and work there in those closed countries.

There are bound to be sacrifices when we allocate our time, especially weekends, to serve God. We may not have enough time left to pursue certain hobbies. But it is common for believers to mostly revolve their lives around their family, work, and church. Nothing spectacular. Most believers have been doing that for years. It is in serving that we see our faith in action. It is in our service that we see God inpacting the lives of others. As others are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, we likewise get transformed ourselves.

I will end with 1 Timothy 4:16 – “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. ” Clearly, when we serve God, both we and the people we serve will benefit. In the process, our Lord Jesus Christ will be pleased with us. Thus, what could be better than serving the one and only living God?

https://odb.org/2023/10/05/ready-to-go-2

“For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” is one of the most well-known sayings of Paul (Philippians 1:21), which, to me, is probably the epitome of what our faith is all about. This is because when we pass on, we know that we will be with Christ in heaven, and one day, we will be resurrected with our glorified bodies (like Christ on His resurrection 3 days after dying on the cross for our sins). We will also live in the new heaven and new earth as revealed to John in Revelation 21. That is why in Christian funerals, although we grieve, it is actually a joyous occasion for the departed as they will be with their Saviour. For those of us in the faith, that’s our ultimate goal in life – to be with God and reunited with our loved ones who had departed earlier in Christ.

But in all honesty, not everyone is possibly as confident as Paul of their ultimate destination. We know the spiritual principles of Christ having saved us. We know that we are justified by faith. We know that salvation is by grace. Yet we might be afraid to see Christ face to face. Maybe because we feel we are not ready. We may feel that we have not done enough for God to fulfil His plans and purposes for our lives. Or we may worry about the people we leave behind, our loved ones, our sheep, our congregation, our work and colleagues, and friends. That is also why in Christian funerals, we minister to those who are left behind, the friends and family grieving for those who had passed on.

Thus, I think, as much as we want to be able to say, like Paul, that “to die is gain,” we should focus on “to live is Christ.” If to live for us is indeed Christ, then the time will come when at our dying breadth, we will genuinely be able to confidently say to die is gain. We are confident approaching Christ on judgment day at the Bema judgment seat of Christ that we have done all we could to fulfil His plans and purposes for us and to love the LORD our God with all our heart, soul and mind, and love our neighbour as ourselves. Remember, James had already warned us before – faith without works (good works) is dead (James 2:17). Salvation is by grace and may be free, but our Saviour has to sacrifice His life for us. Therefore, we need to carry our cross and be a living sacrifice unto God that is holy and acceptable to Him (Romans 12:1).

https://odb.org/2023/10/04/finding-life-2

I was fascinated by Jesus the day I started reading the English-Malay New Testament that was on the bookshelf of my home. I think I was probably around 9 or 10. It was only when I was 14 that I started taking classes on Jesus Christ that I finally accepted Christ into my life. I have now known and served God for 40 years, and I can testify to His goodness in the well-being of those dearest to me, my beloved wife, and my two boys who are now young adults. My family is indeed testimony that with God in our lives, we have indeed become better from a socio-economic perspective. For example, both my boys have enjoyed stints overseas for their studies when I myself only barely scrapped through entering a local university, something that would have been impossible if not for some government assistance. Back then, my family just had enough for our daily living.

It is also true that after I accepted Christ, my sister, father and mother followed suit, thus affirming Acts 16:31 – believe in the Lord Jesus, you and your household will be saved. Since those days, my family and I have served God in various capacities, and I can testify that both my parents have done so until their dying breadth here on earth.

This journey of Godly blessings in a life lived for God, and His purposes however begins with a personal confession of turning away from sin and accepting Jesus Christ into my life as my personal Saviour and Lord. It is personal to me and is personal to everyone in the family, and yet the blessings of God flow to all. It is my prayer and hope that my two sons will likewise perpetuate this legacy of faith that the hand of God will continue to be with our family for generations to come.

If any of you haven’t accepted Jesus Christ into your lives and you want to do so, pray and confess the following sinner’s prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Jesus’s name, I pray.

Make it personal as it has to be a personal confession and prayer in order that we may indeed find life in God, living for eternity with God one day.

For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son that whosoever believed in Him shall not perish but have life eternal (John 3:16).

https://odb.org/2023/10/03/i-can-see-you

While it is great to aspire to see Jesus face to face one day and live with Him in the new heaven and new earth at the end of time, we should be thankful that the Holy Spirit has removed the scales from our eyes that we are able to grasp and understand spiritual truths and the mysteries of the Kingdom. It is because of the latter that we are now professed children of God, seeing Jesus through eyes of faith and seeing Him transform our lives for the better even while we are still on earth in this earthen vessel.

