https://odb.org/MY/2023/04/16/greater-love

It is indeed true that greater love has no one than one who lays down his life for another. Jesus did this for us at the cross for our sins. Officer Arnaud Beltrame did the same thing when he offered himself to be substituted with the last hostage of a terrorist in France and was killed in a subsequent exchange of gunfire. Some say he did this because of his faith in Jesus. This occurred in 2018, and you may read about it here:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43525267

In John 15, Jesus elevated us to the level of friends and not mere servants in describing His relationship with us. Somewhat putting us as believers in the same realm as Abraham, who was regarded as a friend of God. But Abraham is, of course, the father of the nation of Israel, and we through Christ are adopted spiritual children of Abraham. The reason is because, as believers, we will know the business of the Father, which servants will not. God will fulfil His plans and purposes through us, through our lives as we live in the center of His will.

Will we ever be placed in a situation like Officer Arnaud Beltrame? Probably not. But I do know of a real-life father who had donated one of his healthy kidneys for his son nearly 20 years back, and the son is now around 30. Or in the sinking of the Titanic, there were stories of people preaching the Gospel at the last hours and letting others take their place in the lifeboats because they knew where they were going and were thus not afraid of perishing. In John 3:16, it was written that for God so loved the world that He sent His one and only begotten son to us so that whoever believed in Him shall not perish but have life eternal. In John 11:25, Jesus declared that He is the resurrection and the life and that even though we may die, we will live.

As believers, we should be ike Paul, to die is gain, but to live is Christ. We need not be afraid of death as we will be with Christ, but if we live, then we live for Christ.

Have a great Sunday worship today! Praise and worship the Lord with thanksgiving in our hearts, for we have a permanent abode in heaven. We have no fear of death. We are friends of God. Teach us, O Lord, to love another with Your love. We will all have our own individual stories of our love for one another!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/04/14/uphill-all-the-way

King David is the second king in Israel prior to its split into Israel, the northern kingdom (with the cities of Sechem, Samaria), and Judah, the southern kingdom (with Jerusalem and the Temple). The split occurred at the reign of Rehoboam, the grandson of David and the son of Solomon. While King Solomon was regarded as the wisest and wealthiest of the kings of Israel and Judah and thus the greatest in the natural – David, Solomon’s father, was regarded as the greatest in the more spiritual sense as he was a man after God’s heart. Even Jesus Christ, our Lord and God incarnate, identified Himself as being from the House of David, meaning that He was from the lineage of the greatest king of Israel. David also has a special place in the heart of Israel as he was a warrior king and had led and won many wars and battles for Israel. The reign of David was thus regarded as the golden age of Israel.

2 Samuel 15:26 I feel perfectly summaries David’s heart. While being pursued by his own son, Absalom, who was out to kill him and undertake a coup d’etat, David, in returning the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem told his people that he will let the LORD do to him whatever is right to Him. He was willing to be at the mercy of the punishment from God, and even as the LORD punished him for his sins, the most notable being his adultery with Bethsheba and the killing of her husband, Uriah, the Hittite general in his army. The LORD punished him with the loss of his first son with Bethsheba and a few of his other sons as well as his other son, Absalom, rebelling against him. Yet, curiously enough, David’s successor was Solomon, from his union with Bethsheba, from whom Jesus Christ was descended from.

David was somewhat like Job. He never rebelled or went against or cursed God in his heart. Verse 25 of 2 Samuel 15 was particularly poignant. David said to Zadok (a Levite), “Bring the Ark back to the city and if I find favour in the LORD, He will bring me back and let me see it and His dwelling place again”. David knew he was being disciplined, but as he had said in Psalm 30, the anger of the LORD is for a moment, but His favour lasts a lifetime. David expressed not just a hope or desire but a fact based on his own experience facing the discipline and wrath of God.

The message this morning is that as much as the Lord may punish or discipline us for our iniquities or indiscretions, let our hearts remain pure towards Him even as we go through those tough times periods. Know that He has not and will not abandon us. His love for us is steadfast and renewed every morning like dew. Be like David, a man always after God’s heart. Since this is the will of God, accept it and move on in our spiritual walk. Don’t fret, complain, or haggle with God. Don’t sulk or curse God. Let Him do with us what is right with Him. Know that there will always be a rainbow at the end of the tunnel, no matter how long and endless it may appear to be!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/04/13/tears-of-praise

One of the beauty of the Psalms is that if we choose any one, chances are the Psalmists were praising God. This is because, in general, Psalms are praises for God.

