https://odb.org/2023/10/31/under-gods-wings

I think the picture of a mother geese protecting her little goslings from people or animals that come too close to them is an excellent picture of God protecting His people. In Psalm 61, David describes the LORD as a rock that is higher than him, a shelter in His wings, a tent, and a strong tower against his enemies.

As believers, we believe that God assigns guardian angels to protect us from harm. Accidents do befall us, but it could have been worse if not for our guardian angels. Also, with guardian angels around us, we will be less prone to fall into sin.

But another aspect of God’s protection is that although people may harm us through their evil schemes because of jealousy or just plain self-interest or even just as a number in a spreadsheet, the LORD will prepare a table for us in the presence of our enemies as David wrote in Psalm 23:5. In other words, He will deal appropriately with those who had harmed us, who treated us unfairly or brought injustice upon us. Let vengence or divine retribution be His, up to His discretion in accordance with His grace and mercy. We commit our enemies or those who had brought us harm unto Him.

As believers, it is important and necessary that we remain in the spiritual covering of the church, like the goslings within the sight and the distance of the mother geese’s protection. That practically means living in righteousness and in His general and specific will for our lives. That is why David describes God as a tent, a strong tower, and a shelter in His wings (elsewhere the Psalmists used the expression, “in the shadow of His wings”).

Live within the shadow of His wings, and He will keep us safe from the attacks and vile schemes of the evil one.

https://odb.org/2023/10/30/smartphone-compassion

Nowadays, it is more common to have ratings after a stay, a meal, or after using an e-hailing service. In fact, I watched a movie about people’s lives in the future being determined by their ratings on social media to the extent that it affects their credit, where they could stay, and even their jobs. Thus, it led to the creation of a social media persona that may well be different from real life. Yes, we are not at the stage as portrayed by the movie, but having a more hype-up social media persona, especially via Instagram, is already present and real. Some even go to the extent of doctoring their posts to look prettier and more appealing to gain more followers and likes. In fact, there is now a new profession called influencer, which may indirectly even come with product endorsements.

Personally, I don’t like to leave ratings, but if you buy from Shopee or Lazada, they do remind you to do so. Unless something happened to the delivery, I’ll usually give 5 stars. Although it is not customary in Malaysia to leave a tip after a meal, I have made it a point to tip after taking an e-hailing ride or food. I feel that I must support the gig economy, for it has provided jobs to people who otherwise would have struggled to live in these challenging times. Round up an RM7 ride to RM10 or just pay RM20 for an RM17.80 meal. Leave a tip for the driver as they all work hard for their families.

As God is compassionate and He relates to us with compassion and love, we must do likewise, and that includes in our social media and ratings management. Give a good rating if we want to give or else just skip it. Unless it was a disastrous experience, don’t be hard, but be compassionate. If we are stickers for honesty and transparency, then just don’t leave a rating. Leave a bad rating only if it is absolutely necessary. We don’t have to lie, but we need not destroy just to be truthful as our LORD is a compassionate God. Always remember that Jesus taught us of the parable of the ungrateful servant. Surely He was making an important point! If God is completely honest and truthful of who we are, we will not stand a chance facing His judgment. But He is compassionate and sent Jesus to die for our sins so that there will not be condemnation in Christ Jesus.

https://odb.org/2023/10/29/you-can-trust-god

As a believer, the issue of trusting God doesn’t really arise since we can see from the Psalms and the history of Israel throughout the pages of the Old Testament that He is trustworthy. He punished the Israelites for their unfaithfulness and insolence, and yet He rescued them when He saw them suffering too much. Like He brought them out of slavery from Egypt or the times He brought them back from exile from the Assyrians and the Babylonians. In modern times, after the Holocaust, He helped them set up the state of Israel and brought home all scattered Jewry from all over the world. Today, if you are of Hebrew ancestry, you will be welcomed in Israel with a host of benefits for you to start your life afresh there. Just google Aliyah to Israel, and you will see a range of benefits from income-tax breaks, rental assistance, allowances, property tax incentives, free health insurance, free one way flight, transport from airport etc.

In addition, as believers, we believe and put our faith on the unseen as the unseen is eternal. Thus, it is part of the natural makeup of a believer to be able to trust God. Faith is about trusting God as He is unseen.

