https://odb.org/2023/09/15/the-message-of-the-prophets

I think the story of Jeremiah vs. Hananiah, as recorded in Jeremiah 28:2-4, 10-16, serves as a warning to us not to claim that we are a prophet from God in these modern post-Jesus times. This is especially so when the writer of Hebrews (many believed it to be Paul) clearly stated in Hebrews 1:1-2 that while in the past, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets… in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son. Not that God doesn’t speak through Scriptures, the written Word, but that He speaks to us by Jesus Christ.

I think it is not the same as moving in the prophetic realm or speaking out in words of knowledge if that is our spiritual gift, but we should not claim ourselves to be a prophet from God as though we are like Isaiah or Jeremiah or Ezekial or Elijah or Elisha. Those men dedicated their entire lives to prayer and being a mouthpiece of Yahweh in those ancient times.

The danger and implication if we are a false prophet like Hananiah are very evident. God may pronounce judgment on us here on earth itself even as there could be serious ramifications in our afterlife.

The other thing about the prophets of the past was that they were the mouthpiece of God to the nation of Israel. It is God’s way of speaking to a whole nation, a whole tribe of people. Not to individuals or congregations but to an entire nation of believers or to the universal church since we are now adopted children of God. Perhaps a prophet’s role in these contemporary times is to be like John the Baptist to warn of the coming tribulation and the return of our Lord Jesus Christ? Other than that, we should listen with caution.

Ultimately, we should hear from God ourselves and develop our own inner ear to sense and understand what’s going on in the spiritual realm. God speaks to us in these last days by Jesus Christ, and through His death on the cross, we are now reconciled to God and have direct access to Him. Seek Him out in prayer, and Yahweh, God the Father will reveal the future, our future, to us. Especially His plans and purposes for our lives and His will for our lives!

https://odb.org/2023/09/13/welcoming-the-foreigner

Ancient Israel law was conceived and laid down during the early part of their time at the wilderness (when they were encamped at Mount Sinai and are mainly recorded in Leviticus). The divine law was detailed and covered nearly every aspect of their lives and was used extensively at Kadesh Barnea, the oasis of the desert where they spent most of their 40 years in the wilderness, during their time in Canaan and subsequently even until the time of Jesus and possibly even in the present modern Israel.

One exemplary aspect of the law was God’s compassion, love, and protection of orphans (fatherless), widows, and foreigners. Thus, these marginalised groups of people, for example, were allowed to glean the fields after a harvest, and the harvesters were instructed not to be too efficient in doing so, in order that no one goes hungry in ancient Israel.

There are two types of foreigners during those Israeli times, the temporary ones who were there for trade or business and the ones staying there permanently. The latter group lived among the Israelites and have settled in Israel, but they are usually poor and are odd job labourers, likely remnants of people captured in wars who were not made slaves or had over the years became free (possibly also because slaves were freed every 7 years during the year of the jubilee). They were generally landless and thus had to be hired workers.

You may read about the strangers and gentiles in Israel in the following: https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/strangers-and-gentiles

One of the main characteristics of Scripture is to show us the heart of our Father God. Thus, a specific law to safeguard the interests and well-being of the foreigner in Israel tells us that God has compassion and love for the weak and downtrodden. Our application of that characteristic of God is to likewise have compassion and love for the weak and downtrodden since our mission in life as a believer is to be more and more like Christ, more and more like who God is. If God is kind to the weak, we should likewise be. In fact, Christ extended our love for God to also love our neighbours, and these include the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow. In our present context, most of us Malaysian Christians (except for those in East Malaysia) are migrants in this land. We are the foreigners. Yet among us, there are other foreigners who earn a living here, especially those who came from faraway lands to take up dirty, difficult, and dangerous (3Ds) jobs that we as locals shun. Do extend our love and compassion to them.

https://odb.org/2023/09/12/be-still-5

Before we go into the topic of the day, allow me to just digress and mention the comment made by Bill Crowder in today’s ODB. The concept of progressive revelation teaches that Scripture doesn’t move from error to truth but from incompleteness to completeness. So, people in the Old Testament didn’t understand many things because of their limited knowledge then. They didn’t understand very much about life after death, and thus, the Old Testament looks at God more in their present lives, with blessings and punishments experienced while they are still living. But in the New Testament, Jesus opened up the concept of eternal life, and through Paul’s writings, we learn about present sufferings being part of our life as believers and we endure and persevere through because we trust that the end will nevertheless be good and perfect. We have, among other things, Revelation 21 to look forward to and the glorified resurrected body of Christ as a clear example of our hope of glory.

