https://odb.org/MY/2023/02/09/show-us

When the disciples asked Jesus to show them the Father, Jesus answered that if they had seen Him, they had seen the Father. Jesus further said I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. “The words I say to you I do not speak with my own authority.” Please see John 14:1-11.

This is the concept of the Holy Trinity that we know and believe in as Christians. God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit are one, and yet they are distinct. Thus, when Jesus came down to earth, He came as fully man, and yet He was still fully God as the Father was in Him, and He was in the Father. If you go back to Genesis 1:26, you will notice that just before God created man, He spoke in the plural form. God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit existed together since the beginning of time. John mentioned this in John 1 when he said that in the beginning, there was the Word (logos), and the Word was with God and was God. In verse 14, John wrote that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten (meaning son) of the Father, full of grace and truth.

I’m just reiterating the concept of the Holy Trinity here as a reminder to us as well as to enlighten those who may not know.

The message this morning is, however, a bit more personal. More often than not, as we go through crises, we can’t see Jesus in the midst of the commotion and the rush to deal with the situation. Usually, the events will overwhelm us, and we don’t see Jesus in all that. The Lord is assuring us today that He is in our midst and that He is with us even as we go through those rough times. As we pause and pray, we will see Him working in our midst. He is with us and in us. He has not forsaken us. He will bring us through those difficult times. There will be a light at the end of the tunnel. There is a resolution to all that misery and trouble. He will prevail with us. We will be victorious with Him at our side! He has never and will not ever forsake or abandon us! Amen!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/02/08/gods-arms-are-open

One of the fundamental precepts of our faith is forgiveness. We start our journey of faith with forgiveness when we seek God’s forgiveness by repenting from our sins and acknowledging Christ’s work on the cross and accepting Him as our Lord and Saviour. Corollary to that Jesus taught us in the Lord’s prayer to forgive others as the Father had forgiven us – “Father, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespassed against us”.

Thus, having a forgiving heart is a given as a Christian. There is no way around it. There is no way we could avoid it as much as we may sometimes want to. Certainly not something we could rationalise away. We can not say that person was cruel and extremely mean to us or that he did that really evil thing to us. “An eye for an eye” is a thing of the past. It is now, “Give him the other cheek.” There is just no justification not to forgive.

At most, we could only plead for what the Lord had said before – “vengeance is mine.” That, however, means it’s for God to deal with the way He deems fit, and chances are He may also forgive! This is because He is more a God of love and compassion than a God of vengeance, of fire and brimstone. In fact, if given half a chance, the Lord will offer a place in heaven if they repent and believe in Jesus. So don’t put too much hope on God avenging the wrongs done to us against our evil and wicked perpetrators.

The Lord may, however, restore to us what the locusts had destroyed. Like the Shunammite woman whom God restored her home, lands, and all produce from her lands during her 7-year sojourn away when she returned to Judah after the famine; God may do the same for us. There will be new paths to explore and journey on. What has happened has happened. We leave those behind and move on.

If we harbour the thought that God will avenge us by having some tragedy or calamity befall the people who had wronged us, then we are having a vengeful spirit, and that, in my view is not forgiveness. Asking the Lord to take revenge for us is not a loophole to exploit when we are not to avenge the wrongs done to us ourselves. Harbouring a hope for vengeance by proxy means that we have not forgiven. It means that we still want to get even.

The message this morning is to embrace forgiveness as much as it is difficult in some instances. Forgive and move on. Pray for those who had wronged or hurt us. Perhaps they will change over time. The Lord will heal us. There will be other opportunities and alternative pathways. God will make a way for us. We will have a fresh start. A new beginning. Praise the Lord!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/02/07/the-good-shepherd-2

Ezekial 34:11-19 has been interpreted before as being fulfilled with the establishment of the state of Israel in 1947 as the scattered tribes of Israel were gathered back to the land of Israel from all over the world. It proved that the LORD God was indeed a good shepherd, ensuring His sheep were taken care of and reunited in the land given to their forefathers during the time of Abraham and later after their liberation from Egypt by Moses with Joshua and Caleb leading them after 40 years in the wilderness. The creation of Israel is a big picture of God’s sovereign will and plans and has also been interpreted as the precursor to the second coming of Christ and the great tribulation and the end of age. That is why it is believed that these are end times and our generation may live long enough to see the second coming.

