https://odb.org/MY/2023/06/20/true-religion-2

I have mentioned before in these pages that as believers, we can not interact with our LORD God in isolation, although faith is something personal. Our faith, although personal, is also communal. It is personal in the sense that it’s a relationship with Jesus Christ, and we are personally accountable for our actions and beliefs. Yet, it can not be professed and practised in isolation. We need to serve and worship God in His Kingdom, whether in a local church or as part of a mission. We need to encourage and edify others in our church and likewise be encouraged and edified, acting as a counterbalance for others and having others as our counterbalance. When our faith is not practised in relation to our brethren, then there is a high possibility of us being lopsided – either too radical or too liberal when moderation is always the wisest path to take.

On top of being personal and yet communal, the other aspect of our faith is that it has to be real. Thus, James 1:22 says that we are not to only listen to the Word and deceive ourselves, but do what it says. James continues in verse 27 that the religion God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. Coincidently, as bible knowledge, James here is believed to be the half-brother of Jesus, who was one of the leaders of the church in Jerusalem, the same James that Paul met after Peter when Paul first came to connect with the body of Christ in Jerusalem 3 years after his conversion on the road to Damascus (see Galatians 1:19).

Our faith must be real, whether with fellow believers or those outside of our faith. For example, we may fret about the politics in Malaysia and how greedy politicians play up race and religion to gain votes and power, but when we are faced with our brothers from the other side, we must love them and be kind to them. In fact, we must stand with those who are distressed and who are unfairly treated regardless of their faith, race, or creed and can we say, regardless of their political inclinations. Everyone has their own agenda, but when faced with injustice, we must still love and be compassionate. Always face hatred with love and not more hate. Life may or may not be fair to us, but we must be kind to others. Always ask – will Christ be glorified? Will our Father God be proud of us? Don’t ask net net; is this better for me? Never a pros and cons analysis, but the question is always whether we are real and true to God?

https://odb.org/MY/2023/06/19/live-in-freedom

Galatians 5 records the challenge faced by early Christians in the transition from Mosaic law to faith in Jesus Christ as most early Christians were Jewish in origins, including Paul and the other Apostles like Peter, John and James. In fact, in Paul’s missionary trips, he usually preached at synagogues. For the Jews, the non-Jewish who embraced Christ like the Greeks need to be circumcised. They probably asked – is circumcision not an outer sign of our allegiance to the LORD God Jehovah?

But Paul put his foot down and stressed that it was for freedom that Christ has set us free. Are we to go back to another yoke of slavery? From freedom from sin, do we now become slaves of the law (Mosaic law)? Paul’s argument was simple – if you want to follow the law, then follow it completely. Take everything and not just on the part of circumcision. If not, we then go by faith in Jesus Christ, the one sent by God Himself to fulfil the requirements of the law once and for all. The law is thus written in our hearts, and loving one another (even our enemies) encapsulates the law. In Galatians 5:13-15, Paul stressed that we are called to be free but do not use our freedom to indulge in the flesh but to love one another. We are now led by the Spirit. Thus, the practices of certain churches in observing Jewish practices of the festivals, the Shabbat, and other religious rituals are moving in uncharted waters as Christ’s calling for us is to the New Covenant and not back to Old Covenant (Mosaic).

Although Paul was speaking of actual Mosaic law versus the law of the Spirit through our faith in Christ, present-day Christians do have a tendency to live by certain church imposed rules. Most are for our good and our spiritual well-being, introduced to transition us from a non-Christian life into a life in Christ. But there are some rules that may make us slaves again – to the church or the rules themselves. We are called to freedom in Christ, not called to another yoke of slavery.

