Ronnie's Thoughts

The Word of God

https://odb.org/2024/01/03/spotting-hope

For those familiar with the creation story in Genesis 1, we know that God spoke creation into being. The LORD said let there be light, and there was light. Thus, to create, God used His words as spoken. This is opposed to the Big Bang theory that postulates that everything just evolved over time with things just came into existence just like that in the beginning. There was a big bang, and things just started. No one did anything. Of course, the joke is that the big bang only occurred when God said so at the beginning. John reiterated this by proclaiming that the Word or Logos in Greek, the supreme being or force, was already in existence at the beginning. See John 1:1 – In the beginning was the Word (Logos), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Greek thought understood that there was a supreme force right at the beginning when all things began.

As believers, we also know that the Bible is the Word of God, and thus, it has the same power and authority as the spoken Word that created all things. The Word is not only in the written form in the context that existed at the time of writing, but it also transcends time as the Rhema Word of God. This means that some words spoken or written many years back may speak to us today to our situation. In fact, God speaks to us mostly through the written Word being applied to our present circumstances and situations. An encouragement to be strong and courageous, specifically directed to Joshua to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land, may be applied by us as we journey with God in our walk of faith. The context may be different, but the encouragement is the same. The same power and authority that created the world and all things are still present that we believe that as much as we are encouraged, God’s strength and boldness will become ours.

A word of caution, though. As much as God or Jesus or the Holy Spirit speaks to us through the Word, it is usually for His Kingdom’s sake and our own spiritual growth or relationship with Him. Not so much our own personal interests even though God loves us and has our interests at heart. Some things are a matter of choice and preference, and it is not for us to put it up for Him to decide for us. For example, the colour we like or the shirt we wear or the car we drive. Or should I buy a Taylor or a Gibson or a Martin? Or a Nikon, a Canon or Fuji or Leica. Android or Apple or Huawei? Thus, we should not say that it was God who decided that I should use an Apple phone and not an Android or Huawei.

In closing, I just like to remind us that the Word of God has power and authority over both spiritual forces and the natural. Remember that Jesus spoke to the raging storm, and it calmed down to a whisper. The wind and the waves still know His name today. Call upon the name of Jesus in our difficult struggles, and He will give us rest and the strength to overcome and emerge victorious!

Vanity of vanities

https://odb.org/2024/01/02/the-son-also-rises

Life, as we know, it is, in a way, meaningless. We are born, and our parents raise us up. We go to school, then later to university (some straight into the workforce after school). We learn about life in school and mix with our friends. Celebrate birthdays. Go through things we fear, like seeing the dentist or sprinting. For the former, everyone shudders when the nurse comes to class and starts calling names. For the latter, I recall that running even 100m was daunting when I was 7 or 8 years old. 400m was quite impossible. Later, we enter the workforce and work until we retire. We fall in love and get married. Have children of our own. We bring them through the same process.

In the midst of living, crisises occur every now and then. As an example, I remember the first time I met an accident with my new car, at a roundabout in Subang Jaya. I was so focused on clearing the roundabout that I forgot the car in front had not yet moved and knocked straight into it. There was no damage to that car, but my bumper dropped down. Had to claim insurance as I didn’t have much money then. Made a police report. In our early work days, we didn’t have much as we were just starting out. We have to count every penny and make every ringgit count.

One day, our children will go through the same process. One day, we will become old, and our turn will come to leave this world even as we attend more funerals than weddings as we grow older. The question is, what is life all about? We live to only exist? We have dreams and aspirations. We achieve those dreams and aspirations. Is that life? An endless cycle of births, living and dying? I guess in that sense, we are better than animals, some who live just to be food for others. Yet is this life?

The conclusion Solomon made (believed to be the author of Ecclesiastes) is that life is indeed vanity of vanities (meaningless) if lived without God. God gives meaning and purpose to our lives as we live a purpose-driven life. A life lived to fulfil His plans and purposes for our lives. A life lived in fulfilment of His calling for us.

Everyone aspires to live a better life, but we live within òur means. With God with us, we find contentment with life. There are others worse than us and others better. It doesn’t matter so long as we are living in the fullness of His will. There is equilibrium when we live in the centre of God’s purposes. That is why John the Baptist declared that the Kingdom of God is at hand. Jesus came and made it possible for the Kingdom of God to penetrate into the natural that as believers, we became the Kingdom of God.

The icing on the cake is that we also have eternal life. We will get to live in the fullness of His will forever and ever in the new heaven and new earth. Jesus will return for His bride. It is believed to be within this generation. We need to quickly find our purpose and call in God and live life in equilibrium.

