https://odb.org/MY/2022/03/08/beautiful-feet-2

Isaiah 52:7 describes as beautiful the feet that bring the good news of Yahweh liberating the exiled Israelites from Babylon. The feet are beautiful as seen from the mountains, meaning to say, heaven rejoices that Israel will be set free from exile and will be able to return to the Promised Land and rebuild Jerusalem that laid in ruins. In the spiritual sense those who bring the good news of salvation, the Gospel, to the lost are rejoiced in the heavenly realm as Christ wants as many as possible to be saved and not swept into eternal damnation by the deceit of the devil and the fancy trappings of the world. For those who are yet saved, there is a new path to travel while on earth that leads to salvation and eternal life.

Coincidently, Paul also uses feet to described the sharing of the Gospel when he spoke of putting on the armour of God in Ephesians 6: 10-17 to stand against the schemes of the devil as our fight is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, the authorities, the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore we must put on the full armour of God comprising of the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation taking the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God and with our feet fitted with readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

While the armour of God is essentially defensive, the sword of the Spirit is both defensive and offensive, protecting us and yet may be used to attack the devil and his evil forces. The feet however speaks of readiness to go out there into the world to share the Gospel as a means to make inroads into and to penetrate enemy territory. To go on the offensive, we cannot remain passive but must move forward and with full armour of God we may stand firm and with the Word of God (sword of the Spirit), we can fight and tear down evil forces.

Preaching Christ crucified and resurrected is active and requires us literally moving our feet. It is a positive action. It is proactive and not reactive. Sending out a message of encouragement, a testimony of God’s goodness, a witness of God’s miracles, signs and wonders and healing grace and power all require us to either push a button or speak out. If we are silent, it is just not done. We cannot remain passive all the time, withdrawn into our own affairs alone or just revolving around our work, ministry and family. We need to start going out again and share the Gospel. Let the world know the message of the goodness of God. All of us are guilty one way or another; it’s time to move out again with our feet as He is coming again very soon. May our feet be also described as beautiful from the mountains!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/03/07/willing-to-wait

I guess for believers who came into the faith after seeing Jesus in person or after witnessing the signs and wonders that manifested after Pentecost or interacting with people who saw Jesus in the flesh, the wait for the second coming of Christ was more difficult and agonising. The belief and hope then must be that Jesus will come again in their lifetime to right the wrongs they were suffering then especially the intense persecution they had to endure, many to the point of death. The reality of Christ means that the reality of Him coming again then was more real and intense and yet they were waiting patiently for the Lord to return.

Nevertheless, the faith spread on from Jerusalem, out of Judea to the Gentiles and across the world as many stood firm in the faith while waiting for the Lord to come again despite the long-suffering, despite that evil being abound. They made the difference that made it possible for us to know Christ thousands of miles away, more than two thousand years later. Generations have passed and yet the faith was not extinguished one bit.

For us believers in the present age who had never met Jesus in the flesh or interacted with the Apostles or believers who had seen Him face to face, we are somewhat in some ways stronger in faith because our belief is entirely founded on faith, believing in things unseen as faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Meaning to say that despite not seeing and we can still believe and follow Jesus means that it can only be true and real. We ourselves became and are the evidence of things unseen.

We like the believers of the first century are also waiting patiently for the Lord to return.

No one know when He will return, only the Father. The Father wants to give everyone a chance to repent of their sins, He wants to give every tribe a chance to hear the Gospel before Christ returns to usher in the end of the world. The events revealed to John in Revelations will come to pass one by one. Perhaps if the present war in Ukraine is not contained and managed properly, there is a chance that it will escalate beyond its borders and spark a new world war?

Many have been teaching recently and are predicting that Christ will come again this generation, this age in time. When we look back 2,000 years and how humanity has progressed and grown, it’s hard to believe all will come to an end soon. Yet the signs of times are there for all to see and deduce. The global pandemic and the speed it spread across the globe is a first in human history, and yet ironically that for once after many years that green was given a chance to catch a breadth and rejuvenate when human activity paused and emissions ceased momentarily for a few months with factories shut and vehicles forced to stay home. The pause caused human misery in lost GDPs, economic activities, jobs and businesses but the jungles and oceans were given a reprieve from human ambition and greed. Thus it is clear that the coming of the Lord is near.

