Humility

 

Gentleness

 

Perfect & Mature

 

The term "Learning" in Bible

 

Greek terms for "Death"

 

Blessing / Happy

 

Drowning in Negative Emotions

In some cases, negative thinking can be fought with faith and the word of God. However, there are times that I got drowned in negative emotions/thinking. The things that I tried to do just drag me deeper. One possible cause is that I failed to focus and have enough faith in God while walking on 'water' (Mat 14: 29-30). Failing to focus makes me difficult to cope with a situation. A little wind can easily bring my emotion down. I understand that it can also happen because of other things. But, if you are in the condition that you are drowning because of failing to focus on God, it is OK to cry out to God, "Lord, help me." He will help you to refocus again on God.

The Parable of the Sower

A farmer went out to sow his seed (seed = an illustration of God's word).

Parable	Meaning
Seeds fell along the path. Birds come and ate it up.	As soon as they hear the word, Satan comes and take away.
Seeds fell on rocky places/no much soil. The plants sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. The plants were scorched, when the sun came. The plants withered, because no root or no moisture.	They hear the word and receive it with joy. The word has no root and last only a short time. When trouble or persecution come, they quickly fall away.
Seeds fell among thorns. Thorns grew up and choked the plants. The plants did not bear grain.	They hear the word, but worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
Seed fell on good soil. The plants came up, grew, produced a crop, and multiply.	They hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop.

Source: Mark 4:1-20, Mat 13:1-23, Luke 8:4-15

One factor that affects how the word of God grows is how well the person accepts it. There are times that we realize that the evil ones, troubles, persecution, deceitfulness of wealth, desires, and worries affect our growth. When that happens, I suggest asking God for good soil and seeds in you. He loves you and wants you to grow. 

In the Wilderness, Desert, or Solitary Place

The Greek word 'ἔρημος (erémos)' [1] is translated in the bible as wilderness, desert, and solitary place. Wilderness [2] is defined as a region uninhabited by human beings. Desert [3] is defined as desolate and sparsely occupied. 

In the bible, some appearances of 'ἔρημος (erémos)' is in:

• Matthew 3; Mark 1; Luke 1 & 3; John 1: John the Baptist is preaching in the wilderness.
• Matthew 4; Mark 1; Luke 4: Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.
• Luke 4:42; Luke 5:16; John 11:54: Jesus went out to a solitary place; Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
• Matthew 14; Mark 6; Luke 9: Jesus withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place; Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.
• Luke 15:4: Doesn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country, ...
• John 6; Act 7; Act 13:18; Hebrew 3: Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, ...
• Act 7:30: An angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai.

Wilderness, desert, and solitary place mean a place away from the population/public. It seems like many things, including spiritual growth, can happen in the wilderness. Even though being in a community is undeniably important, a place away from other people (together with God) can also bring growth in your spiritual life.

[1] https://biblehub.com/greek/2048.htm
[2] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wilderness
[3] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/desert

Dealing with Rejection

These days I am reading about social rejection. The more I read, the more I realize broad the theme is. Dealing with rejection is a huge topic to discuss. However, I think learning this is important as everybody had (on some level) experiences of being rejected as well as rejecting others. 

Rejection can take form as a dislike from a social media post, a negative answer from an idea/an application/a proposal, being bullied, being ignored, up to a relation rejection from the close social circle (such as family and friends), and physical persecutions.

The effect of rejection can be physical, financial, or psychological (such as the feeling of unbelonging, the feeling of unwanted, loneliness, low self-esteem, depression, aggression, emotional pain, social anxiety, antisocial behavior). Parenthetically, social rejection increases the ability to discriminate between genuine and fake smiles [1].

Being perfect does not free someone from being rejected. Neither doing God's exact calling does not free someone from being socially rejected. Jesus himself has been rejected by many people during his journey on earth [2] until now. Not all hate feelings have a clear reason (Psalm 38:19, John 15:25).

The reason of God to allow rejection in someone's life might vary from person to person. He might want to teach something. He might be preparing a different way/solution. In some cases, it is difficult to understand the reason behind it.

How to deal with rejection depend on how the rejection affects someone. Sometimes rejection affects the trust given and the only solution is to prove otherwise (if possible). Sometimes the key to deal with rejection is forgiveness. Occasionally, remembering our reward in heaven and try to rejoice is the solution (Matthew 5:12). In some cases, the best is to pray for those persecuting us (Matthew 5:44). Sometimes we just need to remember that God loves us and has paid a great price for our salvation. Sometimes we need to come to God's presence when we feel emotional pain/tiredness. Sometimes the best way to deal with rejection is just to remember that the world hates Jesus first (John 15:18). Professional help might be needed for handling traumatic rejection or rejection oversensitivity. 

Do not give up. Depend on God. Let the Holy Spirit teach you how to deal with your situation. I pray that God will work mightily in your difficult and (maybe unspoken) painful situation.

[1] Bernstein, M.J., "Adaptive responses to social exclusion: Social rejection improves detection of real and fake smiles," Psychological Science, 2008.

