https://odb.org/MY/2023/06/08/strengthened-through-trials

Lately, the topic of trials and tribulations has surfaced a few times in these pages. For example: https://ronnielim.com/2023/06/04/standing-for-jesus/ or https://ronnielim.com/2023/05/26/god-stands-with-us/ or even https://ronnielim.com/2023/06/05/seasons/.

It is inevitable that as believers, we will face trials and tribulations like any other human. But more so, as a believer because we live lives that are “right side up” – not conforming to the pattern of this world as we transform ourselves by the renewal of our mind so that we may test (prove or experience) the good, pleasing and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2). And we also know that God makes all things good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28) and that He makes all things beautiful in its time (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

Paul, however, takes this one step further by declaring that we should glory in our sufferings. Rather than dread and shun the trials and tribulations, we take it as a badge of honour. That Jesus finds we are worthy to suffer for Him, to share in the glory of His sufferings. So, rather than wallowing in self-pity and getting upset with God for not shielding or protecting us, Paul suggests that we should stand proud that we are going through such trauma and stress.

The reason is because suffering produces perseverance and perseverance, character, and character, hope. It is by going through suffering that we learn to rely on God and push through (perseverance) and as we experience God, we develop the character of Christ in us and ultimately through the character of Christ, we have genuine hope in the glory of God.

Through the whole process, which will likely span our whole lifetime, we will grow in our relationship with God such that when we depart this earthen vessel (as Paul likes to describe our physical bodies), we will have so much confidence that we will gladly and so happily meet Jesus on the other side. Sufferings will help us develop the perseverance, character, and hope in Christ that is unshakeable. That is why Paul glories in his sufferings – he knows that it can only strengthen his resolve and hope in God. We will not meet our maker in fear and trembling, not knowing whether our names are written in the Book of Life but will instead have the full confidence that Christ will say to us, “well done, good and faithful servant – welcome to your rest!”.

I doubt that we will have the same confidence if we had never in our whole Christian life suffered for Christ or the Gospel before. Not a question of a weighing scale but a question of our relationship and experience of the Saviour while we go through suffering that produces perseverance and, from that, character and hope. Therefore, my dear brethren, if we are going through suffering, pain, and trauma, wear it as a badge of honour for Christ!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/06/07/a-loving-warning

Matthew 18:15-20 is regarded as a model on how to correct a brother or sister who has sinned. For example, by way of illustration, a brother who commits adultery and has an affair outside of marriage. The passage is special in my view as it is taught by the Lord Himself and not Peter, John, or Paul. The approach taught by Jesus is to first confront the believer one on one, via private counsel. If that works and he or she repents, we leave it as that. No one else needs to know. The sin or offence is kept private. Ultimately, the goal is repentance and not punishment. However, if the believer refuses to repent and turn away from his wicked ways (as the Psalmists like to say), Jesus then teaches that we bring one or two other believers to confront him so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. And if he still refuses to repent, we only tell it to the church, and if he refuses to listen to the church, then we will treat him as a non-believer in the sense that he is no longer part of the community of believers in the church. Thus, everything that two or three bind on earth will be bound in heaven – meaning to say, the power of two or three witnesses that leads to the spiritual authority of the church being exercised here on earth will be backed up in heaven by God. Thus, the context of Matthew 8:18-20 is Matthew 8:15-17. Jesus is saying that the LORD will support and back the decision of the church to “excommunicate” a believer who refuses to repent from his sin on the account of two or three witnesses.

In practice, we generally find it difficult to confront a believer of his sin as the modern world is very much a “mind your own business” world. But as leaders and for the salvation of the believer and the good of the larger community of believers, we can not avoid such a confrontation. We need to bring him back to the narrow path and not allow him to be led astray into the path that leads to destruction.