The message today I believe is please wait on patiently and stand firm against the temptations of the evil one, against the misery brought about by the pandemic with rising prices and less job and business opportunities. Do not lose the faith so freely given us at a high price of our Lord’s life on the cross. Let us all wait and prepare for the coming again of Christ as the next few weeks and months are crucial for the future direction of the human race. Christ may come again sooner than we expect, rather than later as experienced by generations before us. We may well experience and witness the rapture and the great tribulation that were spoken to John and written out in Revelations. Repent from our sin and follow Jesus with all our heart, mind and soul! He is indeed coming again! Please be prepared my beloved brethren and wait patiently!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/03/06/tongue-tied

We are usually able to express ourselves before God in adulation, adoration, worship, gratefulness and thankfulness. Telling God about our day should not be a problem as that is just plain communicating. Interceding for people and their needs should not be an issue either as we usually will have a prepared list of items to pray for. Finally, making requests and supplications that are our own needs should be easy as that are our own struggles and challenges that are usually dear to our hearts.

Having said that, we still sometimes find it tough to express ourselves; as mentioned in today’s ODB – we get tongue tied. It occurs in normal conversation with people and also in prayer. We are at a loss of words or ideas, we don’t know what else to say or what to say at all.

In prayer, if we are tongue tied, at least we know God knows our heart’s desires. He can read our thoughts and what lies within us even if we are not able to express ourselves well to Him. He already knows what we want to say even before we say it. In prayer, our inner thoughts are as important as what we verbalise. It is important to say it out, to verbalise our prayers but I think not fatal if we don’t say it too well or express it less eloquently as God knows our heart intentions and our thoughts.

Secondly, we have the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us through wordless groans when we do not know what to pray for. So we can pray in tongues and allow the Spirit to express our thoughts and intentions to God as we verbalise our prayer in tongues rather than just human words. That is why if we are loss for words, pray in tongues and let the Spirit carry through our prayers.

The message today I believe is that we must never let our loss of words or fluency in prayer or lack of eloquency to ever prevent us from praying. Speak to God in our language in our own way. In the end, God already knows our intentions and thoughts. Nevertheless speak out and verbalise our prayers to Him. Be open, do not hide for He knows all things. Verbalise our prayers. Confess our sins and iniquities before Him. Seek His forgiveness. Pour our hearts unto Him. When we run out of words, speak in the Spirit and let the Spirit speak for us.

https://odb.org/MY/2022/03/05/safe-hands

I don’t know about you but when I was young and started reading Enid Blyton novels like the Famous Five, I always dreamt of having my own tree house. A place away from my own room or house that is mine to hide out with my gang or just I alone. A place where we are hidden away from the world where we can be alone by ourselves – our hiding place.

Just a few days back I watched a Japanese drama series on Netflix where the story was that the wife of a senior judge required her to maintain a low profile so that he is perceived as humble, fair and objective. She wears old shoes to move around but she actually rents a small storage room somewhere in the city where she keeps her nice shoes and fancy bags and goes there daily just to wear and see them within the confines of her storage room. That room was her hiding place to enjoy her passion for her designer shoes and bags.

Do we have a hiding place, a place of refuge where we can truly be ourself? A place where we can pursue our deepest interests unhindered. Some people have a farm for that, like a cabin in the woods. Some people go camping in remote places using 4WD vehicles with camping and cooking gear, just to enjoy the serenity and peace of the deep forest. Yet there are some who go fishing just for that, at a fishing farm or out at sea. Or some ladies go for spa for indulgent self pampering.

Psalm 32 teaches us that the LORD our God is our hiding place. Jesus Christ had broken down the veil for us and made God accessible by us directly without needing to go through intermediaries like the priests as we are now a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation (1 Peter 2:9). In Psalm 32, David described the Lord as someone who will protect us from trouble, surrounding us with songs of deliverance, instructing us and teaching us on where to go and counselling us with loving eyes.

But the key to understanding Psalm 32 lies with what David meant by his bones. It means his health and his physical well being. David said when he kept silent his bones wasted away. He felt God’s hands were heavy on him, his energy being sapped away in the heat of summer, his groaning is all day long. Then David acknowledged his sin and did not cover his iniquity. He confessed his transgressions and the LORD forgave the guilt of his sin.

