https://odb.org/MY/2022/08/05/we-need-his-help

I think we all know very well that we need each other’s help to do things and that includes our ministries and spiritual lives. At work, we achieve more as a team with each team player doing his or her part to reach the goal or KPI. There are superstars among us but it is better to be a superstar at mobilising people than just a lone star. A good example will be Obama who through organising and mobilising managed to become the first black President of the United States of America.

Today’s ODB makes an interesting point. We all also know that we need Jesus’s help in our every day lives. In all that we do, if we are totally reliant on Jesus, we will achieve much. But the point made is more to rely on Jesus in our spiritual walk, in our spiritual life. That’s really true and pertinent. This is because sometimes we tend to think that when it comes to our spiritual walk and life, it’s our own journey to make. Christ has opened the way. He has built the bridge for us to cross over to the other side. He has gone ahead of us to prepare a room for us at our Father’s mansion. Isn’t that wonderful enough? We thus have to make our own way over there. That’s somehow how we may tend to think. Christ has done so much, we thus need to do our part to make the journey there.

The truth is that even in the journey there, to the place of eternal life, the mansion with many rooms or some translations say the place with many mansions, Jesus is there with us. Christ is there to help us. As we strive for the fruit of the Spirit, to be made more like Christ, Christ is there to help us. Even in our spiritual life, Christ is there to help us as He would in all other areas of our life. Christ and our Heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit, they are not like judges who want to test and see who will make it across the line. Instead, the picture is that they are like facilitators or coaches who will give us all the support they can, all the help they can, so that we can make it across the line. There are rules of engagement of course. The devil and his cohorts are always there to draw us away from the right path. The world and all its fancy lights will tempt us away from God. Our own fleshy desires will want to dominate us and rule over our spiritual aspirations. But know that we are not alone, Christ is and will always be there to help us. He has also given us the Helper, the Holy Spirit, to empower and help us in our weaknesses in order that we have the strength to endure and make it through the journey to the finish line.

https://odb.org/MY/2022/08/04/the-privilege-of-stewardship

We can see from Genesis 1 that as human beings we were supposed to rule over the fish in the sea, the birds that fly and every living creature that moves on the ground. This means that humans were created above all other animals and living creatures and we know that because God created us in His image. In His image in the sense we are also spiritual beings and we share His character like having a kind, loving and merciful nature and disposition or at least we are capable of that! Of course we know the serpent came and disrupted all that with sin and now although we are still above all other creatures on earth, we don’t have dominion over them. Given a chance, the carnivores among them will attack and devour us. We are after all still food to them!

As we were supposed to have dominion over the animals and creatures of the earth, in a sense we are like stewards of them. We are their guardians and shepherds the same way God is our guardian and shepherd. That is why the writer of today’s ODB argues that as humans, we have a responsibility and obligation to care for the welfare of the animals and creatures of the earth. I do not disagree with the writer but for this morning, I like to point out another facet of our stewardship.

As much as we are stewards of God’s creation that we originally had authority over, we are also stewards over our God-given talents and giftings. The talents, giftings and skills God have blessed us over the years with or that we were born with, we need to harness and hone them all for the Kingdom of God. We need to make sure we are contributing to His causes, making use of our God-given talents and giftings and skills. We need to be good stewards of our talents, giftings and skills – never shy to use them to bless others and glorify His name. Never shy away from glorifying Him because we recognise that it was God who gave us all that. Speak for God if we have the gift of the gab or sing for God if God had blessed us with a sweet and melodic voice. Write for Him if we are good at writing and preach for Him if that’s our passion. Disciple people if that is our gifting or plant churches if that is our calling. Our time on earth is limited, whatever we want to do for God, do it now, do it today. Time and tide wait for no man. We don’t have all the time in the world to do what God has put in our hearts to do for Him. Just go out and do it now and in the process we will be good stewards of our God-given talents, giftings and skills!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/08/03/when-prayer-shakes-the-earth

Like the sand on the beach is able to reveal much about the seashore in terms of the content of the minerals, sea shells and coral fragments and I will add remains of marine life, our little prayer can actually shake mountains! In Revelation 8, John actually saw the prayers of the saints together with the fire of the altar bringing peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake! It was the combined prayers of all of God’s people and it helped bring about and usher in the end of time and the second coming of Christ!

Our little prayer matters in the Kingdom of God. Things move in the spiritual realm as we pray. Hearts are touched and turned towards God even as we pray and our prayers can move the hand of God. We can see justice even on earth as we pray. Miracles, signs and wonders, and healings can take place in our physical bodies. The natural may be moved by the spiritual even as we pray.

