Ketakutan yang Menghalangi Pekerjaan Tuhan

Wow.. emang akhir2 ini aku jarang banget blogging ye. Kalo dibilang ga ada waktu, koq ga mungkin.. hahaha.. Secara sehari ada 24 jam gitu loh, kemana semua? lol.. Kali ini aku pingin nulis tentang ketakutan yang menghalangi pekerjaan Tuhan. Loh koq? Apa hubungannya? O_o

Sejak beberapa minggu, aku notice ada lebah2 yang bersarang di pojokan beranda apartment dimana aku sekeluarga tinggal. Panik? So pasti. Apalagi lebah bisa bikin gendut a.k.a. menyengat.. wkwkwk.. Jadi ya, engga banget dah kalo itu lebah2 dibiarin bersarang di sana. Karena ga berani buat ngusir lebah2nya, aku ngomong sama ade yang ternyata juga berpikiran sama.. "kalo disengat gimana?" Kami berdua ngerti cara ngusir'nya ya pake asap.. karena lebah emang takut sama asap dan asap itu bikin mereka mati. *Ya iya lah, manusia juga kan.. -_-*  Singkat cerita, kami bikin laporan ke bokap.. heheheh.. Di luar dugaan, bokap antusias buat ngusir lebah2nya! Karena itu maenan dia waktu kecil, jadi bukan hal baru buat dia.. wkwkwk..  Aku dan ade jadi ngeri sendiri, itu ntar kalo disengat gimana? Mesti'nya ngomong sama pihak apartment supaya mereka hire orang yang emang menangani urusan beginian.. bla bla bla.. bli bli bli.. blu blu blu.. Akhirnya, disikat itu lebah2 sama bokap.. dan sekarang ilang semua. Yayy!

Dari kejadian itu, aku jadi punya refleksi sendiri. Pertama, segala ketakutan kita bikin kita jadi disable. Just IF, I was wise and brave enough.. mungkin aku bisa praktekin my knowledge PLUS pengalaman bokap ngusir lebah2nya. Karena aku mikir'nya takut ini dan itu, ilang deh kesempatan buat praktek.. wekekeke.. Kedua, kalo ketakutan aku dibiarin merajalela.. itu berarti aku biarin lebah2 itu bersarang di sana.. makin lama makin banyak.. Hiyy! Don't you think it will be a problem for us one day? Imagine, kita tinggal di daerah yang deket sama lebah yang possibly bisa masuk rumah.. haiyaaaa! ga mau lah yauuu!!

Sebenernya ini juga relate ke kehidupan rohani kita. Saat kita memiliki ketakutan, dan kita biarin ketakutan itu menjamur.. what's gonna happen? Kita ga melihat mujizat Tuhan! Sapa sih yang ga punya kuatir? Sapa yang ga punya rasa takut? Ga ada lah. Itu manusiawi. Preman aja juga punya rasa takut, saking dia nekat. Dia kalahin semua ketakutan dia dengan tindakan. Nah loh koq jadi bahas preman.. hahaha.. balik lagi.. Apa yang terjadi kalo kita biarin ketakutan/kekuatiran kita menguasai kita? Kita ga bisa liat kemuliaanNya. Itu berarti kita udah menghambat pekerjaan Tuhan!

"Wow, ga segitu'nya kali Feb!"

You think so? Hmm gini deh.. Menurut kalian, apa tugas kita sebagai orang percaya di bumi ini? Tuhan bilang, "jadilah saksiKu." Nah gimana cara untuk menjadi saksi? Harus mengalami. Gimana mau mengalami, kalo segala sesuatu ditangani sendiri? Gimana mau menjadi saksi Tuhan kalo setiap ada masalah, pikiran sendiri yang pusing tujuh keliling? Nah lohhh.. Ga mungkin kan kalo kita memberi saksi tentang sesuatu yang belom kita lihat/jalani/hadapi/dst. Gimana kita mau jelasin tentang Tuhan Yesus ke orang yang belom percaya kalo kita sendiri ga percaya Dia? Dibilang dalam firman, gimana bisa orang buta menuntun orang buta?

"Loh, aku percaya Feb.. tp kekuatiran itu ga bisa ilang. Kan katanya manusiawi."

Hmm.. itu mah justification aja ya.. kalo kekuatiran itu ga bisa ilang. Inget ga waktu kecil dulu kalo kita dibonceng motor bokap/nyokap, kita tenang2 aja.. tapi begitu dibonceng motor temen yang baru belajar, makkk merinding amit2 takut jatoh.. wekekeke.. Kita begitu percaya sama bokap/nyokap kalo mereka udah jago nyetir, sehingga kita ga kuatir jatoh. Padahal sekarang pas kita udah dewasa, kita nyadar kalo chance buat jatoh pasti ada.. tapi karena kita yang masih kecil itu percaya TOTAL, ga ada lagi rasa takut/kuatir itu.

Demikian juga sama Tuhan, kalo kita percaya TOTAL sama Dia, kita ga akan ada kekuatiran lagi. Ralat! Kekuatiran itu tetep ada.. kekuatiran itu tetep dateng, TAPI kita tau harus lari ke siapa untuk minta pertolongan. Setelah minta pertolongan, PERCAYA kalo Tuhan pasti menolong. Percaya bukan hanya dimulut aja, percaya itu butuh totalitas. Arti'nya, bukan percaya hanya dari perkataan aja, tapi percaya dengan tindakan. Apa tindakan itu? Hilangkan kekuatiran/ketakutanmu.

Jadi kuatir/takut adalah pilihan. Semua ada ditangan kita. Sama seperti kasus lebah2 tadi.. Lebah'nya tetep dateng.. tetep ada.. tapiiii, kami memutuskan untuk mengusir. Kalo dibiarin? Ya bakalan jadi sarang lebah deh di beranda kami. Jadi ga enak kalo keluar rumah, takut lebahnya masuk rumah. Jadi, sebelom lebah2 itu masuk rumah, jangan biarin itu bersarang di depan rumah! Sebelom kita gagal menjadi saksi Kristus, jangan biarin ketakutan/kekuatiran kita bersarang dalam hidup kita! Inget temen2, kita udah diberi kuasa untuk menginjak2 ular dan kalajengking, mengusir kuasa jahat, dll.. but, it REQUIRED our effort to do so. Tuhan emang maha dahsyat, tapi Dia memberi kita kebebasan untuk memilih percaya Dia ato kaga. So, let's say NO to our worries and fears! To God be the glory! :)

In Every Little Thing

Wedehh.. Lama banget ga blogging ya hehehe.. Akhir2 ini gw emang super busy wuzzy sama ini-itu, tapi penyertaan Tuhan emang ga perna berhenti meski saTe gw ngadat.. -_-"   SaTe gw ngadat  bukan karena bolong2, but kosong. Tiap saTe seakan "cuma" daily activity, ga kayak dulu lagi gitu.. Haduhh.. I'm trying to boost it, tapi susah.. Anyway, meski gw'nya lagi nyandet2 gitu, His love is never fail. Semakin gw liat itu, semakin gw pingin buat love Him even more.

