January 23 – Isaiah 34-35

i was reading isaiah chapter 24 this morning, and at first i was kinda confused, reading the first two verses:

Draw in close now, nations. Listen carefully, you people. Pay attention! Earth, you too, and everything in you. World, and all that comes from you. And here’s why: GOD is angry, good and angry with all the nations, So blazingly angry at their arms and armies that he’s going to rid earth of them, wipe them out.  -Isa 34:1-2 [MSG]

and some scary things follow until the end of the chapter…because i read the bible from my computer, it only shows one chapter at once…and this whole chapter is like God’s punishment where everything will become so bad…i was thinking, what’s the point in this chapter, is He reminding me about what He’s doing to this world right now, or maybe it’s kinda related to end of the world, because some of those things are happening right now somewhere in this earth i think…

then i turned to the next chapter…and it’s TOTALLY different, even from the first verse…everything in this chapter is good things…and on verse 4 it says like this:

Tell fearful souls, “Courage! Take heart! GOD is here, right here, on his way to put things right And redress all wrongs. He’s on his way! He’ll save you!”  -Isa 35:4 [MSG]

and also on verse 8 and 9:

There will be a highway called the Holy Road. No one rude or rebellious is permitted on this road. It’s for GOD’s people exclusively– impossible to get lost on this road. Not even fools can get lost on it. No lions on this road, no dangerous wild animals– Nothing and no one dangerous or threatening. Only the redeemed will walk on it.  -Isa 35:8-9 [MSG]

i got it that this broken world may become worse and worse, moreover with God’s anger on stubborn people who never look to Him at all and just do bad things…somehow more or less it will have some effects on God’s people also, as we’re still living in this same world…but this verse tells us not to fear, but to have courage, because He has came to save us His people, will set us free and will give us a “Promised Land” where everything will be beautiful…

keep living our live maximally, live right, stay in what God wants us to do, and we will see many miracles, many beautiful things, and a lot of rejoicing…great day!! GBU

January 22 – Jeremiah 23

this is a nice passage from the prophet Jeremiah i think, i got several things from it as i read it, but now i just wanna emphasize on one verse in this chapter, which i think simple but powerful

In his time Judah will be secure again and Israel will live in safety. This is the name they’ll give him: ‘GOD-Who-Puts-Everything-Right.’ – Jer 23:6 [MSG]

‘GOD-Who-Puts-Everything-Right’. WOW…i think it’s cool…whatever He does is right, and He makes everything right…if sometime we make a mistake, just come to Him, and He will make it right…maybe a lot of things seems to go wrong in our life, lean on Him, and God will put it right…

so always remember this thing…we have a GOD-Who-Puts-Everything-Right, no never worry about anything, trust in Him, and He will make everything alright (all is right )

January 20 – Psalms 80

i read from the Psalms chapter 80 this morning…it’s the prayer of Asaph, asking for God’s mercy in Israel’s hard times…something interesting in this verse is a sentence which is repeated 3 times…

Restore us, O God; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved. – Psa 80:3 [NIV]

if His face is shining, the Israelites will be saved…but what would it mean by shining face? the Message version said a bit different

God, come back! Smile your blessing smile: That will be our salvation. – Psa 80:3 [MSG]

“smile you blessing smile”…it saves people…i was thinking about it, and imagine a situation where a small child is crying, he can’t sleep at night, he’s scared of the thunderstorm outside his house, and then he ran to his dad, and his dad just hug him, put a big smile, pat him on his head, and say “it’s alright. don’t be afraid. dad’s here”…

yeah, God’s smile means that He know our problems, He’s there and He wants His people not to be afraid…come on, every time we face hard things in our life, try to see God’s face, see His smile, and everything will be alright…God bless…

November 24 – 1 Timothy 2

i didn’t write for about two weeks, because of several reasons…i’m kinda struggling in this, but i’ll try to write again…

today’s lesson is so simple…from first verse…

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live. -1 Tim 2:1-3 [MSG]

