A cord of 3 strands

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

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

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

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

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

Stolen sweetness

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

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

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

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

The Valley of Berakah

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The path that leads to destruction

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

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

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

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

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

Living a life worthy of our calling

https://odb.org/2024/04/16/ready-to-go-3

There are two aspects to Ephesians 4:1. One is the worthy life and the other the calling. For the latter, we all have our own specific calling. That is probably why spiritual gifts, as listed in 5 different places in the New Testament, are not identical. These lists are likely not exhaustive. Thus, you and I may have a spiritual gift that is not listed, and yet it is nevertheless a gift or a talent that is unique to us for us to help out in the Kingdom of God. Each of us has our own niche to contribute to God’s work, a specific place and role in the universal church.

However, going hand in hand with our spiritual giftings and talents is our life. Are we the new man in the Lord? Or are we still so caught up with our old man with our own desires of the flesh? Have we sanctified and surrendered our ambitions to God, or are we still pursuing our own selfish ambitions to be successful, rich, and famous? To be somebody in the world, rather than the person God wants us to be? Have you become the person with the qualities of the fruit of the Spirit?

Spiritual giftings and talents are aspects of our spiritual life that need to be developed to be more effective in ministry. These are unique elements of who we are in Christ that need to be honed and sharpened. Yet the other half of the equation needs to be equally progressed in parallel. We need both talent and character to fully function in the spiritual realm. The cunning and conniving Jacob needs to wrestle with God to become Israel. The Israelites need to spend 40 years in the wilderness to hone their dependence on the LORD before entering the Promised Land.

Use our God-given talents and giftings to serve Him with all our heart, mind, and strength but put equal effort into not conforming to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds that we may prove the good, acceptable and perfect will of God. Become the person God wants us to be in both deed and character. Do not neglect who we are and who we will become as we use the gifts and talents God has given us to respond to His calling for our lives!

Be at home

https://odb.org/2024/04/15/longing-for-home-3

Although some of us may treat our workplace as just a place to earn a living, feeling at home at our workplace helps us to be happy and contented at work, ultimately pushing us to make an effective contribution to our respective organisations. We must fit in whether with the people or the work culture. If not, it’s better to move on.

In the same rein, we need to also be at home in church. We should be able to respond to and develop our calling in God in the church that we are affiliated with. We should fit in with the people, the worship, the ministries, and grow spiritually as we listen to the messages preached week in, week out. It is the place where we may serve God as per His calling for our lives.

As we worship the Lord, we should feel that intimacy, that presence that we may see and experience God the Father in the spiritual realm. We worship in spirit and in truth. We may actually enter into the presence of God on our own, but we all know corporate worship is an experience that can’t really be recreated in the comforts of our own home. That is why, post-pandemic, more churches are ceasing online worship services to encourage their people to return to church in person on site. Taking the trouble to dress up and go to church honours God besides the social interaction that comes with physical meetings.

Nevertheless, we are still pilgrims passing through this temporary abode, albeit pilgrims with a mission and calling. John 14:3 gives us that hope that Jesus has gone ahead to prepare us a place at our Father’s mansion with many rooms. He promised to return to bring us there. We await His second coming with anticipation and hope, together with those who had passed on in the past.

We have the ultimate home in heaven, and Revelation 21, as revealed to John, foretells the time when we will all live in the new heaven and new earth in the presence of God. Until then, let us be at home at work and in our local church. Settle down and start making effective and meaningful contributions to our work organisations and our local churches. Make these “homes” as places where we may grow spiritually in God and in our service to Him as we know that the best mission field for most of us is still our workplace. Be at home and serve God at our workplace and our church! Have a good week ahead, everyone!

Seek ye first the Kingdom of God

https://odb.org/2024/04/14/above-all-else

Matthew 6:33 – Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you, is one of the most important verses of the bible that we should know besides John 3:16. It is the foundation of our faith in the sense that while we need to live in this world and work hard at whatever we do, we prioritise His Kingdom and the pursuit of His righteousness. In other words, God always comes first even as we need to give our best to earn a living.

Clearly, it doesn’t mean we just cruise by when we work because God is first. It doesn’t mean we should not have an ambition at work because God will provide. We need to not only pull our weight for our department and organisation but do our best. We always give our best as a testimony of our faith and of God, to reflect His glory and goodness in our lives. It’s just that we do not go beyond our job scope to achieve our goals or ambitions. If we want a better life, we don’t cheat or swindle or manipulate situations or people but let God give us the better life the way He took care of the birds of the air and the flowers at the fields.

On the other hand, we focus on Jesus and our relationship with Him. We read the Word. Ee pray for others. We serve in church. We develop a Christ-like character and personality, for example, to always be helpful to those around us, to be kind and patient. We do our part at work and also in ministry. Don’t just be a Sunday Christian or a pew warmer, but get our hands dirty by plunging into the work of the Kingdom. Often, we may need to deal with the issues of life of those around us. As much as it is difficult and challenging, we should get to it, especially if that’s our calling.

Have a good work-life balance, but life here means more of Him than just relaxation and enjoyment. Work hard at our jobs, but put Him first. Make the seeking and pursuit of His righteousness first. In the process, God will ensure that all these will be added to us. We will never be in need if we put Him first in all that we do. God will take care of us! Amen!

