The narrow door of salvation (Lk 13:22-30)

Lk 13:24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.
25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’

To a person’s question whether there will be few who are saved, Jesus answered make every effort to enter through the narrow door.

When the door fo salvation is shut, it will never open again. At that time, many people will knock on the door saying they ate and drank with the Lord and the Lord taught them.

However, Jesus would kick them out and say ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’ (26-27)

How many church activities that we’ve done is not the condition of salvation. In order to receive salvation, we need to enter through the narrow door. We need to have faith that requires obedience.

In this era, the precious grace that Jesus fulfilled with his blood is becoming a cheap grace. In this kinds of generation, we need to go through the narrow door and follow the path of Jesus.

Shalom and God bless!

Do not worry! (Lk 12:22-31)

Lk 12:22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.

Worrying is worthless. Nevertheless, we waste most of our life worrying.

And our worries are mainly about our life, such as what to eat, what to wear, and where to live.

If the poor looks at what we worry, they will think that what we worry are extravagance.

If we determined to live simply with faith, our worries will be reduced up to 10% or more.

Believe in God’s provision and protection. Do not regret that you have wasted your life by worrying at the end of your life.

Seek God’s kingdom which is the only eternal value. God who cannot lie will add all these things to us just as he promised.

Shalom & God bless!

Open the treasures with great joy!

Mt 2:10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.

Several wise men from the east saw a star that suddenly appeared in the sky and came to Jerusalem by the guiding star.

Since the wise men were looking for a child who is to be the king of the Jews, the whole Jerusalem including King Herod was shocked.

The wise men who received the command to go to the Bethlehem saw the star stopped over the place where the Jesus was.

It was an indescribable joy for them who came very long way to see Jesus. As much as they rejoiced, they freely opened their treasure that they prepared.

I want to pray and think about what kinds of treasure that I can give to Jesus who is my Savior and all my joy in 2018.
Shalom & God bless!

Good news of great joy

Luke 2:10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

To the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks at night, an angel appeared and told them about the news of the birth of Savior. That was good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

That was a new hope for the people who were in despair, pain and fear. To the people who were under darkness politically, religiously and socially for 400 years, a new light was shone.

That was Jesus Christ who came as a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. That was a sign.

The ultimate solution of life is not authority or material abundance but the baby Jesus wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. He is the answer of all worldly problems.

I hope that we can look upon the baby Jesus lying in a manger and find and apply the answer of life on this Christmas.

Shalom & God bless!

Merry Christmas!!

You who are highly favored

Luke 1:28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Today’s verses are about the scene where angel Gabriel came and talked to Mary who pledged to be married to a man named Joseph.(1:26-27)

Jesus is God, but had to be born as a weak human being for the salvation of humanity.

He shouldn’t have the blood of sinners, he must be conceived by the Holy Spirit. And he had to be born from a woman in order to become a human.

God chose a holy woman to conceive holy baby Jesus. God chose a woman who obeys God’s will. (Lk 1:38) He chose a woman of patience who can endure the suffering of Jesus’ cross together. (Lk 2:35)

The chosen Mary was used preciously by God as a tool of life to conceive Jesus.

We also need to have the same character like Mary so that we can be the tools of life to preach Jesus who has come as a Savior.

Shalom and God bless!

Be on your guard against all kinds of greed!

Luke 12:15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

One person was trying to have all parent’s inheritance, so his brother came and asked Jesus to tell his brother to share the inheritance with him. So Jesus mentioned a fundamental issue of life.

Jesus said “your life won’t be abundant just because you have a lot of money. So first you need to be on guard against all your greed.”

We need to work hard to fill all the physical needs. And we need to work hard to help others. And we need to work hard for the glory of the Lord.

However, at the same time, we shouldn’t forget that our true satisfaction is in Jesus. If we have greed in order to have safety from the materialistic things, we need to be on a active guard to it.

Shalom and God Bless!

Mana Keinginan Saya dan Mana Kehendak Allah?

Seringkali di dalam kehidupan seorang Kristen susah membedakan mana yang merupakan keinginan pribadi dan mana yang adalah kehendak Tuhan. Saya percaya bahwa ketika kita berdoa kita mau mendoakan yang terbaik dan yang sesuai kehendak Tuhan. Namun, terkadang apa yang merupakan keinginan kita tersebut seringkali berbeda dengan faktanya. Hal ini diakibatkan oleh karena kurangnya pengetahuan kita tentang apa yang sesungguhnya kehendak Tuhan. Bagaimana menentukan bahwa hal yang saya doakan sesuai dengan kehendak Tuhan.

Melalui renungan ini saya mau berbagi kepada saudara/i tentang bagaimana menentukan hal yang kita doakan merupakan kehendak Allah atau tidak. Menurut hamba Tuhan Pdt. Sangik Choi (Gembala Gereja One Vision Bandung) dalam suatu pertemuan belajar alkitab di rumahnya menjelaskan ada tiga poin penting yang perlu diperhatikan untuk menentukan apakah yang kita doakan sesuai kehendak Tuhan atau tidak.

Poin yang pertama; Apakah berguna bagiku?

1 Korintus 6:12 “Segala sesuatu halal bagiku, tetapi bukan semuanya berguna. Segala sesuatu halal bagiku, tetapi aku tidak membiarkan diriku diperhamba oleh sesuatu apa pun.”

Melalui ayat firman ini menjelaskan bahwa apa yang kita minta adalah merupakan apa yang perlu dan berguna bagi kita. Artinya apakah semua yang kita minta berguna atau tidak? Tentu tidak semua yang kita minta benar-benar berguna bagi kita. Namun, kita harus belajar untuk menentukan prioritas.