The other thing is that we are taught to praise the Lord regardless of what we are going through. Life, as we all know, has both valley and mountain top experiences. So praising God in times of joy and rejoicing comes naturally, but to do the same during sorrow and sadness, that requires some getting used to and faith. Thus, the phrase, tears of praise. We are crying, and yet we are praising God. Comes across as being somewhat pretentious and fake, but the reality is we praise the Lord because we know God knows best.

For example, if a loved one who is in the Lord passes away, as much as we miss him, we are assured he is in the good hands of Jesus Christ, our Lord, at a much better place as they say in funerals. If he was not in the faith, we believe God has given all the chances to him to accept Jesus, and he needs to face the consequences of his decision. We still praise God because we trust in His eternal justice system.

Other instances are something bad or an accident that has happened, but we praise God as it could have been worse, much worse. Or if there was a setback, we praise the Lord knowing that He will work things out for the good of those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

If we read Psalm 30:5, we will see that His anger is only for a moment, but His favour lasts a lifetime. Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. Meaning to say, there will be a rainbow at the end of every tunnel of life we are going through, although some are longer and more endless than others.

So long as we are in the Lord, there will be rejoicing. Thus, we praise the Lord regardless of the present for the future can only be good no matter how gloomy the present may appear to be in our eyes. He is our Lord and Saviour. Why would He save us for a lifetime of suffering, misery, and sadness only? Surely goodness and mercy will follow us the rest of our days as we dwell in the house of the LORD forever? We will have eternal glory and reward, but here on this earth, while living in the centre of His will and serving in His Kingdom of Grace, we will have the favour of God and that can only mean peace, love, joy, compassion and the goodness of God. His favour lasts a lifetime! Amen!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/04/12/the-caller

1 Samuel 3:3-10 shows us how God spoke to a young Samuel, who was then mentored by Eli, and how Samuel, while hearing the voice, did not recognise it as the LORD speaking to him. It was only the third time after being instructed by Eli that Samuel answered and asked the LORD to speak, for His servant was listening.

This well-known story of Samuel occurred during a time when prophets were spoken to by God in an audible voice. Not really of general application as these prophets were specially chosen people during those ancient times to become the voice piece of God, an oracle, to His people, the children of Israel.

In our modern context, in the era of the church, post the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we too can hear the voice of God in our spirit through the Holy Spirit, who was given to us as our Helper. The Holy Spirit convicts and prompts us when God speaks and gives us an understanding of what God is saying to our hearts.

Initially, as we embark on this journey in relating to God, the Lord mostly speaks to us for us. It can be through the Word or just a prompting of our hearts. Of course, the prerequites are righteousness and forgiveness. If we are unforgiving of others, God can’t really speak to us.

But as we mature in the faith, God may also speak to us for others. We could be God’s messenger for someone else for God to convey His message for that person through us. We may call this a word of knowledge as it is the Lord who gave us knowledge of what is happening in the spiritual realm and if He wants us to convey a Word to another person, we have become in a way a prophet for God. We could be conveying a prophesy, which is a message of things to come from God or just a word of encouragement when that person is going through something that no one knows except God.

To start this ministry and activate this spiritual gift, we could call or meet up with our close friends and relatives and offer to pray for them. As we pray, God may give us an idea of what is happening in their lives and in the spiritual realm. The Lord’s compassion and love will flow as we pray, and as we operate in the word of knowledge, that person’s faith will be strengthened because the knowledge of his situation will cause him to be confident that it is indeed God speaking through us. It will certainly boost his confidence in his walk with God. Go ahead and be that oracle for God for the lives of others! Amen!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/04/11/seize-the-opportunity-3

I recall nearly 35 years ago after helping out in a Reinhard Bonnke evangelist meeting at the then Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur, we were all on fire to be an evangelist. We didn’t even have 1% of his anointing or charisma or oratory skills or his knowledge of and experience with God, yet all of us wanted to be like him. Of course, those were just fantasies and idealism of youth. Bright and starry-eyed, we were ready to conquer the world for God!