More importantly the little things we do including our prayers matter. They carry weight when combined with the prayers and efforts of all the saints. That is why it is perfectly fine to contribute and participate from where we are, from our own little spot and corner on this earth. Nowadays with WhatsApp and the Internet, we can reach out to people at the other end of the earth. But even without that, what we do for God at our own sphere of influence matters. Our contribution may be minute and microscopic even but it is never de minimis. Nothing is too small to not matter in the eyes of God. The concept of immateriality as we know it in accounting is not present in God’s books. Everything is material and carry weight. The two pennies from the poor widow meant the world to her and to God too!

Continue to do what we are doing in the Kingdom of God. Strive on forward. Press on forward. One day, we will see Christ come again!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/08/02/authentic

The Book of Proverbs contains mainly wisdom teaching that stand the passage of time. This means that it was relevant then and still relevant now and will still be relevant in the coming days. But if we were to dwell deeper into Proverbs, we will find that the prevailing and prevalent theme is probably best summed up by this phrase, “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom”. In the end, the wise man is the man that fears God. In other words, to be wise is to love God. We heed His laws and percepts. We follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit. We do what our heart tells us to do as we hear and seek Him out. If Christ corrects us, we repent and turn away from the error of our ways.

There is thus a strong case for us to heed the advice of others who made the loving effort to correct us. Few are bothered or will want to risk the friendship to correct another but to those who dared, we must take note. It is not optional. If they dared, we must take heed. We must listen and change. Ultimately it is for our own good. For example, if someone were to advise us not to only think of our own interests when making decisions. We may argue that it is natural and therefore permissable. This is how the world works. No one looks out for others. But if we continue on this road of destruction; one day, we may taste our own medicine and sonetimes that day can be much sooner than later. Even if one does not believe in God, God exists and He is a God of justice. The same way as the existence of God is not dependent on our beliefs, the existence of divine retribution is also not a matter of whether we believe in it or not. So as Stephen Covey taught, always try to find a win-win outcome and not a win-lose consequence, just because we can.

Proverbs 15:31 advises – whoever heeds life giving correction will be at home among the wise. Heed the advice. Don’t laugh at what God says as the pride of life will lead us to destruction. The Lord only advises us because He loves us, because He doesn’t want us to suffer the consequences of our wrongful decisions. Just because everyone is doing it doesn’t mean it is the right thing to do.

https://odb.org/MY/2022/08/01/in-this-together

To those of us who used to enjoy warm fellowship with others because of our work position, there could be a sense of loneliness when that fellowship disappeared because we are no longer in that position. It could happen because we moved departments or had taken another role or had moved on to another company or to a different industry. In the work context, we need to restart the process of getting to know new people at the new place and establish new bonds.

Paul had a similar if more dramatic experience. He was imprisoned and facing imminent death. At his first defence, everyone fled and deserted him. Now as he is facing imminent death, he longed for Timothy, his protégé, to come see him the soonest. Alexander, the metal worker did a lot of harm to him. When everyone deserted him, the Lord however was with him. The Lord stood with him and gave him strength. The fact that the Lord was with Paul is of course not surprising to the least since Paul practically demanded to be tried before Ceasar so he could proclaim the good news of Christ crucified and resurrected to Ceasar in Rome and he knew that he would most likely be sent to his death.

We are likely to be in a less extreme or precarious position than Paul and yet it is my trust and belief that if almost everyone has deserted us, the Lord will still be with us. He will nevertheless stand by our side in our moments of loneliness and desertion. Our past friends and colleagues no longer call us or interact with us like in the past. We may feel that we are all alone and deserted, yet we know God is always by our side. Make new friends, establish new bonds. Rebuild our network. We start afresh at our new place. Wherever that is. But know that in this journey, Christ is and will always be at our side, giving us strength and supporting us. Even as there may have been people who had meant or done us harm, God will deal with them in His own way and time. Don’t dwell too much into the past or our previous life. Instead look ahead and strive on forward to reach out to the goal Christ has set before us even as we look towards Him heavenward to finish our race and take hold of the prize that awaits us in Christ Jesus!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/07/31/make-it-your-own-dawg

As we look to Paul’s life as an example for our own spiritual journey, we see that he started anew when he got to know Jesus. He considered all that he had learned as a Pharisee as nothing even though he used to take pride in his achievements. He started afresh in his new faith, not in terms of knowledge but in terms of achievements. Meaning to say what he had achieved previously was nothing to be proud of, just dung – everything a loss. Paul’s knowledge of the law and sculptures were essential in his crafting of the new testament theology based on the death and resurrection of Christ and yet what he had achieved in the past was nothing. He started again His walk with God by preaching Christ crucified and resurrected and thus his apostolic journey planting and building churches.

