https://odb.org/MY/2022/09/09/a-heavenly-reunion

As human beings, we know that we are mortals. In the early days of humanity, we could live past 500 years as leading biblical figures lived long lives as per the record in the bible. Noah, for example, lived to a ripe old age of 950 and Adam the first man lived for 930 years. But in Genesis 6:3, God had sort of shortened human lives to around 120 years – not in an exact scientific way but more like stating that the days of humans living hundreds of years were over. Nowadays people living to even a hundred is very rare. In fact this morning we just heard of Queen Elizabeth the Second, the world’s longest living monarch, has passed away at 96.

I’m well aware of our mortality having lost my mum 13 years ago and my dad recently in March 2022. Because of the fall of man, our human bodies are dying away and thus we will be overcome by illness or old age in time to come.

But as believers we have a hope that when Christ comes again, the dead in Christ will be resurrected with Him. There will thus be a reunion between those still living then and those who had passed earlier in the Lord. Read Paul’s exposition in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. That’s the hope we all hold on to knowing that the day will come when we will get to see our loved ones again, we and them in our glorified bodies as demonstrated by Christ’s resurrection in His glorified body visible and apparent to all who saw and met Him in those 40 days after His resurrection. Christ wanted to reassure His believers then as well as us in the present day, that it will be a privilege we will all enjoy one day if we are to hold on to our faith until the end of days or the end of our days.

I think as we are reminded of our mortality and our future immortality, we must make good use of the limited time we have here on earth to do the things that matter for eternity. That is the logical way forward. Live in the present. Yes. But live in the present for the future. Don’t jeopardise our eternity by living recklessly and ignoring God. Respond to the Lord’s call for us. Fulfill His plans and purposes for our lives. Then when the time comes for us to live eternally, we will not say that our time during our mortality was lived in vain, chasing after only the bright lights and fanciful things in life. We could say we had led a meaningful life in the Lord, serving Him in His Kingdom of Grace!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/09/08/building-the-house

There is debate as to Matthew 16:18 on what the Lord meant when He said that He will build His church on this rock and the gates of Hades shall not overcome it – is the rock referring to Simon Peter and if not, what does it refer to? There is an interpretation that the rock refers to Simon Peter as Christ was speaking to Peter when He made that statement. Christ said, “You are Peter and on this rock, I will build my church”. Coincidently Simon Peter’s name “Peter” also meant the rock and it was Jesus who changed his name from Simon to Peter.

However, Scripture must always be read in context and the context was Jesus asked Peter who does Peter think He is? Peter’s answer was that Jesus is the Son of the living God. Jesus in fact said to Peter that he was blessed because the fact that he could answer that Jesus is the Son of the living God was not revealed to him by flesh and blood but by Jesus’s Father in Heaven. Thus the more accepted and also more theologically logical interpretation is that “the rock” is the revelation that Jesus is the Son of the Living God. That revelation is the rock or foundation that Jesus will use to build His church.

As much as the church is large and spans the whole world fulfilling God’s promise to Abraham that his generations shall be like the sand at the seashore and the stars in the sky, the larger house in my view is the house that Jesus had gone ahead to prepare for us, His brothers and sisters in Christ. In John 14:2, Jesus said that in His Father’s house there are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you so? You see Jesus is God and God do not and cannot lie. Surely that’s the biggest house ever as there are millions and millions of believers not only worldwide but over generations since the time of Abraham to the time of Christ, the time of Acts, across the ages from the Old to the New Covenant and in time to come until the end of age.

I am thankful and grateful that Christ called me to be a part of His church and that He had gone before me to prepare a room for me in our Heavenly Father’s mansion of many rooms. Thank you Lord Jesus for Your grace and mercy and for dying on the cross for me and my sins that I now have eternal life! Amen! Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! God is good indeed! He is the only one and true living God!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/09/07/finding-refuge

I woke up this morning to heavy rain beating the windows at my balcony (which we had installed to close it off as an internal space) and despite the double glazed sliding doors and the windows at the balcony, I could hear the rain pouring down. Not loud but loud enough to know that it was heavy. Fortunately, for me it was a storm. Like the writer of today’s ODB at an old seaside hotel which faced a strong storm, I know that it will pass after a few hours. At certain places, nowadays a few hours of very heavy rain may bring flash floods and landslides and in Pakistan like Germany a few years back, the heavy rains brought disastrous consequences. Unlike Germany, Pakistan is in a worse situation with nearly 1/3rd of the country under water, inundated.

