Yesus, Penyelamat yang Sanggup Datang: Kisah Sebelum Hari Krismas

“[Pada] masa Kristus hampir datang ke dunia, Dia berkata kepada Allah, ‘Engkau tidak menghendaki korban dan persembahan, tetapi Engkau sudah menyediakan tubuh bagi-Ku… Aku datang untuk melakukan kehendak-Mu, seperti yang tertulis di dalam kitab Taurat tentang diri-Ku’”
(Ibrani 10:5,7, BM).

Pernahkah kamu membayangkan apa sebenarnya yang terjadi pada malam sebelum hari Krismas yang pertama? Sebelum para gembala muncul? Sebelum ahli-ahli kaji bintang datang? Malah sebelum Yusuf dan Maria datang ke Betlehem? Alkitab telah memberikan kita jawapan tentang apa yang terjadi sebelum hari Krismas yang pertama. Bukan dalam Injil-Injil atau Kitab-kitab Berita Baik, tetapi dalam Surat kepada Orang Ibrani. Di dalam surat ini, penulis menceritakan kepada kita tentang apa yang bermain di dalam fikiran Kristus sebelum Dia datang ke dunia. Dengan memetik Mazmur 40:6-8 sebagai Firman Kristus, Alkitab mengatakan bahawa ““[Pada] masa Kristus hampir datang ke dunia, Dia berkata kepada Allah, ‘…Engkau sudah menyediakan tubuh bagi-Ku… Aku datang untuk melakukan kehendak-Mu.’”

Sistem Persembahan Korban (Imamat 17) dalam Perjanjian Lama sudah tidak mendapat perhatian Allah lagi. Ianya diadakan bukan untuk selamanya tetapi untuk sementara. Sejak permulaan, ia bertujuan untuk menunjukkan kepada kita tentang Korban yang terakhir dan yang benar. Pada malam pertama Perayaan Paska (Keluaran 12), darah anak domba sebenarnya ialah petunjuk kepada korban Anak Domba yang terutama yang akan datang. Selepas anak domba itu disembelih, darahnya akan disimpan di dalam bekas untuk dibawa ke rumah masing-masing. Orang-orang Israel disuruh untuk mengambil sedikit darah anak domba dan menyapukannya pada kedua-dua batang tiang pintu dan pada ambang pintu rumah mereka. Melalui proses ini, mereka sebenarnya melakukan simbol tanda salib! Dengan ini, mereka selamat daripada hukuman Allah.

Ianya merupakan suatu petunjuk tentang apa yang akan Kristus lakukan apabila Dia datang ke dunia nanti.

Saya hanya boleh membayangkan pendapat malaikat-malaikat di syurga tentang semua hal ini. Mereka mungkin bertanya antara satu sama lain, “Adakah Dia benar-benar akan melakukannya [datang ke dunia dan mati di kayu salib]?” “Mereka [manusia] tidak layak untuk semua ini,” respon malaikat yang lain. “Syukur kita tidak jatuh bersama dengan malaikat-malaikat yang lain yang mengikut dusta-dusta Iblis,” ada malaikat mencela. “Mereka [manusia] sangat tidak layak! Mereka mudah jatuh dan senang ditipu oleh Iblis!” Benar. Tetapi apa yang pasti, Alkitab mengatakan bahawa: “Penyelamatan [yang dilakukan oleh Kristus]… [menyebabkan] malaikat-malaikat pun ingin memahami semua perkara itu” (1 Petrus 1:10,12). Kita boleh menyangka kehairanan mereka apabila Kristus secara sukarela “dijadikan sedikit lebih rendah daripada malaikat” (Ibrani 2:9). “Lebih rendah daripada kita?” tanya para malaikat. “Kenapa Dia sanggup berbuat begitu?”

Inilah keputusan Kristus yang diluar jangkaan semua makhluk di seluruh alam semesta!

Kristus ialah Anak Allah, Dia duduk di takhta syurga. Alkitab mengatakan bahawa: “Dia memancarkan kemuliaan Allah yang gilang-gemilang dan Dia perwujudan Allah sendiri. Dia memelihara keutuhan alam semesta ini dengan firman-Nya yang berkuasa… Dia duduk di syurga di sebelah kanan Allah, Penguasa Yang Tertinggi” (Ibrani 1:3). Kenapa Dia sanggup meninggalkan semua itu? Kenapa Dia sanggup turun dari tempat yang termulia? Kenapa Dia ingin menjelma menjadi manusia? Kenapa Dia sangat peduli tentang Krismas?

