At All Times

  

An artwork by the talented Ellen Tanoemarga @elpple. The process was started with a verse, Psalm 2:8, that then led to a discussion of what the passage is about: trusting the Lord. 

Trust the Lord in His love, 

Trust the Lord in His goodness,

Trust the Lord in His mercy,

Trust the Lord in His beautiful plans,

Trust the Lord in His ways of doing things,

Trust the Lord when in doubts,

Trust the Lord in hard times, 

Trust the Lord at all times.

Context Matters.

Context matters. From Jessica Hagy – thisisindexed.com.

Courage

 

“The encouraging thing is that every time you meet a situation, though you may think at the time it is an impossibility and you go through the tortures of the damned, once you have met it and lived through it you find that forever after you are freer than you ever were before. If you can live through that you can live through anything. You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you stop to look fear in the face.

You are able to say to yourself, `I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’

The danger lies in refusing to face the fear, in not daring to come to grips with it. If you fail anywhere along the line, it will take away your confidence. You must make yourself succeed every time. You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”

– Eleanor Roosevelt, You Learn By Living (1960), 29-30

I have the privilege to work with men and women of courage everyday. They push themselves to be better persons, better friends, and better leaders. When fear of failing gets in the way, they punch it right in the face, and move on. Fear of being misunderstood does not hinder them to have faith in others, in what they can be. To be able to work alongside such people is an honor and joy.

Enter Wind, Exit Misery

Health is a gift and it should never be taken for granted.

Yesterday I spent my entire day in bed, resting. Influenza with his entourage of muscle ache and weakness chose to keep me company. What I thought was going to be an action-packed long weekend started off just the opposite. Zero appetite, the smell of food — and coffee — would initiate a reaction I wouldn’t normally have. Zero interest to meet people, even the thought of having to carry a conversation drained my energy. I. was. miserable.

Thankfully the medicine I took helped me sleep almost through the entire time and shift my focus away from being miserable. The medicine I chose to go with was Tolak Angin — a concoction of cloves, ginger, cinnamon, echinacea and mint. Tolak Angin is translated as Repel Wind. One may ask, what (in the world) is the wind it repels? Well, Indonesians believe there is a condition called Masuk Angin (transl: Enter Wind). The cause is an excess of gas in the stomach, hence the name, and symptoms are flu-like symptoms such as shiver, bloat, fever and nausea. Treatments for Masuk Angin may include anti-inflammatory medicine, hot oil massage and the traditional practice of coining. If one fancies the less-chemical and less-torturing treatment, then taking anti-inflammatory herbal concoction is the way to go.

Throughout the night I was able to rest and let my immune rigorously fight those nasty viruses and kick them out of my system. it worked! This morning I woke up having bid farewell to the misery of joint pain and body ache, ready to start the day.

So I am thankful for healing, for Tolak Angin and for day two of a 3-day weekend.

 

Only Ask

Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance,
the whole earth as your possession. – Psalm 2: 8

Reduce Me to Love

The other day I saw on my sister’s facebook page a comment made by our mutual friend. My sister was posting an image with lyrics of Victor’s Crown on her status, and then this friend commented, “I know you love Jesus, but you also need to live the reality. The reality is, life is tough, full of problems.”

When I read that comment I couldn’t help but think if he really meant what he said in that cynical comment — written messages can have varied interpretation. If he did mean it, I was wondering if he remembered who he was making that comment to — my sister, his friend!

I couldn’t help but reacted “Are you saying that my sister is not living the real life, life as a single mom with 3 kids — one is a tween, mind you — and a full-time job as a leader of a growing company; life that is full of pressures, expectations, commitment, struggle, joy, trials and challenges; life that on certain days can feel like half-full, and on other days, half-empty. Are you seriously saying she is living in some kind of fantasy world just because she often writes about God?!”

I reacted.
I wish I did not, but I did. It was a sister thing (and erringly human).
Then I read my sister’s reply. Thankfully she was not reacting like me, well, maybe she was, but her comment did not show any of that. She made a simple statement addressing another part of his comment, and it was one graceful virtual gesture. The insta-heat in me cooled down.

A few hours later when I was catching up with reading, this reactive incident of mine interrupted my focus. This time, thankfully, I was not being judgmental no more. Rather, I tried to understand where this comment came from.

This friend of ours grew up in a Christian home, but in his 20’s he chose to quit Christianity to live a lifestyle that he knew full well the Christian people condemn. Bitter attitude towards his family, his past church and Christian people in general was strong, so strong that you can see it from his countenance.

My late brother-in-law was one of his confidants and so our family grew to befriend him. Before I understood about the grace of God, I used to judge him, a lot. I used to think that there was no hope in him because God disapproved of him and his choices, and he would end up growing old more bitter than when he was young. I used to judge my late brother-in-law, too, for befriending him. Boy, was I so lost back then. It was truly an amazing grace that saved this wandering soul. 

But now, looking back at the old days, I could see how my brother had shown Christ to him.
He was being a friend, a trusted person to whom this guy can pour out, freely, all of his complaints, sarcastic comments and jokes, stories of his past and present, without being judged or the fear thereof. He was being a Christ’ follower, a reflector of Christ’ unconditional love in his friendship with this guy, while I, clearly, wasn’t.

Even though right now this friend of ours still chooses to live the same lifestyle, I know the friendship that my brother had with him had made an impact in his life.

This contemplation led me to repentance and to an understanding of him.
Before I knew the truth of God’s amazing grace, it was so easy for me to judge. Even after I knew and experienced it, I could still fall into the temptation to judge others — facebook comment reaction, Exhibit A. This is probably why God asks us to guard our wellspring of life, our hearts. I came to an understanding that this comment was a comment made by a runaway soul, one who knows deep in his heart that there is Someone who loves him unconditionally and yet fears to admit that this Someone has been waiting for him all this while.

This world doesn’t need another judgmental and condemning Christian, nor a reactive facebook comment reader, there’s too many of that kind already. This world needs Christ followers who will love the Lord with all their heart, their soul, their mind, their strength, Christ’ disciples who will love others as they love themselves.

Lord, I ask that you will reduce me to love. Day by day, let it be less of me and more of you. Help me to love you and the ones you call as yours. Holy Spirit, I ask that you will teach me, counsel me and lead me to the paths of life. 

Bejana-Mu

Bejana-Mu 
by JPCC Worship

Kekuatan di jiwaku
My soul’s strength
Ketenangan batinku
My heart’s peace
Ada dalam hadirat-Mu
Is found in Your presence
KumenyembahMu
I worship You

Tersungkur ku di kaki-Mu
Down at Your feet
Rasakan hadirat-Mu
In Your presence
Takkan ku melepaskanMu
Never let You go
Kau cahaya bagiku
You are my light

MengiringMu seumur hidupku
Following after You for all my days
Masuk dalam rencana-Mu Bapa
Being in the center of Your purpose
Pikiranku kehendakku
My thoughts, my will
Kuserahkan padaMu
I give them to You

Harapanku hanya didalamMu
My hope is found in You
Kukan teguh bersamaMu Tuhan
My courage is when I am with You
Jadikanku bejana-Mu
Make me a vessel
Untuk memuliakanMu
Live to bring You glory

Strangely Dim

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth
Will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace

…And It All Comes Down to Love.

My pastor posted 1 Corinthians 8: 1-3 on his Facebook page today — a reminder that our faith walk is about how much we love, not how much we know (or claim we know).

“Now regarding your question about food that has been offered to idols. Yes, we know that “we all have knowledge” about this issue. But while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church. Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much. But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes.”