https://odb.org/MY/2022/06/29/run-2

The story of Joseph in the bible of how he ran out of the house when Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him is the classic illustration of the point that the best way to avoid sin is to flee from it. Conversely, probably the worse way to avoid sin is to go to it and attempt to resist it. 99% of the time and I think 99% of us will fail and fall. The spirit may be unwilling to sin but our flesh is weak.

But for this morning I like to emphasise instead on the results of Joseph maintaining his righteousness. If we read on in Genesis 39:11-23, we will see that Joseph was framed by Potiphar’s wife as having molested her even though the opposite happened and he was innocent. Joseph was unjustly thrown into prison. It was a terrible situation for him as he was just sold as a slave by his brothers and now he is in prison. But if we read on the story, we will see that despite his horrendous situation (and can we say because of his horrible situation?), the LORD was with him. God was present with him in his miserable circumstance and although it was harrowing, he maintained his righteousness throughout and God was with him and showed him kindness. God granted Joseph favour with the prison warden and was put in charge of the prisoners. In other words, instead of suffering as a prisoner, Joseph became essentially like a warden as he was given responsibility over all the prisoners and the warden didn’t pay any attention to all that was under Joseph’s care because the LORD was with him and gave him success in all that he did. That is the classic example on how God will be with us if we maintain our righteousness and flee away from temptation and sin. God will grant us favour with our vendors, customers and bosses and will bless the work of our hands as we maintain our righteousness before God and man.

So beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, do not entertain the thought of sin. Flee far away from temptation and sin. Go the other way. Run from it. Maintain our righteousness before God and man. God will be with us and bless the work of our hands. We will in turn be successful before God and man! Isn’t that a win-win situation?

https://odb.org/MY/2022/06/28/the-big-welcome

Today’s concept of accepting a friend of a friend as your friend is certainly interesting to look at from the perspective of us as a friend of Christ. I think we are familiar with this concept of A being a friend of Mr so and so and since we know Mr so and so, we accept A as our friend. This is often used in business for introducing contacts and networking but also socially to broaden our social circle and to extend or receive help or to support one another.

Applying it to us as believers and applying Matthew 10:40-42, if anyone accepts us because we are a friend of Christ, he or she accepts Jesus and since it is the Father who sent Jesus, he or she accepts God the Father Himself. More crucially, Jesus stated that whoever accepts a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward and whoever accepts a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. Therefore, just as the disciples were sent out to minister and reach out to the lost tribe of Israel (at that point, not yet to the Gentiles or Samaritans), we are likewise sent out to reach out to our friends, acquaintance and relatives and whosoever accepts us as a friend of Jesus, will be accordingly rewarded. God will bless and reward those who receive us the same way He would bless and reward those who had received the disciples during the time of Christ. Now who wouldn’t want the blessings and providence and grace and mercy of the Almighty God, the creator of heavens and earth and all of and in the universe? Perhaps they will receive the greatest blessings of all time, the gift of salvation, the gift of eternal life, the pathway to heaven and eternity?

The message this morning is not to be fearful or be daunted by the prospect of reaching out. As a friend of Jesus, we bring the Good News and the gift of salvation and most importantly if they receive us, they are receiving Jesus and receiving the one who sent Jesus and thus they will be receiving Father God, and Jesus had promised that whosoever receives us as a friend of Christ will be rewarded accordingly. Thus, my prayer for us today is that the infinite blessings of God will be upon those who receive us, even those who take the trouble to read this message and the many messages before in ODB or my blog or other writers who write for God to bless and encourage the brethren. May the heavens be opened and may His provision and protection be upon us all and all who gladly receive us and our messages even as we go through these tough and stressful post pandemic times and the ongoing Russian-Ukraine war, with escalating prices of almost everything and increasingly recessionary and uncertain economic outlook!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/06/27/more-than-enough-3

This account in 2 Kings 4:1-7 is a well known story of how God through Elisha protected and provided for the widow of a prophet who had just died so that her two sons are not taken as slaves to repay the debt of the dead prophet. God intervened into the natural by turning a small bowl of oil (most likely olive oil) into pails and pails of oil that she could sell for cash to repay her husband’s debt and redeem her sons from slavery. It is supernatural and a miracle because it turned little to much like how Jesus turned 5 loaves of bread and 2 small fish to feed 5,000.

