https://odb.org/MY/2023/03/17/were-not-alone-2

The church in Laodecia (Revelation 3:14-22), also known as the lukewarm church (neither hot nor cold), was in that predicament as they were materially wealthy. Blessed with riches, there is a perception that they do not need God. In fact, Jesus said precisely that to them. You say I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing (verse 17).

It is ironic that wealth may cause us not to need God because the ancients in the bible were wealthy. Abraham had so much cattle and sheep and goats and servants that he had to part ways with his nephew Lot as there was not enough in the land for both of them. In fact, when Lot was captured by a king, Abraham was able to assemble a small army out of his men to rescue Lot. Joseph was the second in command of the richest and most powerful nation of the known world then. With the guidance from the LORD, Joseph was able to store grain for use in the coming 7 years of famine and saved the Abrahamic tribe as a result.

Perhaps the church in the book of Acts started life poor with mainly poor and marginalised people in its ranks, and as some grew wealthy over time, there was no need for God as they had turned to God in their poverty. Whether we are a fresh graduate struggling with our basic pay package or a pensioner with just enough to go by month by month or someone with above average income or with acquired or inherited wealth, I think we should all be able to thank God for His salvation and for His blessings upon our lives. Ultimately, what we have on earth matters less than the treasures that we have stored in heaven through our good works and our faithful service for God. Whether we are in abundance or have just enough, if we nevertheless sow and share and give away to the needy as prompted by the Spirit, I’m sure we will learn dependence on God because no matter how much we have, it is still finite.

Thus, I think the key out of the Laodecia predicament is to hold lightly to our wealth if we have acquired some. Be prepared to share and bless others. Don’t embrace it so tightly until it chokes the life of God out of us. Wealth is something to be used when necessary. Remember, it is the heavenly treasures that matter in the end. In the process, we will become hot again for Jesus, and He will not spit us out of His mouth!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/03/16/scripture-training

If we put in the effort to study the Scriptures, whether New or Old Testament in our free time on top of our quiet time, I am sure we will learn a lot that will enrich our soul and strengthen our spirit. Paul exhorts in 2 Timothy 3:16 that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction for righteousness that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. In other words, Scripture completes us as a man of God and properly and thoroughly equips us to prepare us for God’s work. It also means that we can not be fully effective in ministry if we do not study the Scriptures. Why? Because the essence of who God is resides in the Word of God. The essence of life itself, which is God, is logos, and that’s the Word of God. As we read and study and research, we will derive both the logos and the rhema of the Word.

When we study the Scriptures, we will see many life stories and historical events, but the theme from Genesis to Revelation is God’s love for His people. He spoke through His prophets during ancient times. He then came on earth and became man. Jesus was God-personified in human form, and He was gentle and humble. He was not a galaxy away but right here with us, next to us, and after the crucifixion of Christ for the sins of mankind, He remains with us through the Holy Spirit. In worship, we see Him face to face in our spirit, but to know who He is, we need to read and understand His Word. To relate to Him, to communicate with Him, we need to read His Word. His Word is alive and will guide us through to salvation. In the often turbulent sea of life, His Word is the safe harbour of salvation. His Word is like the beacon of the lighthouse showing us where is where, so we may land safely ashore. His Word is both a shield for our faith and a doubled edged sword to slay and destroy the evil plans of the enemy.

There are many nuances that we can not easily discover just by reading the Word plainly. Although a verse to another may look like the next day, sometimes many years had passed in between. It is usually sequential but not necessarily the next day or week or even month. A deeper study will reveal the truth to us.

The message this morning is to spend time studying the Scriptures. It can only lead to good things. 100%, it will not be a wasted effort. It will be worth every minute spent. It leads us to eternity, and as we read more, our passage to eternal life will be preserved and safeguarded. Make thy Word a lamp unto my path, O Lord, my Lord and Saviour, my beloved Father in heaven!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/03/15/dont-just-do-something-stand-there

We learned from Elijah (1 Kings 19:11-19) after he ran away from Jezebel’s threat to terminate his life when he was hiding in a cave at Mt Horeb that God was in a still small voice and not in the wind, earthquake or fire. It is a picture of how we as believers must somehow find God in the stillness of a moment despite the flurry of activities we are physically doing or the emotional turmoil we may be going through or the thousand and one thoughts going through our minds. We can not find God in all those swirling moments as He can only be found in a still small voice. Still means we are not moving, just being alone with Him. Small means it is soft, hardly audible. It is not dramatic, not loud, and not spectacular. And voice means it’s the voice of God speaking to us in our spirit. In song, we sing that in worship, we see You face to face. Because in worship, we worship in spirit (our spirit with God) and in truth (as in the words and our heart).

