He has put eternity in our hearts

https://odb.org/2024/04/05/now-and-forever

Ecclesiastes is indeed a peculiar wisdom book in the Bible as Solomon seemed to say everything is vanity or meaningless. Except for one thing, and that is knowing God. Thus, we live and die. We work hard to earn a living. We start a family and raise children. We have possessions. But we can bring nothing over to the other side when we die, and most of us will not live more than 80 or 90 years. There is a constant tension in humans to have a balance – we need to save for the rainy day and yet not too much. Someone advocated that our wealth is not really ours until we are willing to spend our children’s inheritance!

But then God has put eternity in our hearts. We are made in the image of God. That is why we don’t think our lives will really end when we die. We won’t just fade away into nothingness. Most, if not all, religions believe in some sort of judgment after we die. An opportunity to give a good account of ourselves or be condemned for our evil deeds while on earth. I believe heaven and hell, eternal life and everlasting damnation are all real. These are not concepts created by man to keep humanity in check on a high moral ground. Our souls live on when we die, and there will be a time of reckoning.

But if we believe in Jesus Christ, His blood saves us from the Great White Throne judgment of God. We need not go through that as we are justified by our faith in Christ. We will nevertheless need to face Christ Himself, our Lord and Saviour, in the Judgment Seat of Christ (also called the Bema judgment). We still need to give an account of who we have become after knowing God. Have we been faithful servants of God? More importantly, have we fulfilled His plans and purposes for our lives? Or did we waste our entire Christian life doing nothing for God, just giving in to the desires of our flesh? We may not have the ability to decide where and who we are born as, but we certainly have all the power in the world to decide who we are as believers of Christ! God has called us to be His own. Are we living a life worthy of God’s grace?

He has put eternity in our hearts indeed. There is life after death. There will be a new heaven and a new earth. Eden will be recreated. Will we have our own corner in eternal life? Will we have our inheritance in the saints? Will we obtain the prize that Christ has prepared for us as we had fought the good fight and finished the race? The choice is very much ours to make.

Reassurance from the LORD

https://odb.org/2024/04/04/in-his-arms

I think the picture of a young child sitting on the lap of his father on the dentist’s chair is an excellent picture of who God is and how He is a force of reassurance when we are going through some tough patches in life. God will also be that tower of strength when we are embarking on a journey of faith, trusting on His word, or His calling upon our lives. For example, some of us may take up a challenge to be a missionary in a closed country by taking an overseas job in that country. Or some may stay back in our host country after graduating to work and minister to the people of that nation. Europe, for instance, may have been the centre of the faith years back, but may now be drifting into atheism, eastern religions, new age, witchcraft, and the occultic.

This reminds me of what the LORD said to Joshua as he was about to take the step of faith to lead the Israelites into Canaan after Moses had passed on. In Joshua 1:9, the LORD encouraged Joshua to be strong and of good courage (some versions, be bold and courageous) as He will be with him wherever he goes. If you read on the book of Joshua and arrive at the end of his life, at chapter 24, you will see that the LORD faithfully kept His word all the way. In fact, the book of Joshua is a myriad of the great exploits of God through Joshua and the children of Israel conquering fortified cities and strong armies as they take hold of their inheritance that was promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

This morning, I would like to encourage us that we are not alone in our quest as we walk the path of righteousness. Jesus is right there with us. The LORD our God encourages us as the Holy Spirit guides and strengthens us. It feels like a lonely walk, but it is not. Like the footsteps in the sand, there are times when there are only two instead of four as Jesus carries us into His arms as we traverse through our tough times. In our weakness, Jesus strengthens us. In our despair, He answers us. In our fears, He emboldens us.

Be strong and courageous, and do not be afraid or be discouraged. For the LORD, your God will be with you wherever you go. Be careful to obey His Word and meditate upon His Word so that we may be successful wherever we go. Do not turn to left or to the right. Be careful to do everything that is written.

Hearing Jesus’s voice

https://odb.org/2024/04/03/i-hear-you-god

I think it’s a given that once we accept Jesus Christ into our lives as our Lord and Saviour, we will eventually know and recognise His voice. In John 10:1-10, Jesus uses the picture of a shepherd and his sheep to convey this message. Basically, the sheep will know and recognise the voice of their shepherd and follow him. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Those who enter through Him will be saved. They will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to kill and destroy, but Jesus has come that they may have life and have it more abundantly. With the Holy Spirit guiding us, we will be able to distinguish the various voices speaking to our hearts. It will take practice and time, but we will eventually get it.

