Filipi 3:14 (BIS) "Itu sebabnya saya berlari terus menuju tujuan akhir untuk mendapatkan kemenangan, yaitu hidup di surga; untuk itulah Allah memanggil kita melalui Kristus Yesus."
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Dalam Filipi 3:14, Paulus memberikan wawasan kuat ke dalam apa yang menjadi hasratnya.
Paulus dengan jelas memiliki tujuan dalam pikiran, pengetahuan dan pemahaman yang kuat akan tujuan hidupnya.
Dan dia tidak takut untuk berlari mencapainya.
Bahkan, kalimat "saya berlari terus menuju tujuan akhir" bisa diterjemahkan dari teks Yunani secara harfiah dengan cara ini, "saya berlari dalam jalur".
Ini menggambarkan mengenai seorang pelari, berlari menyusuri garis, tinggal di dalam jalur itu.
Dia tidak melanggar batasannya dengan berlari di jalur orang lain.
Sebaliknya, saat dia mengejar tujuan itu, dia berlari di dalam jalurnya dengan tujuan dalam pikirannya.
Dalam sebuah misi kecil di Medford, Oregon, bertahun-tahun lalu, ada seorang pemuda yang memiliki masalah dengan obat dan alkohol yang parah.
Suatu malam Tuhan menjamah hidupnya.
Ini adalah pertobatan yang benar-benar dramatis.
Saya adalah pemuda itu.
Dan untuk beberapa dekade sampai sekarang, saya telah berusaha dan berlari untuk mencapai tujuan yang Dia berikan dalam hidup saya.
Saya tahu malam itu bahwa Tuhan memiliki tujuan untuk hidup saya.
Dan itu adalah tujuan yang saya kejar dalam hidup saya.
Tuhan memiliki tujuan untuk hidup Anda juga.
Tuhan menjamah hidup saya dan Anda, untuk suatu tujuan.
Jika Anda belum mengerti tujuan Tuhan dalam hidup Anda, Anda harus mencari dan memahaminya, serta berlari ke depan untuk memenuhi tujuan Tuhan bagi kehidupan Anda.
Mintalah Tuhan untuk mengungkapkan tujuan Anda.
Mintalah Dia untuk menunjukkan jalur dimana Anda dapat berlari di dalamnya untuk mengejar tujuan ilahi Anda.
__________________________________________
Tuhan sudah menetapkan tujuan untuk hidup kita, sebuah jalur dimana kita harus berlari di dalamnya untuk mengejar tujuan ilahi dari Tuhan.
(Diterjemahkan dari Answers for Each Day by Bayless Conley)
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Melupakan Masa Lalu
Filipi 3:13 "Saudara-saudara, aku sendiri tidak menganggap, bahwa aku telah menangkapnya, tetapi ini yang kulakukan: aku melupakan apa yang telah di belakangku dan mengarahkan diri kepada apa yang di hadapanku"
__________________________________________
Kata kunci yang saya ingin untuk Anda renungkan hari ini adalah "melupakan".
Saya ingin Anda memahami pentingnya melupakan masa lalu sehingga Anda dapat bergerak maju.
Beberapa orang -- mungkin Anda sendiri -- tidak dapat mencapai kemajuan dalam hidup karena mereka terus-menerus melihat ke belakang.
Fokus mereka adalah pada dosa-dosa masa lalu mereka, kesalahan masa lalu mereka, kegagalan masa lalu mereka, sakit hati masa lalu mereka.
Tuhan tidak ingin Anda hidup di masa lalu, tetapi lebih baik Anda fokus pada masa depan.
Beberapa waktu yang lalu saya mengunjungi seorang teman yang memiliki dampak besar pada kehidupan saya ketika saya masih muda dan baru memulai kehidupan sebagai orang percaya.
Saat saya sedang duduk dan makan dengan dia & istrinya, dia mulai berbagi dengan saya mengenai kegagalannya yang besar.
Sekitar sepuluh tahun sebelumnya, ketika dia merintis sebuah gereja, dia jatuh ke dalam hubungan perzinahan.
Ini mengguncang fondasi pernikahannya, tetapi dia bertobat, keluar dari hubungan itu, dan dari waktu ke waktu, Tuhan memulihkan pernikahannya.