As much as our salvation is assured by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, sanctification is a constant affair. Confess our sins before Him, acknowledge our transgressions and iniquities. Forgive those who have sinned against us. The LORD thus will then be our true hiding place; a place of refuge, a place of rejuvenation, a place of strength where our physical and spiritual well-being are energised, a place where our bones will come alive and not be wasted away. Make the LORD our God our hiding place, for indeed He is good and faithful, His love endureth forever! Amen

https://odb.org/MY/2022/03/04/two-small-boxes-2

The teachings of Jesus in Matthew 6:19-20 on storing up treasures in heaven is probably one of the more well known verses in the bible and concept in the faith that most of us have probably heard of as a Christian. Instead of gathering riches on earth, Jesus teaches us to store up treasures in heaven.

But how do we actually do that? We could buy a gold chain and keep or invest in shares or bitcoin or have fixed deposits or buy land and houses or basically have a credit balance in our bank account. These are all earthly riches and treasures that we can see and feel, that are tangible and the truth is – much easier to pursue, keep and store.

Treasures in heaven is a totally different creature altogether. We can’t send our gold chain to heaven and neither are there investment schemes or bank accounts that we can credit to here on earth for heaven. Or is there? Or can we actually do that? So I think what bible commentator Craig Bloomberg said is very interesting. Treasures in heaven means spiritual wealth and that means the compassionate use of material resources to meet others’ physical and spiritual needs. Isn’t that such a wonderful interpretation of the concept of storing up riches in heaven?

If we read Matthew 9 carefully, we will see that Jesus in teaching the storing up of treasures in heaven contrasts it with storing up treasures on earth that moth and rust can corrupt and thieves can break in and steal. He speaks about what motivates our hearts and what we serve, whether God or money (mammon).

My cell group member once asked me this question and my answer was that it means doing the things God asked us to do, doing good for others, serving God – these are all the things that will store up our treasures in heaven. But today I will add, use the material resources that we have to help the physical and spiritual needs of others. It doesn’t mean that we do not pursue material resources at all as such resources help us to live and make the world go around (makes human activity possible). But whatever we have, whatever we have gathered and stored; be generous about it, be willing and compassionate to share and help others with it. In the end, it doesn’t matter if we leave this world with only two small boxes of earthly possessions but what matters is have we stored up a room full of treasures in heaven from the many that we have blessed by the generous giving of our money, service and life while we were still alive?

https://odb.org/MY/2022/03/03/encouraged-in-god

I think most of us are familiar with the phrase “be a Barnabas”, meaning to say be an encourager. It is better to encourage than to criticise, better to encourage than to tear down or destroy. We edify, we lift someone up, we give kind and assuring words when that person didn’t do a good job or failed at his task or was nervous or afraid. Never mind, you tried your best, work at it and do better the next time. I guess with practice everyone will get better over time. So being an encourager means believing that people should be given second and third chances, believing that people will get better over time.

But I think we should draw the line at flattery, of not facing the real situation but giving a false impression of excellence when there was none. That is not an encouragement but a lie and is rather dangerous as it paints a false picture and inflates the ego when in reality he did a poor job. We should tell it as it is, not being critical or over bearing but tell the truth and yet believing that things can and will be improved if more effort is put into it.

This morning however the message takes the encouragement one step further in the sense that it exalts us to encourage people in the Lord. Jonathan went to David to help him find strength in the Lord. Not only believing that people should be given a chance and that things will get better over time with more practice but that God Himself will make things better. That God will be the ultimate encourager; to exalt, support and propel us forward. We need to find our strength in God, our purpose in God. So being an encourager means we encourage others to find their strength in God, like Jonathan did for David, to find their strength and purpose in God. The Lord will always be the best source of strength as He is our creator and heavenly Father. He loves and cares for us, for our well being, for all that we are doing for Him and for His Kingdom.

