Smiling At The Storm

With Christ in the vessel, we can smile at the storm

Smile at the storm, smile at the storm...

It's amazing how a Sunday school song can have such profound words.

As I was reflecting a few days back, I realise that I've been singing those lyrics happily since the recent YISS without pausing to ponder what it is I'm actually singing.

Can I really smile when the storms of life come rocking the boat?

If I remember correctly, the apostles were not smiling that fateful night when sudden gales transformed a tranquil voyage across the lake into a life or death struggle to keep their vessel afloat.

With powerful waves slamming onto their boat and the rain hammering their bodies, the Twelve were not smiling at all... No, they were terrified. Scared out of their minds.

The storms we face today in Singapore are not so literal, but can be just as terrifying.

Death of a loved one, parents getting divorced, friendships turned sour... The list goes on and on.

In my case, being jobless for a few months is starting to bug me.

Lately I've been feeling the waves of doubt assailing my mind.

Will I ever find a suitable job?

Will anyone ever want to employ me?

How come I'm still not sure what I want to pursue?

The chilling winds of fear can dampen my spirit at times.

What's the point of sending all those resumes if no one is going to respond?

Should I be keeping my hopes up for this particular job?

What if I blow the interview for a job I really like?

But still the Word of the Lord remains... Trust.

All it took from Jesus to calm the storm was a simple command.

At His Word, the winds were silenced, the rain ceased, and the waves lost their might.

It was that simple for the Son of God, hardly broke a sweat going up against the forces of Nature. He did create them, didn't He?

But it takes great faith to wait for His timing in the midst of life's storms.

When nothing seems certain, it takes a man of great trust in the Lord to smile at the storm.

I cannot always be that man... I falter and I become afraid when I look at my situation.

You know what I imagine when I think of what it's like to smile at the storm?

The fearless Spartan warriors of '3oo', standing side by side with shields up and spears raised against the advancing Persian legions. They knew it was about to get nasty, that they may not make it out alive, but they were smiling. Confident. Trusting in their skills and those of their fellow soldiers.

Lord, I know You have called me to stand as Your warrior.

But I do fear, Lord, as I face the uncertainty of my future.

Help me to trust in You... Help me to always cling to You, even as the storm rages around me.

I want to look my troubles in the face confidently, and sing....

With Christ in my vessel, I can smile at the storm...

Flashback

My birthday wish 2 years ago:

Lord, I have not really known you these past 25 years.
So for the next 25 years and beyond...
Take my life and make it Yours.

Got a feeling Abba's not done granting me that wish yet...
Ha ha

Guess that's what happens after Jesus rescued me.
I was left wondering how could I ever have lived my life without wanting Him by my side...
Such a foolish notion.
What's left to do is, well, to make up for lost time... For all those times I did not even try to follow Him.

Jesus, You Be Lifted High...

Cupcakes & Chocolate Cakes

Had 3 cakes yesterday.

To mark the end of my 26th year on earth.


I love the cupcake from Becky...
It may be small in size, but I loved every bite. Really was a very sweet thing to do, literally and figuratively speaking... haha

The next cake caught this jaded birthday celebrant offguard.
A meeting room at St. Joseph's Church priests' house was a rather offbeat venue to be celebrating someone's birthday.
But hey, the thought really counts... A big thanks to my sister Elaine for that.

I shared the third cake with Amplify's December babies.
Didn't really wanna go up there, since I'm just a guest in their house.
But well, the crowd had spoken.... And I do appreciate everyone praying for me la... haha
It's good to be welcomed in a community.


For me, it's the fact that someone remembers which warms my heart.
To be remembered, is really a great thing in a life that's like a flower quickly fading.
And to have someone remember one's birthday, is one of God's little ways of reminding me...
That I am special and dearly loved in His eyes, especially in this day when He fondly remembers the moment when He brought me into this world.


I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean, like vapour in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
You catch me when I'm falling
You told me who I am
I am Yours
-- from "Who Am I" by Casting Crowns

Be Lifted High

I fall to my knees,

So it's You that they see,

Not I,

Jesus, You be lifted high...


These are lyrics from Leeland's Be Lifted High.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSg8n2JSL8k

Word from the heart of a worshiper.
Words that leave an impression in me.
Sometimes it's too easy to receive compliments and affirmations, then forget to direct them to the One whom all glory and praise belong to.

Jesus, let this be my heartsong to you...
As I continue to lead your people in worship.
Let me alwasy point them to You, my King.
Let them look at You, Lord... and not me.. never me.

Jesus, You Be Lifted High...