Jawapan yang termudah sekali ialah… Dia melakukan semuanya untuk kemuliaan Bapa dan bagi kita! Kita tidak layak untuk menerima semua ini. Kita pendosa. Tiada penjelasan yang secukupnya yang boleh menjelaskan tentang kebenaran ini. Hanya – kasih kurnia-Nya – merupakan penjelasan yang paling tepat sekali. Beratus-ratus tahun sebelum kelahiran-Nya, Allah Bapa berkata: “Engkaulah anak-Ku; pada hari ini Aku menjadi Bapamu. Mintalah, maka semua bangsa akan Kuberi kepadamu” (Mazmur 2:7-8). Penulis surat Ibrani menerangkan bahawa melalui Kristus “Allah dapat membawa banyak orang ikut menikmati kemuliaan-Nya” (Ibrani 2:10).

Benar, untuk sementara waktu Yesus dijadikan sedikit lebih rendah daripada malaikat apabila Dia menjelma menjadi manusia “supaya dengan rahmat Allah, Dia dapat mati untuk semua orang.” Tetapi untuk selamanya “Dia dikurniai kemuliaan dan kehormatan” (Ibrani 2:9). Alkitab menjelaskan bahawa tujuan Hari Krismas ialah untuk mengingatkan kita bahawa – Dia melakukan semuanya untuk kita. Dia ialah Pemberian Allah kepada kita semua. Dia datang untuk menderita dan mati bagi dosa kita. Dia menerima segala hukuman yang kita patut tanggung. Dia memberikan diri-Nya sendiri supaya kita dibebaskan oleh hukuman dan cengkaman dosa. Inilah Penyelamat Dunia!

Samada para malaikat terkejut dengan Hari Krismas, kita tidak tahu. Saya tidak pasti. Tetapi, sejurus selepas keputusan telah dibuat, mereka tidak sabar-sabar untuk memberitakan Berita Baik itu. Mereka memberitakan tentang Berita yang membawa sukacita kepada kita semua. Seluruh syurga penuh dengan sukacita! “Jangan takut!” kata malaikat kepada para gembala, “Aku datang membawa Berita Baik untuk kamu, berita yang akan menggembirakan semua orang. Pada hari ini di kota Daud telah lahir Penyelamat kamu, Kristus, Tuhan” (Lukas 2:10-11). Dia lahir untuk menyelamatkan kita. Dia datang untuk membawa kita kepada kemuliaan-Nya.

Dia Kristus, Sang Pencipta, lebih tinggi daripada malaikat, dijadikan sedikit lebih rendah daripada malaikat, supaya kita yang lebih rendah daripada malaikat menjadi lebih tinggi daripada malaikat. Melalui Kristus, kita diangkat lebih tinggi daripada yang selayaknya. Lebih tinggi daripada malaikat! Kita berharga dimata-Nya, dipeduli oleh belas kasihan-Nya, dan diangkat oleh kasih kurnia-Nya. Dia melakukan perkara yang kita tidak mampu lakukan. Dia menjadikan kita anak-anak Allah, diangkat menjadi keluarga Tuhan.

Tiada sesiapa yang benar-benar mengasihi kamu seperti Yesus mengasihi kamu! Dia mengasihi kamu sebelum Dia meninggalkan syurga untuk datang ke dunia. Dia datang untuk membebaskan kamu. Untuk mengambil kamu menjadi milik-Nya semula… supaya kamu boleh melihat wajah Allah. Siapa yang tidak mahu kasih seperti ini? Datang kepada-Nya melalui iman yang hidup. Bersukacita, berterima kasih dan dengan hati yang penuh syukur. Memuji dan menyembah Dia. Jika kamu boleh mempercayakan masa depan kamu kepada-Nya, kamu boleh mempercayakan Dia dengan hidup kamu sekarang. Biarlah Hari Krismas tahun ini menjadi tahun kamu menerima dan mengenal Yesus Kristus, Juruselamat dan Tuhan kita! Amin.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Jesus Is God's Son: The Liar & Antichrist Denies This Truth (1 John 2:22-23)

“And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ. Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist. Anyone who denies the Son doesn’t have the Father, either. But anyone who acknowledges the Son has the Father also”

(1 John 2:22-23, NLT).