We may not be Moses, who had the privilege of knowing God face to face or even the 12 disciples and those whom Jesus had ministered to in person during that era. We may not have the same privilege like Paul learning from Jesus personally in the spirit for nearly 3 whole years and has seen things in the spiritual that can not be spoken about. Or even John, who was given the honour to see and write down things to come at the end of time. There would have been many who had seen Jesus or Father God in dreams and visions. In our simple faith, we are able to believe and put our hope and trust in Him.

The truth is that our faith is simple but is not blind. It is not without basis. We do experience Jesus working in our lives. We experience His reality as we cast our cares and anxieties upon Him. As we pray and commit our work, He gives us ideas and solutions. He blesses the work of our hands. He is compassionate to forgive us for our transgressions and sins and helps us overcome the consequences of our mistakes. Because of God in our lives, our future generations will be better off in this world as has been proven all over the world. There are real and tangible benefits in the natural knowing God, although the greatest is still our life eternal.

As we get off to work or college or school today, be thankful and appreciative that our eyes have already seen Jesus, even if it is only in the spiritual realm. Thank God for opening our eyes and revealing to us Himself, His Son and His Holy Spirit, and the mysteries of the Kingdom. May our faith and spiritual life be strengthened each day as we allow Him to mould and transform us into the masterpiece He had created in us before the foundations of the world!

https://odb.org/2023/10/02/the-masterpiece-within

I think whether it is a question of uncovering God’s masterpiece within us or God working in our lives as it is more popularly understood, we still need to do our part. Transformation does not work like a magic wand. In a business, even experienced senior people applying formulas from other places will not work when the market as a whole has changed and moved on. Transformation needs time and effort. What more when the change needs to come from within. Change is not for show or mere lip service. Life changes that make a spiritual difference must be genuine and from deep within us. It’s not a set of moral codes of conduct, but are we becoming better human beings?

As much as Jesus says that His burden is light and His yoke is easy, that He is gentle and humble, we must still carry His yoke (Matthew 11:28-30). We must still be that living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God (Romans 12:1). We have to take up our cross and follow Him.

Our job after we have accepted Christ into our lives is to become that masterpiece of God that had already been crafted in the spiritual realm. Let it come out in our earthly natural lives. We have been made for good works since the foundations of the world. Let our true potential be uncovered and fulfilled as we live our lives for God and His glory.

As we start a new week and a new month this week, let’s make it our priority to press on heavenward towards the goal that Christ has set before us and let God uncover His masterpiece within us. Let our full potential in God be fulfilled. Do our part to work with God, to cooperate with His Holy Spirit, forgetting what is behind but only looking ahead like Joshua and Caleb in the Promised Land. Let us clothe ourselves with the armour of God (Ephesians 6:11-13) that we may deflect the enemy’s fiery darts and destroy his shackles and bondages in our lives and the lives of those we are reaching out to. May His will be done here on earth as it is in heaven!

https://odb.org/2023/10/01/elegant-design

I went AWOL last week as I was away on vacation, visiting Daniel in beautiful and cosmopolitan Melbourne. Had a wonderful time enjoying its good vibes and excellent cuisine. I posted some photos on my insta page – feel free to have a look when you are free at instagram.com/ronlim68/.

Praise the Lord for such privilege to travel, to see His goodness at work in another city. We attended the Chinese Baptist Church in Melbourne 10 mins walk from our hotel and listened to a message filled nearly 90% with testimonies of how God turned around lives in Hong Kong and how China is very much a cashless society nowadays.

As we reflect upon His creation and read Genesis 1, we know that these accounts are not exclusive to us as the creation story and the great flood have been with many civilisations since ancient times. Sometimes, we may question its veracity when confounded by other theories. However, the complexity of the bodily functions of humans and animals can not but point us to a creator. All living creatures share a blueprint in terms of having internal organs that process the food we eat, the air we breathe (even sea creatures extract oxygen from water), and the water we drink. While animals are driven by instincts, human beings have a thinking mind that not only controls the body but also a soul that lives forever. We have been created to not only live a life here on earth but also in preparation for the new heaven and earth that will come about at the end of time. The fact that Jesus Christ was at the beginning during creation as John proclaims in John 1:1 and Jesus Himself quotes Genesis 2:24 as recorded in Matthew 19:5 all point to the truth and veracity of the creation story in the bible.

