https://odb.org/2023/09/11/which-wisdom-2

In James 3:13, it is written, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” In other words, wisdom is doing good deeds and leading a good life out of humility. Usually, when you are smart and clever, you are proud, but instead, it is wise to be smart and yet humble. As a believer, the wise move is always to do what Christ teaches and not conform to the pattern of the world. That’s the path of righteousness.

The story of a policeman who offered himself in exchange as a hostage on Easter 2018 was both sad and inspirational. He was later shot and died an innocent man in exchange for the life of another. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (John 15:14). In the context of Jesus’s teaching, friends there include strangers because the point is the sacrifice and not the who. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/23/french-police-called-to-trebes-supermarket-amid-hostage-reports-shootings

This Easter 2018 story reminds me of the story of believers on board the Titanic at the turn of the century, having given up their places in the lifeboats to others as they already had their salvation assured. The reasoning was that non-believers among them should be given a chance to live so that they may later discover the truth of the Gospel and Christ.

We do not know whether the French gendarme who died in exchange as a hostage to the terrorist was a believer. But we do know that the Titanic passengers who gave up their places to the life boats were. The point is that when the situation requires, we need to do what is right as taught by Christ and as written in the Scriptures. The law is now written in our hearts. It was fulfilled by Christ. It had never been superseded or revoked. Sometimes, we may need to tell the truth of our incompetence and not hide behind excuses. Own up and face the situation as it is. Do what is right, in the eyes of God. He sees, and He knows.

https://odb.org/2023/09/10/promise-fulfilled

When I read Luke 1:26-38, the most touching thing I felt was that although Mary was initially confused by the visit of angel Gabriel, she accepted the promise and prophesy given to her that she will bear a son that will be the Messiah despite she being still a virgin. The prophesy and promise became a task and responsibility that Mary accepted willingly when she answered that she’s the LORD’s servant and thus may your word to me be fulfilled. A visit to an elderly Elizabeth, who at 60 was expecting a child, encouraged her as Elizabeth confirmed that Mary would be giving birth to the Messiah. Later, Elizabeth gave birth to John the Baptist, who proclaimed the coming of the Kingdom of God as a precursor to the ministry of Jesus Christ here on earth.

I think while we hope for prophesies and promises of God to come true in our lives, rarely do we make the concerted effort to work with God to make those a reality. I think most Christians hope for prophesies and promises to be magical. That somehow God through His miraculous power, will make those promises and prophesies come true for us. When Mary said may your word to me be fulfilled, she meant it more like I will see to it that the Messiah is born and I will raise Him up until He is ready to achieve His mission for the world. If this is your calling and mission for me, I will make sure it comes to pass, for I am a servant of the LORD.

Can we be like Mary? Can we do our part and prepare ourselves as God calls us? Can we make God’s promises and prophesies for us our task and responsibility? Can we actively work and engage with God to fulfil His promises and prophesies for us? Can we start taking small steps of faith before we take the final big step to launch into the deep with Jesus? Preparation is key to everything, and God’s promises and prophesies are no exception. We need to accept and then prepare ourselves and work with God for those prophesies and promises to come to pass.

“I am the LORD’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.”

https://odb.org/2023/09/08/the-god-of-surprises

I recall during my varsity days of having responded to an altar call to go into full-time ministry to plant churches. Of course, it was in the context of my previous church, and things did not work out for that church in the long run. Although I had continued to serve God in two other churches after that, I never did go full time. Instead, I have pursued a corporate career all these years, like my peers. I got married, settled down, and raised a family. But perhaps like the person in today’s life story in ODB, I may have a second chance later in life.

Peter and his brother Andrew, and James and his brother John, however, responded to Jesus’s call immediately. They dropped everything they were doing and followed Jesus – from fishermen to fishers of men, almost in an instant into a lifetime of service until their dying day. They suffered and endured persecution but persevere on for His name’s sake. There was a lull, perhaps a few days after Jesus was arrested, sentenced to death, and died. But after Christ resurrected and appeared to them, it was all systems go, especially after the Day of Pentecost when the promised helper, the Holy Spirit, descended upon them and they spoke in tongues and was filled with power from high.