Banyak orang mikir'nya, kalo berkat dari Tuhan ya selalu yang gede2 and dahsyat2.. Indeed, ga selalu gitu loh.. Buanyaaakkk bangeeettt hal2 kecil and simple yang Tuhan kasi kita tiap hari.. tiap saat. Tapi kita'nya aje yang ga nyadar.. hayooo looohh.. Beberapa minggu terakhir ini, gw ngalamin hal2 yang mungkin buat orang laen itu ga berarti.. tapi buat gw itu amat sangat berarti sekali *ini kalo tau guru bahasa Indo gw, pasti ngamuk dia.. uda pake "amat", "sangat", ehh "sekali" juga.. hahaha..* Gw kasi nomer aja deh biar gampang cerita'nya.. hihihihi.. Ini cerita'nya mundur ye.. :p

1. Tiga hari lalu gw beli tiga macem wafers *snack wafers itu lohh.. hehehe..*. Itu kek sekantong gitu ada tiga rasa. Nah gw itu aimed yang rasa stroberi, but karena itu beli'nya juga buat dimakan untuk orang serumah, someone took it and gw ga kebagian! Huhuhu.. Waktu kemarin siang gw mao makan, ehh uda ga ada tuh yg stroberi.. Dalem ati bilang, "wahh kalah cepet dah, padahal gw lagi pingin tuh." Emang gw juga lupa bilang ke orang2 rumah buat sisain gw sih, jadi ya uda.. lupa'in aja lah.. hahahaha.. Eh ga disangka, malem'nya bokap gw beli itu wafer stroberi yang guede pack'nya!! hahaha.. asiikk! Kan cerita'nya gw and bokap mao visit orang sakit di hospital, naahhh dalem perjalanan itu kita beli buah buat mereka. Pas ke market itu, bokap ambil random snack yang bisa buat cemilan kita di mobil. Gw juga ga nyadar waktu dia ambil itu.. but pas gw buka snack'nya di mobil, Tuhan bilang ke gw "ini kan yang kamu pingin?" My goodness.. Gw mao nanges rasa'nya.. hahaha.. "Cuman" wafers guys! Tapi Tuhan PEDULI.. Itu merk yang dibeli juga sama persis, but in bigger size.. hehehe.. No one knows kalo gw lagi ngidam itu wafers stroberi, but God knows.. He always knows.. :)

2. Hari kamis kemaren gw kan ada presentation di kelas. Kelas gw tuh malem kan.. Nah siang hari itu, gw bantuin ade gw blanja buat keperluan dia shooting *FYI, he's majoring in film sodara-sodari.. hehehe* Gw biasa'nya berangkat dari rumah kan jam 5.30, but kamis itu gw berangkat jam 5.45.. Seriously itu cuman beda 15 minutes, tapi effect'nya astagaaaaa.. Freeway'nya muaaceeettt luar biasa.. Sampe gw pasang GPS dah. Meskipun gitu, tetep aja disana-sini macet. Arriving destination di GPS yg tadi'nya 6.28 jadi nambah2 terus, and bikin gw makin puyeng.. hahaha.. Masalah'nya gw ada presentation which means ga bole telat! Jiahh.. Gw di jalanan uda panic ding-dong.. Akhir'nya ya uda gw give up lah, mao lewat mana aja juga macet.. "Tuhan, You know ini lagi macet begini, and aku perlu sampe kelas on-time.. Meski mustahil di mata manusia, I know You will have another miracle today. Let it be done"  Ehh ternyata beneran.. He did something for me on that night. Gw loh tetep nyampe campus 15 minutes late. Halahh.. Pas gw masuk kelas, presentation uda di mulai.. Kan kalo di art classes, kita put our work up, trus talk about it and receive comments from other students. Jadi ya gitu lah.. Itu uda ada sati orang maju, and kelas lagi henng banget karena dia'nya juga uda kelar presentation--cuma nunggu comment dari kita2.. But one thing was awesome. No one notice me came in! hihihihi.. Gw ga nyadar seh.. Gw cuman masuk kelas pelan2, hoping no one hear my foot steps.. kek detective ngendap2 dah wkwkwkwk.. oh FYI, kelas gw ini pintu'nya disamping guys, jadi ya mesti'nya masi keliatan lah kalo ada orang kluar-masuk. Especially during presentation time kan hening banget tuh, jadi ya emang serem banget dah masuk'nya. Gw sampe ga brani nengok ke arah mreka.. hahaha.. Gw masuk kelas, taroh barang2 gw pelan2, and join them. Pas lagi break, beberapa temen gw heboh.. "When did you come?? I didn't see you come in!" "Hey Febe, did you come late? I didn't see you at the beginning of class." And keren'nya, ada beberapa temen ga yang emang belom pasang boards'nya di depan karena tadi wall'nya ga cukup! hahahahahaha.. Jadi gw ga consider telat lah yaa.. Emang He is always awesome dahh.. No one like Him! NO ONE!! :D

3. Another story.. Seminggu yang lalu *gw lupa tepat'nya kapan haha..*, gw kan drive to campus.. As usual, di freeway itu maciaaatt sekalii.. Jalan'nya uda kek keong semua deh.. Mao exit and lewat local, gw ga tau jalan.. Jadi ya uda, stuck in the middle of somewhere deh.. *hahaha.. lebay..*  Ya pokok'nya begitu lah.. You know kalo pas macet2 gitu, jadi bete lah ya.. Mana mao kelas juga.. Hadehh ga banget dah! Dalem ati gw bilang, "Tuhan tolongin aku ya biar sukacita'ku ga ilang cuma karena macet gini aja." Hahaha.. Somehow, mobil2 di depan gw mulai pada ke jalur yang kiri.. Gw binun, kirain ada accident ato apa gitu di lane yang gw lewat itu. Gw tetep jalan aja, and mobil2 di depan masi terus ke kiri padahal yang kiri jelas2 lebih macet. Saat itu Tuhan ngomong, "Aku akan selalu buka jalanmu seperti ini" Walaahhhh.. gw drive'nya jadi sama nanges lohh.. cengeng abis gw jadi'nya hahahaha.. My Father in heaven bener2 peduli in every little thing.

Dalam Roma 8:28 dibilang kalo

"...Allah turut bekerja dalam segala sesuatu 

untuk mendatangkan kebaikan bagi mereka yang mengasihi Dia..." 

It's so true! To be true, there is nothing about us in this life.. It's all about Him. Kalo gw bole ngalamin hal2 demikian, itu bukan karena gw yang layak buat terima kebaikan Tuhan. Tapi itu karena Tuhan yang mao demonstrate kebesaran Dia. Dia mao tunjukkin that there is nothing is too big or small in His eyes. Semua sama. Apapun yang kita minta ke Tuhan, Tuhan anggep itu serius. Kalo emang kita dapet jawaban "no", ya itu brarti apa yang kita minta ga sesuai kehendak Dia and He have something better than it. Remember, no one knows what we need. Not even ourselves. Seringkali kita merasa tau apa yang kita butuhin, tapi sebener'nya ga loh. Kita jarang bisa bedain mana yang emang kebutuhan and mana yang keinginan karena emang bedanya tipis sekaleee.. Cuma hikmat dari Tuhan aja yang bisa help us to discern what it is right in His eyes. Jangan mengharapkan Tuhan memberi kita sesuatu yang besar kalo kita juga ga perna kasi Tuhan waktu kita :) Anyways, Tuhan selalu supply our oxygen everyday tanpa limit. Jarang lah ada orang yang doa minta supply oxygen daily.. Ato bole dibilang ga ada kali ya? haha.. Ya gitu lah.. He knows better than us. Dia yang maha dahsyat dan tau segala'nya, masi mao pake kita yang kecil and ga tau apa2 ini.. It's an honor! Above all, He gave us Himself for us.. it's more than enough. Nothing is comparable :)

"Bersukacitalah senantiasa. Tetaplah berdoa. Mengucap syukurlah dalam segala hal, 

sebab itulah yang dikendaki Allah di dalam Yesus Kristus bagi kamu" - 1 Tesalonika 5: 16-18

Waktu dan Proses

Waktu adalah salah satu musuh terbesar kita, agree? Kalo buat gw seh iya.. Rasa'nya tiap hari kejar2an mulu sama waktu.. hahaha.. Dibanding sama jaman2 bahela, jaman sekarang orang2 lebih suka something instant, no wonder fast food jadi makanan favorit. Bahkan saat diproses Tuhan pun, kita mengeluh karena kelamaan.. Hayo ngakuu.. hehehe.. Padahal semua pekerjaan Tuhan itu memakan waktu.. membutuhkan proses yang kadang2 ga sebentar. Bukan karena Tuhan yang ga sanggup bikin itu short, but Dia mao kita belajar through the process.

