self-help – Page 9 – 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐫

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.

Healthy Mind,Body And Soul

Many people choose organic food to live healthy these days. Actually, no one wants to eat food sprayed with pesticides or meat from animals that have been injected with steroids or contain preservatives. Why? Because researchers have already established the fact that these materials can contaminate our bodies and make us sick. When we eat bad food, and don’t take good care of our body, our body cannot function optimally as God has designed it.

The same principle applies to our hearts. When we guard our hearts so that we don’t consume what this world has to offer, we keep our hearts pure so that our hearts are not polluted by the evil things that exist in this world. When we direct our hearts to God’s words and worship God with all our heart, mind, and strength, then God will continue to purify our hearts so that our hearts are healthy.

In this way our hearts are able to function optimally,so that from our hearts flows streams of living water which can be a blessing to many people as God has designed.

Feed your mind,body and spirit with healthy and nutritious food.

The Road To Succes

A young boy talking to his teacher. He asked, “Teacher, can you show me where the road to success is?” “Uhm…,” the teacher was silent for a moment. Without saying a word, the teacher pointed in the direction of a street. The young man immediately ran down the path indicated by the teacher. He did not want to waste any more time to achieve success. After a few moments he suddenly shouted, “Ha! This is a dead end!” True, in front of him stood a large wall blocking the road. He froze in confusion, “Maybe I misunderstood the teacher’s meaning.”

Returning, the young man turned to meet the teacher to ask once again, “Master, which way to success?” The teacher kept pointing in the same direction. The young man was walking in that direction again. But what he encountered was still a covering wall. He thought this must be a joke. And the young man also felt played. Emotional and full of anger he met the teacher, ′′ Teacher, I have followed your instructions. But what I encountered was a dead end.

The teacher finally spoke, ′′ That’s where the road to success is. Just a few steps behind the wall. Sometimes we have to go through thorns, sharp pebbles, steep and bumpy roads, walls that block the way, and various obstacles that are ready to welcome us on our way to success. How often do we fail to achieve a goal because we stay focused on only seeing an obstacle and don’t dare to overcome it?”

Problems that arise in life, we consider as a very solid wall and impossible for us to overcome. Always ask for God’s wisdom so that we can overcome every obstacles that confronts us in achieving our success with Him in thanksgiving. Because in thanksgivings to Him, there is a new power that gives us joy and peace to face the obstacles in front of us.

“All things I can bear in Him who gives strength to me.”

Hope,Joy,Peace And Faith

“May God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace in your faith…“

Hope is a term that describes a life that is completely dependent on God who will give the best. Hope about life that is accompanied by God in this world and to eternal life. God is called the source of hope because only God is able to give the best for us and for those who believe.

Joy and peace in faith are the starting point and the center of hope for believer. When the joy is gone, the hope is gone too; when hope is lost, joy is lost; so also with peace, bringing to hope and determined by hope itself. Abounding in hope means greater hope from time to time in God.