https://odb.org/2023/12/05/gods-most-comforting-commitment

Because they doubted and rebelled against the LORD, all men of twenty years and above who left Egypt were not permitted to enter into Canaan, the Promised Land. The edict originated from the bad and doubtful report of 10 of the 12 spies. Joshua and Caleb, the other two spies, were exempted, for they believed that the Israelites could conquer the land of giants, fortified cities, and strong armies with the leading of the Almighty God. Moses and Aaron as the leaders were initially also allowed to enter the Promised Land until the incident at Kadesh Barnea – instead of speaking to the rock for water to come out as God had commanded, Moses used his staff like he did years back. As a result, Moses and Aaron died in the wilderness like all the other Israeli men of 20 years and more, except for Joshua and Caleb.

Joshua 1 is the start of the adventure of the Israelites’ conquest of Canaan during ancient times, incidentally the origin of and the background to the current Israeli-Hamas war. Ancient Canaan is present day Israel, and this is the land promised by God to Abraham and his descendants. The conquest was led by Joshua, Moses’s aide since his youth, who was thus around 60 years plus then (as the Israelites spent 40 years in the wilderness, mostly at the oasis area of Kadesh Barnea). Joshua was thus well prepared to be the leader, from his training following Moses but also his faith in the LORD leading them despite their lack of fighting skills and weapons as an army (they were after all only slaves in Egypt). You could say Joshua was not one who placed his trust on chariots and horses but on the Word of God.

The LORD thus reaffirmed His commitment to Joshua and declared that He would be with him wherever he went and that he need not fear but be strong (or bold) and very courageous. But the caution and condition remained that Joshua needed to follow and keep the book of Law to meditate on it day and night so that he may be careful to do all that is written on it. Then Joshua will be successful and prosperous – something most of the kings of ancient Israel and Judah failed to do in their lifetimes.

The message today is that God is encouraging us to be strong and very courageous to respond to His calling upon our lives. He will be with us wherever we go as we give our lives unto Him. But we are to keep His law in our hearts and to mediate upon His Word day and night. Don’t take the front, but forget the back. God and His Word go hand in hand. Christ and the transformation of our lives go hand in hand. As we embrace the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, we must manifest and live out the fruit of the Spirit. Power and authority come with responsibility and love and compassion. Get this right, and we will achieve much for the glory of God, for His Kingdom – if God is with us, who can be against us!

https://odb.org/2023/12/04/shadow-and-light

Psalm 23 is perhaps one of the most beautiful of David’s Psalms. It starts off by proclaiming that God is his shepherd, my shepherd, and thus, he immediately establishes a direct relationship with God. It was yet the time of Jesus Christ, and God’s relationship with Israel then was with the nation, the people. It was a corporate relationship and not as individuals. But then David was King, the sovereign and could be said to represent the nation of Israel. Be that as it may, the point is David saw the LORD as his shepherd, and he then backs up that assertion by the attributes of God that some he had probably experienced first hand and some perhaps still aspirational. Scholars believe that he wrote Psalm 23 when he was much older and likely when he was pursued by Absalom, his own son that had executed a coup d’etat to overthrow him although shortlived.

As shepherd, God brings us to places of nourishment, green pastures, and still water, meaning safe and secure places for our daily bread, physical as well as spiritual. Most importantly, we shall not want as we will have no lack in our needs. Jesus assured us that as God takes care of the birds of the air and nature, He will take care of us. As God leads us through valleys of the shadow of death, we fear no evil for his staff and rod comfort us. But more pertinently, in this era of Jesus Christ having died for our sins, our final destination is assured and secured. Our heavenly shepherd will set a table for us in the presence of our enemies (similar in my view to what David did for Mephibosheth earlier) and make sure that our cup overflows (signifies abundant grace). Thus, surely goodness and mercy will follow us the rest of our days, and we dwell in the house of the LORD forever. The latter foretells our days to be lived in eternity with God.