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rejection_of_Jesus

Matthew 5:8

 

Can we see God?

Exodus 33:11 mentioned that Moses speaks face to face to God as a friend. However, in few more verses after that (Exodus 33:20), God said to Moses, "you cannot see My face, for no one may see Me and live." These two verses make me think that there are different meanings/level of seeing God.

Physically, seeing is connected to the ability of eyes to perceive the visible light spectrum. So, if we interpret those verses literally, it means either God appeared in between the visible light spectrum or the human light spectrum is broaden to perceive more. However, 'to see' can also mean 'to understand', 'to recognize', 'to identify', 'to foresee', 'to imagine', 'to notice', or 'to experience'. Therefore, trying to guess what exactly the meaning behind the word 'seeing God's face' in those verses is not very easy.

The old testament describes that the Lord appeared to, among others:

1. Abraham (Gen 12:7; 17:1; 18:1)
2. Isaac (Gen 26:2, 24)
3. Jacob (Gen 35:1, 9; 48:3)
4. Moses (Exo 3:16; 4:5)

Some stated that they see God, among others:

1. Hagar (Gen 16:13)
2. Jacob (Gen 32:30)
3. Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu (Exo 24: 9-11)
4. Isaiah (Isa 6:1)

In the new testament, Jesus as a human is, of course, visible by many people. However, some of the disciples see the different appearance of Jesus when He was transfigured (Mat 17:1-8). Paul mentioned that no one has seen or can see God (1 Tim 6:16). The same direction is also mentioned by John (John 1:18; 1 John 4:12). On other hand, John also mentioned that he saw God in Revelation 1:17.

A blind person can not describe what he/she does not see. I am not very sure if I have enough experience of seeing God that I can explain that to someone. I also believe that God can appear in many different forms (fire, cloud, wind, gentle whisper, etc.). 

I believe it is OK to pray and to be hungry to see God. It will be always good to be able to understand Him more and to get closer to Him. Like Moses, God can personally notify us if our request is impossible and I believe His alternative (e.g. to see His back) will also be awesome.

I want to see You, God.

Who do you say Jesus is?

This question was raised by Jesus to his disciples (Luke 9:20) and maybe also to us. In the four gospel books, some people addressed Jesus as:

• Lord and/or God: John 9:38 (healed man) John 11:12 (Jesus's disciples) John 11:21-33 (Martha & Mary), John 13:6,9; John 13:36-37, John 21:15-17 (Peter), John 14:22 (Judas, but not Judas Iscariot), John 20:18 (Mary Magdalene), John 20:28 (Thomas), John 21:7 (John & Peter). 
• Teacher or Rabbi: Matthew 22:16 (Pharisees' disciples), Mark 10:35 (James & John), Luke 9:38 (A man with a sick son), John 1:38; John 9:1; John 11:8 (Jesus's disciples), John 3:1 (Nicodemus), John 20:16 (Mary Magdalene).
• Prophet (a person who receives and tells a message from God): John 7:40 (some people), John 9:17 (healed man), John 21:11 (crowd).
• Messiah (the anointed one, Christ): Luke 9:20 (Peter), John 1:41 (Andrew), John 4:25 (woman near the well), John 7:41 (some people).

Note that I do not list every bible verse on how people addressed Jesus above.

I learned that in this world, there are several religions, believes, and people that acknowledge the role of Jesus. Some acknowledge Jesus as a prophet (but not as God), some want to learn from his teaching/philosophy (but not acknowledge Him as the God). Do you see Jesus as your Lord, God, teacher, and Savior?

Even though we do not know what exactly is in Judas Iscariot's heart, but, interestingly, that he used the word 'Rabbi' during the last supper (Matthew 26:25) and in the Gethsemane (Matthew 26:49, Mark 14:45). He did not use the word 'Lord' in that situation.

Who is Jesus for you? Is He your Lord and God?

God is with you

From time to time we need to be reminded that God is with us. Many bible verses go in that direction, for example:

• God said to Moses (Exo 3:12), to Joshua (Jos 1:9), to Gideon (Judg 6:12,16), to His disciples (Mat 28:20)
• Many people/prophet said that to the people: Moses (Deut 31:6,8), Isaiah (Isa 41:10),  Zephaniah (Zep 3:17), the author of the book of Hebrew (Heb 13:5).
• By signs and wonders: by the presence of manna, cloud, fire, angels, etc.
• Holy Spirit is with us: Eze 36:27, John 14:16, 1 Cor 3:16, 2 Cor 13:14.

During my long journeys (eg. long academic studies/processes, in the effort of praying/believing for something), apart from small voices in my heart and from reading the bible, sometimes God gives me small reminders about His companionship. He suddenly answered my simple prayers/wishes (eg. want to have/eat something, want to talk with someone). Then, He said the simple sentence to me "I am with you". This helped me a lot especially when I feel emotionally tired or when I start to doubt (if I did/decided something wrong). 

The God that loves you is with you.

