Thursday, March 26, 2009

Keep Trusting Him


It says in 1 Peter 1:5-7,

Who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.


One of the critical things you and I need to do when faced with trials is continue to trust God in the midst of those trials.

No matter how difficult, do not unplug your faith, even when things get rough. Keep trusting God and His promises. Why? Well, look at what verse 5 says: We are "kept by the power of God through faith."

When you keep your faith plugged in, you are then kept by God's power.

That word keep means to preserve. It means to protect, to guard. It is used elsewhere in Scripture of a garrison of soldiers protecting something. When you are going through a trial, God will protect you through His power when you trust Him.

That word power is the same word in the Bible translated miracle. I take it to mean this: When you or I are in a season of trial, if God has to work a miracle to keep us and protect us, He will do it.

Whatever your trial...keep trusting.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Do You Cherish God's Word?


Psalm 107:20 says, He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from
their destructions.


God has given us His Word for our benefit, and yet so many
Christians ignore it to their hurt.

It is like the story of the woman a preacher went to visit one day. She lived in a dilapidated house. As long as he had known her, she had struggled with poverty. Twenty years earlier she had been the housekeeper for the wealthiest woman in town, but the wealthy
woman had died. So this housekeeper moved into an old shack.

As the pastor was visiting her, he noticed a document framed on the wall. He said, “Do you mind if I borrow this for a few days?” She replied, “Well, you can borrow it, but please bring it back. Although I can’t read, it is very important to me. It is the only thing that the lady left me when she died. It is very valuable to me. It reminds me of her. So make sure you bring it back.”

He took it and had it investigated and authenticated. It was the will of the woman who had died, and in the will she left her housekeeper a fortune. The housekeeper could have had any house she wanted in the whole city and had servants of her own, but due to her ignorance, she lived in poverty and had a rough go of it all those years.

That woman reminds me of a lot of Christians. They don’t read their Bible, but they admire it because it reminds them of God. They haven’t taken time to find out the inheritance that belongs to them as believers.

God’s Word is a light to our path. It is our guidebook for life. It is bread for our spirit. It is our strength. It is our refuge in troubled times.

Cherish God’s Word.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Great Work, Indra!




Check out that beautiful Photo! Congratulation INDRA PRATAMA (4life Photography) for winning the competition as the best wedding ceremony photo (winter 2008) in WedComp International. Click Here to check out the website

What a combination: A great photographer and also an fantastic and passionate kiss by RICO and MADY. i can proudly say "i was there", (not sure whether i'm in the photo though). Once again congrats Ndra! Keep up the great work! You're tremendously blessed with so many talents. Don't forget my wedding is in 294 days from now. hahaha



About The Shot:
It was a perfect day and a great wedding: simple and elegant. Wedding is about two people in love, expressing and declaring their love and commitment witnessed by the people around them. I love the way how the groom passionately kissing the bride, as it gives me an expression of how bold is their love for each other. And the expressions of those supportive people in the background creates a beautiful, joyful and unforgettable moment for the couple.

Judge's Comments:
Terrific use of the vertical crop. Wonderful decisive moment. I love the way the image is compressed and the complete tonality in the file. This image was the strongest overall because of the simplicity of the moment. It didn't try too hard to be something it wasn't, and the moment stood on it's own merit without photoshop actions or other post processing trickery. Nice, solid moment with terrific elements within the frame. Clear winner, for me.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Take it for granted...


Last Friday I lost my iPhone, and I can't tell you the mix feelings i have been having this week. Firstly, i feel like condemning myself of being careless, put my belongings in random places. Secondly, I almost forget that we are all (Christians) still under construction. Aren't we all? Things can go missing in Church. All week i felt something missing, being a 'little perfectionist' person I am, having a full details of all my contacts in my iphone, calendars, things to do lists, my ibank transactions, having the access to google map wherever and whenever. Oh! Only after I realized that I lost it, Suddenly i forgot how I used to be frustated with my iPhone, how it always disconnects whenever it wants, how slow it is refresh pages, how it can't COPY and PASTE, nor send vcard to other people. All i could think of was how I MISS MY iphone, all the advantages and qualities of that gadget, despite of who know how many times i almost slam that phone to the floor everytime it frozen on me.

It's funny, we always see the bad quality of something, when we have it in our lives; and take it for granted all the great qualities.
From this I learned something basic yet so important. PEOPLE are way way way more important than iPhone. iPhone will be a merely piece of junk in another year or two. But people that God put in our lives... wow they are precious. But, don't we realize, we often take people whom God put in our lives for granted. We always focus on their bad qualities, their weaknesses, those annoying things they do. Until suddenly they move town, or simply just lose contact, or even worse... they leave this world; then we will miss them the most, then we will realize what a great friend, great husband, great wife, great pastor, great boss, he/she is..

Opa John Ollis in ENCOUNTER meeting reminded me tonight, that People whom God put in our lives, especially our fellow believers, are our Brother and Sister SANDPAPER. Of course we can get hurt when we get close with a sandpaper brother/sister, but without we realize it, all the hard edges/surfaces of our lives are being rubbed off.
however it all depends on us, whether we want to be better or to be bitter. As I quoted Opa John "“If you don’t forgive, you don’t get better, you get bitter”

John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”


God's love that He has poured so free to us through Jesus Christ, is the very thing that empowers us to love other people. It takes our commitment to change our perspective about people; focus on their strength and their qualities instead of their weaknesses. if we do so, I believe we won't look back one day and regret "I wish i spend more time to get to know that person", instead we will cherish the all the great memories and celebrate God's works in that person's life.

iphone is just a piece of technology that people will forget and laugh about one day. But people are so SPECIAL. Let's focus on each other's strength and continue to add value to one another, edify one another, and most importantly love one another, BY THIS all men will know that we are Christ's Disciples.... when we love one another.

Lesson Learned.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Give God Your Worries


Ask Yourself two questions:
Is there any unconfessed sin in my life?
Confession is telling Go you did the thing he saw you do. He doesn't need to hear it as much as you need to say it. Whether it's to small to be mentioned or too big to be forgiven isn't yours to decide. Your task is to be honest.

Are there any unsurrendered worries in my heart?
"Give all your worries to him, because he cares about you" (1 Peter 5:7)
The German word for worry means "to strangle". The Greek word means "to divide the mind". Both are accurate. worry is a noose on the neck and a distraction of the mind, neither of which is befitting for joy.

from When God Whispers Your Name - M. Lucado