Paul said, the first thing to do is pray… yeah, i suppose everyone knows that already, because it’s said that prayer is the breathe of believers…in everything, we have to start with prayers…not just 5 times a day, in the morning to start the day, at night before sleeping, and before three meals…but actually prayer should be our lifestyle, in everything, everytime, everywhere we should pray, keep in touch with God…

prayer doesn’t mean that we have to kneel down, close our eyes, or any other pose that may have been taught to us since we were kids…it’s said here, pray every way you know how…so it’s not limited to only one kind of “ritual” like i mentioned, but we can pray in any way, even when we’re driving our cars to work, taking the train to school, riding our bike, we can still pray…the essential thing is just communicating with God…God is in each of us, so to communicate with Him is so simple, just imagine He’s beside you, and talk to Him like you talk to your best friend…

and one more thing in these verse, pray for everyone you know…not only for 3 persons, I, me, and myself…or not only for our (future) life-partner, our family, our best friends, but everyone, includes people we don’t like (it still includes in the term “everyone you know”, right?)…it’s stated about praying for rulers and governments…i know so many people aren’t satisfied with their bosses in their company, their teachers at school, and also their governments…but we have to pray for them also, not just complaining, grumbling, but pray…i know it’s hard, but that’s the way of life God wants us to do…i’m also still learning to do it…let’s have Holy Spirit help us to humble ourselves, and teach us how to pray for them…God bless…

November 10 – 1 Kings 5

this is a passage about King Solomon when he started to build a temple for God…he asked Hiram, king of Tyre, who’s also a good friend of his father, David, to help him gather the materials needed…

In this way Hiram supplied all the cedar and cypress timber that Solomon wanted. In his turn, Solomon gave Hiram 125,000 bushels of wheat and 115,000 gallons of virgin olive oil. He did this every year. And GOD, for his part, gave Solomon wisdom, just as he had promised. The healthy peace between Hiram and Solomon was formalized by a treaty. -1 Kings 5:10-12 [MSG]

Hiram and Solomon do each of their part, but not only those two sides working here, but there’s also God, doing His part…just a simple point here…in whatever we do, God also takes part…there are some things that are our parts, and there are some God’s part…

in a teamwork, if every team members doing his own part, it’s enough to get the job done…well, sometimes one of the members may have some problem with his/her part, that’s the time when the others help…but if no one is in problem and the other trying to have that part also, it may become a problem…the same with our teamwork with God…God absolutely can do everything, He doesn’t need our help in His part, and He has given us our part…even He’s the one who helps us when we’re in trouble…but many times we try to take His part also, using our own strength, our own thinking…we feel that we can do everything by ourselves…that’s why many times we fail…God wants to do His part, so let us let Him do it…

there’s a famous quote saying like this: “Let’s do our best, and to God leave the rest”…i think it’s not right, because it feels like whatever we do, the whole thing we do is only ours, and when we can’t finish it, then we ask God to do the rest…as i mentioned before, we and God have our own parts, so i think it’s better like this: “Let’s do our best, and let God do what He needs to do”…

November 6-8 – Matthew 26

this chapter is the story about the last days before Jesus was crucified…two things i want to share this time are about being religious, and about God’s grace…

When Jesus was at Bethany, a guest of Simon the Leper, a woman came up to him as he was eating dinner and anointed him with a bottle of very expensive perfume. When the disciples saw what was happening, they were furious. “That’s criminal! This could have been sold for a lot and the money handed out to the poor.” When Jesus realized what was going on, he intervened. “Why are you giving this woman a hard time? She has just done something wonderfully significant for me. You will have the poor with you every day for the rest of your lives, but not me. When she poured this perfume on my body, what she really did was anoint me for burial. You can be sure that wherever in the whole world the Message is preached, what she has just done is going to be remembered and admired.” -Mat26:6-13 [MSG]

a story about a woman who anointed Jesus, i think most of you heard about it a lot already, as Jesus said that what she did will be remembered everywhere…in the other versions of the Bible, when the disciples were complaining, they only mentioned about the waste of it, but in this version, they said “That’s criminal!”…i was wondering, why should they judge it as a crime??it’s not mentioned that she stole it or something, but why did they say so??and they thought that it’s better to help the poor, that’s very good, but it doesn’t mean that anointing Jesus is a very bad thing, a crime as they said…even Jesus said that she had done a wonderful thing…

what i got from this passage is sometimes we do the same thing, we judge someone/something based on our own thinking or based on what we think it’s good, but we miss to see the essential point…that’s what i call “being religious”…religions means rules…being religious means that we need to live by rules…and we judge things according to those rules…i don’t say that those rules is bad, but a lot of times that we just see those rules and don’t see the other things, and that’s not the way we suppose to live…Christianity is not a religion, because it’s not focused on the rules, but it’s about relationship with God…we do things not because the rules say so, but because we want to do it for God because we love Him…and that’s also the point here…don’t live with our religious thinking, don’t judge something based on that…in the other hand, make God pleased with what we do, put Him first in everything…