However, as much as natural rain and storms may bring us harm, it is surely not as scary and terrifying like the attack of the Assyrians on Jerusalem during the time of Isaiah the Prophet. In those ancient times, the defence of a city against an invading army is its city walls and if we are inside the city under siege, we will be praying hard that the walls will hold. Jerusalem had city walls. Castles had their own castle walls. China built the Great Wall over years across thousands of miles to ward off the invading Mongols.

Greater than the wall of Jerusalem itself is the God of Israel. Thus they pray not only that the walls will hold but their God the Great I Am will protect and repel their enemies. But if we read Isaiah 25 carefully, as much as Isaiah proclaims that the LORD will bring them victory, the LORD through His Prophet alludes to that day when He will prepare a feast of rich foods for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine, the best of meats and the finest wines and He will destroy the shroud that covers all peoples and will swallow up death forever. The sovereign God will wipe away the tears from all faces and will remove the disgrace of His people from all the earth. Jerusalem may fall to the Assyrians (which it did) and yet the day will come when they will have victory.

As much as we want to survive all storms that come our way as Jesus is with us in the boat, history has shown that there are storms that will overcome us. Jerusalem had fallen to the Assyrians and the Babylonians but today it is still alive and thriving as a nation. As believers we know that there are storms in life that will overcome us and yet like Isaiah had proclaimed, we know that the day will come when there will be that great feast of the best meats and the finest wines. If we survive the storms, well and good but if we don’t, don’t lose heart as the day of redemption and glory will come! The important thing is our faith in Christ remains intact and strong!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/09/06/a-hole-in-the-wall

It’s mooncake season now in Malaysia and as it comes once a year, I tended to eat too much at one go. Mooncakes are getting more and more expensive these days. So fortunately some places make them smaller at the same price. Fortunately, because then I will be eating less! I had just finished one whole piece yesterday night and then was relieved that it was a smaller one! ☺️

Proverbs 25:16 advises that if we find honey, eat just enough or else we will vomit. Anything that is nice and rich, we must exercise self control and eat in moderation. That is why Proverbs 25:28 teaches like a city whose wall is broken through, so is a person who lacks self control. It reminds me of the many movie stories of people finding treasure and dying with it. Like a cave full of gold and instead of just taking a bar and run before the cave closes, most will want to cart a whole case. But the point is a bar of gold alive is better than a cart of gold dead!

There is wisdom in the Proverbs because it is based on observations on human nature over time but most importantly it is the Word of God. Surely as wise as Solomon is, God is wiser. There is thus no need to always take the maximum. In negotiations, if we only go for the maximum, it is unlikely to be win-win. It is much better to cut a deal for ourselves with the other side thinking that we were dumb and had left too much on the table than have the deal deadlocked for months. Robert Kuok was willing to fund an entire venture, and own and take less than half of the profits because that was the only way to do that business in that country. The major shareholder of my former company once remarked to me in person that for some ventures we must never go in alone but as a consortium.

I think it is wise to always exercise self control and be contented. We get some of the pie, that’s good enough. No need to get all of the pie. Like a small hole in the wall that will compromise the entire city during ancient times, greed and always wanting the most will one day destroy us. Greed has caused many to risk the whole barn and lost! Cultivate self control and contentment and we will go far in life as God will see our heart and honour us as we honour Him in our lives.

https://odb.org/MY/2022/09/05/lego-lessons

One of the traits we must all have as believers is perseverance. We have heard of the phrase and we know that Christian life is not a bed of roses. In fact, in a question we discussed at our Young Adults bible class just yesterday, we realised that there is more trouble after we come into the faith. Not that God brought more problems to us but with Kingdom principles to follow, some things become more complicated than before. For example, we may be able to hold a grudge for a wrong done to us previously, but now we need to forgive and sometimes these situations add complexity to our relationships as forgiving others is not an easy task. Yet we know that we could do it because greater is He who is in us than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4). We are able to overcome our weaknesses and follow the way of the Kingdom because Christ is with us, the Holy Spirit lives in us and empowers us.

It is nevertheless not an easy task to become more like Christ each day, to cultivate and reap of the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives. It is a process and a life long one. We are transformed and changed from glory to glory. Bit by bit, we need to allow ourselves to be transformed to the image of Christ. It needs perseverance. We must toil through to become who God wants us to be in Him. Not an overnight thing and will certainly take a lifetime but we must start somewhere and progress on. We cannot be a believer and disciple of Christ if we remain our old self for too long. Christ needs to be real but He will not force us. We need to respond to Him. We need to persevere on.

