https://odb.org/MY/2023/06/13/its-empty-now

One of the things I dread doing at my age now is to move house. I have moved house (our own house) twice in my life. We bought our first house off plan and waited nearly two years to take vacant possession of it. We stayed there close to four years before we had our first child. When Huey Mian was expecting, we moved to a much older but bigger house in a smaller city to be near to her parents, who helped us care for Ivan with our nanny when he was born. I recalled that our old house was empty after we moved out our furniture, piano, and other belongings. We teared as it had given us fond memories of our early marriage life together, but now we have to move on. We missed the suburb, the food and amenities there. The friends we had made. We also left the local church we were serving then, although when Ivan was 6, we rejoined it and travelled there weekly to help out in the ministry there.

Things do come to an end. Our old houses are empty when we move out. But things that matter live on in our memories. There are some things we can hold on for a long time, but most things will end at some point in time. My dogs, Husky and Daisy, are no more, but their memories remain with us and our children. We buried them in the grounds of our house and thus we still have their bones with us in memoriam. Both my parents have also been called back to the Lord, and although we miss them, we know that one day we will be reconciled with them if we keep on to the path of righteousness.

Things will come to an end. We can’t change the past, and we can not be sure of the future as to what lies ahead and whether we will still be here tomorrow. Memories are to be remembered, but the present needs to be lived out. Live today to its fullest. Live for the plans and promises of God for our lives. Live our lives for Jesus. Take heed of His calling for us. Place our hope and trust in Christ, He is our hope of glory for all eternity. Cherish and appreciate all those we love and those who love us. Hang out with them. Chill with them. Do things together. Those times will not last forever. Things will come to an end. The house will be empty again. Until we meet again in the new heaven and new earth, the new Jerusalem, the place where God will dwell amomg His people again.

https://odb.org/MY/2023/06/12/freeing-obedience

Most of us go through stages in life. We were obedient when younger, but as we became teenagers, we may somewhat be a tad rebellious. We will likely go through a phase of self-discovery and, in the process, may want to be a little independent from our parents. We may start to develop our own points of view and preferences and may want to break free from our parents in terms of their rules like sleeping later and, on weekends, wake up later or play computer games or watch TV longer.

With a rebellious streak, we may want to just go against rules imposed on us, sometimes, with disastrous consequences. For example, our parents may have warned us against swimming in a waterfall during the rainy season. Or we go against our parents by racing on public roads on motorcycles. Youths have been killed in both instances. Or some may dabble in alcohol, cigarettes, gambling, or even drugs in the youth and got hooked in one or two of those vices into adulthood to devastating outcomes.

Even in our spiritual life, we may have rebellious streaks, wanting to break free from the rules imposed by God. When the church teaches that we shouldn’t do certain things, we question why not? Is God really so restrictive? Why must we give tithes and offerings? Why must we help the needy and poor? Is sex before marriage, abortion or divorce such a bad thing? Surely, dabbling a little in spiritualism will not harm our faith or compromise our salvation? Why can’t we apply some Feng Shui principles in our lives?

Adam and Eve faced a somewhat similar situation in the Garden of Eden. As God had made Adam and gave him dominion over the animals He created, God realised that none was a suitable helper to Adam. So, from Adam, God created Eve, and she was made like a partner to Adam, not inferior – the word used for helper means the strength of God that comes to us. Adam and Eve had complete dominion in the Garden of Eden – every animal was named by Adam and were subservient to him. There was only one rule: Adam and Eve could eat from any tree except one. When the devil, in the form of the serpent, came and enticed them, they fell into the trap and ended up breaking that one and only rule they were to obey. The consequences were, to say, the least devastating! Humankind had sinned against God because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve and was banished out of Eden, separated from God only to be reconciled by the death and resurrection of Christ many, many years down the road. As believers, one day, we will live in Eden recreated, for all eternity with God dwelling among His people and Satan banished to the lake of fire.

