https://odb.org/MY/2022/04/21/really-alive

It’s a strange question but a pertinent one nevertheless – will we really be alive again on Resurrection Day or will it just be in our heads? I never ever thought of it that way but the author of today’s ODB says that many carry that question but few dare to speak it out loud.

If we believe that the Bible is the Word of God, then I believe that the question will probably not arise at all. This is because Revelation 21 and 22 clearly show us what will the end of days be like. There will be new heaven and new earth, the new Jerusalem where God will dwell among His people. We will have the tree of life again and we can therefore live forever again as God had earlier intended before sin came into the picture and broke our direct link to God, that Jesus had to die on the cross to reconcile man to God and break the sting and bondage of sin and death. The subsequent resurrection of Christ is the first fruit of His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15). He was the first to be resurrected as an example of how we will likewise be resurrected one day in the same glorified body as Christ did. Thus knowing what God said in His Word is true and will come true, we will have no issues looking forward to the hope that one day we will be resurrected as Christ did. That is also why many have over the ages dared to live and die for Christ’s sake. We do not pursue life for our benefit and interests only but for the goodness of God, for the sake of the Kingdom.

What’s the message today? I believe God is saying to us that whatever we do on earth will never be in vain. The heavenly reward is real. The new heaven and new earth, the new Jerusalem are all real. Jesus is really alive today and He will be alive tomorrow and forever more! Many have lived and died for Christ’s sake alone. We can also be like the martyrs and saints before us. Any injustice or unfairness or suffering we experience now here on earth can never compare to the glory and beauty that await us one day (Romans 8:18). God sees our very actions and He sees the actions of those around us too. He will protect and preserve the interests of His people, there is no doubt about that. Amen!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/04/20/love-is-worth-the-risk

Most of us would have known someone who had loved before and because of bad experiences in the past, chose a single’s life. Even if we have not seen a real life example ourselves, there are abundant portrayals in movies and TV dramas. Not necessarily a lonely life as one could fill up our time with our own pursuits and being single means we can, in most instances, do as we think fit. No need to align or prioritise interests with our loved one or as some say, our better half. We just pursue what interests us – like photography, fishing, badminton, running, gym etc.

I think people who decided not to open up for love again do so because they don’t want to get hurt again. They don’t want to be vulnerable, don’t want to risk getting rejected, hurt, betrayed or abandoned. But then life is like that – no pain, no gain. Or put it another way – no venture, no gain. You don’t move out of your comfort zone, you remain there and sometimes, that zone is when we were only 16, years and years ago when the first girl we fancied rejected our invitation for tea. Of course, I’m exaggerating. It could well be closer to present times but you get the picture. Our comfort zones are usually frozen in time, a time in the past – certainly not the future and unlikely the present. We have not moved on since then. We are still stuck in our past bad experience.

The message today however I believe goes deeper than that although we should come out of our comfort zone, open up to love and be vulnerable. And it should apply to all areas of our life, whether our faith, our ministry or our jobs. Maybe it’s time to move on and try something new. The world is your oyster, they say.

The message today is deeper as it concerns our love for Jesus. Do we love Jesus? Even if Jesus were to ask us 3 times, will we answer Him yes? Have our past experiences with human love caused us to be unconsciously rejecting Jesus? Are we declining to go into a deeper relationship with Him? Has our past experience with church itself cause us to refuse being more involved now? Because we were deeply disappointed in the past? Because we were disillusioned as we gave our all before and had to pick up the pieces of our faith? Love and vulnerability goes hand in hand. If we can’t be vulnerable, if we close our hearts up, we will never be able to truly love Jesus. All we will probably ever do is just skim the surface. There is much more to our life in God, I believe so – just that we need to open up and allow God to take control and take over. Put our trust fully on God and He will work all things together for good. Note that Romans 8:28 only applies to all who love Him. Read it and you will see.

https://odb.org/MY/2022/04/19/come-and-worship

If you read today’s ODB text, it is writing about giving everyone a chance to worship, putting particular emphasis on a mother with 3 children – a baby, a toddler and a five year old. With the church members helping her with her eldest and the toddler, she managed to exhale, close her eyes and worship God.