Coba kalo kita inget2 lagi pas Israel dibawa keluar dari Mesir sama Tuhan.. Tuhan kita maha dahsyat, ada amen? Tapi napa Dia masi perlu 'berdiskusi' sama Firaun? Tuhan mampu kan bawa keluar gitu aja umatNya tanpa ba-bi-bu sama Firaun? Tapiiii.. Tuhan masi kasi kesempatan sama Firaun buat tobat, meski Tuhan tau kalo Firaun pasti mengeraskan hati'nya.. Ga percaya? Ayo2 kita buka di Keluaran 3: 19..

"Tetapi Aku tahu, bahwa raja Mesir tidak akan membawa kamu pergi, kecuali dipaksa oleh tangan yang kuat."

Tuhan tau semuanya dari sebelom kita dilahirkan, Tuhan udah tau keputusan2 apa yang akan kita buat.. Bahkan Tuhan tau apa kita akan menang dari pertandingan ini ato kaga.. Tapi Dia kasi kita kesempatan buat kita menang! Dia mao semua orang mengenal Dia karena cuma Dia satu2nya jalan keselamatan dan hidup. Ya karena Firaun milih buat kerasin hati, Tuhan bikin keras sekalian.. Beberapa kali ditulis di Alkitab kalo "..Firaun mengeraskan hatinya..." dan akhirnya ya "..Tuhan mengeraskan hatinya..". Dari sini kita juga bisa belajar supaya kita ga challenge Tuhan keterlaluan. Emang ya Tuhan kita itu penuh kasih dan pengampunan.. Tapi kalo tiap kali kita berdosa, trus kita minta ampun, and akhirnya jatoh di lubang yang sama lagi.. hmmmm.. Kudu ati2, jangan sampe Tuhan keraskan hati kita, and as consequence kita ga lagi merasa bersalah saat kita ngelakuin dosa2 kita itu. Haizz.. itu bad news kalo uda begitu.

Nah back to process matter ya.. hehehe.. Tuhan milih ngasi Mesir 10 plagues karena Dia mao demonstrate how great He is compare to Pharaoh and his magicians. Ya iya lah ga ada yang bisa bandingin Tuhan kita, tapi kebanyakan dari kita juga bakalan doubt kalo belom ngeliat ato mengalamin sendiri. Jadi disitu Tuhan kasi kesempatan Israel buat liat how big their God is.
Mereka bahkan mengalami 40 taon proses.. FOUR DAYS journey became FORTY YEARS journey! Ga maen2 tuh.. hahaha.. But why? Dijelasin di Keluaran 13:17,

"..jangan2 bangsa itu menyesal, apabila mereka menghadapi peperangan, sehingga mereka kembali ke Mesir."

Duhh.. Bahkan Tuhan masi menjaga hati Israel. Dia ga mao Israel jadi anak manja yang apa2 merengek2. Tuhan mao Israel jadi bangsa yang kuat, jadi bangsa2 laen bisa ngeliat bedanya umat yang diberkati Tuhan and kaga.

Saat Israel diperintahkan untuk nyebrangin laut Teberau, sebenernya Tuhan juga kasi proses disana. Tuhan ga belah lautnya in seconds, but He divide the sea ALL NIGHT. Selama ini gw percaya kalo pas Musa angkat tangan'nya, pas saat itu juga laut'nya kebelah.. Ternyata kaga! hahaha.. Yukk diliat dulu di Keluaran 14:21..

"Lalu Musa mengulurkan tangannya ke atas laut, dan SEMALAM-MALAMAN itu Tuhan menguakkan air laut dengan perantaraan angin timur yang keras, membuat laut itu menjadi tanah kering; maka terbelahlah air itu."

Tuhan menguakkan air laut dengan PERANTARAAN angin dan Musa. Tuhan ga mao dominasi pekerjaanNya. Bukan karena Dia ga sanggup kalo ga "dibantu", tapi Tuhan humbly enough to invite us yang ga bisa apa2 ini ikut di pekerjaanNya yang maha dahsyat.

Seringnya, manusia ini sombong.. "eh liat neh gw dipake Tuhan luar biasa, gw bisa ini-itu.." Jangan lupa guys, it's nothing about us.. It's all because of His grace kalo kita dipakaiNya. It's an honor kalo Tuhan yang maha segala2nya mao pake kita yang sering mendukakan Dia. Saat Tuhan proses kita, sebenernya itu juga suatu hal yang "nyenengin".. Ha? Diproses kan ga enak, koq bisa seneng? Yes, coba liat di Wahyu 3:19..

"Barangsiapa Ku kasihi, ia Ku tegor dan Ku hajar; sebab itu relakanlah hatimu dan bertobatlah!"

Kalo Tuhan hajar/mendidik kita, itu bukan karena Dia ga sayang and mao jatohin kita. BIG NO! Justru saat itu Dia mao kita ini ngeliat dosa2 kita and berbalik kepadaNya. Itu justru tanda sayang dari Tuhan. Sapa yang ga seneng kalo disayang Tuhan hayo? hehehe.. Semakin kita berontak, semakin sakit sendiri. Bahkan kalo Tuhan uda ga mao urusin kita lagi, itu lebih parah lagi sakit'nya.. Ga ada yang inget2in kita lagi kalo kita mulai melenceng.. >___<  Ga usa ada perasaan iri sama orang2 dunia yang idup'nya looks easier that ours. Inget guys, orang2 yang akan dipake untuk pekerjaan special, pasti akan ditraining secara special juga.. hehehehe.. So, let's do our best to finish this race! To God be the glory! :)

The Love that Never Fail

Apparently, I was so busy with school and other stuff, so my relationship with Him is loose. I feel so empty and get cranky easily.. haha.. I even get mad at my Rainbow with no reason.. Goshh, I am sorry Dear >__<  I tried to devotion, but I couldn't really focus. I tried to pray, I got nothing. I tried to play guitar n worship, it couldn't help at all. DUH.. Why? I am not sensitive enough to hear Him! Huaaaaa.. Noooo.. :''''''''(((((((   In  John 10:27 He says that 

"MY sheep LISTEN to my voice; I KNOW them, and they FOLLOW me." 

So, what kind of sheep I am?? Uh-Nooo.. However, His love is never fail. NEVER!

God loves us so much. He says it in John 3:16, and He has proven it. He gave His only Son, He reconciled with us, He blessed us even though we are not worthy for it. He loves us and nothing can change it. The thing is He hates our sins. If we compromise sins, that means we choose to disconnect from Him—we choose to create a gap between us and God. Sometimes we believe that we do good things, we serve God, etc you name it.. In fact, we do all of those things because of ourselves. Some people go for mission to certain country without asking God, but they do it because they WANT it.

We are the clay and God is the Potter, there is no way the clay tells the Potter to make it to be certain vessel. God has plan for every of us. He knows what to do in us, and still working on it. But we are the ones who always ruin His work. In Jeremiah 18: 4 states that 

“But the pot He was shaping from the clay was marred in His hands; so the Potter formed it into ANOTHER pot, shaping it AS SEEMED BEST TO HIM.” 