I guess we need to be reminded every now and then that we have a heavenly shepherd caring, protecting, and providing for us each day. Even if we have to go through valleys of the shadow of death, we are not afraid of evil as the Lord’s covering is upon us. Evil has no hold or power over us anymore. We are able to break free from sin. We have a place at His table, and His blessings and anointing upon us are overflowing. Life and its challenges are unavoidable, but with God as our shepherd, we know that we will overcome and come up tops. We refuse to be cowed down. We are not downcast and will not be defeated. With God as our shepherd, we know that we will emerge victorious whether it is our career, our business, our children, or our health condition. Ultimately, we will win and finish this race as Jesus Christ’s good and faithful servant!

https://odb.org/2023/12/03/zedekiahs-dilemma

The LORD told King Zedekiah in Jeremiah 38 to surrender to the Babylonians, and he and his household would be spared, and Jerusalem and the Temple would not be burned down. But he was afraid that those in Judah who were captured earlier and were then already in Babylon would mistreat him. The truth was staring him in the face, and yet he refused to listen to the voice of God as conveyed through the prophet Jeremiah. Instead, he had Jeremiah imprisoned. Ironically, Zedekiah, who was the last king of Judah, was enthroned by Nebuchadnezzar, meaning to say that he was a proxy of Babylon who had turned against the Babylonians. In the end, they killed his sons, took his wives and other children, blinded him, and destroyed the Temple and Jerusalem.

We may or may not have the privilege of the truth speaking to us through God’s voice, but sometimes we ignore the truth even when it is staring at us as clear as night and day. If, for example, we have health issues, best we take heed of the doctor’s advice. Medication may help us now, but if we continue to rely only on medicine, we will face other issues 20 years from now. Or some organisations whose business model may have been overtaken by time. From 4,500 staff strength, they may need to trim down to 2,500, failing which their revenues will only be able to pay their costs and salaries.

The truth is real and may have devastating effects. Ignoring it will not make the implications go away. Instead, we may hasten our demise. Face it and deal with our issues, and we will live to fulfil God’s purposes in our lives. The sooner we face the truth, the more time we will have to live for God. The time we have left is all we can offer, although we know He deserves more. Don’t make it even less.

https://odb.org/2023/12/01/his-heart-for-all

Instead of highlighting (again, sigh…) the racial divisions within the church, which usually often boils down to people just prefering to congregate among their own kind, I should just focus on God’s heart this morning.

God is for all, whether we are Chinese, Malay, Iban, Kadazan, or Indian. God has no preference in race, although He chose the Jews first as a nation to showcase His love and grace. Jesus Christ, after all, came to the earth as a Jew. God’s only son who saved humankind as the second Adam was of Abrahamic descent. But the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is now also the God of the Gentiles, as it was meant to be.

The question this morning is how are we responding to God’s heart. Are we putting Him aside as we wrestle with our own burdens and issues of life? The human tendency is to settle things on our own, although as believers and children of the Light, we are taught otherwise. Jesus already said before that His yoke is easy, and His burden is light. For He is gentle and humble. See Matthew 11:28-30, meaning to say, if we were to go to Him, He would not give us more stress and grief! Instead, He would de-stress us and give us peace of mind. Will our problems and issues go away? Prayer will help, but it is more likely for us to see and accept that most things are not life and death situations. But if we are so stressed out, it may slowly bring about our early demise!

The other thing is that issues or matters close to God’s heart are things we should focus more on as we travel life’s journey. Jesus Christ is, after all, our Lord and Saviour. If there is anyone we should honour and please, it should be God. Not only our spouse, our children, or our bosses but Christ of all people! It’s a daily transformation, and we are always work-in-progress but progress we must. Fuss over issues close to God’s heart. The poor, the widows, the orphans, and the foreigners. The downtrodden and the oppressed. Pray against spiritual forces deceiving people into unbelief, that we don’t fall prey to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). Pray for the softening of the hearts of those we are reaching out to. If possible, and if their hearts are willing, we want them to join us on this narrow path to life eternal.

Cast our burdens on Him for His yoke is easy, and His burden is light. Remember. He is both gentle and humble.

https://odb.org/2023/11/30/trust-in-his-name-2

Israeli Kings of old oscillate between trusting their chariots and horses and trusting God. Usually, those who trust in the latter were successful on the battleground. In Joshua’s case, he brought down the walls of Jericho completely on the instruction of the LORD by marching around the city with trumpets for 7 days. Their reputation of God helping them in battles preceded them, and sometimes half the battle is won if the enemy had already been defeated psychologically. Some Kings fought battles using conventional weapons but with spiritual forces assisting them in the heavenlies and even in the natural. There were times when God created confusion and panic at the enemy camp, resulting in them being easy targets of the Israeli forces.

But in order to trust God, our lives need to be given to Him. That is why some Israeli kings failed miserably. They already allowed Baal and Asherah poles into the Temple. They allowed their people to marry the people of the surrounding nations and brought into Israel their practices, idols and gods. The Kings who reestablished God’s word and rule in the life of the nation are Kings who ended up trusting God and winning battles, most notably David.