I feel the message this morning is to be cognisant and be careful that we are not swept into another life of slavery as we are called by Christ to freedom. If we ever become slaves again, let’s be slaves to God, to His service in ministry. Not slaves to man-made rules lest we become oppressed and live defeated lives in our struggle to meet those man-made rules.

https://odb.org/MY/2023/06/18/fixing-go-karts

Today is a pretty special day – I turn 55, and just 10 years ago, I would have retired. It was in 2013 that the Malaysian government increased the retirement age for the private sector from 55 to 60, although civil servants had theirs changed to 58 earlier than that. There are pros and cons in working until 60, but the change of retirement age means that as an employee, I have the option to work on if I want to and I have 5 years to consider leaving to pursue my other interests. As far as my EPF (employee provident fund) is concerned, my accounts are now consolidated into one Akaun Emas (Golden Account), and I may withdraw all of my old age savings if I wanted to.

Coincidentally, today is also Father’s Day, and as I reflect upon my late dad, I still recall those days when I was around 5 or 6 when we used to go fishing by the river to catch prawns or the time when I was 11 when we went out to the sea for an overnight fishing trip. On that trip, we faced a storm and had to land and spend the night on an island. Or those scouting camping trips with his school’s boy scouts when i was 8 to 10. Those were the memories I cherish the most with my late father.

He was an avid badminton player, but strangely, we hardly played together much. This was because when I finally reached his level of skills, he stopped playing temporarily (can’t recall exactly why, but maybe the town hall was under renovation) and then when I reached the public examination years, I too stopped playing.

We grew apart during those varsity years as I seldom went home even during semester breaks, either busy with varsity or church activities. Later, I started working and got married, and even though we made it a point to return home during Chinese New Year, we spent less time together until both my late parents came over and stayed with us when my second child Daniel was born. There was great bonding between my boys and my dad then, and since he stayed with me, he was always close by.

For my wife and I, we prefer our children to be nearby when they start to leave the nest. Ivan is currently working abroad, and Daniel will be going abroad for a single semester exchange programme. The next 5-6 months, both our children will be far away. I guess that’s part of life and them maturing in tandem to meet the challenges in the future as adults.

What’s the message this morning? As believers, we are thankful and grateful that we have a loving and compassionate Heavenly Father whose love is beyond comprehension, whose love is steadfast and never ceases, whose love is renewed every morning like dew. But if our earthly fathers are still alive, spend some time with them. Make great memories together as their time with us will not be forever, and only memories will remain once they leave us.

Happy and blessed Father’s Day to all fathers, and have a great Sunday celebration today at church, everyone! Take care, and God bless!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/06/16/gods-unfailing-memory

I’m not too sure about today’s ODB’s life illustration of a person who had forgotten his bitcoin account with millions in it being compared to God who does not have failing memory. This is because God being God, His memory can never fail. He knows even the number of hair strands we have and every single memory we may have, every single moment of our lives – the past, the present, and even the future. God is omniscient, He knows everything. He is also omnipresent, He transcends time and space.

Having said that, He does remember us in the sense that He will not abandon or leave us behind. He will not be the father who forgot about his son at the highway rest area and continued his journey, leaving his son behind. That can be a major catastrophe for young children who may have no means to contact their parents. That is why in this age of only keying in mobile phone numbers, we must commit to memory at least one contact number. Both my sons know my phone number by heart, and I know my wife’s by heart too.

Of course, when we are going through difficult times and some tough suffering in the flesh, we will naturally feel like God has abandoned us. Left us behind. Abandoned us. Especially when it was our stubborn heart that had led to our present predicament or perhaps our haughty attitude or rebellious streak. The Israelites were rebellious and went against the ways of the LORD, and He allowed both the Assyrians and the Babylonians to overrun and take them into captivity. From free men, they became slaves. They complained that the LORD had forsaken them, but when free, they worshipped other gods. Yet despite their insolence, the LORD affirmed to them that He had not forgotten them. He still remembers them and will redeem them one day, which history has shown that He did.

Of course, God’s relationship with Israel in the Old Testament is a relationship with the nation of Israel as a people. It is not a relationship with individuals, and thus, at the personal level, the Israelites may not have experienced God’s redemption in their lifetimes since the actual liberty came a few hundred years later. It is nevertheless a precursor to our personal relationship with God in the present times post the death and resurrection of Christ that has reconciled us as individuals with God.