Armour of light

https://odb.org/2024/04/09/put-this-on-every-day

We are a new creation when we are born again in Christ, having awakened our spirit who was dead to Yahweh, God the Father. The Holy Spirit lifted the scales from our eyes to see the light, having an understanding of the salvation Jesus brings through His death on the cross and how His resurrection defeated the sting of sin which is death. Thus, the phrase, “two births and one death,” for believers, in contrast to “one birth and two deaths,” for the others. Paul’s mission in life after He saw the light was to preach Christ crucified and Christ resurrected.

But true transformation takes time. Some people are still nasty, manipulative, and selfish after accepting Christ and sadly even after years of knowing God. That’s a tragedy because it’s a contradiction of who we are in Christ. If we had remained the same all these years, then, perhaps we are just a nominal Christian, a believer only in name and appearance.

As much as transformation takes time, it has to be started and progressed. God has to be the potter, and we, the clay and not that clump of unrefined and unworked earth from day one till the end. WIP, yes, but God needs to be able to work in us, and there must be some semblance of beauty in us, a silhouette of who we can and will be in Christ.

Paul teaches us in Romans 13:11-14 to step away from darkness and to put on the armour of light that we remain in the light from henceforth. Put aside the deeds of darkness. Leave them behind as we journey with Christ into the path of the light, the path of righteousness that leads to eternal life. The light illuminates our path and also protects us. That is why it is the armour of light. It shields us from the attacks of the evil one.

Put on the armour of light, stand firm, and persevere through. As we walk in the light, we will destroy the works of darkness and bring everything to light. May the LORD our God bless and anoint our paths as we walk the path of righteousness with the armour of light! Amen!

Joy in the city

https://odb.org/2024/04/08/joy-in-the-city

Proverbs 11:10 teaches that when the righteous prosper, the city rejoices. I think not so much that the city is happy for the prosperity of the righteous but more the fact they know that the blessings of the heavens are opened to also bring prosperity to the city. The righteous prosper because God is with them. The providence of God follows them. People are fearful of divine retribution, but they rejoice in divine providence.

Thus, when God blesses us as the righteous, He blesses our family, our church, and our community. Everyone will be impacted one way or another. That is why when Christ is accepted in poor urban neighbourhoods or ghettos, entire neighbourhoods may be transformed over a generation or two. With Christ in their lives, they turn away from cigarettes, booze, drugs, and crime. They turn to regular jobs. Their children grow up with proper education, and some become lawyers, engineers, doctors, IT professionals, and proper businessmen. From poverty to working class to middle class. That’s the wonderful thing about God working in our lives, in families and communities.

It is not wrong, in my view, to postulate that the pursuit of righteousness is one of the better ways to elevate the standard of living of families and neighbourhoods as righteousness brings divine blessings and providence. It doesn’t mean that we will not face life challenges. But as a people, we will become stronger and more resilient in the face of difficulty and adversity because God is with us.

The message this morning is to always pursue righteousness in all that we do. As the righteous propers, the city rejoices!

5 things to be thankful

https://odb.org/2024/04/07/five-good-things

It is good to be thankful for who we are today and for the things that we have, especially to Creator God, our Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, and Saviour. As today’s ODB article teaches, there are positive benefits to thankfulness and gratefulness. For example, research indicates that people who are intentionally grateful have better sleep, fewer illnesses, and more happiness. It’s not that we will face fewer challenges in life. It’s likely we will be in a good mood much more!

If I were to list 5 things, my first will be my salvation. It gives me the everlasting hope and assurance that I will not be condemned to hell for eternity or just disolve into nothingness. I have the final destination in the new heaven and new earth where there will not be pain and suffering anymore, and where God will live among His people.

My second will be my calling and service in God that my life is not just about facing life’s challenges to put food on the table. I have a greater purpose in Christ to serve Him in His church with the little I have to repay Him for His sacrifice on the cross for me. I am thankful that I may live a redeemed and victorious life here on earth because of Christ.

My third will be my wife, whom I have known since I was 21. She has stood by me through thick and thin, despite my weaknesses and imperfections and in spite of my idiosyncrasies and behavioural traits. I came from humble beginnings, and through her support all these years, we have built a family together to raise our standard of living while always keeping our feet grounded and at the same time, always serving God together as a couple. She plays for me when I lead in worship while she’s my number one advisor when I preach.

My fourth will be my two boys, the apple of our eyes. We have seen them grow since they were babies and gave them all we could as they grow from infancy to adulthood. Although they were latchkey children with both parents working, we have been to all of their major events at school, their concerts, and sports days. Watched them performed since their kindy days, and we have been with them at every stage of their lives. As much as they will grow old and raise families of their own, they will always remain our babies until our dying day.

My fifth will be my career and the jobs that I have had since I graduated from university. We didn’t have any earthly inheritance (but we know we will have our inheritance in the saints). Thus, we started from scratch from our first paycheck. We have had to save up for everything we wanted. I am thankful that although there were ups and downs, a constant and regular income, if saved and used prudently, will eventually become something substantial after many years.

What about you? What are the 5 things that you are thankful to God for? It’s good to write them down and ponder and thank the LORD for His grace and mercy over the years. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!