Satan has two ways to destroy your faith

Satan has two ways to destroy your faith.
1. Pain
2. Pleasure

He can kill you either way, Satan can make you so painful you curse Him or so pleasurable you forget Him.

I think pleasure kills more people in this world way more than pain.

Have you ever heard anybody say I got to know Jesus more deeply in the bright sunny days than I did in any other day? You never heard anybody say that. What you hear everyday of your life almost is when the light went out in my life I found Jesus. When things go hard in my life Jesus showed up.

J. Piper

Did you receive Christ as being useful or being precious?

For some of people Jesus is very useful. Accept Jesus and you will be blessed with career, family, kids, money, everything...as long as I can meet my old desires, I will accept Jesus. I think people who believe they are "Christian" but keep thinking the purpose of Jesus died on the cross so I can make much of me in this world and to be saved from eternal suffering, they are more egoist than people who go to "Gunung Kawi" looking for wealth and prosperity, because they want both. They want to be wealth and making much of them but still being saved from Eternal Suffering too. Oh, how we've been blinded with so called "prosperity gospel", that is not a gospel. Gospel is not about how much money you can earn so you can bless people, nope - the more we are being blessed with money the more we will have to struggle on how to use them fearfully before God, so we make much of Christ not us.

Did you receive Christ as being useful or being precious?

Make money. Get stuff. Be comfortable. Live well. Have fun.

"You and I have an average of about seventy or eighty years on this earth. During this years we are bombarded with the temporary. Make money. Get stuff. Be comfortable. Live well. Have fun. In the middle of all of it, we get blinded to the eternal. But it's there.

You and I stand on the porch of eternity. Both of us will soon stand before God to give an account for our stewardship of the time, the gifts, and ultimately the gospel he has entrusted to us. When that day comes, I am convinced we will not wish we had given more of ourselves to the American dream. We will not wish we had made more money, acquired more stuff, lived more comfortably, taken more vacations, watched more television, pursued greater retirements, or been successful in the eyes of the world. Instead we will wish we had given more of ourselves to living for the day when every nation, tribe, people and language will bow around the throne and sing the praises of the Savior who delights in radical obedience and the God who deserves eternal worship..."

David Platt

So you think you can bake: Finalist

Lucinda - Black Forest Cake

Alice - Croquembouche

Fiona - Frangipane Tart

Anton - Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce & Almond Praline

Jasmina - Pumpkin Brandy Mousse Cake with Maple Whipped Cream Topping

Karina - Gateau Opera

Jen - Lemon Curd Layer Cake with Fresh Passionfruit

Vijay - Chocolate Delice with Salted Caramel

Why I still keep soaking in the old lifestyle?‏

When there is no connection between new life and new life-style, as if life is one thing but life-style is totally different thing, I will be asking this question in my heart: If I really had been born again, why I still keep soaking in the old life-style?

Hidup yang Baru

Satu orang pernah bertanya kepada saya, jika saya percaya kepada Kristus apakah saya harus mengubah cara hidup saya, apakah saya masih bisa hidup dengan cara tetapi tetap percaya kepada Kristus. Hmm...pertanyaan yang harus ditanyakan adalah "Apakah kalau kita benar-benar percaya kepada Kristus kita masih dapat hidup dengan cara yang lama" ~ tentu hal ini bertentangan satu sama lain, kecenderungan manusia adalah ingin lepas dari penderitaan abadi dan ingin tetap menikmati dunia serta kegemerlapannya.

Justru ketika kita percaya kepada Kristus akan ada perubahan di dalam cara kita berpikir, cara kita hidup namun bukan untuk kemuliaan kita, tapi semata-mata untuk kemuliaan Tuhan diberitakan di seluruh bangsa.

My Cake entered "So You Think You can Bake" Competition

Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch and Almond Praline, soon I'm gonna quit my job and open my own cake shop :)

Mengapa kita menghakimi?

Pertanyaan yang saya tanyakan di dalam diri saya? Mengapa saya gampang sekali untuk menghakimi orang? Setelah saya merenungkannya, kita seringkali masuk ke dalam jerat pembenaran diri sendiri, seolah-olah ada bagian-bagian tertentu di dalam hidup kita yang tidak membutuhkan anugrah Tuhan. Seolah-olah tanpa Tuhan pun kita bisa merubah hal tersebut. Tidak sepenuhnya kita percaya bahwa kita diselamatkan hanya oleh kasih karunia saja. Untuk itulah timbul perbandingan bahwa kita lebih bisa melakukan hal tersebut, kita menjadi lebih superior dibandingkan oleh orang lain, jika memang benar-benar hidup di dalam anugrah maka kita harus percaya bahwa tidak ada satupun di dalam hidup kita ini yang dapat berkenan selain di dalam Kristus.

Orang-orang yang sangat mudah menghakimi (saya juga masih sering), karena di dalam proses 'sanctification', karena kita seringkali masuk dalam jebakan bahwa kita tidak sepenuhnya diselamatkan oleh kasih karunia saja.

Jesus letting the big fish get away‏

Consider Mark 10, another time a
potential follower showed up. Here was a guy who was young,
rich, intelligent, and influential. He was a prime prospect, to say
the least. Not only that, but he was eager and ready to go. He
came running up to Jesus, bowed at his feet, and said, “What must
I do to inherit eternal life?”

If we were in Jesus’ shoes, we probably would be thinking this
is our chance. A simple “Pray this prayer, sign this card, bow your
head, and repeat after me,” and this guy is in. Then think about
what a guy like this with all his influence and prestige can do.We
can get him on the circuit. He can start sharing his testimony,
signing books, raising money for the cause. This one is a nobrainer—
we have to get him in.

Unfortunately, Jesus didn’t have the personal evangelism
books we have today that tell us how to draw the net and close the
sale. Instead Jesus told him one thing: “Go, sell everything you
have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me.”

What was he thinking? Jesus had committed the classic blunder
of letting the big fish get away. The cost was too high.

Taking Back your faith from the American Dream - David Platt

Sticky Date Pudding

I made this cake, first time ever in my entire life.

How can we get more people into our church?

You can not will someone into Heaven and you cannot save someone. No one is saved. It is sad that in America we tell people to come forward, say a prayer, and accept Jesus into their life. It's a joke. We, as Christians, are not called to save souls. We do not have the power to do this. Only Jesus Christ has this power. Our calling is to spread the gospel of the word of God. The goal of the American church is that of a business, it's all about numbers. How can we get more people into our church? Outreach isn't about sharing the gospel, it's about glorifying ourselves.
D. Platt

Kehendak bebas yang menentukan?

Apakah yang menjamin ketika di pagi hari kita bangun dan kita tetap beriman kepada Tuhan? Apakah keputusan terletak di dalam manusia yang menentukan “Saya akan tetap beriman hari ini” atau, “Saya tidak mau beriman lagi kepada Tuhan”, apakah manusia mempunyai andil dalam hal menentukan apakah dia akan terus dipelihara oleh Tuhan di dalam Yesus Kristus.

Adakah “kehendak bebas” dalam diri manusia untuk menentukannya? Justru karena saya tidak punya “kehendak bebas” Dia senantiasa ‘muncul’ dalam kehidupan saya, ketika di masa-masa sukar, ketika di masa-masa saya akan sangat mudah sekali untuk menyangkal Tuhan sebagai Juruselamat saya, justru karena Kedaulatan Allah sepenuhnya akhirnya Dia yang mempertahankan orang-orang pilihan untuk tetap di dalam Dia, sekalipun mereka berjalan di dalam lembah kekelaman.

Radical

What do I really want for this life?

I once asked a friend this question: "What do you really want for this life?" Is it to be happy? Is it to be loved? Is it to be number one in your area of expertise? Is it to be good at everything, or at least at something?

We are living in the post-modern society, where people only embrace what they think is good and satisfying for them, so as long is good and is satisfying, everything don't really matter anymore.

As for me, I can't even answer that question - even when I have enough money, good career, nice place to live, family to love and everything that I possess will still not sufficient enough to answer the question. For in the deepest of my heart I know those stuff cannot be my ultimate things to have in this life.