Jesus answered, “The one who hands me over is someone I eat with daily, one who passes me food at the table. In one sense the Son of Man is entering into a way of treachery well-marked by the Scriptures–no surprises here. In another sense that man who turns him in, turns traitor to the Son of Man–better never to have been born than do this!” Then Judas, already turned traitor, said, “It isn’t me, is it, Rabbi?” Jesus said, “Don’t play games with me, Judas.” -Mat 26:23-25

in the last supper, Jesus told the disciples that one of them is the one who’s going to betray him…Jesus know exactly who, and even wished him wouldn’t do that…and when Judas, the traitor, asked Him if it’s not him, Jesus already said it very clearly that He knew that he is the one…even in NIV version Jesus said “Yes, it is you.”…i wondered, there were the other disciples also, but why didn’t they get angry to Judas after Jesus said it that very clearly…i assume that Jesus and Judas were talking quietly, whispering, so no one else could hear that…maybe because Jesus doesn’t want to make a fuss, and giving Judas a chance to repent…you know, it doesn’t feel good if someone close to you know that you do something bad to him (if you still have a feeling)…

even by the time He’s being captured, He said “Friend, why this charade?” (Mat 26:50)…He still call Judas His friend…feels like He’s still waiting for him to repent one more time…what Judas did could be said the worst, betraying his own teacher and bringing Him to His crucifixion…but Jesus still think of him the same, as a friend…

we may have a bad background before we know Him, and even after we know Him, we still make a lot of mistakes that make Him disappointed…but God’ grace is abundant, no matter what we do He still loves us, He still thinks of us as His friends, and He’s waiting for us to repent and come back to Him…

so, whatever your condition is right now, realize that God loves you and will always love you, His grace is more than enough for you, don’t be afraid to come back to Him if you made mistakes…and He wants you to love Him more…God bless!!

huff…

as you can see last time i wrote a post is on november 6, and it’s the journal of november 5…yeah, it’s very challenging to keep posting everyday because i’m starting to get busy, and to write a post spend me quite some time…for the last few days, i got up early in the morning because i had to leave early, got busy the whole day, and went home late, so i didn’t really have the chance to write although i could still keep up with the Bible reading…but i’ll try to write whenever i have the time…

November 5 – Proverbs 23

as expected from the wisest person on earth, Solomon, Proverbs gives us a lot of wisdom…maybe we can learn something from each of the verses…from reading this chapter, i got a lot of things, but i will only mention some of them…

Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die. Punish him with the rod and save his soul from death. -Prov 23:13-14 [NIV]

Don’t be afraid to correct your young ones; a spanking won’t kill them. A good spanking, in fact, might save them from something worse than death. -Prov 23:13-14 [MSG]

compare these two version of the message…NIV version is more widely known, and sometimes this verse becomes an excuse for some parents to punish their children with violence, giving physical punishment every time their children do wrong, hitting their children with rods just as they want…parents hitting their children often doesn’t make them better, but just worse, because it hurts them, outside and inside…but i like the Message version better because it says “a good spanking”…i think good spanking here doesn’t mean physically spanking, but more to teach discipline to the children…maybe there are times when the children don’t listen at all, don’t obey, misbehave…i think if it’s already too much pass the limit, the parents may spank their children, but in a condition, it’s not done based on anger because they don’t listen, but based on love and wisdom…well, i don’t really know how to handle children by myself actually, but this is just what i think…

Don’t drink too much wine and get drunk; don’t eat too much food and get fat. Don’t judge wine by its label, or its bouquet, or its full-bodied flavor. Judge it rather by the hangover it leaves you with– the splitting headache, the queasy stomach. -Prov 23:20,31,32 [MSG]

one more things is about these verses…living in Japan gives a lot of temptation compared to Indonesia, and one of them is about getting drunk…Japanese people love party and love to drink alcohol…i often invited to parties, whether it is welcoming party, farewell party, or any other, and there are always beer or wine or any other alcohol, and not a few of them who attend the party get drunk, at least their faces turn red…well, so far in my case, if someone offer me a drink, they could understand if i don’t wanna drink, but i heard from some other people, that sometimes some Japanese feel not respected if someone refuse their offer for a drink…sometimes i drink also, but i keep myself from drinking a lot, because i knew, as mentioned in these verses, it doesn’t bring me any good…