It means, even though we are bad, we break His heart, we don’t obey Him, we don’t want to come to Him, HIS LOVE REMAINS THE SAME. He still wants to mold us, IF we want it. If we choose to leave the wheel, it’s our choice and He will not force us to obey Him.

In 1 John 1:9 also states that 

“IF we confess our sins, He is FAITHFUL and just and will FORGIVE us our sins and PURIFY us from all unrighteousness.” 

That means He wants to be reconciled with us again, although we broke His heart. BUT, this is NOT AN EXCUSE to do the same sin. Sin is sin, and the consequence of sin is death. Our spirit will be dead if we constantly repeat the same sin. We will not be sensitive enough to Holy Spirit’s awareness, and at the end we feel like God allows us to do it. Big NO! It’s our decision to be off guard. He never ever compromise sin, we are the ones who compromise. Again, compromising with sin means walking away from God.

Our God is an awesome God. He loves us so much, so that He will never ever force us to follow Him. He will open our heart and mind, give us conviction by the Holy Spirit, but option is in our hand. Most of time, God calls us to do something that we don’t like, again—decision is in our hand to obey and see His wonderful work or stay in our box and say “You know.. I can’t do it, Lord”. Believe it, if God calls us to do something we cannot do, be rejoice. That means that we will have another skill improved! He never calls us without providing what we need. Remember He is a good God. If we—human being—know how to give, surely He more than understands how to do it. Nothing can change His love for us.

The Landmark

Recently, I am reminded with this scripture..

“Do not remove the ancient landmark 
which your fathers have set.”

-Proverbs 22:28  

The landmark mentioned on this scripture is more than a “common” landmark. This landmark means law that had established by our ancestors. Law that God gave to Israelites. As we see today, there is so many chaos that we don’t know how it start and become very complicate. There is no more respect. No more love. No more fear of God. Why? Because human being are too proud inviting God to be the leader. It’s not only in the US that gay and lesbian are allowed to get married. Free sex is not only exists in the US. It’s everywhere around the world.

This semester I am taking women in American society class. On that class we learn about women’s right. Back then, Bible was the law of a family. Men worked outside the house, and women stayed home nurturing children. Period. That’s the rule. Long short story, women wanted to have a right to vote, and they fought for it. They won the case, and they had their rights to vote. Todays, what’s going on with women? Women are equal to men. Pastor Roland mentioned at once, there is no more feminism. Women, somewhat, want to be like men, but we want to be treated like women. Oh well, it’s complicated.

What about dress? Back then, the dresses were long and had enough fabric I would say. It couldn’t be seen through, it wasn’t short like today. Year by years, dresses are getting shorter and shorter, blouses are getting tighter and tighter. And now, it’s starting to be loose, but it’s transparent.. We can’t believe this, but that’s the ugly truth. The world today doesn’t have the “landmark” that our heavenly Father set. Women don’t respect their brothers and even themselves. We believe that we know what we are doing; but in fact, we are not. We forget about the law, or even God Himself.

It’s almost Christmas, but how many people that remember about Him? People are busy preparing gifts, dinner, and vacation. Christmas is changing. It’s no more about the birth of Jesus Christ, but it’s one of holiday seasons. People have changed Christmas to xmas because they reject the fact that Jesus was born for us. That’s something that too big to understand; something that is nonsense. Too bad! Yes, Christmas is a “season” of presents. Yes, Santa Claus was a real person who gave presents for poor people. But, many people today starts to idolize Santa; many people starts to be greedy to get presents. They believe that it’s a shame if they don’t give and receive a presents in Christmas. I just read a news in CNN that 45% of American choose to skip Christmas because they don’t have enough money to buy presents. This statistic shows us that people give presents is not because they have the source to give, but it is a must tradition. 

Santa Claus, Christmas tree, and giving presents tradition in Christmas moment are not wrong things to do; but, it is not the most important. Don’t erase Christ in Christmas. Here I have a poem that we need to remember that Christmas is all about Jesus who humbly enough to leave His throne for us. He doesn’t need to save us, but He chooses to. He gave Himself for us, that is the greatest present that we can receive! What we do with it? On this Christmas month, are we celebrating Christmas for who He is? Or we remove the “landmark” and go with the world to celebrate holiday? 

***  

I had a birthday party, most everybody came..

They danced and ate and had a ball..

But no one spoke My name..

They gave each other presents, as nice as they could be..

People came from far and near,

But no one mentioned Me..

The stores were filled with shoppers,

The restaurants crowded out,

But no one seemed to really know

what the party was about..

They talked about a reindeer..

I think Rudolph was his name..

Then someone mentioned “Jesus”..

And they hung their heads in shame..

You see, it was My birthday!

They didn’t even know..

That is why from heaven My heart is grieving so..

I came to earth from heaven on that first Christmas day--

Born in a lowly manger from sin to show the way..

I died one day on Calvary, on a cruel Roman cross..

To save a world of sinners From a life of awful loss..

When you next have a party,

with presents, friends and tree,

Remember Me, your Savior..

Whose birth has set you free..

Jesus

PS: I am coming again soon.

by Donald Arey, Sr.

***

A Letter For Girls

I just found this 'letter' from Lia's blog.. and I am very blessed with it; so, I want to share it to all girls in the world.. Take your time to read it; it is worth.. To God be the glory! :)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Girls, 

There are two kinds of men: Godly men, and worldly men. 

What kind of man do you want? 

I’m betting most of you said “a Godly man.” 

Someday, you want to marry a man who loves God with every fiber of his being 

because he will be an excellent husband and father. 

He will honor and be true only to you.

Most women want a Godly man or at least think they do. 

Well, I think I have found a way to tell you exactly what kind of guy you will get. 

I don’t even have to know you! All I have to do is look at you.

The kind of guy you want or will get is advertised by the clothing you wear.

I know what men want.
Trust me, I am a guy. I know more guys than you do and I know them better.

I know what we think, what we talk about, what we want, and what we look for, 

and it is different for each one of us depending on our relationship with God.

I’m sure you already know this, but men were created differently than you. 

We have different desires and priorities. 

Our eyes and minds react very differently to some things than yours do. 

It isn’t disgusting, perverted, or wrong; it is wonderful and good!

It is how God made us. It’s how we handle these differences that separate a Godly man from a worldly man.

A worldly man doesn’t control himself, rather, he looks at anything that attractshis attention or gets him excited. A worldly guy has no problem when girls wear clothes that show off skin, like boxers, high or low-cut shirts, low-rise jeans, and “cute” little swim-suits. 

He’s a fan of tight-fitting shirts and pants that show off your form, he thinks they’re fine! 

Worldly guy watches a lot of TV and R-rated movies, isn’t really offended by sexual content or nudity and secretly dabbles in pornography. He’s a “Christian” and makes up a significant portion of your church and youth group. He’s a really nice guy and sees you mainly for your body. 

If you were to marry worldly guy, he’d bring lots of baggage into the relationship, have intimacy problems, entertain thoughts of other women, and possibly cheat on you.

A Godly man is in control of his drives and desires. 

He constantly seeks God and reads his Bible. 

He “walks in the Spirit” and isn’t set off by everything he sees. 

When immodestly-dressed girls, magazine covers, or risqué advertisements come into view, Godly guy quickly “bounces his eyes” away from the image. 

He’s constantly guarding his thoughts and what he allows into his mind.

He hates being around girls that disrespect him and his struggles by wearing inappropriate attire. 

Godly guy doesn’t watch much TV and is selective about the movies he sees. 

He views you as a person, knows you and respects you. 

He has your best interests in mind and guards against inappropriate thoughts of you. 

