Sunday, June 26, 2011

JESUS INSTEAD OF DRUGS

Below are some reasons why people consume drugs:

   ü  To feel relaxed
   ü  To forget problems
   ü  To cope with stress
   ü  To be accepted
   ü  To get rid from boredom
   ü  To cure emotional trauma
   ü  To reduce guilty feeling
   ü  To vanish fear and worry

We can feel the same way, too. All of us, because we are human. We can feel stressed, depressed, nervous, sad, worry, guilty, shy, and so on. We can face problems, trauma, scary things. Yes we can. 

The good news is, no drugs needed to solve the problems we face. All can be overcome with Jesus Christ.

Lemme show us how.

1. To feel relaxed

"If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind." ~Philippians 2:1-2

"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." ~2 Corinthians 1:3-4

"The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever." ~Psalms 23

"Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness." ~Psalms 30:11

We do not need drugs to feel relaxed, and those happy and fun feelings, to make us fly, we only need Jesus. Praise Him and sing for His glory. Jump and dance with Him and He will turn our mourning into dancing. He is our Comforter, with Him we rejoice! Everlasting joy, which won't fade away no matter what the circumstances are.

2. To forget problems & to cope with stress

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." ~Matthew 11:28-30

"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." ~Jeremiah 33:3

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” ~Matthew 7:7-11

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." ~Philippians 4:13

By using drugs, we forget our problems for a while. With Jesus, we solve the problems right away. If we just run away from problems temporarily, we will be more stressed out. Face it and believe that Jesus will overcome it with us. He gives us rest. He just wants us to put our burdens at the foot of His cross. He just wants us to call him, to lean on Him. We can do what He wants us to do, because Christ strengthens us.

3. To be accepted

"Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life." ~Isaiah 43:4

"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved;)." ~Ephesians 2:4-5

"The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee." ~Jeremiah 31:3

"As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love." ~John 15:9

"Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?  But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows." ~Luke 12:6-7

Do we feel like have no meaning in this world? Not accepted by our friends or groups? Not valuable? Think twice. We are all precious in His eyes. He even knows the number of our hairs. He takes care of us, in every detail of our life. He has huge plans for us, for our future. Do not do something we will regret later only to be accepted by human. We are accepted by God, although we are up to no good. His grace and mercy shouldn't be taken for granted.

4. To get rid from boredom

"Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer". ~Romans 12:11

Feeling bored? Drugs are not the way to run away from boredom. Later we will be too bored to go to the hospital if we deal with drugs. Fill our time with anything useful, be highly spirited for God's glory. Do anything, drain our energy! Do volunteering activities, do hobbies, spend time for something positive.

5. To cure emotional trauma

"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's." ~Psalms 103:3-5

"He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their  wounds." ~Psalms 147:3

If we are suffering for emotional trauma, surrender it to Jesus. He heals. He will give us heavenly bandage to cure our broken heart. Trust me. He will take our pain as His. He will exchange it with peace and serenity. Let Him heal us, let Him touch our pain and cure it miraculously. 

6. To reduce guilty feeling

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." ~1 John 1:9

No guilt in life, if we have surrendered it all to Jesus. We are consecrated and hallowed by the Word of God. We are the unworthy, but we are sanctified by His precious blood at the Cross. Do not let our guilt control us, do not let it be our master. We are free now, because Jesus has ransomed us from our sinner life.

7. To vanish fear and worry

"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" ~Romans 8:31

"Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation." ~Psalms 91:14-16

Do not be afraid, do not worry. He takes care of us. Never, he leaves us. Even if we fall, he upholds our hand. Even if we fail, He still loves us. 

See? How those reasons can be fulfilled by Him alone? In Christ alone. Why should we choose something temporary and dangerous if we can have someone permanent and precious?

Besides, we should use our body for the glory of our God. That's why, do not touch drugs. If you have touched it, leave it. Live your new life with Him, Jesus will heal you. ^^



"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." ~1 Corinthians 3:16

Drugs addiction in harmful, but Bible addiction is healthy! :p


Saturday, June 25, 2011

OFFICE LOOK + 3 MONTHS WORKING


June 17 was supposed to be my last day working, because that's when my contract ended. Thanks God, they extended the contract until December 31. I love this job God has given to me. After 3 months working, I can say that I'm really blessed to have this job for this time. Why?

1. Peaceful

Haha. No pressure, no stress. When I have nothing to do, I can listen to my favorite songs, or reading e-books. The most important thing is, I can write. Sometimes 1 day I only translate 1 piece of document. Sometimes 5. Sometimes no at all. So I have plenty of time for writing and doing what I like haha. God really knows what I need. He knows I won't have time to write after working because I arrive at home at 7 p.m and I am too sleepy even to eat. Although I have to eat. I mean, too tired to do anything, because of the time I spend on the way. Awesome, huh? How He has arranged it so well.