Thus be a Barnabas to encourage and lift up others but also be a Jonathan to help others find their strength in God. David remembered what Jonathan did many years down the road and showed undue kindness, grace and mercy to the crippled Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son and Saul’s grandson, by giving him a permanent place to dine at his royal table and restored his house, land, possessions and servants despite Saul having lost the throne to David, despite Saul having tried to kill David a few times to try to prevent him from ascending to the throne. David had no hatred but love for Mephibosheth on the account of Jonathan when kings of old would have eliminated the bloodline of their rivals. You can read about Mephibosheth in 2 Samuel Chapter 9.

https://odb.org/MY/2022/03/02/managing-our-gifts

There are spiritual gifts like prophesy, serving, teaching, exhortation, giving, leadership and mercy (Romans 12:6-8) and yet there are other spiritual gifts like word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophesy, distinguishing between spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:8-10) as well as is stated in 1 Corinthians 12:28-30 like apostle, prophet, teacher, miracles, healings, help, administration and tongues or the five fold ministries in Ephesians 4:11. We know all that and we may have some of them and some of us may operate in these spiritual gifts. The important thing is that whatever is our spiritual gifting, we use it or them to serve others as good stewards of God’s grace (1 Peter 4:10). Spiritual gifts are given to us for the sake and the betterment of the brethren, not to glorify or enrich us or to make us popular or famous. It is to facilitate the spiritual growth of the church and the congregation.

But there are other talents that are unique to us like writing or drawing or painting or singing or composing songs or playing musical instruments or studying or sports or computers or games. Each of us are also given such gifts and talents, some are special and unique while some are common and yet still special to us. For example, there are many who can play the guitar or piano, but compared to the person who can’t, we are sort of special and yet we may not be that good compared to those who can. That is why whatever talent or gift we have been given by God, it will always be special and unique to us as there are many who do not have our gifts and talents or have other gifts and talents.

The question today is what are we doing with our gifts and talents? Are we using it to serve God? Are we using it for ministry, for the church, in our Christian fellowship or cell group? Are we using our gifts and talents to reach out and bless people around us, people within our sphere of influence at our corner of the world?

I have a talent in writing and although there are thousands and thousands out there who can write much better than me and have a much wider reach (like journalists or writers of books that reach and are read by millions), I am undeterred and unperturbed and will continue to write my blog so long as the Lord gives me inspiration. Maybe only a hundred people read my blog each day but for me it is good enough that I am able to touch and bless this one hundred people and inspire them to greater heights in their walk with God, that they may respond to God’s calling upon their lives and fulfil His plans and purposes for their lives. The point is to use our gifts and talents to serve one another. Let’s all begin to use our gifts and talents from God for God and His people! Maybe that’s God’s unique calling for us!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/03/01/a-friendly-conversation

Friendships are often premised on neutral grounds whether it is race, religion, work, sports or even political views. So if you are a Manchester United fan, you cannot be critical of Chelsea if your friend is a Chelsea fan. Neutrality means it is ok for you to support Man U while accepting that I support Chelsea. In general, you cannot be on a mission to turn me into an MU fan. When it comes to football clubs, it is usually a life long affiliation and identification although there have been people who have switched sides. However people have usually remained good friends despite different club affiliations because people accept that others may like a different club. That includes political support whether for PN, PH or BN. But emotions run high here and families have known to be split because of different political beliefs and support.

The thing is the world in general have an inherent diversity and that includes different faiths and as much as different faiths have led to conflicts and bloodshed throughout history, governments do make the effort to help societies accept diversity in faiths. We try to help and facilitate different religions to live harmoniously among each other. There can be unity in diversity because diversity breeds strength.

However, as Christians we still have a duty to share the Gospel. Not to convert our friends and relatives but to tell them of the Good News. Even as Paul was in chains, he nevertheless wanted to preach the Gospel fearlessly as the Word of God cannot be bound or chained, which is incidentally the current theme of my local church.

It will always be a risk whether to share the Gospel with our close friends and relatives because the basis of our relationship with them is often premised on neutrality. Yet we must proclaim the Gospel as it is the Good News of mankind being reconciled with God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a question of eternity and eternal life, of what happens after we die and depart from this world. It is a risk worth taking because even if our friends do not accept the message, they will not necessarily reject our continued friendship. So, we should pray for them, share the message and continue to be a living testimony of God’s love and glory. Salvation is a gift from God, conviction comes from the Holy Spirit and mankind is always given the freedom of choice, the will to make our own decisions. As in today’s ODB life story, the risk was taken and it was worth the reward – seeing someone accepting the privilege and taking up the challenge to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven and be a part of the family of God! Praise the Lord indeed!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/02/28/choosing-celebration

I guess we cannot avoid making comparisons with our family, friends and colleagues as that is probably one of the ways we are able to know where we stand in relation to others, to form the basis to spur us to go from where we are. We want to progress in our career, ministry and life. Thus comparing ourselves against our parents, our siblings, relatives, friends and colleagues is natural and is not wrong. It’s just that sometimes comparisons give rise to envy and jealousy, and sometimes envy and jealousy could lead us to take more destructive action against the person we are envious of. Thus looking at it from the other perspective, it is also wise not to gloat and pride ourselves too much like a peacock if we are doing well as it could then invoke the envy of others.

