Uncategorized – Page 11 – 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐫

The Little Girl Prayer

Once upon a time, there was a rich little girl who was used to being served. The little girl had a fear. She was always afraid to go up the dark stairs alone. The little girl’s mother also suggested that her daughter overcome her fear by asking God to accompany her up the stairs. The little girl did what her mother suggested. She prayed for God to accompany him up the stairs. When she reached the end of the stairs, she said, “Thank you, God. Now you may go.”

Many people pray only in times of crisis. They tend to think of God as an “emergency solution,” problem solver. So when a problem is solved with compassion, He is given a respectful thanksgiving, then slowly forgotten until the next crisis comes. Expect great things from God, but don’t expect Him to obey our commands. Instead, be prepared to accept His commandments and fulfill His will with zeal.

Like the rich little girl earlier, ask God to accompany us through the dark alleys of life. However, even though our needs have been met, keep holding on to Him because our lives depend solely on Him.

Tone Effect

Researchers at Kenyon College teamed up with the US Navy to conduct an experiment. The aim of the experiment was to find out how the tone of voice affects sailors when they are given orders.

The study revealed that the way a person is reprimanded greatly determines the response he will give. For example, if someone is rebuked in a soft voice, he will respond in a similar way. But when he was shouted at, that person would reply in an equally sharp tone. This also applies to communications made in person, over the intercom, or by telephone.

This study is reminiscent of Proverbs 15:1 which states, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Our words and the way they are expressed not only make a difference to the reaction we will receive, they also determine whether they will lead to peace or conflict.

By practicing the truth of the above verse, we can avoid disagreements and cool tense situations. In the future, if someone speaks to us in an angry or harsh tone, reverse that tendency by expressing tenderness, calmness, and loving care. And behold, how a gentle answer can make a difference in our relationship.

overcome Evil With Good

A few days after arriving on the Texas A&M University campus in 1984, Bruce Goodrich was awakened at two in the morning. His seniors woke him from bed to prank him through the Barisan Cadet program, a military-style orientation program.

Bruce was forced to exercise and run several kilometers in the hot and humid weather. When he finally lost his strength and fell, he was forced to get up to continue running. But he fell again, fell into a coma, and died that same day. The students who forced Bruce to do the exercises have been brought to court on charges of causing his death.

Bruce’s father sent a letter to the university administration, faculty, and student body. Although regretting what happened to Bruce, the father wrote, “I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude from my family for the great care and sympathy that has been given by Texas A&M University and the entire academic community for the death of their child. we’re Bruce. We don’t harbor feelings of hurt. We know God is never wrong. Now Bruce has arrived safely in his eternal home.

When the question arises, ‘Why did this happen? the answer may be, ‘So many people will consider where they are going spend time in eternity.'” His belief in God’s sovereignty can turn anger into compassion, and hatred into concern. “Do not be defeated by evil, but overcome evil with good!”

The Purpose Of Suffering

Suffering can lead us to a deeper and fuller life if we accept it with patience and humility. Suffering is not a barrier to our spiritual growth. On the other hand, suffering can be a path of spiritual growth. If we allow suffering to train us, then we can draw closer to God and His word.

God lovingly molded us, and slowly gave us the courage, compassion, fullness, and serenity we longed for and prayed for. Without suffering, God cannot accomplish all that He wants to do in and through us. By His grace, we can endure to patiently carry out His commands.

He can turn trials into blessings and use them to bring us into His heart and word. He too can give us lessons for us to learn, and give us His peace in the midst of our troubles. “Brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials”

No Happiness?

Everyone longs to have a happy life. Remember, Happiness is actually not a condition that is determined by the situation around us, but is the result of a decision we make. This relates to the attitude of the heart in responding to every situation that occurs and we experience.

Many people think: “If I had a beautiful wife or handsome husband, my life would be happy; if I had a nice car and had a luxurious house in an elite area, my life would be happy.” The fact that it does not guarantee people will be happy in life.

No matter how hard the situation we are in or how bad the situation is, we will still be happy as long as we live in God’s way or follow all the paths that God commands (verse nas). Living in God’s way or following God’s way means living in the truth.

“Blessed are those who do not walk in the counsel of the wicked, who do not stand in the way of sinners, and who do not sit in the crowd of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on the law day and night.”

Doesn’t God promise that He will always be with us, defend us, strengthen us, reveal His miracles, and do great things in the lives of the righteous. Therefore we must hold fast to this promise of God by living in obedience. We lose happiness when we hear too much of the human voice, the world’s voice, which is often debilitating.

On the other hand, if we always incline our ears to hear God’s voice (His word), it will make us strong and rejoice in all circumstances. We will also lose happiness if we live in sin, because sin produces fear and makes us lose peace and joy. Our lives will be happy if we live in God’s way.

Grateful In Every Situations

It’s easy to be grateful when we’re in good shape, but what if things turn around 180 degrees: distress, trouble, trouble, suffering, crisis, illness, failure, bankruptcy experienced, can we still give thanks to God?

Or maybe we will act like Job’s wife , who when afflicted with problems and sufferings, urged her husband to deny God: “Do you still persevere in your piety Curse your God and die!”

In living this life, the journey we take is not always smooth and calm, sometimes the ship of our life has to experience the blows of waves, hurricanes, even the brunt of big and fierce waves.

The world’s people also realize that life is like a spinning wheel: sometimes up, sometimes down, there are joys and there are sorrows. Job said to his wife, “Are we willing to receive the good from God, but not accept the bad?”

