https://odb.org/MY/2022/10/05/grieving-and-grateful

One of those things in life that we will not be able to avoid is grief. As we get older, there will be loved ones and friends who will go before us. In fact some of our contemporaries may have passed on. People die for different reasons. Besides traffic accidents, the other major causes of death are cancer and cardiac arrest. The recent pandemic also led to many dying, with most already having underlying health issues; the virus mostly sped things up.

I think no one will ever experience what Job experienced. One devastating news after another. From his oxens and donkeys to his camels to his sheep and to his various servants and workers, and then his children – one calamity after another, nearly all at once. Yet he worshipped God and proclaimed that with nothing he came to this world, with nothing shall he leave. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken, praise the name of the LORD!

As was said, even one of those would have devastated us and yet Job was able to praise God. He praised the LORD because the LORD spared his life. He was grateful that he still had breadth because in the end, we live at the grace and mercy of the Almighty. People die for a variety of reasons and we could be one of them anytime any day. We are still alive today enjoying the beauty of His creation and the fellowship and companionship of our loved ones because of His love and mercy. That is why we must be thankful and grateful to God for His goodness upon our lives despite the grief.

We may have lost a loved one. But we still have our life and our job. If we had lost our job, we still have our life and our loved ones. Be thankful that we still live. Be thankful that we still have God’s plans and purposes for us to achieve. We still have our work cut out in the Kingdom of God here on earth. We still have a purpose to fulfil for God here on earth.

It’s time to move on and leave our grief behind. Still much to do for God in our life in this world. Not time yet for us to be with Jesus in heaven. Do our part as that brick on the wall. Be grateful and thankful to God that our time is not up yet. We still have much to accomplish for Him! Amen!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/10/04/our-hearts-true-home

It’s nothing short of a miracle that a dog that got lost 2,200 miles (3,500 kms) away could somehow find its way home 6 months later. It is both spectacular and amazing! Without maps or GPS, how did the dog do it? Perhaps that home was its natural home and thus it will gravitate towards it somehow, sooner or later.

Thus when it comes to our hearts, we as believers in the faith believe that the true home for our hearts is God. That no matter how far away we have spiritually drifted from God, our hearts will naturally gravitate towards God. That the natural home for the hearts of humans is God and hence we will naturally be drawn to God and the things of God even if we had never known God personally in our lives before. Because of the work of the Holy Spirit convicting the hearts of men and women and Jesus having died for our sins, there is a natural tendency for us to want to know God. Christ has opened up the way for us to reach the Father, the Helper is there to prompt us on.

We are shaped by the culture that we live in. Yet God, the one and only true and living Almighty God, can and will reach out to us. Even if it is impossible for some of us to proclaim His goodness publicly out in the open, we could start by proclaiming His grace and love in our hearts. Accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. Repent from our sins. Acknowledge that we are sinners and ask God to forgive us our sins and in our hearts, believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins and was resurrected by the Father 3 days later defeating sin and the devil. As a result we have eternal life and as we have accepted Jesus into our lives, Jesus will prepare a house for us in the Father’s house of many mansions. As God is the natural home for our hearts, it is essential that our hearts find our eternal home in heaven and that one day we will all be resurrected together to live even though we may die. It is my prayer and hope that all of us will find our way to our eternal home through Christ Jesus, our Lord and Saviour! Like the dog that was lost 2,200 miles away, we too will somehow find our true home, the true home of our heart!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/10/03/mirror-test

Who do we see when we look into the mirror? We obviously see ourselves. We are who we are as in the mirror. We can imagine we are someone else or a more beautiful or younger version of ourselves but we are still who we are. In fact, if we are women devoid of make up, that’s us there with all the ravages of age clearly visible to us in the mirror.

The interesting question posed today is who do we see when we read scripture. Do we only see the characters in the story or do we see God speaking to us? But most interestingly, do we see ourselves in the pages of the Bible as we read what God has to say to us? Seeing ourselves in the sense that as Jesus teaches the parable of the talents, do we see ourselves returning 10-fold or just the same talent (buried it under the ground?? Or when Jesus taught about storing treasures in heaven, do we see ourselves doing so? Or do we see ourselves only busy storing riches on earth? Or when we see Abraham and Moses responding to God’s call on their lives to respectively move out from the Ur of the Chaldeans and to bring the Israeli slaves out of Egypt, do we likewise respond to God’s call upon our lives? Or when we read about God’s laws being compassionate on the widows, the orphans and the foreigners by not harvesting everything from the harvest fields, do we have compassion on others by leaving something on the table as we negotiate or transact? Do we always have to drive such a hard bargain as others need to eke out a living like us too, except that they may not have the blessings and protection of God on their side like we often do? Are we thus compassionate and gracious to the weak and poor since God is on our side?

