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!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/06/17/planted-in-him

Jeremiah 17:5-8 contrasts those who trust in the Lord as those who is like a tree planted by the water whose leaves are always green and who bear fruit in season with no fear of drought, compared to those who don’t who are like a bush in wastelands, who live in parched places of the desert and in a salt land that no one lives. In other words, a life of prosperity vs a life of desolation. Greenery, flowers and fruits versus dry, abandoned and waste land.

Noah built the ark on instructions from God and waited for the rain. Caleb and Joshua waited for 40 years before entering the Promised Land. Rebekah waited 40 years to have a child. Jacob waited 7 years to marry Rachel. Simeon waited and waited for many years before he saw baby Jesus. Moses was 40 years old after he left Egypt but only heard the calling of God from the burning bush when he was 80. Even Jesus waited until He was thirty before He begin His ministry.

Trusting God and waiting upon Him is very much part of our walk of faith. Things will occur and unfold in His time. But we know that He will make all things beautiful in His time.

The message today and my encouragement to you and myself is that we must keep on trusting God as we wait upon Him. Don’t give up hope and abandon His call for our lives. We will soon see His plans for us unfold. As we pray for certain things, wait patiently for those things to come to pass. If God had impressed upon our hearts for those events to happen, continue to pray and trust in Him. It may take 10, 20, 30 or 40 years or it may come to pass in 3 years. Let’s continue to wait and trust the Lord and look to Christ heavenward even as we serve Him with all our heart, mind and strength. Christ is and will always be our Lord and Saviour, and our Heavenly Father will always be our God and Father!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/06/16/new-dna

I think today’s ODB life example of a bone marrow transplant patient’s DNA is a perfect illustration of what happens to us when we accept Christ. I have verified this and the truth is that once someone takes a bone marrow transplant, he will exhibit the DNA of both himself and that of his donor. He will thus have dual DNA or even the DNA of his donor. I guess the reason is that our DNA is produced by our bone marrow.

Thus when we accept Christ, we are now a new creation in Christ. Physically we are the same but spiritually our spirit has been awakened and we now have Christ in us. We are a new creation, our old self is gone in the sense that we may now overcome our old habits and behavioural traits that make us selfish to become selfless in Christ. Instead of only thinking of ourselves, we now think of others in our actions and decisions. We care for others as much as we care for ourselves. We are willing to give away our money and use our time and talents to bless others as we know our purpose in life is to be a blessing to others and not to keep or hoard things for ourselves only. Our mission in life has now changed to be a blessing to our neighbour. We live for God and His plans and purposes for our lives. We no longer live to only achieve our own plans and ambitions. In everything we do, in all decisions we make, we pray and consult God on what’s best for Him and His kingdom.

The reality however is that like the bone transplant patient, our DNA will always remain with us. As much as accepting Christ makes us a new creation, our old self is still present with us. We need to constantly influence and transform our old self so that our new self in Christ will always dictate our lives. In fact not only make our old self conform to our new self in Christ but transform our old self into our new self in Christ! It will take time but it is possible with Christ strengthening us by the power of the Holy Spirit as we immerse ourselves in prayer and reading of His Word and dedicate our lives to serving God in ministry for His kingdom! It’s a constant and daily affair – never give up on this transformation from within us!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/06/15/the-pudding-guy-2

Luke 16:1-12 the Parable of the Shrewd Manager is perhaps a more difficult parable to understand if we were to just take it at face value. It is somewhat controversial as it appears to glorify dishonesty when a manager who is about to lose his job started discounting the debts of his employer’s debtors to gain a favour from them so that they will treat him well after he is no longer the manager. Jesus did not elaborate on why it was not wrong to do what the manager did (perhaps the debts were grossly inflated by outrageously high compounded interest upon interest in the first place) and we also do not know why the manager had such authority to reduce debts unilaterally, but the point made by Jesus was to use our earthly wealth for eternal purposes.

As a shrewd believer, we should not hoard our wealth in the sense that we should not hold it too tightly even though we need to save for our old age. The reason is obvious. Earthly wealth do not last forever and so is our position and status in life. So why don’t we use our earthly riches, social position and influence to sow into the Kingdom of God and in the process store treasures in heaven where the thief may not steal or the moth or rust will not destroy? Sowing into the Kingdom could mean giving to missions and Christian causes but could also mean just pure charitable organisations that help the needy, poor and downtrodden. It could also mean just helping out our neighbour who is in need or using our influence to help someone out, perhaps someone who had just been laid off and is jobless. We will see more and more of such cases as the economic woes caused by the pandemic and Russian-Ukraine war as well as the Western sanctions against Russia and the US trade war against China all start to kick in over the next few years. The world will go into greater turmoil.

At the most fundamental and basic level, we ought to use as much as we can for the glory of God. Our time and talents and giftings. Our wealth, money, influence, position and status too. That’s the clever and shrewd thing to do. Use them all for the glory of God, for eternal everlasting purposes. It is a privilege to be able to work and earn a living. Just remember that as we earn and have money (and we need not be rich!), we are given the privilege to sow into eternal purposes. Use that privilege to invest into eternal treasures while we still can. We will not live forever here on earth and neither will our jobs and position be ours forever. I believe that is the essence of the Parable of the Shrewd Manager – be a shrewd and smart believer and use all that is within our control for Christ and the glory of God!