imakelar

Wake Up And Rise Up

The beginning of the year is the right time to re-evaluate our lives. Because of busyness and busy routines, many people forget and no longer have time to reflect on what they have lived throughout the past year. Life is very short, it’s a shame if we go through it without meaning.

Have we wasted all this time, or have we filled our time with useless things?”Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”

Many things need to be evaluated: ministry, work, studies, family, and our priorities. This evaluation aims to correct and improve the mistakes and deficiencies that we have done. After that we are determined to direct our eyes to the future. “… I forget what’s behind me and direct myself to what’s in front of me, and run to the goal to get the prize…”

When we look ahead there may be fear and worry because we don’t know what will happen. However, “Which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his life. Therefore, do not be anxious and say: What shall we eat, what shall we drink, what shall we wear? All this is sought by the nations who do not know God… For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

As long as we put God first and live in the truth there is nothing to be afraid of and worry about tomorrow. Believe that God’s promises are yes and amen. Do our part, then God will surely fulfill His promises. Rise up! Don’t let the time you have wasted.

The Solar Eclipse

Several ancient tribes in the South American region worshiped the sun as their god. The sun is considered the source of their life. So they were very scared when suddenly something covered the sun and everything became pitch black. They think the god is angry. But, what actually happened was a solar eclipse. So the fear is actually due to their ignorance.

Often times we also have fears that actually stem from our own ignorance. When facing problems, we often limit God with our own understanding. Like the ancient tribes who were afraid because everything became dark due to a solar eclipse, we are also afraid when everything seems to have no way out, we forget that we have a God who is the Greatest, who is able to overcome everything.

When we accept God in our life, God has guaranteed our life. So actually there is nothing we need to be afraid of anymore. As children of God, you shouldn’t be afraid of problems. When everything seems “dark” to us, direct our eyes to Him and hold on to His promise that He is the one who can solve all our problems.

“Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.“

It Was Cloudy

It was cloudy that morning. Dark clouds hung in the sky. Two young men who were getting ready to go to work, stood in the same place but had two different opinions about the weather that day.

The first young man said, “Too bad, it’s cloudy again today. The roads will definitely be muddy.” But the second young man instead said, “Thank God, because today I don’t have to experience the heat of the sun.” Often we think that happiness comes from what is happening around us. But the truth is, happiness and joy are determined by what is happening in our hearts.

If we can be grateful in all circumstances, then no matter how difficult life is, we can still rejoice. But if we keep complaining, no matter how good the situation is, all we see is the bad. The attitude of our heart will determine how we view life. This is followed by actions as well as the way we act. So, let’s start our day by giving thanks.

Whatever happens, believe that God is always with us and works in all things to bring good to us who love Him. Gratitude will open the door of blessings, but complaints will only break our spirits.

“Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His steadfast love endures forever.”

Man Plans,God Decide

A husband and wife have a longing to establish an orphanage. The noble mission that they originally wanted to achieve when her husband entered retirement, about eight years ago. However, it was unexpected that God’s intervention made the plan have to be accelerated.

He created conditions that “forced” them to immediately establish an orphanage. Eight years later, while reminiscing about the past his wife said, “Fortunately at that time we were obedient, because if we started now, the conditions would not allow it.”

We may be familiar with the expression “man plans, but God decides”. Yes, we believe there is a factor of God’s will and sovereignty, which can make our plans go faster, slower, or have to experience sudden adjustments.

This is what happened in Mary’s life, who was engaged to Joseph. She may have made plans for their family’s future, but suddenly God came and spoke through His angel. Humanly speaking, Mary’s plan can be said to be a mess, but Mary understands her position as a servant of God who must surrender to God’s will and plan.

What about our current situation? Is our condition like Mary who has to adapt quickly, because God intervened in our lives to do something? Let’s learn to respond like Mary, because we are His servants. Let it be through our obedience and willingness, God can reveal His glory.

Hellen Keller And Anne Sullivan

Hellen Keller was recorded in world history as a blind person who managed to graduate from college and with all her limitations she became a blessing to many people.

However, behind all the extraordinary things Hellen did, there was one character who played a very important role in her life, namely Anne Sullivan. Anne is Hellen’s private teacher. Most of her life was dedicated to teach Hellen.

When Hellen was little, Anne had to discipline Hellen very hard so she could eat with a spoon. At first, Hellen’s parents objected to Anne’s way of teaching, which they thought was too disciplined. However, after Anne convinced Hellen’s parents that what she was doing was something that would be useful for this child in the future, they let her carry out a strict upbringing for their baby. And it turns out that Anne’s actions have produced changes.

If only Anne had followed the advice of Hellen’s parents, then the world would never have been blessed by a Hellen Keller. Likewise with the Father in heaven. Because He is a good Father, that’s why He disciplines us. Being educated and chastised by God is not fun. But, that is proof of God’s great love for us.

We should be grateful and accept His upbringing because God’s chastisement is a chastisement based on love, not hatred. “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

The Power Of Words

Many people underestimate the power of a word so many careless words come out of their mouths. “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” If we use our mouths to say positive things and declare what we believe in, our lives will surely change according to what we say.