Remember, the Apostle John was writing this letter to Christians, not to non-Christians. So, he reminds us here that the ultimate lie from those who called themselves ‘Christians’ is to deny that Jesus is God’s Son. In fact, if some people lie about this, they really can’t be trusted on anything else important. As I read the Scriptures, God’s Word clearly teaches that a person cannot know God without knowing the Son, Jesus Christ.

Again and again Jesus Himself said that to know Him was to know God Himself; to reject Jesus was to reject God. “My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Luke 10:22). One time, Jesus insisted that He and God were one and the same: “If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me. For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me… I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it. and I know his commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say” (John 12:44-45, 49-50); “The Father and I are one” (John 10:30).

We see that our faith as Christians depends on the unique relationship that Jesus, the Son had with God the Father. It was so unique and different from the relationship an ordinary human being could have with God; it was a one-of-a-kind relationship. I know this can be difficult to understand, just as it is difficult for me to explain. But all I can gather from what the Scriptures and the Spirit teach is that to deny that Jesus is God’s Son is to deny God the Father as well; to believe that Jesus is God’s Son is to have a correct view of who God the Father is. We can know God partially from nature, even the world around us. But we can know God fully only through and by knowing the Son, Jesus Christ.

Friends, it’s all wrapped up together in one package. You can’t have Jesus without God the Father, and you can’t have God the Father without believing that Jesus was God’s Son. To believe otherwise, according to John, is to tell a terrible lie. “Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist. Anyone who denies the Son doesn’t have the Father, either. But anyone who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.” Amen.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Letters to Annie: Place a High Value on Your God-given Gifts

Dear Annie,

            You’re kind and most honest woman I ever know (Yes, I saw your flaws as you had seen mine. But it’s okay). There is not a single moment where I ever doubt your love for me and every words you said to me really encourage me a lot. Thank you for supporting me in the ministry. Thank you for being so committed in our relationship. Thank you for not giving up.

   

            Dear, I have to tell you this: You’re very talented woman. Even though you can’t compose words like I do (you said), you can do decorations very creatively. And much more. You, and every Christ followers, are a unique blend of talents, skills, and gifts – that you may consciously and unconsciously know of – which makes you an indispensable member of the body of Christ. Zig Ziglar said it nicely, “You are the only person on earth who can use your ability.” So use it!

            Face it, Annie, you’ve got an array of talents that need to be refined. Don’t waste it. Use it all for God’s glory. I’m doing what the Apostle Paul was doing to Timothy: “I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God” (2 Timothy 1:6). All people possess special gifts – bestowed from the Father above – and you are no exception. You have God-given gifts, so use it my dear love. Don’t keep it for yourself. Your gift(s) is no guarantee of success; it must be cultivated – by you – or it will go used… and God’s gift to you will be squandered.

            Today, as you read this, can we both make a New Year resolution to ourselves that we will earnestly seek to discover the talents and/or cultivate God’s gifts to us? Yes? Yeah! Let’s nourish those talents and make them grow. Then, let us promise also to share our gifts with the world for as long as God gives us the power and opportunities to do so. After all, my angel Annie, the best way to say “Thank You” for God’s gifts is to use them.

Assignment: Between this letter and the next, lets us take time to think about ways we can convert our talents into results. I’ll call you soon and ask about this okay…

Give thanks to God by giving back to Him and use our talents for Him. Amen.

I love you even more!

Richard

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Jesus on the Impossibility of Men and the Possibility of God

Jesus and the rich young ruler in Mark 10

Max Lucado, my favourite author commended on Mark 10:17-31, in his book The Applause of Heaven (1990). Title above, mine. He wrote:

Jesus gets to the point. “If you wants to be perfect, then go sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.”

The statement leaves the young man distraught and the disciples bewildered.

Their question could be ours: “Who then can be saved?”

Jesus’ answer shell-shocks the listeners, “With man this is impossible…”

Impossible.

He doesn’t say improbable. He doesn’t say unlikely. He didn’t even say it will be tough. He says it is “impossible”…

Does that strike you as cold? All your life you’ve been rewarded according to your performance. You get grades according to your study. You get commendations according to your success. You get money in response to your work.

That’s why the rich young ruler thought heaven was just a payment away. It only made sense. You work hard, you pay your dues, and “zap” – your account is credited as paid in full. Jesus says, “No way.” What you want costs far more than what you can pay. You don’t need a system, you need a Saviour. You don’t need a resume, you need a Redeemer. For “what is impossible with men is possible with God.”