The true test comes when the tyre hits the road. When we face life issues as we know, life can be a roller coaster. Unavoidably, so, actually. Are we able to trust God when we go through our “valley” experiences? When we are reprimanded for making a mistake at work or sacked because we couldn’t meet the sales targets. I heard before of a company putting their entire sales team under a performance improvement plan because it was not bringing in the numbers. In challenging times, can we put our trust in God?

I always believed in starting small before we progressed into bigger things. So even in the actual experience of trusting God, start somewhere relatively small. As we find His reality working in our lives, we can work towards greater things like praying for others or praying for healing. God is real. Jesus is alive, having been resurrected 3 days after His death on the cross. His Word demonstrates His faithfulness.

Each of us is unique, and thus, we will have different experiences of Him and His miraculous power. The point is we need to move out in faith, trust Him in order to experience Him. Start small, start somewhere. Move out in faith, respond to His call, and we will know that He knows us personally and cares for us dearly as individuals, as His children. He treats and relates to each and every one of us uniquely. Trust Him for He is our rock and our salvation.

https://odb.org/2023/10/27/three-kings

If we read the Old Testament books of 1 and 2 Kings as well as 1 and 2 Chronicles, we will see that most of the kings of Israel and later Judah (after Israel was divided into the Southern and Northern kingdoms) were either unfaithful to Yahweh or did evil things. It is both disappointing and depressing. The golden years of Israel were at the beginning during the reign of David and perhaps the early years of his son with Bethsheba, Solomon. But after that, it was downhill with only a few kings who turned against the tide and worship Yahweh and followed His percepts. The notable good kings were Hezekiah, Josiah, Jehoshaphat, and Jotham, and sadly, they were a small minority.

I may be wrong, but Jehoram, the subject matter of today’s ODB, may well be the worst of the lot. The first thing he did when he became king was to kill all of his brothers and some officials – presumably to solidify his reign. Contrast this with David, who restored the lands and servants of the grandson of his predecessor, and gave Mephibosheth a permanent place at his table. But in the case of Jehoram, God did not overlook his evil ways and afflicted him with a terrible and painful abdominal illness (could be colon cancer) and because of his cruelty, no one grieved for him or gave him a funeral.

I think the message this morning is that power corrupts and power makes one selfish and self-serving instead of benevolence, selfless, or sacrificial. We may not be kings, but everyone has a sphere of influence and a certain authority. Do we make decisions based on our self-interest or the good of all? Do we think of our parents and other siblings when we act in a certain way? As people in the faith, if we are leaders, we must lead for the good of everyone, and most importantly, as we read about the bad kings in Israel and Judah, we must follow God and His percepts. As followers of Christ, we have the law written in our hearts and thus must allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in all that we do. Always pray that the Holy Spirit grants us wisdom and discernment to do the right thing all the time, even if it’s not always to our benefit or interests. Do what the Lord impresses us to do, not what our flesh desires.

https://odb.org/2023/10/26/beauty-for-ashes

Under Mosaic law, the Israelites were to tend and cultivate their fields for 6 years and then let it rest for a year as a sabbath. It’s a good law that allows the soil to recover its fertility naturally. In geography, we know that most large river deltas like the Mekong or the Irrawaddy have a major flood every 10 years or so. Or a volcano will erupt every now and then, like in the Javan island, spewing its ashes and larva. That’s nature’s way of fertilising the soil.

But Mosaic law takes it further because after seven cycles of cultivating and resting the land, after 49 years, it’s the year of the jubilee. That’s the year when prisoners are released, slaves are freed, and land bought are returned to their original owners. It seems that there was no evidence in the bible that this law was ever practised because if land sold needed to be returned after 49 years, the sale was practically only a long-term lease.

Notwithstanding the actual application of the law in the lives of the Israelites, Jesus fulfiled that law when He died for our sins. He proclaimed the good news of the year of jubilee and set the captives and slaves free. He gave us a crown of beauty for ashes. In other words, He became the year of jubilee.

