Monday, May 16, 2011

The Daily News


“But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows.” 
- Mark 13:7-8 (NKJV)

One aspect of Christian television that I’ve found interesting (to say the least) is the number of people who attempt to accurately predict the end times, even to the day. I read recently that someone is predicting that May 21 of this year will be the day the world we know it ends (which is an amendment of their earlier prediction of a date in 1994). I’ve found these types of predictions to be odd for someone who claims to adhere to the Word of God, since Jesus Himself stated in Mark 13:32, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” I would ask someone how they would reconcile Jesus’ statement here with their own predictions that point to a certain date. What is this based on?

I will say though that I can’t remember a time when the daily news seemed so troubling. The conflicts and uprising in Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria are difficult to get a handle on. Recent earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand have left a trail of sorrow and unimaginable loss. Many Americans kept a watchful eye on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill last year (which now in light of recent events looks like a blip on the radar) and are now worrying about the effects of radiation from the disaster in Japan. On a much smaller scale, the recession here in the U.S., which many experts believed should have ended by now, still seems to lag on, with many folks struggling to find good jobs or out of work entirely. It’s hard to determine what really is ‘breaking news’ these days with events happening so quickly.

Since becoming a Christian I haven’t spent a great deal of time thinking about prophecy and end times. Reading Revelation actually gets harder each time I read it, not easier. I am wondering now though if we are really entering the latter stages of this world as we know it. I’m sure it’s possible that other generations may have thought this as well – the Civil War here in the U.S. 150 years ago could well have triggered the same kind of thinking, especially being so close to home.

So what are we clinging to and where are we placing our trust? When we look at our day-to-day activity and how we plan what we do, is the basis of our trust really here? “And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:17). Through all of the sadness and trouble that seems to surround us these days, we would all do well to take a step back and evaluate what our foundation is. If it is not on the Lord Jesus, we are all in great danger and sadly deceived.

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”
- Luke 6:46-49 (ESV)



 BLESSED TO BLESS...

Why Are You Seeking Him?

(John 6:26 ESV)  Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.

loavesampfish Why do you seek Jesus?  How do you encourage others to seek Jesus?  Is it through sharing the power of his saving Grace, His work completed on the Cross?  In our effort to bring people to Christ, do we fall into this category of followers by offering excitement, super programs, lavish dinners, etc…?  Are we causing the lost to seek Christ, not for the miracle of His forgiveness to a wretched sinner but for the shallow, self-serving, feel-good Gospel?  I am afraid too many times we forget the power of the Holy Spirit and think that without us and without our ‘programs’ and group efforts no one will be saved.  We think that if we can just have an event to wow the crowd and our pews are full then we are doing a good work.  But are we?
The people in John 6 had just witnessed Jesus feed 5000 people with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread.  He had just walked across the water to get to his disciples.  These people were not following him because they had seen these miracles and therefore knew he was the Messiah, they were following Him because he had filled their bellies.  They were more concerned about their physical needs than their dying and lost souls.
(John 6:27 ESV)  Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”
(John 6:35 ESV)  Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
If we aren’t seeking Jesus because we hunger for Him.  If we aren’t following Him because we know without Him we are lost and we haven’t repented of our sin and turned away from all unrighteousness, then we must ask ourselves why are we following Him.  In our greatest evangelistic efforts to show people the love Christ has to offer, let us not be guilty of leading and teaching the lost to desire for their physical needs to be met by the Church or Christ, but to seek after the True Living Bread of Life.  To show them the Gospel so that they may repent and be saved.
Luke 13:5  No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
We must seek and desire more than food itself to know Jesus and become a new creation through Him.  Let us not be guilty of leading others to continue in their way by making sure they feel good or that their physical needs are met.  Although we are to help others with physical things, first and foremost we must lead them to the One who can save their soul.  After that, it will all fall into place because they will find their needs are not quite so important anymore.  We must be sure for ourselves as well that we are coming to Christ out of a pure heart and not for our own selfish needs or desires but out of true repentance and a desire to know Him more.
We must ask ourselves, “Why am I following Christ?”


BLESSED TO BLESS....

Who is Blind?



blind I’ve been studying the book of John over the past several months.  One story that sticks out to me is the account of the man who was born blind.  It is interesting to me how these Pharisees literally refused to accept this man’s testimony that he had been healed.

The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?" Some said, "It is he." Others said, "No, but he is like him." He kept saying, "I am the man." So they said to him, "Then how were your eyes opened?" He answered, "The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight."
(John 9:8-11)

That is a pretty plain and simple, cut and dried explanation of how it happened and yet their pride would not allow them to accept this.  They asked him again and again.  Even going so far as to inquiring his parents about him.
The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?" His parents answered, "We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself."
(John 9:18-21)

PRIDE once again. After questioning the man twice and hearing the account they could not accept they ended the whole conversation with this;
And they reviled him, saying, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from." The man answered, "Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." They answered him, "You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?" And they cast him out.
(John 9:27-34)

Pride darkens our ability to see the truth.  We are in the way. They stood on their pride rather than what was clearly before them, a man born blind given site by Jesus, the Son of God.  In healing the blind man, Jesus clearly shows the blindness of the Pharisees.
The beautiful thing about all of this is that Jesus heard they had cast the man out so he found him.  Offering salvation and he believed.
Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" He answered, "And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?" Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you." He said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him.
(John 9:35-38)

We need to realize our darkness, our blindness before Christ saved us.  He came to us, knowing we were cast out and away from the Father.  We had no way to get to the Father; we were blind in our sin.  Jesus found us, like the blind man, showed us our sin, opened our eyes to Him and we believed and were saved!  Oh, how we need to worship Him like that once-blind man must have worshipped him on that glorious day when he received his sight! 