2. Challenging

But not always like that. Sometimes there are overloaded workload and I am overwhelmed. But only about 3 or 4 times a month. Sometimes I have to go home at 7 or 8, but it's okay. Sometimes there are urgent documents to be translated. I have to work super fast. Sometimes there are super ultra mega difficult documents (legal, mostly) that make my head dizzy. Seriously, it's difficult because I'm not familiar with it. The terms that exist in English but I do not know how to translate it into Indonesian term. Sometimes there are very berry plenty of workload, let's say 50 pages of dialogue a day! I was translating while feeling like wanna throw up haha. Because I was queasy. But want it or not we should face it, shouldn't we? :p

3. Amusing

When I was translating scenario or script, I could laugh out loud or smiled because sometimes they were so funny, like when I was translating comedy scripts. Even though it's not supposed to be comedy, you know, Indonesian soap-opera still can make us laugh because of the too-exaggerating-situation. Well, I think it's supposed to be like that, because I work in entertainment industry, I should be entertained first before my company entertains others. Hahaha.

4. Great working colleagues

My workmates are so funny. They always make me laugh, even tough when they were not talking to me. I mean, when they were joking each other, haha. Everyday, when I'm about to go home I say, "See you I go home first", and they will scream out loud, "WHAAAATTTT???" and one of them will say "What time do you think now is? It's only five!" and the others reply "Yeah, I just arrive here and you say you want to go home??" Hahaha. Because they always go home so late at night. Sometimes at 7, or even 10! They also always force me to eat when they bring meals. They threatened me like this, "You are not allowed to be thin alone here! You have to be fat! In 1 month you have to gain 5kg!" Haha. Oh yeah, I will love it, too, if I can be fatter lil bit more! :p

5. No formal outfit

Wear what you like, what is comfortable for you, what looks good, as long as it's polite. Sometimes my workmates wear outfits which look like for hanging out! Haha. So yeah, when I  was lazy I only wear jeans and T-shirt, when I want to look formal I wear skirt and shirt, when I feel fashionable I wear dress! It's totally up to me! ^^

Love my office! Ah! Today is June 25! Salary! (♥.♥)/

WHO AM I - CASTING CROWNS


Who am I?
that the Lord of all the earth

would care to know my name, would care to feel my hurt?

Who am I? 
that the Bright and Morning star
would choose to light the way for my ever wandering heart?
Chorus:
Not because of who I am, but because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done, but because of who You are
Reff:
I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean, a vapor in the wind. 
Still you hear me when I'm calling
Lord you catch me when I'm falling
And you told me who I am. I am yours
Who am I?
That the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love 
And watch me rise again
Who am I?
That the voice that calm the sea, 
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me
Back to Chorus and Reff*

Whom shall I fear? Whom shall I fear? I'm yours. I'm yours.

CROSS



At the Cross - Darlene  Zschech

Oh Lord You've searched me
You know my way
Even when I fail You
I know You love me
Your holy presence
Surrounding me
In every season
I know You love me
I know You love me

At the cross I bow my knee
Where Your blood was shed for me
There's no greater love than this
You have overcome the grave
Your glory fills the highest place
What can separate me now

You go before me
You shield my way
Your hand upholds me
I know You love me

You tore the veil
You made a way
When You said that it is done

And when the earth fades
Falls from my eyes
And You stand before me
I know You love me
I know You love me



At the foot of the Cross - Kathryn Scott


At the foot of the cross
Where grace and suffering meet
You have shown me your love
Through the judgement you received
And you've won my heart
Yes you've won my heart
Now I can

Chorus:
Trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down
At the foot of the cross

At the foot of the cross
Where I am made complete
You have given me life
Through the death you bore for me
And you've won my heart
Yes you've won my heart
Now I can

Chorus:
Trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down
At the foot of the cross




Lead me to the Cross - Hillsong


Savior I come
Quiet my soul remember
Redemptions hill
Where Your blood was spilled
For my ransom
Everything I once held dear
I count it all as lost

Lead me to the cross
Where Your love poured out
Bring me to my knees
Lord I lay me down
Rid me of myself
I belong to You
Lead me, lead me to the cross

You were as I
Tempted and trialed
You are
Te word became flesh
Bore my sin and death
Now you're risen

To your heart
To your heart
Lead me to your heart
Lead me to your heart

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

LEVITICUS 19:26-28 ABOUT IDOLATERS

Praise God in the highest glory, for He is good, and for this Blackberry which falls down from Heaven. Now I can chat with my beloved godmother and god-siblings in AO group, and learn new things about His scriptures everyday. Now I want to share about Leviticus 19:26-28. Those are some of His commandments which have been considered as vanished now, whereas Jesus comes not to do away with or undo the Law but to complete and fulfill them. Let's take a look. 