I think that if we are going through tough patches in our present life, in addition to the hope at the end, we have the presence of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit in our midst and within us. The still small voice that Elijah experienced at the opening of the cave at the mountain top is something real and tangible that we can seek out and cling on to in times of trials and tribulations, and sufferings. Seek out the Lord Jesus Christ, and He will indeed give us rest and calm our troubled hearts. Ask the Lord to strengthen our inner man that we will have the courage and boldness to face the world as it is, and as it presents itself in our lives. Look out for that still small voice as we face the rigours of life.

I would like to end today’s commentary by encouraging us that we must always read the Old Testament in the context of what they then knew of God, at a time before Jesus came to earth to die for our sins and at a time when they didn’t have the progressive revelations of the truth given to the Apostles like Paul, Peter and John. Our lives are not lived just on earth, but how we live now determines our destiny for eternity. As much as our salvation is assured by the blood of the Lamb, we still need to store up treasures in heaven, love God with all our heart, soul and mind, and love our neighbours as we love ourselves (Matthew 6:19-21, 22:37-39). Jesus’s teachings are not just sayings but truth that have a real impact on our afterlife.

https://odb.org/2023/09/11/which-wisdom-2

In James 3:13, it is written, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” In other words, wisdom is doing good deeds and leading a good life out of humility. Usually, when you are smart and clever, you are proud, but instead, it is wise to be smart and yet humble. As a believer, the wise move is always to do what Christ teaches and not conform to the pattern of the world. That’s the path of righteousness.

The story of a policeman who offered himself in exchange as a hostage on Easter 2018 was both sad and inspirational. He was later shot and died an innocent man in exchange for the life of another. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (John 15:14). In the context of Jesus’s teaching, friends there include strangers because the point is the sacrifice and not the who. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/23/french-police-called-to-trebes-supermarket-amid-hostage-reports-shootings

This Easter 2018 story reminds me of the story of believers on board the Titanic at the turn of the century, having given up their places in the lifeboats to others as they already had their salvation assured. The reasoning was that non-believers among them should be given a chance to live so that they may later discover the truth of the Gospel and Christ.

We do not know whether the French gendarme who died in exchange as a hostage to the terrorist was a believer. But we do know that the Titanic passengers who gave up their places to the life boats were. The point is that when the situation requires, we need to do what is right as taught by Christ and as written in the Scriptures. The law is now written in our hearts. It was fulfilled by Christ. It had never been superseded or revoked. Sometimes, we may need to tell the truth of our incompetence and not hide behind excuses. Own up and face the situation as it is. Do what is right, in the eyes of God. He sees, and He knows.

https://odb.org/2023/09/10/promise-fulfilled

When I read Luke 1:26-38, the most touching thing I felt was that although Mary was initially confused by the visit of angel Gabriel, she accepted the promise and prophesy given to her that she will bear a son that will be the Messiah despite she being still a virgin. The prophesy and promise became a task and responsibility that Mary accepted willingly when she answered that she’s the LORD’s servant and thus may your word to me be fulfilled. A visit to an elderly Elizabeth, who at 60 was expecting a child, encouraged her as Elizabeth confirmed that Mary would be giving birth to the Messiah. Later, Elizabeth gave birth to John the Baptist, who proclaimed the coming of the Kingdom of God as a precursor to the ministry of Jesus Christ here on earth.

I think while we hope for prophesies and promises of God to come true in our lives, rarely do we make the concerted effort to work with God to make those a reality. I think most Christians hope for prophesies and promises to be magical. That somehow God through His miraculous power, will make those promises and prophesies come true for us. When Mary said may your word to me be fulfilled, she meant it more like I will see to it that the Messiah is born and I will raise Him up until He is ready to achieve His mission for the world. If this is your calling and mission for me, I will make sure it comes to pass, for I am a servant of the LORD.