There is a sense that as we enter into the Kingdom of God, what we had achieved in the past whether as a student or a working adult, our excellent examination results or our work achievements, are nothing in the Kingdom of God. We need to start anew. The knowledge and experience gained are useful but what Christ has in store for us has no bearing on who we are or were in the world. Like Paul, we need to start again pressing on heavenward towards the goal Christ has for us, forgetting what is behind and straining forward to what is ahead. The Kingdom of God is a totally new and different world. It works on a different set of principles and motivations. Its goal is the salvation of mankind. It is not the revenue or EBITDA or PAT numbers. Not our sales. Not our profits. It is the souls and final destination of our friends and families.

Thus I fully agree with the suggestion by today’s ODB writer that we make it our own. As much as we look to Paul, David, Joshua and all the other great men of God in the bible, in the past and present, our spiritual journey is our own to make. We are who we are before God. We are fearfully and wonderfully made by God in His image to conform to His will. There are specific plans and purposes for us. We must forget what is behind and strive forward to grab hold of all that Christ has prepared for us that only we can take hold of. Don’t miss making our own mark in the Kingdom of Heaven. We all have a place, we just need to make it our own place! We have our own journey with all our idiosyncrasies, weaknesses and human frailty but with Christ in our lives, we will be restored and made anew and be that someone our Heavenly Father will be proud of. We could become all that we could ever be in Christ! Amen!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/07/30/puddles-of-sunshine

I was in the United Kingdom recently to attend Ivan’s graduation and the first thing I noticed when I touched down is the long day. It was summer and dawn breaks early at nearly 4.00 am but the sun only sets like around 9.30 pm! First time I experienced it as someone who had lived all my life in the equator and it was a truly amazing experience! With more than 17 hours of daylight, there is a lot of excitement in the air and it sorts of usher in a sense of us wanting to do as much as we can to take advantage of the long day. Thus we were up early, had breakfast and off we go seeing the sights, taking the tube and then just walking and walking and walking! When we join a local tour, they pick you up at 7.15 am at the point of rendezvous! Or they start at 8.00 am sharp. The local Sainsbury store opens at 6.00 am and only closes at 10.00 pm! In fact, we could walk out and get coffee at the cafe at 6.00 am!

Light brings excitement and motivation. Light penetrates into the darkness and provides a clear vision ahead. As much as artificial light tries to do the same, it is not the same. Artificial light is just not prevalent and all encompassing enough. That is why when Jesus came into the world, He made such a major and significant difference. He was the light of the world, breaking into the darkness allowing mankind a breakthrough in the spiritual realm. Mankind that was lost in sin was rescued, redeemed and restored to our normal self with access to God the Father – a privilege only extended to one nation before that and even then, under strict rules and regulations. Jesus made it possible for the Gentiles i.e. the rest of the world, all the other nations and tribes to know God and He will come again once every tribe and nation have been given the opportunity to hear the Gospel and accept Jesus into their lives.

By extension, we are the light of the world wherever we are as we carry the name of Christ and have the power of the Holy Spirit who resides in us. Wherever we are, we can be that summer day to extend the day break into darkness and let the light prevail longer and longer over darkness. We hold the key to the light for the world in darkness as we are an extension of Christ. The Kingdom of God is alive and present wherever we are. The heavenly realm may penetrate into the physical whenever and wherever we are as we are the Kingdom of God. We are the signs and wonders, the miraculous healings of God.

My encouragement and exhortation to you and I today is as much as we love the puddles of sunshine and light over the shadows and darkness, remember that we are the extended light of the world. Play our part to illuminate the path and direct others to the right path that we may all enjoy and bask in the glory of Christ and the glorious presence of God!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/07/29/followed-by-his-goodness

“Surely Your goodness and love will follow me for the rest of my life” as proclaimed by David in Psalm 23:6. Other translations use the phrase, “goodness and mercy”, a phrase I’m more acquinted with for Psalm 23. Surely this is what we as believers want for our lives as we give our hearts to God. That the quid pro quo for us entering into the family of God, besides the eternal and everlasting life, is a life where the goodness and mercy of God follow us for the rest of our lives. He is our God and we are His people. We obey His percepts and He protects us. He is our King and our Shepherd. We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.

I recall when young and a non-Christian, the Chinese, in general including my own extended family, were preoccupied with the concept of luck. Praying and hoping for good luck and good fortune. That’s why the blessing for Chinese New Year is always about prosperity and good health. We hope that bad luck will not follow us. Instead we hope that we will have good luck. It usually is but not necessarily meant for gambling as good luck can be for all areas of our life. Good luck means good fortune and that can be for our studies, our business, our work, our company, our family etc.