Tapi dia belum kembali ke dalam pelayanan sejak itu.
Ketika dia bercerita kepada saya, air mata mulai mengalir membasahi wajahnya.
Dia bangkit dari meja, pergi ke kamar mandi, dan istrinya menatap saya dan berkata, "Bayless, jika Anda dapat membantu dia, silakan lakukan. Suami saya telah menjalani kehidupan yang kudus selama sepuluh tahun terakhir. Tuhan telah mengampuni dia, saya telah memaafkannya, tapi dia belum memaafkan dirinya sendiri."
Teman saya ini merantai dirinya dengan satu kegagalan masa lalunya, dan dia tidak bisa melanjutkan apa yang telah Tuhan panggil untuk dia lakukan.
Kubur masa lalu Anda sehingga Anda dapat menemukan masa depan Anda.
__________________________________________
Meninggalkan masa lalu adalah kunci penting agar kita dapat melangkah maju dan menggapai masa depan yang gilang-gemilang.
(Diterjemahkan dari Answers for Each Day by Bayless Conley)
__________________________________________
Kata kunci yang saya ingin untuk Anda renungkan hari ini adalah "melupakan".
Saya ingin Anda memahami pentingnya melupakan masa lalu sehingga Anda dapat bergerak maju.
Beberapa orang -- mungkin Anda sendiri -- tidak dapat mencapai kemajuan dalam hidup karena mereka terus-menerus melihat ke belakang.
Fokus mereka adalah pada dosa-dosa masa lalu mereka, kesalahan masa lalu mereka, kegagalan masa lalu mereka, sakit hati masa lalu mereka.
Tuhan tidak ingin Anda hidup di masa lalu, tetapi lebih baik Anda fokus pada masa depan.
Beberapa waktu yang lalu saya mengunjungi seorang teman yang memiliki dampak besar pada kehidupan saya ketika saya masih muda dan baru memulai kehidupan sebagai orang percaya.
Saat saya sedang duduk dan makan dengan dia & istrinya, dia mulai berbagi dengan saya mengenai kegagalannya yang besar.
Sekitar sepuluh tahun sebelumnya, ketika dia merintis sebuah gereja, dia jatuh ke dalam hubungan perzinahan.
Ini mengguncang fondasi pernikahannya, tetapi dia bertobat, keluar dari hubungan itu, dan dari waktu ke waktu, Tuhan memulihkan pernikahannya.
Tapi dia belum kembali ke dalam pelayanan sejak itu.
Ketika dia bercerita kepada saya, air mata mulai mengalir membasahi wajahnya.
Dia bangkit dari meja, pergi ke kamar mandi, dan istrinya menatap saya dan berkata, "Bayless, jika Anda dapat membantu dia, silakan lakukan. Suami saya telah menjalani kehidupan yang kudus selama sepuluh tahun terakhir. Tuhan telah mengampuni dia, saya telah memaafkannya, tapi dia belum memaafkan dirinya sendiri."
Teman saya ini merantai dirinya dengan satu kegagalan masa lalunya, dan dia tidak bisa melanjutkan apa yang telah Tuhan panggil untuk dia lakukan.
Kubur masa lalu Anda sehingga Anda dapat menemukan masa depan Anda.
__________________________________________
Meninggalkan masa lalu adalah kunci penting agar kita dapat melangkah maju dan menggapai masa depan yang gilang-gemilang.
(Diterjemahkan dari Answers for Each Day by Bayless Conley)
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Beloved
It really is in the whisper. If I could sum up my experience last week at Scarritt-Bennett in Nashville, it would be that God is with us. Of course that is what Immanuel means (Matthew 1:23), right? God is with us.
We can do everything for God or we can do nothing for God, but He is still with us (2 Timothy 2:11-13). He loves us, and his love is not dependent on how good we are or how right we are at the moment. We could be crossing all our t's and dotting our i's or we could be living a life set apart from Him, and He loves us. We can walk away, He follows. He is truly our Pursuer. However, he is a gentlemanly pursuer. He doesn't crash our parties. He won't reign down a forcible nature to make us do what He wants. He pursues with whispers and He waits.