Can we be like Mary? Can we do our part and prepare ourselves as God calls us? Can we make God’s promises and prophesies for us our task and responsibility? Can we actively work and engage with God to fulfil His promises and prophesies for us? Can we start taking small steps of faith before we take the final big step to launch into the deep with Jesus? Preparation is key to everything, and God’s promises and prophesies are no exception. We need to accept and then prepare ourselves and work with God for those prophesies and promises to come to pass.

“I am the LORD’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.”

https://odb.org/2023/09/08/the-god-of-surprises

I recall during my varsity days of having responded to an altar call to go into full-time ministry to plant churches. Of course, it was in the context of my previous church, and things did not work out for that church in the long run. Although I had continued to serve God in two other churches after that, I never did go full time. Instead, I have pursued a corporate career all these years, like my peers. I got married, settled down, and raised a family. But perhaps like the person in today’s life story in ODB, I may have a second chance later in life.

Peter and his brother Andrew, and James and his brother John, however, responded to Jesus’s call immediately. They dropped everything they were doing and followed Jesus – from fishermen to fishers of men, almost in an instant into a lifetime of service until their dying day. They suffered and endured persecution but persevere on for His name’s sake. There was a lull, perhaps a few days after Jesus was arrested, sentenced to death, and died. But after Christ resurrected and appeared to them, it was all systems go, especially after the Day of Pentecost when the promised helper, the Holy Spirit, descended upon them and they spoke in tongues and was filled with power from high.

If the Lord had called us before whether to full-time or to a life of a missionary to a far land or to an around the world trip via Dolos and for some that could just be to the island of Borneo, don’t give up! Continue to believe in that calling and trust God to make it happen. That day will come. We will be able to break free from our jobs and serve God in the space He had called us to. The blessing to us is perhaps that we will be that bigger brick in the universal church that will take more weight of ministry upon our shoulders. As we launch into a life of faith, we will see God’s supernatural and amazing power working through us in the lives of people, pulling them out of the miry clay and transforming them into beautiful pieces – indeed, beauty for ashes.

https://odb.org/2023/09/06/im-nobody-who-are-you

Philippians 3:8-9 is undoubtedly an interesting piece of Scripture where Paul declared his life before knowing Christ as dung or rubbish although he was at that time the creme de la creme of the Jews, being a Pharisee trained by Gamaliel and a member of the Sanhedrin. Thus, a popular interpretation of these verses is that the quest to be somebody in the world is a meaningless and useless pursuit and should thus be abandoned.

But seriously, will Philippians 3 be sufficient to deter us from wanting to carve a name for ourselves in the world? Even in the Christian world and the church, Christians want to be somebody rather than a nobody. Pastors want to have a Dr to their name and pursue academic qualifications, some for credibility, some for recognition. I personally do not think there is anything wrong with further studies as the more knowledge we have, the better equipped we will likely be to minister and serve, and to fulfil God’s plans and purposes for our lives. However, I find it strange that there are ministers going for titles like Apostles and Prophets. But I digress.

For me, I think the quest to be somebody in the world is a natural drive that perhaps should not be suppressed but should instead be sanctified and committed to God. Like our dreams and ambitions, if sanctified and aligned with God’s plans and purposes for our lives, it would surely kill two birds with one stone! We get to fulfil both God’s plans and our dreams. Of course, we must still follow Paul’s narrative and consider all that we are in the world or the church or in ministry as dung compared to the honour and privilege of personally knowing Christ. Knowing Christ beats everything else as He is the only thing that is truly eternal for He is the Word. He was at the beginning and will be there at the end. He is our Alpha and our Omega, the author and finisher of our faith.

Whether we are pursuing a name for ourselves in the world or the church, it is not of significance compared to Christ. Christ is the only way to the Father. He is the only one who really matters. What benefit is it to us if we gain the whole world but lose our souls?

https://odb.org/2023/09/05/everything-is-against-me

There are times when everything seems to be against us. Nothing is going well. We don’t wish for that, of course. We want everything to be for us, to be smooth. We want our affairs to be normalised – not dramatic, not drastic. We want things to just go on a regular and even rhythm. For example, if we save RM1,000 a month, we will have RM12,000 in a year. Unfortunately, sometimes, in the quest to gain something a little out of ordinary, we lose too much because we put in too much. That’s the psychology of how scams and other lures work. They appeal to and attract our inner desire to have more in order to take from us what we already have. The idiom, “a bird in hand is better than two in the bush,” is apt.