Poin Kedua; Apakah berguna bagi orang lain?

1 Korintus 10:33 “Sama seperti aku juga berusaha menyenangkan hati semua orang dalam segala hal, bukan untuk kepentingan diriku, tetapi untuk kepentingan orang banyak, supaya mereka beroleh selamat.”

Melalui ayat firman ini, kita bisa belajar bagaimana menentukan apa yang merupakan kehendak Allah dalam keinginan kita. Kita harus menyelidiki apakah yang kita minta berguna untuk orang lain atau hanya untuk kepentingan sendiri? Jika hal itu hanya untuk memuaskan keinginan kita sendiri maka kita harus sadar bahwa hal itu bukanlah kehendak Allah. Paulus menjelaskan melalui firman ini bahwa kehendak Allah adalah selalu memikirkan apa yang berguna bagi orang lain.

Poin ketiga; Apakah menjadi kemuliaan Allah?

1 Korintus 10:31 “…Jika engkau makan atau jika engkau minum, atau jika engkau melakukan sesuatu yang lain, lakukanlah semuanya itu untuk kemuliaan Allah.”

Melalui ayat ini jelas Paulus mengajak kita bahwa apapun yang kita minta dan kita lakukan maka sebaiknya lakukanlah itu untuk kemuliaan Allah.

Kesimpulannya adalah ketika kita berdoa dan meminta sesuatu hal untuk kebutuhan pribadi kepada Tuhan kita harus menyelidiki tiga poin ini. Yang paling utama dari yang ketiganya adalah utamakan tentang kemuliaan Allah. Saya berharap supaya kita boleh meminta kepada Tuhan apa yang berguna bagi kita, berguna bagi orang lain dan terlebih untuk memuliakan nama Allah.

Shalom dan Tuhan Yesus Memberkati!

Who Would You Fear?

Luke 12:4 “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear; fear Him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes I tell you, fear Him.

In the perspective of martyrs, Jesus and His disciples are friends. Jesus told His disciples who would soon be martyred not to be afraid of the worldly authorities who can only kill physical bodies but to afraid of God who can send people to hell.

God remembers even a bird that is sold in a cheap price. We are not only more precious than birds but also God knows in detail about us even to the point he counts our hair. (12:6-7)

Therefore, we should be afraid of God who is in control of not only our physical life but also eternal life and entrust our life to Him.

Shalom and God bless you!

Tidak Hanya Menjadi Pemikir tetapi Juga Menjadi Pelakunya

Bahan Renungan: Filipi 4:1-9

Jadi akhirnya, saudara-saudara, semua yang benar, semua yang mulia, semua yang adil, semua yang suci, semua yang manis, semua yang sedap didengar, semua yang disebut kebajikan dan patut dipuji, pikirkanlah semuanya itu. Dan apa yang telah kamu pelajari dan apa yang telah kamu terima, dan apa yang telah kamu dengar dan apa yang telah kamu lihat padaku, lakukanlah itu. Maka Allah sumber damai sejahtera akan menyertai kamu. Fil. 4:8-9″

Kehidupan orang Kristen yang sejati adalah selalu disertai oleh Allah. Sebagai orang Kristen percaya bahwa jaminan keselamatan hanya ada di dalam Allah. Namun, hal ini tidak berarti bahwa semua orang kristen selalu disertai oleh Allah baik ia berbuat jahat maupun berbuat baik. Paulus menekan kepada Jemaat di Filipi pada saat itu di dalam Filipi 4:8-9 bahwa sebagai orang yang percaya kepada Kristus Yesus pikirannya harus berubah. Mereka harus memikirkan semua yang benar, semua yang mulia, semua yang adil, semua yang suci, semua yang manis di dengar, semua yang disebut kebajikan dan patut dipuji. Hal ini adalah suatu perubahan pertumbuhan pikiran sebagai Jemaat yang mengabdikan diri kepada Yesus Kristus. Namun demikian, Paulus menekankan di ayat yang ke-9 bahwa tidak hanya sekedar memikirkan melaikan apa yang telah kamu dengar, dan apa yang telah kamu lihat, lakukanlah itu. Hal ini dimaksudkannya bahwa memang memikirkan hal yang baik adalah penting namun sangatlah penting setelah memikirkannya langsung diaplikasikan.

Banyak orang kristen hanya menjadi pemikir saja namun tidak mau menjadi pelaku utamanya. Di Gereja saya banyak hamba Tuhan yang setiap hari minggunya membagikan firman Tuhan dengan berapi-api semangatnya. Namun sangat disayangkan sikapnya tidak sesuai dengan apa yang dibagikannya. Seakan-akan Firman Tuhan itu hanya berlaku kepada jemaatnya. Namun, di sini kita bisa belajar bahwa ada dua poin penting yang harus dilakukan supaya Damai sejahtera Allah menyertai kita. Yang pertama adalah Memikirkan; dan yang Kedua adalah “Melakukan”. Kedua hal ini tidak bisa dipisahkan sebab apa yang kita pikirkan itulah yang akan muncul dalam tindakannya. Saya berharap semoga kita tetap disertai oleh damai sejahtera Allah.

Tuhan Yesus Memberkati!

Lirik Lagu Lord I Need You

Lord, I come, I confess
Bowing here I find my rest
Without You I fall apart
You’re the One that guides my heart

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

Where sin runs deep Your grace is more
Where grace is found is where You are
Where You are, Lord, I am free
Holiness is Christ in me

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

So teach my song to rise to You
When temptation comes my way
When I cannot stand I’ll fall on You
Jesus,…