The difference now as a believer is that goodness and mercy of God is the personal involvement of God Himself in our lives. Goodness and mercy is like good luck and good fortune except these are not independent concepts of reality. Goodness and mercy are realities that come with the person of God Himself. In our context, it is the goodness and mercy of God, not just goodness and mercy alone or good luck and good fortune. In other words, we have goodness and mercy because the Lord willed it for us and it is His goodness and mercy. Not just goodness and mercy, but the goodness and mercy of the LORD, our God. It is therefore NOT good luck and good fortune – alike but not the same thing. It is a life where we dwell in the presence and peace of God, the giver of true rest as mentioned in my post the day before on Looking At The Right Place. In other words, we may or may not have good fortune but we are assured that God is with us for the rest of our lives and that actually is what matters most. That is why I believe David also proclaimed in the following sentence in Psalm 23:6 that he will dwell in the house of the LORD forever, meaning to say, that he will be in the presence of God even as the goodness and mercy of God follow him for the rest of his life.

https://odb.org/MY/2022/07/28/when-the-whole-world-sings

A song sang by every nation and tribe praising the Lamb of God for His sacrifice on the cross that reconciled man to God! What a fantastic and amazing moment that would be!

The thing which spoke to me this morning as I read Revelation 5 is that Jesus dying for our sins is the truth and not some religious teaching conjured by Paul to explain and justify the death and resurrection of Christ. It is the truth. Christ truly and really died for our sins as the second Adam, the Son of Man who is also the Son of God. This was confirmed by the revelation given to John as recorded in the book of Revelation. What John saw confirms and corroborates the fact. There are many more things that John saw that will usher in the end of times but he also saw the Lamb of God being praised and worshipped and celebrated for what He did for humanity, for giving us the chance to be reconciled to God, to enter again into a fellowship and relationship with God, the creator of heavens and earth. John is independent of Paul and thus what John saw is an independent confirmation of the teaching of Paul on the meaning and significance of the death and resurrection of Christ.

How does this impact us? I guess it should reaffirm our faith that all of this has been carefully planned by God. From the coming of Christ to the raising up of Paul, the creme de la creme of the Jews, to expound and expand the detailed theology of our faith through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit working in him and the other Apostles. It also proves and shows us that even we as ordinary Christians may learn and experience of the revelation of the Holy Spirit as we read and study His Word. Even as God spoke to Paul as Christ reached out to Him in a vision and God spoke to John through a dream that revealed to him the coming of the end times, God may likewise speak to us and reveal truths about our lives to help and motivate and encourage us to continue this walk with Him vigorously. Don’t despair and give up. This is real and we will see the fruits of our labour and gain our crown of glory one day! Persevere on in the faith, Christ is and will always be with us until the very end!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/07/27/the-key

I have been away abroad to attend my elder son’s graduation from Cardiff University and thus didn’t continue my early morning routine of writing devotional thoughts as I was in a different time zone. When I came home, I suffered from jet lag and managed to only sleep when I was going to wake up. Anyway, here I am back again at this and it is my hope and prayer that you will be blessed by my early morning thoughts.

I think the example given today of a teacher looking for a lost key in the garden because the light is good when the key was lost inside the house although silly illustrates a common but silly mistake made by most of us. This is because we also have the silly but common tendency to look for answers at the wrong places. We also tend to look for joy and happiness in material things, in the world, in our jobs or work or ministry, or even in our family and loved ones or friends when we knew all along that Jesus is our true source of joy and happiness. We know that the key to all of our burdens is in God and yet we look elsewhere. The lost key must be somewhere in the house and yet here we are looking for it in the garden because the light is good! The place which we think is more conducive to finding joy and happiness is irrelevant when it is the wrong place! This is because true joy and happiness do not exist at that place. So no matter how much we try, we will not find true joy and happiness. No matter how much effort the teacher and his disciples put in finding the lost key in the garden, they will not find it simply because it was lost inside the house!

The key to unlock the heavy burden we face in life is in Christ. His yoke is light and we will find rest in Him. He is our true joy and happiness, not material things or our jobs or work or ministry or our family or friends. Ultimately, we need to work to survive. We need friends and family to have companionship and fellowship. We are definitely drawn to material things to reward ourselves since we have worked so hard all these years. Yet always remember God in all that we do. Pursue Him even as we pursue our goals in our work amd ministry. Pursue the person in Jesus, the giver instead of the gifts and we will find true joy and happiness. We will find our rest in Him for His yoke is light. He is humble and gentle in spirit. He truly loves us and wants the best for us.