He waits to pour out His love on us.
What does that mean, anyway? Life sometimes feels awfully lonely. We can feel very alone or distraught and with no hope. Whether we feel as though we have been abandoned by God, or we have never invited Him in to be our Savior and Lord, or we serve Him every day and try to follow all the rules, the words, "God's love" can still be shrouded in mystery.
Many, including myself, have worked our whole lives to make our way. Thoughts of stopping for Christ and devoting time to being formed in Him, becoming more like Him, learning about Him, praying to Him, all sound like good things. So, maybe tomorrow I will have time for this work of spiritual formation, but today "I" have a to do list that I will never finish. It wouldn't be wise to stop what I am doing to devote more than a quiet still moment to God. And then I find myself wondering, "Where is God" anyway? My busyness has led me to be drained of energy, joy and love for others. He was there. I just wasn't listening because I needed to be still and I wasn't.
God has brought me in the last 5 years or so into a new place of thinking in regards to making time for Him. I think that the first time I really thought about this in any depth was when I read George Muller's autobiography, or maybe an article about him. He referred to having so much on his list to do that day that he must devote an extra hour to his prayer time.
More time devoted to prayer because the day was extra busy with tasks? What a quizzical statement! I was really busy. I had a lot to accomplish! So it was my prayer and Bible study time in the morning that was getting squeezed out.
Yet Muller's words have stuck with me. I have prayed to have a heart for God — that I would see that I needed time with Him in order to face the busy day ahead.
There is a verse in Proverbs — I don't remember the exact wording — that speaks to the busyness of humankind and how we basically run in circles. I think of a hamster running around inside his wheel. I need to step away from the wheel. It is not that working hard, or schooling hard, or mommying hard are bad things. They aren't. I have not been called to life in the desert where I have all day to contemplate the greatness of God. I have been called to live within this beautiful life of mine, yet see God and honor His presence in each moment ... with my heart, not just with my actions or voice.
During the Growing Deeper Spiritually Residency (Lipscomb University) last week, someone referred to the phrase, "functional atheist." I heard those words and they hurt a little. I claim to be a follower of Christ, but am I functioning as one? Or do I say the words and function apart from Him. Do I believe what Christ says and do I live it?
These were questions that I asked myself throughout the week. When I look at the example of Christ, I have to ask myself an important question. Jesus walked away from busyness for quiet time with God — to be filled and to be tuned by the Father — so do I do that? Or maybe do I push through the busyness on my own? Do I let someone else's feelings or thoughts towards me affect me or do I rest in the fact that I am God's beloved? Do I live a life that overflows with God's love towards others because I have stopped and been with Him or do I just walk by those people that require more patience than I have to give?
These are hard questions for me. At this point in my life, thanks be to God, I don't wrestle with many of the sins that were struggles to me in my younger days. I wrestle with the fact that I might just be putting on a smiley face and pushing through it. I wrestle with living in the overflow of God's love.
If it is left up to me and my heart and my strength and my love, I will always fail to really love the unlovable, the irritating, ... Sure, I might be able to put on a smile and say, "God bless you!" Yet do I love them with God's unfailing love? No, probably not.
But when I stop running in circles and take time to give God adoration and glory each day — desire to know Him, rest in His love, live a life of contemplation of where He is and what He is doing — then I am able to do better with accepting the difficult others because it is His love, not mine, that pours out. When I can rest in being God's beloved, I can share that "belovedness" with others.
Yet there are those unspoken questions.
Do I just sit in my Barcalounger and close my eyes and wait for God to talk?
Do I sit cross-legged style and push some of my fingers together and make a humming noise?
We often associate stillness and contemplation with Eastern religions or something identified as New Age. Yet all truth originates with God. All good things are His. We can't let our fear of turning into "New Agers," Eastern Mystics, or modern monastics keep us from basking in the silence with the One who loves us most. The Father has great things to say. Sometimes He might nudge us to make some tweaks in our lives, but most of the time He will just whisper that we are His beloved. We can rest in His love. When we do, it starts flowing out of us to others.