If the Lord had called us before whether to full-time or to a life of a missionary to a far land or to an around the world trip via Dolos and for some that could just be to the island of Borneo, don’t give up! Continue to believe in that calling and trust God to make it happen. That day will come. We will be able to break free from our jobs and serve God in the space He had called us to. The blessing to us is perhaps that we will be that bigger brick in the universal church that will take more weight of ministry upon our shoulders. As we launch into a life of faith, we will see God’s supernatural and amazing power working through us in the lives of people, pulling them out of the miry clay and transforming them into beautiful pieces – indeed, beauty for ashes.

https://odb.org/2023/09/06/im-nobody-who-are-you

Philippians 3:8-9 is undoubtedly an interesting piece of Scripture where Paul declared his life before knowing Christ as dung or rubbish although he was at that time the creme de la creme of the Jews, being a Pharisee trained by Gamaliel and a member of the Sanhedrin. Thus, a popular interpretation of these verses is that the quest to be somebody in the world is a meaningless and useless pursuit and should thus be abandoned.

But seriously, will Philippians 3 be sufficient to deter us from wanting to carve a name for ourselves in the world? Even in the Christian world and the church, Christians want to be somebody rather than a nobody. Pastors want to have a Dr to their name and pursue academic qualifications, some for credibility, some for recognition. I personally do not think there is anything wrong with further studies as the more knowledge we have, the better equipped we will likely be to minister and serve, and to fulfil God’s plans and purposes for our lives. However, I find it strange that there are ministers going for titles like Apostles and Prophets. But I digress.

For me, I think the quest to be somebody in the world is a natural drive that perhaps should not be suppressed but should instead be sanctified and committed to God. Like our dreams and ambitions, if sanctified and aligned with God’s plans and purposes for our lives, it would surely kill two birds with one stone! We get to fulfil both God’s plans and our dreams. Of course, we must still follow Paul’s narrative and consider all that we are in the world or the church or in ministry as dung compared to the honour and privilege of personally knowing Christ. Knowing Christ beats everything else as He is the only thing that is truly eternal for He is the Word. He was at the beginning and will be there at the end. He is our Alpha and our Omega, the author and finisher of our faith.

Whether we are pursuing a name for ourselves in the world or the church, it is not of significance compared to Christ. Christ is the only way to the Father. He is the only one who really matters. What benefit is it to us if we gain the whole world but lose our souls?

https://odb.org/2023/09/05/everything-is-against-me

There are times when everything seems to be against us. Nothing is going well. We don’t wish for that, of course. We want everything to be for us, to be smooth. We want our affairs to be normalised – not dramatic, not drastic. We want things to just go on a regular and even rhythm. For example, if we save RM1,000 a month, we will have RM12,000 in a year. Unfortunately, sometimes, in the quest to gain something a little out of ordinary, we lose too much because we put in too much. That’s the psychology of how scams and other lures work. They appeal to and attract our inner desire to have more in order to take from us what we already have. The idiom, “a bird in hand is better than two in the bush,” is apt.

In the case of Jacob, Joseph was dead (as recounted by his brothers), his other son, Simeon, was held hostage and in return he needed to bring Benjamin to the Lord of that faraway land to get back Simeon. Jacob lamented that everything’s against him. See Genesis 42.

If everything is against us, the way forward is to bow down humbly before God and seek His counsel on what to do next and do what it takes for Him to be on our side. Get God on our side (or rather, move over to God’s side) and rebuild our lives from there. Then we will see that everything will be on our side, and we will soar high again with wings like that of eagles! The LORD is our answer and the way forward. Go back to Him. Repent of our sins and seek His forgiveness. Don’t repeat our past mistakes and follies again. In most cases, we are where we are because of our own doing.

In Romans 8:31, Paul reminded the Romans – if God is for us, who can be against us? No one can out-give or out-gun the Almighty God, the creator of the heavens and earth and everything on it and above and below it. The power of God surpasses all powers on heaven or earth. If heavens doors open, the blessings are plentiful bordering on the infinite!

https://odb.org/2023/09/04/extreme-kindness

The story of Jehoiachin, a Judah king exiled in Babylon as recounted in Jeremiah 52:31-34, is a picture of God’s love and kindness for us, His children in Christ. The new Babylonian king, Awel-Marduk, released Jehoiachin after he had spent the last 37 years incarcerated in prison and gave him a place at his table, new clothes, a residence and a regular allowance until the day he died. It was kindness in the extreme.

