Back @ Singapore: What does the Lord require of you today?

Note to our supporters:
Thanks for all your prayers.

The Wave 2 team is now safely home in Singapore after touching down at Changi Airport at 12.05am last night. You have not been receiving any updates on this page because it has been a very very intensive series of "mass-evangelistic" events five days in a row from last Friday all the way till late into our final night on Tuesday. Right up to the last few hours in the village before we had to catch our transport home, the Lord has been rewriting our entire programme schedules beyond our recognition and bringing souls into His Kingdom in ways we could not imagine. Monday was originally set aside for purely rest and retreat. The Lord brought children to the shophouse in the evening and used us to engage them with songs. Through the songs, God brought about healings and salvations. Tuesday's night was originally set aside for a BBQ dinner and appreciation for the team. However, God intervened in the morning on the day itself, and inspired us to have a campfire for the children instead. Despite the little preparation and time we had, God brought about many more healings and salvations! We were filled with awe and thanksgivings beyond what words can describe when we saw with our own eyes what God can do with just five loaves and two fish. So many things happened and I have yet to reflect and process through all my thoughts, so this is just a brief summary for now.

Below is an email that I just sent to both the Wave 1 and 2 teams this morning after waking up and giving thanks that I am still alive after everything. I pray that the Lord will speak to you with it as well.

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"With what shall I come before the LORD
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?

Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God."
- Micah 6:6-8


Dear Wave 1 and 2 Teams,

Welcome back to Singapore!

Back from the mission field where we saw God's hands moving in wondrous ways that we could not expect or imagine, to the "usual" things of everyday life where you will find in the days ahead that it is harder and harder to "pray up, stay focused and push on" in our daily walk with Him. Some of us may have felt it already the moment we reached the airport, and it is only Day 1 back in Singapore for the Wave 2 Team.

Well, we already expected this to happen, remember? There is nothing wrong with you. Nothing is wrong with the so-called "ordinary" life.

The following is a devotion which God spoke to me today regarding the "ordinary" life:

"I once heard interviews with survivors from World War II. The soldiers recalled how they spent a particular day. One sat in a foxhole; once or twice, a German tank drove by and he shot at it. Others played cards and frittered away the time. A few got involved in furious firefights. Mostly, the day passed like any other. Later, they learned they had just participated in one of the largest, most decisive engagements of the war, the Battle of the Bulge. It didn’t feel decisive at the time because none had the big picture.

Great victories are won when ordinary people execute their assigned tasks.

When followers of Ignatius (1491–1556) endured periods of futility, he always prescribed the same cure: “In times of desolation we must never make a change, but stand firm and constant in the resolutions and determination in which we were the day before the desolations.” Spiritual battles must be fought with the very weapons hardest to wield at the time: prayer, meditation, self-examination, and repentance.

Perhaps you sense you’re in a spiritual rut. Stay at your assigned task! Obedience to God—and only obedience—offers the way out of our futility. If you sense your faith is unraveling, go back to where you dropped the thread of obedience." — Philip Yancey

This is a gentle reminder that our "ordinary" life is not ordinary at all because we serve an extraordinary God who is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8), and the battle goes on and on. We are called to follow Jesus. We are called to be His fishermen. It does not matter where we are right now, but wherever we are, we must continue fishing. However, even more important than the fish, remember our breakfast appointment with the Lord (John 21:12). Do not forget that it is us that He desires more than all the fish we can ever catch!

My prayer to the Lord is simply this: that the Wave 1 and Wave 2 teams will remember the Lord everyday. Yes, only one prayer cry of my heart... that is for YOU to walk with the Lord every today.

Lord, please.

On a lighter note, I ate a fillet-o-fish at the airport immediately after reaching Singapore to satisfy my craving! Pwoah! Even through a simple burger (mini-fied version of "five loaves and two fish"), the Lord reminded me of His goodness and love in my life. Enjoy His presence and every small little blessing He lovingly places in your life today.

Sincerely,
Jacob

PS: Happy 18th Birthday Ning :)
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