So, I should be asking to myself this instead "What does God really want in my life?" - is to glorify Him and to enjoy Him forever. By writing this article doesn't mean I will always glorify and enjoy Him everyday, there will be times where I won''t glorify Him at all or times when I feel more satisfying to soak in earthly things rather than God. Oh, how we desperately need You, to keep us in You.

Marriage is not...

Marriage is not a human's invention to make you happy. So if it's not making you happy anymore you just discard it. Marriage instead was invented by God to sanctify you. Tim Keller

Divorce is not God's invention to make you feel devastated. Divorce instead was invented by human but still it won't stop God to sanctify you. AT

"Orang Kristen" lebih egois?

Sering mendengar cerita bagaimana orang mendapatkan kekayaan dengan cara pergi ke "gunung" yang dianggap keramat dan dapat mendatangkan kekayaan jika kita mempersembahkan korban ke sana. Banyak cerita, bahwa mereka dapat kaya tapi hanya waktu di bumi, upah mereka dikatakan akan menderita di neraka, saya tidak tahu kebenarannya sampai mana, yang pasti walaupun kita tidak ke "gunung" keramat tersebut semua orang juga seharusnya masuk neraka.

Sedangkan banyak orang yang mengaku diri "orang Kristen" tahu dalam Kristus ada keselamatan di Surga, dan selama di dunia ini mereka juga ingin menikmati kekayaan dunia. Bukankah hal ini lebih egois, kalau jadi Kristen pasti diberkati jadi kaya, tidak bakal mengalami kecelakaan, hidup bahagia di bumi dan akhirat, punya keluarga yang penuh damai sejahtera. Apakah benar hanya hal-hal yang bersifat sementara yang menjadi akibat kita menjadi pengikut Kristus, jika hal-hal yang bersifat material itu diambil dan kita tidak memilikinya apakah kita tetap akan mengikuti Kristus?

Apakah Kristus hanya menjadi 'orang tua' seperti di gunung keramat hanya saja lebih menjamin kita di kehidupan setelah kita meninggal? Apakah Kristus hanya menjadi satu pribadi yang kita pakai untuk memuaskan segala nafsu daging kita? Apakah pribadi tersebut benar-benar Kristus? Apakah kita benar-benar dapat dikatakan Kristen, jika kita hanya datang kepada Kristus hanya karena untuk mendapatkan apa yang menjadi keinginan kita?

Dismembering an Idol

In Luke 19, Zacchaeus the tax collector was converted. He vowed to give back fourfold to anyone he had defrauded. Imagine a conversation he might have had when returning the money.

* * *

"Dad, there's a man at the door. He said his name is Zacchaeus."

"Zacchaeus!" Judah's face flushed with sudden anger. "What does he want?" Under his breath he muttered, "The little vermin." His young daughter didn't need to hear that.

"I don't know."

Judah moved brusquely past his daughter, clenching his jaw. If the little weasel even hints at more money, I swear… a thunderstorm of violent thoughts broke in his mind.

When he saw Zacchaeus he exploded, "WHAT?" Zacchaeus reeled slightly from the verbal blow.

"I'm here to return something to you, Judah."

"What do you mean?" The words sounded more like "Get out of my sight!"

Zacchaeus held out a small moneybag. Judah was suspiciously confused. This man had robbed half of Jericho collecting taxes for Tiberius. No one was more conniving and slippery with words. Fearing some kind of set-up, Judah didn't move.

"What are you doing, Zacchaeus?" The cynicism hissed through Judah's teeth.

"I'm dismembering my idol."

Judah's fiery glare turned to stony bewilderment. "What are you talking about?"

"Judah, I know how strange this must sound. And you have every reason not to trust me. I'm here because I've defrauded you. I've charged you more taxes than Rome required and kept them for my wicked little self. I know that you and everyone else knows that. But now I've come to ask your forgiveness for sinning against you like that, and to make restitution. That's what's in this bag."

Zacchaeus held it out again. This time Judah tentatively took it. He looked inside. "There's a lot in here. It's got to be more than you overcharged me."

"Yes. It's four times what I overcharged you. I've got all the records, you know." Zacchaeus smiled.

"Why are you giving me four times what you owe me?" Judah's distrust was not dispelled.

"I'm keeping a vow. I promised Jesus that I would repay everyone I defrauded fourfold."

"You mean the Rabbi Jesus? You know him?"

"I do now. He's in town, as you know. And the other day I wanted to get a glimpse of him. But being, ah, short-legged, I figured the only way I'd see him was from a tree! Wouldn't you know, as Jesus passes by he stops, looks up at silly me in the sycamore and says, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.'"

Judah gave him a puzzled look.

Zacchaeus said, "I know, I know! I was as shocked as anyone! How did he know my name, right? So Jesus and his disciples come to my house and in a matter of minutes my world falls apart and comes together."

"Falls apart and comes together."

"Judah, when I was a boy I was in awe of what I thought money did for people. It seemed to open all the doors to power and pleasure. So I vowed to myself that whatever it took I was going to be rich. And I kept that vow. Back then I had no idea how empty being rich would be. But up till two days ago, I figured it was still better than the alternative.

"But as I sat in my home with Jesus and his disciples, who have nothing, nothing but God—Judah, I've never seen happier people in my life! And as Jesus spoke, it was like his words were alive. My heart burned with a longing for God I had never felt before! And a deep shame that I traded him for money.

"Then it hit me like a cedar beam: I'm poor, not rich! They had God; I had a dead idol: money. They were rich; I was no more than a beggar. They were free. But the only doors money ever opened for me led to dungeons. My world, as I had known it, fell apart.

"And there sat Jesus, looking at me as if he could read me like a scroll. Everything in me just wanted to follow him. I wanted the forgiveness and salvation he's been preaching about. For the first time in my life I wanted God more than… anything! Suddenly, it was like life never made more sense. Before I knew it I was on my feet vowing in front of everyone that, well, that I would dismember my idol."

"Give away your money."

"Right. Well, some of it is your money."

This time Judah smiled.

Later, Judah's wife found him staring at a small moneybag on the table.

"What's that?"

"A tax refund."

"A what?

"I think we need to go hear Rabbi Jesus."

"Rabbi Jesus? Why?"

"I think we're poor."

* * *

Some of our idols need to be dismembered for us to be free of them. Jesus knows what they are and how to help us see them. It may feel like we are losing our world to lose them. That's okay. Jesus said, "whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 16:25).

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose" (Jim Elliot, October 28, 1949).

Dismembering an Idol: "Dismembering an Idol from the Desiring God blog."

I'll be generous when...

2 Cor 8:1-2
We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part

Some people might say - "Of course I will be generous when God gives me more wealth, more blessings and more money. The reason I'm not a generous person because God hasn't prospered me abundantly" My respond: "It's baloney!!! Churches of Macedonia were generous not from their prosperity, but it came from their extreme poverty and their abundance of joy - grace of God had enabled them to do so"

If life were stable

"If life were stable, I'd never need God's help."  Francis Chan

No Internet

I'm counting down - last weekend I've submitted my request to cancel my Internet account at home, I hope, I will not be craving at night to view the web, and I hope I will not be missing out, at least not to worthless things.

Contentment

I have met many discontented people in my life. Always on the move. Forever arranging and rearranging their lives. Never satisfied with themselves or their circumstances. The underlying promise from which most of their decisions flow is that personal contentment is inextricably linked to one’s circumstances. In other words, a person’s surroundings – job, spouse, income, residence – determine peace of mind and satisfaction. Consequently, when they become dissatisfied with life, they begin changing things. They quit their job. They sell their house. They trade their car. Or in some cases, they look for a new marriage partner. Soon, however, that same feeling begins gnawing at them again. And off they go, making more changes.

Now if you will think about it, nobody needed a change of scenery more than the apostle Paul. His life seemed to go from bad to worse, [yet] he is still able to say, “For this reason I am happy when I have weaknesses, insults, hard times, sufferings, and all kinds of troubles for Christ. Because when I am weak, then I am truly strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10 NCV).

. . . Paul’s “secret,” as he referred to it in Phillippians, was his relationship with Christ. He discovered that true and lasting contentment is found not in things, but in a Person. He could be content in the most adverse circumstances because his aim in life was to be pleasing to the Lord (see 2 Corinthians 5:9). Knowing that he was where his Lord wanted him to be was enough. He did not need material props to bring him satisfaction.