There is freedom in Christ as we have been set free from the bondage of sin, and yet there are rules that we need to live by. We are to love the LORD our God with all our heart, all our soul, and all of our mind. We are to love our neighbour as ourselves. We are to forgive those who trespass against us, even our enemies. Even though salvation is a free gift from God, we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. In short, the rules are there to protect us on our way to eternity so that we do not stray, get distracted or like Adam and Eve, deceived by the devil! Let’s be obedient servants of Christ! Amen!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/06/11/gods-garden

Today’s ODB’s life illustration of moonflower vines that bloom in the night but wither away in the bright sun never to bloom again is a good picture of our lives here on earth.

Like the moonflower, our lives here, although short compared to eternity, are blessed with beauty by God. We are beautiful to Him and to others as we exhibit His goodness and glory. People see the glory of God in us. That is why our lives, though short, are filled with beauty. We may live 80 or 90 years, but throughout those years, perhaps 50 of them we can and will be the beauty for the world to enjoy and experience, and we ourselves will get to enjoy and experience beauty in life.

The message this morning is that while we know that as a believer, there will be trials and tribulations and sufferings, there will also be things of beauty. Our present sufferings can not compare to the glory that awaits us, but God, in His grace and goodness, will not make our present life dull and just pure service for Him. As much as we are slaves (bondservants) to Christ, we are also co-heirs in Christ. We have a mansion prepared for us in our Heavenly Father’s vast mansion in heaven. We will have a place in the new heaven and new earth, the new Jerusalem – yet we will not miss out on the beauty in the present time, during our brief sojourn here on earth. We may be pilgrims that hold lightly to the wealth and trappings of this world, yet we will get to see, enjoy, and experience its beauty too, by the grace of God as much as we are also a beauty to those around us with the glory of God flowing from us.

Rejoice in the Lord always! For He is a good God. He may sometimes be demanding, but He is also kind, gracious, and generous. There may be suffering that produces perseverance and character amd hope but there will also be enjoyment that produces beauty that produces character and hope.

Have a blessed Sunday, everyone! Celebrate God’s goodness in worship and praise!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/06/09/our-place-of-safety

If there is a large tree in the plains, you will see that it attracts many animals like an oasis or water hole in the desert. The tree becomes a canopy or shelter from the sweltering heat. A shade from the blistering sun is most welcomed, especially at midday in the heat of summer. It is also a picture of God protecting His people, that as we become a part of His Kingdom here on earth, His benevolent love is upon us like an eagle covering her young under her wings.

If we look back at the history of this region; the straits of Malacca, a key trading and shipping route, were under the protection of the Middle Kingdom. That is why, although Siam was the strongest nation in the mainland, it never ventured beyond the northern states of Malaya. However, when China withdrew itself and became a closed nation after Admiral Zheng He/Cheng Ho’s 300-ship naval expedition (with more than 37,000 men) towards India in 1417-1419, Malacca then fell to the Portuguese 100 years later in 1511. See the Edict of Haijin issued in 1434 by Emporer Zhu Zhanji. During the times of China’s protection, life went on with booming trade, but the people faced threats from pirates and bandits – just that if any major nation tried to colonise or conquer Malacca, they would need to face the might of the Chinese military.

I think that as Christians, as much as we have established that we face life like any other, we have the protection of God when it comes to the attacks of the evil one. In the spiritual realm, we are on God’s side of the line. The devil can’t cross over unless he seeks the Lord’s special permission, like in the case of Job. In terms of spiritual warfare, we believe that Christian homes are like the Israelites’ home when the angel of death passed by – we are protected by the blood of the Lamb! Using the illustration of the plains, since we are under the shadow of the large tree (God), we are not subject to the elements out there, especially the burning heat of the soaring sun. But life goes on earth even under the tree – if we are prey, predators may still eat us!