However, if you go into the Scripture of the day at Deuteronomy 3:9-13, the LORD was speaking through Moses about giving everyone a chance to listen to the Law being read. To assemble the people, men, women, children, foreigners residing at their towns so that they can listen amd learn to fear the LORD and follow carefully all the words of the Law.

I recall during the nearly five years I was worshipping at another local church, the time when my eldest was around 2 to 3 years old to when he was around 5 years plus when we move on to another church, I used to bring him to walk around the corridors of the church when the message was being delivered. He refused to attend the children’s ministry session and no one from the ministry actually tried to coax him to attend or helped me to attend to him. So during those few years, I didn’t get to listen to any of the messages preached. I also recall in another church before that when we were all involved in ministry tasks, my wife used to run the children’s ministry class every week and thus she also didn’t get to listen to the message for quite a number of months.

Whether it’s the worship or the message, everyone should be given the chance to attend and experience the presence of God, to hear the rhema and logos parts of the Word preached. That is why some churches insist that everyone is present in the sanctuary hall from babies to youths to adults to the older folks and the children’s church is a separate service, not a babysitting service to the parents. If the children’s church needs to run concurrently with the main service, there must be a fair rotation of people involved so that no one is always left out from parts of the main service. Everyone should be involved in ministry but everyone should also be ministered to.

Assemble all the people – men, women, children and the foreigners. Let everyone be present to worship the Lord in all His splendour and to hear His Word being preached!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/04/18/witness-in-the-workplace

A big question all of us will face every now and then is whether to continue at our workplace or to leave for another opportunity. In the Malaysian context, less are inclined to make that call if they are in government service as government servants work for life because of the life long medical benefits and pension on retirement. However, even government servants have flexibility to apply for transfers or to move departments or schools.

The tension comes as we are frustrated because new people coming in are messing up our way of working. Sometimes imposing bureaucratic steps that slow things down or using constant updates and reporting as a management tool, which usually imposes additional work when the real and regular work was already challenging. I recall many years back when I was negotiating a contract abroad from morning till night only to return to the hotel for dinner and sleep but also to write a daily update on the progress of the negotiations late at night. So at the working level, people find that they have to get things moving and yet at the same time they need to spend considerable time preparing slides and reports for senior management. Or the things we want to do to streamline processes or to make things more efficient get shot down. The improvements were obvious to us but oblivious to our higher-ups. Sometimes improvements are refused because of political or personal reasons and not on merit and that makes us even more frustrated.

So do we leave or stay? Leave if we are really unhappy and the situation impacts our health and general well being. Pray that God will open a way for us to move on. However, a more pertinent prayer I believe is what is your will O Lord? Do You want me to stay on to continue with my good works here? Do you want me continue to glorify Your name through my integrity throughout the situation, that I maintain my professionalism despite the setbacks I received. We know that as a Christian, we don’t go for the door the moment we see trouble. We flee from temptation and the devil, but not trouble and hardwork. Why? Because the latter builds us up – as we suffer, we persevere and as we persevere, we build character. As we do more, we get more familiar and thus become better and that applies to new processes and bureaucratic steps.

The message today is I believe that we should seek Jesus and His views on our situation. I believe if it is time to move on, He will show us the way and make a way. Until then, we continue our good works so that the name of our Father in heaven may be glorified through us, through our work. Ultimately, we must come across as someone who is dependable, responsible, ethical and good at what we do. We must be known as someone who will persevere through despite the challenging environment and difficult situation. Our God is greater and He will lead us to victory!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/04/17/this-changes-everything

There is nothing more fundamental in the Christian faith than the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. Paul took great pains to preach this and was willing to be arrested so that he could preach the same to Agrippa, the Roman Emperor at Rome, the pinnacle of the known world then.