If we look at scripture as a mirror of ourselves, showing us our weaknesses and yet we see ourselves as victorious and overcoming our self, how wonderful a believer will we be! Seek out the rhema word as we learn of the logos as we read the bible but imagine and see ourselves as the people God is teaching about – we will go a long way achieving God’s image and plans and purposes for us. We will slowly but surely become the person the Lord wants us to be all along! We will be that sunflower standing proud in the desert deserted highway, prevailing against all odds, crushing all enemy plans against us! Hallelujah, Praise the Lord!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/09/30/where-to-turn

It’s really sad to read about a brother who found Christ and laid off drugs who was athletic and happy doing his sport in high school, to only return to drugs years later and die of overdose. He attended a local church and decided to follow Jesus. However following Jesus is not a flash in the pan or a temporary fad. Neither is it only a high school or college thing. It’s a life long journey, spanning the day we first accepted Christ into our lives until the day we die. We need to go through life’s journey with God by our side and not walk on our own way every now and then.

Who or what do we turn to for our times of misery and pain? Our times of sadness and disappointment or even our times of joy and laughter? Is it cigarettes and drinks? Grass and drugs? Or even high cholesterol inducing red meat like a large juicy steak or loads and loads of cheese cakes and chocolates and ice cream! There are indulgences that are just unhealthy and yet there are avenues that are plain destructive yet familiar. Actually being self indulgent itself is not a good habit as we tend to let ourselves go and forget that we are a child of God.

This story of the Israelites running to Egypt for help when the militarily rejuvenated Assyrians wanted to invade and conquer Israel is a well known one preached by many. The then southern kingdom of Judah ran to Egypt to seek their intervention despite God telling them to trust in Him. I honestly do not know what happened to them? Taking things into their own hands in defiance and against the clear instructions of the Lord!

Israel is however often a picture of who we are in God and as much as we are surprised by the foolishness of the Israelites in not relying on God, we are at times also like that! We go running back to our old habits, our past indulgences. Instead of turning to God, we go back to our past familiar places.

Let’s not do that anymore. Let’s continue to trust God. Don’t go back to our Egypt. Don’t be like that guy who found God in high school to only return to drugs years later and who died of an overdose. Don’t look back to our past familiar places. Find comfort in God. He is the only true and faithful one to hold on to till the end as Christ is the only one with the words of eternal life. Cling on to Him and don’t look back.

https://odb.org/MY/2022/09/29/the-coffee-bean-bowl

Let’s say, for example, the Lord prompts you to give a gift of RM5,000 (and at the rate our currency markets are heading, that is looking more and more like just one thousand US Dollars) to someone who doesn’t appear to be struggling financially. Do you do that or would you instead give that money to a more deserving person like a full time worker or the poor? Of course we do not know the exact situation of that person. But assuming there is no hidden need like he is secretly suffering from cancer and require money for treatment. Let’s assume he is living normally and yet the Lord prompts you to give him that gift.

This is similar to the situation faced by Mary 6 days before the Passover when Jesus visited her family home and for background, at the time when Lazarus, Mary’s brother, was just recently raised from the dead. The Passover was significant as that was the day Jesus had His last meal (which later became our Holy Communion) before He was crucified. Was it wrong for Mary to “waste” a whole bottle of perfume on Jesus’s feet when it could have been sold and given to the poor as Judas Iscariot had suggested. Of course we know Judas was not sincere in his suggestion as he was conflicted. The point remains that it could have been sold and the proceeds given to the poor. Jesus however disagreed that it was bad decision.

I think the first point we should take note is that the perfume was Mary’s to give and not Judas to sell. We mustn’t criticise if it is not ours to give. But the more fundamental point is that if it was sold and the proceeds given to the poor, Jesus would not have been honoured in that special way before his death that was just 6-7 days away. The fragrance of the perfume filled the room and everyone enjoyed the fragrance that was honouring Jesus who would soon be dying for the sins of mankind. Surely the Son of Man was worth honouring in that manner. Actually in the larger scheme of things, nothing could have compared to the ultimate sacrifice He made in paving the way for mankind to reconcile with the Father and thus a bottle of perfume although worth a year’s wages, pales in comparison with His sacrifice and is thus still just a token of appreciation.

If the Lord prompts us to give, just give. Don’t question God and don’t question others who are likewise prompted. The Holy Spirit knows best and we just obey and follow His lead. God has a purpose and a plan. We just need to be His facilitator like Mary did in the case of her perfume and Jesus. In the end, at least someone from the human race had made the effort to honour Jesus before He went to the cross for you and I and everyone else!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/09/27/gods-help-for-our-future

Psalm 90:12 teaches: “Number our days so we may gain a heart of wisdom” while Psalm 90:19 prays that, “May the favour of the Lord our God establish the work of our hands.”