BLESSED TO BLESS...

Love for God


“God is not honored by groundless love. In fact, there is no such thing. If we do not know anything about God, there is nothing in our mind to awaken love. If love does not come from knowing God, there is no point calling it love for God. There may be some vague attraction in our heart or some unfocused gratitude in our soul, but if they do not  arise from knowing God, they are not love for God.”

<< John Piper, from Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God, p. 90 >>

BLESSED TO BLESS...

Psalm 100:3



“‘Man, know thyself,’ is a wise aphorism, yet to know our God is truer wisdom; and it is very questionable whether a man can know himself until he knows his God. Jehovah is God in the fullest, most absolute, and most exclusive sense, he is God alone; to know him in that character and prove our knowledge by obedience, trust, submission, zeal, and love is an attainment which only grace can bestow.”



BLESSED TO BLESS...

Desire


YOU give it all for me 
my soul desire my everything
and all I am is devoted to YOU


How could I fail to see 
YOU are the love that rescued me 
and all I am is devoted to YOU

and oh, how could I not be moved, 
LORD here with YOU
So have YOUR way in me, 
cause LORD there is just one thing 
that i will seek


this is my cry, my one desire 
Just to be where YOU are LORD now and forever 
it's more than a song, my one desire 
is to be with YOU, is to be with YOU, JESUS

the one thing, the one thing I ask, is to be with YOU


BLESSED TO BLESS...

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Love God

aku sangat mensyukuri semua yang telah d berikan oleh Tuhan kepadaku..
Atas semua kasih dan karuniaNya di dalam hidupku..
aku sadar.. tanpa Dia, aku tidak berarti apa-apa di dalam hidup ini..



Semua yg aku miliki, yg aku dapatkan, yg aku raih itu semua bukan karena kemampuanku, kehebatanku, kekuatanku..
Melainkan semua karna... Yesus..
Hanya Dialah sumber kekuatanku ketika aku jatuh, aku sakit, aku sedih, aku senang, aku takut, aku bahagia, aku berhasil, aku gagal, aku kecewa...
ketika Yesus datang tuk menyapa terkadang kita pergi dan mementingkan pekerjaan kita sendiri dan diri kita sendiri,  tidak datang kepadaNya.  Yesus mau kita datang dan mendekat padaNya.

Jangan hanya di saat kamu sedang mengalami kesulitan kamu mencarinya..
Luangkan waktu untuk bersama, berkomunikasi dan membangun hubungan yang intim dengan Bapa.. 
Itu yang akan membuat hidupmu jauh lebih berarti dan lebih indah...

Jangan karena pacar/karena kesibukan sehari-hari, kegiatan yang kita sukai, karena bisnis, 
kita menjadi jauh dengan Tuhan.. Pada saatnya untuk beribadah, ya kita pergi beribadah..
pada saat Tuhan suruh untuk melakukan sesuatu, ya kita harus lakukan. yang penting taat az..
Jangan melupakan semuanya... Ingatlah kepada Tuhan.. Karena Ia selalu setia kepadamu..
 
I love Jesus.. Forever...Thanks God, for yours blessed.. ^^ Miss U Lord..
Without Jesus Christ i'm nothing.. ^^Jesus my King, my Lord, my Best plenzz.. ^^

aku rindu pada Dia,  katakan aku mau mengalami keintiman yang dalam pada Yesus. memang bener-bener kalau kita mengingini Dia untuk datang dan masuk, itu ya hadiratNya dan apa yang aku rasakan full banget. pokok ny kalau dah diam dan duduk dalam hadiratNya aku gak mau ninggalin tempat itu. mau nya disitu" saja..  
aku mengalami suatu pengalaman dengan Yesus setiap hari dan setiap hari itu beda banget. gak ada yang sama, tiap hari aku minta Tuhan Yesus yang tuntun langkahku, yang membimbing aku, memberkati aku kemana pun aku pergi. mengajari aku. urapan yang dari Roh Kudus sangat luar biasa.

Berdoa dan Berpuasa, baru" ini kn dari gereja kan diseluruh jemaat berpuasa hari, sebab dari para pendoa dan dari hamba Tuhan Nya juga dapat yang demikian sama dari Roh Kudus. jadi baru kali ini aku berpuasa selama hari.  dan Puji Tuhan banget puasaku gak ada yang bolong. itu semua karena berkat dan kekuatan dari Tuhan, kalau ngak. aku gak kan bisa untuk berpuasa selama itu.
ada banyak hal yang aku alami selama aku berpuasa, 
Tuhan itu buka banyak hal samaku, dan Tuhan ngaruniakan aku suatu karunia. yang itu aku bersyukur banget.
Haleluya... Tuhan itu baik, aku terus didorong nya masuk dalam penyembahan. jiwaku ini rasa nya selalu saja haus. dan tak pernah henti-henti nya aku berhenti..  aku mengalami kehausan dan sepanjang hari ini aku slalu haus dan haus. aku bilang sama Tuhan. " Bapa perbesar Kapasitasku untuk memperoleh hal-hal yang baru dari padaMu. dan aku bersyukur karena jiwaku selalu haus akan HadiratMu. tambahkan Hikmat dan MarifatMu kepadaku. amin "

satu kerinduan, aku pengen ketemu Yesus.
gak tahu kenapa, aku  berpikiran atau hal apa ini,. tapi dalam hatiku ini, pengen banget ketemu dengan Dia. melihat wajahNya, berjalan bersama denganNya. MemelukNya, dan berada dibawah kaki Nya sujud MenyembahNya.
Tuhan bawaku kepadaMu.

Love You God...
Blessed To Bless...

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