God is God. The same way He created the world and all the things in it by His spoken word (see Genesis 1), He could easily make nothing into something and something into much. In modern day accounts of believers, we would have heard numerous accounts of how God worked miracles among His people including multiplying rice containers such that it doesn’t go empty for long periods of time or miracles of a cup of raw rice filling a whole rice cooker of cooked rice! Or how missionaries living in faith and sometimes from meal to meal suddenly getting a gift of a meal from a neighbour (liked cooked dishes) or suddenly receiving a deposit of money into his bank account. All these goes to show that when it comes to our basic needs, God provides and sometimes and in some cases miraculously.

What’s our takeaway message today? I believe everyone of us can experience God like that widow in Elisha’s account or that boy with 2 loaves and 5 fish in Jesus’s miracle of feeding the 5,000. Give whatever little we may have and let God do the multiplication. When we see someone in need, give whatever we can. Even a small sum will go a long way as God can multiply our gift. So maybe RM20 can only buy a 5 kg pack of raw rice. But if that pack of rice can last for months would our RM20 not be worth much more? Or a small gift may trigger an avalanche of giving by more people and thus enable the heavenly showers of blessings to be poured out?

God is a God of miracles. Never look down or underestimate our giving whatever the amount. God is able to do much with little – what’s important is our sincere and genuine heart to help out. We do our small part and let the Lord do the rest!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/06/26/walking-together

The dog walking with a fake limp when the owner was using crutches is the perfect picture of empathy towards another. Similar to us not bubling with joy or jokes in a funeral or with mourning friend. Or as non Muslims, we refrain from eating in front of Muslims during the fasting month. Showing empathy is thus one aspect of loving our neighbour that we can all easily relate to and practice.

Love is the fulfilment of the law declared Paul in Romans 13:10 and that’s very true because if we love our God with all our heart, soul and mind and love our neighbour, we will never commit the sins spelled out in the Ten Commandments. Loving God and loving our neighbour embodies the entire law in a nutshell, fulfilling the essence of what God had commanded previously as the condition to the Covenant relationship with Him.

Thus, if we have a friend who is broken or hurt or wounded, sometimes it is best to just tag along and walk alongside, instead of trying to fix him up. Maybe the longer term solution will be to fix some character flaw in him. But for the immediate future, just walk alongside him and emphatise with him. A lot of situations are beyond us. A lot of issues are not resolvable by us. But we can always be the friend who walks alongside him. We can be like Christ is to him. Christ may be able to solve his issues, but we can’t. Sometimes just to be a friend may be the best we could offer in the circumstances. For example, someone we know facing major challenges at work and is looking around, not necessarily we can offer him or her a job even if we are hiring. But we can be the ears for them to channel their frustrations and help them by sending out their CVs but another job is always still a question of the right fit.

On our part on the inside, if we love God and our neighbour, we should be able to fulfil the requirements of the law in the sense that we will not be living a life that is inconsistent with the law. Fulfilling the full requirements of the law is a near impossibility. That’s why Jesus died for our sins and became the Lamb of God and fulfilled the law once and for all. But if we love God and our neighbour, we should be able to meet the law within the grace afforded us by the blood of Christ as we are also empowered by the Holy Spirit.

As the external manifestation of the glory of God in our lives, the least we could do in my view is to walk alongside a friend in need. Help as much as we can but ultimately be a friend that emphatises. A friend that hears and is a shoulder to lean on. Love your neighbour as Jesus had commanded.

https://odb.org/MY/2022/06/24/the-message-of-the-cross

The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but to us who are being saved it is the power of God! That’s Corinthians 1:18 as written by Paul.

I can testify in my own life how God reached out to me when I was just 11 through a friend who encouraged me with Scriptures and pique my curiosity to learn more about the Jesus in the Malay-English Gospel that my dad had lying around in our home library. I had read that Gospel a couple of times and didn’t really get what was going on until I attended a Navigator’s course on following Jesus a few years later. My interest to learn to play the guitar brought me to this group of Christian outstation teachers in my little town in the East Coast of Malaysia and from them I also learnt about Christ and God. I saw the light, the message of the Gospel and at 14 accepted Jesus into my life as my Lord and Saviour.

Before that, the message of the cross was foolishness to me as I didn’t know who Christ was and why He did what He did. But my eyes were opened as I saw the light and thus understood that He died for my sins to reconcile me to the Father and thus the message of the cross became the power of God in my life. It changed me over the years to love God, to love others, to be willing to think of others besides myself and to serve God in ministry in the church, at my workplace and among those I know.