The whole of the New Testament is really about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the fulfilment of God’s promise to redeem mankind from the original sin. The second Adam had to become the Lamb of God to right the wrong done by the first Adam that we may be restored and one day may return back to the Garden of Eden experience in the new heaven and new earth as revealed to John and promised to all of us in Revelation 21, where we will once again be able to partake of the Tree of Life and thus conquer death and live for eternity as God had originally intended for mankind.

That indeed Christ was risen because if that was false, then we are in deep trouble as nothing else matters. Our lives will then be lived to fulfil only our fleshy wants and desires and death and sin would have won. We will die as we know it and it will all just end there. That is all life is about. No greater purpose, no divine plans, no calling, nothing. Our lives are our own. We don’t relate to God. There is no kingdom of heaven. It’s all just about living here on earth. We exist and then we perish like the flowers that bloom and wither away.

But Christ is risen! The first fruit of His own victory over sin and death! He is the example of what we will be one day, our hope of glory that one day we will all be risen too, in a glorified body just like Christ’s. Sin and death shall reign no more. Tears and sadness shall be gone and no more.

As we honour and remember Christ’s sacrifice and victory over sin and death today on Resurrection Sunday, Easter Sunday – let us be like Paul and preach and proclaim Christ’s death and resurrection as fervently as we can. He is risen! He is alive! He has conquered death and sin for us. We will also likewise be victorious over sin and death through the blood and name of Christ! Let’s hold on to that hope for I know my redeemer lives and in the end, He will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God (Job 19:25-27). All this is truly a reality now with the death and resurrection of Christ! As Christ has risen, nothing else matters! Amen!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/04/15/simon-of-cyrene

https://www.biblword.net/what-is-the-weight-of-the-cross-that-jesus-carried/

The cross has over time become a symbol of our faith. Catholics make the sign of the cross as a way to prepare for prayer but more importantly to symbolise that they are Catholics. Non believers wear the cross as a pendant, an ornament but I believe those who do so harbour an inner desire to be Christian in faith. There are those who use the cross to identify themselves with Christianity although they may not actually profess the faith. That is why to the Muslims, it is sacrilegious for them to have anything to do with the cross as they may be branded as having crossed over to the other side. Elections have been lost with just a photo with a cross.

Although Jesus is usually pictured as having carried his cross, it is likely He carried the cross beam as that was the prevailing practice then. Also because the stake was usually already planted to the ground much earlier. It was nevertheless a heavy thing weighing 30-40 kgs. It would have been tough for Jesus to carry 30-40 kgs in His weakened state having been beaten and tortured before that. Fortunately, there was Simon of Cyrene who was forced to help Him. As it turned out, it was such a privilege and honour to be able to help Jesus carry His cross at such a difficult ahd torturous time. Of course, Jesus carried not just the physical cross but more significantly the sins of mankind upon His shoulders and won the victory. He was love crucified but arose! He won the victor’s crown! Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!

We cannot and will never be Simon of Cyrene. We are who we are, uniquely and wonderfully made by God in His image. What is within our power and control? Certainly our own life and our own actions and thoughts! Can we do as Jesus taught to honour Him? Can we be like Him more and more in our life to honour Him? Can we carry our own cross each day and crucify our old self daily that our new self in Christ may always be victorious in our life? We may not have been given the privilege to carry Jesus’s cross but let’s do our part to carry our own cross daily that His crucifixion and resurrection have some real meaning and impact in our life, that all that Christ did for each of us is not in vain. Love crucified arose indeed! Amen

https://odb.org/MY/2022/04/14/and-it-was-night-2

I’m quite sure everyone had experienced betrayal to a certain degree at least once in our lives. Perhaps it was something as simple as someone having promised to keep a secret but started babbling like a canary the moment he was asked the question. Or something as serious as someone we loved having left us for someone else. Or a business partner swindling us of our investment. Or it could be our superior marking down our performance appraisal on instructions from the top. Or a supplier reneging on a promise to deliver having sold our goods or components to the highest bidder.