However, today’s Word in Psalm 46 has a somewhat different slant to it. The LORD says, “Be still and know that I am God.” It means that we have to be still to hear that still small voice, and yet it’s an exaltation and encouragement from the LORD that He is God. That means that we must trust Him in faith that He is who He is and who He says He is. Like the photo in the life story in today’s ODB, He can pick us out in sharp focus from all the millions around us, from all the traffic and activities surrounding us, blurring out everything else and just looking at us. Jesus is saying He is with us. He knows what to do. He hears us and sees us.

Be confident to walk on in faith and to stick with our principles in God. Life pressures may bend us, but do not be swayed. Do not yield to the attractions of the world or the temptations of the evil one. Stay on the narrow path of righteousness. God is and will be with us all the way, and when we see the missing footsteps in the sand, we know those are the times Jesus carried us in His arms; for to Jesus, we ain’t heavy, we are His brother and sister. Commit our plans and aspirations to Him, and He will give us rest. For His yoke is easy, and His burden is light.

Have a good day ahead and the remaining week. I have not posted for nearly a week as I have been down with a bad bout of cold with a sore throat and high fever for the past few days. Praise the Lord, I’m now on the road to full recovery!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/03/09/comfort-on-doorframes

If we get to watch Orthodox Jews movies or drama series on Netflix or YouTube like the famous Shtisel, we will notice the practice of the Jews touching something at the doorpost of a Jewish home and saying a prayer before they enter. That ornament, sometimes placed at an angle instead of straight, is called the mezuzah and contains a rolled up scroll of Scriptures in response to the commandment of the LORD in Deuteronomy 6:4-9 which is to write His law and place it on their doorposts and gates. The Jews believe the written Word will ward off evil, and perhaps it is also symbolic of the practice of the ancients putting up the blood of an unblemished lamb on their doorposts during their time in Egypt when the angel of death passed over their homes and instead took the lives of all first born of the Egyptian households including that of their animals. That, of course, led to the feast of the Passover which Jesus Himself had as His last meal before His crucifixion on the cross and which in turn formed the basis for our Christian tradition in having the Holy Communion or the Eucharist as it is known in the Catholic Church.

We do not have the equivalent of the mezuzah in Christian homes, but I think it is good to have paintings or ornaments with Scripture written on them to remind us of God’s Word and also to ward off evil forces. Using symbols like ornaments, we want to proclaim to the world at large as well as to the hidden spiritual world that Christ is the head of our home, that He is our Lord and Saviour. We want to tell everyone that we are in the faith, and as we proudly proclaim His name, we want our lives to also reflect His laws and His glory. With symbolism, we will also be compelled to live out our lives accordingly. We want to be proud to be Christians and to carry the name of Jesus as reflected in how we treat others, with love, compassion, and grace like our Lord Jesus Christ.

The message this morning is to identify ourselves as Christians so that others know we are for Christ. We should not be hidden or secret Christians unless our unique situation requires us to be so. We should be proud of our faith and always be ready to share the Gospel and our testimony of how God has touched our lives. Practically, when we publicly identify as followers of Christ, we are also more careful when we speak or act lest we put the name of Christ to shame. We can use ornaments, or we can carry a bible with us, or we can have the Word written in our hearts, but let the world know that we are for Christ, that we are of the Jesus crowd! Amen

https://odb.org/MY/2023/03/08/proclaim-2

There could be occasions in our lives when we are faced with forces much bigger and much more powerful than us. For example, if we are a government servant, the whole government machinery is quite impossible for us as individuals to take on. Even large corporates, if they are our employers, are beyond us. In my situation, changes at my previous workplace made it difficult for me to continue despite having been there for a long time. Old was looked upon as passe even though the new kids on the block weren’t exactly doing a fantastic job.