Actually, from today’s ODB, spending some time in a Christian youth mission before we go to university is such an excellent idea! Rather than go into full-time ministry permanently, we could spend some time doing full-time ministry by serving in missions locally or abroad. Or we could serve in our local church’s office and follow our pastors around doing pastoral work during our semester breaks. While some would earn money holding a part-time job, we could serve God. Or if we are more daring, we could join the Logos ship and travel the world while serving and working there. We could do these ministry works while waiting to enter university or during our year-end breaks or take a gap year, or we could take a 6-month sojourn after graduating and serve God full-time in some capacity. Most will take the opportunity to travel if they have some means, but if we sacrifice that opportunity to serve God in missions instead, I’m sure it will enrich our lives further.

Thus, in the same vein, for those of us retiring from the workforce in the near future, we could consider joining a mission organisation or work full-time for the church doing pastoral and ministry work. Of course, after working for 40 years, it is time to travel a bit without needing to worry about our limited annual leave, but after all that, perhaps we should dedicate our remaining years serving God in some full-time capacity. If you are one of those like me who had gone into the world to work and missed our chance to serve God full-time when young, this is our second chance to go full-time.

But the message today is still very much for us to use whatever time we have to serve God in some full-time capacity. Not just serving in church by playing music or as a usher. Not necessarily on a permanent basis as a full-time worker or pastor, but in between breaks in our study or between jobs. Instead of working part-time in the world, work part-time in the mission field or in some youth or Christian organisation. Ultimately, we want to preach Jesus crucified and resurrected and spread the Good News for more to hear! We could well be Reinhard Bonnke in our own way!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/04/10/strength-in-weakness-3

Judges 7:1-9 sets out a story that I heard preached quite some time back, but which I have forgotten. The beauty of ODB is that if we read it regularly, it brings to remembrance all these familiar stories from the bible, and once in a while, also a few obscure and less known ones. It just enriches our knowledge of God through His Word.

In this story, Gideon was out to do battle with the Midianites and had 32,000 men. But God wanted to cut down the army so that Israel would not boast that the victory was theirs. So God trimmed down the army until there were only 300 men to conclusively prove that victory is His alone. Thus, a perceived human weakness (very small army) was turned into strength (won the battle, nevertheless).

What does this story illustrate for us to apply in our real-life living? Does this story point to turning our weakness into strength? No, not so much. In my view, it illustrates the point that sometimes God may bring us to a position of weakness so that we will 100% rely on Him. That was exactly what Gideon had to do as the LORD had reduced his army of 32,000 men to 300 to fight a Midianite army of 120,000! It is hopeless and impossible! Yet if we continue to read Judges 12, the LORD delivered the victory to Gideon, the same way the LORD delivered Jericho to Joshua with a group of trumpet blowing men.

There are times when God brings us to a somewhat hopeless and impossible situation. Our only recourse is to pray and depend on Him. The Lord may take it to the extreme, to show us His love and compassion for us. It is undeniably Him working in the background.

For example, I had a difficult contract to close in a direct award transaction with the vendor having the upper hand. Every negotiator will know that done deals are impossible to negotiate. But it was turned around when the strategic direction became to tender out the whole project. This contract was outstanding for 6 months and would have been put on me if not for God working in the background, changing the direction of the project at the highest level. Or we could be sick and hopeless with Covid or in hospital due to an illness or for treatment for days, and our work at the office can not get done by us. But somehow, the Lord could arrange it such that work is continued and progressed. We are at our weakest and most vulnerable, and God came through for us. Sometimes, like Gideon, God brings us to the place of weakness so that His glory may shine forth. Therefore, trust in Him even if we feel we are hopeless and weak. He will see to it that the victory is His!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/04/09/deeper-healing

In yesterday’s ODB post, they wrote about the empty tomb and how John outran Peter to reach the tomb first, only to discover Jesus’s body was missing after His death. See the link below:

https://odb.org/MY/2023/04/08/running-to-jesus

The empty tomb is, of course, significant in establishing the resurrection of Jesus Christ as it would be impossible for Jesus to be resurrected if His dead body was still in His tomb. Jesus later appeared to the 11 disciples (sans Judas Iscariot since he would have already been dead by then and his replacement only appointed much later), and many others and, ascended to heaven 40 days later. In fact, in some countries like Indonesia, they celebrate the Ascension of Christ with a public holiday! Later in Acts 9, the risen Christ also appeared to Paul.