…You see, it wasn’t the money that hindered the rich man; it was the self-sufficiency. It wasn’t the possessions; it was the pomp. It wasn’t the big bucks; it was the big head…

Astounding. These people are standing before the throne of God and bragging about themselves. The great trumpet has sounded, and they are still tooting their own horns. Rather than sing His praises, they sing their own. Rather than worship God, they read their resumes. When they should be speechless, they speak. In the very aura of the King they boast of self. What is worse – their arrogance or their blindness?

…God does not save us because of what we’ve done…

And only a great God does for his children what they can’t do for themselves.

That is the message of the first beatitude.                                               

“Blessed are the poor in spirit…”

The jewel of joy is given to the impoverished spirits, not the affluent. God’s delight is received upon surrender, not awarded upon conquest.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Jesus Wants Us to Beware of Antichrists and False Teachings (1 John 2:18-21)

Jesus said: “Watch out for false prophets. 

They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves” (Matthew 7:15). 

“Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this, we know that the last hour has come. These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise, they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us. But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you his Spirit, and all of you know the truth. So I am writing to you not because you don’t know the truth but because you know the difference between truth and lies”

(1 John 2:18-21, NLT).

The Apostle John is making a few startling comments here: First, there is “the Antichrist” who is coming; and second, many “antichrists” have already come! Don’t be confused. Let me try my best to clarify what is being written.

We might begin by asking what “the Antichrist” is. The term refers either to a person who opposes Christ (is “anti” Christ) or to a person who tries to take the place of Christ (“anti” also means “instead of”). Thus anyone who is against Jesus Christ, anyone who teaches false doctrine about Christ, and anyone who tries to take Christ’s place by claiming to be a new savior or messiah or redeemer, is an “antichrist.” Earlier, Jesus had warned about the coming of “false Christs and false prophets” who will do everything they can – even performing miracles and temporary healings – to deceive the Christians and lead them away from the true Christian faith (read Matthew 24:24). Some would even claim to be Christ himself (read Mark 13:6). These people can be called antichrists. John also says that some of the false teachers or antichrists had voluntarily “left our churches,” they were defectors. They “proved that they did not belong with us.” Good! They were the counterfeit Christians, those who looked and sounded like Christians but turned out not to be so.

People throughout history tried unsuccessfully to identify who this “the Antichrist” figure is. Some thought it was Nero. Later, some people thought the antichrist was Napoleon, then Adolph Hitler, or more recently, Barack Obama and even the Vatican Pope! But all of these thoughts proved to be wrong. To me, what we can learn from this is not to spend our energies (and Internet data to watch YouTube videos about this issue) to identify one Antichrist who is going to bring about the end of history and the return of authentic Christ. Instead, we should be aware of people and groups who in their own ways – whether quite directly or more subtly – try to convince people that they alone have all of “the truth,” “special knowledge,” and that they have a “special” relationship God which no one else can have. Let me tell you: All of us have access to knowledge of the truth – we can, I’m convinced, understand the essentials of faith.

God makes it clear in His Word that we can all know enough about our faith to be saved and live as believers. No matter know smart or dumb we may feel we are; no matter how many Bible verses we have memorized or how many details of Bible history we know, we can know enough to be God’s children; and that’s what really counts (but this is not an excuse to not read and study the Bible). The Scriptures remind us that we don’t need any “new truth,” that we have been told and know enough to help us “know the difference between truth and lies”; to know “what is right” (2 Timothy 3:16). In other words, we have enough light to show us where to walk – if we choose to use it.

Imagine you have a flashlight in your hand as you walk down a dark, spooky street at night. If you don’t turn on the flashlight you won’t get the light you need to walk, but if you take advantage of the flashlight you will have enough light to show you the way and where to go. You have enough light (or knowledge or “the truth”) to tell you what to believe and do. Don’t look for “new” truth as it was being proclaimed by false teachers and prophets [In summary, there are 7 lies in the church today: 1) Overemphasis of prosperity, 2) exaggerated view of grace; 3) antinomianism; 4) deification of man; 5) challenging the authority of the Word; 6) rejecting the existing of actual hell; and 7) universal reconciliation] Stand firm. God “has given you his Spirit, and all of you know the truth” (1 John 2:20). Amen.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Jesus Is Coming Soon: We are Living in "the Last Hour" (1 John 2:18)

“Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come”
(1 John 2:18, NLT)

The Apostle John makes startling statements here: “The last hour is here”; “The last hour has come” [Another interesting statement is “the Antichrist,” but I’ll deal with this in the next article]. What does he mean by this? We know that Jesus Christ had not (and has not until this day) actually returned to earth. Yet John is speaking of the “last hour” as if it is just around the corner.

