Allah Orang Hidup BUKAN Allah Orang Mati (Matius 22:23-33)

Orang Saduki tidak percaya kepada kebangkitan daripada kematian (Matius 22:23). Selama bertahun-tahun mereka masih lagi berdebat dengan orang Farisi yang percaya tentang hari kebangkitan. Tidak ada satu pihak pun yang boleh menjawab atau mengemukakan hujah dengan jelas tentang kepercayaan mereka melalui firman Allah.

Namun begitu, orang Saduki ada satu formula soalan yang boleh memalukan hujah pihak musuh (22:24-28). Apa rational disebalik soalan orang Saduki itu? Bagaimana Yesus Kristus menjawabnya dengan mudah melalui firman Allah? Siapa TUHAN Allah yang kita sembah? Jika kamu perlu dorongan untuk iman dan pengharapan; dalam kehidupan seharian dan persiapan untuk kematian, dengar episod ini ��������� #ServeToLead #PreachTheWord #InjilMatius

Untuk mendengar ��� KLIK DI SINI, Spotify: http://bit.ly/SpotifyMatius157 

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Berita Manah: Apin Abraham Ada, Jesus Endang Udah Bisi (John 8)

 

John pasal 8 tu dibaca ari Berita Manah Ka Rebak Diatu: Sempekat Baru dalam Jako Iban (Iban New Testament, 2nd Edition) ari The Bible Society of Singapore, Malaysia & Brunei, 1981 📖⚡😊 #ServeToLead #InjilJohn #BeritaManah #SempekatBaru

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Angelus' Quote: Allah berfirman, Abraham memandang; Abraham percaya, Allah berkenan

“TUHAN membawa Abram ke luar lalu berfirman, "Pandanglah ke langit dan cubalah hitung bintang; engkau akan mempunyai keturunan sebanyak bintang."
(Kejadian 15:5)

Kenapa TUHAN berfirman kepada Abram untuk ke luar, memandang langit dan menyuruh dia menghitung bintang-bintang ketika Dia berjanji kepada Abram bahawa dia akan menjadi bapa segala bangsa? (Nama Abram ditukarkan kepada 'Abraham' yang bermaksud 'bapa segala bangsa'). Kerana TUHAN tahu bahawa Abraham tidak boleh membayangkan betapa besar janji Allah kepadanya. Kerana TUHAN mahu Abraham mendongak ke langat sebagai peringatan bahawa Dia yang berjanji dan berkuasa untuk melaksanakannya. Kerana TUHAN ingin meletakkan suatu gambaran baru di dalam fikiran Abraham.

Bagi Abraham dan Sarah, mereka sudah tua dan tidak mempunyai zuriat (lagipun Sarah mandul), maka secara logik dan semula jadi, janji Allah itu merupakan suatu perkara yang tidak mungkin - mustahil! Tetapi setiap kali Abraham melihat bintang-bintang di langit, dia akan diingatkan semula tentang janji Allah kepadanya. Dia melihat janji itu melalui mata imannya. Kejadian 15:6 menulis respon kepada 15:5, "Abram percaya kepada TUHAN, maka TUHAN berkenan kepadanya." Allah berfirman, Abraham memandang; Abraham percaya, Allah berkenan.

Bila kamu membaca Firman dan/atau bila Allah berfirman kepada kamu, adakah kamu memandang dengan mata imanmu? Apa yang kamu gambarkan di dalam fikiran kamu, itu yang akan menentukan tahap kepercayaan kamu. Janji Allah tetap teguh dan benar tetapi kepercayaan kita bergantung kepada mata iman kita. Ingat, "Abraham percaya" dahulu baru "TUHAN berkenan" kepadanya (Ini bukan tentang isu keselamatan). Kamu harus melihat gambaran itu di dalam fikiran kamu dulu sebelum ia digenapi di dalam kehidupan kamu. Kenapa TUHAN berkali-kali mengingatkan Abraham tentang janji-Nya dari satu peristiwa ke peristiwa seterusnya? Kerana Dia ingin meletakkan gambaran baru itu di dalam fikiran Abraham.

