Category Archives: Uncategorized

Want To Be Participant Or Just A Spectator?

“Don’t you know that in the arena all the competitors run, but only one person gets the prize. So run in such a way that you get it”

Our life in this world is described as a running competition arena. There is also the distance that we have to travel is quite far with a variety of terrain. Sometimes the road we take is flat, uphill through hills, and sometimes we have to go down a steep valley.

In this game God invites all mankind to be participants, but not everyone responds to the invitation. In fact, most people ignore it with various excuses or reasons: busy, tired, I’m old let alone young people, later when I’m rich, and so on.

There is a verse that says, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” Indeed, for those of us who respond to God’s call, we must also be aware of all the risks: there are many trials, challenges, and obstacles. As a result, there were some participants who ended up stopping in the middle of the road because they felt they could not continue the race, some continued to carry heavy loads so that they could no longer run. While the other participants were able to run and keep running until they reached the finish line and became winners.

And only those who compete according to the rules of the competition and manage to reach the finish line are entitled to a medal or prize, as it is written: “An athlete can only get a crown as a champion, if he competes according to the rules of the sport.” God calls us to be participants in the competition, not just spectators, because there is an essential difference between a participant and a spectator.

Generally, a spectator will be easier to comment and criticize because he is only watching, not competing. Spectators rarely get injured or drenched in sweat, or gasp with exhaustion because they’re just sitting around watching. It is natural that even the best spectator is not entitled to any medal or prize in the competition.

Those who are entitled to get medals or prizes are participants who have worked hard and won the competition. Becoming a competitor requires a price to be paid. Are we ready?

“Son, Your Axe Is Dull.”

A young man was chopping wood with an axe. From morning until noon he continued to work. There is no time to stop. He had to hit the target. That’s why, he was constantly swinging his axe.

Once an old man came to him. “Son, your axe is dull. Stop for a moment to sharpen it,” said the old man. “Well, there’s no time, Grandpa. I have to catch up with the target,” said the young man.

Life in this world is getting more and more frenzied; the demands and challenges of the times are getting bigger. We are unavoidable from busyness and the shackles of routine. In fact, like a machine, we certainly need rest.

Living in a routine without even a moment’s “rest” is the same as the young man in the story above, who continues to chop wood without any time to sharpen his axe, so that his axe becomes dull.

This is the meaning of the importance of quiet time: take a break from the busy routine to build a personal relationship with God. In your daily routine, there should always be time for a moment of silence. Close your eyes and ears from all the hustle and bustle of daily routine activities.

Prepare yourself and open your heart to God, letting Him greet you in His way. Always finds time to be alone for a moment, to calm down in quiet time. “Come to a solitary place, so that we may be alone, and rest for a while!”

Loyal Guide Dog

Stephen Kuusisto is an American poet best known for his work depicting disability. Stephen grew up feeling inferior because he was blind. For him, vision consists of a kaleidoscope of shapes, colors, and shadows. When he’s alone, he likes to stick his face to the pages of a book and try hard to memorize street names so he looks like someone who can see clearly, not like he really is.

When he was 39 years old, his life changed after he got a trained and loyal guide dog named Corky. While learning to use Corky as a guide, Stephen reflects on the trust that has grown in their relationship. He said, “Confidence grows from trust which develops into belief, then into certainty. We are both a great team!” When Stephen admits that he needs the help of a friend who can see, a new world opens up that gives him freedom of movement he’s never experienced before.

Many believers stumble like blind people while living the life because they rely on their own strength. They seem unaware that God has provided a supernatural Guide to guide their path. God said that He would send a Comforter who would lead us into all truth.

Wise Man

“When a wise man sees calamity, he hides, but the inexperienced man walks on and is afflicted.”

A person who is able to see and respond to things appropriately so that he knows how to act is a wise person. Wisdom in a person is not obtained through formal education, science, philosophy, or human ideas, but through perseverance in meditating on God’s words: “The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the LORD, and knowing the Holy One is understanding.”

Etymologically speaking, wise people are people who have the right attitude in dealing with every situation, situation, and event. This happens because he has trained senses so that he is able to distinguish what is God’s will and what is pleasing to Him, so that he puts an attitude of respect for God in every word and deed.

Many people are not sensitive to seeing things that are not good or evil around them, so sooner or later they will fall and be carried away by the current. God’s Word warns, “Come out from among them, and separate yourselves from them, saith the Lord, and touch not what is unclean, and I will receive you.”

The inability to see evil or sinful things is spiritual blindness. This is because people do not stay (rooted) in God’s word or do not build a strong foundation of life. A wise person when he sees things that are contrary to God’s will, swiftly avoids and leaves them.

Celebrating Disappointment

Sally applies for a dream job that has just opened at her workplace. The interview went well, but she knew she might not get the position. Her husband is a devout believer. He also suggested, “Let’s make a reservation at our favorite restaurant this Saturday to celebrate, whatever the outcome.”

Soon the news came that someone else had taken the position. But on Saturday, the disillusioned couple continued to celebrate. While enjoying a delicious meal, they counted their blessings and renewed their faith in a God who holds future opportunities in His hands.

When the psalmist counted his blessings, he was lifted from his despair and praised God, saying, “You have turned me who weeps into dancing, You have removed my sackcloth, You have tied my waist with joy”

Are you facing a disappointing situation? Why don’t you have a celebration to count your blessings, whatever the outcome. Thank Him in your disappointment. Praise His grace and love. Remember He never leaves you. He will bless you from heaven.

Uniting In The Great Flame.

We’ve all seen piles of firewood. When the firewood came together, the fire was extraordinary. However, if separated from the others, the flame will weaken and eventually will die.