Often we demand God to do what we want, so that when something happens that is not what we want we are immediately angry and disappointed with God. When in heavy struggles our faith often falters, then we start to take our own path that we think is right, even though it is not necessarily true and in accordance with God’s will.

Job learned to keep positive thinking, “Naked I came out of my mother’s womb, naked also I will return to it. The Lord who gave, the Lord who took, praise the name of the Lord!” Learn to be grateful in all circumstances.

If right now we are going through bad things, stop complaining and nagging. Never open an opening for evil to rob us of our peace. Believe that even in a bad situation God is able to turn for good for us:

“I will make rivers spring up on bare hills, and make springs of water boast in the midst of the plains; I will make the desert into ponds. and emits water from dry land.” God always has a plan in every situation, so stay grateful.

The Death Penalty

In 1983, Karla Tucker brutally murdered two people. She killed them both with an ax while she was carrying out a robbery. However, in prison he confessed his sins to God and became a passionate believer.

Many people hope this change will convince lawyers to reduce his sentence to life in prison. However, the court rejected all applications. The woman remained on death row in 1998, 14 years after her death sentence was handed down.

Even though we have received God’s forgiveness, we still have to face the consequences of our sin. If we lie, mistreat someone, act irresponsibly, damage other people’s property, or violate local laws, we must still make every effort to make amends for all the wrongs we have done.

It is really nice to know that we are forgiven when we confess our sins to God. However, that does not mean we are free from all the consequences of sin. That’s why confessing sin is a good thing, but saying “no” to sin is even better.

“I will confess to the LORD my transgressions,’ and you forgive me the guilt of my sins.”

Rebuke

“He who neglects discipline throws himself away, but he who listens to rebuke gains wisdom.”

Any parent does not want their children to be naughty children, fail in studies, wrong in relationships, and experience suffering in the future. All parents would expect their children to be successful in all the fields they are engaged in and become very proud children.

Therefore parents try to give the best for their children, even they are willing to do and sacrifice anything for the sake of the child. Even so, parents sometimes have to be strict with their children: advising, educating, warning, reprimanding, and if necessary, beating, for the good of the child.

God does the same with His children. In addition to pouring out His love, His mercy, His care, His goodness, His inclusion, and His help, He will also give rebuke, advice, and chastisement to His children when they commit transgressions or live deviant lives. of His will.

The purpose of God’s rebuke and chastisement is so that we become deterrent and no longer repeat mistakes, so that we can grow in the right direction according to His will. Reprimands, beatings, or chastisement from God against His children can be in the form of problems, illnesses, difficulties, or distress.

But there are so many people who respond to God’s rebuke and chastisement with the wrong heart attitude: hurt, angry, offended, disappointed, blaming circumstances, blaming others, and even daring to blame God.

When David committed a grave sin before God, namely adultery with Bathsheba, God used Nathan to rebuke and warn. David’s response, “I have sinned against the LORD.” He asked God for forgiveness and repented.

When we receive a rebuke and chastisement from God, do not be disappointed and angry. Instead, be grateful because it means that God treats us as children, because there is no child who has never been beaten by good father.

Our Good Father

There was a 5 year old girl who really liked to play, she could never stay still, always going back and forth to play with whatever she saw. One day, She came to play at her uncle’s house with her father and mother.

When her parents were talking to her uncle, she found something new that piqued her curiosity, namely a fan at the end of the room. The girl doesn’t have a fan in her house, so the fan is something new and interesting for her. She got closer to the fan and was about to put his hand into the fan that was spinning fast.

Her father who saw this was very shocked, he immediately ran to his daughter and blocked her hand from the fan. The father then scolded his daughter and forbade her to play with the fan. Because of what his father did, the daughter looked into her father’s eyes with anger. She ended up crying so hard she shouted, “Bad father!”

The daughter represents us, the fan represents something that can destroy us, and the father represents God. We are often attracted by something that can actually destroy us. Of course if we “touch” something that can destroy us, not good things will happen, but bad things.

Often God immediately runs and blocks us from such a bad thing.God does that to protect us and because He loves us. However, we like to be unaware of the protection God has given us. When God protects us from things that can destroy us, we get angry with Him. We say God is evil because He doesn’t give us what we want.

Our thoughts and God’s thoughts are very different, like the difference between the earth and the sky. Like the child who does not understand the danger of the fan and the father who understands the danger of the fan, such is the difference between our understanding and God’s understanding.

If God is holding you back from something today (maybe it’s a job you want, maybe it’s a relationship you want, or maybe it’s an item you want), don’t be angry with Him. God stops you not just for fun, but because He knows what’s best for you. He is protecting you from bad things that can destroy you in the future.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not My ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts.”

Speak With Love

A boy and his stepfather have difficulty communicating with each other. The father is a friendly person, while the son is quiet. The father likes fishing, while the son likes to read. In order to be closer to him, his father took him fishing. The son didn’t really like the invitation, but he didn’t know how to tell his father directly. So he wrote on a piece of paper that he wanted to go home. After looking at it for a while, the father pocketed the paper.

The fishing event continued for the next four days. When they finally got home, the son expressed his despair to his mother and said that his stepfather didn’t care about his writing. But the mother said to him, “Son, your father can’t read.”Unfortunately, the father never revealed this to the child.

Good communication occurs not only when we know what we want to say, but also when we know the person we are talking to. To get to know each other, we must be willing if others know our weaknesses and shortcomings. “Therefore throw away lies and speak the truth one to another, for we are members of one another.” Be kind to one another, loving and forgiving one another. Come on, open your ears to understand, then speak with love.