https://odb.org/MY/2023/03/22/permission-to-rest

I recall dealing with modern-day religious Jews in contract negotiations. As they hold Israeli passports, they couldn’t enter Malaysia, and thus, our face to face meetings were either held in Bangkok or Singapore. Besides kosher food, these religious Jews were strict adherents to observing their Shabbat, and thus, they will begin their journey back to Israel from Thursday night as Shabbat was from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. They will thus travel back to Asia on Sunday, and we will meet again to finalise the contract from Monday to Thursday. I recall having been fascinated by their exemplary dedication towards their day of rest. Of course, the Shabbat in the Jewish context is not just a day of rest but also a time to read the Scriptures with the family, a time to worship God.

Although as believers we were raised with the same Old Testament laws as the Jews, we do not take the observance of the Shabbat or Sabbath as religiously. However, for most of us, we do dedicate Sundays for God’s work in terms of going to church, worship, cell group meetings, and maybe stealing a moment of rest or two. But rather than rest, we are usually very busy with ministry and churchwork on Sundays. Sometimes, we use Sunday evenings to catch up with friends and family or do visitations.

In our modern-day work, which at times requires us to attend to work matters, even on weekends, it is good whenever possible to just have moments of rest on Saturdays and Sundays to just stay home and spend time with family. It may not be possible to enforce a full day since we are busy on Sundays with church, and usually Saturdays are filled with practices for Sundays; we should nevertheless try whenever possible to just chill at home for some patches of time. Maybe cook a meal together or do some cleaning at home or gardening. For those days without church activities on a Saturday, perhaps Saturday could be our day of rest. A day to spend time with God and family. To recharge before the work week starts again on Monday.

Our Heavenly Father, when He did the work of creation, completed it in 6 days, and He rested on the 7th day. He had appointed one day as a day of rest. We should likewise have our own day of rest, and if our circumstances permit, we should emulate the religious Jews who religiously adhere to and keep their Shabbat. If we can’t, just enforce for ourselves some period of rest, perhaps Saturday mornings and afternoons? Or even Sunday afternoons? Have a time of rest with family and use it to fellowship and worship God within the confines of our homes.

https://odb.org/MY/2023/03/21/spiritual-renewal

As we grow older, we can not avoid but notice that there are changes to our bodies. We do things slightly slower. We think not as fast as we used to. Also, we have less stamina. When we could spend a whole day packing up and moving house when young, we tire after a few hours now. In addition, we started to have long-term illnesses like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver, etc. Some of our illnesses require long-term medication. Our hairline is also thinning, and our muscles are not as strong as they used to be.

But in 2 Corinthians 4:14-16, Paul encourages us that while our external bodies are getting weaker, our spiritual man is getting stronger. We are being renewed daily while on earth in preparation for our eternity in heaven. That’s because as we grow in maturity in the Lord, our spirit man is strengthened and grows likewise. We get stronger by the day. Paul also reminds us that whatever sufferings we go through now can not compare to the glory that awaits us in Christ Jesus. The time will come when we will get to live the Revelation 21 experience in the new heaven and earth and the new Jerusalem. Eden on earth again, as seen by John and recorded in Revelation 22. Hallelujah!

Just a word of caution, though. Will our spirit man grow if we are isolated and only worship God in the privacy of our personal space, whether in church or at home? Whether spending time with God in our quiet time, meditating upon His Word day and night, interacting with Jesus in prayer helps us to grow our inner spiritual being? I’m sure it will!

But I think that actually serving God is equally important. We can not exercise our faith in isolation to our surroundings without meeting the needs of the people around us. Faith without good works is dead, so says James in his book at chapter 2 verse 14. Our personal dedication to God must go hand in hand with our service for Him as ultimately the fruit of the Spirit needs to be manifested in our good works. Salvation is by grace and not by works, but once we are saved, we need to have good works to reflect our gratefulness and thankfulness to God for His salvation and sacrifice for us on the cross.

Worship God, read His Word daily, study, and meditate it. Pray for others. Serve God in church and ministries. Attend our cell group to participate and contribute our thoughts and ideas. Cook a meal for our home fellowship. Help feed the poor and the hungry. Go out there into the streets to give away tracts. Preach the Gospel, help others. Do meaningful stuff for Christ. Even in our old age, serve the Lord.

https://odb.org/MY/2023/03/20/catching-contentment

Psalm 131 gives us a picture of contentment in the form of a child weaned of his mother’s milk. This means the child has had his heart’s content of his mother’s milk and is now truly satisfied. He is ready for other food. Solid food.