The issue we will likely face, however, is I reckon, more of obedience. Do we want to listen to the voice of Christ like sheep? Or are we like that wayward sheep charting our own way to our own pasture even as the Good Shepherd is leading us to green pastures? If we are the former, we risk being devoured by wolves and other predatory animals like the thief Jesus spoke about, who seeks only to kill and destroy. Obeying the voice of God and following His Word ensures that we are safe in the shadow of His wings. As Jesus soars with wings like the eagle, we are able to follow suit. It is thus crucial that we fashion our lives in accordance with His will, His plans, and purposes for us that He remains our Good Shepherd until the very end of our days here on earth. It is good to start well, but it is more important, in fact, imperative and critical that we end well! 2 Timothy 4:7-8 that we have fought the good fight and finished the race must be our ultimate goal in this walk of faith.

The message this morning is to hear, listen, and obey the voice of Christ. Take heed when He prompts us. Obey His Word as we read and meditate on Scripture. Our lives will then be on the path of righteousness that will lead to eternal life.

Political leaders

https://odb.org/2024/04/02/psalm-72-leaders

Public office politics is inherently difficult as there are many often competing interests to meet and balance at the highest levels. On the one hand, they can’t meet everyone’s demands and, on the other hand, some needs are more urgent than others. It’s a question of priorities, and yet it’s also a question of support. Political personalities and parties need to take care of the needs of their constituents in order to remain in power, their own voting area as well as the power base of their party. In Malaysia, political power is delienated along racial, religious, rural-urban, and East-West Malaysia territorial lines. It is both simple and complex as voters in any group are not necessarily homogeneous. Throw self interests and self enrichment into the mix, and you’ll have a morally reprehensible cauldron of soups.

We may want to criticise, but as believers, we are also part of the system. As much as we identify ourselves as Christians, true believers are hardly a powerful bloc in any jurisdiction. I believe even in the bible belt of the United States of America. Like the Psalmist in Psalm 72, we want a fair and just system where the poor and underprivileged will not be marginalised and the righteous prosper. Unfortunately, public office is sick, likely everywhere in the world.

What we can probably do as an individual believer of Christ is to do our part in the voting process and pray for our leaders that doing the right thing is among their top priorities. They may not be able to do so every single time due to competing interests, but at least they try to. We pray that they do not put self interests at the top of everything they do as that can not be a good thing. The government paying inflated prices will surely contribute to inflation, although the public sector spending is catalyst to economic growth. Inefficient use of resources will lead to waste, especially of hard-earned taxpayers’ monies. It’s already tough to earn a living nowadays, and we still need to pay income and consumption taxes and how disheartening it is if the taxes we pay are abused and misused!

My view is that ultimately, we focus our eyes on Jesus. We give to Caesar what’s due to Caesar, rightfully or otherwise, and fix our eyes on Christ. Ultimately, we are passing through to a better place in eternity. In the meantime, we pray for our rulers and leaders that they will do good for the people at large, if not all the time, at least most of the time!

Meeting together in Christ Jesus

https://odb.org/2024/04/01/meeting-together

Yes, it’s a mistake to avoid meeting together when we are going through something. Perhaps it is OK to miss a meeting or two, but we should never do this on a prolonged basis. This is because congregational meetings allow for corporate worship and fellowship among the brethren. That’s why churches whose congregations share a meal together after service experience a closeness that is very different from those who leave for home or elsewhere almost immediately after the service ends. I recall nearly 15 years back when we used to travel 70km to attend church and were very close to that congregation because we share a meal together nearly every week either potluck, catered or at the restaurant downstairs.

The other thing about meeting together is that our very presence encourages others as people are generally happy to see so many people coming together to worship God. The crowd itself is an encouragement. All we needed to do was to be a part of the crowd. Further, when we lend our voices to the worship, we add on to the atmosphere and make the worship blending harmoniously with the musicians and worship leaders to create a sweet incense of worship unto the LORD. Scripture teaches that the LORD dwells in the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3).

Sometimes, in the ensuing fellowship, we could offer a word of encouragement or edification even though we ourselves may be going through a crisis situation of our own. The blessing we may receive from blessing others may cheer us up or give us renewed hope for the future or help us see and imagine the light at the end of the tunnel.

Do not neglect meeting one another. Blessings from heaven will flow even as we encourage and cheer each other in this race to the finish line, as we edify and exalt one another to keep on the track of righteousness on the narrow path that leads to eternal life.