You may say, “Well, that sounds mighty spiritual, but how realistic is it to think that we can find contentment outside the realm of our circumstances?” I believe it is extremely realistic. And I don’t believe this is a principle that applies to some elite group of believers. This kind of contentment is for all Christians . . . .

For Paul, learning to be content in every circumstance was a necessity. He would not have survived if this principle did not work. Yet . . . Paul did more than simply survive; he “reigned” in life through Christ (see Romans 5:17). Contentment is available to all of us, regardless of our circumstances, if we will only commit our lives to the purposes and plan of God.

Source: How to Handle Adversity by Charles Stanley as quoted in The Answer: To Happiness, Health, and Fulfillment in Life (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1993), p. 749.

Move On

Ketika kita mengalami masalah dan setelah keluar dari masalah tersebut pun kita sering mendengar kata-kata seperti ini "You have to move on" - mungkin bisa diartikan sebagai "Maju terus" - Lupakanlah masa lalu, lihat ke masa depan yang lebih cerah dan jangan berhenti dan meratapi nasib. Kebanyakan kata-kata ini dipakai jika misalnya, ketika kita berpisah dengan pasangan kita.

Tapi bagi kebanyakan orang 'move on' itu berarti sudah harus mencari sesuatu yang lebih baik dari apa yang sudah kehilangan dalam hal ini pasangan yang baru, pengertian 'move on' seperti ini kurang bijak, bagaimana kita tahu bahwa pasangan yang baru itu lebih baik daripada pasangan yang lama? Apakah ketika kita tidak mendapatkan pasangan baru berarti kita belum 'move on'? Apakah ketika kita tidak ingin mencari penganti pasangan lama tersebut kita dapat dikategorikan bahwa kita belum 'move on'. Seolah-olah kata 'move on' ini disamakan dengan kita melupakan masa lalu kita dengan cara mendapatkan pasangan yang baru dalam hal ini.

Kata 'move on' memang bisa menjadi satu dorongan agar kita tidak tenggelam dengan masa lalu kita, namun kita harus hati-hati jangan sampai kata ini hanya menjadi cliche dalam pengunaannya.

Are You Distracted, Anxious, Or Troubled?

I did terrible things

Kara Zor-El: I did terrible things

Superman: Darkseid lives for manipulation. He has hypnotists, scientists and sadists...whose only functions are to break your spirit. Darkseid is evil.

Kara Zor-El: But did he influence me? or just bring out a darkness that is already there?

We're still trying to give orders‏

"The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven't yet come to the end of themselves. We're still trying to give orders, and interfering with God's work within us. " A.W.Tozer

Not so much our sins

"The main thing between you and God is not so much your sins; it's your damnable good works." John H. Gerstner

I still possess

"I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess." Martin Luther

Reconciliation

Forgiveness takes 1 person
Repentance takes 1 person
Reconciliation takes 2 people

M. Driscoll

10 things that forgiveness is not

Akhir saya berhasil menjual brankas

Akhirnya hari ini saya berhasil menjual brankas saya, yang membeli brankas saya adalah 2 orang tua, umur mereka mungkin sekitar 60 - 70 tahun, sudah beranak cucu banyak. Mengapa yah, kita menjadi manusia, lebih mementingkan harta di dunia ini ketimbang harta di surga, takut kehilangan harta, seolah-olah harta tersebut dapat di bawah ke alam kubur.

Mereka bercerita karena takut kemalingan maka dari itu mereka membeli brankas tersebut. Oh...betapa kita menaruh harta di dalam dunia ini, dan tidak memperdulikan harta yang sejati yang seharusnya kita pegang. Biarlah Yesus menjadi harta di dalam hidup kita, saat kita kehilangan harta di dunia biarlah kita yakin dan percaya ada harta yang sejati yaitu Yesus Kristus Tuhan kita.

Mengapa saya punya brankas, memang karena ada ketakutan kehilangan segala sesuatu yang 'berharga', namun akhirnya saya mengerti bahwa segala sesuatu yang dulu saya anggap 'berharga' menjadi 'tidak begitu berharga' dan segala sesuatu yang dulu saya anggap 'tidak begitu berharga' menjadi berharga dalam hidup saya.

Would you want Jesus?

Would you want Jesus, if you can be in heaven without Jesus?

Questions To Ask Before You Watch or Surf

From: Worldliness - C.J. Mahaney

TIME QUESTIONS

Am I skipping or delaying something important in order to watch this now?

What are my other social/entertainment options besides watching television or going out to see a movie?

How much time have I already spent on media today?

How much time have I spent surfing the Internet? How much time have I spent blogging or maintaining an online presence through social network sites?

In the last week, how much time have I spent on the spiritual disciplines, building relationships, or serving in my local church compared to time spent consuming media?

After investing the time to view this, will I look back on it as time well spent?

HEART QUESTIONS

Why do I want to watch this program or film? What do I find entertaining about it?

Am I seeking to escape from something I should be facing by watching this? Am I seeking comfort or relief that can be found only in God?

What sinful temptations will this program or film present?

Do I secretly want to view something in it that’s sinful? Am I deceiving myself by saying, “I’ll fast-forward through the bad parts”?

Similarly, am I telling myself, “I’ll just visit this web site once, and I won’t click on any other links I find there”?

Am I watching because I’m bored or lazy? If so, what does that reveal about my heart?

Am I watching simply because others are? Am I trying to be relevant or to fit in?

How have my online relationships impacted my face-to-face relationships? How has my online activity impacted my soul? For better or worse?

What motivates me to create and maintain a blog, MySpace, or Facebook presence? Am I attempting to impress others? Am I being prideful, slanderous, deceitful, or self-righteous?

CONTENT QUESTIONS

What worldview or philosophy of life does this program or film present? What’s the view of man’s nature? What’s the view of sin? Is sin identified as such? What’s the view of God-ordained authority figures? And how do these views relate to God’s view?

What does this program or film glamorize? What is valued or considered important?

Who are the heroes of the story? Why are they heroic?

Is sin shown as having negative consequences? Or is sin glorified or rewarded? Is sin presented in an appealing or seductive way?

What is humorous in this work? How are people made fun of? What is mocked?

Does violence appear as a natural part of the story, or is it used gratuitously to entertain?

What’s the sexual content? Is there nudity? Sensual or seductive dress? Are there images, language, or humor that are sexually impure?

Is sinful self-sufficiency honored? Are the heroic characters concerned for others or merely for themselves?

Does the program or film portray materialism as “the good life”?

Would seeing this help me better understand God’s world? Would it help me understand my surrounding culture better without tempting me to sinful compromise?

Will I benefit in any way from viewing this program or visiting this web site?

Does its content or artistry reflect truth, beauty, or goodness?

Online, do I communicate graciously, patiently, and humbly? Do I use crude or arrogant speech? Is my speech consistent with the gospel, or does it reflect worldliness?

Don't want to be rich

Pray doesn't change God

"I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time- waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God- it changes me."

— C.S. Lewis

I don't get along with them

When people say: "I don't get along with people" it could be be two meanings "I'm better than them" or "I'm worst than them, but because they are arrogant" - ant

Kamu Sombong

"Kamu Sombong!" - memang terkadang kalau kita terlalu membanggakan diri orang akan berkata kepada kita kalau kita sombong, memang tidak seharusnya kita membanggakan diri seolah-olah apa yang kita kerjakan adalah pekerjaan kita semata. Paulus sendiri berkata, bahwa dia bermegah di dalam Kristus (Roma 15:17) - dengan menyadari hal seperti ini maka apapun yang kita megahkan semata-mata karena di dalam Kristus, tanpa Kristus tidak ada yang dapat kita lakukan, memang sepertinya 'kita melakukan' -- namun kenyataannya tidak ada sesuatupun yang kita lakukan akan diterima oleh Bapa kalau bukan hanya di dalam Kristus.

Seringkali kita berkata, pendeta A sombong sekali, dia selalu 'membanggakan diri', membanggakan pelayanannya. Yah memang itu satu hal yang harus dia intropeksi, selama ketika Kristus ditinggikan ketika pendeta A itu membanggakan pelayanannya maka saya rasa tidak apa-apa. Hanya seringkali kita mulai tidak mau menerima ajaran pendeta A, hanya karena dia sering 'membanggakan diri'.