Blessed New Year, everyone! May 2024 be the turning point in our lives! May we find our true self in God and excel at becoming the person God had always wanted us to be, even before the foundations of the world!

Righteousness

https://odb.org/2023/12/31/the-righteous-city

Once we have believed in Jesus and accepted Him, our pursuit in life becomes a pursuit for righteousness. We are made righteous before God because of the blood of Christ shed on Calvary, and we want to be righteous henceforth in the things we do, the words we say, and the thoughts we think. We want our words and actions to reflect our righteousness in God. Of course, along the way, we are tempted, and we fail. We compromise our standards and conform to the world. But we do not give up and continue to strive. Sometimes hardship comes, and we want to take the easy way out. Perhaps we did, but maybe we didn’t. Either way, we continue on this journey of righteousness. We persevere on. We look forward to the new city, the new heaven and the new earth, the day righteousness will reign and evil will be no more.

If we look back at the opportunities we gave up and the paths we forsook because of righteousness, we know the Lord is proud of us. There were times we suffered consequences because of our insistence on doing the right thing, on righteousness. We may have resigned from our job because we did not want to compromise our stand and beliefs.

This life is a sojourn. This is not our permanent abode. We are mere pilgrims passing through the earth. The things we should build up and keep are those of eternity. Store up our treasures in heaven. Do good deeds, serve God, and love the Lord with all our heart, strength, and mind. Give Him our all. Live in righteousness. Our time will come one day. On this earth or beyond. In the meantime, we push on towards the crown of glory that awaits us as we complete our race until the finish line.

Blessed Sunday, everyone! Have a meaningful time worshipping God today!

Crown of life

https://odb.org/2023/12/29/keep-running-2

A recurring theme in these pages is that of perseverance, something common in the New Testament letters of the Apostles. This is because during the 1st century era, just after the death and resurrection of Christ, believers of the Way were under tremendous persecution. In the early days, it was mostly economic persecution, and their solution was to pool their resources together so that everyone in the community of believers were able to live as one. I guess they were driven by their common destiny in Christ, and perhaps at that time, they expected Christ to return soon. Little did they know or expect that their persecution would get worse as time moved on with believers being caught and burned on stakes. Even later, they were thrown into the Roman arenas for entertainment as wild beasts devoured them. It was martyrdom and death for the followers of Christ.

At the spiritual level, it was probably Satan’s attempt to snuff off the faith, but instead, it continued to spread from Jerusalem, Judea to Samaria, and across the rest of the world touching Jews and Gentiles alike. Unfortunately, until today, the Jews still reject Christ, but there remained Christians in Israel who descended not only from these first century believers but also those from the time of the Byzantine Empire who ruled Palestine after the Romans.

There are no direct parallels in the present age as Christians are generally well-off, whether in Malaysia or the United States or elsewhere. However, there will come a time of intense trials and tribulations before Christ returns, and many believe, looking at the signs of the present time, that the time is near. No one knows for sure, only the Father knows. But it’s best we are prepared for it in our generation. A time will come where, without the mark of the beast, we will not be able to buy and sell.

James 1:12 then becomes relevant. Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

We don’t know what lies ahead in the Great Tribulation, but we hold on to the promise that the Lord will not test us beyond our point of endurance and that He will strengthen us to persevere on when the time comes.

Meeting the needs of others

https://odb.org/2023/12/28/phillips-wish

When we look around us, we will always find people who dedicate their lives to helping others, whether formally via an NGO or as a volunteer somewhere. They are not the norm. An exception to the general populace, but nevertheless, they are sincere and genuine. Many are non-Christians. What drives them? Probably their compassion and love for those in need. I have a colleague whose father had set up a tuition centre for poor kids, and he had spent a considerable part of his adult life doing this work. Because of his dedication, she has invariably been drawn into the work herself.

As believers in Christ, our Heavenly Father also has the same heart as these people. He has a special place in His heart for the widows, orphans and foreigners, the poorest of the poor, the ones in ancient Jewish society without land, and thus would need to work for their living. In fact, God enacted laws to ensure that the marginalised have food on their table. By law, landowners are not to harvest all of their crops but must leave behind some leftovers for the poor to glean.

If we could, as believers, actively participate in these social endeavours, that would be the best. Or we could contribute finance to these efforts. In other words, helping out such non-mission efforts with our money is good stewardship since this is where the heart of the Father is. There are welfare organisations, orphanages, and social oriented work we could contribute our money and efforts.