Ubah apa yang kamu gambarkan di dalam fikiran kamu, maka, kehidupan kamu juga akan berubah. Berfikiran negatif dan tidak-mungkin ialah kepakaran kita manusia. Jadi, untuk mengubah gambaran di dalam fikiran kita, cara yang terbaik ialah dengan membaca, memahami dan menghafal Firman Allah. Salah satu cara lagi ialah dengan melihat ciptaan Allah. Pandanglah ke langit dan lihat bintang-bintang... Jika kamu rajin, bawa kalkulator dan kira!

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Angelus' Quote: Jadi Seperti Abraham, Keluar Daripada Zon Selesa Kamu

"Melalui iman Abraham taat apabila disuruh pergi ke tempat yang kemudian diterimanya sebagai warisannya. Dia pergi tanpa mengetahui ke mana dia pergi"
(Ibrani 11:8, AVB)

Mungkin Abraham sedang berdoa, mungkin Abraham seorang yang berfikiran berbeza, mungkin Abraham ada impian dia sendiri, tetapi dia mungkin takut untuk bertindak. Walau apapun, TUHAN memanggil Abram keluar daripada zon selesa. Bila TUHAN berfirman dan bila umat-Nya bertindak, segala kehendak-Nya akan terjadi. Pada masa yang sama, impian kita yang selaras dengan kehendak-Nya akan menjadi kenyataan.

"Melalui iman Abraham taat apabila disuruh pergi ke tempat yang kemudian diterimanya sebagai warisannya" - dia sampai ke Tanah Perjanjian di Kanaan yang subur dan kaya. Apa yang lebih berharga lagi ialah Abraham memiliki hubungan yang akrab dengan TUHAN, menjadi sahabat-Nya. Melalui suka dan duka, kejayaan dan kegagalan, iman dan keraguan, Abraham terus bergantung kepada TUHAN. Ini ialah "warisannya" yang paling berharga. Semua disebabkan dia sanggup keluar daripada zon selesa.

Berbeza dengan Abraham, bapanya Terah juga pergi keluar daripada tempat asalnya tetapi dia berputus asa dan berhenti di tengah jalan. "Ketika sampai di Haran, [Terah dan keluarganya] menetap di sana" (Kejadian 11:31). Apa yang Terah mahu ialah keselesaan dan hidup biasa-biasa, jadi, dia tidak dapat menikmati berkat TUHAN yang lebih besar lagi. Dia menetap. Jika Terah bersikap seperti Abraham, mungkinkah dia juga akan menikmati kebaikan di Tanah Perjanjian dan mempunyai hubungan yang akrab dengan TUHAN? Mungkin iya, mungkin tidak. Kita tidak tahu kerana dia tidak mengambil risiko dan keluar daripada zon selesa. Alang-alang.

Jangan jatuh cinta dengan zon selesa. Zon selesa tidak akan membangkitkan iman kamu. Memang akan kurang konflik, masalah dan kegagalan jika kamu berada di zon selesa tetapi tanpa semua itu, bagaimana kamu tahu bahawa iman kamu itu hidup? Bagaimana kamu dapat merasa pertolongan TUHAN jika kamu tidak ada masalah? Jadi seperti Abraham, "dia pergi tanpa mengetahui ke mana dia pergi." Dia mungkin tidak pasti tentang arah dan kedudukan yang dijanjikan kepadanya tetapi dia "PERGI", keluar daripada zon selesa kerana dia tahu Siapa yang mengarahkannya dan Siapa yang duduk ditakhta hidupnya. Keluar daripada zon selesa kamu. Banyak lagi yang TUHAN ingin beri kepada kamu. Terus melangkah dan terus percaya. Mahu menjadi seperti Abraham atau Terah?

Instagram ---> Richard_Angelus

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Sarah, Why You Gotta Be so Rude? Don't You Know its God's Word? (Genesis 18:10-15)

“One of them said, ‘I’m coming back about this time next year. When I arrive, your wife Sarah will have a son.’ Sarah was listening at the tent opening, just behind the man. Abraham and Sarah were only by this time, very old. Sarah was far past the age for having babies. Sarah laughed within herself, ‘An old woman like me? Get pregnant? With this old man of a husband?’ God said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh saying, ‘Me? Have a baby? An old woman like me?’ Is anything too hard for God? I’ll be back about this time next year and Sarah will have a baby.’ Sarah lied. She said, ‘I didn’t laugh,’ because she was afraid. But he said, ‘Yes, you did; you laughed.’”