Read Psalm 121. It is a Song of Ascents sung by Jewish pilgrims as they make their way to Jerusalem 3 times a year for the 3 main feasts. That journey is through the mountains and is thus fraught with danger from bandits. They look to the LORD for protection, to safeguard their journey as they travel to fulfil their obligations to Him. I lift my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth. Indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither sleep nor slumber.

https://odb.org/MY/2023/06/08/strengthened-through-trials

Lately, the topic of trials and tribulations has surfaced a few times in these pages. For example: https://ronnielim.com/2023/06/04/standing-for-jesus/ or https://ronnielim.com/2023/05/26/god-stands-with-us/ or even https://ronnielim.com/2023/06/05/seasons/.

It is inevitable that as believers, we will face trials and tribulations like any other human. But more so, as a believer because we live lives that are “right side up” – not conforming to the pattern of this world as we transform ourselves by the renewal of our mind so that we may test (prove or experience) the good, pleasing and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2). And we also know that God makes all things good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28) and that He makes all things beautiful in its time (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

Paul, however, takes this one step further by declaring that we should glory in our sufferings. Rather than dread and shun the trials and tribulations, we take it as a badge of honour. That Jesus finds we are worthy to suffer for Him, to share in the glory of His sufferings. So, rather than wallowing in self-pity and getting upset with God for not shielding or protecting us, Paul suggests that we should stand proud that we are going through such trauma and stress.

The reason is because suffering produces perseverance and perseverance, character, and character, hope. It is by going through suffering that we learn to rely on God and push through (perseverance) and as we experience God, we develop the character of Christ in us and ultimately through the character of Christ, we have genuine hope in the glory of God.

Through the whole process, which will likely span our whole lifetime, we will grow in our relationship with God such that when we depart this earthen vessel (as Paul likes to describe our physical bodies), we will have so much confidence that we will gladly and so happily meet Jesus on the other side. Sufferings will help us develop the perseverance, character, and hope in Christ that is unshakeable. That is why Paul glories in his sufferings – he knows that it can only strengthen his resolve and hope in God. We will not meet our maker in fear and trembling, not knowing whether our names are written in the Book of Life but will instead have the full confidence that Christ will say to us, “well done, good and faithful servant – welcome to your rest!”.

I doubt that we will have the same confidence if we had never in our whole Christian life suffered for Christ or the Gospel before. Not a question of a weighing scale but a question of our relationship and experience of the Saviour while we go through suffering that produces perseverance and, from that, character and hope. Therefore, my dear brethren, if we are going through suffering, pain, and trauma, wear it as a badge of honour for Christ!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/06/07/a-loving-warning

Matthew 18:15-20 is regarded as a model on how to correct a brother or sister who has sinned. For example, by way of illustration, a brother who commits adultery and has an affair outside of marriage. The passage is special in my view as it is taught by the Lord Himself and not Peter, John, or Paul. The approach taught by Jesus is to first confront the believer one on one, via private counsel. If that works and he or she repents, we leave it as that. No one else needs to know. The sin or offence is kept private. Ultimately, the goal is repentance and not punishment. However, if the believer refuses to repent and turn away from his wicked ways (as the Psalmists like to say), Jesus then teaches that we bring one or two other believers to confront him so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. And if he still refuses to repent, we only tell it to the church, and if he refuses to listen to the church, then we will treat him as a non-believer in the sense that he is no longer part of the community of believers in the church. Thus, everything that two or three bind on earth will be bound in heaven – meaning to say, the power of two or three witnesses that leads to the spiritual authority of the church being exercised here on earth will be backed up in heaven by God. Thus, the context of Matthew 8:18-20 is Matthew 8:15-17. Jesus is saying that the LORD will support and back the decision of the church to “excommunicate” a believer who refuses to repent from his sin on the account of two or three witnesses.

In practice, we generally find it difficult to confront a believer of his sin as the modern world is very much a “mind your own business” world. But as leaders and for the salvation of the believer and the good of the larger community of believers, we can not avoid such a confrontation. We need to bring him back to the narrow path and not allow him to be led astray into the path that leads to destruction.