In the case of Jacob, Joseph was dead (as recounted by his brothers), his other son, Simeon, was held hostage and in return he needed to bring Benjamin to the Lord of that faraway land to get back Simeon. Jacob lamented that everything’s against him. See Genesis 42.

If everything is against us, the way forward is to bow down humbly before God and seek His counsel on what to do next and do what it takes for Him to be on our side. Get God on our side (or rather, move over to God’s side) and rebuild our lives from there. Then we will see that everything will be on our side, and we will soar high again with wings like that of eagles! The LORD is our answer and the way forward. Go back to Him. Repent of our sins and seek His forgiveness. Don’t repeat our past mistakes and follies again. In most cases, we are where we are because of our own doing.

In Romans 8:31, Paul reminded the Romans – if God is for us, who can be against us? No one can out-give or out-gun the Almighty God, the creator of the heavens and earth and everything on it and above and below it. The power of God surpasses all powers on heaven or earth. If heavens doors open, the blessings are plentiful bordering on the infinite!

https://odb.org/2023/09/04/extreme-kindness

The story of Jehoiachin, a Judah king exiled in Babylon as recounted in Jeremiah 52:31-34, is a picture of God’s love and kindness for us, His children in Christ. The new Babylonian king, Awel-Marduk, released Jehoiachin after he had spent the last 37 years incarcerated in prison and gave him a place at his table, new clothes, a residence and a regular allowance until the day he died. It was kindness in the extreme.

A similar story occurred earlier in the life of Mephibosheth, the grandson of Saul and the crippled son of Jonathan. King David remembered his covenant with Jonathan and restored the family’s land, house, and servants to Mephibosheth despite past repeated attempts by Saul to kill him. Like Awel-Marduk, David also gave Mephibosheth a permanent place at his table.

A regular place at the King’s table not only meant that one will not ever go hungry but instead will always enjoy the finest of food (thus the expression, “a dish fit for a king”). It is also a place of honour to dine with the King, not once but regularly. At that time, Babylon, if not the most powerful, was probably one of the most powerful of nations.

Sometimes, we forget that as believers redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, we have also been treated with extreme kindness by God. Many are called, but few are chosen. As chosen ones of God, we have the privilege of being co-heirs with Christ, the King of Kings. We have a permanent place at the King’s table. Thus, like David wrote before in Psalm 23, He has prepared a table for me in the presence of my enemies. He has anointed my head with oil. My cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever!

Be grateful and thankful to God each day for giving us Jesus and for giving us the privilege of having invited Jesus into our lives. Repay His extreme kindness by being faithful and committed to Christ. Serve Christ with all our heart, soul, and mind. He is worthy of our worship, service, obedience, and sacrifice, for He died for our souls and our sins.

https://odb.org/2023/09/03/the-blessed-mask-2

In 2 Corinthians 3:1-6, Paul, in reminding the Corinthians of who he was to them, commented that their lives is a letter of him, written on his heart, known and seen by all. He went on to say that their lives are a letter from Christ, the result of his ministry, written not in ink but by the Spirit of God, not on tablets of stone but on tables of human hearts.

Thus, in ministry, our credentials lie in the lives we have blessed and touched. We testify to the goodness and greatness of God through the people who have been blessed by God through us. The proof is in the pudding. Res ipsa loquitur, we say in Latin – the facts speak for itself. Our fruits will define us. Not letters of commendation or recommendation from respected or prominent people. Our work speaks for itself.

In the same vein, the evil we perpetuate will haunt us. If we have known Christ and yet we are as cunning and devious as before, people will notice and know. If we are still as calculative and manipulative, who is Christ to us and to those around us? If we are still as difficult and uncompromising as ever, how have we transformed in Christ? Our lives are letters from Christ, written in tablets of our hearts by the Spirit of God. We reflect the glory and persona of God.

The rigours of the corporate world require us to be who we are. It’s not true if we are in Christ. The discipline of the trade needs us to be hard and difficult. It’s not true if we have Jesus. We are not defined by our environment or our business or our trade, but by God. We must become the person God wants us to be, not the person shaped by our environment, our work, our upbringing, education, or even our family. We are letters written by Christ by the Spirit of God that are seen and known by all. Our persona must thus be that of Christ.