Be of good cheer! The LORD remembers us even in our difficult predicaments and tough situations, whether physical, medical, financial, or otherwise. He will deliver us. He will rescue us. But in His time. In the meantime, repent if we have sinned against Him.

https://odb.org/MY/2023/06/15/putting-the-pieces-together

When we read Philippians 1:6, there is a tendency to think that God will somehow make us perfect in due time, that Paul is like saying that we will be perfected until the day of Jesus Christ as though we will appear before Christ smelling like roses in squeaky clean white robes on that day.

Perhaps we should read Philippians 1 in the context that Paul was already in prison by then and that he was writing to this church in Philippi that he started earlier and that he was encouraged that they are still going strong in the faith. He prays with joy for them due to their partnership with him in the Gospel from day one until then, and the word he used for partnership is koinonia, which usually denotes fellowship. Thus, Paul was confident that He who started the good work in them will bring it to completion until the day of Jesus Christ. The work in them as well as the koinonia partnership in the Gospel.

As much as God wants fellowship and relationship with us, service for Him goes hand in hand. That is why I don’t believe that we could exist as Christians in isolation, merely practising our faith one to one in prayer and worship with Him without being part of any larger congregation. Our faith can not be independent of His work, His Gospel. I believe Paul used koinonia to denote partnership in the Gospel as it is a fellowship to work together for God and His plans and purposes. So that we may live at the centre of His will as a congregation of believers, not just as an individual.

Therefore, Christ who began the good work in us and in our koinonia partnership with one another will carry it to completion only if we work together with Him and one another. I think it is wishful thinking to say that Christ will somehow perfect us. It is obvious that we need to work with Him and yield ourselves to Him, and it is essential that we work with one another in koinonia partnership in the Gospel for Christ to bring His work to completion. In other words, serving God in partnership with our fellow brethren is probably the best way for Christ to complete His work in us. Our faith in God will grow and mature exponentially as we serve Him with others in ministry. We will grow and mature as we pray together, break down spiritual strongholds together, and conquer new grounds for God together. Since ancient times, there has been strength in numbers, and we all know that two is better than one, and three is better than two!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/06/14/texts-troubles-and-triumphs

In the Christian world, as much as we say that we do not want to be conformed to the pattern of this world, we are still attracted to the snazzy, slick, and flashy. So, to some of us, brilliance triumphs faithfulness. We could perhaps understand this more for music and song, but when it comes to preaching, we should always look out for what God is speaking in spite of the delivery.

I feel faithfulness is the better virtue to aspire to, mainly, because it has less to do with our God-given talents but points to our preserverance and discipline, both of which may be cultivated as we grow in God and mature in our faith. For example, we may not speak so eloquently as a preacher, but if we persevere on, people will grow to appreciate the spiritual message that we share. Even with worship leading, we may not be the best of singers in the congregation, but with discipline and a consecrated life, we may bring the life of God and His anointing into our worship leading – bringing transformational changes in lives as the Spirit ministers and uplifts us in worship.

On the day of the Lord, what we are so much looking forward to hear is that we have been a good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:23). Faithful is pistos in Greek and speaks of being truthful and dependable. Meaning to say that we have done the task or responsibility given us consistently over a long period of time. Faithfulness denotes years. We are no flash in the pan. We are that pan, always ready for our owners to cook a nice meal. Do people change their pans every other day? No, people use them for years.

When we read Hebrews 11: 32-40, we cringe in horror the persecution some of our fellow brethren had to go through at that time to preserve and protect their faith. How could they have done so well in such suffering? Because they had placed their hope in something much, much better in Christ Jesus. Faithfulness means we are willing to pay the price to follow Christ. We may or may not be rewarded in this life, but we will nevertheless stay the course, undeterred by the discomforts that come our way. We refuse to take the easier path. We refuse to betray our Lord. We want to be true to Him. We want to be dependable for His sake. We want to be pistos unto Him, for He is our Saviour and our Lord and God.