Let’s put this statement “last hour” in the setting in which it was originally written. If we go back and look at the teachings of Jesus Himself regarding the end times, we see that He made it very clear that no one would know for sure the hour when the end would come and He would return (Jesus’ second coming, see Matthew 24:42). Jesus also taught that certain events were to happen such as the Good News about Himself being shared throughout the whole world before He would return (see Matthew 24:14). Jesus promised that He would return most dramatically – with the shouts of angels, and the sound of trumpets. Everyone on earth will witness the event! Then the faithful believers would be taken back to heaven with Him (see Matthew 24:30-31).

So, how does all of this fit together? We’ve already talked in the previous series of articles on 1 John about the fact that when Jesus came to earth for the first time, His coming heralded the end of one age and the beginning of a new one. We are still in the new one, the “last hour.” This is not something far off in the distant future – it has already begun. Now! So, in one sense, every hour is the last. Since Jesus first lived on earth we have a new kind of time – the age period – not measured in terms of length (quantity) but in a new dimension (quality). We are living in the “last hour” or “end times” – being careful and alert, watching and waiting for Jesus’ return, but also staying involved in this life by caring for others, and loving one another. We should be living for the future and in the present.

Thus, the end of history certainly has not already happened. We really cannot know for sure when it will happen (don’t trust any messages from social media, especially from YouTube’s ‘prophets’ and Facebook’s ‘dreamers.’ The Scriptures, Matthew 24:36, says “Nobody knows…”). But we do know that with the first coming of Jesus Christ, we began to live in the “last hour,” even if that final end of history should still be a hundred, or a thousand, or even a million years away - or even next year! His return is imminent. So, how shall we live for Christ in the “last hour”? Let me suggest briefly: 1) Reorder your priorities in life in the light of eternity; 2) Stand on the Word of God; 3) Believe in the power of God and rely on the Holy Spirit; 4) Persist in prayer; 5) View your material possessions from eternal perspective; 5) Share the Good News passionately; and 6) “Fix your eyes upon Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2). Don’t caught up in the world that we live thinking about anything but the return of Jesus. It is our “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13). Dear Children of God, are you ready?

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Jesus Reminds Us: Material Things have No Future and Will Pass Away (1 John 2:17)

“[This] world is fading away, along with everything that people crave.

But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever”

(1 John 2:17, NLT).

Apostle John concludes this section (v.15-17) by reminding us material things have no long future. It all will “fading away”; they soon become outdated, fall apart, and get thrown away. They simply have no future. Apostle Paul put it this way: “Those who use the things of the world should not become attached to them. For this world as we know it will soon pass away” (1 Corinthians 7:31).

What a difficult lesson this is to learn! We are living in a world where material things are often a measuring stick of our popularity, power, and value (Just browse through your Facebook page. See the many Ads). We need to recognize them for what they are. It certainly is nice to be able to dress in the latest fashions, enjoy luxurious good food, listen to good music, own the latest gadgets, have four digits part-time income, etc. But if these things become all we think about, we have made them our gods.

But, as John says, “anyone who does what pleases God will live forever,” with God at the center of our lives, we are hooked on what will last forever and bring us long-lasting joy. Remember: It’s what we think about and what we do that determines what is real and important for us. Our words are not enough; it is our actions, based on God-given values and thoughts that show what is ultimately important. The bible verses above are practical and important for our lives. The world and all of its goods can certainly influence us. We can draw into making these things our gods – what we see, what we want, trying to impress others with what we have and want. But to commit ourselves each day to God by saying, “Today Lord, I want You to be the center of my life. Help me want what you want, what will truly last forever. Let me have Your perspectives. Thank you for your loving care. Amen” is to change our attitudes to be what God wants for us.

Ask yourself: How is it true that material things have no future and will pass away?

What examples of this truth come to mind?

For example, what things did you have 5 or 10 years ago

that has since fallen apart and been thrown away?

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.