If you were to marry Godly guy, he would give you the emotional attention you need, 

he would ignore other women and remain faithful to you no matter what.

Unfortunately, there are more worldly men than Godly men. 

And to make matters worse, to the untrained eye, a worldly man can look a lot like a Godly man. 

So what can you do to only attract a Godly man? 

An important way of delineating between them lies in how you dress. 

As mentioned before, the clothes you wear advertise what kind of guy you are looking for. 

If you dress immodestly, you will attract worldly guys and scare away the Godly ones. 

It all comes down to the kind of man you want to spend your time around and eventually marry. 

You cannot afford to be complacent in this area of your life! 

You will pay the price someday.

This issue isn’t limited strictly to you and your future relationship. 

The way you dress directly affects other men and women and their relationships. 

You don’t see the struggles, the pain, the tears and the sin that you cause, but I can promise that you would be shocked if you did! 

Ask any Christian young man; we’ve all seen it. It’s kept hidden but it is definitely there. 

By dressing immodestly, you effectually spit on the struggles of our weaker ranks, appearing to care more about toying with us than helping us. 

You’ll never know how many broken relationships and lifestyles of sin you’ve contributed to simply by the way you dress. 

You want to marry a Godly man someday, well so do many other women.

Don’t just help yourself and your future, help all women and their relationships by showing discretion in your dress.

Of course, I understand the desire to look stylish, attractive, and “cute.” 

It’s important to fit in and get attention. Trust me, it can be done modestly!

I also understand that it is easier for some girls to find stylish and well-fitting clothes than it is for others. 

This is an area where guys really don’t understand what you are up against. 

But just remember, for every sacrifice you make to honor God with your image, Godly men are making sacrifices in their lives that are just as hard, if not harder! 

They will and do respect you so much for choosing to be modest! 

A real lady is conscientious of the image she presents, and real men want a real lady. 

And you can forget about any guys missing out on how attractive you are because you don’t wear revealing clothing. 

You could wear a circus tent and we would still know; it’s a gift we have.

And so the question still remains: 

What kind of man do you want? 

Answer me with your clothes.

Perkataan Tuhan = Jalan Tol?

Apa yang berasal dari Tuhan, pasti bakalan berjalan lancar. Is it true? Nope. Apa yang berasal dari Tuhan, bukan berarti kita ga memerlukan effor to make it happen. Kita tetep punya bagian kita untuk kita kerjakan. There's a saying, we do our best and let God do the rest. Ya kan? Kan bukan Let I do all of the things for you.. Tuhan ga mao spoil kita. Dia mao kita jadi anak2Nya yang tangguh dan berani. 

Seperti pas Tuhan memilih Daud untuk dijadikan raja bagi Israel, apa Daud langsung jadi raja? Apa tiba2 Tuhan bilang "wahai bangsa Israel, inilah rajamu yang baru *tadaaa*" Ga kan? Tapi Tuhan mempersiapkan Daud. Tuhan bawa Daud ke istana raja Saul sebagai pemain kecapi; sebagai pemuji dan penyembah Tuhan di istana. Saat Tuhan menjanjikan Israel tanah Kanaan yang berlimpah susu dan  madu'nya, apakah Tuhan langsung membawa mreka kesana? Seharus'nya iya, they need 4 days/weeks (sorry, I always miss this part), but at the end they spend 40 years turning around in desert. Itu karena Israel yang bersungut2. 

Nah tapi even udah sampe ke tanah Kanaan, apakah mreka langsung bisa bagi2 tanah sebagai pusaka mreka? Apakah mreka bisa langsung bangun rumah disana? Kaga. Mreka harus BERPERANG dulu ngelawan penduduk asli disana. Hah? "Loh Feb, kalo emang Tuhan kasi Kanaan buat Israel, napa mreka harus perang dulu usir orang2 Kanaan dan sekitarnya? Kata'nya dari Tuhan.." Nah itu point'nya. Tuhan ga mao spoil kita karena Tuhan amat sangat mengasihi kita sekali! *amat, sangat, sekali.. kata2 yang uda pasti bakalan bakalan dimarahin guru bahasa Indo gw dulu hahaha..*  Tuhan ga mao kalo apa2 langsung memberikan tanpa kita berusaha. Kalo kita baca di kitab Yosua 12, Israel mulai merebut daerah Kanaan dari merobohkan Yerikho sampai perang merebut negeri2 di sekitarnya. N semua itu atas perintah Tuhan, bukan kemauan mreka sendiri. Mreka berperang ga putus2 dan tanpa lelah. Pokok Tuhan bilang apa, mreka lakuin. Berkali2 Tuhan bilang ke bangsa Israel supaya ga takut karena bangsa2 itu udah diserahkan kepada mereka. Well, itu juga salah satu pembuktian kalo Tuhan uda memberikan sesuatu, ga ada yang bisa menahan ato mencurinya. Kalo Tuhan udah buka pintu bagi kita, ga ada 1 orang pun yang mampu menutup. How amazing He is! :)

"Bukankah telah Ku perintahkan kepadamu: 

kuatkan dan teguhkanlah hatimu? Janganlah kecut dan tawar hati,

sebab Tuhan, Allahmu, menyertai engkau, ke mana pun engkau pergi." - Yosua 1:9

"Tetapi kamu, janganlah kamu berhenti, 

kejarlah musuhmu dan hantamlah barisan belakangnya;

janganlah biarkan mereka masuk ke dalam kota-kota mereka, 

sebab Tuhan, Allahmu, menyerahkan mereka kepadamu." -Yosua 10:19

"....Tidak ada seorang pun yang berani melemparkan kata-kata ancaman terhadap orang Israel." -Yosua 10:21b

Wow! Hebat'nya Allah Israel yang dahsyat itu jugaAllah kita semua! Yayy! :D  Well, meskipun bangsa Israel uda perang bertaon2, tapi belom semua area direbut. Oh my.. Betapa luas tanah perjanjian itu.. >_<  Sayang sekali, bangsa Israel missed 1 bangsa karena Israel termakan tipu muslihat mreka. Semua bangsa takut kepada bangsa Israel karena Allah yang mreka sembah sanggup membebaskan mereka dari perbudakan di Mesir, sanggup membelah laut Teberau n sungai Yordan dll deh.. Sapa yang ga gentar coba? Nah termasuk bangsa Gibeon ini.. Saking takut'nya, bangsa Gibeon pingin menjalin persahabatan aja dengan bangsa Israel. Cari selamet lah bahasa gaul'nye.. hehehe.. Israel ga nyadar kalo uda di-bego'in sama Gibeon. Karena apa? Karena Israel ga nanya Tuhan dulu saat mreka mao menerima upeti persahabatan Gibeon. 

"Lalu orang-orang Israel mengambil bekal orang-orang itu, 

tetapi tidak meminta keputusan Tuhan." -Yosua 9:14

Akhir'nya bangsa Israel nyesel karena ternyata mreka kena tipu n ga bisa menduduki ara tersebut.. Tapi apa daya, janji adalah janji.. Dsini kita bisa belajar, how important to involve God in every decision we  make! Ga ada keputusan besar ato kecil di mata Tuhan. Buat Tuhan kita adalah segalanya; so apapun yang kita bawa ke Tuhan, Dia pasti menanggapi kita dengan serius! :)    Seringkali kita merasa sok tau.. merasa kalo hal itu terlalu kecil untuk ditanya ke Tuhan.. merasa yakin kalo keputusan yang kita bikin udah the best of bests.. Apa iya? Cuman Babeh yang tau.. Jujur, gw sendiri masi dibentuk dalam hal ini. Akhir2 ini beberapa kali gw dapet something dari Babeh yang ga relevan sama realita. Doubt? Pasti.. Gw kadang mikir, apa bener ini dari Babeh? Apa bener ini yang Dia mao? etc.. Kalo uda begitu, jalan satu2nya adalah menguji'nya.. Kalo emang itu kehendak Babeh, kita pasti bisa ngelewatin. Bukan berarti kita menjalaninya dengan bebas masalah. Nope. Tapi kita bakalan dikasi kekuatan yang melampaui akal kita. Meski kita yakin kalo kita ga mampu, but somehow kita bisa lewat.

