https://odb.org/MY/2022/06/06/the-kindness-of-candor

I guess all of us would have faced this situation before. You know of someone who is a nice person, easy to hang out with and has pleasant personality, but he has a weakness. A very apparent one, in fact. Like he sometimes like to boast and exaggerate or he just speaks too much and dominates the conversation or he likes to put people down with a condescending tone and with a “I’m much better than you” attitude. Or he is someone that can’t keep any secret. What do we do?

I think most of us will just ignore the flaw and put up with him as he is. Or in product talk, we accept him on “as is where is” basis. In other words, we take him as he is. But some of us out of love for him will tell him his flaw. So maybe we drop hints that he needs to change his ways. Because it’s such a waste – he is near perfect except for this weakness.

Will we do it? Proverbs 27:6 says that wounds from a friend can never trusted but an enemy multiplies kisses, while Proverbs 27:9 teaches that the pleasantness from a friend springs from their heartfelt advice.

Most will not do it to avoid the unpleasantness and the awkwardness if the friend responds negatively. He or she may get offended and we may no more be friends. But as believers redeemed by the blood of Christ, I think we should and must. This is because our responsibility is to edify and encourage and to build up. We have an obligation to assist a friend to become a better person especially if he or she is also a believer. We must never allow a friend to continue in his flaw if that will not ensure the best outcome for him for his life. Our role as leaders and believers is always to guide those around us to become the best they can in the Lord if they are in the faith or even if they are not. Everyone should be encouraged to realise their fullest potential.

So the next time we face such a situation, be bold and speak out to correct and amend with love for the best interests and future of that person.

https://odb.org/MY/2022/06/05/confident-in-god

One of the direct benefits of our relationship with God after accepting Jesus is the restoration of the direct line of communication with Him. Adam and Eve had that close contact with God in Eden but sin scuppered it when Satan deceived Adam and Eve to eat the fruit, the only thing they were forbidden to do. Only one single thing they couldn’t do and they made a mess of it!

Now witg Christ in our life, we may reach out to God in prayer or just plainly by calling Him in the name of Jesus. Just say, Father and we will have His ears. He is God, He can communicate and hear millions all at once, simultaneously. That is why nothing man-made can ever come close to God. In fact nothing man-made can even come close to reproduce the intricacies and complexity of a human body, or for that matter, any living mammal or animal. That is why God is God and we are only His creation! We are nothing compared to Him.

But as humans redeemed by the blood of Jesus, we may go one step further. We have the confidence that when we pray God listens. Not just have the means and privilege to pray but to pray and communicate with God knowing He hears and will speak to us too. If we were to ask anything in accordance with His will, He will grant us our request. So if we were to tell Him that we want to serve Him more, He will open the doors for us to do so. Or if we ask to be given a greater sensitivity to the move of the Holy Spirit, God will hear and grant us as all those are examples of things that are in accordance with His will. Or if we were to ask Him to mould and shape us to be more and more conformed to the image of Christ that we can fulfil our potential in God and fulfil His plans and purposes He has for us, surely He will not deny us? How soon will He answer will depend on our response and His timing. He does everything in His wisdom and time.

Let’s all approach the throne of God in confidence and boldness today as there is no more condemnation in Christ. Reach out to Him in confidence, He hears and listens and will act in accordance with His will even as we pray – Father, may Your will be done here on earth as it is done is heaven. Thus, may Your will for our lives be done here on earth as it is in heaven. Amen!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/06/03/spotting-rainbows

I just attended a retreat last weekend where the very gifted and articulate speaker and facilitator used the song Walking With Jesus to teach and carry his teaching across. In essence, we may sometimes go through our life journeys without seeing Jesus as though He is in the shadows – to us He may be “No Where”. But ultimately we want to be able to see Jesus in all that we do and wherever we are – He is “Now Here”. From no where to now here. The Bible text is taken from Luke 24 where Jesus post resurrection walked alongside two followers for nearly an entire afternoon expounding the Scriptures to them but they were oblivious to who Jesus was. It was only later at dinner that Jesus revealed Himself to them. The point is as believers our eyes are already opened as the Spirit has revealed Jesus and the truth to us and thus we should not have issues seeing Jesus working and walking alongside us in the things we do at the places we live and work. However, the reality is that we do go through our life journeys with Jesus “no where to be seen” in our eyes.

That is why I think it’s good to find and see the rainbow in all situations that we face in life as expounded in today’s ODB. No matter how bad a situation may look in the natural and in the present, there must be a silver lining somewhere – if not immediatel then later. There ought to be a rainbow in the mix. God loves us. At the most basic level, it is for Him to achieve His plans and purposes for our lives as He is moulds us to be like Christ. Even then I believe as we search harder we will eventually find the rainbow, that wonder of nature that personifies the marvel and beauty of Jesus walking alongside us.