I love long bus rides.
Though it can get a pain in the ass sometimes (literally), I enjoy the time I have to myself... To listen to praise & worship music, or to be lost in reflection.

There can be so many things to do on any given day, that sometimes I forget to take the time to think... to reflect... That only when I have to sit in a bus, with no one to talk to and nothing to do but sit still, is when I spend that time with inner self... and with my God.

I was on one such bus ride today, from Bishan to airport to welcome some visiting relatives.
My mind drifted to my job search, my ministry, and the people I am journeying with.
I am feeling a little bit tired.
For all the progress and growth I'm blessed with this year, I find myself wanting to catch a breather as 2007 draws to a close.
Sharing in a person's life can be a pretty absorbing task. It's easy to find oneself drawn into another's life situations and burdens... Problems that one finds oneself unequipped to handle.
Words fail... or sometimes they seem too cheap to say.

Lord... How can I do this? How can I keep running the race with these people when I don't know where they could be headed?
There again the Lord reminded me of the answer... That I don't need to have it.
What I have to do, is to ask Him.
Ask Him to show me His vision for the people I'm walking with.
Pray for them, and surrender them to Him... For they are God's children, not mine.
I'm just an instrument.

The burden is not mine to carry... it is Jesus'.
With that realisation comes a relief, a sense of peace... My friends are in God's hands, just as I am. It brings a willing surrender... a welcome sense of need I feel for my Lord.

His yoke is easy, His burden is light.
He's full of wisdom, power and might.

Lord, this is a declaration of dependence.
Jesus, I need You...
Jesus, I want You...

I am... Captivated.

"I've been dreaming of a true love's kiss..."

Yep... I watched Disney's Enchanted yesterday and I can't quite get that tune out of my head now.

I'm not what you would call a hopeless romantic...
Marriage is an effort. You gotta make it work. It's easy to fall out of love, the challenge is to stay in love. Etc. Etc. ....

But wouldn't it be nice to believe in the fairytale happily ever after romance?
Especially in a world where divorce rates are at an alarmingly high percentage, where Adam often ends up with Steve.

The fact is, there is just something about love.
That makes every joe into a hero. That stirs up a whimsy in the most stern faces.
There is something magical about love.
It makes us believe in magic carpet rides.. knights in shining armour.. a beauty in the castle tower.

Perhaps that is why God is so intoxicating... A being of pure, unconditional Love.
There is nothing quite like the presence of Abba in a room... A gentle reassuring Love that opens up the floodgates of the heart and brings you to your knees in sweet surrender.

Perhaps that is how Christ found the strength to embrace the Cross at the Via Dolorosa... Love kept Him going. At those agonising moments, He saw the faces of each and every one of us and He remembered how madly in love He is... and He picked Himself up from the dirt.

The Romans were amazed at how this fool clings feverishly to the instrument of His doom...
They did not understand Love...

So Pilate asked, "What is Truth?"
He did not understand Love...

For Love is the Truth...
That God so loves the world He sent His One and Only Son, so that those who believe in Him may not perish but have life eternal.

I guess God put that love in each one of us, so we may have an inkling of the mystery of the Passion. What made the Son of God willingly take the punishment that should have been borne by us.
Love enables us to become Alter Christus... the Other Christ... To love another human being more than we care for ourselves.

When a man and a woman unite in matrimony, they experience a glimmer of the intimacy shared by the Trinity. A union of heart, body and soul.

So yeah... maybe I have been dreaming of a "true love's kiss", and the princess I'm hoping comes with this.
Ha ha.. Funny how it takes a movie to bring out what a recollection at the Seminary could not quite pinpoint.

But hey, you know what... First and foremost, Lord, my life is Yours.
And this remains my heart's one desire... To be set apart for You, my Master, ready to do Your will.
For I believe I have experienced true love, and it's only gonna get much better as I continue to run after my Saviour King... Ha ha... Yeah, it's official; I'm crazy for this Guy! =)

Who Killed Jesus Christ?

Probably a very odd question to ask.

And so very easy to come up with culprits from the top of our heads...

Pilate, the Pharisees, the ignorant Jews, the Roman soldiers, Judas Iscariot...

But the real answer might be even closer to home than you might think...


Check out the article (posted on 26 Nov 2007) on the following blog:
http://www.ylm-ctk.blogspot.com/

So who was responsible for the one of the most heinous acts of crime ever committed in the history of mankind?


The conclusion may shock you...




Yup... The painful but very real truth...


I killed Jesus Christ.

You killed Jesus Christ.

We all killed Jesus Christ.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
--Romans 5:8