Betrayal can take many forms but for Christ, He knew who would betray Him and He allowed that to happen so that what was foretold before may be played out before the eyes of mankind. At that moment in time, someone needed to point out to the arresting party who exactly was Jesus and that person was Judas Iscariot. There was something inside Judas that made him do what he did and that’s probably why he was the one who fulfilled the prophesy. Jesus knew it will happen and yet He chose to go through it. He didn’t choose to foil it so that He is not betrayed. There was a larger purpose in play and that is the redemption and salvation of mankind.

There must be a bigger reason why we had to go through what we went through. Perhaps it is to prepare us for mighty things that God will be doing in our life. That our heart is strengthened by our experiences and our spirit is thus not easily defeated like a fragile piece of pottery. Our resolve is like steel, not easily cracked. We excel under pressure. Things like that.

If we knew like Jesus we would be betrayed, I’m sure we will do all we can to prevent it. But we will not know. We dont even know what will happen to us the next minute or the next hour. So let the greater good prevail. Let God work in us through that experience, bitter as it might have been. Let the Lord wash away all the hurt, bitterness and hatred this Easter weekend and let bygones be bygones. Let’s instead hold on to the promise and plan of God declared by Paul in Romans 8:28 that He will work all things together for the good of those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose. He has a purpose for our life and He has a purpose for all that we are going through and have gone through. Trust Him to work things out for our good. In due time, in due course – we will see the wisdom of His ways.

https://odb.org/MY/2022/04/13/carried-by-love

When we read the Old Testament, we see that the LORD when speaking to the Israelites through His prophets like Isaiah were speaking more of their lives while on earth. If they worshipped Him and no other gods and obey His commandments, He will protect them against their enemies. He will help them win battles and wars against the peoples that live in Canaan even as their entry into Canaan had threatened the geopolitical situation existing then. The Israelites believed in the resurrection of the dead for they knew their Redeeemer lives (Job 19:25-27) and yet the concept of eternal life, of living even though we die was not really present or only became more pronounced when Jesus arrived on the scene some 2,000 years back. Technically, the Jews of old could have eternal life through their obedience of the Law, as tough as it might have been without the redeeming blood of Christ on the cross. The Jews of today I believe have a similar mindset, focusing more on what is seen now than what is unseen and what that lies beyond the grave.

With the redeeming blood of Christ, we have an eternal future. A future where we are not afraid of death as Christ has conquered death for us. As Paul famously said to die is gain and to live is Christ. Either way, our lives belong to Christ since He had redeemed us with His blood. So just a matter of whether we are with Him in spirit here or in the afterlife. And that is something we must be thankful of as we approach this Easter weekend, be thankful and grateful to Christ for that confidence and assurance of eternal life, for that everlasting life with Him while alive or after we depart. Thus for a believer, our life here on earth is a pilgrimage, we are merely passing through.

Having said that, God still cares for us while we are on earth. He knows and sees the challenges we face, at times just to live. 80 or 90 years may be short compared to eternity but it is still a long haul for us humans. The beggar may suffer for 80 years to live lavishly for eternity. But is that what life is about? To live and suffer? Surely not! God made us and He will carry us. He says in Isaiah 46:4 that He will sustain us to our old age, our gray hairs. I have made you and I will carry you. I will sustain you and I will rescue you. In Psalm 139, David declares that we are fearfully and uniquely made by God.