As we have previously shared in these pages, the wisdom of the Old Testament, of the Psalms and Proverbs, is often centred on knowing the Lord our God. Thus to gain a heart of wisdom speaks of being wise in our thoughts and actions and that basically means to know God and to keep His laws and percepts. But to achieve that, Psalm 90:12 teaches us to number our days and to me that, in essence, means we need to be fully aware and cognisant that we are not and will not be here on earth for eternity. With Jesus in our lives, we will live on for eternity even though we will die but our time on earth, in this physical realm is always numbered. There is a fixed period of time. Not just a question of old age; as we are all well aware that many have passed on younger for various reasons. Thus to number our days means we need to realise we have a limited time here and that also means that we need to do what’s essential and important first. We are after all pilgrims passing through this temporary abode.

Peter Tsukahira once taught that in the end what’s key for our existence here is God’s plans and purposes for our lives. We exist for a purpose that was pre-planned even before the foundations of the earth were made. God fearfully and wonderfully made each and every one of us (Psalm 139:14). We are all uniquely created in His image for His plans and purposes.

Therefore always seek the Lord on what are His plans and purposes for us? What is the raison d’etre for our being here on earth? Even as life may be a struggle at times with its storms and turmoil, seek God’s wisdom for our lives. Know His sovereign and specific will for us.

And as we go out there in the world and claim our inheritance in Christ and do the things Christ and the Father have appointed us to do, we pray that may the Lord our God establish the work of our hands. May the favour of God be upon us to establish the work of our hands. We sow, we serve, we minister but God establishes and reaps. He will make our work come to life, to blossom and bloom. We do our part to be the hands and legs of the Almighty One, the Sovereign God of Israel. May the favour of God indeed be with us to establish our ways and the work of our hands!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/09/26/the-miracle-of-salvation

As much as the famous miracle of Lazarus in John 11 is spectacular, it is still in my view not as spectacular as the miracle of salvation.

To raise a person from the dead after a full four days in indeed an impossibility and only God could do that and it proved that Jesus is indeed God. This is because once a person dies, the body decomposes immediately. Without the movement of blood and the lungs working in tandem to oxygenise the blood and bring nutrients from the digestive system, the cells in the body will begin to die. Flesh will rot as the body then becomes food for microorganisms. That is why there was a bad odour. Yet Lazarus was raised from the dead. In fact, he and his village became famous after this episode with people going there to witness and see for themselves the miracle of the resurrected Lazarus. You can see this recorded in John 12:9.

As much as the miracle of Lazarus is spectacular, the miracle of salvation is even more spectacular as it means we will get to live for eternity. Though we may die, yet we will live. John 11:25 – I am the resurrection and the life, the one who believes in me will live even though they die. We know that our souls (spirits) live forever and will return to God after we pass from this world with our bodies only a shell that will return to dust (earth).

But if we believe in Jesus, we will live for eternity because one day we will be resurrected somewhat like Lazarus but not quite as we will be resurrected into a glorified body like Jesus’s after His death and resurrection. That is our hope of glory. Not only our spirit lives forever, but we will live forever in the presence of God in our glorified bodies in the new heaven and earth, the new Jerusalem with Christ as our King and Lord ruling the earth, in harmony with all the animals, birds of the air and those that are in the sea.

Although Lazarus was resurrected from the dead, he died eventually of old age. He has yet to experience immortality then. But he will one day be resurrected again like all believers in Christ and will then live forever as God had initially desired and intended for humans before sin came in and brought death with it. But all praises and glory be unto God and our Lord Jesus Christ that through His death on the cross, sin lost its sting and was defeated when Jesus rose again from the dead that to those who believe in Him will live even though they may die! That is the miracle of salvation. It conquers sin and death and returns immortality to humanity. That is why the miracle of salvation is even more spectacular than the miracle of Lazarus! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/09/25/choose-wisely

“Whoever wants to save their lives will lose it but whoever loses their lives for me and the Gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Mark 8:35-36).

There will be many times as we walk the journey of faith that we will encounter and be challenged by this issue. Will we put our interests first or that of God first? Will we be preoccupied with human concerns more or the concerns of God? Which comes first, physical or spiritual needs?

One clear example is in the area of our jobs. Will we choose a job for its better prospects and career progression opportunities and deal with church and ministry accordingly or do we take the latter into consideration as we look at a job opportunity? I was twice offered an interview for a senior counsel position in a gaming company but declined as their core business was gaming. I also declined as one of the requirements was that I need to be up at the Hill for management or board meetings two weekends a month. Of course, if we work weekends officially we will have days off but that would also mean not going to church two Sundays a month for as long as I hold that job.

