https://odb.org/MY/2022/11/23/trusting-our-future-to-god

Just by way of illustration but based on true events – let’s say we had bought a piece of stock in the open market for RM1.50, and it has lately been hovering between RM0.90 and RM1.20. To buy and sell at the current price range means we are losing money compared to our original price, but if we could buy at RM0.90 and sell at RM1.20, we would theoretically be breaking even (excluding stamp duties and broker commission) and if we manage to do that twice or more, we would be making some money. But what happened to me was that after I bought it at RM0.90, the price dropped further to RM0.80, and now I have lost RM0.70 for the first stock and RM0.10 for the second stock bringing my total loss to RM0.80 when I would have only lost RM0.30 if I had sold the first stock at RM1.20.

The point is we will never know what will happen next, and stocks are probably one of the best illustration because the price could change the next minute and this is particularly so when it comes to crypto currencies.

But take it further into our lives, and although the reality is likely to be less dramatic, we could be breathing one minute and no longer breathing the next. This is because people have died from a heart attack or cardiac arrest just like that. We could be communicating with them on WhatsApp one moment and the next total silence because they are dead. Or just a simple thing like what happened to me at breakfast yesterday morning. One moment, I had just started drinking coffee from the glass, and the next moment, I actually dropped the glass and spilled nearly 80% of the coffee onto the table, my shirt and pants! Fortunately, I only spilled it to my side of the table, and thus not a drop went to my wife’s side. It was dramatic as everyone in the shop looked at me, and the workers were kind in cleaning up the mess I made. If I knew that this would happen, I would have gripped the glass tighter or drank using the spoon. But we will not know and can’t know. That’s how we are made. We have no power or ability to see the future, not just in months or years but even in the next second or minute.

What then is our plan for the future? We take what life throws at us? We try to plan as much as we can but react and adapt as we go along? Yes, that’s what most of us will and can do. But the Bible teaches slightly differently. In Ecclesiastes 2, although we see that life is vanity or meaningless, by the end of the book, the author (believed to be Solomon and the wisest man alive then) advises that we trust our life and future to God. Life is meaningless at the core. We are born, we live, and we die. We don’t know exactly what lies ahead. We come to the earth naked, and we die naked. Yet if we have God in our lives, we will see that life is meaningful and purposeful because we could fulfil God’s plans and purposes for our lives. God have set eternity in our hearts, and with Jesus in our lives, we have eternal life. Though our body will die, our spirit will live on, and one day, our body will be resurrected with Christ.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, even as we go about our daily lives today, commit our life and our future to God. Trust Him with our future. Give Him our lives that His will may be done in our lives. Although we still do not know what will become of us the next moment, we know our life is in good hands if it is with God. Follow His voice and prompting in all that we do, and life will not be vanity anymore! Our life will then be purpose driven, driven by God’s plans and purposes for us!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/11/22/faith-in-action-2

One of the basic facets of our faith in Christ is this teaching in James 2, in particular, verse 26 that faith without works is dead. If we have faith but no works, it is quite useless. But if we have works but not faith, it is also useless because without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:16).

We all know that salvation is a gift from God. We are called by God to be His children. Although many are called, few are chosen (Matthew 22 :14). In the end, not everyone responds to the call. But fundamentally, we cannot work for our salvation. We are saved by the grace of God. We are saved because Jesus died for our sins as the final sacrifice to atone for the sins of mankind, once and for all to break through the spiritual veil that separated man from the Father caused by the original sin of Adam and Eve at the Garden of Eden. Salvation is thus never a question of how hard we had worked in terms of our good deeds to compensate for our sins because we are stained by the original sin of Adam. Not a question of a scale as good deeds cannot outweigh the original sin without the atoning blood of Christ.

Having said that, once we have faith and believed in Christ Jesus as our Lord and Saviour and have reconciled with God, we then need to demonstrate our faith by our good works. If we are saved and continue to live in sin and do evil, are we then representative of God’s love and grace for our lives? We are saved by His grace and by the sacrificial blood of Christ but we continue to sin and do evil? We then become the ungrateful servant in the Parable of the Ungrateful Servant as taught by Jesus.