There is freedom and redemption in Christ. A prevailing theme in the Word of God is that He will restore what the locusts have devoured (Joel 2:25), like exchanging a crown of beauty for ashes in Isaiah 61:1-4. There is always restoration in the kingdom of God. From our time prior to our time in it and even things lost due to our foolishness when we are already in the faith. The Israelites were exiled twice, and the Temple and Jerusalem destroyed. Yet, in 1948, the state of Israel was established. The Temple remains buried, but one day, it will be restored in the new heaven and new earth. Trust in the Lord, live in accordance with His will – He will give us a crown of beauty for the ashes in our lives!

https://odb.org/2023/10/25/one-door-for-all-2

At the human level, we find that although churches are at the core multiracial, people do congregate based on language or creed. Thus, in West Malaysia, we have Chinese churches (language) and Chinese dominated churches (race) and Indian dominated ones as well as Tamil churches. In Sarawak, churches are largely of 3 types – English, Chinese, and Iban speaking. This may come across as racist but, in actuality, driven more by language or commonality of upbringing and culture. I had been to a Cantonese speaking church in Bangkok, which was mainly comprised of people from Hong Kong or of Hong Kong origin. The preacher, however, was a Malaysian pastor married to a local Thai pastor. But admittedly, congregating among our own race do speck of racism and may sometimes even lead to racism in our hearts. We thus need to examine our hearts and be careful not to fall into this trap.

But I think the message this morning is less about racism but more of the common front door for all. Unlike the past era, where blacks can order food but can not dine in and have to take their food at the back door, now all are welcomed at the front. The point is that in the faith, there is only one entrance for all. There are no backdoors or side entrances. It is certainly not all doors that lead to God like all roads lead to Rome. There is only one way, and that is by confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord and believing in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead as Paul wrote in Romans 10:9. Any other way, and it will not lead to eternal life but destruction. Even the Jews are not saved if they reject Christ as Paul declares.

In these end times, when there is a proliferation of false teachers, we must always check with the Holy Spirit what we believe in and put our faith on. There is an overload of information and teachings, whether on the web or YouTube, or even Facebook. Not everyone interprets the Scriptures correctly. We may be led astray following a false teacher. Always refer back to the Word and keep to the tenets of our faith. Consult our elders. Most fundamentally, all believers only enter through the front door through our Lord Jesus Christ as He Himself had declared that no one goes to the Father except through Him. He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).

https://odb.org/2023/10/24/dont-lose-heart-2

They say two things are unavoidable in life; death and taxes. Another is perhaps ageing and its impact on our lives. When we age, we start to have a myriad of illnesses from high cholesterol to hypertension to diabetes to heart ailments. We need to start taking long-term medication. When we travel, we take a longer time to recover. We tire more easily. Even in sports, we don’t hit as hard as we used to, and our reflexes are slower. Just a few weeks back, when we returned to Malaysia from Melbourne, I lifted two large luggages together to enter the shuttle bus to the long-term carpark and pulled a ligament. It has been nearly 3 weeks plus now, and I still can’t bend down like normal. I think this will probably take 3 months to heal.

From our teens to our adulthood to middle age and into our golden years, the passage of time and ageing can not be avoided. We see our pets as puppies and kittens, and they go before us. We plant a little tree, and they are now giants. Trees, of course, will outlive us if they are not cut down for development. We attend weddings and funerals, witness the birth of children, and the next generation. One day, we will be the past generation. We will have our own funeral.

But if we are in the Lord, we are not fearful of the future, whether in this life or the life to come. We know that the Lord loves us, and as we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, all these things will be added unto us. He will make sure we survive this life. But most importantly, the one who is able to destroy both our bodies and our souls will preserve our soul. We have a destiny and a home in eternity. Thus, although our body will weaken as we age, our inner man is renewed each day, and as we seek His face, our inner man will grow from glory to glory when we fix our eyes on the things unseen. Eternal life is our final destination. We have that hope. We carry that hope in us. We are assured of our place in our Father’s house as His mansion has many rooms, and our Lord Jesus Christ has gone ahead to prepare a place for us.

Do not lose heart that we have lost the beauty and lustre of our youth, its strength and virility. Our skin is not as smooth, and perhaps we have less hair now. What matters is that our inner man is growing in maturity and stature in the Lord. We will be bringing our soul into eternity. So make sure that it becomes what it should be in the Lord.

https://odb.org/2023/10/23/i-surrender

A phrase that we often hear is that God will help those who help themselves. There is wisdom in that in the sense that we need to act in order for God to act. We need to put in the work to see the results. It is conventional wisdom, but it is not biblical. This is because our faith in God is a relationship. Who we are in God is by His grace. We can not work for our salvation. The Psalmists knew this as they advised: trust in the LORD and do good (Psalm 37:3) and commit your way to the LORD (Psalm 37:5). Thus, it is biblical to say that the Lord will help those who trust and put their faith in Him. As we commit our lives to Him, He will protect and take care of us.