I think the reality is that Jesus is always there with us. Whether we see Him or not, whether we recognise His face or not, He is there. If we could see Him, then our faith and confidence is boosted but even if we can’t see Him, we should not lose heart as He is nevertheless still there, walking alongside us. He doesn’t and will never leave our side as we are His, the sheep of His pasture.

Find the rainbow, it is there. See Jesus as He is there walking alongside us. He is always by our side and there will also be times when He will lift and carry us through life like the only 2 and not 4 footsteps on the beach as He walks through life with us. Jesus is now and here, He is not nowhere!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/06/02/set-apart

Be kind and compassionate with one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ, God forgave you (Ephesians 4:32).

As much as we want to be like others, to burst into anger and rage when we are wronged and to seek justice (sometimes that’s just an euphemism for revenge or getting even), we are actually quite constrained as a child of God. The rule for us is that first and foremost we must be kind and compassionate – meaning to say, we take things calmly even if we are wronged. It also means that like what John Wesley did in defence of his brother Charles Wesley, we meet anger and rage courageously with calmness and serenity. In fact, we can be like Jesus of yesterday’s commentary, and calm and quiet down a raging storm by being soft and serene. I recall seeing a video of a vet patting down an angry and aggresive dog to serenity. Thus even a potentially dangerous situation can be contained and controlled if we are calm and composed.

That’s why some people have used this phrase, right side up, to describe our Christian life. We are different from the world because we are now born again. It’s an upside down world or right side up as far as we are concerned. We are still in the world but we are no longer of the world. We live by a different standard as we are now a child of God. Salvation is not only about our eternal life but also eternity living in the present. We live now like we would in eternity. We bring Kingdom living down to earth as the Kingdom of God is where we are, where we work, live and interact. We are to be compassionate and kind and forgiving. It may be unfair but we must still be kind and compassionate and forgiving. That’s the standard we live by nowadays as a child of God.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds – Romans 12:2.

https://odb.org/MY/2022/06/01/coffee-and-a-muffin

What is the basis of Christian giving? I guess at the foundation of it all is the principle that our money, possessions and assets are not fully ours in the first place. Legally ours yes but not fully ours in the sense that we recognise the provision and grace of God in us acquiring our money, assets and possessions. We earn an honest living and few are very rich although some may be blessed with an earthly inheritance. But nevertheless we are able to give willingly for worthy causes because we ourselves experience the goodness of God in our own lives. We see how God preserved and protected us despite the clinical and often unsympathetic ways the world works. For example, I’m starting a new job today after so many years with my previous organisation and experienced first hand how God moved in special and I would say miraculous ways for me to experience what the Israelites experienced when they were leaving Egypt for the Promised Land. It is true that Christisn life is not a bed of roses but it is really a life living in the goodness of God working in us and among us.

I was on garden leave for a short while and at the tail end of it, had the privilege to join in the 15th anniversary celebrations of an organisation that is committed to providing accommodation for church and Christian retreats and camps at operating cost prices (zero amortisation of capital costs) so that the poorest of churches are able to afford the place, with full board and meals. I saw with my own eyes how many of those who attended have been wholeheartedly supporting this organisation for years as they grew old together with the founder. They soldier on serving God faithfully despite being in the 60s to 70s and even 80s.

Give whenever is necessary and as required. We save for our old age and yet when God prompts us, just give. We can give anonymously or give knowingly but we should not publicise our giving as Jesus taught don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. We give out of the thankfulness and gratefulness of our hearts. We give because God first loved us and we are now His children and servants in His kingdom of grace. We give our money, time and talents for God and for the furtherance of His kingdom and I believe in the process we are storing up riches or treasures in heaven where the thief may not steal and where neither moth nor rust may destroy (Matthew 6:19-21). The wisest thing we can do on earth, in my humble opinion, besides our decision to accept Jesus in our lives, is to use whatever influence and wealth we have here on earth to store up riches or treasures in heaven as the latter are things we can and will enjoy for all eternity! See the parable of the shrewd manager as taught by our Lord Himself in Luke 16:1-8.

https://odb.org/MY/2022/05/31/hope-cuts-through-storms

As seen in Psalm 107, the tempest lifted high the waves which mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths. Thus in their peril their courage melted away, they reeled and staggered like drunkards and were at their wits’ end. They then cried out to the LORD in their trouble and He brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper and the waves of the sea were hushed. I don’t think it’s an allegory but a real life experience repeated and publicised for the glory of God, to give thanks to God for His mighty hands for rescuing the merchants who were at sea.

