"Never refuse any advance of friendship, for if nine out of ten bring you nothing, one alone may repay you." - Claudine Guérin de Tencin, French socialite and author.
photo: at wildlife reserves singapore.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
The Stilling of the Storm (Luke 8:22-25)
A great sense of relief... I have just completed today my lecture series for this semester. The title of the lecture today is “Riding the Market Cycles”; and the synopsis is – Getting started is the largest single challenge in the real estate business. Surviving when faced with adversity is a close second since the real estate market goes through cycles of boom and bust. I would like to anchor this sharing on a key point in my lecture, which is weathering the storm.
Today, I would like to share my reflections on a familiar passage in Luke 8:22-25... One day Jesus said to his disciples,
“Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.
There are many valuable lessons we can learn from this story. For example, the Life Application Bible suggests that “when caught in the storm of life, it is easy to think that God has lost control and we’re at the mercy of the winds of fate. In reality, God is sovereign. He controls the history of the world as well as our personal destinies. Just as Jesus calmed the waves, he can calm whatever storms we may face.”
But tonight, I find comfort in the writing of Robert Llewelyn, entitled The Stilling of the Storm. As you read the scripture passage in Luke 8, consider this point… that there is a sense in which Jesus worked this miracle unwillingly. The impression is that the better way would have been for the disciples to have passed through the storm confidently and courageously, and that the miracle was worked as a concession of their weakness. “Why are you fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”
What is the storm that you are facing right now? Whatever it is, God could remove this obstacle, this trial which presses heavily upon you, by an act of power, as Jesus stilled the winds and the waves on the Galilean lake. And sometimes he does remove the storm, and we may praise him for it, for he knows best. But it may be that his primary will for us is, as was his primary will for his disciples, not that the storm should be removed but that we should pass through it with untroubled hearts and our faith intact.
In his writing, Llewelyn recounted the case of a woman of remarkable faith and character who worked as a matron in a school he was serving in India. He remember the day when she told him that she had been diagnosed as suffering from cancer, and that she would have to leave the school for a period to undergo an operation and treatment. In his words, “We had a special service of intercession for her and many remarked on the Spirit’s power on that occasion. I have no doubt that God could have arrested the cancer and reversed the decaying process by a single act of power had he so willed, but he chose not to remove the storm but to see her through it. I had a letter from her – telling of the indescribable peace and sense of God’s protecting love as she awaited her operation in the ward and then on the operating table. She was out of the hospital in less than half the expected time – no doubt her deep trust and acceptance assisted her recovery – and she lived for another thirty years.”
Llewelyn went on to conclude, “May we not believe that God wrought a deeper service for this person by drawing out her faith and courage, and our faith and love – seeing her through the storm – than would have been possible if the storm has been removed?”
It may be that we often get our priorities wrong in these matters. We look for our storms to be removed whereas God would have us pass through them in serenity and trust. For the one who had built their house upon the rock of the gospel we are not told that they would be protected from storm and tempest. We are told rather that when the rain fell, and the floods came, and the storm raged the house remained standing. That was their reward: the house stood firm!
Whatever trials we are going through, as the Psalmist went through in Psalm 46, may we take time to be still and know (and exalt) Him as God! The Lord Almighty is with us; the Lord is our fortress; our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear (Psalms 46:7, 11, 1, 2).
Today, I would like to share my reflections on a familiar passage in Luke 8:22-25... One day Jesus said to his disciples,
“Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.There are many valuable lessons we can learn from this story. For example, the Life Application Bible suggests that “when caught in the storm of life, it is easy to think that God has lost control and we’re at the mercy of the winds of fate. In reality, God is sovereign. He controls the history of the world as well as our personal destinies. Just as Jesus calmed the waves, he can calm whatever storms we may face.”
But tonight, I find comfort in the writing of Robert Llewelyn, entitled The Stilling of the Storm. As you read the scripture passage in Luke 8, consider this point… that there is a sense in which Jesus worked this miracle unwillingly. The impression is that the better way would have been for the disciples to have passed through the storm confidently and courageously, and that the miracle was worked as a concession of their weakness. “Why are you fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”
What is the storm that you are facing right now? Whatever it is, God could remove this obstacle, this trial which presses heavily upon you, by an act of power, as Jesus stilled the winds and the waves on the Galilean lake. And sometimes he does remove the storm, and we may praise him for it, for he knows best. But it may be that his primary will for us is, as was his primary will for his disciples, not that the storm should be removed but that we should pass through it with untroubled hearts and our faith intact.
In his writing, Llewelyn recounted the case of a woman of remarkable faith and character who worked as a matron in a school he was serving in India. He remember the day when she told him that she had been diagnosed as suffering from cancer, and that she would have to leave the school for a period to undergo an operation and treatment. In his words, “We had a special service of intercession for her and many remarked on the Spirit’s power on that occasion. I have no doubt that God could have arrested the cancer and reversed the decaying process by a single act of power had he so willed, but he chose not to remove the storm but to see her through it. I had a letter from her – telling of the indescribable peace and sense of God’s protecting love as she awaited her operation in the ward and then on the operating table. She was out of the hospital in less than half the expected time – no doubt her deep trust and acceptance assisted her recovery – and she lived for another thirty years.”
Llewelyn went on to conclude, “May we not believe that God wrought a deeper service for this person by drawing out her faith and courage, and our faith and love – seeing her through the storm – than would have been possible if the storm has been removed?”
It may be that we often get our priorities wrong in these matters. We look for our storms to be removed whereas God would have us pass through them in serenity and trust. For the one who had built their house upon the rock of the gospel we are not told that they would be protected from storm and tempest. We are told rather that when the rain fell, and the floods came, and the storm raged the house remained standing. That was their reward: the house stood firm!Whatever trials we are going through, as the Psalmist went through in Psalm 46, may we take time to be still and know (and exalt) Him as God! The Lord Almighty is with us; the Lord is our fortress; our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear (Psalms 46:7, 11, 1, 2).
Monday, October 17, 2011
A Friendly Trail
"Try leaving a friendly trail of little sparks of gratitude on your daily trips. You will be surprised how they will set flames of friendship that will be rose beacons on your next visit."
- Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends & Influence People
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