For today, we would like to focus on Isaiah 53:5, where Isaiah spoke about the death of Christ many, many years before the event. The verse reads – But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was on Him. By His wounds (stripes), we are healed. Peter repeated this in 1 Peter 22:4 where he wrote, “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we having died to sin, might live for righteousness – by whose stripes you were healed”.

In the context of Isaiah 53, verse 5 and the verses around it were speaking about the spiritual healing that comes to our spirit by the death of Christ, meaning to say, He had bore our iniquities, and thus, we are now reconciled to God the Father through faith in Jesus Christ. Some charismatic Christians have, however, taken this verse one step further, claiming it from God that as He has healed us of our physical illnesses, we are free from sicknesses that may afflict us. We can claim healing by calling healing from heaven to heal us.

We are all afflicted by viruses and bacteria and a neglect of our bodies or just old age may lead to high cholesterol, hyper tension, diabetes, kidney and heart diseases, and for unexplained reasons, also various potentially deadly cancerous growths. That is why there is a whole profession and industry dedicated to healing us. In fact, the pandemic laid bare the vulnerabilities of the human race.

While I agree that contextually, Isaiah 53:55 speaks more of our spiritual healing, we also know that Jesus healed and the Apostles also exercised healing as a ministry tool. Many Christians have prayed, and many have been healed throughout the ages through divine healing. We also see that in ancient times during the time of Elijah and Elisha.

Pray for healing when we are unwell or afflicted by serious illnesses. God in His grace and compassion will heal us in His time. In the meantime, rely on our health professionals, for the advances in medical science are able to do much to our imperfect and decaying bodies.

Blessed Easter and Resurrection Sunday, everyone! The crucifixion and death of Christ has delivered us from sin to freedom, has reconciled us to God, and the resurrection of Christ has defeated the sting of sin. In His glorious resurrected body, Christ was at first unrecognisable, and yet the disciples and His followers later knew it was Him when He appeared to them. The resurrected Christ gives us that tangible eternal hope that one day we will get to be resurrected with all our loved ones who were in Christ when Christ returns as King! Thus, as Paul has so beautifully pointed out before, all our sufferings here pales in comparison to the glory that awaits us on the day of Jesus Christ!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/04/07/drops-of-red

Today is Good Friday, and as believers, we celebrate this day in remembrance of Jesus’s crucifixion and death on the cross of Calvary. The death that enabled our sins to be forgiven by God once and for all to break the sting of sin, which is death itself. Because of the cross, though we may die, we will live (John 11:25). Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Thus, Jesus is the basis for our eternal life. He is the one and only begotten son that was sent by God because He so loved the world that we may have life eternal in John 3:16.

But just before Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, arrested and led to be judged and later punished to death with crucifixion, He spent his last night praying at the Mount of Olives. This was right after the last Passover meal He had with His disciples (which originated our Christian tradition of the breaking of the bread). At Mount Olives, Jesus prayed and asked that the cup be passed from Him, but if that is the Father’s will, then may His will be done. An angel came down to strengthen Him, and as He prayed so intensely at those moments, His sweat was like blood.

This account of Jesus’s last moments before being arrested is recorded in Luke 22:39-44, which highlights that while Jesus is God, He is fully human. While He is one with God in the Holy Trinity, He is nevertheless distinct as Jesus Christ the Son of God. His pain and suffering on the way to the Cross and at the Cross are the most extreme of human suffering. At the spiritual level, those were the moments that the Father turned His face away because of the sin of mankind that Jesus was carrying, and that was the most painful moment ever experienced by Christ before. He the Son of Man became the Lamb of God for our sake that we may have communion with the Father again, something we couldn’t have since the day Adam and Eve sinned against God.