Note: Please understand that I'm not judging anyone here. I did it too in my past, and I just want to share to let you know. Please don't feel offended because I just try to convey the truth of His scriptures. Please accept my apology if it's contradictory to your beliefs because I use Christian's point of view here. Again, what I mean by Christian here is not as the religion, but as the Christ follower.

Lev 19:26-28:

(26) You shall not eat anything with the blood; neither shall you use magic, omens, or witchcraft [or predict events by horoscope or signs and lucky days]. (27) You shall not round the corners of the hair of your heads nor trim the corners of your beard [as some idolaters do].(28) You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead nor print or tattoo any marks upon you; I am the Lord.

Here is the explanation:

He stated it clearly that in verse 26-28 those activities are prohibited to be done by His children because idolaters did it. They ate blood, rounded the corners of their hair and trimmed the corners of their beard, then they putted tattoo there.

At that time, people who did idolatry (hereby we call as idolaters) also dealt with magic or witchcraft. They believed in other powers besides God's. Just like when the Israels made a golden bull and praised it. We think we do not deal with that kind of things, but sometimes we don't realize that horoscope and lucky days are the same. Many of us who believes in Jesus still believes in divination. Some go to soothsayer, or fortune-teller. Some don't do that, but still read horoscope and Chinese zodiac. Some still try to read their fate by doing palm reading or "jiam si". 

People think it's okay because they do not really believe it. Someone said, "I read horoscope but I don't take it seriously. If it's good then great, if it's bad then I forget it."

Right. So it means it's believable if it's good? Have we noticed that believing other powers besides His power is not acceptable for Him? Horoscope is written from the movement of the stars. Either true or not, believing or even only reading it indicates that we try to seek other powers besides God which can give answers or clues for our future. We want to know what will happen after this or in this week from those kinds of divination. 

If we are the children of Christ, why do we need to read our future? Even some of us need "lucky day" to do their wedding or open new business (numerology). As the children of Christ, shouldn't we think that every day is good? As the children of Christ, must we be afraid to go out because at that date our horoscope said that there will be accident? Then to avoid it we stay and cancel our meeting. While actually we know that He will protect us from any harm? 





Let's make a parable. When someone ask us, "Can I take this brochure?" and before we can answer, he or she asks someone else, "Can I take this brochure?". Will it hurt us? We must think, "Why would you ask me then if you even can't wait to be answered, or if it has been answered, you still don't believe me and ask someone else?". That's exactly what He feels when we deal with fortune-telling. Any kind of it. 

We should realize that Jesus was crucified to tear the veil. He was sacrificed to reconcile our relationship with God. Why confuse about our future? Why read horoscope to see our fortune this year? Doesn't He promise us the answers? Now since we have reconciled with God, we can communicate with Him in the easiest way, through prayers. We can get answers directly. We even can know His promises. He promised good to us, to our future. He will bless us abundantly if we are in His track. Then why should we go to the fortune-teller? Just think about this, what do we get from fortune-teller? If he said our fate is good, we will be happy. If he said our fate is bad, what will we do? Suicide?

Also for the horoscope and Chinese zodiac, we can say that they don't affect our mind and our way of thinking. We still believe in Jesus Christ. But then why do we read it if it doesn't bring us any good at all? When we read or only take a glance at it, we have opened a gap to master us, to control our mind. Why should we do things that disappoint our Father?

He can give us answer when we ask. He prepares our future so well although we can't see it now. He provides all we need so why worry about money? He has our future spouse somewhere so why bother asking about soul mate? Fortune teller, zodiac, horoscope, and any kind of fate-reading can give us nothing. They only will trap us in endless questions. Please, stop reading and believing them now, good or bad. Just believe the one and the only, God. He is the one who answers. Luke 10:10.

(10) For everyone who asks and keeps on asking receives; and he who seeks and keeps on seeking finds; and to him who knocks and keeps on knocking, the door shall be opened.



Now, let's talk about tattoo. It's cool, I know. We know. When I was in high school I wished I could have a temporary tattoo on my neck. Since I didn't have enough money to be spent for something like that, I never did it. Now I want to thank God for giving me barely enough money at that time. 

It's stated also in verse 28 that tattoo is not pleasing God. We may say, "O c'mon you take the verse from Old Testament!" But Jesus Himself has said that He doesn't delete it, He fulfills it. Even if in the past tattoo was forbidden because it's associated with idolatry, nowadays it's still forbidden. Why? Because we cut and harm our flesh. Take a look at 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.

(19) Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God? You are not your own, (20) You were bought with a price [purchased with a preciousness and paid for, made His own]. So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body.

That's why we are not allowed to do any kind of activities that harm our body. These verses are applicable for smoking, too. Besides, sometimes we cut our flesh by words or symbols, for example a boy writes this "Mia, my girl". It can be a kind of idolatry which means that he loves this girl more than he loves God. 