God is real, and our Lord Jesus Christ is alive today and is the same yesterday, today, and forever more. He is the way, the truth, and the life. Our afterlife will be in peril if we don’t believe in Him and accept Him as our Lord and Saviour. Only He alone has the words of eternal life, and only He holds the keys to Hades. Learn the spiritual lessons and principles well as enumerated in Scriptures. They will stand us in good stead in this life and thereafter.

https://odb.org/2023/09/21/god-covers-our-sin

When we read John 8:1-11, the emphasis is, of course, that no one, as well as Jesus, condemned the woman caught in adultery. The Jewish leaders wanted to entrap Jesus with the question of what you do to the woman in adultery as, seemingly, the law of Moses would have had the woman stoned to death. However, Jesus checked-mate the Jewish leaders by asking the one without sin to cast the first stone. As all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), no one could, in all honesty, cast the first stone. Since Jesus was the only one without sin and He didn’t condemn her either, she was free to go but Jesus ended the encounter with the words, “Go now and leave your life of sin”.

As much as Jesus was and is still compassionate, we have to remember and remind ourselves that the grace and mercy of God is not a licence to sin or do evil. As humans, we will not be able to meet the requirements of the law of God to be righteous on merit. So Jesus died for our sins and redeemed us from the path of sin that led to destruction. But we must remain on the path of righteousness that leads to eternal life. That basically means that our demeanour and approach to life and others around us is one of selflessness, humility, kindness, and compassion too. Like the woman in adultery who was not condemned by Christ, we must leave our life of sin. We can not live a life of sin and still expect to be in fellowship with God. The High Priests of the Old Testament, if they enter the Holy of Holies without consecration, may end up dead in the presence of God. Moses was asked to remove his sandals when he was in the presence of God (presumably sandals being the dirtiest part of our clothing symbolised sin). See Exodus 3:4-5.

Thus, as much as we sometimes may want to avenge some injustice wrought upon us and take matters into our own hands, best we leave that all to God to do as per His discretion and will. We carry on with life believing in faith that, like Jesus did with the woman in adultery, God will find a fresh start for us, although in our case, we are not the ones who sinned. Nevertheless, we believe that God loves us and will not abandon us, but He will find us a way when there appears to be no way. Keep ourselves pure and righteous before Him and remain on the path of righteousness. We can not avoid injustice in this world, but with God on our side, who actually can be against us?

https://odb.org/2023/09/20/shooting-ourselves-in-the-foot

In Mark 10:35-45, John and James, the sons of Zebedee, asked Jesus that they be placed at the right and left hands of Jesus. In other words, in the Kingdom of God that Jesus was advocating, they wanted to be No.2 and No.3. Jesus answered them by saying they didn’t know what they were asking and asked them whether they could drink the cup he would drink? Meaning, could they also die on the cross with Him? They answered yes – because they probably didn’t know what Jesus meant. In the end, Jesus said that their request was not for Him to grant but reminded that whoever wants to be great in the Kingdom of God must be a servant and whoever wants to be first must be a slave to all. For even Jesus did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.

Thus, the basis for leadership in church is service and not to be served. The leader is the one who works the hardest, who tirelessly attends to everyone’s needs. That is why it is very tough to be a pastor in church. Everyone’s problems are yours to help resolve, no matter what time of day. Then you have the weddings and the funerals, the baptisms, and the pulpit. It’s the servant-leader model, where service is key. That is why Jesus said you need to be slave to all!

While not everyone is called to shepherd a church, those of us in ministry will know that once we start, it’s service all the way. It’s somewhat like the disciples of Christ (Simon Peter and Andrew, James and John), although not quite. The day they dropped their fishing nets to follow Jesus, there is no turning back. For example, I have been serving in the church since I was a young boy and have been doing so for the past 40 years. It didn’t matter what my role was, but I continued to play some role here and there, in music, cell groups, and even in Christmas presentations.

The message this morning is for every one of us to continue to serve God in the church and from wherever we are. Service is the essence of Christian leadership. To do great things for God is to serve Him. Start small, but start somewhere. Once you start, you will never be able to stop – you will have your boots on the ground until your dying breadth! I recall my own dad was counselling someone in the morning before he was hospitalised in the afternoon and passed on the next morning. To love Jesus is to feed His lambs (see John 21: 15-19).