The practical application of this morning’s message is to first counsel privately before bringing an issue of sin to the attention of others or the leaders of the church. Of course, we need to be mindful that we are not speaking of new believers, who will be given time to mature in their faith and to adapt to their new life in Christ. For example, a couple living together that comes to faith will be counselled to get married and seal their union formally before heaven and the congregation.

https://odb.org/MY/2023/06/06/places-of-the-heart

I had touched on this subject of idols in our hearts in one of my early posts in this blog https://ronnielim.com/2021/08/27/subtle-idolatry/. The thinking then was that although it is inconceivable for a modern practising Christian to openly worship idols, it is possible that we may subtly keep idols in our hearts. While such idols could be a form of idolatry, I still maintain the belief that even if we do have such idols subtly in our hearts, we are not breaching the First Commandment of not having other gods besides the God Almighty. One of the ways to ensure we are living within the parameters of the First Commandment is to always depend on God in our daily lives. As we put our trust and rely on God, we make the LORD the centre of our lives, and we thus seek to live in the centre of His will.

Some people are just obsessed with fishing. While others are crazy over cars. There are others who are into photography and cameras or music and musical instruments. Nowadays, many are glued to social media, keeping abreast with the happenings in the world while marvelling at the lives of celebrities and influencers (a new term and possibly vocation birthed by social media itself!). At the same time, we are updated on the events or travels of our family, relatives, friends, acquaintances, and work colleagues. Are our interests or even obsessions subtle idolatry? Do such things replace God in our hearts? Do they draw us away from God?

I think we have to be careful and reconsider our level of involvement if such pursuits compromise our faith or our service in His Kingdom or distract us from our calling in God. If not, I don’t think it’s an issue – even a minister of God may have an interest outside Kingdom affairs to cultivate a balanced life.

But we must draw the line if our pursuits are at the edges of spiritualism or in that realm. For example, if we are obsessed with the occultic or the spirit world or dabble with witchcraft, astrology, or feng shui. Those are all red lines as they bring us into the spiritual realm but from the other side. These are like the Baal and Asherah of the ancient world, the world of Elijah versus Jezzebel. Precisely, the reason for the First Commandment and thus a clear violation of it if we were to be partakers in that realm.

We are entitled to have interests outside the Kingdom of God. We are unquestionably faithful and fervent servants of God even if we like to watch animals in documentaries or Korean soap operas or Marvel movies or dabble in macro photography. But “out of body” meditation or conversing with the spiritworld are not things we should participate in. We can not have one foot in the light and the other in darkness. In the spiritual realm, angelic beings like seraphims and cherubims battle Satan and his demonic forces. It is a clear-cut fight for the souls of humanity, and we can only stand with God or against Him. As children of the light, why do we want to stand with darkness against the light?

https://odb.org/MY/2023/06/05/seasons

Ecclesiastes 3 is the famous passage in the bible that speaks of seasons. There is a time for everything under the heavens, and the LORD makes all things beautiful in its time.

We go back to Ecclesiastes 3 when we face major disappointments, trusting that our time has not yet come. Believing our time will arrive one day. I recall the struggle I used to face making payments when younger and the need to restrain from buying nice or fancy things. In fact, in the early days of our work life, we didn’t go for holidays as our focus then was to pay off our house. We had our first overseas holiday trip seven years after we started working, and when the children came, we only travelled again when my eldest was 6. But now, when we are near retirement, we finally reaped the benefits of paying off our houses early. There is indeed a time for everything, and sometimes those times come because of what we did when we were younger. Sacrifices made when young will reap benefits when older. That’s ancient wisdom, and we can see that reality played out in our lives as we grow older.

It’s the same with putting God first in our lives and serving Him. If we faithfully serve Him and follow His percepts, we will gain much spiritually, and as we age, we will see the benefits of having put God first all those years. We have grown to know God, and now we experience His providence and protection, goodness, and blessings, especially His grace. Like the song says – You see me through all the seasons. You lead me in Your righteousness. You are forever in my life.

Seasons come and go. It’s a cycle of life. Natural seasons like the falling leaves of autumn before the cold and dark winter, before the melting snow ushers in spring with the blooming flowers before the full blast of summer comes. Our life will also have its seasons as appointed by the Lord. As we follow His footsteps and do His will, He will be with us throughout all the seasons of our lives. The joy and laughter to the disappointments and tears. Through the busy times and the quiet times.