https://odb.org/MY/2023/06/13/its-empty-now

One of the things I dread doing at my age now is to move house. I have moved house (our own house) twice in my life. We bought our first house off plan and waited nearly two years to take vacant possession of it. We stayed there close to four years before we had our first child. When Huey Mian was expecting, we moved to a much older but bigger house in a smaller city to be near to her parents, who helped us care for Ivan with our nanny when he was born. I recalled that our old house was empty after we moved out our furniture, piano, and other belongings. We teared as it had given us fond memories of our early marriage life together, but now we have to move on. We missed the suburb, the food and amenities there. The friends we had made. We also left the local church we were serving then, although when Ivan was 6, we rejoined it and travelled there weekly to help out in the ministry there.

Things do come to an end. Our old houses are empty when we move out. But things that matter live on in our memories. There are some things we can hold on for a long time, but most things will end at some point in time. My dogs, Husky and Daisy, are no more, but their memories remain with us and our children. We buried them in the grounds of our house and thus we still have their bones with us in memoriam. Both my parents have also been called back to the Lord, and although we miss them, we know that one day we will be reconciled with them if we keep on to the path of righteousness.

Things will come to an end. We can’t change the past, and we can not be sure of the future as to what lies ahead and whether we will still be here tomorrow. Memories are to be remembered, but the present needs to be lived out. Live today to its fullest. Live for the plans and promises of God for our lives. Live our lives for Jesus. Take heed of His calling for us. Place our hope and trust in Christ, He is our hope of glory for all eternity. Cherish and appreciate all those we love and those who love us. Hang out with them. Chill with them. Do things together. Those times will not last forever. Things will come to an end. The house will be empty again. Until we meet again in the new heaven and new earth, the new Jerusalem, the place where God will dwell amomg His people again.

https://odb.org/MY/2023/06/12/freeing-obedience

Most of us go through stages in life. We were obedient when younger, but as we became teenagers, we may somewhat be a tad rebellious. We will likely go through a phase of self-discovery and, in the process, may want to be a little independent from our parents. We may start to develop our own points of view and preferences and may want to break free from our parents in terms of their rules like sleeping later and, on weekends, wake up later or play computer games or watch TV longer.

With a rebellious streak, we may want to just go against rules imposed on us, sometimes, with disastrous consequences. For example, our parents may have warned us against swimming in a waterfall during the rainy season. Or we go against our parents by racing on public roads on motorcycles. Youths have been killed in both instances. Or some may dabble in alcohol, cigarettes, gambling, or even drugs in the youth and got hooked in one or two of those vices into adulthood to devastating outcomes.

Even in our spiritual life, we may have rebellious streaks, wanting to break free from the rules imposed by God. When the church teaches that we shouldn’t do certain things, we question why not? Is God really so restrictive? Why must we give tithes and offerings? Why must we help the needy and poor? Is sex before marriage, abortion or divorce such a bad thing? Surely, dabbling a little in spiritualism will not harm our faith or compromise our salvation? Why can’t we apply some Feng Shui principles in our lives?

Adam and Eve faced a somewhat similar situation in the Garden of Eden. As God had made Adam and gave him dominion over the animals He created, God realised that none was a suitable helper to Adam. So, from Adam, God created Eve, and she was made like a partner to Adam, not inferior – the word used for helper means the strength of God that comes to us. Adam and Eve had complete dominion in the Garden of Eden – every animal was named by Adam and were subservient to him. There was only one rule: Adam and Eve could eat from any tree except one. When the devil, in the form of the serpent, came and enticed them, they fell into the trap and ended up breaking that one and only rule they were to obey. The consequences were, to say, the least devastating! Humankind had sinned against God because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve and was banished out of Eden, separated from God only to be reconciled by the death and resurrection of Christ many, many years down the road. As believers, one day, we will live in Eden recreated, for all eternity with God dwelling among His people and Satan banished to the lake of fire.