As James so clearly and rightfully pointed out, like the body without spirit is dead, faith without works is dead. If we are saved and thus we have Christ in us, we cannot avoid doing good. Did Abraham not demonstrate his faith by obeying God to sacrifice Isaac? Did Rahab not risk her life by helping the spies? Did Jesus not die for our sins on the cross? Our faith in Jesus has to be followed by our good works in Christ. That is the natural output, the most natural path after gaining salvation as the road to salvation will be and is paved with our good works here on earth which will translate spiritually to our treasures in heaven. We can say figuratively that our road to heaven is paved with gold, the gold of our good works for Christ in recognition and remembrance of His love and God’s grace in sending His Son to die for our sins that we will not perish but have life eternal!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/11/21/reading-backwards

For us who don’t know, the Gospels are accounts by four people (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) of the life and ministry of Jesus. While John and Matthew were part of the 12 disciples or Apostles of Christ, Mark and Luke were part of a wider circle of 70 Apostles. Another interesting fact is that the first 3 Gospels – Matthew, Mark and Luke – are called Synoptic Gospels because they are written in a similar chronological order, broadly speaking, and narrates similar events albeit in a slightly differen my angle, while John covers a wider time frame and focuses on some core theological matters taught by Jesus.

John 2:2 contains a statement that breaks the chronology of the events when it referred to something at the end at the near beginning by writing on the resurrection of Christ and how after that the Apostles understood what Jesus meant by destroying the temple and rebuilding it in 3 days. It is also interesting to note that the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation which speaks of events of the future and written in a symbolic style was an account by the same John. Besides Peter who is considered the leader among the Apostles, John is regarded as closest to Jesus and John refers to himself as the disciple that Jesus loves.

It is thus a good approach to read the Bible forward and backward, for example, starting at both Genesis and Matthew or even Revelation. In other words, we start at both the beginning as well as the end. Some people read novels by reading the ending first or watch television dramas by starting with the last episode before going to the first. I’m not sure that for novels or TV dramas, we should start at the end but there is certainly nothing wrong to do so with the Bible. When it comes to reading the Bible, the most important point is to read it regularly on a daily basis. Doesn’t matter where we start so long as we do and continue to do so.

Just like to end today’s devotional commentary by saying that even as GE15 had resulted in a hung parliament for Malaysia and although it is not the change that most of us among the more progressive voters were hoping for (compared to the fundamentalists or the far right), I believe we must continue to trust God that He is in control of everything and that if the change we had hoped for doesn’t materialise this time, it will do so in the future. Continue to pray for His will be done here on earth as it is in heaven.

https://odb.org/MY/2022/11/19/god-knows-you

If we read Psalm 139 carefully as written and expressed by David, we’ll first see that no matter where we are, God is there. Whether it’s the heavens or the depths of the sea or the fartherest east or west, God is there.

The LORD has searched us and knows us. He knows our thoughts and when we sit or arise. He knows our going out and our lying down. Before we even speak, He knows what we will say. Where can we flee from Him? He is in the heavens and the depths of the sea. He is there at the edge of dawn and the far side of the sea, meaning, whether it is the east or the west, He is there. Even night and darkness cannot hide us from God.

For me, the wonderful thing about the way David wrote Psalm 139 is that God is not just everywhere (omnipresent) and knows us inside out (omniscience) and is all powerful (omnipotent), but He is everywhere, knows us inside out and is all powerful for us. He is everywhere, true. But He is also everywhere for us. No matter where we are, He can save and protect us. We are never out of reach of His hand. As a believer, we know He is just a prayer away, a prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and His beloved Son.

At the personal level, I think the best way forward with the Lord is to be as honest as possible with Him when we speak to Him. He knows our innermost desires and thoughts. For example, if we harbour ill feeling or hatred or anger because someone did something bad or evil towards us, ask God to help us get over such thoughts. No point hiding them as at most we can only pretend they are not there. But as God knows our heart, pretending they are not there will not make them go away and we know having unforgiveness and hatred will only make things worse as that could be a barrier in our relationship with the LORD. David proclaimed that the LORD has searched him and He knows him. Let the LORD search our hearts and even reveal to us things of the past that still bother us even subconsciously and let Him heal us. We need to move on and move forward in Him. Ask Jesus to take away our excess baggages and to take His yoke that is light and easy.