The same is true in the fellowship of believers. If one member separates and does not fellowship with the others, his faith will almost certainly be weakened. Avoiding fellowship gatherings is the same as slowly killing faith. No matter how “great” one’s faith is, if it is not nurtured in fellowship with fellow believers, one day it will weaken too. Fellowship gatherings are like fertile soil for the sowing of our faith. That is why it’s very important.

Indeed, we are individual beings, in the sense that we are unique. However, we are also social beings who need others to grow. Let’s kindle the fire of our faith, by uniting in the great flame. “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as ye see the Day approaching.

Grow Like Bonsai Or Sequoia?

Many people like to maintain bonsai. Although the average bonsai height is only centimeters, this tree is already beautifully shaped and perfect. Contrary to that, in California found a giant forest tree called the sequoia. The height of this tree is extraordinary, it can reach 90 meters, and the trunk circumference can reach 26 meters.

When they are seeds, bonsai and sequoias are the same size and weigh the same, which is less than a milligram. However, in their growth period, the two experienced significant differences. People deliberately inhibit the growth of bonsai seeds, in the hope that someday they will get a beautiful mini tree. Instead, sequoia seeds are allowed to get their nutrition from minerals, grow near water sources, and get plenty of sunlight. Thus, he became a giant tree.

Timothy has been taught to know the word of God since childhood, from his mother and grandmother, also from Paul’s upbringing. This is the occasion where his soul is “watered” and “sunshine”. Furthermore, that upbringing made him a servant of God who had “sincere faith”, who remained strong even though he had to suffer hardships in the ministry.

Like Timothy, we too can absorb all the positive things around us: knowledge, enthusiasm, experience, examples, and especially the teachings of God’s word, so that our faith grows like a sequoia tree. Don’t let negativity dwarf our faith like bonsai.

“But whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on the law day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which bears its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither; whatever it does prospers.”

Die In Loneliness

When Glynn Wolfe died at the age of 88, no one was looking for him. After waiting for so many weeks, the government finally buried his body in an anonymous grave.

Ironically, Glynn was once listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the record holder for the most married man. He has been married 29 times and divorced 29 times too, because he is not satisfied with his marriage.He left behind many surviving wives, many children, grandchildren, even great-grandchildren.

However, no one was willing to accompany him until he died. Like Glynn, many people have a thirst for love and try to find it in the wrong places. They think that by finding the “right person,” life will be fulfilled. In fact, no one is right.

That is what happened to a Samaritan woman whom Jesus met near a well. The woman already has five husbands. But she is still looking for another man, because she is thirsty for love. No one can fill the loneliness of her life. There is no perfect man who can please her in every way. She is like someone who is thirsty and tries to drink sea water. Her thirst is not gone, she is even more thirsty.

Jesus stated that what the woman needed was “living water.” “Whoever drinks this water will become thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water that I will give him will not thirst forever. On the other hand, the water that I will give him will become a spring within him, flowing continuously until to eternal life.”

Only the presence of God can drive away our loneliness. Only God’s love can fill the empty space in our heart. If God’s love has filled the heart, we will experience life satisfaction. As a result, we are no longer busy looking for the right person. Instead, we will try to be the right person for others. No longer a beggar of love, but a distributor of love. True love is not looking for the right person, but learning to be the right person.

Never Doubt

“Didn’t I command you: be strong and be firm in your heart. Do not be discouraged or discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

When problems, illnesses, financial crises, and so on come to haunt our lives, fear and worry often arise polluting our minds so that our faith becomes weak. We start to think the problems we are experiencing are too heavy and hopeless, even though God promises that “…the future really exists, and your hope will not be lost.”

Every human being always hopes that his life will be fine, smooth without the slightest obstacle or obstacle. Yet to get God’s promise requires a process, as experienced by Joshua when he brought the Israelites out of Egypt in place of Moses. It was not easy, the challenge was very heavy because the Israelites were a strong-necked nation. That’s why God told Joshua: be strong and be firm in your heart.

In order to achieve God’s promise we need to pay attention to His message or command because one day we will face the enemy. The enemy talks about illness, financial crisis, or other problems, but God promises, “I will not forsake you and will not forsake you.” He will always be with us and help us when we need it, as David confessed, “My help is from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”

Why have God’s promises not been realized in our lives? The problem is that we are getting weak and impatient waiting for His promises to be fulfilled, even though God has his own time to fulfill His promises.

He is never late to help us, but we are the ones who always delay the help because of our grumbling and complaining, just as the Israelites never stop complaining and nagging, even though they always experience His miraculous help. That’s not enough for them to be able to give thanks, instead they always blame God. Always speak His word and meditate on it day and night so that our faith will remain strong and stop complaining.

The Most Expensive Painting In The World

Steve Wynn was very lucky. In 1997, he bought a painting by Pablo Picasso for 47 million dollars at Christie’s auction house. Not even 10 years old, he could sell it again for 139 million dollars. Triples! The transaction will enter the record for selling the most expensive art in the world.

Unfortunately, during the auction, Wynn stood by the painting and accidentally nudged it with his elbow. Woe! The painting was ripped 15 cm long, right in the middle. Cancel that most expensive sale. In an instant, 139 million dollars evaporated from Wynn’s eyes.

How mortal wealth is. It can evaporate in an instant. If one relies on treasure as a guarantee for the future, one needs to weep and lament. Why? Because wealth can suddenly leave it. Fragile. Even if the treasure can be preserved for life, when it dies it cannot be taken away. In fact, someday God will hold us accountable.

Everyone needs wealth, so it’s not wrong if we look for money. Being rich doesn’t matter. However, do not make wealth everything, so that we are willing to oppress others, cheat, or fight with relatives to get it. Instead, make wealth as a means of blessing. A tool to express God’s love by helping others. “Wealth acquired in wickedness is useless, but righteousness saves people from death.”