Di lain pihak, mungkinkah karena kita hanya bisa mengritik orang lain, apakah kita ternyata sombong juga ketika kita berkata kepada orang lain bahwa orang lain itu sombong? Atau adakah unsur iri hati karena kita tidak bisa seperti orang lain tersebut, sehingga kita sembarangan berkata bahwa orang itu sombong.

Kesombongan memang harus terus diberantas, hari lepas hari, manusia tidak akan pernah lepas dari kesombongan, baik dalam intensitas yang sedikit maupun banyak. Jadi bukan berarti kita bisa menuduh dengan sembarangan kalau orang lain sombong (walaupun semua manusia ada sifat sombong), karena hal itu sudah menunjukkan seolah-olah kita lebih baik dari orang lain. Baiklah sama-sama mengintropeksi diri, sudahkah kita berantas dosa kesombongan di dalam hati kita?


ESV:1 Corinthians15:10
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.


Artikel terkait:Nilai manusia di hadapan Allah

I can't forgive myself

"When people say, "I know God forgives me, but I can't forgive myself," they mean that they have failed an idol, whose approval is more important than God's."
Timothy Keller

Manusia tidak pernah puas

Waktu kita sibuk, kita menggerutu, waktu kita tidak sibuk kita menggerutu juga. Jadi maunya apa sih?

Memang manusia tidak pernah puas dengan keadaannya, karena kecenderungan hati manusia akan selalu membandingkan keadaannya dengan orang lain, seolah-olah orang lain lebih 'beruntung' dari pada keadaan dia pada saat dia mulai menggerutu.

Jelas sekali di luar Tuhan tidak akan pernah ada kepuasan, kita bisa mencoba mencari kepuasan dari makanan, minuman, pakaian, pekerjaan, uang, kekuasaan, atau apapun. Tapi setelah kita memiliki semua hal itu ternyata kita masih belum puas. Kita akan selalu mau memiliki lebih dari apa yang kita punya. Uang yang lebih banyak, makanan yang lebih enak, pacar yang lebih cantik, akhirnya kita akan mengerti bahwa kita sudah hidup ditipu oleh segala sesuatu yang seolah-olah, atau kelihatannya bisa memuaskan kita, tetapi ternyata tidak ada yang bisa memuaskan kita selain daripada Allah.

Sebelum Kristus sebagai air hidup menjadi Tuhan atas hidup, kita akan selalu merasa tidak puas akan hidup ini. Memang bukan hal yang mudah, seperti halnya orang bangun pagi dan akhirnya seluruh hidupnya langsung akan berubah - hidupnya akan menjadi puas. Tapi biarlah setiap hari kita menyadari dan selalu memeriksa hati kita apakah kita tidak puas karena kita merasa ada banyak yang belum kita dapatkan dalam hidup ini, sehingga seolah-olah hal itu dapat mengantikan Allah, dan bahwa Allah tidak sanggup mengantikan keinginan untuk memiliki hal tersebut dengan Allah itu sendiri.

Jadi kepuasan itu apa? Kepuasan adalah hidup di dalam Kristus yang menjadi sumber segala sesuatu yang akan melampaui keinginan kita untuk memiliki segala hal di dalam dunia ini yang sedikit pun kita tidak bawa ketika kita lahir dan sedikitpun tidak kita akan bawa ketika kita meninggal.

Puaslah akan apa yang Tuhan sudah berikan dalam kehidupan kita, bahkan kalau pemberian Tuhan hanyalah makanan untuk kita makan dan pakaian untuk kita pakai.

1 Timothy 6:6-8 (ESV)
Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.

Kesusahan besok

Kesusahan besok adalah kesusahan sendiri, asalkan hari ini bisa makan, ucapkanlah syukur. Om nom nom nom.

All thing I thought I knew

All thing I thought I knew; but now confess, the more I know I know, I know the less
John Owen

Apakah Tuhan itu ada? Apakah Aku percaya Tuhan itu ada?

Berikut adalah pernyataan pernyataan yang mungkin.

1.
a. Aku tahu Tuhan itu ada
b. Aku tidak tahu Tuhan itu ada
c. Aku tahu Tuhan itu tidak ada
d. Aku tidak tahu Tuhan itu tidak ada

2.
a. Aku percaya Tuhan itu ada
b. Aku tidak percaya Tuhan itu ada
c. Aku percaya Tuhan itu tidak ada
d. Aku tidak percaya Tuhan itu tidak ada

First time teaching Sunday School

Today was my first time teaching little kids - age between 3 - 5. They are all adorable, but I know even when they are young and cute, they can't run away from the power of sin, and it's very challenging as Sunday School teacher to teach them and lead them to the Cross of Christ, but it's really fun, I think I should do it again.

One thing I learnt from them, they don't care what people think about who they are, they are being themselves, being frank, and being honest. That's why Jesus told us to be like little children, have a teachable heart also a forgiving heart. (forgiving heart is such broad term though, so I will blog as another post next time just on that issue)

Each of them have their own characters, so it's kinda fun to know and interact with them. I hope God can always give me strength to be their example as I'm trying to be like Christ.

To be in your children's memories tomorrow,
You have to be in their lives today."
— Barbara Johnson

Why are there a lot of people who aren't Christian are better than Christian?

People may ask me "Why are there a lot of people who aren't Christian are better than Christian?" - they are more kind, more loving and more everything.

To them I will reply:
"It's exactly why I became a Christian - I know that I'm saved by the Grace only and realised that I cannot be kind, be loving and be everything so God can accept me based on those acts, on the contrary I'm saved because of what Jesus has done who had given me a foundation to do those acts"

For some people Christianity is just a religion - Do this and Do that. Are you one of those?

Waktu kita merasa tidak seperti "tuhan"

“Man approaches God most nearly when he is in one sense least like God” CS. Lewis.

Ini kalimat bagus banget dari C.S. Lewis dalam bukunya "The Four Loves", waktu kita masih menganggap diri kita seperti 'tuhan' tentu kita tidak perlu menghampiri Tuhan karena kita masih dapat melakukan apa yang bisa kita lakukan, tetapi ketika kita sudah putus asa, seolah-olah kita tidak bisa melakukan apa-apa, barulah kita menyadari ternyata kita bukanlah 'tuhan', barulah kita mencari Tuhan yang sesungguhnya.

Namun waktu kita menghampiri Tuhan setelah kita putus asa, kita tetap harus meng-intropeksi kalau kenyataannya kita hanya menghampiri Tuhan hanya untuk pemuasan sesuatu yang kurang dalam hidup kita bukan benar-benar karena Tuhan itu sendiri adanya.

Revealed

When I've done bad things in my life, not so much because people made me to do those things as if I'm changed to be bad because of so called:Conditions, Circumstances, People around me, Cultures, and all external factors - I can always blame them but in the end of the days they aren't the causes - they only revealed what's beneath my sinful heart. Ant

All men seek happiness

All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves.

Blaise Pascal

It’s hard to believe the world is here just so I can party

“It’s hard to believe the world is here just so I can party, when a third of its people go to bed starving each night. It’s hard to believe the purpose of life is to feel good, when I see teenagers smashed on the freeway. If I try to escape toward hedonism, suffering and death lurk nearby, haunting me, reminding me, of how hollow life would be if this world were all I’d ever know.” - Phillip Yancey - Where is God when it hurts

Why Do I call You

Why do I call You "Lord, Lord but not do what You say?"

Terima kasih untuk sakit

Setelah membaca "Where is God when it hurts" oleh Phillip Yancey, saya mulai bisa mengucap syukur bagi setiap sakit yang kita alami, seringkali orang berpikir ketika sakit maka ada sesuatu yang Tuhan mau utarakan dalam hidup kita, ataupun ada satu kesalahan yang kita perbuat. Apakah benar demikian. Ternyata tidak selalu demikian. Tidak ada seorangpun yang akan luput dari murka Allah, seorangpun tidak, dan bukan berarti ketika kita tidak mengalami penderitaan, maka Allah di pihak kita, jika kita mengalami penderitaan maka Allah tidak ada di pihak kita.