The practical application of this morning’s message is to first counsel privately before bringing an issue of sin to the attention of others or the leaders of the church. Of course, we need to be mindful that we are not speaking of new believers, who will be given time to mature in their faith and to adapt to their new life in Christ. For example, a couple living together that comes to faith will be counselled to get married and seal their union formally before heaven and the congregation.

https://odb.org/MY/2023/06/06/places-of-the-heart

I had touched on this subject of idols in our hearts in one of my early posts in this blog https://ronnielim.com/2021/08/27/subtle-idolatry/. The thinking then was that although it is inconceivable for a modern practising Christian to openly worship idols, it is possible that we may subtly keep idols in our hearts. While such idols could be a form of idolatry, I still maintain the belief that even if we do have such idols subtly in our hearts, we are not breaching the First Commandment of not having other gods besides the God Almighty. One of the ways to ensure we are living within the parameters of the First Commandment is to always depend on God in our daily lives. As we put our trust and rely on God, we make the LORD the centre of our lives, and we thus seek to live in the centre of His will.

Some people are just obsessed with fishing. While others are crazy over cars. There are others who are into photography and cameras or music and musical instruments. Nowadays, many are glued to social media, keeping abreast with the happenings in the world while marvelling at the lives of celebrities and influencers (a new term and possibly vocation birthed by social media itself!). At the same time, we are updated on the events or travels of our family, relatives, friends, acquaintances, and work colleagues. Are our interests or even obsessions subtle idolatry? Do such things replace God in our hearts? Do they draw us away from God?

I think we have to be careful and reconsider our level of involvement if such pursuits compromise our faith or our service in His Kingdom or distract us from our calling in God. If not, I don’t think it’s an issue – even a minister of God may have an interest outside Kingdom affairs to cultivate a balanced life.

But we must draw the line if our pursuits are at the edges of spiritualism or in that realm. For example, if we are obsessed with the occultic or the spirit world or dabble with witchcraft, astrology, or feng shui. Those are all red lines as they bring us into the spiritual realm but from the other side. These are like the Baal and Asherah of the ancient world, the world of Elijah versus Jezzebel. Precisely, the reason for the First Commandment and thus a clear violation of it if we were to be partakers in that realm.

We are entitled to have interests outside the Kingdom of God. We are unquestionably faithful and fervent servants of God even if we like to watch animals in documentaries or Korean soap operas or Marvel movies or dabble in macro photography. But “out of body” meditation or conversing with the spiritworld are not things we should participate in. We can not have one foot in the light and the other in darkness. In the spiritual realm, angelic beings like seraphims and cherubims battle Satan and his demonic forces. It is a clear-cut fight for the souls of humanity, and we can only stand with God or against Him. As children of the light, why do we want to stand with darkness against the light?

https://odb.org/MY/2023/06/05/seasons

Ecclesiastes 3 is the famous passage in the bible that speaks of seasons. There is a time for everything under the heavens, and the LORD makes all things beautiful in its time.

We go back to Ecclesiastes 3 when we face major disappointments, trusting that our time has not yet come. Believing our time will arrive one day. I recall the struggle I used to face making payments when younger and the need to restrain from buying nice or fancy things. In fact, in the early days of our work life, we didn’t go for holidays as our focus then was to pay off our house. We had our first overseas holiday trip seven years after we started working, and when the children came, we only travelled again when my eldest was 6. But now, when we are near retirement, we finally reaped the benefits of paying off our houses early. There is indeed a time for everything, and sometimes those times come because of what we did when we were younger. Sacrifices made when young will reap benefits when older. That’s ancient wisdom, and we can see that reality played out in our lives as we grow older.

It’s the same with putting God first in our lives and serving Him. If we faithfully serve Him and follow His percepts, we will gain much spiritually, and as we age, we will see the benefits of having put God first all those years. We have grown to know God, and now we experience His providence and protection, goodness, and blessings, especially His grace. Like the song says – You see me through all the seasons. You lead me in Your righteousness. You are forever in my life.