In addition, I will say that the Lord will help us because we belong to Him. In the days of old, the LORD protected Israel because they were His people, and He was their God. He helped them win their wars and battles because they were His people. We just heard during yesterday’s sermon that the key to victory for Israel is to put their trust in God, to cling to Him. That was the advice given by Joshua in his old age, having been given the task to take over from Moses at a young age to spearhead the Israelites’ entry into Canaan, incidentally the site of the current Israeli-Hamas war. Joshua had led Israel to many victories by placing his trust in God.

In present times, what we call the era of the church, we have been redeemed by Christ and are now seated in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6). Our spirit is born again, and in the spiritual realm, we have a place with Christ. We have now been given the privilege to be called sons and daughters of God, co-heirs with Christ. We belong to God. We are family to Him. That’s why Jesus Himself taught – will a father who loves you give you stone when you ask for bread? Or a serpent when you ask for fish? See Luke 11:11-13.

Rest assured, my dear brothers and sisters. The LORD our God, who created the heavens and earth, will help and protect us if we put our faith and trust in Him. He will make our paths straight as we commit our lives unto Him. He loves us, each and every one of us, dearly. We are His as we belong to Him. Redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. He is our shepherd and we His sheep. He is our God, and we are His.

https://odb.org/2023/10/20/in-the-garden-3

Most of us would have heard about the Garden of Eden even if we were not yet in the faith. There is a creation story in most cultures and civilisations. Except that in the biblical one, perhaps the difference is that it shows what it would have been if sin had not crashed in. It is a picture of perfection where humans lived in complete harmony with nature, only to be later shattered by sin. In Eden, man need not toil the ground. The ground itself produces all man needed to live – food for nourishment, beauty for the senses, and peace for the soul.

While sin and Satan broke that beautiful picture and led to man being banished out of Eden, Jesus Christ, the second Adam, mended our relationship with God and reconciled man back to God. He broke the veil.

We still live in this broken world with war, tears, and sorrow, and where the ground is still cursed. We need to toil hard for its produce, but most importantly, we are denied access to the tree of life. Our human bodies will die and rot away, returning to earth – from dust to dust. But the day will come when we who are in the faith, who believed in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, the Lamb of God who died for our sins, will get to live in Eden recreated in the new heaven and new earth. We will be in our glorified bodies and will then be able to partake of the tree of life. The ground will no longer be cursed. No more tears and sorrow and death. No more wars. Our souls will be at peace.

It’s not a dream or a fantasy. It’s a reality that we will possess one day if we hold on tightly to the faith and live a life of righteousness. We who already have our names written in the book of life need to make sure our names remain there until the end of time. Salvation may be by the grace of God by faith, meaning that we can not on our strength and virtue work for our salvation. But as humans with free will, we may lose it if we persistently ignore or go against Him. Don’t be Adam reincarnated.

https://odb.org/2023/10/19/first-on-the-list

In Matthew 6:33, Jesus tells us to seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. If you read the preceeding verses, Jesus’s argument is that if God takes care of the birds and the flowers and the grass, will He not take care of us, His children whom He loves. So don’t go chasing after all these earthly riches like the non-believers do, but instead put God first, and He will make sure we will have the things we need to survive this life. He knows what we need.

In my view, what Jesus meant is not for us to not work and let God bring manna down from heaven to feed us. Life challenges are real. We need to work hard at our jobs and be the best that we can be at what we do. Put in the hours, learn the business, or trade and acquire the skill to do well. Do not be calculative over work. The more we do, the more we will benefit. Practice makes perfect. Exposure gives us experience and discernment and wisdom.

But in all that we do, put God first. Have integrity and do what is right. Focus on God and His righteousness even as we go through our list of tasks. Ask Him for His strength. A couple of days ago, someone consulted me about what to do. He was organising a trip and has collected all the money already. It is a few weeks away. Just to take his chance, he asked the AirBnB owner for a discount, and totally unexpectedly, the owner agreed. So he asked me, “Should he pass on the discount to his friends?” If it’s all confirmed and he actually receives a refund from the owner for the discount, that should be the right thing to do. Later, he texted me that he passed on the discount to everyone.

The above was not a work example but a real-life example that I experienced recently. But it’s illustrative of what we should do at work. For example, if we come across some information that could help our colleagues in their work, should we tell or keep it to ourselves? Maybe we do not want to tell so that our colleagues do not outshine us?

Put God and His righteousness first, and all these things shall be given unto us. The principle is real, and as we practice it, we will see it come to pass. Amen!