Life with its many toils and struggles, storms and upheavals will not make it any easier for us to be a better Christian. Not that anything is on purpose but the world is never neutral. It is exacting and not forgiving. Everyone is after his own interests, his own KPI. So if we are a casualty or in war-speak, collateral damage – the world will not bother. The wheels of life will turn. But Christ cares, God cares and that is why we must persevere on in our faith. Events in life will unfold but it is how we respond in our faith that matters. Will we hold on to God? Will we cling on to our Lord Jesus? Will we hang on to the boat as it battles the waves and storm? Will we not let go and persevere on? James is right, only with perseverance will we build character. See James 1:4. We need to let perseverance finish its work so we may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Persevere on and we will one day receive our crown of life (James 1:12)!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/09/04/rediscovered

The rediscovery of the Book of the Covenant comprising of the first 5 books of the Bible hidden away in the Temple is a significant event that defined the reign of Josiah as one of the few kings of the Southern Kingdom of Judah who followed, obeyed and honoured God. Unlike the Northern Kingdom of Israel with its capital in the city of Samaria, Judah’s capital was in Jerusalem, the City of David. The Temple was repaired and restored during Josiah’s reign and idol worship undone and broken up.

The rediscovery of the Book of Covenant is the discovery of hidden treasures as there is so much wisdom and insight to be gleaned from the Word of God and thus we are so privileged as modern believers to have full access to the 66 books of the Bible and all accompanying materials and commentaries written over the centuries! So much wisdom and knowledge contained in the Word is now open to us.

But I think the rediscovery of the Book of Covenant is also a picture illustrative of the revelation and insight that we can get as we read His Word. As we read and go deeper, we rediscover hidden truths in the Word. As we study the Word more, the mysteries of the Kingsom are revealed to us. It is a process of rediscovery of what God had placed in Scriptures.

So every time we read the Word, ask ourselves why God allowed that passage of Scripture to be there and why was that fact or perspective presented in that manner? Why certain events were recorded and why others were not? Why a certain perspective or a certain person’s viewpoint was written down but not others? At the same time, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us what God is speaking to us at that moment of time – what is the rhema word that He is saying to us, something of direct personal application that may perhaps be a lamp unto our feet?

But in reading and understanding the Word, I think the fundamental principle all of us must hold on to, no matter how young or old, how advance we are spiritually or who we are in ministry or the church – the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). Meaning to say we need to love and want to follow and obey Him in order to understand Him and His Word. We are always in pursuit of the wisdom of the Bible, not just the knowledge, and the wisdom of the Bible is to always point us toward following and obeying the LORD, His laws and His percepts and Jesus Christ, His Son. Follow that lead and we will never go wrong!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/09/02/lighting-candles

As believers, we know that the world as we see it today will one day come to an end. Christ will return and usher in a new era before judgment day comes and before the end of time as we know it arrives. There will be the great tribulation as revealed in Revelations which is expected to run for around 3 years. There is a debate whether we will be raptured before or after tribulation but the end is that there will be a new heaven and a new earth, a new Jerusalem and God will dwell among His people. The Kingdom of God will be established physically on earth following the Second Coming of Christ.

The question today is are we ready to face Christ if He comes again today? He will come when we least expect like a thief in the night, yet are we ready and prepared for Him like the servants that are fully dressed, ready to serve the Master? Jesus spoke about this in Luke 12:35-40. Are we ready?

How do we want to be when Christ returns? Perhaps like Abraham Davenport, we want to be doing the thing God appointed us to do? Perhaps we want to be serving God in church when Christ comes again? Leading worship, leading a bible study or preaching a message or sharing Christ with someone? To be ready like that we need to be doing the thing God had planned for us and comtinually serving God in church and ministry.

I think the lesson and message today is that we will never know when exactly Christ will return although we know He will. The best we can do is to be ready and that means we do what He has called us to do and serve Him in His Kingdom of Grace. Continue to do those things and do not neglect meeting with one another. Keep our lives upright. Live in the glory of His grace. Then whenever He comes which He certainly will, we are “dressed” and ready!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/09/01/hygge

The pandemic had caused churches to close their doors with services going online. There are pros and cons, the obvious being that with online services, prayer meetings and bible studies, attendance is not restricted by distance or space. We can attend despite being thousands of miles away or even in another time zone. Zoom is probably the next best thing to teleporting, which I believe some of us are looking forward to as one of the perks of our glorified bodies!