There is a purpose God made us and place us where we are today. As much as eternal life is assuring for our future, let’s discover and fulfil God’s unique and special purpose for us here on earth. That I believe is probably one of the best ways we can reciprocate Christ’s love and sacrifice for us. He died for our sins and bought us the ticket to the train. In the meantime, let’s do our part to play the role that He designed for us even as we board the train. Why are we on the train? Surely it is not just about going to heaven only? Discover and fulfil God’s plans and purposes for our lives!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/04/12/like-us-for-us

As the pioneer of our faith, the founder, originator and author, Jesus Christ was God and yet fully human in every way. He was human and yet sinless so that He could become the perfect sacrifice for the atonement of our sins, the Lamb of God that redeemed mankind once and for all, having victory over sin and death. Thus those who believe in Him and accept Him as their Lord, will have eternal life – though we may die, yet we live because Jesus is the Truth, the Way and the Life! He is the Resurrection and the Life!

Hebrews 2:18 says it unequivocally that since He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted. The evil one is real and he will tempt us with the lust of eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). These temptations seek to draw us away from God, to entice us to follow the world and the desires of our old self but we know that as we ask Jesus to help us fight these temptations, Jesus will help us as He had suffered before when He Himself was tempted. He was made fully human in every way and faced the same temptations that we face as human beings.

As we approach Good Friday and Easter Sunday this week, let’s spend some time to not only thank Jesus for His sacrifice on the cross for the redemption of our sins (He was bruised for our transgressions) and His subsequent victory over sin and death with His resurrection, but let us examine ourselves whether we are a good example of who Jesus is? Are we worthy brothers and sisters of Christ who are worthy to carry His name? Have we worked hard enough to not conform to the pattern of this world and be transformed by the renewing of our minds? Are our bodies a living sacrifice that is reflective of His work on Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday? This week is called Holy Week, the week between Palm Sunday and Easter – let us spend some time this Holy Week to remember Christ and do some self reflection as to where we are in Christ. Are we fulfilling His calling upon our lives? Are we living out His plans and purposes for our lives? Are we getting on with the programme with Him?

https://odb.org/MY/2022/04/11/making-every-moment-count

We know the LORD our God is compassionate and forgiving. So even as we sin, we know when we go back to Him, He will forgive us. We need to of course repent but as we are work in progress, we may still commit the same sin after repentance. More effort needs to put in to break the cycle of sin and bad habits, maybe by replacing these unwholesome habits with more spiritual things like praying or reading the Word or just plain turkey cut them off. Sin is debilitating, makes us weak and infirm spiritually as sin separates us from the Lord, the source of our strength and life. So intentional sin even if we sometimes cannot help it is an issue we need to deal with.

The recent passing of my dad made me realise that as much as we as man can plan, the final decision lies with God. My dad had his second chance at life when he survived his massive heart attack 13 years ago. And even 3 years back he survived a host of medical conditions like ischemic bowels, colon cancer and his abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). Due to his AAA, we knew the day may come anytime and as much as we wished it will come later, it came sooner. That’s the thing about death, we don’t know when it will come. When it comes, it could just be a matter of hours and not days or weeks or months. God has His timing and He is sovereign. Even Kings bow before Him when it comes to this – except King Hezekiah who managed to convince the LORD to extend his life by another 15 years.

God’s compassion is steadfast and is renewed every morning like dew. His forgiveness is certain. But death and the Second Coming of Christ are things we cannot predict. We don’t know when exactly, even Christ doesn’t know. If we knew, then we will be like the owner of a home waiting to catch the thief. The thief usually sneaks in when we least expect. Death also creeps in when we least expect.

Count our moments and do what we must do NOW. Reconcile with God and man now. Spend more time with our loved ones. Do the things we want to do for God now. Don’t wait. Repent and seek His forgiveness now, when we still have breath as we don’t know when we will breathe our last. I have seen it in my mum and my dad, and one of my close friend – once illness strikes us and we are admitted to the hospital, if death were to follow in the days to come, there is nothing much that the person on the bed can do from the moment they are admitted until their heart stops. Don’t wait anymore, repent and reconcile with God now.