(Genesis 18:10-15, The Message)

It was the hottest part of the day, nobody travel at that time. But three strangers showed up at the tent of Abraham and Sarah beneath the oaks of Mamre (Genesis 1:1). Abraham must have recognized them as angels – the manifestation of God, “God appeared to Abraham” – for he run out to meet them and bowed down before them. Abraham insisted that they stop awhile and rest in the cooler shade of the oak trees and wash their feet. He called Sarah to prepare bread for the visitors while he selected the best calf to slaughter and cook for his honorary guests. This is MEH… Middle-East hospitality!

When they had eaten, the visitors made an astonishing announcement: within a year, Sarah would give birth to “a son.” So specific. Male. One year. A son. But behind the visitors, someone was laughing. Sarcastic laugh? Laugh of unbelief? Laugh with a touch of mockery? Maybe all of it. It was an old woman’s laugh – Sarah’s. That was rude.

As if the visitors were pissed off, one of them asked, “Why did you laugh?” Surely they understood why she laughed. The thought of a 90-year-old woman giving birth was ridiculous. Rude, yes; but understandable (I wonder if Abraham ever smile when he heard this news too, or might learned his lesson in chapter 18?). But the visitors, the angels, the messengers were serious. God was serious. God thinks higher than us… He always uses the foolish and the weak things of the world to shame the wise and the strong. Sarah would soon see that nothing is too hard – or too ridiculous – for God. The question that the visitor asked Abraham and Sarah that day is the same question that the Holy Spirit is asking us now: Is anything too hard for God? Actually, it’s a statement: Nothing is impossible to God.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

  

God Is In the Business of Impossible (Genesis 17:15-19)

“God continued speaking to Abraham, ‘And Sarai your wife: Don’t call her Sarai any longer; call her Sarah. I’ll bless her—yes! I’ll give you a son by her! Oh, how I’ll bless her! Nations will come from her; kings of nations will come from her.’ Abraham fell flat on his face. And then he laughed, thinking, ‘Can a hundred-year-old man father a son? And can Sarah, at ninety years, have a baby?’ Recovering, Abraham said to God, ‘Oh, keep Ishmael alive and well before you!’ But God said, ‘That’s not what I mean. Your wife, Sarah, will have a baby, a son. Name him Isaac (Laughter). I’ll establish my covenant with him and his descendants, a covenant that lasts forever’”
(Genesis 17:15-19, The Message)

Sarai was 90 year-old when God gave her a fresh start. No longer would she be known by the old Babylonian name she had been born with. From Genesis 17 onward, she would be called “Sarah” – Princess – and she, like her husband (Abram, previously renamed as Abraham), would be the mother of nations. Name is so important. It represent who we are, our origin. Good name is crucial for a new identity. Abraham and Sarah’s names are God’s prophesy of what they would become.

I’m thinking of Abraham… how his faith were stretched… he had been called upon to believe some wild things (Up-In-The-Sky-Kind-of-Promises!) over the previous 30 years. But the thought of his 90 year-old wife would “give you a son” was too much. Too impossible for him – and probably too stress – that he laughed! Abraham being Abraham, he gave God a suggestion, a solution: “Oh, keep Ishmael alive and well before you!” What he meant was, “Lord, why couldn’t Ismael, be the son of the promise? Let him be!” Perhaps Abraham truly love Ishmael. Perhaps Abraham sick of waiting. Perhaps he felt bad for the boy Ishmael, son with the servant woman Hagar. Illegitimate or not, he was till Abram’s flesh and blood.

Let me reason for Abraham… Hey, Ishmael, his son, was already there. Why wait? I think it is quite awesome if God were to make a great nation out of Ishmael (in fact, God does it). But to imagine an as-yet-unborn son of a 90 year-old woman? To me and Abraham… that was impossible to imagine...

About two thousand years later, God did the same impossible promise. Elderly Elizabeth who were barren bore a son, John the Baptist and Mary, a virgin, bore child Jesus the Messiah (read Luke 1 and 2). Both were impossible cases, but as Gabriel, the archangel said, “Nothing, you see, is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37, Msg). God had His own plans, His plans will come to past. He is in the business of impossible. “That’s not what I mean,” God insisted, “Your wife, Sarah, will have a baby, a son.” God was doing something utterly new to Abraham. In the end, Sarah gave birth to a son named Isaac (read Genesis 21).