Malaysians who are voting today, have a blessed day voting for the right party and candidate at our polling station! Pray for His will be done for Malaysia even as He knows our desire for a better future for our country, for our children and children’s children. Take care and God bless!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/11/18/thoughts-and-prayers

Peter’s experience with the angel that helped him miraculously escape from prison (Acts 12:4-11) is different from Paul and Silas’ experience in prison (Acts 16:16-40) where an earthquake broke open the prison doors with the prisoners not escaping which led to the salvation of the prison keeper and his family. The difference is perhaps because Peter was going to face possible execution the next day but Paul and Silas were actually released the next day by the magistrates who had put them in jail at the instigation of the people, in particular, the owner of the slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to foretell the future. While Paul and Silas’ miracle occurred when they were praying and singing hymns, Peter’s miracle was due to the church continual prayers for him. Both were supernatural in nature and prayer had a major part to play in both.

There is power in prayer; that’s for sure. Prayer can move mountains, figuratively speaking, as prayer moves the hand of God. God being the Almighty who created heaven and earth is surely able to do all things and prayer is the trigger for Him to move supernaturally and miraculously. Does it mean that every time we pray God will supernaturally come into the natural and change events and the course of history? No! But something happens in the spiritual realm and that may set a chain of events in the natural that may eventually change the course of history if our prayer is in the will of God.

So if we have been praying for GE15, we can see that a series of events had led to a change in tide against BN despite them having scored landslide victories in Johor and Melaka at the beginning of the year. We know the reasons for the winds of change but I’m sure the prayer of the saints had something to do with it. From despair and exasperation, we now have hope for the future. Issues have gone beyond race and religion. The narrative is we are in this together, everyone of us in the effort to save the country from doom and destruction. Although incumbency weilds tremendous benefits, any government will know that the toughest time for elections is always during bad economic times but circumstances have been such that the ruling coalition have had no choice but to call for early elections. Are all these factors mere coincidences? Or did our prayers make the difference in the spiritual realm?

Do not discount the power of prayer for big events like GE15 or even for smaller but still significant events or situations facing people we know who may request for our prayers. Pray continually for our nation as well as our friends and family. Pray for God’s will be done here on earth as it is in heaven. Continue to pray until we see the glory of God exalted all over the earth. Continue to pray for His will be done for Malaysia and most importantly continue to pray for GE15 as Malaysia goes into the polls tomorrow! Happy voting!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/11/17/onwards-unswerving

It is indeed ironical that as I am contemplating when to retire that the LORD speaks about finding our rest and joy in love and service. In 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12, Paul exhorts the church that was birth from his missionary visit to live a quiet life, mind their own business, work with their hands so that in their daily lives they win the respect of others and do not need to depend on others.

Not just a question of service or ministry in the church but working in the world to be self sufficient. That is why in my view pursuit of worldly wealth and savings is important so that if one day we were to serve God full time, we are still self sufficient and need not depend on any organisation or church for our subsistence. Not to be rich but to be self sufficient.

Having a job and career is often a necessity for most of us as we need to earn a living, that is, we need to earn for our living. We cannot continue to depend on our parents once we reach adulthood as they need to start saving up for their old age. Few are born with a silver spoon.

Of course if we have a calling to go full time for God we should also pursue that. But it is not likely that all are called to go full time as if so who will support the church? That is why most churches nowadays advocate an initial career in the world to gain working experience and build up some savings before going full time. There is thus a case for lay leadership and market place ministry, that is, our mission field is our work place. Going full time for the Lord need not always mean working in the church or ministry although there is a place for that. For most of us, we should always be full time with God in all that we do in particular our job and career. It is also a better place to serve, with interaction with our colleagues and customers and vendors. There are more opportunities to shine for God. More avenues to reach out and show God’s love.

That is why Paul implies that we should find our rest and joy in our work. As we work with our hands, we gain the respect of others and thus can be a better avenue and platform for the Gospel.