In the spiritual context, Psalm 131 can speak of us having been weaned off spiritual milk and is now ready for the more meaty spiritual stuff. We may need to contend with more difficult questions confronting us or our church or community. Bigger challenges in the spiritual realm. Basically, our spiritual lives are no longer just personal matters. We should start caring for and pray for matters affecting others in general. Health challenges faced by others in our congregation. National issues faced by our country’s leadership. We need to step out of our own private circle and start to pray for bigger matters and issues.

But contentment also speaks of ourselves in our quest for our personal goals and aspirations. Are we happy with what we have? If we want more, does that mean we are not contented? If we are already satisfied, does that mean we are already contented and thus will not strive for more? In order to progress, we need to strive for more, to work harder for the next level, whether in our spiritual lives, in ministry, or our careers.

I think the key to all this is to be contented with what we have and yet want to progress further. We need to continuously improve ourselves, and yet we are contented that if this is the best God has for us, we are happy not to go further. But if God wants us to stretch a bit more, we will nevertheless go ahead and do more. The important thing I believe with contentment is to be happy with what we are and what we have where we are. Be thankful and grateful to God. Sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labour. There is no need to keep on striving and keep on accumulating that we forget to enjoy what we have achieved. Be contented. Yet if God calls, we move on again. We do not want to be lazy and just rest on our laurels and not improve ourselves when an opportunity comes. But perhaps contentment means we don’t work so hard looking for that next opportunity!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/03/19/brother-saul

Are you like Ananias? Are you afraid of your calling? Jesus spoke to Ananias in a vision to go to Saul as Saul already had a vision that a man named Ananias would come and restore his sight. Yet Ananias was afraid and hesitant because Saul’s reputation had preceded him. He was known as a persecutor of the believers and had authority from the High Priest to arrest and bring them back to Jerusalem. But Christ assured Ananias that all will be well. Ananias took the step of faith, and in the years to follow, Saul, also known as Paul in Greek, became the force that propelled the Gospel forth to all Judea and across the Greek-speaking world of the Roman empire. Paul also fleshed out the detailed basis for the theology of the church as he wrote 13-14 of the 27 New Testament books. You will also notice that a lot of the pages in the book of Acts from Acts 9 onwards are dedicated to the missionary exploits and ministry of Paul.

I was also afraid of my calling when I was younger. I was afraid as someone had taught me that I had to choose between my career and my calling. But in the past 30 to 40 years, I had continued working while serving God in parallel. Over time, the fear disappeared and was replaced with the joy of serving. There was a patch of around 6 years when we used to travel 150km a Sunday (to and fro) to serve in music and minister in Word to a small congregation of believers. The thing is that we still own the same car that we used to travel on those days! It is now a 20-year-old workhorse! In those days, when we were travelling for church and work, we used to dream about owning a weekend home in the city. It was only much later that we managed to acquire another place in the city, and from last year, we started using that as our weekday home!

I think like Ananias, we need not be afraid of our calling in God. Just continue at it, and eventually, Jesus will find us an equilibrium that we are comfortable with. Jesus need not force Ananias to go to Saul at Judas’s house on Straight Street. Ananias hesitated for a moment but went ahead anyway and became the first person from the believers then to meet and heal the man who eventually became one of the greatest suferrer and also the most brilliant living testimony of Christ.

Pursue that calling God has placed in our hearts. Do not be afraid. God will give us the assurance and the rest, and we will find our joy in serving Him.

Today also marks the first anniversary of my dad’s passing. He is dearly missed by all of us who are still living, and we cherish those memories of him that are still etched in our minds, especially our last Chinese New Year celebrations together in 2022.

https://odb.org/MY/2023/03/17/were-not-alone-2

The church in Laodecia (Revelation 3:14-22), also known as the lukewarm church (neither hot nor cold), was in that predicament as they were materially wealthy. Blessed with riches, there is a perception that they do not need God. In fact, Jesus said precisely that to them. You say I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing (verse 17).