Ini yang mao gw share.. Apapun yang berasal dari Tuhan, bukan jaminan kalo kita bakalan terima itu instant. Meski kita udah diyakinkan melalui Roh Kudus, dan orang2 percaya lain'nya (kek pastors, parents, etc), itu bukan jaminan kalo kita pasti ngelewatin dengan mulus. Nope. Saat kita percaya apa yang Tuhan katakan, pegang itu erat2 dan imani. Meskipun itu ga sama dengan realita yang ada sekarang, just believe it that someday everything will turn to what He said. Allah kita bukan pendusta. JanjiNya ya dan amen. So, kalo Tuhan berjanji sesuatu sama kita, don't doubt on it! *I talk to myself too.. lol..* Pegang teguh janji'Nya dan tetep melekat sama Dia. Sisitu, kita akan liat kemuliaan dan mujizat2Nya.. To God be the glory! :)

Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover

Kita mah uda sering bangettzz denger kata2 diatas, tapi apa bener kita ngelakuin? Kemarin gw pegi makan sama my bro di deket rumah sini. Kita udah tinggal di area ini for almost 6 years, tapiii kita belom perna makan di tempat itu.. hahahaha.. Asli padahal dueket bangettt, jalan kaki juga bisa, tapi malah ga perna didatengin. Nah itu tempat, dulu tuh biasa banget kek resto kecil yang jual pizza ala Italy gitu lah. But sekitar 2 taon lalu, mreka renovasi resto itu n jendela2 yang tadinya bening2 jadi dikasi kaca film n ditutup blind gitu. So, yang dulu'nya kita bisa liat ke dalem resto, jadi ga bisa lagi sejak renovasi. Nah kan.. Gw tau dimana letak resto itu, bahkan gw kapan direnovasi'nya, tapi gw ga perna kesana.. Why? Karena letak'nya yang ga gitu strategis, n juga kecil. Jadi'nya bikin gw ga kepikir buat kesana. Nah kemarin adek gw iseng ajakin kesana, ya udah kita mampir deh jadi'nya. Kita orang malah muter2 bingung cari pintu masuk'nya karena ga meyakinkan banget.. hahahahaha.. *untung ga roboh kek Yerikho karena diputerin.. haha* Singkat cerita, setelah kita masuk, jiahh.. Impression gw berubah. Resto yang dari luar keliatan kecil n ga strategis, ternyata di dalem didekorasi sedemikian rupa jadi kek fine resto yang mahal2, n harga'nya juga mahal ternyata! hahahaha.. n yang pasti, makanan'nya juga enak :p

Pas gw di dalem resto, gw jadi mikir.. Banyak kali kita denger n bahkan ngomong "don't judge a book by its cover", tapi kita ga sungguh2. Kita seringkali punya stereotypes yang ga bener. Dideketin orang jenggotan di bus, udah mikir kalo dia bakalan ngerampok, jadi'nya pegangin tas erat2.. Keliatan ada anak2 kampung lewat, udah kepikir kalo mreka mao baretin mobil.. Ada co pdkt, udah mikir kalo ntu co sama kek mantan2 kita (I was like that hahaha.. >_<) Padahal semua itu belom tentu! Emang bisa aja kejadian, but kan ga 100% bener? Emang belajar dari pengalaman orang laen itu baik, tapi jangan sampe diri kita jadi ga secure mao ngapa2in. Tuhan udah karunia'kan kita keselamatan, kita punya mulut untuk doa dan menyembah. Do it! n give all of our burden, worry, n doubt to God. Cuman Dia our hiding place. Cuman Dia sumber kekuatan kita. Ga ada yang bisa lindungin kita 24/7 like Jesus do. Ayo baca Mazmur 121. Itu sangat nguatin gw.. hehehe.. Well, kalopun kita pernah ngalamin hal2 yang ga enak, ask Him to heal us. I do ask Him to heal me for many things. Ga ada hal2 di dunia ini yang ga mengecewakan kita, bahkan orang2 terdekat'pun juga. Apa lagi yang mao kita pegang? Sapa lagi yang mao kita percaya? Cuman Dia yang bisa kita jadiin sandaran. Cuman Tuhan yang memandang kita melalui hati kita. Cuman Dia yang ga melihat dan menghakimi kita secara mata dunia.

Tetapi berfirmanlah Tuhan kepada Samuel: 

"Janganlah pandang parasnya atau perawakan yang tinggi, sebab Aku telah menolaknya. 

Bukan yang dilihat manusia yang dilihat Allah; 

manusia melihat apa yang di depan mata, tetapi Tuhan melihat hati." -1 Samuel 16:7

Itu saat Samuel diminta mengurapi raja yang akan dipilih Tuhan bagi Israel. Tuhan memilih Daud, meskipun dunia bilang "ga banget n ga ada kriteria sebagai raja". Seringkali kita ngerasa takut buat declare as Christian. I was like that, but I will not do it again. Tuhan ga malu mengakui gw didepan Bapa, so I will do the same. Dia juga take me seriously, so I will take Him seriously juga. No matter what people say. Mao dibilang sok suci.. sok radikal.. sok apa lah.. Monggoooo.. Babeh knows my heart :)  Cuman Bapa yang menerima kita apa adanya, dan mao membentuk kita untuk menjadi serupa gambaranNya. Yukzz, mari kita jangan judge others by looking at their appearances, but ask God to open our heart and see them through His eyes.. To God be the glory! :)

Kau Mengenal Hatiku

Hanya dekat kasihMu Bapa, jiwaku pun tent'ram

Engkau menerimaku dengan sepenuhnya

Walau dunia melihat rupa, namun Kau memandangku

Sampai kedalaman hatiku

Tuhan inilah yang ku tahu, Kau mengenal hatiku

Jauh melebihi semua, yang terdekat sekalipun

Tuhan inilah yang ku mau, Kau menjaga hatiku

Supaya kehidupan memancar senantiasa

Melekat Kepada Bapa

Gw ga percaya kalo gw libur hahaha.. Luama bangetzz ga update.. >_<  Actually, I am in summer break now, but somehow I don't have enough time to sit and update my blog.. hahaha.. Anyways, this month is my moniversary with Him. Six years ago was where my new life begin. I was baptized 6 years ago on July 30th, and kalo di Indo sebelom baptis kan selalu ada kek katekisasi gitu; "kelas" khusus yang wajib kita attend buat dig deeper about Him and Christianity. Jujur, hingga saat di "kelas" pun, gw masi belom bener2 serius akan baptisan. Gw cuman ngerti kalo gw mao baptis n jadi Kristen.. So, di "kelas" itu ya gw ngikutin'nya as requirement aja sebelom baptis.. Ga lebih.. Oh my.. -___-  Beberapa bulan setelah gw baptis, gw pindah kemari.. nah, it's when my new life begin. Sebenernya seh sejak we declare as Christians, we start a new life. Tapi somehow, gw ga brasa apa2 at the moment.. N sekarang gw tau kenapa, itu karena gw ga sungguh2.. Saat2 itu saat dimana gw masi banyak compromize this and that. Gw masi ga tau kalo Christianity is a RELATIONSHIP with Jesus. Gw pake caps in relationship karena itu penting. Christianity bukanlah agama, tapi itu hubungan kita pribadi dengan Bapa.