When God plans to do something, something great

Hold fast to His promises, He keep His promises,

Remember: “Nothing, you see, is impossible with God”

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

During the Covenant Making Abram Fell Into a Deep Sleep, So God Slapped Him? (Genesis 15:10-22)

“God said, ‘Bring me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, and a dove and a young pigeon.’ [Abram] brought all these animals to him, split them down the middle, and laid the halves opposite each other. But he didn’t split the birds. Vultures swooped down on the carcasses, but Abram scared them off. As the sun went down a deep sleep overcame Abram and then a sense of dread, dark and heavy…  When the sun was down and it was dark, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch moved between the split carcasses. That’s when God made a covenant with Abram: ‘I’m giving this land to your children, from the Nile River in Egypt to the River Euphrates in Assyria—the country of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaim, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites’”

(Genesis 15:9-12, 17-21, The Message)

Either you don’t understand what you’ve just read or you’re saying What?!! to this bloody business, I find that this encounter is interesting. Abram killed three large animals, cut each in half through bone and muscle, and laid the pieces out. But lucky birds, their bodies remain in one piece (but probably their heads were chopped off. Easy dead). Imagine the smell of meat and blood. Thus, Abram had to scare the vultures off.

I assumed Abram probably recognized the making of the familiar ritual – the Cutting of a Covenant – during the Old Testament period. When two kings made a covenant, they sometimes cut an animal in half and walked between the pieces as way of saying, “If I don’t keep this agreement, may I be like this animal.” Sometimes both parties walked between the pieces, sometimes it was only the weaker of the two kings.

“As the sun went down a deep sleep overcame Abram and then a sense of dread, dark and heavy.” Many commentaries tells us that Abram woke to a vision of God. In a form of “a smoking firepot and a flaming touch” God passing between the pieces of the animals. If it was God, then I assured you, it was not the weaker of the two parties putting Himself on the line for the sake of the Covenant, but the stronger. The only One. I interprets it as of God was saying, “If I don’t give this land to your offspring as I have promised, may I be broken like these broken animals.”

God came to the man and woman who waited in faith. There is no record of Abram walking between the pieces since God’s Covenant is not a bargain between equals. It is totally dependent on God’s initiative of grace. Abram role – our role even today – is to receive what God gives, obey what God commands and so live in the enjoyment of God’s blessings. I learned, through my darkest moments, when I don’t understand why I have to wait for God’s promises to be fulfilled, I know that that is precisely the moment for faith to hold on to God’s Word and to say,

“I know that the God who has brought me to this point is not going to let me down now, so I am going to confirm my commitment to Him, whatever the appearance may be, because He is committed to me forever. Amen.”

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Abram, Look at the Stars, Look How They Shine for You (Genesis 15:1-6)

“The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.’ But Abram said, ‘O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’ And Abram said, ‘Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.’

And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: ‘This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.’ And he brought him outside and said, ‘Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’

And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness”

(Genesis 15:1-6, ESV)

By now Abram was an old man. His wife, Sarai, was old too – in fact, decades beyond childbearing age. So when God came to him in a vision (you may called it ‘dream’) and repeated the promise He once made with Abram, it’s not hard to understand Abram’s doubt and fear. “I continue childless,” he said, “and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus [his chief servant].” Lot, his nephew has gone; and Abram had left his families behind. Since he doesn’t have any children or other close relatives, by law of the land, his chief servant will inherits his properties (unless he go back to his home town). I imagine it was a painful thing for Abram to think about: It wasn’t even a distant relative, but a servant who would inherit everything he had worked for.

Even though God seems to be ‘last-minute’ to me, it wasn’t what He had in mind when He promised to make a great nation of Abram. He wasn’t talking about servant(s) that will inherit his properties and promises. No, as unlikely as it sounded, God was going to give Abram his very own son.

God took him outside the tent [still in a vision, probably in spirit?] and told him to look up to the heavens. “Number the stars,” God said, “if you are able to number them.” [Again, I imagine Abram tried to count the stars with his finger and murmured 1, 2, 3, 4, 5…] “So shall your offspring be.”

Abram probably lifted his head once more, this time he looked at the stars not as numbers but possibilities. He took in the vast and shimmering sky – each star a son, a daughter, each one a blessing to the rest of the world. And somehow, Abram’s faith restored – Abram believed again.