Ultimately, if we were to just help a friend in need, that would also be good. The important thing is to have a heart of compassion that our lives are not centred just on our own needs and interests. After believing in Jesus, we must become someone kinder, more compassionate, and in tune with the move of the Holy Spirit. In general, be kind, helpful, and generous, but specifically, respond to God as the Holy Spirit prompts our hearts. We are on our way to spiritual maturity if we develop these traits in our character.

Godly wisdom

https://odb.org/2023/12/27/wisdom-saves-lives

If we live our lives in accordance with God’s Word and always do what is right, we will be blessed with Godly wisdom, simply because God is with us. This is similar to how God was with Joseph and Joshua. This Godly wisdom can come in the form of discernment or just plain word of knowledge, the latter being the Holy Spirit telling us things to prepare us or to help us help others. The writer of Proverbs, King Solomon, was asked which would he choose – riches or wisdom? He chose wisdom, and it was a wise choice as he was a wise man! But if you read his other book Ecclesiastes, his conclusion is that the wisest decision any person can ever make is to choose God or else life is just pure vanity. In other words, life is meaningless without God. In the New Testament, we know that because Jesus gave us eternal life by His death on the cross. In Christ, we have the hope of the new heaven and new earth, where God will dwell among mankind again.

Proverbs 11:24 teaches that if we give freely, we gain more, but if we withhold unduly, we will become poor. Generosity breeds blessings, but stinginess or miserly leads to poverty. That is Godly wisdom and is one example of us living our lives in accordance with His Word. Thus, His Word is not just a moral code but really gems on how to unravel the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. Logically, how can giving away our wealth make us having more? The spiritual principle is that if we give generously, perhaps God will open up the heavens to bless us so that we will have more to give. Or by giving freely, our hearts are set free and liberated to be more contented with the less that we have (after giving) or at least we find some extra meaning to our life. We don’t just work to earn a living but also to help others. We have an altruistic role in life.

Conversely, if we hold on to what we have so tightly and strongly, God may withhold His heavenly blessings, and thus, we may not find contentment or peace or joy in the millions we have. Or we are just caught up in the downward spiral of acquiring the next million, every day worrying whether we are getting a lesser return for our cash or someone will cheat us. Wealthy but miserable, always worried.

Follow His Word, live according to His Word, and we will be blessed with Godly wisdom. One such wisdom is to give generously. Of course, the ultimate Godly wisdom is to choose God over everything else. Follow Jesus Christ as He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one goes to the Father except through Him.

Magi and the Star of Bethlehem

https://odb.org/2023/12/24/finding-home

As we read the account of the Magi from the East following the Star of Bethlehem and finding Jesus and giving Him the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh (see Matthew 2) – the thing which speaks to me is not just the Magi but also the Star of Bethlehem. To me, it was spectacular and incredible, even magical that a star suddenly appeared to guide the Magi from the East all the way to Bethlehem. It would have taken them quite some time to reach Bethlehem if the tradition that they came from Persia, Arabia, and India is true. That is why we can never downplay the birth of Jesus – He was indeed the King of Jews, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. God even made cosmic changes to proclaim the human birth of His son, whom He had sent to save mankind for eternal life.

Even as the LORD God created the Star of Bethlehem for the Magi from the East, each of us will have our own Star of Bethlehem that will lead us to Jesus Christ. God speaks to our hearts and leads us to Jesus. The Holy Spirit brings us conviction and opens up our spiritual eyes by removing the scales that blinded our human understanding of who Jesus is. I had my own personal experience finding Christ, and I’m sure every believer likewise has a similar personal encounter. We all have our own Star of Bethlehem, which led us to discover and know Christ for who He is.

My prayer for us as we attend church today for the Christmas Eve Sunday service is that we will find Christ in the midst of all the festivities, presentations, and performances. Christmas is the peak of all the activities in church. It is evangelistic but also very hectic and busy. I pray that amidst all the hustle and bustle of Christmas, the razzle dazzle of them all, that we will all be able to hear the still small voice of God calling us to Himself, to be a part of His family. Jesus came to the earth two thousand years ago as Immanuel – God with us, God living among men. Will we accept His gift of salvation?

The time for His return is fast approaching. The window for us to accept Him in faith is also fast closing. After that, we will still be given the chance, but it will be much harder and more difficult, and provided that we still have breadth. Find Him while He is still there to be found (Isaiah 55:6), while it is still daytime as night is coming when no one can work (John 9:4).

Have a great Christmas Eve celebration today, every one!