November 4 – Ephessians 3

as i read Ephessians chapter 3, i was reminded about a job that we as a Christian has to do, and it is about a mystery of Christ (verse 4) which wasn’t understood but now with the help of Holy Spirit we can understand it (v.5)…and here is the mystery:

The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I’ve been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board.  -Eph 3:6 [MSG]

yes, in God’s eyes everyone in the world is the same, no matter which nationality, which race, which skin color, which belief they have…God loves all of them, including the ones who haven’t known Him, and want to give the same promises for them as He gave us…but the problem is they don’t know about it yet…so that’s why it’s our job to let them know about it…

This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God’s way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities. And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. -Eph 3:7-9 [MSG]

as Paul said, that his work is to help people understand and respond to this message, preaching about inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ, and bring out in the open and make plain what God is doing…in short, let them know and receive God’s love in their lives…

maybe some people think that they are not worthy of this job, they don’t have the ability to do it, or some even make excuse “i’m not a pastor”…it’s not a pastor’s job or someone who has special ability…Jesus’ Great Commission is given to every one of us as His disciples, no matter who we are or what background we have…God wants to use us with what we have, not with what we don’t have…even Paul said that he’s not qualified, and what he did is not because of His natural abilities, but God who gave him the abilities to do it…

When we trust in him, we’re free to say whatever needs to be said, bold to go wherever we need to go. -Eph 3:12 [MSG]

the key is trusting Him…if we trust Him, He will give us the strength to do it, and as this verse said, we’re free to say whatever needs to be said and go wherever we need to go, because we won’t be afraid of anything that will stand before us…

i also need to have a trust in Him more, be more intimate with Him, so that i will get the strength and won’t be afraid anymore to help people around me to respond to God…

November 3 – 1 Corinthians 2

something new comes into my mind after reading a verse on 1 Corinthians chapter 2…it’s on verse 9…

…”No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” -1Cor 2:9 [NIV]

it’s about the same meaning in Indonesian version, and so far what i understand from this verse is, if we live good, loving God, live according to His will, He will provide us with something very good, something that was even unimaginable, that we thought will never come to us…maybe it can be called favor of God, grace of God, etc…yeah, that’s true…but today after i read from the Message version, i got something new, and the key is in the verse 10, which seems to be not really related in Indonesian version…

… No one’s ever seen or heard anything like this, Never so much as imagined anything quite like it– What God has arranged for those who love him. But you’ve seen and heard it because God by his Spirit has brought it all out into the open before you… -1Cor 2:9-10 [MSG]

yes, it says that no other people have ever seen or heard or imagine about that, but we’ve seen and heard it…it means we has some kind of special privilege as God’s children, we can now something confidential of God, we get things that no one else knows…

Who ever knows what you’re thinking and planning except you yourself? The same with God–except that he not only knows what he’s thinking, but he lets us in on it. God offers a full report on the gifts of life and salvation that he is giving us. We don’t have to rely on the world’s guesses and opinions. We didn’t learn this by reading books or going to school; we learned it from God, who taught us person-to-person through Jesus, and we’re passing it on to you in the same firsthand, personal way. The unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can’t receive the gifts of God’s Spirit. There’s no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit can be known only by spirit–God’s Spirit and our spirits in open communion. Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God’s Spirit is doing, and can’t be judged by unspiritual critics. Isaiah’s question, “Is there anyone around who knows God’s Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?” has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ’s Spirit. -1Cor2:11-16 [MSG]

the next verses make it clearer…actually only God knows what He’s thinking, but He lets us in to know His thinking, He tells us in person, not by other people’s sayings, but we experience it by ourselves through Jesus who lives in every one of us…

and things that He let us know about is the gifts of life and salvation…gifts always mean something good, something precious, so if we know it, we can enjoy this life to the fullest…we always feel happy when we get a present, don’t we? the same goes in our life, if we know that we have the gifts of life, we can be very happy…although there may be bad things happen, but we can still be happy, because we know the gifts…

so, let’s live our life to the fullest for God, loving Him more and more each day, know His will for our life, have a full consciousness about the gifts that He has given to us, and have joyful and wonderful days…

“yesterday is a history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift, that’s why it’s called present”