I hope that this story – God’s Story – will lift up your faith again, restore your believe in God’s promises again, hope in Him again. May God’s righteousness be with you as you believe in His goodness and promises in His living Word.
[P.s: I’m not sure what “counted it to him as righteousness” mean; could it be God counted Abram as righteous because of his act of believe?]

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Abram Scored Low in Character and Integrity, But Why He Was Called the Father of Our Faith? (Genesis 12:1-5)

“God told Abram: ‘Leave your country, your family, and your father’s home for a land that I will show you. I’ll make you a great nation and bless you. I’ll make you famous; you’ll be a blessing. I’ll bless those who bless you; those who curse you I’ll curse. All the families of the Earth will be blessed through you.’ So Abram left just as God said, and Lot left with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot with him, along with all the possessions and people they had gotten in Haran, and set out for the land of Canaan and arrived safe and sound”

(Genesis 12:1-5, The Message)

Abram (later named as Abraham) was from somewhere in modern-day Iraq and most likely from a tribe of moon-worshippers. Nothing in the Bible indicates what kind of person Abram was, either his personality or moral behaviour that attract God’s attention among so many pagans. In fact, few chapters ahead suggest that Abram was flawed in his character and integrity.

But God called Abram anyway. Abram, this childlike seventy-five-years-old, would be an ancestor of a great nation someday, and through him God would bless all the nations. All Abram had to do was leave everything he had ever known and follow this mysterious Voice to a new country. It was not an easy task. The Voice doesn’t mention, by the way, where this new country is, or how long it will take to get there.

Amazingly, almost unbelievably, Abram obeyed the Voice. Whatever his shortcomings, Abram, no doubt, had an astonishing capacity for belief. He was faith-full. He risked his whole life on the conviction that God’s promise will come true. Again and again, Abram made a mess of things (if you followed our Bible Studies on the Book of Genesis, you’ll know how frustrated I was about Abraham’s character and conduct). But he always returned to this first conviction: God’s promises are true. That trust and capacity for belief are what made Abram the father of our faith. God’s promises to His people – Christ-followers – are always true… The question is… Do you believe?

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Abram Let God Makes the Decision (Genesis 13:5-11)

“Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. And quarreling arose between Abram’s herders and Lot’s… So Abram said to Lot, ‘Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.’ Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt… So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east”
(Genesis 13:5-11, NIV).

When there was a conflict between Abram’s servants and Lot’s, Abram extended a graciousness that was similar to the grace he had received from God. The two households (uncle and nephew) would have to go their separate ways. As the elder relative, Abram had every right to dictate to his nephew the terms of the separation. But he didn’t. He let Lot choose which land to take. Wow!

Why was Abram willing to leave that most important decision to another? Perhaps he understood that neither he nor Lot was making the decision. God was at work, and God was the One who would be giving Abram the land he wanted Abram to have.

As it turned out, Lot’s choice to settle in the “well-watered” plains of the Jordan didn’t make him a great patriarch. Life among the wicked cities of the plains – including Sodom and Gomorrah – wrecked Lot’s family (read Genesis chapter 18 and 19). God rewarded Abram’s act of faith, on the other hand, with a renewal of His promise: “All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever” (Genesis 13:15). That land, by the way, included the Jordan Valley, which Abram had just given to Lot!

I like what Ray Stedman writes, “Everyone dwells in a world exactly like that of Abram and Lot. A world in which material values constantly clamor for us to make a choice. We have only so much time to invest, so much life to spend, and we are pressured to try to grab the best for ourselves while we can. We can say with Lot, ‘I want what the world can offer me now, I want the cities of the plain.’ Or we may wait with Abram, content with our tent and altar, enjoying the blessings of the land by faith now, and waiting for God's fulfillment of all His promises in that wonderful age yet to come. The Christian who is content to let God make his choices finds it easy to fulfill the New Testament word: ‘Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Amen.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Abram had a Choice: Faith or Self-Sufficiency (Genesis 12:10-16)

“Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, ‘I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.’ When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels”
(Genesis 12:10-16, NIV).