I took a break last week to take advantage of a bank holiday to do a bit of local travelling during the Muslim fasting month. There were indeed fewer cars on the road, and we enjoyed driving on the new West Coast Expressway. It is not fully completed but smooth drives wherever it was already done up. https://wce.com.my/wce-highway-map/

Have a good week ahead, and may our Lord Jesus Christ be with us, and may we all be guided by the wisdom and discernment of the Holy Spirit as we face the challenges of life and the spiritual realm at work, in college and at home! Do our best for our God wherever we are not because we have to, but because we want to!

Sheep and goats

https://odb.org/2024/03/25/love-god-by-loving-others

Matthew 25:31-40 is in a way scary as there will come a time when our Lord Jesus Christ will separate us into sheep and goats. Below is a deeper analysis of this topic, which may be contentious to some.

https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/christ-the-king/commentary-on-matthew-2531-46-7

I tend to agree that as Jesus spoke about having helped or being kind “to the least of my brethren”, this discourse on goats and sheep is about those in the church and not about those within versus those outside. The doctrine of salvation through justification by faith (as opposed to by works) may not be so clear in the Gospels as it was something better articulated by Paul in his letters. But Scripture does not contradict. Thus, even in the post Gospels books, we have the concept of “faith without works is dead” in James 2.

The point is that as much as salvation is a free gift to us by the grace of God in the sense that we can not work for it, there is much work to be done once we are inside. Jesus Christ opens the door for us to enter into the Kingdom of God, but when we are in, it is not for us to just cruise along until our last dying breadth. We have to pull our weight the same way we need to do so at work. We were bought with a high price. We are now servants serving the LORD our God most high, the Great I Am.

One of the things we must do is to love one another as in John 13:34. Jesus says this in another way in Matthew 25 – to be sheep like those who fed, gave drink, and clothe the least of the brethren. It is inconsistent and inconceivable if we know Jesus and yet do not treat our fellow believers kindly, with love and compassion, grace, and mercy.

As scary as Mathew 25 may seem, and as surprised as some being categorised as sheep or goat, we need not worry if we have always been close to Christ, walking in His ways and hearing His voice as prompted by the Holy Spirit. As Jesus has said before, His sheep hears His voice, and He knows them – John 10:27-28. If we have always been hearing His voice and following His ways all these many years, how can we then turn out to be goats? Being kind to others is now second nature to us anyway. Have a good week ahead, everyone!

Renaissance

https://odb.org/2024/03/24/renaissance

The period of Renaissance is that period of time in history between the 14th to the 17th centuries when the Europeans transitioned from the Middle Ages to modern times. It was probably best known as the time of Leonardo da Vinci, the brilliance of his art coupled with his scientific prowess and foresight, the marvel of his engineering insights. It was also the advent of Western imperialism with the use of bullets and guns and, thus, their superiority over the rest of the world still using swords and bows and arrows.

But today, we are actually talking about the renaissance of us as human beings as we transitioned to become children of God through Christ Jesus. He became the sole and only worthy seed who died to give birth to millions of us who bear His name and carry His witness. He is in us, and His presence is with us wherever we go. His Kingdom of Heaven is here on earth through us as where we stand is where His Kingdom is. We are the physical extension in the natural of His spiritual Kingdom of God.

But to truly experience that renaissance that Christ brings, we like Christ, need to die to ourselves for our born-again spirit man to take full control of our body, soul, and mind. That we may live by the Spirit instead of by our flesh and our carnal desires. A life led by the Spirit leads to eternal life, while the latter leads to destruction.

Blessed Palm Sunday, everyone! As we remember the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem in fulfilment of ancient prophesy, let’s prepare ourselves for the coming Good Friday and Easter celebrations to commemorate the death and resurrection of Christ. The Apostles dedicated and gave their lives to preach Christ crucified and resurrected, which forms the basis of our faith. We are who we are today in Christ, and we will be with God one day in the new heaven and the new earth because of Christ crucified and resurrected! Make that Renaissance a reality in our lives today, and male sure we are on the narrow path of righteousness that leads to glory in Christ!

Love in action

https://odb.org/2024/03/22/next-step-of-love

I think one of the few things we can not avoid as a Christian is love since God is love. Thus, Jesus loved us. That’s why He died for our sins to reconcile us back to God the Father. There is no greater love than a man who lays down his life for another (John 15:3).