I can't highly enough recommend the book Soul Feast (http://hlt.me/qLHpeE), by Marjorie Thompson. Her wonderful writing helps those of us who want to stop the busyness and set apart some time for God know how to do just that. God's transformation happens in silence and solitude, according to Henri Nouwen. If we are too conformed to busyness, then silence and solitude might forever escape us and we will be the less for it.
The mystery of God's love will show itself in abundance if we will only be still and focus on Him — if we will quit focusing solely on ourselves and our to do lists and open ourselves to the Father. We will hear Him in the whispers, like Elijah (1 Kings 19:11)!
check out : http://www.thecoffeegroup.net/
We can do everything for God or we can do nothing for God, but He is still with us (2 Timothy 2:11-13). He loves us, and his love is not dependent on how good we are or how right we are at the moment. We could be crossing all our t's and dotting our i's or we could be living a life set apart from Him, and He loves us. We can walk away, He follows. He is truly our Pursuer. However, he is a gentlemanly pursuer. He doesn't crash our parties. He won't reign down a forcible nature to make us do what He wants. He pursues with whispers and He waits.
He waits to pour out His love on us.
What does that mean, anyway? Life sometimes feels awfully lonely. We can feel very alone or distraught and with no hope. Whether we feel as though we have been abandoned by God, or we have never invited Him in to be our Savior and Lord, or we serve Him every day and try to follow all the rules, the words, "God's love" can still be shrouded in mystery.
Many, including myself, have worked our whole lives to make our way. Thoughts of stopping for Christ and devoting time to being formed in Him, becoming more like Him, learning about Him, praying to Him, all sound like good things. So, maybe tomorrow I will have time for this work of spiritual formation, but today "I" have a to do list that I will never finish. It wouldn't be wise to stop what I am doing to devote more than a quiet still moment to God. And then I find myself wondering, "Where is God" anyway? My busyness has led me to be drained of energy, joy and love for others. He was there. I just wasn't listening because I needed to be still and I wasn't.
God has brought me in the last 5 years or so into a new place of thinking in regards to making time for Him. I think that the first time I really thought about this in any depth was when I read George Muller's autobiography, or maybe an article about him. He referred to having so much on his list to do that day that he must devote an extra hour to his prayer time.
More time devoted to prayer because the day was extra busy with tasks? What a quizzical statement! I was really busy. I had a lot to accomplish! So it was my prayer and Bible study time in the morning that was getting squeezed out.
Yet Muller's words have stuck with me. I have prayed to have a heart for God — that I would see that I needed time with Him in order to face the busy day ahead.
There is a verse in Proverbs — I don't remember the exact wording — that speaks to the busyness of humankind and how we basically run in circles. I think of a hamster running around inside his wheel. I need to step away from the wheel. It is not that working hard, or schooling hard, or mommying hard are bad things. They aren't. I have not been called to life in the desert where I have all day to contemplate the greatness of God. I have been called to live within this beautiful life of mine, yet see God and honor His presence in each moment ... with my heart, not just with my actions or voice.
During the Growing Deeper Spiritually Residency (Lipscomb University) last week, someone referred to the phrase, "functional atheist." I heard those words and they hurt a little. I claim to be a follower of Christ, but am I functioning as one? Or do I say the words and function apart from Him. Do I believe what Christ says and do I live it?
These were questions that I asked myself throughout the week. When I look at the example of Christ, I have to ask myself an important question. Jesus walked away from busyness for quiet time with God — to be filled and to be tuned by the Father — so do I do that? Or maybe do I push through the busyness on my own? Do I let someone else's feelings or thoughts towards me affect me or do I rest in the fact that I am God's beloved? Do I live a life that overflows with God's love towards others because I have stopped and been with Him or do I just walk by those people that require more patience than I have to give?
These are hard questions for me. At this point in my life, thanks be to God, I don't wrestle with many of the sins that were struggles to me in my younger days. I wrestle with the fact that I might just be putting on a smiley face and pushing through it. I wrestle with living in the overflow of God's love.
If it is left up to me and my heart and my strength and my love, I will always fail to really love the unlovable, the irritating, ... Sure, I might be able to put on a smile and say, "God bless you!" Yet do I love them with God's unfailing love? No, probably not.