A similar story occurred earlier in the life of Mephibosheth, the grandson of Saul and the crippled son of Jonathan. King David remembered his covenant with Jonathan and restored the family’s land, house, and servants to Mephibosheth despite past repeated attempts by Saul to kill him. Like Awel-Marduk, David also gave Mephibosheth a permanent place at his table.

A regular place at the King’s table not only meant that one will not ever go hungry but instead will always enjoy the finest of food (thus the expression, “a dish fit for a king”). It is also a place of honour to dine with the King, not once but regularly. At that time, Babylon, if not the most powerful, was probably one of the most powerful of nations.

Sometimes, we forget that as believers redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, we have also been treated with extreme kindness by God. Many are called, but few are chosen. As chosen ones of God, we have the privilege of being co-heirs with Christ, the King of Kings. We have a permanent place at the King’s table. Thus, like David wrote before in Psalm 23, He has prepared a table for me in the presence of my enemies. He has anointed my head with oil. My cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever!

Be grateful and thankful to God each day for giving us Jesus and for giving us the privilege of having invited Jesus into our lives. Repay His extreme kindness by being faithful and committed to Christ. Serve Christ with all our heart, soul, and mind. He is worthy of our worship, service, obedience, and sacrifice, for He died for our souls and our sins.

https://odb.org/2023/09/03/the-blessed-mask-2

In 2 Corinthians 3:1-6, Paul, in reminding the Corinthians of who he was to them, commented that their lives is a letter of him, written on his heart, known and seen by all. He went on to say that their lives are a letter from Christ, the result of his ministry, written not in ink but by the Spirit of God, not on tablets of stone but on tables of human hearts.

Thus, in ministry, our credentials lie in the lives we have blessed and touched. We testify to the goodness and greatness of God through the people who have been blessed by God through us. The proof is in the pudding. Res ipsa loquitur, we say in Latin – the facts speak for itself. Our fruits will define us. Not letters of commendation or recommendation from respected or prominent people. Our work speaks for itself.

In the same vein, the evil we perpetuate will haunt us. If we have known Christ and yet we are as cunning and devious as before, people will notice and know. If we are still as calculative and manipulative, who is Christ to us and to those around us? If we are still as difficult and uncompromising as ever, how have we transformed in Christ? Our lives are letters from Christ, written in tablets of our hearts by the Spirit of God. We reflect the glory and persona of God.

The rigours of the corporate world require us to be who we are. It’s not true if we are in Christ. The discipline of the trade needs us to be hard and difficult. It’s not true if we have Jesus. We are not defined by our environment or our business or our trade, but by God. We must become the person God wants us to be, not the person shaped by our environment, our work, our upbringing, education, or even our family. We are letters written by Christ by the Spirit of God that are seen and known by all. Our persona must thus be that of Christ.

https://odb.org/2023/09/01/gods-epic-story

The age-old question of why there is evil in the world when there is God can be answered simply – man is given the will to make his own free choice, and the natural precedes the spiritual. In other words, the world is made in such a way that there are natural laws in play at all times, and that includes the free will of man. So why did God not intervene when there is poverty, hunger, and starvation? Why did God not intervene when there are diseases and affirmaties that killed millions?

13 years ago, I came face to face with this question when my lay pastor and close friend passed on from a heart attack. He was 40 and had never done a full medical examination before. He was not well, and his GP did an ECG and found out he had a congenital heart condition. He was actually fit and exercised regularly. The doctor prescribed for him to be immediately admitted, but the hospital concerned refused as he did not have a heart attack. He collapsed while leaving the hospital and was in a coma for a week. We asked why God did not warn him to undergo a medical examination all those years? Perhaps the Lord did, and perhaps he had ignored the promptings. But most importantly, our life is our own responsibility. We can not ignore natural laws.

Jesus said before that we ought to be afraid of Him, who may destroy both our body and soul. But in the discourse in the Upper Room just after the Last Supper, Jesus told His disciples that although they may find trouble in the world, He has overcome the world.

The message this morning is that we should not be too concerned with things that are beyond our control. The eradication of poverty and the elimination of hunger are matters in the realm of governments. China has been successful in this over the past few decades. In a Netflix program on Blue Zones (highest concentration of centenerians), it was found that the ability to determine things within our control is one of the keys to longevity of life. Like how our sheep or cattle should behave, rather than concern ourselves with climate change or global warming or why is evil in the world?