It is ironic that wealth may cause us not to need God because the ancients in the bible were wealthy. Abraham had so much cattle and sheep and goats and servants that he had to part ways with his nephew Lot as there was not enough in the land for both of them. In fact, when Lot was captured by a king, Abraham was able to assemble a small army out of his men to rescue Lot. Joseph was the second in command of the richest and most powerful nation of the known world then. With the guidance from the LORD, Joseph was able to store grain for use in the coming 7 years of famine and saved the Abrahamic tribe as a result.

Perhaps the church in the book of Acts started life poor with mainly poor and marginalised people in its ranks, and as some grew wealthy over time, there was no need for God as they had turned to God in their poverty. Whether we are a fresh graduate struggling with our basic pay package or a pensioner with just enough to go by month by month or someone with above average income or with acquired or inherited wealth, I think we should all be able to thank God for His salvation and for His blessings upon our lives. Ultimately, what we have on earth matters less than the treasures that we have stored in heaven through our good works and our faithful service for God. Whether we are in abundance or have just enough, if we nevertheless sow and share and give away to the needy as prompted by the Spirit, I’m sure we will learn dependence on God because no matter how much we have, it is still finite.

Thus, I think the key out of the Laodecia predicament is to hold lightly to our wealth if we have acquired some. Be prepared to share and bless others. Don’t embrace it so tightly until it chokes the life of God out of us. Wealth is something to be used when necessary. Remember, it is the heavenly treasures that matter in the end. In the process, we will become hot again for Jesus, and He will not spit us out of His mouth!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/03/16/scripture-training

If we put in the effort to study the Scriptures, whether New or Old Testament in our free time on top of our quiet time, I am sure we will learn a lot that will enrich our soul and strengthen our spirit. Paul exhorts in 2 Timothy 3:16 that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction for righteousness that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. In other words, Scripture completes us as a man of God and properly and thoroughly equips us to prepare us for God’s work. It also means that we can not be fully effective in ministry if we do not study the Scriptures. Why? Because the essence of who God is resides in the Word of God. The essence of life itself, which is God, is logos, and that’s the Word of God. As we read and study and research, we will derive both the logos and the rhema of the Word.

When we study the Scriptures, we will see many life stories and historical events, but the theme from Genesis to Revelation is God’s love for His people. He spoke through His prophets during ancient times. He then came on earth and became man. Jesus was God-personified in human form, and He was gentle and humble. He was not a galaxy away but right here with us, next to us, and after the crucifixion of Christ for the sins of mankind, He remains with us through the Holy Spirit. In worship, we see Him face to face in our spirit, but to know who He is, we need to read and understand His Word. To relate to Him, to communicate with Him, we need to read His Word. His Word is alive and will guide us through to salvation. In the often turbulent sea of life, His Word is the safe harbour of salvation. His Word is like the beacon of the lighthouse showing us where is where, so we may land safely ashore. His Word is both a shield for our faith and a doubled edged sword to slay and destroy the evil plans of the enemy.

There are many nuances that we can not easily discover just by reading the Word plainly. Although a verse to another may look like the next day, sometimes many years had passed in between. It is usually sequential but not necessarily the next day or week or even month. A deeper study will reveal the truth to us.

The message this morning is to spend time studying the Scriptures. It can only lead to good things. 100%, it will not be a wasted effort. It will be worth every minute spent. It leads us to eternity, and as we read more, our passage to eternal life will be preserved and safeguarded. Make thy Word a lamp unto my path, O Lord, my Lord and Saviour, my beloved Father in heaven!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/03/15/dont-just-do-something-stand-there

We learned from Elijah (1 Kings 19:11-19) after he ran away from Jezebel’s threat to terminate his life when he was hiding in a cave at Mt Horeb that God was in a still small voice and not in the wind, earthquake or fire. It is a picture of how we as believers must somehow find God in the stillness of a moment despite the flurry of activities we are physically doing or the emotional turmoil we may be going through or the thousand and one thoughts going through our minds. We can not find God in all those swirling moments as He can only be found in a still small voice. Still means we are not moving, just being alone with Him. Small means it is soft, hardly audible. It is not dramatic, not loud, and not spectacular. And voice means it’s the voice of God speaking to us in our spirit. In song, we sing that in worship, we see You face to face. Because in worship, we worship in spirit (our spirit with God) and in truth (as in the words and our heart).