How does Ezekial 34 impact us on the spiritual front? How should we react to Ezekial 34? I guess we are all aware that God is a good shepherd for His people, His flock. Jesus Himself proclaimed that He is the good shepherd (John 10:11, 14) and that His sheep will hear His voice (John 10:27). There is no doubt that Christ had gone through great lengths to reach out to us when we were lost and will do the same again if we are ever lost again.

But I think the pertinent point for us as believers is instead to be a good sheep. Don’t get lost again! Instead, we recognise His voice and listen out for Him. We follow Him and go to Him when He calls. We try our utmost best to lessen His work so that He need not drop everything and go running after us. We don’t get distracted and get led astray by bright and fancy lights. We don’t wander off the beaten path to explore new greener pastures on our own. The grass will always look greener on the other side, but unless the Shepherd leads us there, we must not go. Can we be good, obedient, and compliant sheep who seek to only accomplish the will of the shepherd and who give the least headache to Him? It is my hope and prayer that I and all of us will be good sheep for 2023 so that we will truly live in the centre and glory of His will for us!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/02/06/the-loneliest-man

There is a saying that goes, you can be lonely in a crowd, meaning to say, you are not all alone like Robinson Crusoe on an island or Michael Collins of Appollo II on the far side of the moon having lost contact with his fellow astronauts and earth, yet we are lonely.

We are lonely because we are not doing things together or are not of the same bandwidth. There is an emotional disconnect. We can not truly relate to those around us. Maybe because our mission in life is too radically different. We are on a mission to fulfil God’s plans and purposes while they are on a mission, their own pursuits, and ambitions. So our friends will not be the ones to encourage us to strive harder for the Lord. Instead, they may mock and laugh at us.

If we have a soul-mate who is on the same wavelength as us in terms of our mission and service in God, then we have someone to relate to and motivate and support each other to achieve our goals in the Lord. That will be good. But then human companionship has its limitations.

Ultimately, like Joseph being thrown into prison for a crime he did not commit, the best person to console and encourage us if we feel we are all alone is the Lord Himself. When the Lord was with Joseph, He showed him kindness and granted him favour in the eyes of the prison warden. That is what we should aim for if we feel we are all alone. Lest we turn to drink and other avenues and bring ourselves into the downward spiral of brokenness and depression.

In the case of Elijah, who had defeated the prophets of Baal and yet was disappointed by the Israelites’ insolence of not turning back to God, the LORD sent an angel to comfort and cook for him. Later, at the cave in Mount Horeb, the LORD encouraged and gave him a way out of his disappointment. In fact, the LORD assured him that he had reserved 7,000 in Israel, who had not bowed down to Baal. See 1 Kings 19.

As human beings, we will all go through seasons when we may feel we are all alone despite being with friends and colleagues or fellow workers in Christ. Seek out the Lord for He will surely be with us like He did with Joseph and Elijah to encourage us. Always remain righteous before Him and faithful to Him and do not look elsewhere to drown our sorrows and disappointments or loneliness. Look to the LORD, and He will give us rest.

https://odb.org/MY/2023/02/04/whats-your-name-2

When we read the first chapter of the book of Ruth, we see how her mother-in-law Naomi suffered two tragedies in a row. He husband died, and then her two sons also died, leaving her with two daughters-in-law. So she decided to return to Judah, which she and her husband had left earlier due to a famine and which landed them in Moab.

Incidentally, the Moabites were enemies since they were also inhabitants of the Promised Land that the LORD gave to the Israelites after bringing them out of Egypt. In other words, to establish Judah and Israel, the divided Kingdom, they had to fight the Moabites and the other tribes in the vicinity. Both their sons also married Moabite women, Ruth and Oprah.