Fortunately, in my case, the Lord opened a door for me in a startup created by an established telecommunications company looking to expand its revenue base due to market changes. As I was at my previous employment for many years, I was offered a small severance package, and with my new job, it was certainly a win-win that only God in His compassion, grace and love could make possible. He was indeed the defender of the defenceless, which, in a contemporary context, need not necessarily mean orphans, widows, or the foreigner. Anyone facing forces much larger than us can be, in my view, in that situation, and the Lord is gracious and kind and is our defender.

His grace and compassion did not stop there, as when I started work at my new place, I realised how positively different my new work environment is in terms of the culture and expectations. The commute to work became just a 7km 15 mins drive when it was a 50km 45-minute journey previously. I get to live in Petaling Jaya during weekdays, the city where I had spent my university days more than 30 years ago. In a way, I now have the opportunity to relive my college days when I was just a small town boy adapting to the bright city lights! In addition to all that, recent developments indicate that the skill sets that I had previously developed at my previous place were in demand here as the parent’s legal department, although has 50 lawyers, none with M&A experience. To top it all, M&A is what I enjoyed doing the most. I’m really thankful and grateful to the Lord for being my defender, and the question now is what lies ahead from Him in terms of His future plans and purposes for me in ministry and service.

The message today is that if we are caught out in a defenceless situation where we are most vulnerable and that can be in an abusive relationship, or against forces much larger than us like that of the all powerful employer against a mere employee (even Steve Jobs couldn’t take on his board at the early stages of his career in the Apple he founded and created!), God can and will be our defender. He has His ways to provide us a way out and give us a new lease of life elsewhere. He will defend our dignity and restore our confidence and self-esteem. If we are faced with a situation involving our stand for Jesus, He will be the defender of our faith! Put our trust in the Lord, our God, and He will take care of us! AMEN!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/03/07/never-too-far

When I was a younger Christian at my previous church, we had different levels of bible studies, which was a way for the church to gauge spirituality and thus leadership potential. So the basic was ‘Favourite Verse’, and then we were supposed to progress to ‘Four Questions or 4Q’, but at the top, it was ‘EA’ or ‘Exposition & Articulation’ if I’m not mistaken. EA was very much a method to seek the Lord in the Word for preaching and, at the highest level, involved the reading of a whole book of the bible with a focus on a chapter and then a passage. So, the context of the logos Word will definitely be safeguarded. These were basically bible study methods but was used also as a gauge for the level of our relationship with God in terms of our spiritual level. Of course, real spirituality lies within us and the character that we have become in Christ in terms of the Fruit of the Spirit. But what’s inside is unseen to the naked eye. Thus, the external manifestation was used as a guide. Flawed, but we are human, even in the church and ministry.

Later, when what was really within the leadership of the church came all out in the open in terms of their disposition towards money and its distribution among the founders and the rest of the full-time workers, the church split and many among us who were training to be future leaders at the bottom of the pile were disillusioned. Many left the ministry, ceasing to serve God altogether, and there were those who even left the faith. Some remained out of the church system for many years, preferring to worship God solo. Of course, there were others who were unperturbed and went on to achieve great things for God.

During my circa eight years there, I was at the basic level of spirituality – the FV (Favourite Verse) crowd. A future leader, perhaps but not one yet, by far. Nevertheless, I have persevered on and have now served God one way or another for nearly 40 years. I think it is ok to be at the basic level if we are able to keep at it without leaving the faith. Maybe not the best as we should be progressing, but fauthfulness must count towards something in the eyes of God.

But if the converse is true of us, that is, we were at the ‘EA’ level when younger but became disillusioned and left ministry or even church altogether; it is time to look into seriously returning to serving Jesus. Peter, the boldest of all Jesus’s disciples and the first leader among the Apostles, once denied Christ 3 times. We read in Luke 22:62 that Peter wept bitterly when he couldn’t rise up to the occasion to stand with Jesus at the critical moment and was instead gripped with fear and trepidation and denied Christ.

Did the Lord forgive Peter thereafter? Yes, He did as Peter was the pillar of the early church, and with the power of the Holy Spirit, he even raised Tabitha from the dead after she died and had been prepared for burial. Peter was the one who said to the man crippled from birth, silver and gold I do not have but in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk! See Acts 3:6.