The Berlin Wall

https://odb.org/2023/12/22/a-wall-torn-down

The Berlin Wall fell on 9 November 1989 and was a historical event unimaginable then. I remember thinking how impossible it was, and yet it happened. Two years later, in 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. The difference was that with the fall of the Berlin Wall, East and West Germany were genuinely reunited. But with the Soviet Union collapse, Russia remained the lynchpin, with most of the ex Soviet countries still aligned to her. Ukraine, being the second largest country, became alligned to the West, and her stated intention to join the EU led to the present Russian-Ukraine war.

In the history of our faith, the wall in the form of the veil in the temple was broken with the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Man was thus reconciled to God. The wall separating Jews and Gentiles was also broken, enabling Gentiles to be grafted into the family of God. In the past, Gentiles were not allowed beyond the outer courts of the Temple.

The verse that comes to mind is Matthew 19:26 – “With men, this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.” Sometimes, when we look at our family and friends, we dismiss them as impossible to accept Christ. Yet, God is able to turn them around, no matter how hostile or indifferent they were before. They could face a personal tragedy, and suddenly, they needed an anchor in their lives. I think it’s best we realise that we need God early in life so that He need not allow certain things to happen to us to draw near to Him. Our role is to reflect Christ in our lives, share with them our testimony and our experiences in God, and pray that their spiritual eyes may be opened one day. Jesus has already opened the way. We just need to guide and show them the right path.

Don’t lose hope when it comes to our friends and family. Jesus will open their eyes and remove the scales. God will soften their hearts. They will turn to Him one day. Believe it, don’t lose faith, and continue to pray for them! Don’t give up. Keep on believing and praying.

Christmas memories

https://odb.org/2023/12/21/the-light-of-hope

I recall that as a family, we used to celebrate Christmas even when we were yet true believers. We had always identified ourselves as Christians even though we knew very little of the faith then. So we will set up the Christmas tree, my father will buy and wrap up presents and my mum will cook us a few nice dishes. Since it was the year-end school holidays and my dad was a teacher, it was a time to chill and relax before the new school year began a week later. We spend the Christmas season listening to Christmas songs on the home stereo set and catching a few Christmas programs on TV. I think we celebrated Christmas with more intensity than Chinese New Year, although for the latter, we were usually at my parents’ hometown amongst my grandparents, uncles, aunties, and cousins and thus there was an air of festivities with firecrackers, ang pows, some siew yoke and other delicacies, and mahjong among the adults.

Time has moved on, and some experiences of the past remained just as memories, distant ones. These memories could not be recreated anymore in the present as my parents are no longer here with us.

In our life journey, my parents later discovered Christ by the grace of God and became Christians, born-again believers, having accepted Christ as their Lord and Saviour. Christmas then became more centred around the church and its Christmas programmes.

But with Christ in our lives, it also means that as a family, we have the hope that one day we will all be reunited in heaven, with my parents and my own children one day. We have that hope that we will live in the new heaven and earth where there will no longer be tears, disease, suffering, or evil. Every living thing, whether man, beast, or even the environment, will live in perfect harmony with one another.

Cling on to the hope Christ has given us. Past Christmas memories may remain as distant memories, but they will be recreated one day. In the meantime, let’s create new and fresh Christmas memories in Christ Jesus as we journey with Him and dwell in the House of the Lord in the days to come!

Have a very blessed and Merry Christmas, everyone!

Forgetting what’s behind

https://odb.org/2023/12/20/forgettable

Isaiah 43:25 speaks of God forgetting the sins of Israel and Judah. He remembers them no more. In verses 18 and 19, He urges them to forget the former things, not to dwell in the past. Instead, see that the LORD is doing a new thing amongst them.

As humans and even believers, we have an unhealthy tendency to dwell in the past. Our past sins and indiscretions. Our former failures, disappointments, or even failed relationships. Our failed attempts at our perception of what success looked like. But time and tide wait for no man. The world has moved on. We are no longer twenty-one or even 30 anymore. Even our past glories and success stories are in the past.

It’s really time we leave the past where it belongs – in the past. Put it behind us, learn our life lessons, and move on in life. As the LORD had advised Israel and Judah in Isaiah 43:18-19, forget the former things and don’t dwell in the past. What could have been, could have been. It can not be anymore. God is doing a new thing among us. What lies ahead is what matters. Jesus is doing new things in our midst. Do not relive our past glory but bask in the glory of His presence. In the now, the contemporary and the future. Our remaining days here on earth. Limited as it is. Nevertheless, we can make something meaningful out of it if we were to put our hearts into it.

In a more contemporary setting in contrast to Isaiah, Paul taught the same thing in Philippians 3:13-14, forgetting what is behind but straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Our past glory, disappointments, our former what was, and what could have been – leave them behind in the past. Strive instead for what is ahead as the Holy Spirit leads and empowers us! Amen!