Terima kasih, ketika kita mengalami sakit, entah sakit secara jasmani ataupun sakit secara batin, itulah tandanya kita masih hidup sebagai manusia. Mendengar bagaimana orang-orang penyakit kusta, mereka tidak bisa merasakan sakit sehingga tubuh mereka dapat terluka lebih mudah, karena tidak adanya sensor untuk merasakan sakit dan refleks untuk menghindar dari kesakitan yang mendadak ataupun kesakitan yang secara bertahap.

Saya teringat ketika Tuhan menyembuhkan orang penyakit kusta, mereka bersyukur karena mereka sembuh...namun kesembuhan mereka adalah karena mereka dapat kembali merasakan sakit di dalam tubuh mereka.

Terima kasih Tuhan buat sakit yang kami derita baik secara jasmani maupun batiniah.

Jesus is not a new butler

Millions of nominal Christians have never experienced a fundamental alteration of that foundation of happiness. Instead they have absorbed the notion that becoming Christian means turning to Jesus to get what you always wanted before you were born again. So, if you wanted wealth, you stop depending on yourself for it, and by prayer and faith and obedience you depend on Jesus for wealth. If you wanted to be healthy, you turn from mere human cures to Jesus as the source of your health. If you wanted to escape the pain of hell, you turn to Jesus for the escape. If you wanted to have a happy marriage, you come to Jesus for help. If you wanted peace of conscience and freedom from guilt feelings, you turn to Jesus for these things.
In other words, to become a Christian, in this way of seeing things, is to have all the same desires you had as an unregenerate person—only you get them from a new source, Jesus. And he feels so loving when you do. But there’s no change at the bottom of your heart and your cravings. No change in what makes you happy. There’s no change in the decisive foundation of your joy. You just shop at a new store. The dinner is still the same; you just have a new butler. The bags in the hotel room are still the same; you just have a new bellhop.

How much does God love this church ~ John Piper.

Rethinking Retirement

Finishing life to the glory of Christ means finishing life in a way that makes Christ look glorious. It means living and dying in a way that shows Christ to be the all-satisfying Treasure that he is. So it would include, for example, not living in ways that make this world look like your treasure. Which means that most of the suggestions that this world offers us for our retirement years are bad ideas. They call us to live in a way that would make this world look like our treasure. And when that happens, Jesus belittled.

John Piper - Rethinking Retirement Pg. 5

Aku tidak menyukai istriku lagi

Suami : Aku tidak menyukai istriku lagi !
Sahabat : Pulang dan cintailah dia!
Suami : Anda tidak mengerti aku, aku sudah tidak perasaan itu lagi!
Sahabat : Pulang dan cintailah dia!
Suami : Tetapi secara emosi aku berarti tidak jujur kalau aku memperlakukan istriku seperti itu, padahal aku tidak merasakannya.
Sahabat : Apakah menurutmu Ibumu mencintaimu?
Suami : Tentu saja (dengan mantap )
Sahabat : Kira-kira 1 minggu setelah ibumu pulang dari Rumah Sakit dan membawamu pulang, dan kamu menangis menjerit-jerit di tengah malam karena popokmu basah dan dia terpaksa bangun walau tubuhnya masih sangat letih, berjalan di lantai yg dingin tanpa alas kaki untuk mengganti popokmu dan menyusuimu. Apakah menurutmu dia sungguh-sungguh menikmati itu semua?
Suami : Tidak (menunduk)
Sahabat : Kalau begitu. Apakah Ibumu secara emosi juga tidak jujur?

Ukuran besarnya cinta bukan karena dia menikmati mengganti popok di tengah malam, melainkan karena Ibumu RELA melakukan itu semua meski dia tidak begitu menyukainya. Pernikahan tidak hanya didasari perasaan Cinta, lebih dari itu yaitu KOMITMEN.
Saat pertama seseorang menikahi istrinya pasti karena cinta, tetapi cinta yang menggebu-gebu akan padam seiring dengan berjalannya waktu. Hanya Komitmen yang membuat Cinta manggebu-gebu menjadi Cinta yang matang dan dewasa.

Lalu.. Apa yg disebut dg Cinta Sejati? Cinta sejati adalah cinta yg tdk memikirkan untung rugi, cinta yg rela berkorban demi seseorang yg dikasihinya. Inilah cinta yg harus diusahakan dalam setiap Pernikahan.

Ada orang berkata "aku cinta kamu".. berarti : "aku ingin memilikimu & biarlah kamu kumiliki" adalah cinta yang egois karena hanya bergantung pada perasaan seseorang. Sebab perasaan akan dimakan oleh waktu dan bisa saja perasaan ini muncul pada diri orang lain/pasangan orang lain.
Suasana hati mudah berubah, kondisi fisik semakin tua dan tidak menarik, komitmenlah yang menyelamatkan pernikahan.Berani melakukan sebuah "tindakan" baik dalam keadaan suka maupun tidak suka dan tetap mengasihi pasangan & mempertahankan Pernikahan yang telah Tuhan anugrahkan.

Source: Unknown

Jesus and Prosperity Gospel

Resentment

"Resentment is like taking poison and hoping the other person dies." Augustine of Hippo

Tuhan yang merubah

"Wah, itu mah orang bandel banget, auban bener, hanya Tuhan yang bisa merubah!", seringkali kita mendengar pernyataan seperti ini, seolah-olah ada orang tertentu yang harus dirubah Tuhan, dan ada orang-orang yang mungkin tidak begitu 'bandel' yang tidak perlu Tuhan untuk merubah. Cobalah dipikirkan lagi apakah benar pernyataan seperti ini?.

A Happy Marriage

"A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers."Robert Quillen

Life is not a straight line

"Life is not a straight line leading from one blessing to the next and then finally to heaven. Life is a winding and troubled road. Switchback after switchback. And the point of biblical stories like Joseph and Job and Esther and Ruth is to help us feel in our bones (not just know in our heads) that God is for us in all these strange turns. God is not just showing up after the trouble and cleaning it up. He is plotting the course and managing the troubles with far-reaching purposes for our good and for the glory of Jesus Christ." John Piper  (A Sweet and Bitter Providence: Sex, Race, and the Sovereignty of God) : Exposition Book of Ruth
..............................................................................................................................................
Switchback \ˈswich-ˌbak\ : a zigzag road, trail, or section of railroad tracks for climbing a steep hill

The danger of love Loving God

Grace is not free

"Grace is not free, it cost God His only begotten Son" AT

Love like you've never been hurt

"Dance like no one is watching. Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt and live like it's heaven on Earth." Mark Twain

Lyndsay

Do I have a free will?

I'm always wondering, do I even have free will, if all thing works for good for those who have been called according to His Purpose, where will human's responsibilities fit in God's master plan. This is sounds very unsettling between God's sovereignty and Human's responsibilities.

Do we have so called 'a power' to change His plan in our life? Is it true that faith is required our will to believe otherwise we will not be born again? Can I choose to believe in Him? I don't think this is a very simple question to answer.

If we define 'free will' as - I want to eat noodles instead of rice. I want to go to school instead of to work and so on, then yes I believe in 'free will' - because I have a capacity to do those activities. But if I say, I will choose to fly or not. That is not free will since we don't have a capacity to fly like a bird (not in the aero plane).

It's the same as a spiritual death. We have no capacity to do spiritual things, since we are dead people spiritually (I wonder why it doesn't call Spiritually fainted or Spiritually coma). How can dead people asking for a food, how can dead people talk to us? When Jesus resurrected Lazarus, Lazarus didn't have 'time' to think, I want to wake up and walkout from the tomb. There is no decision. There is no free will for Lazarus, he can not choose not to rise and live again. It's up to God's grace upon him.

So I believe there is no such thing as a 'free will' when we talk about spiritual death. These 2 verses in the bible that I believe as a ground that we don't have 'free will' it's only because of Grace when we believe.

John 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

John 6:65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

Jesus is not giving a bread, He is the bread

"I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." John 6:35

Spiritually sick vs. Spiritual heroes‏

“Grace is given to heal the spiritually sick, not to decorate spiritual heroes” – Martin Luther

Why would you like to change

Think about it for a moment.
Why do you want to be more like Jesus? Why do you want to keep a lid on your temper or overcome lust or stop living in a fantasy world? Why do you want to feel less depressed or bitter or frustrated? Why do you want to be a better parent, a better husband, a better wife, a better employee?