It doesn’t matter what happened in those intervening years after we ceased serving God. What matters is that we return to Him now and start serving Him again. Not one day, but now. Start serving God again in whatever capacity as prompted by the Holy Spirit. We may have lost our youth to the world or our own desires of the flesh, but it’s in the past. Start afresh today, and emulate Peter, who rose from the ashes of shame to be a trusted lieutenant of Christ! In fact, Peter was a general in faith!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/03/06/all-alone

The story of Abram (Abraham) with Hagar and Ishmael and Sarai (Sarah) with Isaac as recounted in Genesis 21 demonstrates God’s love and compassion for humanity despite our human failure and fraility. Sarah couldn’t wait for the child that was promised to Abraham when he was already 75 and thus offered her Egyptian slavegirl Hagar to him to bear his heir when he was 85 (not an unusual practice then as a slave was regarded as a possession), and thus Ishmael was born when Abraham was 86.

However, Sarah sent Hagar away with Ishmael after Issac was born when Abraham was 100 as she wanted her own flesh and blood to be his heir. Abraham was distressed, but God told him not to be as He would take care of Ishmael and raise a whole nation through him. The LORD eventually sent an angel to show Hagar a water source when they were waiting to die as their water ran out in the desert.

History would show Ishmael later led to the creation of the Arab nation, and it is perhaps this action of Sarah and Abraham deserting Hagar and Ishmael that is the root cause of centuries of hostilities between Arabs and Jews until the present day. But God’s love and compassion were indeed clearly demonstrated here as even though Sarah abandoned Hagar, God protected her, and her offspring from the seed of Abraham became a prosperous and a much larger nation (in comparison to the Jews) that has been a thorn to them since ancient times.

God’s love extends to everyone, whether Jew or Arab and later through Jesus Christ, to all the Gentile nations of the world. As much as we may be alone, God will take care of us. As much as our children may not be near us or our spouse is no longer with us, God is with us. He is our shield and protector. He is our stronghold. Our fortress and the rock of our salvation! Soldier on, my dear brothers and sisters, for our goal is heavenward in Christ Jesus, our Lord. We are mere pilgrims passing through this temporal abode on our way to our eternal home, which our Lord Jesus Christ has already gone ahead to prepare for us in our Father’s vast heavenly mansion!

The message today, I believe, is that if we feel we are all alone, that the world has abandoned us, be comforted by the fact that God loves us and is compassionate, gentle and humble. Maybe we went through a devastating breakup or divorce, or our spouse or child had passed on or our children live too far away from us abroad or due to some disagreement, we left our church. There could be many reasons. As Sarah had sent Hagar and Ishmael away to fend for themselves in the desert, the LORD made sure they were taken care of. In Genesis 21:12, God told Abraham not to be distressed by Sarah’s request to send Hagar away. In verse 13, the LORD promised Abraham that He would make the son of the slave into a nation, for he was also Abraham’s offspring.

https://odb.org/MY/2023/03/05/god-truly-knows-us

Jeremiah 12:3 articulates something I think most of us know. That God knows us. That only He truly knows us. As much as our spouse or parents know us, no one knows us better than the Lord Himself. He knows our deepest desires and thoughts, our dreams, and aspirations. He knows our saddest and most disappointing moments, our heartbreak moments. He also knows our happiest times. Our moments of joy and happiness.

That also means that when we speak to Him, He already knows our deepest motivations. We can not say one thing and mean another when we are speaking to Him because He knows our deepest thoughts. That is why His Word is a two edged sword. It penetrates us and lays bear our souls.

But I think a good thing that comes out of speaking to the Lord is that He is able to refine us as we speak. Jesus will make our intentions clearer even to us. Thus, if we are not sincere, He will expose us and show us where we have gone astray. That will allow us to correct our motives for why we do certain things. If we do things only for show, He will expose our pretence to us. We can not pretend in front of Him. We can only be real, sincere, and genuine; for He knows if we are false and are faking it.

God knows us, inside and out. He knows our strengths and weaknesses. Our vulnerabilities, even our evil intentions. Speak and commune to Him more. As we interact with Jesus, He will cleanse us of our unholy and evil intentions and transform us from the inside. The fact that Jesus knows means we have to be completely honest and truthful to Him. Then, allow Him to change and transform us. We will become more and more like Him as we bask in His presence and commune with Him.