The question today I believe is that do we allow our bread and butter issues to overshadow our spiritual commitments to God in terms of our church and ministry. I think it is extreme to teach that we need to borrow to pay our tithes and offerings and yet if we are financially able to, we must do so faithfully to support the work of God. Different ones of us will face different issues as we progress on in this journey of faith. Do we put God first? Will we put the concerns of God first or will we place a higher priority and importance on our human concerns?

Have a blessed Sunday and have a good Sunday worship today! It will be good if we could make the effort to be on site to worship physically together as a congregation especially now when the pandemic has much abated and has moved on to the endemic stage. Are we putting God first or are we really genuinely afraid of contracting Covid? Are we putting our human concerns first? Remember those who save their lives will lose it while those who lose their lives will save it. It sounds paradoxical but there is much truth to it.

https://odb.org/MY/2022/09/23/the-story-isnt-over

In the movies, there are certain set rules. For example, there is always a protagonist and an antagonist, the hero or leading character and the villain respectively. No matter how complex or futuristic the movie, it nearly always boils down to the bad guys and good guys, the battle between good and evil, whether it is 007 or Star Wars or the Marvel cinematic universe or any other movie. The other thing is that usually the good guys will win in the end. Good will prevail over evil. But as movies are all creative efforts, there are some productions that mess up the formula and let evil win or at least imply that evil won when the antagonist walks free or is not caught. This will usually cause angst and frustration in the audience because as human beings we always want to see good being triumphant.

In real life though, it is not certain that good will always win. We want to believe that is so and yet we some times need a few generations to see the negative effects of evil and thus for those living in contemporary times, there is an impression that evil actually won. However, honestly we cannot be certain that even with the passage of time that good will prevail in the end and there lies the frustration of the human race. Is there no justice in this world?

Jesus taught us to pray by praying to the Father and asking that His will be done here on earth as it is in heaven. In a way, it’s a prayer that good will prevail over evil. Surely it is the will of God that good will prevail. I personally believe that good will prevail, that God will make sure one day. Not for us to question His timing or intervention because ultimately it is the will of man that led to evil. Man chose to be evil even though he could be kind, loving, gracious and good.

As much as I believe that good will prevail in the end, that belief is not as important as what I myself practice. We ought to do good instead of evil. We must be good to people and not be evil. Why? Because God is good to us. He called us to be His own, His sons and daughters. God was and is gracious and merciful towards us. Do we then repay the kindness and goodness of God with evil unto other people? Something is very wrong with our heart if we are still able to do evil after enjoying the grace, love, kindness and goodness of God.

As I see the injustice around us including the stories of the pigeon (merpati) as lately circulated, I believe that good will ultimately prevail and that justice will be served here on earth as it is heaven. Yet what’s more important to me is the reminder this morning that we ourselves as children of the light do not perpetuate evil or help the evil one achieve his evil plans and goals for mankind. If enough of us do good, good will surely prevail in the end!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/09/22/people-who-need-people

I think in doing ministry, whether directly in church or indirectly in the mission field wherever out Lord may have placed us, we need people. This is obvious because we are reaching out to people. Ministry cannot be unto ourselves although we could minister to God and God could minister to us. But that’s more worship than ministry. That is why I think for ministry to work well, every minister needs to be like a salesman – friendly and have a network of friends. To reach out we cannot be a loner working in isolation. We need to reach out to people in order to reach out to them with the Gospel. Thus as a person we should be friendly, approachable, joyful and compassionate – an embodiment of Christ and not gloomy, moody or always having a negative outlook on things. Despite the headwinds and stormy seas, God is able to work in our lives – that is the message of the Gospel.

The other aspect of ministry is that we also need people to do ministry itself. Not only people as the audience and recipients but people as co-workers in Christ. Working as a team is much better than working alone. We complement each other’s giftings and talents and offset our individual weaknesses and idiosyncrasies. As a ministry team, each contributes his or her strengths and share the burden together. As a team it also helps alleviate the pressure that comes with ministry. For example, preaching once a month is less stressful than preaching every Sunday. In my local church, our ministry team preaches between 2 to 3 times a year and that gives us more time to prepare and seek the Lord for a Word that is both rhema and logos for the congregation.

The conclusion is that as ministers and ministry workers we cannot escape meeting people, whether our own congregation, friends and family, colleagues or the general public. It is thus important that we always maintain a demeanour of hope and faith. The world may be going on a spiral of destruction and the great tribulation may be sooner than later and yet as salt and light of the world, we must always uphold the name of God and preach hope and faith amidst the gloom and doom, that Christ crucified and resurrected will make a difference in our lives!