Kingdom News 15 April 2012
Why Christians Should Be Stoned By Michael K. Reynolds Are we taking some hits in the name of our faith? And yes. We’re talking about rocks. No welts on our foreheads? No bruises on our arms or legs? Then it might be time to ask ourselves the question, “Why not?” The Bible clearly teaches the Gospel is a message that will be received with disdain. Here are the words of Jesus: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you” John 15:18-19 Some see the New Testament merely as a message of love and hope. Yes. Those are central themes. But within those divine pages are also strong challenges, calls to accountability and stern warnings which must be presented whole and in all its glory. We are commanded to hoist the full banner with courage and conviction, regardless of the flak we’ll receive. We are to do it because we love God and his people and because we put all of our hope in the future despite the trials of today. Can you agree today’s domesticated version of Christianity would be offensive to the founding fathers of our Church? Have we forgotten Jesus was whipped, tormented and then hung on the cross? It’s believed all of the apostles but John died horrible deaths while standing strong in their faith. And John certainly didn’t get a break. Tradition says he survived being boiled alive in oil. The Book of Acts tells of Stephen’s death. It was his fervent preaching of the gospel which incited the Sanhedrin and the crowd to stone him to death. But Stephen, full of the kingdomnews 02
Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” Acts 7:55 Although it was a horrible way to die, his martyrdom was one of the most pivotal events leading to the rapid spread of the early Church. Today, there remain those throughout the world who are Stephen-like in their courage and faith as they risk their lives daily to bring light to the darkness. But what about those outside the cozy Christian circles where it’s considered poor taste to mix faith and friendship? Where we balk at the idea of raising the name of Jesus in our workplace and in our neighborhoods. Do we not live our lives like Peter when he denied friendship to Jesus three times before the rooster crowed? Will Jesus one day speak to the church of America as he does to the church of Laodicea in Revelation 3:15-17? There is a reason why Paul counselled us to put on the full armor of God. It was with expectation that we would be on the battlefield. But where are the stones in our life? If there aren’t dings in our armor and we aren’t hearing the clanking sounds of rocks bouncing against the metal it’s probably because the enemy doesn’t see us as a real threat. We’re off the radar. The Message Not The Messenger The distortion of this command is that we ourselves become offensive. We judge others harshly and carry ourselves with an air of self-importance. Through this, we fall prey to self-deception and it becomes all about the messenger, and the message is lost. No. We are to present the Gospel with
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grace, patience and perseverance. How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Isa: 52:7 And although our feet may be beautiful and our manner may be gentle, we should expect to be ridiculed, belittled and outcast. “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who
are being saved it is the power of God” 1 Corinthians 1:18 We may lose the respect of colleagues, our positions in society, sought after promotions, financial security, our reputation, friendships and even our safety may be at risk. There will be bruises, welts…and yes, it will hurt. But long forgotten will these casted stones be on that day of eternity when someone comes up to us and shares, “I’m here because of you.”
MENGAPA TUHAN? Yoel 2:18-27 “Kamu akan mengetahui ... bahwa Aku ini, Tuhan adalah Allahmu dan tidak ada yang lain ...” (ayat27) Kitab Yoel adalah kitab yang menarik sekaligus menggentarkan hati karena sarat dengan berita penghukuman. Kita dapat membaginya dalam dua bagian besar. Pasal 1-2 berbicara tentang bagaimana Israel akan dihukum, supaya mereka menaruh hormat hanya kepada Tuhan. Pasal 3 menggambarkan bagaimana bangsa-bangsa yang menolak untuk menghormati Tuhan juga akan dihukum. Apa alasannya Tuhan mendatangkan hukuman kepada umatnya sendiri? Jelas bukan karena benci, karena di ayat 12-14, Tuhan berkata, “Berbaliklah kepada-Ku dengan segenap hatimu” Tuhan masih sayang kepada umat-Nya. Yang Dia inginkan adalah segenap hati mereka. Tuhan
tak mau umat-Nya mendua hati (ayat 18). Penghukuman itu diizinkan Tuhan agar umatNya belajar bahwa hanya Tuhan satu-satunya yang patut disembah (ayat 17). Ketika hati kita mulai berpaling dari Tuhan, Dia akan bertindak untuk membawa kita pada pertobatan. Mungkin kita mulai mengandalkan diri sendiri dan doa rasanya tidak perlu lagi, lalu Tuhan mulai mengizinkan masalah datang. Hubungan-hubungan rusak. Kita frustrasi, kehilangan damai di hati. Jika Anda mengalaminya, inilah saat untuk kembali. Tuhan menghendaki hati kita 100%. Dia tak ingin menjadi Tuhan hanya untuk hari Minggu, hanya ketika kita akan makan atau bangun tidur, tetapi dalam keseluruhan hidup kita. Penghukuman Tuhan bukan untuk menghancurkan anak-anak-nya, tetapi menghancurkan hati mereka agar berbalik pada -nya.