1. I would like to change to prove myself to God.‏
You may want to change so God will be impressed with you or bless you in some way or save you.

Many people think that good people go to heaven—so if you want to go to heaven, then you need to be good. We might think of heaven as a fancy nightclub with a bouncer at the door. The bouncer
lets in only smartly dressed people. Anyone in jeans is turned away. So we have to smarten ourselves up to get into heaven. Or you may think you’ll be accepted on the last day because of
God’s grace. But you still want to impress God so he’ll bless you in the meantime. “I’ve tried living God’s way,” one woman told me, "but He's still hasn't given me a husband" She wanted to impress God so He'd give her what she wanted.

The instinct to self-atone runs deep in our hearts. We want to make amends for our sin on our own. But God has done it all through Christ because of his grace, his undeserved love to us. Grace is so simple to understand and yet so hard to grasp. It’s not its complexity that makes it difficult. The problem is that we seem to be hard-wired to think we must do something to make God favorably disposed toward us. We want to take the credit. But all the time God is saying,
“In my love I gave my Son for you. He’s done everything needed to secure my blessing. I love you as you are, and I accept you in him.” God can’t love you more than he does now, no matter how much you change your life. And God won’t love you less than he does now, no matter what a mess you make of your life. “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

2.I would like to change to prove myself to other people‏

This is often the reason I want to change: I want people to be impressed by me. We may want to fit in or win approval. We certainly don’t want people finding out what we’re like inside. We wear a mask to hide our real selves. Wearing the mask can be a great strain; it’s like acting a role all the time. But we dare not let people see us as we really are.

One of the problems with trying to prove ourselves to other people is that they set the standard. Their standards may be ungodly, but we adopt their behavior to fit in. Or their standards may be godly, but we’re living in obedience to people rather than in obedience to God. Often what happens is that we settle for living like other people even when that falls short of living like Jesus. Or we measure ourselves against other people and decide we’re more righteous. We may point the finger at others’ faults so we can feel better about ourselves.

Instead we should be comparing ourselves to Jesus, finding we fall a long way short of God’s standards and discovering that we desperately need a Savior.

3.I would like to change to prove myself to myself‏
Another common reason why we want to change is so we can feel good about ourselves. When we mess up, we feel the shame of our sin. So we want to put things right. We want to think ourselves as
a "former user of porn" rather than a "porn addict" We want to say, “I used to have a problem with anger” rather than “I have a problem with anger.” So when we mess up, our primary concern
is that we can’t think of ourselves as “a former sinner.” We can’t feel good about ourselves until we’ve put some distance between ourselves and our last “big sin.” For us, sin has become first and foremost sin against ourselves. If I sin, then I’ve let myself down. What I feel when I sin is the offense against me and my self-esteem, not the offense against God.

Justified by Grace
What's wrong with wanting to change so we can prove ourselves to God or people or ourselves? It doesn't work. We might fool other people for a while. We might even fool ourselves. But we can never change enough to impress God. And here's the reason: trying to impress God, others, or ourselves puts us at the center of our change project. It makes change all about my looking good. It is done for my glory. And that's pretty much the definition of sin. Sin is living for my glory instead of God's. Sin is living life my way, for me, instead of living life God's way, for God. Often that means rejected God as Lord and wanting to be our own lord, but i can also involve rejecting God as Savior and wanting to be our own savior. Pharisees do good works and repent of bad works. But gospel repentance includes repenting of good works done for wrong reasons. We need to repent of trying to be our own savior.

Excerpt: You can change - Tim Chester

Proud self-justification

People don't like to think of themselves as bad people. We don't want to think of our hearts as evil. So we don't take responsibility for our sin. We may admit we need change, but we don't want to admit that we are the problem. And so we have a number of avoidance strategies. Self-reliance says: "I'll do OK by myself". Self-justification says:"I'm doing OK by myself." Making that claim involves excusing, minimizing or hiding sin.
Tim Chester

Am I really a Christian?

Not many Christians think of themselves as unbelievers. After all, we normally use the term to describe people who aren’t Christians at all. Most of us can happily sign up to the creeds of our church. But our problems rarely arise from a lack of belief in a confessional or theoretical sense, though this may be the case. More often they arise from functional or practical disbelief. The problems lie in the gap between what we believe in theory and what we believe in practice.

“On Sunday morning I sing of my belief in justification by faith (confessional faith), but on Monday morning I still feel the need to prove myself (functional disbelief). Or I may believe I’ll be acquitted on the day of judgment, but I still want to justify myself in an argument tomorrow. I may affirm that God is sovereign (confessional faith), but I still get anxious when I can’t control my life (functional disbelief). Sanctification is the progressive narrowing of the gap between confessional faith and functional faith.”

Tim Chester

Prayer: Lord, teach us to admit that there are still a lot of disbelief in our life even though we confess with our mouth we believe in You - but our heart still far away from You. Teach us to believe in You with our heart, teach us to believe we can't change our life just by saying "I believe in You" 

Every time when I wake up every morning, and when I found there is no progressive narrowing of the gap between my confessional faith and functional faith or when that gap becomes wider and wider, I'll be asking to myself, am I really a Christian?

Love and Truth

Love without truth is like doing heart surgery with a wet fish, but truth without love is like doing heart surgery with a hammer.
Tim Chester

How far can I run from sin

Is this okay, is that okay, this is not considered as a sin right? I'm just doing this - just a little - I think it's okay. Stop it! Run from Sin.
DON'T ASK
How far can I go towards sin
----------------------------------------------------------> SIN

ASK INSTEAD
How far can I run from sin
<------------------------------------------------------ SIN

TIM CHESTER

Superficial Forgiveness

The only reason why we can't forgive is because we think what people did to us is worse than what we've done to God. The truth is what we've done to God is a million times worse. Only by acknowledging our sins being redeemed through Christ then we can say to people who had been hurting us, "I forgive you, as God has forgave me in Christ" - without that it will be just a superficial forgiveness. AT

Suka menjelekkan orang

"Oh si anu loh gini gitu, tau ngak kenapa" -- begitulah yang sering kita dengar tentunya ketika kita mendengar berita buruk mengenai orang, 'gosip' -- gosip bukan hanya membicarakan ketidakbenaran dari orang lain, bahkan kalaupun fakta tapi jika hal itu membuat orang yang dibicarakan tersebut tidak nyaman, sudah termasuk kategori gosip, - menjelekkan orang.

Mengapa sih kita suka menjelekkan orang? Apakah karena kita merasa kita akan lebih tinggi dari orang tersebut? Atau karena berusaha menutup kejelekan kita yang kita sadari dalam lubuk hati kita, untuk melarikan dari hal tersebut jadi kita akhirnya suka menjelekkan orang lain. Apakah benar ada orang yang lebih jelek dan ada orang yang tidak lebih jelek? Saya ini bagus loh, orang lain jelek! Apakah benar ada kemungkinan seperti itu bahwa satu orang lebih baik dari orang yang lain. Ternyata tidak. Karena semua manusia sudah jatuh dalam dosa, dan telah kehilangan kemuliaan Allah. Ketika kita menyadari dosa kita lebih besar dari orang lain, bukan hanya karena kita melakukan perbuatan jahat yang lebih banyak, tapi kita menyadari di dalam lubuk hati kita yang paling dalam bahwa kita adalah manusia yang berdosa. Manusia yang tidak mau Allah. Jika kita mau Allah - hal tersebut hanya karena kasih karunia, jadi apalagi yang harus dibanggakan? Selain dari Kasih Karunia di dalam Kristus Yesus.

Jika kita belum mengetahui betapa bobroknya hidup kita dan belum mengalami kasih karunia, maka kita akan terus menjelekkan orang, seolah-olah dengan menjelekkan orang kita akan menjadi sedikit lebih bernilai dari keadaan yang sekarang - karena kita masih hidup untuk menjadi penyelamat bagi diri kita sendiri.