It’s an easy book to read as Ruth only has 4 chapters. When Naomi returned to Bethlehem, her hometown in Judah (incidentally, many years later became the birthplace of Jesus Christ), she told the townfolks not to call her Naomi (‘my pleasant one’) anymore. She wanted to be known instead as Mara, which means ‘bitter’ as the LORD had brought much bitterness into her life.

In the later chapters of the book of Ruth, we will see how God blessed Ruth by finding her a kinsman of the family, who married her although she was a widow. God blessed Naomi through Boaz, a wealthy kinsman but more significantly, it was through the line of Boaz and Ruth (who was a Moabite who chose to follow Naomi home to Judah and became a worshipper of Yahweh) that David was born (Ruth was King David’s great grandmother) and many years later, Christ was born through the same geneology line.

There are many spiritual lessons we can draw from the book of Ruth, but I think one pertinent lesson is that despite the double misfortunes that Naomi went through, the LORD turned her life around and blessed her. Through Ruth, Naomi became an excellent example of the goodness and blessings of God.

Ruth decided to follow Naomi back to Judah, declaring that Naomi’s people would be her people and Naomi’s God her God. It is interesting to note that as we read on the book of Ruth, we will see it was the Deuteronomy law to leave something behind for the widows, orphans and foreigners that we spoke about yesterday (https://ronnielim.com/2023/02/03/treating-the-foreigner/) that Naomi and Ruth made use of to live when they returned to Judah as two penniless widows. It was through that same law that Ruth met Boaz, fell in love, and married.

Indeed, the story of Naomi and Ruth is a testament to the goodness of God for posterity, immortalised as a book in the Old Testament. May the story of the goodness of God continue on in our respective lives as we choose to follow and worship Yahweh despite the tragedies and calamities that we may go through in our broken but redeemed lives.

https://odb.org/MY/2023/02/03/we-are-strangers

In Leviticus 19:34, the LORD commanded the Israelites to treat the foreigner like a native born. They are to love them as themselves as they themselves were foreigners in Egypt. In verse 36, the LORD reiterated that He is the LORD, their God who brought them out of Egypt.

In Deuteronomy 24:19, the law was that when they harvested the fields, they should leave something behind for the widows, orphans, and foreigner. That was a command from the LORD that they remember that they were once slaves in Egypt. This is the origin of the rule in Leviticus 19:34, and as we can see, it covers not only foreigners but is broader, covering orphans and widows in their midst. Basically, people who are disadvantaged at that time as they didn’t have a land of their own. The background to that is that when the Israelites entered the Promised Land, every family was given a plot of land to cultivate as it was a land flowing with milk and honey. It is likely that inheritance laws were such that the land stayed within the larger family, and over time, those who were orphaned and widowed were left out. The widows and the orphans may have lost their title to the land, but the law ensured that they may still glean, and it was mandatory that there must be leftovers for them to harvest and live on.

In issuing these laws, note that God reminded the Israelites that they were once slaves and foreigners in Egypt. As they are living comfortably now in the Promised Land, they must be grateful and thankful and thus be generous. Note too that although they are to leave behind something for the widows, orphans, and foreigners to harvest, those people were never involved in the cultivation of the harvest and the rule is that a labourer is also entitled to his wages. But in the plenty, there must be gratitude and generosity. They must always remember Egypt and that the LORD is the LORD their God.

The lesson today, I believe, is that as much as we are entitled to all that we earn as the just and rightful reward for our sweat and toil, we must remember the times when we were just starting out and struggling to make ends meet. The times when we couldn’t afford a car or have a property to our name or had little money in our bank account. As we have progressed in life, the Lord is not saying that we are not entitled to the fruits of our labour, but we must be kind and generous to others who may need our help. Give when we see a need. Be like the Israelites; leave some behind for the widows, orphans, and foreigners. In our case, give some to the needy and the oppressed. The little we give will go a long way in their lives as well to the heart of God.

https://odb.org/MY/2023/02/02/like-our-great-teacher

As mentioned in my commentary yesterday, https://ronnielim.com/2023/02/01/blessings-in-the-tears/, our quest post acceptance of Christ is to be more and more like Him in terms of our service and our hearts. There are, of course, various aspects of Christ that we can imitate and become, and I believe most are attainable despite our humanity. Even if some may be unattainable in our own strength, we have the Helper, the Holy Spirit, in our midst strengthening and empowering us along.