“God is concerned more with our ultimate maturity than He is with our present comfort.” ~ Joyce Meyer “It is what we think we know already that often prevents us from learning.” ~ Claude Bernard 03 kingdomnews
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think postive
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etika burung hidup, ia makan semut. Ketika burung mati, semut makan burung. Jadi, waktu berputar kapan saja. Jangan merendahkan siapapun dalam hidup. Kita menunjukkan penghargaan pada orang lain bukan karena siapa mereka, tetapi karena siapakah diri kita sendiri.
Kita mungkin berkuasa tapi waktu lebih berkuasa daripada kita. Satu pohon dapat membuat jutaan batang korek api, tapi satu batang korek api dapat membakar jutaan pohon. Jadi...satu pikiran negatif dapat membakar semua pikiran positif! Stay Positive Thinking!
A BLESSING IN DISGUISE Testimony written by Natika Kristanty Sidarta
E
ver heard a phrase, “Everything happens for a reason?” I’m sure you’ve heard it many times. “Everything happens for a great reason, for those who love God?” That too, with no doubt we’ve probably heard that million times in church. There’s a verse in the bible in Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” (NIV) That’s probably something that we’d say to console a dear friend, who just experienced something unpleasant. A phrase that I’d repeat over and over again, to stay positive and be able to keep my head up when things seems to be heading downhill, definitely a great word of courage, one of my favorites. But one day, it became more than just a phrase for me. One night, in my dream, I dreamt about a little boy running around the house back in my home country. I was holding him, and playing with him. And I felt such a deep love upon this little boy, though in my dream I didn’t really know who exactly he was or what relationship I had with him. But I remembered waking up in such a great mood and glorious feeling in
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the next morning. Awkward, but in a good way I guessed? So, the day went as normal as any other day. Until lunchtime, my sister sent me a picture. I didn’t quite get what was that, because I was a bit blur. But I did have a scenario at the back of my mind. And when my sister told me what picture was that, I wanted to cry. It was exactly what I imagined. And I immediately called her, and screamed in excitement. It was a picture of a test pack, showing that she’s pregnant! I suddenly realized what was my dreamt all about, and I told my sister about it. That little boy in my dream on the previous night was actually a new added family member God sent to our family. Tears of joy, yay!! She was 6 weeks then. Long story short, my sister went to the gynecologist for the check up and the doctor found that she had cyst, not one but two in her ovaries. The doctor was quite amazed that she could get pregnant with that kind of condition. So he suggested my sister to have a caesarian birth, and have a surgery to remove the cysts by then.