However, today’s Word in Psalm 46 has a somewhat different slant to it. The LORD says, “Be still and know that I am God.” It means that we have to be still to hear that still small voice, and yet it’s an exaltation and encouragement from the LORD that He is God. That means that we must trust Him in faith that He is who He is and who He says He is. Like the photo in the life story in today’s ODB, He can pick us out in sharp focus from all the millions around us, from all the traffic and activities surrounding us, blurring out everything else and just looking at us. Jesus is saying He is with us. He knows what to do. He hears us and sees us.

Be confident to walk on in faith and to stick with our principles in God. Life pressures may bend us, but do not be swayed. Do not yield to the attractions of the world or the temptations of the evil one. Stay on the narrow path of righteousness. God is and will be with us all the way, and when we see the missing footsteps in the sand, we know those are the times Jesus carried us in His arms; for to Jesus, we ain’t heavy, we are His brother and sister. Commit our plans and aspirations to Him, and He will give us rest. For His yoke is easy, and His burden is light.

Have a good day ahead and the remaining week. I have not posted for nearly a week as I have been down with a bad bout of cold with a sore throat and high fever for the past few days. Praise the Lord, I’m now on the road to full recovery!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/03/09/comfort-on-doorframes

If we get to watch Orthodox Jews movies or drama series on Netflix or YouTube like the famous Shtisel, we will notice the practice of the Jews touching something at the doorpost of a Jewish home and saying a prayer before they enter. That ornament, sometimes placed at an angle instead of straight, is called the mezuzah and contains a rolled up scroll of Scriptures in response to the commandment of the LORD in Deuteronomy 6:4-9 which is to write His law and place it on their doorposts and gates. The Jews believe the written Word will ward off evil, and perhaps it is also symbolic of the practice of the ancients putting up the blood of an unblemished lamb on their doorposts during their time in Egypt when the angel of death passed over their homes and instead took the lives of all first born of the Egyptian households including that of their animals. That, of course, led to the feast of the Passover which Jesus Himself had as His last meal before His crucifixion on the cross and which in turn formed the basis for our Christian tradition in having the Holy Communion or the Eucharist as it is known in the Catholic Church.

We do not have the equivalent of the mezuzah in Christian homes, but I think it is good to have paintings or ornaments with Scripture written on them to remind us of God’s Word and also to ward off evil forces. Using symbols like ornaments, we want to proclaim to the world at large as well as to the hidden spiritual world that Christ is the head of our home, that He is our Lord and Saviour. We want to tell everyone that we are in the faith, and as we proudly proclaim His name, we want our lives to also reflect His laws and His glory. With symbolism, we will also be compelled to live out our lives accordingly. We want to be proud to be Christians and to carry the name of Jesus as reflected in how we treat others, with love, compassion, and grace like our Lord Jesus Christ.

The message this morning is to identify ourselves as Christians so that others know we are for Christ. We should not be hidden or secret Christians unless our unique situation requires us to be so. We should be proud of our faith and always be ready to share the Gospel and our testimony of how God has touched our lives. Practically, when we publicly identify as followers of Christ, we are also more careful when we speak or act lest we put the name of Christ to shame. We can use ornaments, or we can carry a bible with us, or we can have the Word written in our hearts, but let the world know that we are for Christ, that we are of the Jesus crowd! Amen

https://odb.org/MY/2023/03/08/proclaim-2

There could be occasions in our lives when we are faced with forces much bigger and much more powerful than us. For example, if we are a government servant, the whole government machinery is quite impossible for us as individuals to take on. Even large corporates, if they are our employers, are beyond us. In my situation, changes at my previous workplace made it difficult for me to continue despite having been there for a long time. Old was looked upon as passe even though the new kids on the block weren’t exactly doing a fantastic job.

Fortunately, in my case, the Lord opened a door for me in a startup created by an established telecommunications company looking to expand its revenue base due to market changes. As I was at my previous employment for many years, I was offered a small severance package, and with my new job, it was certainly a win-win that only God in His compassion, grace and love could make possible. He was indeed the defender of the defenceless, which, in a contemporary context, need not necessarily mean orphans, widows, or the foreigner. Anyone facing forces much larger than us can be, in my view, in that situation, and the Lord is gracious and kind and is our defender.