"Aku tidak menyebut kamu lagi hamba, 

sebab hamba tidak tahu, apa yang diperbuat oleh tuannya, 

tetapi Aku menyebut kamu sahabat, 

karena Aku telah memberitahukan kepada kamu segala sesuatu

yang telah Kudengar dari Bapa-Ku."

-Yohanes 15:15

Wow! Sapa yang ga mao hayo?? Gw mah mao buangett.. hahaha.. Bukan Juli gini, gw biasanya banyak spend time buat reflect saat2 gw masi belom jadi anak Babeh dulu.. hehehe.. Bukan untuk inget2 jaman bahela, but gw make sure kalo gw ga balik kek dulu. Gw ga mao. Well, itu bukan juga berarti gw udah suci n idup gw bebas dari hal2 ga enak. Nope! Jadi Kristen itu bukan jaminan kalo kita ga akan ngalamin pasang-surut idup. Banyak orang mikir kalo kita udah jadi anak Babeh, kita aman dari serangan macem2 aka bebas masalah. Oya? "Loh Feb.. Kan Tuhan sendiri bilang, kalo Tuhan ada disisi kita, siapa berani melawan?" Yup, bener banget. Masing2 anak Tuhan memiliki kuasa untuk melawan iblis n roh2 yang bukan berasal dari Bapa, tapi ga semua sadar akan kemampuan'nya! Iblis itu takut sama anak2 Tuhan, bahkan iblis pun ijin kepada Bapa untuk mencobai Ayub. Kalo ada yang belom tau cerita Ayub, monggo buka dulu Alkitab'nya ya.. hehehe..

Dalam Ayub 1:1 dikatakan bahwa Ayub adalah orang yang saleh, jujur, takut pada Allah, n ngejauhin kejahatan. Tapi kenapa hidupnya juga porak-poranda? Kalo mao ngomongin soal keadilan, apa itu adil buat Ayub? Kaga. Di Ayub 1:1-5 juga dijelasin gimana saleh'nya dia. Dia juga rajin mempersembahkan korban buat Tuhan. Dah pokok'nya anak kesayangan lah.. hehehe.. Tapi saat iblis dateng kepada Tuhan buat mencobai Ayub, kenapa Tuhan ijinin? Itu karena Tuhan percaya bahwa Ayub setia, n sanggup lewatin ujian itu. Kalo seumpama ada buku yang anti api aka ga bisa kebakar.. Kita2 pada penasaran dunks gimana rupa itu buku? Nah skarang gimana cara buktiin kalo buku itu anti api? Satu2nya cara untuk membuktikan ya dengan cara dibakar. Kalo emang dia tahan api, dia pasti bertahan hingga akhirnya. Dia ga akan abis dimakan api. Itu yang Tuhan buktikan kepada iblis. Di ayat'nya yang ke 8, Tuhan udah bangga memuji2 Ayub didepan iblis. Nah trus si iblis minta pembuktian dari kebanggan Bapa. Disitulah kesalehan, kejujuran, dan kesetiaan Ayub diuji. Untuk apa? Ya supaya keliatan kalo emang dia setia kepada Bapa.

Nah gimana dengan kita sendiri? Dulu gw cuman manggut2 aja kalo denger ato baca cerita tentang Ayub. Gw kagum sama Ayub yang sanggup lewatin pencobaan'nya, tapi gw lupa missed apa dibalik semua itu. Gw lupa kalo mata Babeh itu selalu ngelihat gw. Gw lupa kalo Babeh juga pingin gw deket ke Dia, seperti Ayub yang melekat sama Allah. Babeh pingin kita semua bukan cuman deket ke Dia, tapi bener2 melekat! Gw bersyukur kalo Bapa kita adalah Bapa yang baik dan selalu kasi kita kesempatan kedua. Dia ga pernah ninggalin kita sedetik'pun meski seringkali kita bikin Dia menangis dengan kelakuan, pikiran, n ucapan2 kita. Never! Kalo sekarang gw flash back, gw ga brani bayangin dimana gw sekarang kalo Tuhan ga 'jemput' gw. Gw ga brani bayangin gimana gw adepin dunia yang jahat ini. How great is our God! I have no words to describe His majesty. Seriously, gw paling ga bisa kalo disuruh jelasin gimana dahsyat'nya Babeh kita. He's just too marvelous, too great, too wonderful, too beautiful, n many more deh! Kalo ga percaya, liat deh karya2Nya.. The beauty of sunrise n sunset, the calm of ocean, the blue sky, rainbow, and look at those clouds! Everything just perfect! Halah2.. Kita ini sapa koq berani2 nantangin Dia??? Ga takut apa ya.. >_<

Yang pasti, Tuhan tuh mao kita jadi Kristen yang kuat dan tangguh, bukan Kristen bayi yang apa2 bisa'nya cuman nanges n blame God. I was like that. Dulu gw mikir kalo udah baptis, idup bakalan aman karena Tuhan jamin. Yes, Tuhan jamin, tapi bukan berarti aman dari serangan. N juga, kita sbagai anak2 Allah juga punya bagian yang harus dikerjakan. Nah, itu dia yang gw missed.

"Karena itu tunduklah kepada Allah, dan lawanlah iblis, maka ia akan lari dari padamu!"

-Yakobus 4:7

"Akulah pokok anggur dan kamulah ranting-rantingnya. 

Barangsiapa tinggal di dalam Aku dan Aku di dalam dia, ia berbuah banyak, 

sebab di luar Aku kamu tidak dapat berbuat apa-apa."

-Yohanes 15:5

"Kenakanlah seluruh perlengkapan senjata Allah, 

supaya kamu dapat bertahan melawan tipu muslihat Iblis

karena perjuangan kita bukanlah melawan darah dan daging, 

tetapi melawan pemerintah-pemerintah, 

melawan penguasa-penguasa, 

melawan penghulu-penghulu dunia yang gelap ini, 

melawan roh-roh jahat di udara.

Sebab itu ambillah seluruh perlengkapan senjata Allah, 

supaya kamu dapat mengadakan perlawanan pada hari yang jahat itu dan tetap berdiri, 

sesudah kamu menyelesaikan segala sesuatu.

Jadi berdirilah tegap, berikatpinggangkan kebenaran dan berbajuzirahkan keadilan,

kakimu berkasutkan kerelaan untuk memberitakan Injil damai sejahtera;

dalam segala keadaan pergunakanlah perisai iman, 

sebab dengan perisai itu kamu akan dapat memadamkan semua panah api dari si jahat,

dan terimalah ketopong keselamatan dan pedang Roh, 

yaitu firman Allah, dalam segala doa dan permohonan."

-Efesus 6:11-18a

See? Itu cuman sebagian dari sekian banyak ayat2 yang beberin soal ketergantungan kita sama Babeh. We are nothing without Him! Sekali lagi, jadi Kristen bukan jaminan keselamatan. Percuma ngaku Kristen kalo idup masi 50-50. Well, emang ga ada manusia sempurna, yang penting adalah pertobatan kita n kemauan kita untuk diubahkan menjadi serupa gambaranNya. Ya even gw sendiri bisa ngomong begini juga bukan karena gw udah sanggup nempel sama Babeh. Gw juga masi in process koq.. hehehe.. Maka itu, ayo kita saling menguatkan dalam Tuhan! Jangan sampe kita kemakan tipu muslihat iblis! Ga banget deh >_<   Menjelang kedatanganNya yang kedua, ayo kita berlomba2 untuk melekat pada Pokok Anggur yang benar! Bukan hanya mendekat, tapi bener2 melekat eraaatttt kek ranting n pohon.. Smangaaddd!  \(^_^)/

"Sungguh, hatinya melekat kepada-Ku, maka Aku akan meluputkannya, 

Aku akan membentenginya, sebab ia mengenal nama-Ku."