There are many facets to Christ that we can imitate, like His patience, His compassion, His love (although His agape love may be a very high bar indeed!), His humility, His kindness and generosity, His faithfulness (in general as well as towards His calling on the cross), His overcoming disposition (when confronted with temptations), His conquering spirit (He is the Lion of Judah), His sense of God’s timing, His praying and prayerful nature, His sensitivity to the move and will of God, His discernment and I’m sure many others.

This morning, as the ODB article points us to, we want to just focus on His loving and generous nature. As part of our life transformation in Christ, can we all work at being more loving and generous? Love our neighbour as we love ourselves and even those who hate us, who betrayed us, who back-stabbed us, or who did evil to us. Can we do that? Can we love our enemies? It’s tough, but we must forgive as the Father forgives us our transgressions. Time will heal the pain and our broken hearts, but forgive we must if we want to imitate Christ and be more like Him.

Generosity is the other facet of Christ that we can imitate. I think in this context, generosity is not limited to just money, although that’s a good start. I think one way to be more generous is to know and accept that what we have is due to the blessings of God upon our lives, notwithstanding our hard work. It is the covering of God that ensures that our hard work is appropriately rewarded. That our cultivation of our land yields a good crop. Thus, we should bless and help others as the Lord leads and prompts us. May we be a vessel for the blessings of God to flow through the generosity of our hearts? But generosity is not just about money. We should be generous in the giving of our time, our talents, our intellect, our skills. Let’s be generous to sow all that we have into the Kingdom of God.

The point in today’s message is that first, we must want to be transformed to be more like Christ, more and more each day. Then, start with a few lower hanging fruits. Be more loving and more generous. Focus on these two, and we are on the way to a transformed life in Christ! As we practice what Jesus taught, we will see a refreshing change in our lives, and that will propel us to greater heights in our quest to imitate and be more like Christ!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/02/01/blessing-in-the-tears

I just came out of a hospital visit yesterday evening, and as I walked home through the corridors of the hospital, my eyes welled up in tears thinking about the times I was with my late dad at the same hospital at those waiting areas. Such memories are painful for the living as we cope with the grief and loss of our loved ones. It’s an experience I believe every child will go through, like I did with my late dad, so will my sons go through with me and my wife in the future. We will all face death one day.

But, as Christians, we know that eternal life is certain for those who believe in Jesus Christ and who call upon His name. This is because salvation is by grace and is a free gift from God to those who believe by faith in Christ Jesus, and not by our good works. In other words, no matter what we do, we can not be saved as it was Jesus’s death on the cross that removed the sting of sin, which is death. As we are washed cleaned and redeemed by the blood of Jesus, death will not hold us. One day, we will arise and take our place in our Heavenly Father’s scheme of things!

Thus, as believers, even as we shed tears of sorrow as our loved ones depart, we know they are in heaven with God the Father if they had in their lifetime put their hope and trust in Christ. There are blessings in those tears as we will meet them again if we stay the course until our last breath or when Christ returns. Jesus promised us that blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted (Matthew 5:4). Blessed meaning that God approves and we will receive His favour. Jesus goes on to teach in verse 8 that blessed are those who are pure in heart, for they will see God.

As much as salvation is by grace, it is not just a matter of saying the sinner’s prayer, although that’s an excellent start! The question of works then comes into play post our acceptance of Christ. Like a slave redeemed but redeemed to serve the new master as a free man, we must serve Him well and to the best of our abilities. It is only right that we do the right thing to serve Him as He exchanged His life for our sins.