The message today, I believe, is to always remember that Christ will make all things beautiful in its time, and there is a season for everything. Most importantly, in all seasons, remember the LORD our God – for He is just and gracious. He loves us. To God be the glory, all honour and worship for He is our God!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/06/04/courage-to-stand-for-jesus

We have written lately in these pages that Christian life is not a bed of roses. Mainly because we are human like any other and will face storms and valleys as we get to experience mountain tops and beautiful sunrises and sunsets. One of the other reasons why there is suffering in the faith is that there will be times when we may need to make a stand for Jesus. So, for example, if an organisation believes in giving bribes to get things done, we ought to protest, and if our protests fall on deaf ears, we must consider leaving and in the process will suffer the consequences of our stand. However, we also know that if we stand for Christ, Christ will likewise stand with us. We know that we are not alone in making the stand for God. https://ronnielim.com/2023/05/26/god-stands-with-us/

When we read about Peter, we realise that at the crucial moments before Christ’s crucifixion, Peter denied Christ three times and we know that Peter wept realising that at those moments, He didn’t have the courage to stand for Christ. In terms of timing, it was the right thing to do because if he had admitted to knowing Christ at those moments, he could have prematurely been matryed together with Christ. There is a time for everything. That’s true, but it exposed the human weakness of not having the courage and boldness to stand for Christ. Also, Peter did not have the power of the Holy Spirit, who came and filled the believers 50 days after the Passover (roughly 49 days after the crucifixion of Christ) on the day of Pentecost.

There will be times when it is not appropriate to make a stand for Christ, and there will be times when the timing is right, and even though we are prompted by the Holy Spirit, we are nevertheless afraid. Pray for the boldness to stand for Christ, knowing that as we stand for Him, He will stand for us. Do we dare to move out and pray for healing for people, with the confidence that God will heal that person? Do we dare to preach Christ crucified and resurrected as we make a stand for Him? Timing is everything, but if the timing is right, pray that we will have the courage to do the right thing and speak for Christ that He is the way, the truth and the life and that no one goes to the Father except through Him. He is the life and the resurrection. He is the way to eternal ife. He is the source of the living waters.

Blessed Sunday, everyone! Have a wonderful time celebrating the goodness of God in praise and worship!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/06/02/uniting-nations

It is ironic that after the Tower of Babel incident that led to God splitting the human race into different languages and scattering them all over the world that, at the end of times, all nations will be united. Although nothing explicit is said, it’s possible that everyone will speak the same language or at least supernaturally gain an understanding of languages spoken by others. This is because at the end of times, with the resurrection of believers throughout the ages, even those speaking the same tongue will find difficulty understanding those who lived 2,000 years later. We know this because languages evolved over time as words take a subtly different meaning as civilisations and cultures evolve and adapt to prevailing times. A good example is the words in Bahasa Indonesia that are familiar to us in Malaysia, but some are rarely used nowadays but have also taken a different meaning. “Keras” is just plain hard to us, but to the Indonesians, although it is still hard, it could also mean loud or harsh.

As much as there is much diversity in the world today, I think the message is that we should embrace diversity as much as possible. This is because at the end of times, we will all be together as one under the glory of God in Eden recreated. Why should we be prejudiced towards others when all will be united one day. Also, we know there is strength in diversity with mono cultures not complemented by the strengths of other ethnic groups. As much as in all societies, there are dominant cultures, multiculturalism is still the best way to extract the most out of the nations.

Let’s begin to break down prejudices towards others in our hearts and begin to genuinely and sincerely accept others like we would accept others of our own race and ethnic group. Everyone is a human flesh and blood with their own challenges and upbringing. Some had it good in life, and some had tough beginnings. Everyone deserves to be given a chance to make it in this world and to believe in Christ. Everyone deserves the chance to hear the Gospel and be saved. Everyone should have the opportunity to be with God one day in the new heaven and new earth!