Ultimately, we are responsible for where we are headed after we pass on from this world. Jesus has settled that for us – He has overcome the world. He has died for our sins. But we still have the will to decide whether to follow him, the world, our selves, or some other person or diety. It is a choice each and every one of us has to make. No one is exempted.

https://odb.org/2023/08/30/freedom-on-the-path

The first impression we get when we read Isaiah 26:7 is that if God makes our paths smooth as the righteous, it means that our lives will be trouble-free. It then becomes a sort of contradiction as life itself is never smooth. We know. There are ups and downs, valleys and mountain tops. Exhilarating experiences and disappointing moments. Joy and sadness. As believers, we are not exempt from the exigencies of life.

I think when God says that He will make the paths of the righteous smooth, He meant it more in the spiritual sense. Someone once said that if we determined in our hearts to seek the Lord, He would be found. The Lord will make sure that we will find Him if we seek Him. You can actually read this in Jeremiah 29:13 – you will seek Me and find Me if you search Me with all your heart.

Having persevered through doing these commentaries over the past few years, I have experienced this in my own life. There were times when I struggled, but recently, I found that picking out the message the Lord wishes to convey became easier, and that’s true even when preparing for a sermon. The Lord helped me not only with the Scriptures to preach from but also the flow of the message. I saw that working in a senior pastor’s life 6 years ago, and I’m now experiencing it first hand myself.

I believe if we seek Him with all our hearts, He will make our spiritual paths smooth. It will still be step by step, but the steps will be smooth. We will see breakthroughs in our ministry. Maybe we will find power in our prayers and insights into the spiritual realm. Perhaps we will start moving in word of knowledge and may have a prophesy to encourage someone or provide a direction for someone at crossroads. Or the Lord may give us a vision or a dream and the ability to interpret it accurately like Joseph. Basically, it’s a glimpse into the spiritual realm.

In other words, life will be as challenging as ever with its ups and downs. But our spiritual walk with God will be smooth. That’s really wonderful since our ultimate quest in life is the eternal life to be lived with our Lord in the new heaven and earth, the new Jerusalem!

https://odb.org/2023/08/29/when-youre-weary

We often read about or use the expression, “rest in peace,” or RIP when we offer condolences to the family of the departed. RIP is also common as an epitaph. The reason I guess is that when one dies, all worldly matters are of no concern anymore. He ceases to participate in the affairs of this world. His body has stopped functioning, and in time to come, his body will become just bones in the ground. It is true whether one is a beggar or a king, a peasant or a billionaire, or even a former prime minister. Whether he was at peace with himself or the world before he passed is now irrelevant. He is resting in peace, in the sense that he is no longer a part of this world. He may be remembered as a piece of our memories and ongoing history, but he has departed from this realm.

But is the dead truly at peace? What happens to his soul and spirit, the part of a dead person that lives on although his body is gone? As Christians, we believe that our spirit and soul return to God when we die. In the New Testament, Jesus uses the expression ‘asleep’ to denote human death, and it is true because their spirit and soul are asleep while waiting for the day of Jesus Christ.

Jesus declares that only He knows the Father and those whom He chose to reveal (see Matthew 11:25-30). He then goes on to call those who are weary and burdened to go to Him, for He will give us rest. Take His yoke upon us and learn from Him, for He is gentle and humble in heart. He will give us rest.

True rest, even on this earth, in this busy world can only come from knowing Jesus. Living life is both tiring and burdensome. Life is such that for most of us, we can not stop and rest, or we may drop the ball. We need to be attentive all the time and keep on working, lest there is no food on the table, or using the British expression, there is no bacon to bring home. It’s a continuous push, but we don’t want to only rest in peace when we die, with our boots on the ground. We want that peace now, and only Jesus can give us that peace and that rest in our souls as we learn from Him, for His yoke is light, and He is gentle and humble in heart. True rest now can only come with the assurance of eternal life as whoever drinks of His living waters will never thrist. Those who believe in Him, though they may die, they will live as He is the resurrection and the life.

Until our final destination is secured and we live in the centre of God’s will, fulfilling His plans and purposes for our lives, conceived before the foundations of the world, we will not have true peace and rest while on this earth or even thereafter.