I need this to make me happy

"Our idols are those things we count on to give our lives meaning. They are the things of which we say, "I need this to make me happy" or "If I don't have this my life is worthless and meaningless"
Tim Keller

Be the same and be changed

Lord as I woke up this morning I came into realisation that I have to be the same when I'm by myself and when I'm with family and others. I'm a hypocrite - it's merely because of my own idol. Myself is my idol, I want people feel good about me, want people accept me, I want to get human's approval, to get praise of men - those things were like a honey, only they won't last forever, and can never satisfy my soul. Am I selfish? I think the question should be sounds like this: Why am I selfish? - Answer: it is because of my 'idol', if I don't satisfy my 'idol' I can feel very devastated that's why I serve my own 'idol' - and selfishness is one of a lot of things as the results of my own 'idol'

So every time when I'm acting differently (public vs personal) - I have to fervently ask for God's mercy and forgiveness so I can conquer this 'idol' by enjoying Him above all things.

I have to be the same, when I'm in the church or at work, when I'm with family or with totally strangers.

I have to be changed, to conform like Christ, the mediator between me and Our Heavenly Father. Not just a superficial change that happen externally, but I have to be changed internally so it will change and will drive me to change externally. Without this I will always be like a hypocrite.

Boast only in Christ

Do not boast, as if everything we have was because our good works. Boast only in Christ, since we know outside Christ we cannot do anything, I'm not saying we cannot do 'good works' outside Christ, because we can find a lot of 'good people' outside Christ. But before God, even our 'good works' and our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.

We shouldn't boast apart from Grace through Christ. Why sometimes I still boast for something that I've done in my life, it is because I see them more valuable and more reasonable than Christ's work on the cross. Because I think, when I did that, I become more valuable, if I didn't do that I become less valuable.

Religion and Redemption

Religion says the world is filled with 2 kinds of people, good people and bad people. How do you know the good people? Well, they are like me of course. Bad People?, they are not like me.

Redemption teaches there are 2 kinds of people, repented and unrepented, coz all people are bad.

God doesn't look out and see good people and bad people, He sees bad people and Lord Jesus.

Religion is all about what you do...so it's "Do this!' and "Do That!" Redemption is not about what you do and don't do...it's about what Jesus has done.

Mark Driscoll

Relationship between Faith and New-birth‏

Can a baby in woman's womb by 'his act' stop from being born? And tell the world, "I don't want to come out, I just want to stay in my Mum's womb". That's the same when we talk about new-birth, it's not something we acquire, we have no control of our new-birth. But we know deep down in our heart whether we have been born of God or not.

Yes, new-birth is not from our end, no matter how hard you try, you cannot produce a new-birth, but when we say we have been born of God - we will pursuit His holiness and love one another as the consequence (proof) not the cause. So when I don't pursuit His holiness and love one another also when I'm not declaring a war againts my flesh and my sinful desire everyday - I will be asking this question everytime I wake up in the morning - "Have I been really born again?"

AT

1 John 5:1 "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God", so believing is present tense and has been born of God is perfect tense. It shows clearly that believing is the consequence, not the cause, of the new birth ~ (John Stott).

Kain dan Habel

Tentunya kita sudah sering mendengar kisah Kain dan Habel, pertanyaan yang sering ditanyakan mengapa Tuhan  mengindahkan persembahan Habel tapi tidak mengindahkan persembahan Kain, mengapa hal ini terjadi?

Ada pandangan mengatakan, bahwa karena Habel memberikan lemak-lemak dan timbulah asumsi bahwa Habel memberikan yang terbaik sedangkan Kain hanya memberikan hanya sebagian dari hasil tanah, atas dasar inilah Tuhan hanya mengindahkan persembahan Habel.

Ada juga pandangan yang mengatakan Tuhan hanya mengindahkan korban bakaran untuk itulah persembahan Habel yang diterima, dan ada yang berpendapat salah sendiri Kain tidak mau menukarkan sebagian hasil tanahnya dengan domba kepunyaan Habel.

Apakah pendapat kedua ini dapat diterima, kalau memang keduanya benar apakah memang kita diselamatkan  oleh karena perbuatan kita? Dalam suratan Ibrani dikatakan

Karena iman Habel telah mempersembahkan kepada Allah korban yang lebih baik dari pada korban Kain. Dengan jalan itu ia memperoleh kesaksian kepadanya, bahwa ia benar, karena Allah berkenan akan persembahannya itu dan karena iman ia masih berbicara, sesudah ia mati.

Apakah ini berarti karena Habel 'lebih percaya' kepada Tuhan dibandingkan Kain? Tanpa iman tidak ada seorang yang dapat melihat Allah, karena tanpa Iman kita tidak akan pernah dapat percaya bahwa Allah itu ada dan bahwa Allah mengutus anakNya untuk menjadi tebusan bagi kita, dan Iman itu nyata oleh penebusan di dalam Kristus Yesus sebagai perantara antara manusia yang berdosa dengan Allah yang Maha Agung.

Jadi percaya kepada Tuhan semata-mata karena anugrah yang diberikan oleh Tuhan kepada kita bukan karena kita yang melakukannya. Dan Habel pun diindahkan persembahannya hanya oleh kasih karunia Allah tanpa ada dasar perbuatan yang dilakukan oleh Habel, apakah berarti Allah tidak adil? Mustahil Allah tidak adil.

Roma 9:15-16

Sebab Ia berfirman kepada Musa: "Aku akan menaruh belas kasihan kepada siapa Aku mau menaruh belas kasihan dan Aku akan bermurah hati kepada siapa Aku mau bermurah hati."

Jadi hal itu tidak tergantung pada kehendak orang atau usaha orang, tetapi kepada kemurahan hati Allah.

1 Yohanes 4:10
Inilah kasih itu: Bukan kita yang telah mengasihi Allah, tetapi Allah yang telah mengasihi kita dan yang telah mengutus AnakNya sebagai pendamaian bagi dosa-dosa kita.

Can God love you more?

Case 1: I've just got a call yesterday, my boss promoted me to a higher position and my salary increased almost double and I said to God "Oh Thank you Lord, You are so good, thanks for loving me so much, I love you."

Case 2: The cloud was so gloomy this morning, and I didn't bring my umbrella and It was pouring like crazy, my pant was so wet and my socks were soggy, and when I arrived at the office my boss called me into a room and told me - "Because of Economic downturn, we have to make your position redundant, today is your last day, pack up your stuff and go home" - and I said to God "Why did You do this to me God, I 'love' you so much why You stop loving me, by making my day so miserable?"

Can God love you more than His love on the cross? When He blesses you with blessings (spiritual and material) doesn't mean He loves you more as if His love on the cross was not enough. When He is allowing adversities in your live doesn't mean He loves you less or He doesn't love you at all or He sometimes loves you and sometimes doesn't love you.

If everything were from God

If everything were from God, why do we say "I have made a lot sacrifices for you Lord! Why do I still suffer?" AT

Tiga hal menuju kebinasaan

Perbedaan	Tuhan Berfirman (Kejadian 2:16-17)	Hawa Menjawab (Kejadian 3:2-3)
Tuhan memberikan anugerah kepada manusia secara bebas memakan buah yang ada di dalam taman tersebut, namun seringkali manusia membatasi anugerah tersebut, mengurangi anugrah tersebut. Seolah-olah anugrah itu harus disertai oleh perbuatan baik kita	Semua pohon dalam taman ini boleh kaumakan buahnya dengan bebas	Buah pohon-pohonan dalam taman ini boleh kami makan,
Tuhan tidak pernah memberitahu mengenai meraba buah, namun manusia menambahkan Firman dengan mengatakan 'meraba' - sepertinya sok tahu. Banyak dari kita seperti itu juga, kita memodifikasi Firman Tuhan supaya sesuai dengan cara berpikir kita, seolah-olah Firman Tuhan itu kurang lengkap dan butuh ditambah.	tetapi pohon pengetahuan tentang yang baik dan yang jahat itu, janganlah kaumakan buahnya sebab pada hari engkau memakannya,	tetapi tentang buah pohon yang ada di tengah-tengah taman, Allah berfirman: Jangan kamu makan ataupun raba buah itu
Mengurangi konsekuensi dosa, dengan menghilangkan kata 'pasti', kita selalu menganggap konsekuensi dosa adalah hal yang kecil, dengan cara menguranginya, misalnya: "Ah tidak apa apa, ini kan dosa yang kecil, efeknya ngak terlalu kelihatan" - walaupun di hadapan Allah tidak ada dosa yang kecil, dan efeknya dosa adalah sama, yaitu maut.	pastilah engkau mati.	nanti kamu mati.