Was it smooth sailing and a bed of roses over the last 40 years or so? No, my life like others, have its ups and downs. There were seasons of joy and seasons of tears, sadness, disappointments and sorrow. It was a journey of discovery of what this world is and yet I learned and experienced the hidden spiritual world through my spiritual awakening and see for myself the power of God at work in that realm penetrating into our physical tangible world that as we pray His will be done here on earth as it is in heaven.

I experienced healing myself. I experienced God arranging events to shield and protect me from the cold machinations of the world. To bring me joy and meaning in times of heartbreak and hurt. I saw before how the Lord personified “vengeance is mine” and this I know that He will make all things beautiful in His time as He will make all things good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. I am truly grateful that He is forever in my life and as I call upon His name, He will hear my cry. That is why I love to sing those two songs.

Is the message of the cross foolishness or the power of God to us? Let’s reflect upon our journey thus far as a child of God called according to His purpose. Let’s be thankful to Christ for calling us to be His disciple and let’s re-dedicate our lives to serve the purposes of His kingdom and to fulfil His plans for our lives. The message of the cross must be the power of God working in and through our lives!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/06/23/drastic-measures

There are two messages from today’s ODB. The first concerns objects that we may have in our homes which could have been used for idol worship or withcraft or occultic practices. Some of those objects could actually have been used in such practices or they may just be replicas of those objects. We could have gathered and collected those as souvenirs from our past travels. Most are harmless but some could have occultic origins and thus may be dwelling places for spirits or spiritual beings. Sometimes because of such objects in our homes and thus with spirits residing inside our homes, there could be additional strife and conflict or some minor illness. Not really a cause for concern if we have Jesus and have invited Christ to be the Lord of our family and home, the Holy Spirit and the presence of God will prevail. It’s just that I think logically it will make the work of the angels guarding our home from the attacks of the evil one much easier if there are no unwanted spirits within.

The second message today is that if God speaks to us on something perhaps through our quiet time or when we pray or when the Word was preached or during worship, we should immediately take action even if the action is drastic. When Josiah’s people found the ancient Book of Law and brought it to Josiah’s attention, he immediately started destroying all the Baal and Asherah idols and abolished all such practices in compliance with the Book of the Law as prescribed by the LORD previously to the Israelites. There is a sense that we must follow the example of Josiah if God speaks to us. Act on the Word immediately. Take action even if it may be drastic or costly. Immediately cease such practices. Immediately change our practices, lifestyle or how we do things if God had spoken to us.

Let’s approach it this way – if Christ takes the trouble to speak to us and warn us of something, shouldn’t we too take the trouble to immediately act on the call, Word or warning? Why delay or postpone when God took all that trouble and effort to speak to us?

https://odb.org/MY/2022/06/22/abundance-meets-need

In 2 Corinthians 8:13-15 Paul expressed a concern on the difference between the church that has and the church that has not and yet he commended the church that has for helping out the church that didn’t. Thus equality is achieved when the one with more blesses the one in need. In my own local church, we have a better off congregation blessing the less well off one and this has been going on for years as the latter is like an outreach. But I think it is uncommon and rare for a church to bless another totally unrelated church to achieve some semblance of equality between churches.

But a deeper message from 2 Corinthians 8:13-15 is that the church that had more actually didn’t get their abundance effortlessly. They were hard pressed too. They had to strive in giving to achieve the abundance and yet they were willing to share their abundance with the church with the lack. Due to limited time, I am unable to dwell deeper into why this whole situation arose and the background as to why the abundant yet hard pressed church was prompted to share with the church in need. But suffice to say that for this morning’s message, that is what happened – that abundance met the lack although both were hard pressed.

I think the message today is that even if we are hard pressed and perhaps struggling, we can still give and bless others. The quantum of giving may not be much but to the person with the lack and the need, whatever help is welcomed. RM10 can buy a simple meal and RM20 can buy us more than a tray of eggs. Some people can get buy with a meal a day. I guess at the end of the day, it is the sincerity of the heart that matters. Giving and blessing others, whether as an individual or a church, can never be a bad thing and need not be in large sums as every ringgit or dollar can make a difference to a person in need. Use whatever resources God has blessed us with to bless others and we will reflect the glory of God in our lives. That is genuine love in action!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/06/21/god-fights-for-us

What is the reason we accepted Christ? What attracted us to become a Christian, a believer, follower and disciple of Christ in the first place?