-Mazmur 91:14

God vs. Problems

Many of us say that we have big problems (including me indeed! haha..) Well, yes, it might be a big problem.. but some people.. somewhere.. they have bigger than us.. and the important thing is they still have faith in God.. 

Here is a story about a family who has three kids, and they were gone in a blink of an eye.. They were passed away in a accident.. I just can't imagine how their parents survive, especially the Mom.. It must be hard for a mother to see her child die, and Mrs. Cobel saw her three sweethearts passed away. Geezz! But they have faith in God, and God gave them joy by giving them triplets two years after the tragedy! Can't you believe it?

And this one is another story about a mother who has a baby without eyes. Yes, it is not a typo. The baby, named Christian, is blind because he doesn't have eyes. His mother was told to abort Christian, but she had faith that no one was born by accident; and she was going through. It is tough for her and her husband, but they don't give up.. :) 

Well, there is nothing bigger than our God, Jesus Christ! Do you believe it? If so, now is the time to surrender to His mighty hands.. Don't be afraid of tomorrow for everything is in His control! Never give up because Jesus loves you SO MUCH! :) 

He Will Carry You

by Scott Wesley Brown

There is no problem too big God cannot solve it

There is no mountain too tall He cannot move it

There is no storm too dark God cannot calm it

There is no sorrow too deep He cannot sooth it

Chorus:

If He carried the weight of the world upon His shoulder

I know my brother that He will carry you

If He carried the weight of the world upon His shoulder

I know my sister that He will carry you

Bridge:

He said, "Come unto Me, all who are weary..

And I will give you rest"

What's Greater

This song is one of my fav song. The lyric clearly truly represent my, what is greater than His love? Nothing! His love is everything, and no one can love us with that agape love. >_<

WHAT’S GREATER

Verse 1

What stretches from the east to west

What’s higher than the heaven’s height

What’s deeper than the oceans wide

What’s greater, what’s greater

Verse 2

What brightens up the darkest times

What softens all the wounded hearts

What covers, forgives the greatest sins

What’s greater, What’s greater

Chorus

It is Your love

It is Your mercy

New every morning, unfailing

It is Your word

It is Your presence

Unfailing are You Lord, Jesus

The Love That Changes Us

"Don't marry your lover, but marry your best friend" -Myles Munroe

Love and romance. Today, those two different things that are always interpreted at the same terms. People believe in love at the first sight. Hmm.. Really? How can you love someone you just met? What if he is a playboy? What if she is a hypocrite? Well, we do need time to know each other before we tied in a relationship. But, what the world teaches us today? "Oh don't worry, as long as you find a good guy/lady, you will be fine." "Find a beautiful/handsome person who makes you proud when you walk together." DUH! How can you say that this person is more beautiful/handsome than that person? How do you know that this good guy/lady is nicer than others? How do we love them if we don't know them? Knowing each other is not only knowing their name, address, telephone number, and date of birth. It is waaaaaayyyyyy deeper than that. There's many things we need to learn before we are committed in a relationship. Oh well, I'm off.. Let's back on the topic.. hahaha..


Personally, love is when we do anything for the goodness of our lover, and romance is when we do something in order to fulfill our desire. Love will last forever in good and bad situation, but not romance. We will not have any desire to give our spouse surprise when we face a circumstance, will you? Love is not a feeling.. and it will not come at the beginning of a relationship; yet, love comes softly :)  As written in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8..

Love is patient, love is kind. 

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, 

it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. 

But where there are prophecies, they will cease; 

where there are tongues, they will be stilled; 

where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

"But.. who has that kind of love? That such of love doesn't exist; it is just too perfect!" Yes, it is somewhat true. That kind of love doesn't exist in this world, and it is too perfect to be existed. And the only One who has it is Jesus. There is no other person who love us like Jesus does. His love is unconditional and unfailing. It doesn't matter who we are, Jesus still loves us. I can't imagine how my life runs without Him. I don't know where I ended up to. His love is just soooo amazing for me. It is indescribable!

I was an ordinary Christian girl who read Bible daily but received nothing. Haha.. I didn't know that worship and pray will make a breakthrough. I did all of those "Christian routine" because I was born and raised in a Christian family. That's it! My Dad is Christian, and my Mom was a Catholic. So, I was expected to follow them; but I just didn't know what the point was. Haha.. I was satisfied with with my spiritual life, and had no desire to go deeper. As long as I read Bible everyday, I would be fine. But after years, I realized that Christian life waaaayyyy deeper than that. I do have a almighty God who loves me so much, and He is alive! I still read Bible, worship and pray; but it never be the same like before. 

The first time I felt His presence was when I had my national final exam in my junior high school--it was equal to CASHEE in California, the United States. I was very stressful about the material; the more I studied, the more I forgot. At the night before the exam, I was studying in tears.. I just couldn't bear it. I was very exhausted. On that moment, I was listening a Christian radio  when I studied. I didn't even listened to it, I was just turned it on to make "noise" so I didn't feel alone. And then, the radio played a song "Allahku Yang Setia" that means You are my faithful God. When I heard that song, I cried so hard because He spoke to me through that song. He comforted me, and He reminded me that I was studying hard all by myself. I had never invited Him to blessed me. He said to me not to be afraid of what I faced tomorrow because He would give me a victory. On that time, I just couldn't help my tears. I only could say, "forgive me My Lord, I have been lost this days. Now I surrender all to You, I'm done with it.." Amazingly, after that short prayer I felt peaceeeee.. I was very confident facing my exam. And yes, I passed! Yay.. :p

After that very first moment with Him, He started to mold me more and more. Many things happened, until someday I wanted to be committed to be a Christian. FYI, I was born in a Christian family, but I was not baptized yet :)  Hence, I asked my Mom to get permission, and her answer was shocking me. My "proposal" was denied! hehe.. The reason was I was too young, so I might have not think it deeply; hence, I might be hard to keep my commitment. On that moment, I just obeyed her, and had nothing to say. I was not really sure that I could keep my commitment to Him. I just prayed, and told Him how I wanted to be baptized. Finally, one day, my Mom asked me, "do you want to be baptized?" I was like, "what did you say Mom? Am I dreaming?" hahaha.. I had been waited to His time for four years! But He heard my prayer! I was overjoyed back then.. hehe..

Since then, He mold me more and more. He burns me on the fire hotter and hotter. And yes, until now, He is still working on me so hard.. Haha.. Sometimes I just want to give up, but He comes and comfort me. He convinced me that He will never ever leave me; He promised that He will come where ever I am. Oh Lord.. I just can't imagine how my life will be without You.. I can't describe Him in word. He just too awesome, too great, too almighty, too much for everything! He has been waiting for me to say "yes" to His calling.. Patiently.. And He never forced me to do this and that because He loves me soo muchhh.. He will offer His plan and love to me, but it is all my choice. It will be good for me if I accept His "offer", but once again He gives the the free will to choose.


I'm speechless now.. Totally speechless.. He is my super best friend, He is my Father, He is my everything. Nothing and no one can change His place. He loves me sooo muchh, but what about me? I can't love Him the same way He loves me.. But He still loves me! He is God, the King of kings, the creator of this universe, and He loves me! Whoaaaaa.. What an honor!!!! And the good news is He is not only love me, but He loves you too! That's the Love that changed me.. That's the Love that changes us! :)   Let's share how He has been working on you! Be blessed.. Jesus loves you!