The journey God called Abram to undertake wasn’t safe. Abram had to pass through the lands of many unfriendly kings. As Abram’s danger grew, his fear grew – especially in the land of Egypt. Pharaoh was the sort of king who took whatever he wanted. Abram was afraid Pharaoh would want his wife, Sarai, and kill her husband to have her. Abram would rather lose his wife than to protect her (Abram was faith-less here; Sarai was very obedience).

Abram had a choice: he could renew his trust in the God who promised to see him through; or he could attempt to solve the problem in his own strength and wisdom. He chose the latter. It was a perfectly understandable reaction; when things feel out of control, our first instinct is to attempt to take control. But in relying on his own shrewdness, Abram made the situation grow worst. He forsook his wife, ‘prostituting’ her to save his own skin.

When we trust in our own shrewdness, we draw a very strict limit around the solutions that are available to us. In my own experiences, many of those solutions are worse than the original problem, simply because I trust myself more than I trust God’s guidance and promises. When we rely on God, we open ourselves to a whole universe of solutions. Now, practically today, how to know God’s will in our lives? How to make God-centred decisions? For Abram, he can just ask God, but he didn’t. For us today, we have the Holy Spirit and the Word of God available and accessible to us. Get serious with the Word. To know God’s will is to have the mind of Christ; to have the mind of Christ is to know God’s Word: God’s will is God’s Word. It is through God’s Word that we can have faith in the God of the Word.

Every day we have a choice: faith or self-sufficiency.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Abram Had An Astonishing Capacity for Belief (Genesis 12:1-5)

“The LORD had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.’ So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated… they set out from the land of Canaan, and they arrived there”
(Genesis 12:1-5, NIV).

Abram (later will be called Abraham) lived somewhere in modern-day Iraq, most likely from a tribe of moon-worshippers. Nothing in the Bible indicates what kind of man Abram was - nothing about his moral life – that separated him from other pagans. And yet God choses him. Few chapters after the Bible recorded that Abram was quite average in his character and integrity.

But God called Abram anyway. Abram, this childless 75-year-old, would be a great nation someday, and through him God would bless all the nations. All Abram had to do (which is the hardest to do) was leave everything he had ever known – his country, people and household – and follow this mysterious Voice to a new country. The Voice doesn’t mention, by the way, where this new country is, or how long it will take to get there.

Amazingly, Abram followed. Whatever his shortcomings, the man had an astonishing capacity to believe. He staked his whole life on the conviction that God’s promises were true. Again and again, Abram made mistakes. But he always returned to this first conviction: God’s promises are true. That capacity to believe is what made Abram the father of our faith. Obedience come from believing in God’s promises. Abram could not always know what route the journey would take but he learned to trust in God to direct his steps.

How can Abram's faith in God’s promises encourage you
to entrust your needs more fully to God?

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Jesus Predicted His Own Resurrection (What the Great Good News for Sinners!)

Jesus talked about his death and resurrection. 

“’The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,’ Jesus said. ‘He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead’” (Luke 9:22, NLT).

Jesus told his disciples “not to tell anyone” that he was the Messiah (Luke 9:21), not because it is wrong, but because it was a premature declaration or that Jesus was not fully revealed himself to them his messiahship due to the absent of resurrection and ascension, and all of them were clearly hadn’t understood Peter’s confession of faith that Jesus is “the Messiah” (9:20). The Father “revealed” to Peter but not due to his understanding which was a different kind of messiah than what Jesus have in mind but because of God’s Holy Spirit who love to revealed the truth about the Son of God. So Jesus began to spell it out for them (Well, after Jesus’ resurrection, he said to them, “Go tell!”).

Jesus started by saying he would have to suffer greatly at the hands of “the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law” – in effect, the Jewish supreme court – and that would lead to his death (As a note: Jesus is the only Person who choose to come to the world, choose his parents, choose to live among us, choose who’s going to persecute him, choose how to die and time to raised back to life again. We, including the enemies, absolutely have no choice in any of these!). Those plain statements much have shocked the disciples, especially the part about his dying. And evidently they couldn’t comprehend the next part, the Good News, that “on the third day” he would “be raised from the dead.”

I think, if they had actually heard what Jesus (really) said about coming back to life, they probably would have pressed him on that issue, saying something like, “Wait a minute! How is that possible?” Instead, the Gospel stories report that Peter “began to reprimand him for saying such things” (see Mark 8:32). I tell you, Peter thought of a different version of messiah; not the Scripture’s Messiah. Jesus predicted his resurrection at least two more times beside in the Bible passages above in Matthew 17:23 and 20:19, yet the disciples were shocked when it actually occurred.