How do we avoid envy and jealousy within us? Today’s ODB article suggests that the opposite of envy is celebration and thus we celebrate and be happy despite us lagging behind. I should add that we should work harder at what we do and focus on our work and life but I can see the goodness in celebrating instead of envy. This is because envy in most cases is self induced and thus self destructive. It is something like resentment and unforgiveness and bitterness. Envy just eats us from within and will consume our passion if we allow it to overpower us and take control.

Celebrate and be contented with our lot in life. Work harder if we want to be better. Train and practice more. Find ways to improve ourselves but at the base of it, celebrate what God has given us. Celebrate where we are now. Instead, focus on God’s plans and purposes for us. That is much more important than what we can and have achieved in our life. If we look at this in that perspective, we will see that our worldly and even ministry achievements are nothing compared to what God wants for us to be. That’s what matters most and that’s where most of our energies should be directed to. All others are just fringes. That is core. In the end, we run our own race and have our own finish line. Who reaches first or last does not matter at all, so long as we all reach our finish line and complete our own race. If it helps us to complete our race, by all means compare. If it causes envy and jealousy, resentment and bitterness, unforgiveness and hatred, then don’t. Let us all just commit unto Him our lives and our journey with Him that we will not be distracted by envy but be propelled to move forward by His calling upon our lives to fulfil His plans and purposes for us!

https://odb.org/MY/2022/02/26/part-of-the-family-2

We have read about the plight of those born as stateless children in Malaysia and how basic rights like schooling, formal work, subsidised medical care are denied them. They are largely confined to find work in the informal economy like giving tuition or the gig economy and some may even be forced to go underground working in the flesh and drug trades and moving around in the shadows. These are not illegal immigrants who may be deported to their home countries but children born here in Malaysia with no other country to call home and yet are not recognised as Malaysian citizens. Somewhat similar to what Paul described in Ephesians 2:19 as foreigners and strangers but not quite. But they are the same if taken in the context of people living among us and yet do not enjoy the rights, privileges and benefits of citizenship including the right to participate in the political process as voters and election candidates.

As Christians grafted into the family of God through the blood of Christ shed on the cross of Calvary, we are now no longer foreigners and strangers in the Kingdom of God. We are rightful children of God seated in the heavenly realm as co-heirs with Christ to the rich inheritance of glory in the Kingdom of God with all power and authority in heaven accessible to us in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. We can now pray and relate to God the Father in the name of Jesus. The Holy Spirit now resides in us the same way God resided in the Tabernacle and the Temple of old. That is why we must always be careful to present our bodies as a living sacrifice as it is the temple upon which the presence of God in the form of the Holy Spirit resides.

What is the message this morning? I believe it is two-prong. First, be reminded that we are now rightful children of God, seated together with Christ at the table and having a direct path of communication and relationship with God. We have the authority and power as given us by Christ. Exercise the power and authority in the spiritual realm, exercise it in our lives, take control and command healing and deliverance in our lives. Live the life that God had planned and ordained for us to live, a life that is victorious, joyous and having the peace and presence of God.

Secondly, be reminded that we need to continually work out our salvation with fear abd trembling. Our salvation is assured but there is a purpose for us to be saved. Salvation is not the end by itself. It is the ultimate end but there is a journey we have to walk and travel with God. There is transformation in our mind not to conform to the pattern of this world so that we may discover and test the good, pleasing and perfect will of God. In other words, there is work to be done inside us and there is work to be done outside us in the church, in ministry and generally in the Kingdom of God. Salvation is not just a question of saying the sinner’s prayer. It is much more than that. Our words must be followed by our life story.

Let’s all be thankful that we are now part of the family of God. Rightful children having access to God with power and authority in the spiritual realm and seated in the heavenly places. But remember that with power comes responsibility and thus we must also behave and take up the challenges and responsibilities that come with our position in the family. We must defend and make sure that the honour of the family is preserved and protected at all times. Definitely not docile and uninvolved but always active and “working at it” all the time “getting on with the programme” kind of life and response!