Let “…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable,if anything is excellent or praiseworthy,think about such things.” Always fills the treasury of our hearts, so that whatever goes out from our mouths are things that brings peace and harmony. For what the mouth speaks overflows from the heart.

We must understand that our words will lead us to the right path or also lead us to the wrong path. Life and death are determined by the tongue, so people who always say bad words surely will receive the consequences for their words and that is a choice. So we should choose our words wisely. Human speech is like a vessel filled with good or bad things. The wise words will stay with us and will change our lives. The words we chose can build someone’s confidence or destroy their faith. Sharp and unpleasant words can hurt others. But words that are kind and loving will make others happy, restored, strengthened, and led to victory. That is why, it’s very important what we choose to say.

How we organize our words will determine our future. Will we build an environment of happiness or will we ruin everything with our words. Our words contain the power and blessings of Lord, for that we must really pay attention to our words. Likewise in rebuking others, we must also be careful and not carelessly, especially with hurtful words, because “Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is the rebuke of a wise judge to a listening ear“,good and loving words come from God, because His words never damage someone’s life.

Jealousy: The Source Of Conflict

“For I am afraid that when I come I won’t like what I find, and you won’t like my response. I am afraid that I will find quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorderly behavior.”

If we pay attention to the current state of the world there is a lot of chaos, conflict, hostility and disputes. Many factors cause the things mentioned above to happen, one of the causes is jealousy. Jealousy is often the cause of tearing the harmony and unity of a community.

Because of jealousy, brothers can become enemies. Cain had the heart to kill his own brother (Abel) because of jealousy, where Abel’s offering was accepted by God, while his offering was not. Because other people are more successful at their jobs, someone becomes hot-tempered so he designs a crime to destroy it. People who work diligently in an office are branded as people sycophants to their leaders.

There’s verse says “For where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is confusion and all kinds of evil deeds.” That is the reality that is happening and is hitting human life. It is not proper for God’s people to be jealous of each other because that will only bring all kinds of evil deeds. Who would cheer for joy if humans were jealous of each other. Surely the devil.

We must realize that from any angle, envy does not bring good, on the contrary, it will only damage and destroy ourselves, as well as others. Are we still jealous?

Are You The One God’s Looking For?

Day after day, if we look at the news broadcast in various media, the world’s condition is becoming more and more uncertain. Natural disasters never stop whacking, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, and many others. It doesn’t stop there, people seem to be easily provoked by the political and economic situation as a result of the pandemic.

Many people out there are looking for hope, they ask if the world will be better. But no one human can answer. Do we want to answer their questions? Right now God is looking for someone who wants to defend this land before Him, just as He revealed to Ezekiel, ““I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one. If in the time of Ezekiel God did not find, even though He was only looking for “one”, then today let’s give ourselves so that God will not only find one person, but a generation that will want to defend this nation before God so that this nation is saved.

Let’s stop for a moment from focusing on ourselves, and allow God to put the burden of this world in our hearts. Let’s pray for the restoration of our city and nation. Let’s release the words of peace upon this nation. Let’s cry out and humble ourselves before God, asking for forgiveness for the sins of this country, as Nehemiah did when he heard about the state of his country that was in ruins.

God is looking for “someone” who wants to defend this country before Him. Are you the one?

The Love Bug

A computer virus called “The Love Bug” (Love Virus) once spread around the world via e-mail, infecting millions of computers in less than 24 hours. It seems that even the most discerning people like reputable software assemblers are unable to resist the temptation to open the message entitled “I Love You”.

Some analysts say that the success of this devastating computer virus, while exposing the fragility of the machines in our cyber world, also reveals how deep the human heart longs. Deep inside the human heart, every person on this planet earth is looking for love. It is no coincidence that one of the most famous verses in the Bible. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” Could it be that the love we long for most is God’s love? When God says, “I love you,” that’s the message we’ve been looking for. That message can change our lives.

Blessed Are Those Who Cares For The Weak.

“Blessed is he who cares for the weak! The Lord will deliver him in his time of trouble.”

Who are the good people?. There are many opinions about good people. Solomon says, “A kind person will be blessed, because he shares his sustenance with the poor.” A good person is someone who wants to help others who are lacking or weaker than him even though at that time he may be lacking, but in his weakness he still wants to help and care for people who are weaker than himself. That’s a good person, and God will not turn a blind eye to whatever he does. He will bless him abundantly according to the promise of His word.

“Whoever has compassion on a weak person, lends a loan to the LORD, who will repay him for what he has done.” So if we help or have mercy on people who are weak or lacking, the one who owesh us is not the person we help but God, and He will surely return or repay us in abundance. It is not in vain to care for the weak and needy because God promises to bless anyone who likes to help others.

“The LORD will protect him and preserve his life, so that he is called happy on earth; You will not let his enemies make fun of him!”. God will save and protect us and He will not allow us to be toyed with by the enemy. Also “the LORD helped him in his bed when he was sick; in his bed You restored him completely from his illness.” God will heal us from sickness.

Therefore, let’s practice this service of love in our daily lives. Even though we are weak we still want to help people who are weaker than us. If at this time we have been abundantly blessed by God, it is a gift from God that must be grateful for and is an opportunity for us to be a blessing to others.