Many years later, when God appeared on the scene as Jesus the Son, the disciples actually experienced Jesus calming the storm and this was recorded in the Gospels of Mark, Luke and Matthew. Jesus spoke and the storm just subsided. Kristene DiMarco of Bethel Music uses this refrain in the bridge of her song It Is Well – “the waves and wind still know His name”. You can catch the song here – https://youtu.be/YNqo4Un2uZI.

Calming the storm physically demonstrates that God is God and Jesus is God. If we were to face a physical storm, we know that the Lord can calm the storm if we were to call out to Him. But I guess the more practical application of Psalm 107 is in the realm of the storms of life that we face as believers living out our faith. Are we able to call upon the Lord like the merchants at sea when our life situation threatens to overwhelm us? Do we trust God that He will calm our storms of life as we cry out to him at out wits end, in our despair and desperation? Whatever turmoil we are going through right now, lift it up to the Lord and commit it to Him. Pray that the Lord our God will find a way for us when there appears to be no way. Humanly, we are at the edge of the cliff but in the Lord, Jesus can and will be the bridge for us to cross over to safety for He is our refuge, our rock and our salvation! Give thanks to God for His unfailing love and praise Him for His wonderful deeds in our lives! Amen!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/05/30/healing-for-the-whole-world

As God reconciled mankind to Him through Christ, we are likewise called to a ministry of reconciliation to also reconcile our family, friends and relatives to God and between them as well. It is a role that we can never avoid since our Heavenly Father Himself is very much into reconciliation as He aptly demonstrated by sending His one and only son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins and defeated death by His resurrection and in the process gave us all the hope that we too can defeat sin and death by accepting Jesus into our lives. We ourselves as specific individuals, not generic mankind, now have a hope of glory that one day we will stand before our Redeemer although our skin may already be destroyed. On that day, we will all be with our loved ones again, those who had departed this world earlier than us. It will be the day of joyful reunion with God in flesh and our loved ones and our fellow saints in the ministry and kingdom of God. We will also get to meet all the prophets and apostles of old that we read about in the bible. The new heaven and new earth and new Jerusalem in Revelation 21 will be the permanent dwelling place of God among His people, recreating Eden that God originally intended for mankind.

What’s our takeaway this morning? I believe as our Heavenly Father is a reconciler at the much bigger picture and the universe macro level, we must at the micro and personal life level be a reconciler at heart. Between colleagues and management, between our friends, between our siblings and our parents or among our siblings or among our parents – we must be the one with the reconciliatory heart to mend and heal wounds. If we are the salt and the light of the world, then we must always be the peacemaker. Make peace, rather than war. Thwart the evil intentions and plans of the devil. Don’t be the hotbed for the devil to divide and destroy the unity in families and among the brethren. Even in church or at our workplace or colleges and schools, be the one to heal and restore, be the one who brings reconciliation like our Heavenly Father did for us. If we are the ones wronged, forgive and move on in the Lord. Don’t dwell in the past and on our past hurts and disappointments. Let the Lord handle in His time. Let the Lord minister and heal us and make us whole again. He is our God and Father, He knows what’s best for us. Even if some consequences resulted from our own wrong decisions or incompetence, let God restore and heal us.

Let us thus reconcile others among us and reconcile ourselves to God if we had in some ways strayed from Him. Let’s all be ministers of reconciliation that God’s will may be done on earth as it is in heaven, in our lives and the lives of our loved ones, friends and our brethren!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/05/28/narrow-door-cafe

When we read Luke 13:22-30, we tended to read it that Jesus meant the narrow door there is the same as the narrow gate He spoke about in Matthew 7:13-14. I guess in the broader sense, we could equate the teaching to be similar and its application to be also somewhat similar, except that in Luke 13 there is no equivalent wide door like in the Matthew 7’s wide gate.

The narrow door in Luke 13 actually refers to Jesus Himself as the only way to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and once the Master of the House (God Himself) closes the door, they will not be able to enter anymore. Although Jesus ate and dined with them and taught at their streets (in Jerusalem and Israel), He will not know them when God closes the door as they had rejected Him. They will see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the other prophets but they themselves will be thrown out. Instead people will come from the East, the West, the South and the North (people from all over the world, the Gentiles) and will take their places at the feast (meaning the day of judgment) and indeed those who are last (the Gentiles) will be first while those who are first (the Jews) will be last.

As Gentiles or non-Jews, we have been afforded the privilege to know God and be a part of His family although the Jews were given the first invitation. Instead, the Jews rejected Christ when He came to them two thousand years ago and until today they still reject Him. There are remnants that have turned and accepted Jesus, but their numbers are in the thousands and thus minuscule among the 14-15 million Jews worldwide. In fact if we go into the studies and watch the videos of Jewish rejection of Christ, they really humiliate and despise Him equating Him to faeces although Jesus Himself came to earth as a Jew. It is really sad and heartbreaking because Jesus is God in flesh (Immanuel) and He came to save mankind, in particular, the Jewish nation.