We also trust in our own chariots and horses, our time proven methods of problem solving or project or time management. Everyone would eventually develop their own unique ways of managing work. The idea, however, is not to get rid of them but to work hand in hand with God. To pray for God’s hands to be upon us and to bless the work of our hands. We rely on His guidance and direction. We work as guided by the Holy Spirit. I’m sure like Israeli kings who called upon the name of the LORD, we will have better and more satisfying successes as we work with God in our lives. But trusting and relying on God also means our lives are given to Him. Not just lip service but a genuine transformation of our hearts towards Him and the things of His Kingdom. They go hand in hand.

https://odb.org/2023/11/29/just-a-whisper

Job, despite his sufferings and losses, was able to hear the whisper of God’s voice through nature. See Job 26:7-14. Although his 3 friends tried to convince him that his predicament was due to his sin, Job insisted and was determined in his contention that he was blameless. Instead, it was the perogative of the LORD to bless and forfeit. The fact of the matter was that it was Satan who was afflicting the miseries upon Job’s life. The LORD allowed it to prove to Satan that Job was and would be blameless. Job was obviously oblivious to the cosmic discussions. As much as it was unfair to him, being made a guinea pig of a spiritual experiment, Job kept his integrity before God and never once blamed God for his sufferings and losses.

Job, to me, was a special case. The LORD took up Satan’s challenge because He knew Job inside out. He knew Job would stand firm. God knew Job’s stand was if the LORD blesses, He may also take away. We, on the other hand, will most likely crumble under such pressure. We will be depressed and may never recover if the same were our afflictions and sufferings. But then we also know that whatever God allows us to go through will not be beyond our capability to endure (1 Corinthians 10:13). That was proven in Job’s case.

I think the lesson we can draw from Job’s experience is to find the still small voice of God in whatever we are going through. Let Christ be our strength and comfort. As Elijah learned, God is not found in the fire or earthquake. He is in the still small voice. God is there, in our darkest moments, our lowest, our afflictions and losses. He will lead us through it all. He is and will be there at the end of the tunnel. In the end, hold on to Paul’s exhortation in Romans 5:3-5, that suffering produces perseverance and perseverance, character, and character hope. We have that hope because we persevere through and developed the character of Christ in the process! It will be tough, but like Job, it will end well. For us, if not in this life, then in the life to come. That is our hope of glory!

https://odb.org/2023/11/28/the-skill-of-compassion

I always thought of compassion as a quality we must have as a believer. An attribute. We need to be compassionate as God was compassionate to us that despite our weaknesses and inadequacies, He called us to be His own so that His power may be made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). Like love and grace, compassion is an aspirational quality to have as a Christian.

“A thorn has entered your foot. That is why you weep at times at night,” wrote Catherine of Sienna in the 14th century. “There are some in this world who can pull it out. The skill that takes they have learned from [God]”. Indeed, it is a skill to deal with the deep hurts of our loved ones and those we are close with. It’s a skill we may develop over time ‘on the job’, but often, our ‘patients’ may also be unwilling to let go of those past hurts and move on in life. Some prefer to cling on to those past hurts and disappointments. Blaming fate, themselves, and their parents for their predicament.

That is why I guess as Catherine of Sienna wrote, we need to learn this skill from God. To take away the thorn that makes some weep in the night, there must be patience and sometimes long suffering to endure an outburst or two or many before the thorn is removed and the wound allowed to heal. At times, time will heal. But mostly, divine healing works best. So we pray and intercede and extend our ears to hear out their grief, a shoulder to cry on like a representative of Christ here on earth. The foundation of which is compassion. That is why it is a skill. It can and needs to be developed. It doesn’t come naturally just because we have accepted Christ. Only Christ can change our cold and lackadaisical hearts, our selfish, self-centred love – to have compassion and love for others around us.

Learn the skill of compassion. It will make a lasting impression in our lives and those we love. Some thorns are just so delicate and sensitive to remove.

https://odb.org/2023/11/26/who-am-i-7

When it comes to giving back to God, two perspectives come to mind. The first, as expressed in the song Alabaster Jar (by Gateway Worship), is that whatever we have of worth and all that we have, Jesus deserves more. He is more beautiful than what we have. He is more worthy. Yet, this is all we have. This is all we can give, including the limited time we have left in this natural life of ours. https://youtu.be/l6GeVG1CNso?si=LmB0DvVb4TFyO32u

The second perspective, as expressed by David in 1 Chronicles 29:14 – who am I and who are my people that we should be able to give as generously as this? In the end, what we have comes from God. It is by His grace and mercy that we are who we are today and that we still have breadth in us. In other words, it is a privilege and honour to give unto Him, to serve Him, to be instruments for His glory. We should be thankful that God has chosen us and called us to be His own, that we may bless Him and give back to Him.

