Rabu, 28 Januari 2009

C.S Lewis Surprised by Joy


A young man who wishes to remain a sound atheist cannot be too careful of his reading. There are traps everywhere --'Bibles laid open, millions of surprises,' as Herbert says, 'fine nets and stratagems.' God is, if I may say it, very unscrupulous. "
~C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy~

C.S Lewis Surprised by Joy

A young man who wishes to remain a sound atheist cannot be too careful of his reading. There are traps everywhere --'Bibles laid open, millions of surprises,' as Herbert says, 'fine nets and stratagems.' God is, if I may say it, very unscrupulous. "
~C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy~

Kamis, 08 Januari 2009

God loves Muslims!


God Loves Muslims!

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA (ANS) -- "How would Jesus respond to Muslims? We know how. He would treat them like he treated the Samaritan woman at the well, the Roman centurion who came to Him for help, and the tax collectors and prostitutes. Jesus would treat Muslims like he treated Simon the Zealot - the Zealots were urban terrorists of the day - he would invite him to follow Him! Jesus would treat Muslims like he treats you and me. With love, respect, and huge compassion and amazing grace."


Floyd and Sally McClung


So wrote Floyd McClung, a father of modern missions and a leader at Youth With A Mission for many years, in his latest blog found at www.floydandsally.org. Floyd now lives with his wife Sally in South Africa where he helps run All Nations (www.all-nations.info).


McClung went on to say, "One of the greatest challenges we face as followers of Jesus in today's world is how to respond to Muslims and violence in the Middle East. Some believers are fearful that Muslims are our enemy and are 'out to destroy our way of life.'

"Should we circle the wagons in alarm and fear? Should we warn everyone how bad Muslims are and alert people of their plots to 'destroy our nation,' as one American believer said to me?

"No fear! No hatred! No, none for us who follow Jesus. We have a calling from God to love Muslims. They are not our enemy. The real enemy wants us to see people as our enemy."

McClung said that we should respond in the following ways:
1. Pray with love - ask God for that love if you don't have it
2. Believe God with faith - believe God to reveal Jesus to every sincere seeker and to those who don't seek!
3. Give sacrificially - give your life to go and give your finances to help others go

He added, "Let's up the ante, shall we? Let's call the enemies bluff. He has not power except that which people give him. Let's meet fear with faith, hatred with love, and cowardice with compassion. Let's be like Jesus!

"A close friend, Carl Medearis, has written one of the best books you will ever read about Islam. It is titled 'Muslims, Christians, and Jesus: Gaining Understanding and Building Relationships.'"

He concluded by saying that if you want to give, please send a contribution to All Nations and "partner with us to prepare workers for the Muslim world." To send your gift, make out a check to All Nations and send it to:
All Nations Support
c/o Walsh and Washburn
Attn: Mark Smith
5360 College Boulevard
Suite 100
Overland Park, Kansas 66211
USA

Selasa, 06 Januari 2009

KONDISI ORANG BERAGAMA KRISTEN DI AKHIR ZAMAN

KONDISI ORANG BERAGAMA KRISTEN DI AKHIR ZAMAN

Bacaan Firman Tuhan:
2 Tim 3:1-7, Dalam terjemahan LAI dan NIV:

Perhatikan baik-baik cara hidup orang-orang di bawah ini, mereka mengaku orang Kristen namun mereka tidak lebih daripada seorang beragama Kristen. Apakah perbedaannya? Orang Kristen nampak dari karakter Kristus yang makin hari makin kelihatan dari kehidupaannya sedang orang beragama Kristen nampak dari KTP-nya & aktivitas “agama”nya, namun cara hidup dan nilai-nilainya sama dengan dunia.

Mencintai dirinya sendiri (lovers of themselves)
Menjadi hamba uang (lovers of money, cinta akan uang)
Membual (boastful, sombong, besar mulut)
Menyombongkan diri (proud)
Pemfitnah (abusive, kasar, kejam, suka menghina dengan kata-kata kasar)
Berontak terhadap orangtua (disobedient to their parents, tidak taat pada orangtua)
Tidak tahu berterimakasih (ungrateful)
Tidak memperdulikan agama (unholy, tidak kudus)
Tidak tahu mengasihi (without love, tanpa kasih)
Tidak mau berdamai (unforgiving, tidak mau mengampuni)
Suka menjelekkan orang lain (slanderous,pemfitnah/pengumpat)
Tidak dapat mengekang diri (without self-control, tanpa penguasaan diri)
Garang (Brutal, kejam)
Tidak suka yang baik (not lovers of good)
Suka mengkhianat (treacherous, berkhianat/curang)
Tidak berpikir panjang (rash, gegabah, terburu-buru)
Berlagak tahu (conceited, sombong, angkuh)
Lebih menuruti hawa nafsu daripada Tuhan (lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, lebih mencintai kenikmatan daripada mengasihi Tuhan)
Secara lahiriah menjalankan ibadah tapi pada hakekatnya memungkiri kekuatannya (having form of godliness but denying its power, menjalankan bentuk keagamaan namun menolak/tidak percaya kuasanya)
Suka menyelundup rumah orang lain dan menjerat perempuan-peremupuan lemah yang sarat dengan dosa dan dikuasai oleh berbagai-bagai nafsu ( who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swaged by all kinds of evil desires, suka masuk ke dalam rumah/urusan orang lain dan menguasai kehidupan para wanita lemah, yang penuh dengan keinginan dosa dan berbagai nafsu jahat yang tersembunyi)
Selalu ingin diajar namun tidak pernah dapat mengenal kebenaran (always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth, selalu belajar tetapi tidak pernah mau menerapkan kebenaran)

PESAN TUHAN,” JAUHILAH MEREKA ITU” (ayat 5b) (have nothing to do with them)

Mat 16: 6, 11-12,” Berjaga-jagalah dan waspadalah terhadap ragi atau ajaran-ajaran Farisi atau Saduki.

Ef 5:5-17, mengajarkan:

Ingatlah ini baik-baik:

Tidak ada orang sundal (immorality)
Tidak ada orang cemar (impure)
Tidak ada orang serakah (greedy)
Catatan ketiganya termasuk penyembahan berhala

So, mereka tidak akan mendapat bagian dalam Kerajaan Allah.

Apa yang harus dilakukan anak Tuhan (orang Kristen)?

Ef 5: 8-11, anak-anak terang (orang Kristen) akan menelanjangi perbuatan perbuatan dosa.

Ef 5:14;
Sadar (bangunlah)
Bertindak (bangkitlah)
Disertai Tuhan (Kristus bercahaya atasmu)

Kala masih ada waktu, mari kita bertobat dan sungguh-sungguh menjadi seorang Kristen dan bukan sekedar beragama Kristen.