There is freedom in Christ as we have been set free from the bondage of sin, and yet there are rules that we need to live by. We are to love the LORD our God with all our heart, all our soul, and all of our mind. We are to love our neighbour as ourselves. We are to forgive those who trespass against us, even our enemies. Even though salvation is a free gift from God, we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. In short, the rules are there to protect us on our way to eternity so that we do not stray, get distracted or like Adam and Eve, deceived by the devil! Let’s be obedient servants of Christ! Amen!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/06/11/gods-garden

Today’s ODB’s life illustration of moonflower vines that bloom in the night but wither away in the bright sun never to bloom again is a good picture of our lives here on earth.

Like the moonflower, our lives here, although short compared to eternity, are blessed with beauty by God. We are beautiful to Him and to others as we exhibit His goodness and glory. People see the glory of God in us. That is why our lives, though short, are filled with beauty. We may live 80 or 90 years, but throughout those years, perhaps 50 of them we can and will be the beauty for the world to enjoy and experience, and we ourselves will get to enjoy and experience beauty in life.

The message this morning is that while we know that as a believer, there will be trials and tribulations and sufferings, there will also be things of beauty. Our present sufferings can not compare to the glory that awaits us, but God, in His grace and goodness, will not make our present life dull and just pure service for Him. As much as we are slaves (bondservants) to Christ, we are also co-heirs in Christ. We have a mansion prepared for us in our Heavenly Father’s vast mansion in heaven. We will have a place in the new heaven and new earth, the new Jerusalem – yet we will not miss out on the beauty in the present time, during our brief sojourn here on earth. We may be pilgrims that hold lightly to the wealth and trappings of this world, yet we will get to see, enjoy, and experience its beauty too, by the grace of God as much as we are also a beauty to those around us with the glory of God flowing from us.

Rejoice in the Lord always! For He is a good God. He may sometimes be demanding, but He is also kind, gracious, and generous. There may be suffering that produces perseverance and character amd hope but there will also be enjoyment that produces beauty that produces character and hope.

Have a blessed Sunday, everyone! Celebrate God’s goodness in worship and praise!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/06/09/our-place-of-safety

If there is a large tree in the plains, you will see that it attracts many animals like an oasis or water hole in the desert. The tree becomes a canopy or shelter from the sweltering heat. A shade from the blistering sun is most welcomed, especially at midday in the heat of summer. It is also a picture of God protecting His people, that as we become a part of His Kingdom here on earth, His benevolent love is upon us like an eagle covering her young under her wings.

If we look back at the history of this region; the straits of Malacca, a key trading and shipping route, were under the protection of the Middle Kingdom. That is why, although Siam was the strongest nation in the mainland, it never ventured beyond the northern states of Malaya. However, when China withdrew itself and became a closed nation after Admiral Zheng He/Cheng Ho’s 300-ship naval expedition (with more than 37,000 men) towards India in 1417-1419, Malacca then fell to the Portuguese 100 years later in 1511. See the Edict of Haijin issued in 1434 by Emporer Zhu Zhanji. During the times of China’s protection, life went on with booming trade, but the people faced threats from pirates and bandits – just that if any major nation tried to colonise or conquer Malacca, they would need to face the might of the Chinese military.

I think that as Christians, as much as we have established that we face life like any other, we have the protection of God when it comes to the attacks of the evil one. In the spiritual realm, we are on God’s side of the line. The devil can’t cross over unless he seeks the Lord’s special permission, like in the case of Job. In terms of spiritual warfare, we believe that Christian homes are like the Israelites’ home when the angel of death passed by – we are protected by the blood of the Lamb! Using the illustration of the plains, since we are under the shadow of the large tree (God), we are not subject to the elements out there, especially the burning heat of the soaring sun. But life goes on earth even under the tree – if we are prey, predators may still eat us!

Read Psalm 121. It is a Song of Ascents sung by Jewish pilgrims as they make their way to Jerusalem 3 times a year for the 3 main feasts. That journey is through the mountains and is thus fraught with danger from bandits. They look to the LORD for protection, to safeguard their journey as they travel to fulfil their obligations to Him. I lift my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth. Indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither sleep nor slumber.