Think about this: We live on the other side of these predicted events and know the story of Jesus’ being rejected, accused, and convicted by the religious authorities and tortured and crucified by the Romans. Thanks God for the written Word, the Bible. We also know the truth of the Resurrection – that on “the third day” Jesus was “raised from the dead.” Centuries after those facts, people still have misconceptions about Jesus’ real identity and they are still surprised that Jesus arose from the dead. All religious and great men’s tombs are occupied, but Jesus’ tomb is empty! The Good News is that instead of struggling under the weight of sin, guilt, and worldly issues and conflicts, we can live in the joy of Resurrection. Because Jesus rose, we know he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And because he lives, we too shall live. Amen!

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Jesus, the Shepherd Who Knows Our Name

“I am the good Shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own”
(John 10:14, NKJV).

When I see a flock I see exactly that, a flock. A rabble of wool. A herd of hooves. I don’t see a sheep. I see sheep. All alike. None different. That’s what I see.

But not so with the shepherd. To him every sheep is different. Every face is special. Every face has a story. And every sheep has a name. The one with the sad eyes, that’s Droopy. And the fellow with one ear up and the other down, I call him Oscar. And the small one with the black patch on his leg, he’s an orphan with no brothers. I call him Joseph.

The shepherd knows his sheep. He calls them by name.

When we see a crowd, we see exactly that, a crowd. Filling a stadium or flooding a mall. When we see a crowd, we see people, not persons, but people. A herd of humans. A flock of faces. That’s what we see.

But not so with the Shepherd. To Him every face is different. Every face is a story. Every face is a child. Every child has a name. The one with the sad eyes, that’s Sally. The old fellow with one eyebrow up and the other down, Harry’s his name. And the young one with the limp? He’s an orphan with no brothers. I call him Joey. The Shepherd knows His sheep. He knows each one by name. The Shepherd knows you. He knows your name. And He will never forget it. “I have written your name on My hand” (Isaiah 49:16).

Quite a thought, isn’t it? Your name on God’s hand. Your name on God’s lips. Maybe you’ve seen your name in some special places. On an award or diploma or walnut door. Or maybe you’re heard your name from some important people – a coach, a celebrity, a teacher. But to think that your name is on God’s hand, on God’s lips… my, could it be?

[From When God Whispers Your Name by Max Lucado]

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Yesus berkata, "Beritahu betapa Besarnya Pertolongan dan Betapa Baiknya TUHAN kepadaMu" (Markus 5:1-20)

“Yesus and pengikut-pengikut-Nya tiba di seberang Tasik Galilea, di daerah Gerasa. Sebaik sahaja Yesus turun dari perahu, Dia didatangi oleh seorang lelaki yang keluar dari gua kubur” (Markus 5:1-2, BM). Lelaki itu kerasukkan roh jahat dan bersikap seperti haiwan liar yang tinggal di kawasan perkuburan. Tetapi Yesus “Anak Allah Yang Maha Tinggi” (Markus 5:7) telah memecahkan belenggu dan mengusir roh-roh jahat keluar dari lelaki itu dan dengan mukjizat-Nya lelaki itu sembuh dan telah dibebaskan. Ketika Yesus dan pengikut-pengikut-Nya bersiap untuk pergi meninggalkan daerah itu, lelaki itu ingin mengikuti mereka. Tetapi Yesus berkata kepadanya, “Pulanglah kepada keluargamu dan beritahu mereka betapa besarnya pertolongan Tuhan dan betapa baiknya Dia kepadamu!” (Markus 5:19).

Pertama sekali Yesus berkata, “Pulanglah kepada keluargamu…” (klik di sini untuk membaca bahagian pertama ini). Selepas itu, Yesus berkata pula, “…dan beritahu mereka betapa besarnya pertolongan Tuhan dan betapa baiknya Dia kepadamu!” Yesus tidak berkata supaya lelaki itu harus menyediakan khutbah yang menarik atau pergi mengingati banyak ayat-ayat Firman Allah tentang keselamatan atau menggariskan setiap ayat di dalam Alkitab dengan menggunakan pen merah (walaupun semua ini sangat baik untuk kita lakukan). Sebaliknya, Yesus hanya berkata supaya dia balik ke tempat asalnya dan menceritakan pengalaman dia bertemu dengan TUHAN.