His grace and compassion did not stop there, as when I started work at my new place, I realised how positively different my new work environment is in terms of the culture and expectations. The commute to work became just a 7km 15 mins drive when it was a 50km 45-minute journey previously. I get to live in Petaling Jaya during weekdays, the city where I had spent my university days more than 30 years ago. In a way, I now have the opportunity to relive my college days when I was just a small town boy adapting to the bright city lights! In addition to all that, recent developments indicate that the skill sets that I had previously developed at my previous place were in demand here as the parent’s legal department, although has 50 lawyers, none with M&A experience. To top it all, M&A is what I enjoyed doing the most. I’m really thankful and grateful to the Lord for being my defender, and the question now is what lies ahead from Him in terms of His future plans and purposes for me in ministry and service.

The message today is that if we are caught out in a defenceless situation where we are most vulnerable and that can be in an abusive relationship, or against forces much larger than us like that of the all powerful employer against a mere employee (even Steve Jobs couldn’t take on his board at the early stages of his career in the Apple he founded and created!), God can and will be our defender. He has His ways to provide us a way out and give us a new lease of life elsewhere. He will defend our dignity and restore our confidence and self-esteem. If we are faced with a situation involving our stand for Jesus, He will be the defender of our faith! Put our trust in the Lord, our God, and He will take care of us! AMEN!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/03/07/never-too-far

When I was a younger Christian at my previous church, we had different levels of bible studies, which was a way for the church to gauge spirituality and thus leadership potential. So the basic was ‘Favourite Verse’, and then we were supposed to progress to ‘Four Questions or 4Q’, but at the top, it was ‘EA’ or ‘Exposition & Articulation’ if I’m not mistaken. EA was very much a method to seek the Lord in the Word for preaching and, at the highest level, involved the reading of a whole book of the bible with a focus on a chapter and then a passage. So, the context of the logos Word will definitely be safeguarded. These were basically bible study methods but was used also as a gauge for the level of our relationship with God in terms of our spiritual level. Of course, real spirituality lies within us and the character that we have become in Christ in terms of the Fruit of the Spirit. But what’s inside is unseen to the naked eye. Thus, the external manifestation was used as a guide. Flawed, but we are human, even in the church and ministry.

Later, when what was really within the leadership of the church came all out in the open in terms of their disposition towards money and its distribution among the founders and the rest of the full-time workers, the church split and many among us who were training to be future leaders at the bottom of the pile were disillusioned. Many left the ministry, ceasing to serve God altogether, and there were those who even left the faith. Some remained out of the church system for many years, preferring to worship God solo. Of course, there were others who were unperturbed and went on to achieve great things for God.

During my circa eight years there, I was at the basic level of spirituality – the FV (Favourite Verse) crowd. A future leader, perhaps but not one yet, by far. Nevertheless, I have persevered on and have now served God one way or another for nearly 40 years. I think it is ok to be at the basic level if we are able to keep at it without leaving the faith. Maybe not the best as we should be progressing, but fauthfulness must count towards something in the eyes of God.

But if the converse is true of us, that is, we were at the ‘EA’ level when younger but became disillusioned and left ministry or even church altogether; it is time to look into seriously returning to serving Jesus. Peter, the boldest of all Jesus’s disciples and the first leader among the Apostles, once denied Christ 3 times. We read in Luke 22:62 that Peter wept bitterly when he couldn’t rise up to the occasion to stand with Jesus at the critical moment and was instead gripped with fear and trepidation and denied Christ.

Did the Lord forgive Peter thereafter? Yes, He did as Peter was the pillar of the early church, and with the power of the Holy Spirit, he even raised Tabitha from the dead after she died and had been prepared for burial. Peter was the one who said to the man crippled from birth, silver and gold I do not have but in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk! See Acts 3:6.

It doesn’t matter what happened in those intervening years after we ceased serving God. What matters is that we return to Him now and start serving Him again. Not one day, but now. Start serving God again in whatever capacity as prompted by the Holy Spirit. We may have lost our youth to the world or our own desires of the flesh, but it’s in the past. Start afresh today, and emulate Peter, who rose from the ashes of shame to be a trusted lieutenant of Christ! In fact, Peter was a general in faith!