Continue to do what we are called to do at our workplace so that we have an avenue to reach out and at the same time gain the respect of others and be self sufficient without needing to depend on others. We accumulate our own wealth and savings so that if one day we want to serve God full time in missions, the church and ministries we need not depend on others for finance. We have our own finance to serve Him full time.

https://odb.org/MY/2022/11/16/keep-your-guard-up

When things are going smoothly especially our spiritual lives, we have a natural human tendency to let our guard down. Meaning we are less cautious and more care free. There is a place for throwing caution to the wind and yet there is a need to be cautious at the same time. In trying out new things and moving out of our comfort zone, we need to be less cautious, less risk adverse. Take the risk that things may not work out as planned as no venture, no gain. If we don’t try, we will never know the outcome. If we are always cautious and conservative, then we will just remain at status quo and this is not good if we are a church. We might be stuck in an era that is 20 years outdated. What worked and was useful 20 years ago will not cut it anymore in this present Tik Tok generation. The world is different now. We need to move out of our old mindsets to conquer the present generation for the Lord.

Yet there is a place for caution. There is a place to be risk adverse. Like our spiritual lives. We must never let our guard down lest the devil will come in and attack us. Don’t give the devil a footing into our lives for him to make inroads and dilute our spirituality and relationship with God. We must always keep our guard up and put on the armour of God as taught by Paul in Ephesians 6. The helmet of salvation. The breastplate of righteousness. The shield of faith. The belt of truth. The shoes of peace. The sword of the Spirit. The people who are likely to perish in a snow avalanche are the seasoned snow trekkers as they throw caution to the wind and take chances with nature. The more spiritual and the more experienced we are in God, the more likely we will fall if we let our guard down.

The message this morning is simple. Be on guard. Keep our guard up. Don’t let our guard down. There are places to take risk and to move out of our comfort zone but not in the area of our spiritual lives. Always be careful and cautious. Guard it carefully and constantly. Don’t rest on our laurels if we are having a great time of fellowship and worship with God. Keep up at it and don’t break the momentum. The devil is just waiting for any opportunity, any opening to step in and deceive, entice and tempt us away from God with the fancy attractions of the world, the earthly riches or just plain fame that will feed into our pride. Always remember to build up our treasures in heaven where the thief may not steal and the moth and rust may not destroy. Any other treasures we can’t bring across.

https://odb.org/MY/2022/11/15/using-your-voice

When I was very young in primary school, I used to read Marvel comics (yes, there was a time when they were available for sale or rent!) and imagine that I was one of the super heroes, with Iron Man being one of my favourites. It was of course my own make believe world, the fantasy of a child. Later when I grew older, I wanted to be handsome, read and write and study well. I recall I was so happy to be able to read in Standard Two, one of my major achievements to be able to read like adults. Of course nowadays kids start at a much younger age. Later I wanted to be able to sing and play the guitar. Never had the chance to learn the piano though. I always dreamed of being good at this and that but for many years struggled with my self confidence, especially speaking in public – somewhat like Moses.

As I became an adult I realised that I cannot be good at many things, only some. As I needed to study and later work, my ability to be good at something somewhat is constrained by the time I have. I can only learn or train or practice so much at a time. In my later years, I realised that I’m better at writing than speaking. Although both use words, speaking needs the gift of the gab – some have it and some don’t and I’m more of the latter. Yet God has given me the opportunity to speak from the pulpit for nearly 15 years now and although I still find it challenging to stand in front of a congregation and speak, I’m motivated more by the message than my lack of natural ability.

Each of us will have our own unique journey and struggles. We are good at something but not so good at other things. Some of just wish we could play an instrument and sing for God. Some of us wish we could preach like those seasoned and famous pastors. There are surely other wishes too.