There is thus a lifetime of service and discipleship to be more like Christ, in terms of our character and our heart. We will never lose out by following Christ as the narrow road leads only to eternal life. If we stay the course, the day we depart this earthen body, our loved ones and brethren in the Lord will miss and mourn us. But there will be blessings in their tears, knowing that one day they will see us again if they themselves stay the course! Indeed, blessed are those who mourn as they will be comforted.

https://odb.org/MY/2023/01/31/sustainer-of-blessings

One of the tensions we face as believers is the question often asked by the Psalmists – where does my help come from? The answer in Psalm 121 is that my help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth. That question was posed by the Psalmists when they were in trouble and sought divine help.

But is the answer the same when we are doing well, earning a good income, and are fairly well off, with a roof over our heads and food on our table? We are not struggling to make ends meet, but have some excess at the end of the month to pay our tithes, save up as well as to bless others. We have a sphere of influence. People respect us. We have made a name for ourselves in our work circle. We have worked hard over the years to be where we are.

So the question that comes to mind – is who we are in life now a result of our own efforts or of God’s blessings?

In Deuteronomy 8:17-18, Moses reminded the Israelites as they are preparing to enter the Promised Land that although they may say that it is their power and their hands that produced the wealth for them, they must remember the LORD as it is He who gave them the ability to produce wealth.

Thus, as believers, especially seasoned believers, as much as our own strength and efforts had established our wealth and social stature over the years, it was definitely the blessings of God that have prospered our efforts and hardwork. This is because hard work alone may not always be enough to bring forth meaningful returns if there was no divine blessing. Even the world believes in divine blessings, although they may not worship our Lord Jesus Christ or our Heavenly Father, Yahweh, the Great I Am. Everyone is looking for that supernatural touch from above whether we pray in the mosque, the temple, or put our trust in Feng Shui. If we follow the rules of nature, if we plant, we will get our fruits, but sometimes the yield may be low, the land may not be that fertile anymore, there was famine or pestilence and a host of other factors affecting our crops. Thus, divine blessings are always sought after.

As Christians, always remember the Lord in all that we do and count our blessings. Appreciate and be grateful for who we are today in the world. I doubt that if we didn’t have God in our lives, we would be as blessed as we are today. It is He who gave us the ability to produce our wealth. It is He who shielded and protected us while safeguarding our well-being as we toil in our own respective lands, whether at work, in college, or in business.

The extraordinary thing in all this is that in the process of following God, we have also become somebody in God, a strong person spiritually who is able to walk through storms and hardship and persevere through in our faith. Deuteronomy 8:18 ends with “so confirms His Covenant, which He swore to your ancestors as it is today.” If we worship the LORD our God alone and no other gods and follow His percepts and law, He will bless and protect us, cause us to be fruitful, give us our promised land and that we will be a blessing to all the nations of the world!

https://odb.org/MY/2023/01/29/seven-minutes-of-terror

The story of Lazarus illustrates an essential point in our relationship with God that although Jesus delayed, He was not late. This is because as His will is perfect, so is His timing.

To us humans living in our human timelines, we measure time by the rotation of the earth (day) and seasons by the orbit of the earth over the sun (year). But God transcends time. He can appear at any point of time, whether in our past or the future, and He can, in fact, be present and see everything all at once, from creation to the end of time.

Thus, in relation to us, He may respond immediately or some time in the future, and although it may appear to be a delay to us, it is nevertheless His perfect timing since He knows what’s best for us. A thousand years on your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night – Psalm 90:4. In 2 Peter 3:8-9, Peter declares that, “With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness. He is patient with you not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” The context is the second coming of Christ, but the principle remains that God’s timing is unlike ours.

What’s our takeaway this morning? If we are praying for something or for a certain condition or situation to change, remember that God’s timing is perfect. He will not be early, and neither will He be late. We are to cling on to His promises and Word. Also, remember that as per Romans 12:2, we will be able to test and approve (prove) His good, pleasing, and perfect will – but only if we do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of our mind. Thus, when we pray for something, the change from deep within us, the transformation of our self is more important to God than His intervention in our situation. Sometimes, our transformation itself may bring about the change to our situation. Perhaps in some situations, God’s timing is dependent on the change within us? Have we responded to His calling for our lives? May His will be done herevon earth as it is in heaven!