Seasons come and go. It’s a cycle of life. Natural seasons like the falling leaves of autumn before the cold and dark winter, before the melting snow ushers in spring with the blooming flowers before the full blast of summer comes. Our life will also have its seasons as appointed by the Lord. As we follow His footsteps and do His will, He will be with us throughout all the seasons of our lives. The joy and laughter to the disappointments and tears. Through the busy times and the quiet times.

The message today, I believe, is to always remember that Christ will make all things beautiful in its time, and there is a season for everything. Most importantly, in all seasons, remember the LORD our God – for He is just and gracious. He loves us. To God be the glory, all honour and worship for He is our God!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/06/04/courage-to-stand-for-jesus

We have written lately in these pages that Christian life is not a bed of roses. Mainly because we are human like any other and will face storms and valleys as we get to experience mountain tops and beautiful sunrises and sunsets. One of the other reasons why there is suffering in the faith is that there will be times when we may need to make a stand for Jesus. So, for example, if an organisation believes in giving bribes to get things done, we ought to protest, and if our protests fall on deaf ears, we must consider leaving and in the process will suffer the consequences of our stand. However, we also know that if we stand for Christ, Christ will likewise stand with us. We know that we are not alone in making the stand for God. https://ronnielim.com/2023/05/26/god-stands-with-us/

When we read about Peter, we realise that at the crucial moments before Christ’s crucifixion, Peter denied Christ three times and we know that Peter wept realising that at those moments, He didn’t have the courage to stand for Christ. In terms of timing, it was the right thing to do because if he had admitted to knowing Christ at those moments, he could have prematurely been matryed together with Christ. There is a time for everything. That’s true, but it exposed the human weakness of not having the courage and boldness to stand for Christ. Also, Peter did not have the power of the Holy Spirit, who came and filled the believers 50 days after the Passover (roughly 49 days after the crucifixion of Christ) on the day of Pentecost.

There will be times when it is not appropriate to make a stand for Christ, and there will be times when the timing is right, and even though we are prompted by the Holy Spirit, we are nevertheless afraid. Pray for the boldness to stand for Christ, knowing that as we stand for Him, He will stand for us. Do we dare to move out and pray for healing for people, with the confidence that God will heal that person? Do we dare to preach Christ crucified and resurrected as we make a stand for Him? Timing is everything, but if the timing is right, pray that we will have the courage to do the right thing and speak for Christ that He is the way, the truth and the life and that no one goes to the Father except through Him. He is the life and the resurrection. He is the way to eternal ife. He is the source of the living waters.

Blessed Sunday, everyone! Have a wonderful time celebrating the goodness of God in praise and worship!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/06/02/uniting-nations

It is ironic that after the Tower of Babel incident that led to God splitting the human race into different languages and scattering them all over the world that, at the end of times, all nations will be united. Although nothing explicit is said, it’s possible that everyone will speak the same language or at least supernaturally gain an understanding of languages spoken by others. This is because at the end of times, with the resurrection of believers throughout the ages, even those speaking the same tongue will find difficulty understanding those who lived 2,000 years later. We know this because languages evolved over time as words take a subtly different meaning as civilisations and cultures evolve and adapt to prevailing times. A good example is the words in Bahasa Indonesia that are familiar to us in Malaysia, but some are rarely used nowadays but have also taken a different meaning. “Keras” is just plain hard to us, but to the Indonesians, although it is still hard, it could also mean loud or harsh.

As much as there is much diversity in the world today, I think the message is that we should embrace diversity as much as possible. This is because at the end of times, we will all be together as one under the glory of God in Eden recreated. Why should we be prejudiced towards others when all will be united one day. Also, we know there is strength in diversity with mono cultures not complemented by the strengths of other ethnic groups. As much as in all societies, there are dominant cultures, multiculturalism is still the best way to extract the most out of the nations.