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The pregnancy didn’t go so smooth during the first trimester, as the fetus was rather weak. The doctor had to give my sister some medications to enhance the fetus’ strength. Until the pregnancy was around 2.5 months, my sister was put to bed rest, due to some bleeding. It was my brother-in-law’s birthday that day. My sister was going to wake up from her bed, when she suddenly suffered a massive bleeding, and was rushed to the hospital. My dad called me, it was sad news. He told me that my sister just lost her baby, on her husband’s birthday. During my phone call with her, she told me about what happened, and how were she and her husband feeling. So, when she was at the hospital, her gynecologist found out that not only she had a miscarriage, but he also found that the cysts had gone too. Without any surgery performed, I was stunned to hear that news. Recalling everything that had happened,
if it was not because she found that she was pregnant, my sister wouldn’t have gone to see a gynecologist. Which also means she wouldn’t find out that she had cysts. And when she had to lose her baby, the baby brought the cysts out along with him. How can I not say this is God’s work? I realize, he was not just an ordinary little boy in my dream but he was an angel sent from Heaven to save my sister’s life. My sister had 101 reasons to feel down, but she chose to think the other way. The fact was that God’s work was way more amazing to keep my sister from sorrow. “Everything happens for a great reason.” Since then, it is not only a phrase for me. But it has become alive. When you least expect it, that’s it. That’s when God wants to amaze us with His wonder. A blessing in disguise, I call it. Job 42:5, “My ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You.”(NIV)
DOA VS MANTRA Matius 7:11 “Jadi, jika kamu yang jahat tahu memberi pemberian yang baik kepada anak-anakmu, apalagi Bapamu yang di surga! Ia akan memberikan yang baik kepada mereka yang meminta kepada-Nya” Dalam hikayat 1001 Malam, dikisahkan tentang Alibaba yang menjadi kaya gara-gara menemukan mantra untuk membuka gua berisi harta yang disimpan para penyamun. Siapapun orangnya, yang penting ia mengucapkan mantra dengan benar, akan dapat membuka atau menutup gua tersebut, dan tentunya menikmati harta yang tersimpan
di dalamnya. Ketika Yesus mengajar para murid-Nya, “Mintalah, maka akan diberikan kepadamu” apakah Dia juga sedang mengajarkan bahwa doa itu bekerja seperti mantra? Ayat 9-11 memberitahukan bahwa poin sebenarnya adalah Yesus sedang mendorong dan menolong setiap orang percaya untuk berdoa secara benar. Pertama, kita berdoa karena kita ini anak-anak Allah. Doa merupakan sarana berkomunikasi dan sarana meminta kepada Bapa di Surga. Yesus mendorong kita untuk berani menyapa dan meminta. Kedua, kita berdoa karena Allah sendiri 05 kingdomnews
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yang meminta kita berdoa. Dia selalu mendengar dan menjawab doa. Tidak selalu jawabanNya itu tepat seperti yang kita minta, tapi kasihNya yang sempurna menjamin pemberian terbaik untuk anak-anakNya. Kita hidup di zaman yang serba mudah dan cepat, tetapi doa sama sekali bukan mantra yang menjamin terkabulnya semua keinginan kita. Mari bertekun melakukan bagian kita: meminta, mencari, mengetuk.
Katakan kepada Allah segala kebutuhan maupun isi hati kita (Filipi 4:6; Mazmur 62:9). Di dalam keinginan untuk memuliakan Allah, mungkin kita keliru meminta batu atau ular. Namun di dalam hikmatNya selalu roti dan ikan yang diberikanNya! Mantra kabulkan hal baik maupun buruk yang kita minta. Doa menjamin hanya hal-hal terbaik kita terima dari bapa.
SELF reflection
DOA Doa tidak selalu mampu mengubah keadaan, tapi ia mampu mengubah CARA PANDANG kita. Doa tidak selalu mampu mengembalikan mereka yang kita cintai, tapi mampu memberikan KEBAHAGIAAN yang lain. Doa tidak mampu mengulang waktu, tapi mampu membuat KESEMPATAN yang
lain datang kembali. Doa tidak selalu mampu memperbaiki hati yang hancur, tapi mampu mengubahnya menjadi sumber KEKUATAN untuk melangkah ke masa depan. Doa tidak selalu mampu mengubah penyesalan masa lalu, tapi mampu mengubahnya menjadi HARAPAN baru.
“Learning is defined as a change in behavior. You haven’t learned a thing until you can take action and use it.” ~ Shula & Blanchard “Faith is to believe what we do not see. And the reward of this faith is to see what we believe.” ~Augustine
be MATURE! Hebrew 5:14 “But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” (NIV) Yohanes 8:32 “Tetapi makanan keras adalah untuk orang-orang dewasa, yang karena mempunyai pancaindera yang terlatih untuk membedakan yang baik dari pada yang jahat.” kingdomnews 06
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