I think the message this morning is that the rejection of Christ has consequences whether we are Gentile or Jew. So long as we do not attempt to enter through the Narrow Door (Christ), we will not be able to enter. Once the door closes, it is the end. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. God is patient and compassionate and His love is unconditional but once the time is up, the entry is no longer available. The invitation to the wedding feast has a time limit for RSVP. It is not an open invitation in perpetuity. We will not live forever and neither will we know when will Christ return again. Enter through the Narrow Gate now. Accept Christ today while we still have breadth and while the Master of the House has not closed the door!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/05/27/the-forecasters-mistake

Today’s ODB highlights a pertinent point especially in these last days, these end times of whom do we listen to? Through Jeremiah, God told the Israelites that they must stop listening to prophets who proclaimed peace and prosperity but they were not sent by the LORD for they proclaim peace despite the disobedience and rebellion of the people. They proclaimed no harm will come although the people had switched their allegiance to Baal and worshipped Baal and other gods, clearly an abomination in the eyes of God.

We, in these modern times, live in perhaps less crude and blatant circumstances. If we are worshipping other gods, then we are no longer believers and we are who we are. But there are probably among us believers who are genuine and sincere in our hearts but may be led astray by false prophets and teachers like in the days of Jeremiah. These modern day prophets claim they prophesy and teach in the name of the LORD and thus there lies the complexity and subtlety of the false messages they may be proclaiming. How do we tell the difference between lies propagated by these false prophets and truths proclaimed by true men and women of God who hear and listen to the heartbeat of God?

I think at the basics, we should be wary of people who carry big titles like prophets or prophetess or apostles as though they are somehow special before God and thus much better than us, normal believers. I find those titles strange and out of place in the Kingdom of God as Jesus had taught that those who are first shall be last and those who are last shall be first (Matthew 20:16). Always check the fruits of their lives. Are they living out their words?

Going deeper, whatever these people proclaim, prophesy or teach – always verify their words against the Word of God, contextually and as a whole. The Bible must form the basis of any teaching or prophecy as it is the Word of God. Whatever that is not there in the Bible, we should not accept and whatever is not clearly spelt out in the Bible, we should take with a pinch of salt.

Ultimately, we know that the end times will be filled with false teachers and prophets proclaiming things for their own selfish reasons in the name of God. So be conservative and super cautious lest we lose our way in the process. Nothing is more valuable than our relationship with God and our salvation, thus protect them at all cost! Keep our faith intact as in the end, we want to be able to say like Paul, I have fought the good fight, completed the race and kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7)!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/05/26/turn-up-the-heat

When we order a nice cup of gourmet or local coffee, we like it pipping hot. We know that the aroma and taste of the coffee fully comes out when it is properly heated with boiling hot water. However, when we actually drink it, we don’t mind if it’s lukewarm or it becomes lukewarm over time because it is quite difficult to drink anything boiling hot!

Just that when it comes to our faith, lukewarm is not the preferred choice. Jesus specifically warned the Christians in Laodicea. He wished they were either hot or cold because if they were neither, he is about to spit them out of His mouth! Actually what He really meant is that they need to be hot and not cold or lukewarm. Cold is definitely not good as that means we are totally out of the game. We are with the world. Our allegiance is either to ourselves or the world. We serve only our own selfish needs and desires.

The problem with lukewarm faith, unlike coffee as we are drinking it, is that we are not fully with God. We give some but not all. Our heart is with God and yet we are not. We will probably run at the first sign of trouble, good in terms of self defence but not when it comes to our faith! Any temptation coming our way, we just relent and give in. We compromise our faith, our principles when pressed. We lack the backbone to stay put. We lack the courage to stand our ground. We don’t have the perseverance to push through.

So with lukewarm faith, we are stuck in the past, probably have not moved much from our baby Christian days. We never did grow much in our experience with God. As we somehow didn’t exercise much faith in our journey of faith, we never acquired the faith to know God better and deeper. All the things God had planned for us, we only did some. So we are just a fraction of what we could be in Him.

Note that Jesus said that He was about to spit us out of His mouth. He didn’t say that He has. We still have the chance to make amends, to change our ways, to repent.

We cannot put off settling this issue of fully giving our lives to God. It cannot be continually postponed. We have to make the decision now. There is much to do in the Kingdom. We need to quickly find our niche and do our part. We need to be that brick on the wall. We have been uniquely and fearfully made for that role. The time is now, it is today, at this very minute. We must either dedicate or rededicate our lives to God. The infinite blessings and power and authority from heaven are just waiting to be poured out for us. But we have to be hot for God, not lukewarm! We have to be 100% for God, fully surrendered to Him, not half heartedly. Give our all for Him for He is worthy of our worship. He is our Lord, our God and King!