Let’s begin to break down prejudices towards others in our hearts and begin to genuinely and sincerely accept others like we would accept others of our own race and ethnic group. Everyone is a human flesh and blood with their own challenges and upbringing. Some had it good in life, and some had tough beginnings. Everyone deserves to be given a chance to make it in this world and to believe in Christ. Everyone deserves the chance to hear the Gospel and be saved. Everyone should have the opportunity to be with God one day in the new heaven and new earth!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/06/01/in-gods-hands-2

Raising children has its own set of issues, especially in these times. As we expect Jesus to come again in this lifetime, some of us may think that it may not be such a good idea to bring more people to the world to face and go through the coming great tribulation. We can’t be sure that the children of our children will even know and accept Christ, or they are able to withstand the trials and testings of those upcoming times.

Back in the day of our grandparents, people in general had many children. As those times were hard times, it was not uncommon for children to die for a variety of reasons. Even in my own maternal grandparents’ family, they had an elder son who died in some accident when young. As those times in Malaya spanned WW2 with the Japanese occupation, many had also died during those times. I guess in the olden days, children were a resource for the family farm or business, and less thought are put into their future in terms of their education and future careers, faith, and family. If a family had 12 children, you basically need to carve out your own path in life. Your dad and mum were probably too busy just putting food on the table.

While in present times, we spend so much thought and even expense building strong foundations for our children, back in the day, children are mostly left on their own or in the care of nannies for those who can afford. The point is that life goes on and with and without those early preparations, children will nevertheless grow up and carve their own destiny. I believe that as believers, as much as we try to give our children the best based on our cability and wealth, ultimately, we need to commit them to God. We try to put them in the best kindergartens, best schools, arts and maths classes, swimming, dance, and music lessons, sports like badminton or football, in the hope they will become the best that they could be. We make sure they go to Sunday school to believe in God and have a strong foundation in their faith. How they will eventually turn out as they reach adulthood and enter the working world, the career and spouse they choose, the family they will build – those are matters we best leave to God’s hands. As the Lord has been with us all this while and brought us to where we are today, He will likewise do the same for our children and our children’s children.

As for the second coming of Christ, if it happens within our lifetime, it will happen; but life goes on. If our children have children, it should be good even if they may need to live through the end times and the great tribulation. Trust that God will give them the kind of faith and strength that will withstand all trials and testings. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and in the days to come. Trust God for our children and our children’s children.

https://odb.org/MY/2023/05/31/sorrow-and-joy

Ezra 3, which was the first wave of the return of 80,000 Jews in exile, chronicles the joy of rebuilding the Temple of the LORD. Ezra and his fellow Levites worshipped and praised the LORD with their cymbals and vestments (robes) as the builders laid the foundations to rebuild the Temple. But the older Israelites wept aloud when they saw the scene as they remembered the Temple in its glory while others shouted for joy. It was a mixture of sadness and tears of having lost but the joy of a new beginning. In the modern context, this scene reminds me of a funeral of a faithful believer – as his loved ones and fellow comrades in the faith mourn his passing, they also rejoice in him being with Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith knowing that if they keep to the path, they will see him again one day.

We just spoke yesterday about God restoring what the locusts had devoured, https://ronnielim.com/2023/05/30/god-who-restores/. Ezra 3 speaks of the same in that while our hearts are broken by the loss, we rejoice in the new beginning. It may or may never be the same as old, but we are thankful and grateful to rebuild something new. Most importantly, it was the Lord who gave us a fresh start at another place, a new canvass to draw and paint our dreams and aspirations as the Lord guides and directs. It was the Lord who gave, and that’s special because that means He loves and cares for us.

Today marks the first anniversary of my last day at my former workplace, the organisation I had given my early adulthood to for nearly 27 years. I had fond memories, and even as what is happening to the matters I used to handle still interests me, I am not looking back. I am focusing my gaze ahead to the fresh path the Lord has carved out for me.