Operating in the Prophetic Ministry in Church

Because of the risks (Mat 7:15), some churches are reluctant to operate in the gift of prophecies or the office of prophet. The bible stated:

A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have. - 1 Cor 12:7-11 (NLT)

Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church: first are apostles, second are prophets, third are teachers, then those who do miracles, those who have the gift of healing, those who can help others, those who have the gift of leadership, those who speak in unknown languages. - 1 Cor 12:28 (NLT)

So, rejecting all kinds of prophetic ministry will not be beneficial for a church.

A prophet or someone with a prophetic gift should submit to the leaders (Heb 13:17), do their ministry in love (1 Cor 13), without any arrogance, not intentionally hurt someone else, and be ready for rejection (Mat 10:41, Luk 4:24, Luk 11:49). It is unlikely that God asks someone to speak up a prophecy while not following other parts of the bible.

In my opinion, not every prophecy that someone heard/felt/see/dreamt has to be directly spoken. It can be controlled by the prophet (1 Cor 14:32):

1. Ask God to whom the prophecy is for. It might be just for yourself or your knowledge.
2. If it is for someone else, ask God how and when to mention it. Not every prophecy should be spoken as "God said [something]". No prophecy should bring chaos (1 Cor 14:29)
3. It is good to have confirmation from someone else. Over-interpreting a prophecy will not give a benefit to the person.
4. Prophecy should be according to the bible. Often, a prophet is not someone that does not read the bible.

The church leaders need to have the gift of discernment to have a healthy prophetic ministry in a church.

Note: The word 'Prophet' is defined in various ways in various religions [wiki]. Here, I refer to the definition according to Christianity.  

Worshiping by Anointing Jesus

The act of worshiping by anointing Jesus appears in every gospel in the bible. The stories come with some differences in details, which make the discussion if it is the same occasion or some separate occasions.

	Matthew  26:6-13 Mark 14:3-9	Luke 7:36-50	John 12:1-8
Where?	Bethany, home of Simon the Leper	Pharisee’s house	Bethany
By whom?	a woman	a sinful woman	Mary
How?	using very expensive perfume, pure nard	wet with tears, wiped with hair, kissed, and poured perfume.	using a pint (0.5 l) of pure nard, poured on feet, and wiped with her hair.
On what?	head	feet	feet
Criticized by	disciples	The Pharisee: Simon	disciples

If these are separate occasions, I am impressed by the number of intimate worship acts that take place in public. If this is just a one time action, I am impressed by how deeply this act touched people, that every storyteller remembered different details.

Isn't that an intimate worship to God so beautiful? It brings to a place very near to God, where everything feels so different. Additionally, it changes and touches hearts.

Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere

- Psalm 84:10a (NIV) -

Kingdom of God

The following bible verse caught my attention:

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power (1 Cor 4:20, NIV)

It makes me think: what is the meaning of power here? For me, power can relate to the energy flow (energy/sec) or it can also relate to authority and sovereign state.

The bible verse makes me wonder: what is actually the kingdom of God? The kingdom of God (or kingdom of heaven as mentioned in the book of Matthew) is sometimes interpreted as a kingdom in the future or a kingdom now on earth. However, it always means the state of God being in power/authority (over our life, problem, circumstances).

The kingdom of God here on earth are often linked together with the financial or security situation. It seems that some situations make us easier to allow God ruling in our heart. (However, it never said that prosperity makes it impossible to make God our king)

Blessed are you who are poor (in spirit), for yours is the kingdom of God (Luke 6:20, Mat 5:3*, NIV)

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mat 5:10, NIV) 

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God (Mark 10:25, NIV)

The kingdom of God can be asked (Mat 6:10a), seek (Mat 6:33), taken (Mat 21:43), and received (Mark 10:15). When someone finds the kingdom of God, it seems natural to "give" everything for it (Mat 13:44-46).

Your kingdom come ... (Mat 6:10a, NIV)

But seek first His kingdom ... (Mat 6:33a, NIV)

Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. (Mat 21:43, NIV)

Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. (Mark 10:15, NIV)

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. (Mat 13:44)

The kingdom of God has different "law" compared with any human kingdom. It is also not an easy topic to be understood by our brain. Therefore, Jesus (Act 1:3) and the apostles (Acts 8:12, Acts 19:9) took time in teaching about the kingdom of God. Still, there might be a misunderstanding (Act 6:6-8). The best way to understand the kingdom of God is by experiencing God/Jesus/Holy Spirit to be the King in your heart and life.

Walking on the Water

Sometimes life feels like walking on the water. You do not understand things. Every time you focused on your problem (with an intention to fix it or to figure out why), you drowned. Moves that you thought would fix your problem, make it even worse.

In this time of life, the best is to focus on God. Take every step with Him. Walk by faith not by sight. Note: this is the perfect time to pray in tongues.

Rest

Today in the middle of all my problems, my weakness, and the news about Indonesian political situation, God teach me a lesson on taking a rest in my souls. In my worship time, He said, “Rest in me, aren't that all of your problems are also My problems?” (a.k.a. He do know my problems and He is working on it). Then, He reminds me the massiveness of His love. Oh, how peaceful and beautiful is His resting place. I hope that you can experience it too.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11: 28-30)