#Imakelar – 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐫

Vengeance Is Not Ours

“Beloved, do not demand vengeance yourself, but give place to God’s wrath, for it is written: Vengeance is mine. I will demand vengeance, says the Lord.”

For those who hold grudges or vengeance against others, there is nothing positive in their heart, but only evil designs. Saul harbored hatred and grudge against David because many people praised David: “Saul defeated thousands of enemies, but David was tens of thousands.” Because Saul’s heart was filled with hatred, the expressions that came out were only negative things, both through words and actions.

Revenge will only create inner suffering for the perpetrator. Joseph is an example of a person who is able to love and forgive his enemies. Although persecuted and made to suffer by his brothers Yusuf did not hold the slightest grudge, but instead he showed his love and generosity. “Indeed you have devised evil against me, but God has devised it for good, in order to do as it is now, which is to save the life of a great nation. So don’t be afraid, I will eat you and eat the children. your son too.” .

We are not allowed to take revenge on the enemy because revenge is the absolute right of God. Whoever seeks revenge against others means he has stolen the absolute right of God. Vengeance is not ours, but belongs to God Himself. It is our part to allow God to handle other people. Let God himself act because He has his own way and time to deal with problems that occur.

What must be done is this: “…if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink! In doing so you will heap coals of fire on his head.”. So the proper way to treat an enemy is to show him love and mercy. “…defeat evil with good”. Loving, being generous, and forgiving the enemy are ours; God’s part is to finish in His own way and time.

We Are Not Superman

Many people are sometimes amazed by the abilities or skills of a versatile coworker. Working on the system, managing production, foreign language and lobbying skills, mastered very well. Almost every job in the workplace he can do. Looks like he doesn’t need anyone else. The results of his work are often said to be almost perfect.

But once his workload piled up, he was exhausted, his co-workers were also reluctant to help because he usually preferred to work alone. Finally, the work flow is blocked in its part, queuing to be done. His all-powerful Superman-like skills have shrunk and no longer invite admiration.

Having these various abilities must be a blessing from God, but He gave them not so that we can become Superman, but to work together. Not also to exalt each other or put others down, but to use it in love.

A self-confident person is not afraid to teach others or feel challenged. By building other co-workers, we are sharing ourselves and sharing love and even sharpening our character.

In addition, we will have help when needed and the work becomes lighter. Make our abilities and skills a means to be a blessing to others.

“And even if I give away everything I have, even give my body to be burned, but if I do not have love, it is of no use to me.

Promise Keeper

“Your promises are well tested, and Your servants love them.”

Everyone in this world has generally made a promise to someone else or was promised something by someone else. For example: parents promise to buy something for their children; children promise to make parents happy in their old age; a young man makes a promise to his lover; a company leader promises to prosper his employees; etc.

The fact is: not all promises made by humans are kept, even humans have a tendency to break the promises they have made. That’s human nature: it’s too easy to make promises and so easy to break them. Thank God we have a God who never breaks anything He promises. If God promises He will certainly keep His promises. As believers, we are the ones who deserve God’s promises. Where do we find the promises? In the Bible.

Therefore, take time to read and meditate on God’s words every day so that we understand how countless God’s promises for His people are, whether they are promises that He has fulfilled, are fulfilling, and those that He will fulfill. Believe that sooner or later all of God’s promises will be fulfilled.

“God is not man, so that he lies and is not the son of man, so that he repents. Either he speaks and does not do it, or speaks and does not keep it”

This promise of God is the hope of believers. The state of this world may change, the economic situation may change, but we believe that God’s promises never change. His promises remain “yes” and “amen”.

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.”

Everything in this world may be shaken, but we still believe that we receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken. As long as we are not affected by the situation. continue to believe in His words, wait patiently on God, and faithfully do what is ours, God’s promises will surely be fulfilled in this life.

“Confirm in Your servant this is Your promise, which applies to those who fear You.”

He Works In All Things For Good.

The tragic tragedy that occurred on July 20, 2012 several years ago attracted the attention of the whole world. The shooting case during Premiere Batman: The Dark Knight Rises in Colorado, United States, killed 12 people. One of the shooting victims was a woman named Petra Anderson. Four bullets hit her body and one hit her head and hit her brain.

Her family could only pray and hope that a miracle would happen. The hospital immediately carried out intensive treatment and carried out an operation to remove the bullet. How shocked the medical team was because something unexpected happened. It turns out that Petra has an abnormality, namely there is a cavity filled with fluid in front of her brain. The fluid in the cavity was flowing near her brain. The bullet ended up only lodged in his cranial bone, which protects the brain. The deadly shot that hit Petra did not lead to her death. Petra’s genetic abnormalities in the brain did not lead to her death.

In general, we always think of abnormalities in the body as defects and shameful disgrace. In this story of Petra Anderson, God teaches us that every part of our body is always useful, even Petra’s disabled body parts can save her life. It is precisely the shortcomings that we consider a disgrace, that may be able to help us from certain problems.

We can imagine what would have happened if Petra did not have a genetic disorder in her brain, maybe now she is no longer living in this world. Every human being has advantages and disadvantages of each. We can see that the life stories of those who have shortcomings exist to strengthen others. They use their shortcomings as a tool to achieve success.

Are we still complaining or feeling inferior about our shortcomings? Are we still disappointed and angry with God because of our shortcomings? God says that He works in all things for good for us. It is time for us to open our eyes and see the hand of God for our shortcomings; Opening our eyes and seeing God’s miraculous hand can turn every weakness of our life into something that benefits us.