There are three things that we have that we may give back unto Him, although He deserves more, much more. But this is all we have. Our talents, our time, and our treasures. Have we started giving God our time in service? Have we started using our talents and giftings for His glory? Have we started giving our money to glorify His name? As we save up for our future, remember to store up our treasures in heaven, too. Our riches stored in heaven will last us for eternity. It is us saving up for the rainy day in the form of our savings for our eternal life. Our EPF in heaven. Jesus Christ has gone ahead to prepare our place in heaven, but we must do our part to store up our riches there, too. As James 2:26 teaches, faith without works is dead.

The remaining time we have, our talents and money – will we start giving back some to God as a sign of our thankfulness and appreciation for His calling for our lives and His gift of salvation? He deserves more. That’s true. But we can only give what we have.

https://odb.org/2023/11/24/worthy-of-all-praise

Besides prayer, one of the privileges we have as believers is to worship and praise the LORD. We can pray while we worship, but worship as an act is distinct as we can actually enter into the spiritual realm through worship.

In Jesus’s encounter with the Samaritan woman in John 4, Jesus spoke about worshipping God in spirit and in truth. The latter is, of course, to use the revelation of Christ and God as found in the Scriptures. Of His great power, His abundant grace and mercy, and His steadfast love. That is why we need to be careful of the lyrics of the worship songs we sing. Do they declare the truth? Or are they writing about ideas that are twisted or slanted?

As for the former, this is where some songwriters use the phrase “as we worship, we meet You face to face,” meaning to say that we are able to enter into the spiritual realm in worship. Or we may have lyrics to the effect that the train of His robe fills the temple, and as we worship, we are able to touch the train of His robe, a garment that signifies the power, splendour and authority of God through Christ Jesus.

Personally, I’ll pick up my guitar and sing to worship and praise the LORD. In personal worship, I can sing any song I like in my own arrangement. There is a 3/4 song that I sing in 4/4 in personal worship. In corporate worship, I can’t do that as my pianist, who is my dear wife, a trained musician, will give me an earful! We don’t even have to sing in pitch in personal worship as what matters is us and God in the spirit. We can also sing in the spirit, in heavenly language, as the Holy Spirit directs, and He intercedes for us when we are lost for words.

Sing, worship, and praise God in our quiet time. If we are not musically inclined, just worship Him accompanied in the background by a YouTube song on our phone or our home sound system. Or just sing a cappella. Whatever works for us. Be sincere and let the songs and the words flow from deep within us. Close our eyes and let the Holy Spirit come and engulf us in His presence. The LORD is God and King. Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, our Lord is worthy of all our praise. He deserves all our honour as we bow in adoration at His Name. Sing of His greatness, His loving kindness that endureth forever. Sing of His everlasting love. Sing of the goodness of God.

https://odb.org/2023/11/23/unexpected-blessing-2

I think the teaching of Jesus in Luke 14:12-14 to invite strangers and the needy to banquets is probably something not practised much in most societies except maybe those in smaller villages. In the kampongs (village in Malay) in Malaysia, however, people do throw kenduris (a feast in Malay) where everyone in the village is invited. But for a proper banquet like the lavish 9-course Chinese dinners, it is unheard of to open the doors to everyone. In fact, wedding dinner gate-crashers (uninvited guests) are frowned upon and looked at in disgust. Obviously, fewer people are charitable to give away seats, which cost borders RM200 nowadays. Thus, Chinese dinners are always on an RSVP basis – short for a French phrase, respondez s’il vous plait, meaning “respond if you please.”

But the teaching of Jesus is not so much opening banquets to the poor and needy, but more to bless others who can’t proportionately bless us back in return. It is not about taking turns buying lunch at work but more of a senior manager buying a meal for an intern. Or when we first started out working, buying a round of drinks for the table is something we couldn’t afford when we actually needed to count the cost of our daily meals. Thus, it is that person buying that round of drinks. Or the situation where you lend someone some money knowing that it will likely not be repaid. Thus, the spiritual principles taught by Jesus in Luke 12 were to bless others who can’t return the favour as well as to look out for the needy and poor. In the end, God’s grace and compassion are always with the least in society – the weak and downtrodden, the widows, orphans, and foreigners (migrants).

When relating with God, we can not avoid touching on issues dear to His heart. Generosity as individuals and even as a church is dear to God. We can not be stingy and yet expect to be close to God. Closeness to God is not ritualistic but following Him to do the things dear to His heart. If God is generous, it is clearly wrong for us to be stingy.