There is however a strong case to be made for actual physical attendance, notwithstanding the reach of online platforms. That is probably why there will be tekeporting in the end of days even with the advent of technology! Seeing each other in the flesh brings a different experience and binds us together in a stronger way. WhatsApp messages, telephone or video calls are good for communicating but the bonds of human relationships are better built when we see each other in the flesh. The TV or mobile screens are still 2D and thus lack the depth and clarity of actual 3D breathing human bodies. Somehow although we are communicating, online interactions do not genuinely feel like we are meeting together. That’s also probably why companies and businesses are insisting that employees come back to office while retaining the flexibility to work from home for some days. While we can work from anywhere with technology, explanations and discussions are still the best when done in person face to face.

Therefore, like the writer of Hebrews (believed to be Paul) encouraging the mainly Jewish audience (who came across as somewhat wavering in their faith) to come together to worship God as a group, we must likewise not neglect meeting up together as churches open up and encourage physical on site services. Ultimately, physical meetings also serve as checks and balances to help each of us to remain strong in the faith. Our presence is also an encouragement to the others of their faith. Moreover, it is part of our society’s migration to the endemic phase of the pandemic to turn the Covid-19 virus into something like the common cold. People will get it eventually but they will also get over it with vaccinations and strengthened internal immunities achieving herd immunity.

Let’s meet together in church or outside for meals or at our homes in fellowship to foster and grow our relationships with one another for the betterment of the community of believers!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/08/31/when-knowledge-hurts

It is true that knowledge brings sorrow as there are certain truths when discovered would make us sad. Like the case of a famous Christian apologist, it was shockingly discouraging. Or there could be family secrets buried deep in history when finally discovered or made known to us that made us cringe in shame. While knowledge may bring sorrow and misery, the truth reveals the stark reality of our human nature. We are humans after all, not angelic beings. We are capable of committing sin and evil. We can and will do wrong.

The other thing about the discovery of certain past truths is that we need to realise it was a different world back then. While some may be in pursuit of the finer things in life, most I believe, were just struggling back in the day to put food on the table for the family. Most families were relatively large and some men even had a few wives and I’m not talking about Solomon! That compounded the struggle. Just go back in time to 100 years past and we will see life back then was very different. We will then understand why certain things could have occurred in our families, things kept as dark secrets over the years.

The book of Ecclesiastes is strange as the book of Proverbs is familiar. There is a sense of despair and life being meaningless. We are just a fleeting moment in time. We exist for a while and are gone like the flowers in the field. Of course, time is relative – the flowers live for a few weeks but we live for an average of 80 years but to God, thousands of years is also just a moment, a flicker of the eye.

The concept of eternity and eternal life didn’t really come into play until Jesus appeared on the scene, yet the conclusion from Proverbs and Ecclesiastes is that true wisdom is to know God and follow Him. Cling to Him. Then we will realise that life is not meaningless because we don’t exist for a fleeting moment. God has put eternity in our hearts. We live forever in the spirit, our souls are eternal. Then we realise that what we do while on earth while we are still breathing matters! Life is indeed not meaningless. The meaning to life is actually to know God and be in fellowship with Him through Christ! Amen! Praise the Lord indeed! Hallelujah!

A hotel leaving its porch light on in a sea of darkness as a sign to show that guests and travellers are always welcome is an apt illustration of a Christian being a light to the world. As a light of the world, we are the “go to” place for the lost to find the way to eternal life. We are the stairway and bridge to Christ. We point the way to Jesus and God as Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. The Kingdom of God is where we are, we are the light of the world.

As a light for the world, we are not only the entrance and pointer to God’s kingdom but we ourselves also illuminate the way for others, for the world. We are the source of God’s wisdom for the world, a place of counsel and good advice. We illuminate the path like the Word of God is a lamp unto our way. We have the Word of God in us as Christ and the Holy Spirit are within us, living in us. We are thus Christ to the dying and broken world, the source of joy and comfort, of encouragement and edification, the place of counsel and wisdom.

Practically, in Matthew 5:3-10 aka the Beautitudes, Jesus had listed the attributes of those who are in and thus the Kingdom of God. Good deeds, humility, meekness, showing mercy, righteousness, a pure heart and peacemaking. These are the attributes of us as children of the light, besides our countenance that displays the glory of God. Thus being the light for the world is certainly not a mere assertion but an attitude of wanting and being the person pointing others to God the Father, Christ and the Holy Spirit. It is also the attitude of wanting and being the person with wisdom and counsel of God and most crucially it is having the character of God with good deeds, humility, meekness, mercy, righteousness, pureness of heart and peacemaking. As we display and have the attributes of God in our lives, others will look to us as a beacon of hope in the dying and broken world, and thus a light in the sea of darkness! Therefore let’s go out there into the world today and start being that light that shines forth in and for the darkness!