Find your idol

When we think about idol, we often think it's about statue; a sculpture that representing a person, or an animal or an event. As Paul in Colossians 3:5 put it bluntly. - Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

"The human heart is a factory of idols…Everyone of us is, from his mother's womb expert in inventing idols.” John Calvin,

They can be anything, praise of men, money, job, career, relationship, status, sport, movies, food, ministry, family, kids, spouse, acceptance, leisure, anything 'good', all of them are not 'idol' but they become idol when our heart cling to them not God, as if we have them we become more valuable, if we don't have them we become less valuable, like 'something is missing'. We are the only one who knows our idol, so we can't simply says to our fellow, that is your idol !!!. Although they can somehow indirectly or directly reveal our idol heart within.

Let us find our idol, and humbly admit it in front of God merciful, full of grace, He will replace our idol heart with Himself, like a woman at the well, Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

At the end we can says - "God, You are more powerful, more beautiful, more enjoyable, more satisfying, more thrilling, more delightful, more everything compare to whatever in this world", it's a life time war againts our heart, that will always have a tendency to produce idol.

Nuh mendapat Kasih Karunia

Kita tentunya tahu kisah mengenai Nuh, bahkan kalau kita sudah menjadi mengikuti sekolah minggu dari usia yang relatif muda, kisah mengenai bahterah Nuh tentu sudah tidak asing di kuping kita, bahkan jika kita belum percaya ataupun sudah percaya di usia yang beranjak dewasa kisah Nuh ini pernah terlintas dalam pikiran kita.

Kita tahu kejadiannya adalah bahwa, Tuhan merencakan kemusnahan manusia melalui air bah, tapi ada satu keluarga yang Tuhan selamatkan, yaitu keluarga Nuh. Nuh diberitahu untuk membuat bahtera karena Tuhan akan membanjiri bumi dengan air bah. Terpikir dalam benak saya apakah mungkin Nuh menolak untuk membuat bahtera dan akhirnya rencana Allah gagal karena semua manusia tidak ada yang selamat? Atau memang sudah pasti Nuh akan membuat kapal karena Nuh adalah orang yang taat kepada Tuhan? Apakah ketaatan Nuh bisa kita peroleh juga? Atau bisa kita usahakan?

Kejadian 6:9 tentu sudah jelas mengatakan bahwa Nuh adalah seorang yang benar dan tidak bercela di antara orang sezamannya, dan Nuh itu hidup bergaul dengan Allah, pertanyaannya adalah apakah karena hal tersebut maka Allah menyelamatkan Nuh dan keluarganya, jika memang hanya Nuh yang hidup bergaul dan tidak bercela mengapa keluarganya juga diselamatkan, apakah memang ada rencana Tuhan supaya ada keturunan dari Nuh sehingga manusia dapat diselamatkan di dalam Yesus Kristus?

Tentu tidak, Nuh tidak ada berbeda dengan kita, bukan karena kita hidup bergaul dengan Allah maka Allah memilih kita, Allah memilih kita tanpa ada syarat apapun, karena kita ini tidak bisa memilih yang baik dan yang berkenan kepada Allah, seperti Agustinus mengatakan kehendak bebas manusia adalah hanya membuahkan kejahatan semata-mata, walaupun melakukan kebaikan - motivasi dari dalam lubuk hati kita adalah jahat.

Hal ini dibukakan dalam ayat sebelumnya, Kejadian 6:5 bahwa kejahatan manusia besar di bumi dan bahwa segala kecenderungan hatinya selalu membuahkan kejahatan semata-mata. Apakah Nuh tidak termasuk dalam kelompok manusia tersebut, tentu masuk, jadi Nuh adalah orang yang berdosa sama seperti saya dan saudara. Kemudian ayat 8 dikatakan, "Tetapi Nuh mendapat kasih karunia di mata Tuhan", karena kasih karunialah Nuh dipilih bukan karena apa yang telah dilakukan, tapi Tuhan, menurut kehendakNya memilih Nuh untuk diselamatkan.

Jadi jika Anda selama ini berpikir kita harus seperti Nuh, menjadi orang benar, tidak bercela dan hidup bergaul dengan Allah supaya kita 'diselamatkan', maka kita diselamatkan bukan oleh kasih karunia lagi, tapi hanya oleh perbuatan kita. Justru karena kita diselamatkan oleh kasih karunia maka Nuh, saya dan saudara dapat dibenarkan, hidup tidak bercela dan bergaul dengan Allah.

God has done the best

God has done the best in us for His Glory, not the rest - so do your best - AT

Why am I so interested in me?‏

The good news for spiritual needs is
that our sins are forgiven, we are adopted as children of
God through faith, and we are given eternal life. The
good news for psychological needs is that Christ fills us
with identity, significance, personal respect, and selfworth.
He makes us feel good about ourselves. But is
that really the gospel? Doesn’t the gospel, in a very real
sense, obliterate our preoccupation with ourselves,
equipping us to be preoccupied with loving God and
others? Is it possible that looking for self-worth or
significance is a fundamentally misguided goal? Should
we be asking other questions such as,
“Why am I so interested in me?”

Edward T. Welch
The Journal of Biblical Counseling • Volume 13 • Number 1 • Fall 1994 - Page 28

35 X-Ray Questions for the Heart

1. What do you love? Hate?
2. What do you want, desire, crave, lust, and wish for? What desires do you serve and obey?
3. What do you seek, aim for, and pursue?
4. Where do you bank your hopes?
5. What do you fear? What do you not want? What do you tend to worry about?
6. What do you feel like doing?
7. What do you think you need? What are your 'felt needs'?
8. What are your plans, agendas, strategies, and intentions designed to accomplish?
9. What makes you tick? What sun does your planet revolve around? What do you organize your life around?
10. Where do you find refuge, safety, comfort, escape, pleasure, and security?
11. What or whom do you trust?
12. Whose performance matters? On whose shoulders does the well being of your world rest? Who can make it better, make it work, make it safe, make it successful?
13. Whom must you please? Whose opinion of you counts? From whom do you desire approval and fear rejection? Whose value system do you measure yourself against? In whose eyes are you living? Whose love and approval do you need?
14. Who are your role models? What kind of person do you think you ought to be or want to be?
15. On your deathbed, what would sum up your life as worthwhile? What gives your life meaning?
16. How do you define and weigh success and failure, right or wrong, desirable or undesirable, in any particular situation?
17. What would make you feel rich, secure, prosperous? What must you get to make life sing?
18. What would bring you the greatest pleasure, happiness, and delight? The greatest pain or misery?
19. Whose coming into political power would make everything better?
20. Whose victory or success would make your life happy? How do you define victory and success?
21. What do you see as your rights? What do you feel entitled to?
22. In what situations do you feel pressured or tense? Confident and relaxed? When you are pressured, where do you turn? What do you think about? What are your escapes? What do you escape from?
23. What do you want to get out of life? What payoff do you seek out of the things you do?
24. What do you pray for?
25. What do you think about most often? What preoccupies or obsesses you? In the morning, to what does your mind drift instinctively?
26. What do you talk about? What is important to you? What attitudes do you communicate?
27. How do you spend your time? What are your priorities?
28. What are your characteristic fantasies, either pleasurable or fearful? Daydreams? What do your night dreams revolve around?
29. What are the functional beliefs that control how you interpret your life and determine how you act?
30. What are your idols and false gods? In what do you place your trust, or set your hopes? What do you turn to or seek? Where do you take refuge?
31. How do you live for yourself?
32. How do you live as a slave of the devil?
33. How do you implicitly say, “If only…” (to get what you want, avoid what you don't want, keep what you have)?
34. What instinctively seems and feels right to you? What are your opinions, the things you feel true?
35. Where do you find your identity? How do you define who you are?

We want it too much…

The evil in our desires typically does not lie in what we want, but that we want it too much ~ John Calvin

What is wanting it too much? It is...we become resentful when we don't get what we want or what we ask, also we become paralyse when we lose what we have in possession. ~ it can be anything, praise of men, money, job, career, relationship, status, sport, movies, food, ministry, family, kids, spouse, acceptances, leisure, anything 'good'. - AT