Things we didn't do

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do

Mark Twain

Pink on the Cross of Christ

These words from Arthur Pink can't be better phrased:

God is holy and therefore he will not look upon sin. God is just and therefore he judges sin wherever it is found. But God is love as well: God delighteth in mercy, and therefore infinite wisdom devised a way whereby justice might be satisfied and mercy left free to flow out to guilty sinners. This way was the way of substitution, the just suffering for the unjust.

The Son of God himself was the one selected to be the substitute, for none other would suffice. Through Nahum, the question had been asked, "Who can stand before his indignation"? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger?" (1:6). This question received its answer in the adorable person of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He alone could "stand".

One only could bear the curse and yet rise a victor above it. One only could endure all the avenging wrath and yet magnify the law and make it honourable. One only could suffer his heel to be bruised by Satan and yet in that bruising destroy him that had the power of death.

If then God spared not the Lord Jesus when sin was found upon him, what possible hope is there, unsaved reader, that he will spare thee when thou standest before him at the great white throne with sin upon thee?

If God poured out his wrath on Christ while he hung as surety for his people, be assured that he will most certainly pour out his wrath on you if you die in your sins. The word of truth is explicit: "he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" (John 3:36). God "spared not" his own Son when he took the sinner’s place, nor will he spare him who rejects the Saviour.

Christ was separated from God for three hours, and if you finally reject him as your Saviour you will be separated from God for ever - "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord" (2 Thess. 1:9).

Churchill on Writing A Book

Writing a book is an adventure. To begin with, it is a toy and an amusement; then it becomes a mistress, and then it becomes a master, and then a tyrant. The last phase is that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster, and fling him out to the public.

Winston Churchill

Talk, Talk, and Talk

Masyarakat Native America yang hidup di pedalaman memiliki sebuah kebiasaan unik. Mereka setiap hari duduk di atas batu dalam sebuah lingkaran, dan mulai ngobrol. Dan mereka akan ngobrol terus selama berjam-jam, bahkan terkadang sampai berhari-hari. Mula-mula obrolan mulai dengan hal-hal yang sepele, yang remeh sampai akhirnya obrolan yang berisi, yang bermakna, yang dari hati ke hati mulai muncul. Itu sebab dalam budaya mereka, ada istilah yang lalu muncul: We talk and talk until the talk starts.

Mari kita mencoba mengadaptasi budaya orang Native America dalam konteks pertumbuhan iman kita, yaitu dengan menerapkan 3 jenis talk dalam Hubungan Pribadi kita Dengan Tuhan (HPDT):

1. Let God talk to you
Dalam hiruk-pikuk dunia, kita perlu berdiam diri dan belajar mendengar sabda Allah kepada kita secara pribadi. Jika Anda tidak pernah mempersilakan Allah berbicara kepada Anda, maka hidup Anda akan disetir oleh noise dunia yang jauh lebih keras dan lebih dominan, dan menyesatkan. Jangan lupa ‘a person who has no inner life is a slave of his or her surrounding’.
Paulus menulis kepada Timotius tentang empat fungsi firman Allah dalam 2 Tim 3:16, yaitu untuk menyatakan (1) apa yang benar, (2) apa yang salah dengan kita, (3) bagaimana menjadi benar, dan (4) bagaimana terus hidup dalam kebenaran.

2. Let us talk to God
Allah berbicara kepada kita melalui firmanNya, dan kita berespon kepadaNya melalui doa. Ngobrol dengan Allah bagi orang Kristen seringkali tidak seindah ngobrol dengan pacar dan kekasih kita. Untuk memulai kebiasaan doa, kita perlu belajar untuk ‘talk and talk until the talk starts’, belajar untuk dapat berbicara kepada Allah dari hati ke hati, mencurahkan segala kondisi batin dan beban hidup, impian dan ketakutan kita, keluhan dan permohonan kita. Dalam momen-momen itulah, orientasi dan ambisi hidup kita, rencana dan prioritas hidup kita dibentuk seturut dengan kehendakNya yang sempurna.

3. Let us talk to others about God
Talk yang ketiga adalah ngobrol kepada orang lain tentang Allah. Obrolan ini seharusnya menjadi sesuatu yang natural terjadi. Bayangkan, Allah sudah ngobrol dengan kita. Dan kita sudah ngobrol dengan Allah. Mana mungkin obrolan tersebut kita bisa simpan buat kita sendiri? Mulai dari hal-hal yang simple, sampai sesuatu yang spesial yang kita alami bersama Tuhan.

Dengan demikian, kita menjadi pipa saluran berkat bagi orang lain, bukan hanya lewat perkataan tetapi juga sikap dan perbuatan. Karena orang Kristen tidak NATO (No action, Talk-talk-talk Only), tapi aktif terlibat menyatakan kasih Allah di tengah dunia.

ICC Congregation

Foto bersama jemaat ICC 19 Maret 2006 selesai Kebaktian Kebangunan Rohani

J. Edward's Preaching Propositions

I go out to preach with two propositions in mind. First, every person ought to give his life to Christ. Second, whether or not anyone else gives him his life, I will give him mine.
Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)