Ini ialah perkhabaran yang sangat asas bagi kita: Berita Baik tentang apa yang Yesus telah lakukan di dalam hidup kita! Khutbah yang hebat, mengingati atau menggariskan Firman Allah dan mempelajari langkah-langkah untuk bersaksi memang ada baiknya. Tetapi perkhabaran yang sangat berkesan sekali ialah tentang bagaimana Yesus telah menolong, melakukan segala yang baik kepada kita dan tentang betapa indahnya Yesus dalam kehidupan kita. Apabila semua perancangan untuk bersaksi gagal, saya tahu bahawa ada satu yang tidak pernah gagal iaitu, TUHAN telah melakukan sesuatu yang indah dalam kehidupan saya dan saya boleh bersaksi dengan autoriti – dan TUHAN akan membuatkannya berjaya!

Saya sangat bersyukur kepada mereka yang mempunyai kebolehan untuk bersaksi tentang Yesus dimana sahaja mereka berada… namun kebanyakkan kita tidak mempunyai kebolehan itu. Tetapi, kita boleh bersaksi kepada mereka yang dekat dengan kita. Mereka yang kita jumpa hampir setiap hari. Ibu saya jarang pergi ke gereja lagi atas sebab-sebab tertentu tetapi saya cuba bersaksi dengan dia tentang bagaimana TUHAN telah mengubah kehidupan saya. Saya akan berdoa dan mengasihi dia sehingga dia melihat bahawa TUHAN itu sentiasa peduli dan mengasihi dia. Saya akan menghormati dan menjaga dia sebagaimana TUHAN telah lakukan kepada saya. Perkhabaran yang dia akan dengar dan lihat ialah tentang pengalaman peribadi saya dengan Yesus. Siapa yang dekat dengan kamu sekarang? Bersaksilah. Khabarkan tentang kasih Yesus melalui perkataan dan perbuatan kamu.

"...beritahu mereka betapa besarnya pertolongan Tuhan 

dan betapa baiknya Dia kepadamu!"

Ini ialah berkhabaran yang terutama.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Before Abraham was Born, Jesus says "I Am"

“I am telling you the truth. Before Abraham was born, ‘I Am’”

(Jesus says about himself, John 8:58, TEV)

It all begins in the time of Moses, Israel’s great national hero. When God called on him to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, Moses was reluctant to accept – in fact, he played hard-to-get or in my local language: ‘Jual mahal!’ (Read about it in Exodus 3). He offered all sorts of excuses for not going. One of the more reasonable was that he couldn’t explain who had sent him. Moses said to God, “When I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ So what can I tell them?” (Exodus 3:13, TEV). God replied (and it’s a little difficult to make it sound sense in English): “I am who I am. You must tell them: ‘The one who is called I Am has sent me to you’” (3:14).

Clearly, in the New Testament John 8, Jesus’ use of the phrase “I Am” would remind His hearers of that incident and of that special name for God. More than that, the fact that Jesus said, “Before Abraham was born, ‘I Am’”, and not “I was”, would suggest something else: that He was claiming to be what only God really is – eternal. Only God can legitimately claim “I Am” at any time, past, present, or future; but there is Jesus saying that He is also eternal, that His birth in Bethlehem was not His beginning, that He had always been in existence, even before Abraham.

This was highly provocative. Jesus must have realized that His words would imply these things and would arouse the anger of His critics (as He always does). By applying the name “I Am” to Himself, Jesus was talking for Himself something that was properly God’s alone – Jesus was claiming to be equal with God. Morgan G. Campbell writes, “These are the words of the most impudent blasphemer that ever spoke, or the words of God incarnate.” His critics took it as blasphemy, and in their Law, the punishment for that was death by stoning. So angry were they by now, that they dispensed with arrest, trial and sentence. So clearly understood Jesus’ statement that they grabbed the nearest stones and trying to kill Him there and then. Even today, the real Jesus is so hated by the enemies because He, in God’s Word, says, “I Am.”

Is Jesus really the “I Am”?

Do you know Jesus of the Bible?

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.