I think ultimately God will use whatever talents He has given us for His glory if we avail ourselves to Him. That’s the fundamental principle. We are that brick on the wall, that unique peg as we are all fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:13-14). Yet the story of Moses tells us that even if we are not so good at something, God can still use us powerfully. So I don’t speak so well but God can and will use me to preach His message to reach out and touch hearts and bring change and transformation as His Word will not return void. Focus first on our unique God-given talents but don’t discount and underestimate the ability of the Father to use us even in areas that we are not great at. God uses the weak to shame the strong and the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. It is best to be like Moses who surrendered and yielded his will unto the will of the LORD. If that’s His will and we are a part of it, it will work despite and in spite of our limited natural abilities.

https://odb.org/MY/2022/11/14/the-love-of-god-2

We know life like the weather is unpredictable. It may be smooth sailing for some of us but there are and will be turbulence. There are ups and downs. Happy and sad moments. Times of joy and sadness. As we find our way in the world, we will have milestone achievements and yet failed expectations, disappointing results even unrealised potential due to lack of opportunities. We want to shine but was not given the avenue.

In Psalm 57, David had the misfortune and bad experience of needing to deal with Saul, the king he had been anointed by Samuel the prophet to replace. God had chosen him over Saul and yet Saul instead of yielding, seeks to kill him! As much as it is natural for people to preserve their position, Israel was a nation with a covenant with the LORD, with a God appointed prophet who has spoken. Isn’t that an open defiance against God when Saul sought to kill David?, God’s appointed successor?

For David, it must have been heart wrenching to experience this development of events. From a shepherd boy to the famous one who killed Goliath and redeemed Israel, to a successful army commander designated to be king one day and now a fugitive being hunted like a wild animal and needing to hide in caves. Caves are smelly, suffocating and dark but to save his life and fulfil God’s plan and purpose for him, he needed to persevere and stay alive.

What’s the message this morning? There are and will be difficult and disappointing times. Whether at work, in college or even in church. Like David in Psalm 57, we must find refuge in God and reach out to His unfailing love. Let Him be exalted above the heavens and let His glory fill all over the earth. His love is great, reaching to the heavens and His faithfulness reaches to the skies. Most importantly, we must not give up because if we do, we will not be able to do His will for us. Plough on despite the setbacks, despite the discouraging turn of events. Like David, we need to turn to God and not give up so that His plans and purposes for us remain intact. David needed to stay alive so that He can be king one day, as anointed and appointed by the LORD.

We need to persevere on so that whatever the Lord wishes to achieve through us may be fulfilled. Never lose sight of Christ but turn to Him in times of despair and disappointment. Surely He will lift us up and strengthen us as there is yet much to be done for Him!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/11/13/small-kindnesses

The thrust of Paul’s chapter 3 of his letter to the church in Colossians is that since God had been compassionate to us by calling us to Him, we having been forgiven and chosen by Him, we must likewise in return be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle and patient with others. It is only right to have compassion and love as we first experienced it with the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ.

That is why it is inconceivable that as a believer we can harbour evil in our hearts. Not just a question of perception but the reality of who we truly are, deep inside us. Never a mask or a persona. We are who we are, inside and out, as a grace-saved child of God. Like an orphan given a new home, a new family, a new identity in Christ – we represent Christ. We are the Kingdom of God, our corner of the world is an extension of God’s Kingdom. Why? Because our life is where Christ reigns as our King. He is our Lord. He saved us to be His, servants and soldiers in His army and yet co-heirs with Him. Do I sound like Paul? That’s because I’m using the terms and words that Paul uses to describe who we are in God.

But to be practical, we are not Mother Theresa overnight although we can eventually be like her; I’m sure we can. For now, let’s focus on just little acts of kindness. God is not asking us to give away our possessions to the poor. We need to live and provide for our families, old age and for His church and ministry. There are people who are dependent on us and our finance.

Small acts of kindness go a long way. As the little girl in today’s story found out, people generally just wished for a small act of kindness to make their day! A simple gift of a chocolate or a candy. A meal at the hawker centre. A cup of nice latte. Some peanuts. A good book. A pot of plants. As we give we are lifted up as we see the joy in face of our recipients. A RM20 or RM50 donation to a proper NGO in need, doing social work.

This Sunday as we come together to bring our sacrifice of praise unto the Lord, let’s remember to be kind to one another and to others. Let’s make it our mission next week to be kind, compassionate, humble, gentle and patient with others. Always remember who we are in Christ and that we are the Chosen Ones of God!