There could be a variety of reasons why we accepted Christ and one of them would definitely be the promise and hope of eternal life. The Holy Spirit had lifted the scales of our eyes to see the truth and we having exercised our God-given will to choose, had decided to follow Jesus, the same way Peter, John and James dropped everything and followed Him. In a way, God had predestined us to be His children, sanctified by the blood of Christ and yet as humans, we always have the choice to say yes or no.

Another reason or an additional reason we accepted Christ is probably because we sought His grace, refuge and protection. As much as we know our destination is eternal, we still have to Iive here on earth even if we are pilgrims passing through this temporal life. We have responsibilities and obligations as a human being to provide for ourselves, our family and loved ones. In fact, as a believer now we are also obliged to help the poor, the needy and the downtrodden, the fatherless, the widow and the foreigner.

In that sense, God declares today that He is our protector. As much as we place and put our trust and faith in Him, He will be our refuge and fortress. He will cover us with His feathers and under His wings we will find refuge. His faithfulness will be our shield and rampart. The promise in Psalm 91 is that whoever rests in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. We will not fear the terror of the night nor the arrow that flies in the day nor the pestilence nor the plague. A thousand may fall at our side and ten thousand at our right hand and yet it will not cone near us. The LORD is indeed our refuge, our fortress, our protector! Amen!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/06/20/trustworthy-love

Romans 12:9-21 is another exposition on love by Paul eventhough I think most of us are more familiar with 1 Corinthians 13. The slant appears to be the love that we should have as we serve God together in church and in ministry. To hate what is evil and cling to what is good. To be devoted with one another. To keep up our spiritual fervour, serving the Lord. Joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer. Sharing with God’s people who are in need and practice hospitality. It goes on to exhort us to bless those who persecute us and not curse them. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone and do not repay evil with evil and if possible live in harmony and at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge but leave that to God.

There is a lot in Romans 12:9-21 but note that it is grounded in sincerity. Love must first be sincere. Sincere in the sense that it is honest, genuine and real. Not make believe or a show. Not just a mask or to pay lip service. When love is real and sincere and God driven, it is unlikely that we will betray the ones we love. We will instead stand firm with them. Stand on their side in times of need. We will always want to do the right thing, do the honourable thing. We will place the needs of others above ourselves. Our love is hence trustworthy.

Ultimately, in ministry and church, our love has got to be real and genuine. The world looks up to us and at us. The devil looks to us to punch holes in our testimony. We must always be on guard to make sure our love is trustworthy, that others can depend on us.

Let’s all serve God together in love and harmony with the peace of God enveloping us as we minister to one another and reach out to others around us. Live in peace and harmony. Live responsibly, always doing what is right and do not repay evil with evil but pray for and bless those who are against us. Good sense will prevail eventually and in the end, I believe we will achieve much, much more for God if we are united and serve in sincere and trustworthy love!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/06/19/fatherless-no-more

Happy and blessed Father’s Day, everyone!

I realised that with the recent passing of my earthly father, I’m now also fatherless. In fact, my ex-boss mentioned that we are now all orphans having already lost our parents.

As much as at our age, we would prefer to have our fathers still with us perhaps to bounce ideas off him, to relate, interact and socialise things, to do things together or just to live life as father and son – the concept of God being the Father to the fatherless and widows is more pertinent to those who became fatherless when younger. God being the protector of the weak and poor, He is thus also the Father to the fatherless.

I think for some of us who are no longer young and still trying to find our place in the world, it is time that we also become a father to the fatherless or at least help God become the Father to the fatherless. This is because being a protector of the widows, the fatherless, the poor and foreigner is what is dear to God’s heart. Helping the weak, the desolate and poor is close to the heart of God.

It is therefore time for us to step out to mentor, nurture and cultivate not only our own biological children but also othets around us including perhaps having spiritual children of our own. In fact, it is time for us to begin to be that shelter for those around us like God is to us. As God is the cedar of Lebanon to us, we should start to be that cedar of Lebanon to those around us – a place of shelter and shade from the blistering heat and the sun, a place of refuge and comfort.

Thus, even if we are single or still childless, we can be still be a father to others. We can adopt and foster like in today’s ODB life example or we can be a spiritual father to those around us, our cell group, our church, at our workplace, school or college.

Happy and blessed Father’s Day, everyone! Have a wonderful day ahead!