But when I stop running in circles and take time to give God adoration and glory each day — desire to know Him, rest in His love, live a life of contemplation of where He is and what He is doing — then I am able to do better with accepting the difficult others because it is His love, not mine, that pours out. When I can rest in being God's beloved, I can share that "belovedness" with others.
Yet there are those unspoken questions.
- Do I really trust God?
- Do I believe that if I devote time to Him it will be worth the time spent?
- Am I afraid that if I stop and listen I won't like what He says?
- Am I afraid that if I stop and listen He won't say anything?
The mystery of God's love will show itself in abundance!
Do I just sit in my Barcalounger and close my eyes and wait for God to talk?
Do I sit cross-legged style and push some of my fingers together and make a humming noise?
We often associate stillness and contemplation with Eastern religions or something identified as New Age. Yet all truth originates with God. All good things are His. We can't let our fear of turning into "New Agers," Eastern Mystics, or modern monastics keep us from basking in the silence with the One who loves us most. The Father has great things to say. Sometimes He might nudge us to make some tweaks in our lives, but most of the time He will just whisper that we are His beloved. We can rest in His love. When we do, it starts flowing out of us to others.
I can't highly enough recommend the book Soul Feast (http://hlt.me/qLHpeE), by Marjorie Thompson. Her wonderful writing helps those of us who want to stop the busyness and set apart some time for God know how to do just that. God's transformation happens in silence and solitude, according to Henri Nouwen. If we are too conformed to busyness, then silence and solitude might forever escape us and we will be the less for it.
The mystery of God's love will show itself in abundance if we will only be still and focus on Him — if we will quit focusing solely on ourselves and our to do lists and open ourselves to the Father. We will hear Him in the whispers, like Elijah (1 Kings 19:11)!
Be still ...Or as Jesus showed us:
and know ...
that I am God!
In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there (Mark 1:35).- inspiring Article by Tammy Marcelain
check out : http://www.thecoffeegroup.net/
Jeremiah 33:3
Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
— Jeremiah 33:3 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...
God wants us to seek him and call out to him. He wants to answer us and tell us about things beyond our human comprehension. He longs to draw us close so that we can know him. Like a scared child calls out to a loving father in the next room, we too can call on him knowing that our Father will answer, protect, and comfort us. Even more than that, our Father will reveal to us things that would be impossible for us to know without his grace.My Prayer...
Almighty God and Abba Father, I do want to know you and to be known by you. Yes, there are things in my heart and my life that I wish were not there. But I know your grace and I am confident that you know my heart and its desire to reflect your glory, share your grace, and display your character. Thank you for the gift of being your child and having my future secured. In Jesus' name. Amen.Source : Daily Verse - http://feeds.feedburner.com/hl-devos-tv
Psalm 90:12
Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
— Psalm 90:12 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...
When we lose our sense of urgency to live for God, we end up wasting our time! God has a plan for us, for our world, and for his church. Without God's gift of "spiritual arithmetic" (numbering our days aright), we will never gain a heart of wisdom. So how do we get such a gift? Ask for it without doubting (James 1:5-7)! Trusting the Lord for wisdom has a huge effect on us and the way we conduct our lives. Rather than losing heart, God gives us a heart of wisdom!My Prayer...
Holy and Almighty God, King of the Ages, you alone live in complete wisdom, justice, and grace. Please help me to know what time it is in my life and the role you want me to play at this stage of my journey. I want my life to be lived glorifying you. In Jesus' precious name I pray. Amen.Source : Daily verse - http://feeds.feedburner.com/hl-devos-tv
1 Thessalonians 4:11-1
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
— 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...
What's your ambition? I don't know about you, but I'm not so sure I could say my ambition is to "live a quiet life ...." But when I hear the reason for that directive, I understand. So many people I meet are frazzled, run down, and exhausted with all their "busy-ness." So let's make a commitment to cycle down a little, trust God more and more each day, and seek to live a life that wins the respect of those around us!My Prayer...
O precious and righteous Father, I need your help to learn to slow down and tend to my own responsibilities instead of running around out of control and without purpose. Please grant me not only the wisdom that I have been praying for, but also the patience and quietude that I need for that wisdom to change my heart and mind. In Jesus' name I ask it. Amen.Source : Daily verse - http://feeds.feedburner.com/hl-devos-tv
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