The message today is to spend time with God in communion, in prayer and worship. Read His Word daily. Have our quiet time with Him. Religiously guard that time. He knows us, and only He truly knows us. Seek Him out and we shall find Him. Jesus taught us before in Matthew 7:7 – Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, and knock and it will be opened.

Let Jesus refine us as we seek Him in prayer and worship lest He decides to refine us with fire by bringing us through unpleasant and precarious situations. Learn and become better willingly, so we need not learn our spiritual lessons the hard way

https://odb.org/MY/2023/03/03/for-the-sake-of-the-gospel

For people who are in a relationship, finding out that your partner is seeing someone else is devastating. It applies to both men and women. I used to think that men cheat more than women as polygamy used to be accepted as a societal norm. However, polygamous relationships were a necessary evil in the past, I think mainly because of economics as women had not yet entered the workforce in a big way. In fact, during ancient times, Israelites would marry their brother’s wife and take over the responsibility for his family when his brother dies (usually from battle). Widows had a difficult time fending for their families as they were not in the workforce during those times. Times have changed, and women are now financially independent. There are many single ladies who are fully able to raise families now. Thus, I think when it comes to infidelity in modern times, both men and women are susceptible and may fall into the trap.

As broken people living in a broken world, some say, perfection from everyone is at most illusionary or wishful thinking and at worse purely aspirational. However, if we had experienced betrayal before, it does not mean we can not love or be loved again. There will be others, and not everyone will be like our past partner. Not perfect, nevertheless, but not necessarily unfaithful. It is unfair to generalise. Not all men are looking for sex only, and not all women are looking to entrap. There are many others who are sincere and have pure intentions to build the future together.

Jesus is different. He first loved us while we were yet sinners. He died for our sins while we were wretched souls. He became a ransom for our souls and sacrificed His life on the cross that we may all have life and life eternal. Do not let our past failed relationships colour our perception towards Him. In fact, our past relationships should propel us to Him as He can make right our past. He can restore what the locusts had devoured. Our past mistakes, He can heal and reinstate us physically and emotionally, even as He liberates our soul and sets us onto a pathway to eternity. Look to Jesus, perhaps with Him in our lives, He may lead us to the person we deserve, which will truly love and cherish us for what and who we are. At the very least, He will give us peace and rest and help us be the person God always wanted us to be and achieve His plans and purposes for us, conceived before we were even formed in our mother’s womb.

https://odb.org/MY/2023/03/02/a-refreshing-oasis

When we learnt about deserts in geography lessons in school, we learnt about mirages. It’s an illusion of a body of water in the distance but is actually a naturally occurring phenomenon caused by reflection of light. In the vast and treacherous desert of sand, every living creature is searching for that puddle of water to relieve their thrist, and such puddles exist in reality as oases (or oasis in the singular). That is why the term ‘oasis’ itself connotes an impression of tranquillity, peace, and contented satisfaction as well as a confluence of sorts, a place where everyone goes to or gathers. We have seen in nature documentaries how animals, whether in the savannahs or even tropical rainforests, gather around watering holes to drink sometimes at their peril as there could be predators lurking nearby or in the water itself.

But Psalm 1 speaks of a different kind of oasis. It’s an oasis of God’s wisdom and presence in His Word as the person whose delight is in the laws of the LORD and who meditates on His law day and night is blessed, meaning, he receives God’s favour as an extension of His grace. As animals go to an oasis to quench their thrist in the desert, believers go to the bible to satisfy our spiritual thrist and hunger and, in the process, receive our spiritual nourishment and strength. Consequently, we will be like a tree planted by streams of water and will bear fruit in season, and whose leaves will not wither; what we do will prosper. This means our faith will be strong and unwavering, and God will bless the work of our hands.

The Word of God is indeed an oasis of His wisdom and presence because the Word of God is God Himself. Christ is the Logos that existed from the beginning, the creator God, the source of all life and all things.

No matter how busy we are or whatever deadlines we have to rush, take some moments to read the Word. Read it slowly and prayerfully. Internalise and think about the Word constantly. There will be new revelations, new insights, new things, and new aspects of God that we will learn and appreciate as we read. The message today is not to neglect to read His Word daily. It must be done every day, no matter how busy or hectic our schedules are. Prioritise and do it, and we will experience His oasis of wisdom and presence for us.