If we look back, we sometimes cry at the loss as we remember the past in all of its glory. We are heartbroken by the fleeting memory and expediency of people. But thank God, God and our loved ones love us not any less, and neither do they think any lesser of us. We are still heroes in their hearts. There are new horizons to look at, new sunsets and new sunrises. New roads to explore, new beginnings to rebuild and regrow. We shall be like that sunflower growing in the middle of a desolate highway. With God standing with us, we will stand tall for His glory!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/05/30/the-god-who-restores

As we all know by now, Christian life is not a bed of roses. We go through life like any other. In a way, it’s akin to the fairy tale living happily ever after with Jesus because there is true happiness and peace with God in our lives. Yet there are ups and downs, valleys and mountain peaks. Most valleys I think are caused by our own indiscretions, our own folly and insolence. Yet even if we are 100% obedient to Christ, I believe we can not avoid the storms that come our way. Why? Because that’s life. The beautiful sunrises and sunsets on the horizon come with the stormy seas and dark clouds.

Having Chirst in our lives however ensures that we come out of valleys and storms with our faith intact and unscathed. Our heart is still strong in God because suffering produces perseverance and perseverance character (Romams 5:3). The storms will come, but like a strong ship, we will sail through the storms as Christ has, throughout the years, moulded and strengthened our faith to give us a character to always cling on to God come what may.

But Christ does more than that. He also restores what we had lost in the past. He gives justice to the weak, the disadvantaged, and the trampled. He upholds us and keeps our honour before men. As David has said before, He prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies (Psalm 23:5). Like the dry bones in Ezekial 37:5, the LORD will give flesh and sinews and breath to make them come alive again! He will restore to us what the locusts had devoured (Joel 2:25). When we see all our hard work coming to nought, God will restore us what was taken away from us. He will give us a new beginning, a new life somewhere else.

The message this morning is that our God is the God who restores. Amen!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/05/29/hope-that-holds

As believers, we hold on to the hope of glory heavenward that one day we will be at a better place even as we put our trust and hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. We hold on to the hope that He had gone ahead to prepare a place for us at His Father’s house, a house with many mansions (John 14:2-7). That is why we store our treasures in heaven because a day will come when we get to enjoy those spiritual riches.

How do we credit our bank account in heaven? By doing good works here on earth. As believers, we will be judged at the judgement seat of Christ for the good works that we have done while on earth.

70 years is the average lifespan for male humans (75 for women), and that’s a long time because it spans a lifetime and yet we know that it is like, for illustration purposes, only 12 inches of an unending rope, when compared against eternity. Our faith, therefore, needs to be enduring as Paul rightfully pointed out before in Romans 8:18 that our sufferings in the present time are not worth comparing to the glory that is to be revealed to us. In other words, whatever we go through in our lifetime can not compare to what awaits us in heaven one day.

Yet there is hope here on earth as we have seen the LORD’s prophets speaking of restoration in the midst of destruction and ruin. Even as Israel is invaded and its people taken into exile as prisoners and slaves due to their own insolence and disobedience, the LORD promised to rescue and restore them. We could see this in Habakkuk 3, and we know historically that despite the Israelites having been scattered all over the world, they were reunited in their homeland in 1948 with the creation of the state of Israel in Canaan. The land promised to Father Abraham during ancient times, the same land to which Moses delivered the Israelites from Egypt, which Joshua eventually completed for the whole new generation born and bred in the wilderness during their 40-year sojourn.

Hold on to the hope that God has put in our hearts and has given us for fulfilment during our lifetimes here on earth. The hope of His plans and purposes for our lives. The hope of Him moulding us to be the person that He wants us to be, that will bring the best out of us to achieve great exploits for Him, for His glorious kingdom. The hope of living in the centre of His will. The hope of being that person in Him that He had planned for us even before the foundations of the world. Are we swimming in the little pond in our own backyard or in that vast open ocean far into the horizon? It doesn’t really matter as long as we are living in the hope of His glory, in the centre of His will, fulfilling His plans and purposes for our lives. As long as we are becoming the person He wants us to be! Hold on tight to that hope, the hope that holds!