But in 1 John 3, John emphasised love in action – what is the next step in love? He wrote about the need to help those in need in love, and that requires generosity in heart and deed. It is easier to do and manage if we have the attitude that all that we have is ultimately because of God, and it is His blessings. Thus, God will use what He blesses us with to bless others. We become His instruments of blessings. As I postulated yesterday, the LORD will help those who help others: https://ronnielim.com/2024/03/21/god-helps-those-who-help-others/.

As we grow in faith and in maturity in Christ, more will be demanded from our lives. We can not live out faith in isolation or be a Christian only in church. Our faith is part and parcel of who we are in the family, at work, in church, and everywhere. That’s why God exhorted Joshua to be strong and of good courage as He will be with Joshua wherever he goes (see Joshua 1:9). God is everywhere, and He is in us. Wherever we are, He is there with us, inside us and with us. In His presence and His power and glory.

Do good and help others. That’s the commandment and instruction. An extrapolation of to love your neighbour as yourself. That’s not only a characteristic of a believer but the goal and mission of a Christian as we pass through this earth as a sojourner, a pilgrim on our way to eternity. Never leave a trail of destruction, misery, and sadness. But always leave behind a heritage of good deeds and love in action, of the everlasting grace and mercy of God and His abundant love. Amen!

God helps those who help others

https://odb.org/2024/03/21/simply-helping

There is some truth that God helps those who help themselves in the sense that faith and action go hand in hand, or rather faith requires action in order for us to experience the grace and goodness of God. Thus, if we pray for patience, the LORD will likely bring us to situations where we will learn and experience patience. So, if we pray for strength to go through a difficult situation, He will bring us through that situation for us to experience His strength and perhaps His wisdom. Rarely will He miraculously make that situation go away.

But what is perhaps better is that God helps those who help others, especially the weak and oppressed. Why wouldn’t He, when helping the weak and oppressed, has always been His heart’s desire. This is evident from the ancient Isaiah 56:6-7. The LORD questioned the fasting of the Israelites when His desire is to lose the chains of injustice, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free, and break every yoke. Is it not to share your food with the hungry, to provide the poor wanderer with shelter, and to clothe the naked? Jesus taught the same thing in Matthew 25:35-40.

By now, as a believer of Jesus, it should be second nature for us to help others who are weak, in need, and oppressed. It should be part of our personality and character. We have a very good reason to be like this. This is very close to the heart of God, particularly when the LORD helps those help others. We will never lose out. If we give to help, God will ensure that our lives will always have more than enough. Remember Elijah and the widow at Zarephath with the little flour and olive oil in 1 Kings 17 where she had just enough to prepare the last meal for her and her son? The flour and oil never ran out as she could prepare meals after meals for all 3 of them for a very long time. We may not experience something as dramatic, but the point is that if we were to help others, we would have more than enough to keep on helping.

Remember, God always helps those who help others!

Slaves and servants

https://odb.org/2024/03/19/who-is-your-master

In the Bible, whether in the Old or New Testament but perhaps more so in the latter, when some versions use the expression ‘servant’, the meaning is usually slaves. In those times, slavery was still common. During ancient times, people ended up as slaves as victorious armies take war captives as their bounty. Rather than a massacre, they have cheap labour, and this bounty could also serve as a strong motivation for a soldier to fight for an army. Thus, a soldier will be willing to put his life on the line to gain a helper for their homes plus other bounty. The Israelites ended up as slaves in Egypt because they were foreigners living in a land their forefathers settled in to escape famine in Canaan.

While slavery in the original sense as chattels (can be bought and sold) no longer exists in the modern world, sometimes we are somewhat like slaves in the workforce. For various reasons, we may not have the ability not to work as and when we like. Our modern-day commitments are long-term, while most of us have savings that will not last more than a couple of months. In a declining economy, when everyone is struggling, jobs are hard to come by.

Thus, Paul’s teaching in Colossians 3:22 and 4:1 are significant. Although he could not change the social phenomenon of slavery, he asked that both slaves and masters treat each other well and with respect and fairness. A worker is always worthy of his wages, and we should reward hard work, faithfulness, and dedication appropriately.

As workers, we must give our best to our employers, and as bosses, we must not abuse or take advantage of our subordinates’ life situations. We reward as much as we could within the means of our respective organisations and always remember that everyone has extra mouths to feed at home, whether it is the wife and kids or ageing parents. As believers, this is the least we can do to honour God as Jesus Christ is our Master and Lord, and we always want to do His will in all situations and circumstances. It would be tragically wrong if we are abusive, exploitative, and manipulative bosses who profess the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. That will bring shame and dishonour to Christ!