How about temporary tattoo? It has not bad effect for our body, then is it okay? No. Because we will be a Stumbling Stone. Even if we draw a cross or Jesus' face on our skin. Some of us will think, "Oh she or he is a Christian but they also have tattoo, so it's okay then." While actually it's not okay. So because of us, other people fall to the same hole. Many of us think that tattoo is cool, piercing is cool. As a Christian, I just want to share what my godmother said to us her children:

"We are cool not because of tattoo or piercing. 
We are cool because we have Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit"

Good day to us! God bless super abundantly.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

GIVE THANKS

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” ~ 1 Thessalonians 5 : 16-18

Thanksgiving should be everyday, in every second of our life, in all circumstances. Good or bad. But I can’t say it’s easy. I even sometimes complain and moan. Sometimes we still sweat small stuffs. Ah, so boring, nothing to do. Or, too much to do, tired and restless. Although I have got a great job, I still think, if only my office was nearer, if only they raised my salary. Hahaha, that kind of thought is too foolish. Shame on me, people will see me as ungrateful person. That’s why I write this, to be my reflection and reminder so that I won’t sweat small stuffs, even the tiniest ones.

  • We think our life is boring, while others really need more time to spare because they have a lot to do to live.
  • We feel lazy to work, while many people are unemployed and stressed out because of being jobless.
  • We think our assignments are difficult, too many, and our exams make dizzy, while many children and teenagers can’t study at school and university.
  • We think being sick is awful, but we haven’t noticed many people out there even can’t go to hospital and have to struggle and cure it alone.
  •  We think the sun is too hot, while we only need to walk for a while or under the umbrella, compared to people who sell their products all day long outside.
  • We think wake up in the morning sucks, but many people have to wake up at dawn to start working.
  • We think the dishes we eat in the restaurant taste bad, while we don’t realize that some people should scavenge garbage to find something to eat.
  • We curse when our internet connection is slow, while many people even don’t have computer to do their homework.
  • We curse when there’s traffic jam whereas we are sitting comfortably inside the car, while many other people suffer for the same thing, and they are standing densely in public transportation.
  • We complain about the fat in our bodies, while people out there suffer for malnutrition.
  • We complain because of having not enough money to buy 200 dollar shoes while many people wear perforated ones or even walk with bare feet.
  • We moan that doing thesis is difficult and there’s no enough time, while actually the others have to do it while working and studying and helping their parents.
  • We moan that our parents are annoying while many orphanage children wish they had mothers and fathers who love them.
  • We moan when our parents don’t give cars or gadgets we ask for, while many children out there even don’t get proper lunch because their parents can’t afford it and they don’t complain.
  •  We moan about our appearances, while some people suffer for physical disabilities.
  • We complain about our life, while people have to die in their young ages.


It doesn’t mean we can’t feel it that way. Of course when it’s hot we feel and think like, oh it’s so hot, and the sun is killing, and so on and so on. Of course nobody can prevent us doing so. It automatically happens. After we think like that, just remember that many people are less fortunate than us. Because when we sigh, the questions are:

Should we moan? Should we complain? Should we curse? Should we say it out loud? Should we grumble? Should we gripe? Should we be angry to others? Should we? Does it bring any good result? Or worsen our mood?

Let’s start to be grateful in any circumstances. Give thanks because we are healthy now. Even if we are sick, we can rest at home. Many people out there have to work even though they are sick. Give thanks because we can study. Even if we can’t, we can learn outside.

Talking about the fat fact, it doesn't mean that we can’t burn our fat. It is good due to health reason of course. What I mean here is when we complain when we actually have not excessive fat. We torture our body by doing unhealthy diet while actually we are blessed with enough food to enjoy. Of course we do not want to be thin like those who suffer for malnutrition right? Then why should complain about our body?

We should give thanks because we have 2 normal eyes, 2 normal ears, 1 normal nose, 1 normal mouth, 2 hands, 2 legs, and so on. Even if we don’t, it means we are amazing because we can do things people can’t do.  We should give thanks because we have a house to protect us from sun and rain. We can sleep on comfortable bedroom covered by blanket to protect us from cold air, because many people sleep under the thatch and covered by newspaper only.

It’s not about Do’s and Don’ts. It’s not about good or bad. It’s not about right or wrong. Nobody can forbid us to complain or moan or curse. But is it necessary? To speak such unnecessary words like curse which bring up to no good for us. When we stop complaining and moaning we do it for ourselves, not for people. When we apply it in our life, it’s for the sake of our own good. The less we complain, the happier we become. The less we moan, the more grateful we feel. So, there is one key to make us give thanks continually and avoid complaining:

“Focus on what we have, not what we don’t have,
while remembering and praying for people who are less fortunate than us.”