As we celebrate Good Friday today and Easter this Sunday or some call Resurrection Sunday, let’s remember that Jesus died for our sins as a man. He had to die as a man as an unblemished sacrifice for our sins. He who was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of a virgin woman was born a man but without sin and was thus the only human possible to die for our sins. The only human born a human and yet unblemished by the sin of Adam as He was from God and conceived by God by the Holy Spirit. God incarnate, the Immanuel, as God had lived among mankind, the creator among His creation. Eden will be recreated again at the end of age, as we see in Revelation 22, and that is only possible because Jesus died for the sins of mankind 2,000 years ago!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/04/06/the-challenge-to-serve

In my post yesterday, I mentioned that although salvation is by the grace of God and not by our works, our lives need to be transformed and there is much work to be done in the Kingdom of God after we accepted Christ. https://ronnielim.com/2023/04/05/giving-our-lives-to-christ/

In today’s Scriptural reading of John 13:3-15, Jesus spoke about what it means to serve. He showed us by His example of washing His disciples’ feet although He is their Lord and Master. To understand the significance, we need to know that washing someone’s feet is the most menial of jobs of a servant during those times. Meaning to say, in the hierarchy of a household then, the lowest rung person will be given that task. This is because they wear sandals to move around in very dusty and dirty environments. It is somewhat equivalent to running around photostating or scanning documents that interns are asked to do in the modern office, although nowadays, with PDF and digital signatures, we do less photocopying. In John 13, Jesus, the Immanuel, our God incarnate, washed the feet of His disciples. Peter was the first to refuse, but he relented when Jesus told him that he would not be a part of Him if he refused.

As Jesus had mentioned before in another context, to be first, we need to be last first and servant of all (Mark 9:35). Leadership in the Kingdom of God is thus a servant leadership. As leaders in the church, we are there to serve the needs of the congregation. We are not there to ‘lord’ over them or to use them for our goals and purposes. We are there to meet their needs and not the other round.

The crux of serving God is thus servanthood as Jesus had demonstrated. We are servants in the Kingdom of God. We are to serve one another, help each other become better people in Christ. Help each other manifest our attributes and character as new creations in Christ. If we see a brother or sister with an issue or a weakness, we need to help not condemn them as everyone is a ‘work in progress’.

That is why the fruit of the Spirit is important. In dealing with various characters in the church, we need to exercise lots of patience, compassion, and love. It is easy to get angry and agitated, but we need to refrain from doing so. Everyone must do their part, and much can be achieved if we are all in this together. As we all strive together in serving God, we will all enjoy together the blessings and goodness that come with serving God. The heavens will open up, and God’s heavenly blessings will be poured out to all of us as a congregation of believers! But remember, in serving God, we are servants of God and one another!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/04/05/more-than-a-little-piece

One of the things we don’t usually emphasise when we share the Gospel is that Christian life involves leaving our old self behind and starting afresh in Christ as a new creation. When we preach the Gospel, we tend to focus on eternal life, on the wages of sin being death. That salvation is a free gift but costly as Jesus needed to die for our sins. Ultimately, Jesus offers salvation and heaven, compared to destruction and hell. We rationalise that we get them across the line first (although we know that it’s actually the Holy Spirit) and then let God work on them to mould and transform them to become vessels worthy of His glory.

There is no right and wrong in the approach, in my view, because for some people, too much analysis becomes paralysis. We think too much, we hesitate and we don’t move. So we freeze and are at standstill. Also, believing in Christ is by faith, and faith is believing in things unseen as things unseen are eternal. Thus, accepting Christ is as much of the mind as it is of the heart.

Notwithstanding the approach at the start, the fact remains that once we are in, there is no chance we can go anywhere in Christ if we are unwilling to give up our old life. It is a work in progress, there is no doubt. It is a journey, true. But it is nevertheless a journey to perfection in Christ. Not lip service. Not pretence. Not make believe. Our Christian life can not be a fake one.

In Matthew 16:24, Jesus made it clear that if anyone desires to come after Him, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Him. For what profit it is to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul (verse 26)? Christ elaborates on in verse 27 that the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father, with His angels, and He will reward each according to his works.

As much as salvation is freely given by grace and by faith, we need to deny ourselves, and Christ will reward us according to our works. Salvation is not by works, but once we are saved, there is much to do – in the transformation of our lives and our service for Him. There are no freeloaders in the kingdom of God as much as Jesus is kind and compassionate. Everyone needs to pull their weight and work out his and her salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12), in accordance with His plans and purposes for our lives.

No one is saying we need to be perfect from day one. But it is undeniably a journey. Are we on that journey? Are we walking on the narrow path that leads to eternal life? Or are we still on the broadside, wandering around in our own green pastures, with Christ in the distance?