Accept every shortcoming that we have and be grateful to God, because one day God will use our shortcomings to bring glory to His name. The things we cry about today may be things we will be grateful for someday. “We know now that all things work together for good to those who love Him, to those who are called according to God’s purpose.”

The Mouth Of The Righteous.

“The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked hides injustice.”

The mouth has such great power. With our mouth we can kill or build the spirit of life. With the mouth, we can strengthen or bring down. Dropping doesn’t always mean saying harsh words or swearing. Dropping we can do with simple things like criticizing.

How many times do we criticize other people in a day Maybe just by making comments like, “Why aren’t your clothes looking good today” or “You haven’t washed your hair yet. Your hair looks greasy.” Comments like this may be simple, but the impact is extraordinary, it can discourage other people.

Just imagine, if that person is in serious trouble at home, and when he comes to see us, there is only criticism about appearance and other things. As much as possible, try not to criticize others, unless your opinion is asked for.

There are criticisms based on facts or valid reasons, which can build and improve. However, some are based on bad reasons (such as wanting to bring down or embarrass). Whatever the reason, criticism is protesting or refuting the other party.

It’s fine to try to fix something, but if in doing so we discourage others, it seems worth remembering that our mouths should be the source of life and not death. Fill our days with constructive words, then everyone will be blessed with our presence.

Life Is Short

Life is short, we are just born and soon we have to die. Because life is very short, we don’t have much time to enjoy life. Therefore, as long as there is time, use this short life to play and have fun. Many people adhere to this philosophy and choose to have fun in their lives.

Solomon, as the wisest king who ever lived, advised the younger generation that they are free to have fun while living, but that the time will come when they will be held accountable for what they do on the day of judgment.

“Rejoice, young man, in your youth, let your heart rejoice in your youth, and obey the desires of your heart and the gaze of your eyes, but know that because of all these things God will bring you to justice!”

Life is short. What are our priorities Do we choose to have fun and play with this life? Stop playing, start praying. Stop feasting, start fasting. Seek God more. Use our lives for something positive and seek God always.

Only God Is Good

“I said to the LORD: ‘You are my God, nothing can be good for me but You!”

If an adult admits that only God is good, then it raises questions about his or her parents — his or her father and mother, as well as his or her extended family; are they bad?

Does he or she have no friends? Friends are usually people who treat others well even though others do bad things. The friend helps, sustains, protects, and accompanies this life, at least, is there when it is needed.

Life can only last if there are good people who take care of it. The more good people, the more prosperous this life will be, if everyone is good, then the earth has become heaven. Be a good person so that heaven is with you.

Only God is good, meaning that only people who are close to God can continue God’s goodness in this world, humans with their own inclination of heart are generally creatures who are prone to doing evil. Be grateful to all that is good to you so that you stay alive and thank God because it is God Himself who preserves your life through the good people in your life. Let your kindness be known to all.

The Poor Thief

“Nothing can be taken from this house,” said a thief who felt like he was wasting time somewhere he entered.

News reports stated that the thief infiltrated a house and threatened its occupants with a knife while searching for money.

He searched the house, but he found only $20 somewhere, $50 in his wallet, and cheap jewelry.

The thief concluded that the owner of the house turned out to be no more than himself, and then he returned the $70 he was going to take.

“I think he was disgusted,” the victim said. “He couldn’t believe that was the only money I had.”

Maybe we will smile amused at the story of the poor thief. But it turns out that we often experience the same thing, when we try to take something that God never gave us. Obeying the urge to envy, commit adultery, steal, or just be stubborn, will cause more problems than profits.

David learned a lot from his hard experience on this subject. When he commits adultery with Uriah’s wife, he gets more trouble than the pleasure he craves.

There is no point in taking something that Belongs to God that He did not give us. Stop wasting our lives by pursuing things that keep us away from God and make life empty.

Love And Forgive

Usually people will feel happy if the enemy or people who always hurt him are hit by misfortune.

One day a soldier of Saul with clothes torn apart and the ground above his head came to David. The soldier broke the news that Saul and Jonathan, his son, were dead. Upon hearing the news, David tore off his clothes, wailed, and wept over their deaths.

Perhaps we think it is natural for David to mourn Jonathan because Jonathan is his friend. But wailing to Saul seemed like a strangeness. How could David be sad for someone who always chased and wanted to kill him for fear of his position as king being taken away by David?

This is where we can learn from David. He did not retaliate against Saul for his crimes. David’s actions set an example of love and forgiveness.

Like David, we don’t have to think about how to take revenge. Why? For we have God as the defender, who will declare justice just in His time. Our part is simply learning to keep God’s command of loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us. “But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

Seasons of Life

One day a father sent his children into the forest to see a pear tree at a different time.

The first child was told to leave in the winter. 2nd child in the spring. 3rd child in the summer. And the 4th child in the fall.

Child 1: The pear tree looked very bad and the trunk was crooked.

Child 2: The tree is filled with promising green buds.

Child 3: The tree is filled with flowers that spread a fragrant smell.

Son 4: He disagreed with his brother, he said that the tree was full of ripe fruit and rations.

Then the father said : “you are all right, it’s just that you look at different times.”

His father advised, “From now on never judge life based on just one difficult time.”

When you are going through difficult times, everything looks unpromising, many failures and disappointments, don’t be quick to blame yourself and others even say that you are not capable, stupid and unlucky. Remember, you are precious in God’s eyes, there is no term of bad luck for believers.

If you are not patient when you are in winter, then you will miss the spring and summer that promise hope, and you will not reap the rewards in the fall. With God there is always a new hope.

“Rejoice in hope, be patient in distress, and persevere in prayer.”