The term "Learning" in Bible

 

There is time to give up (Ecclesiastes 3:6b)

Giving up is not always bad. There is time to give up (Ecc 3:6b - NIV). Give up here (lə-’ab-bêḏ, אָבַד, abad) can be translated to ‘to perish’, ‘to lose’, ‘to quit searching’, ‘to give up as lost’, ‘to destroy’, ‘to break’, ‘to die’, ‘put to death’, or ‘to spend’ [1]. Giving up on something can be a beginning of a new fresh start:

Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. (John 12:24 – NIV)

There are things that we should never give up, e.g. our belief in Jesus Christ as our Savior, our trust that God -our Father- loves and cares for us, our belief in the promises of God, our belief in God’s ability, faith, and many others. However, there are things that we should give up, e.g. sin, flesh desires, wrong motive, arrogance, pride, and many others.

Sometimes, even though the vision/work we do is good in the eyes of God, flesh desires sneak in. I would like to illustrate this situation as a tree branch that has a disease on its beautiful leaves. Depending on the condition, the solution can be using medicine/treatment to treat the diseases or to cut the leaves and let new leaves grow out from them. There are times (maybe not so often) that giving up is needed to let something new grow by the grace of God.

The boundary of which to give up and not is different for every situation and people. Therefore, we always need the Holy Spirit to guide us.  

[1] https://biblehub.com/hebrew/6.htm

Greek terms for Anointing

 

Greek terms for "Death"

 

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

God is Looking for Worshipers (John 4:23)

But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship {προσκυνοῦντας, proskynountas} Him that way. John 4:23 (NLT)

Why God seeks worshipers? What makes worshipers so appealing to Him? Are true worshipers so difficult to be found, that God Almighty need to seek for them? I believe that angels can always worship God perfectly. I also believe that God does not need people's worship to make Him feel good.

I believe that somehow worship (to bow down, I go down on my knees to, do reverence to, do obeisance to, 'prós = toward, kuneó = to kiss') the Father in spirit and in truth brings something in the heart of people. It somehow shapes our hearts. I guess that this heart quality related to worship draws His attention. God must be very happy when someone He loves comes toward Him. 

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.

The Struggle against Sin (Romans 7)

I was reading the bible about faith (Heb 11), holiness (1 Pet 1), and love (1 Cor 13). I was thinking very hard about how it is possible to meet all those standards at the same time. Even though I spent a long time praying and bible-reading, it feels very difficult. This reminds me of Romans 7:

We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. - Rom 7:14-20 (NIV)

Even tough I know that theoretically the answer lies on Romans 8, I was struggling very hard. It feels like I am 'beating myself' because I keep failing. I realized that only God can change me:

I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. - Jer 31:33b (NIV)

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. - Eze 36:27a (NIV)

If this struggle happens to you, keep praying, keep asking God to change you, and believe that this is possible. God knows how and when to change your heart. He will never ignore a thirsty heart:

Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. - John 7:37b-38 & Heb 8:10b (NIV)

Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life. - Rev 22:17b (NIV)

I believe that flows of living water (Holy Spirit) will able to change our hearts. 

Holy Spirit in the Old and New Testaments

The Holy Spirit is mentioned in both old and new testaments. It starts with

... and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters - Gen 1:2 (NIV)

He appeared in many other stories in the bible. Such as in David:

Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. - Psalm 51:11 (NIV)

Then, why did Jesus said:

But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate [Helper (NKJV), Comforter (KJV), Counselor (CSB)] will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you - John 16:7 (NIV)

I think this bible verse in John is strongly connected to the one in Joel 2:28-32 and Acts 2:17-21:

... I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on My servants, both men and women, I will pour out My Spirit in those days. ...

The main difference before and after Jesus' time might connect to the term 'pouring out the Spirit on all people'. This must be something special. Therefore, I would like to suggest to pray that The Spirit is poured out to us.

When Jesus seems to come late (John 11)

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days. (John 11:5-6)

From another bible verse, this family (especially Mary) has shown much love to Jesus. Additionally, John 11 states that Jesus loves this family. But, still, at the time of difficulty, Jesus does not come to them immediately. Loving God and being loved by God does not always mean that you will be free from problems or that all your requests will be immediately fulfilled.

From the story, Jesus is on purpose in postponing His help (John 11:14-15). We can learn that Jesus is still in control, Jesus has a better plan, Jesus wants to change our heart 'so that we may believe'.

There might be many questions in our life. Maybe at this point, we are struggling to continuously believe that God is in control, God has a better plan, or He is currently working with our heart. Sometimes our problems/questions affect us so much and we can not understand things. Like Mary and Martha, why don't we just come to Him and pour out your heart to Him?

If you can read this blog, He is not yet finished with you. He lives. Happy Easter.

Note: Part of this writing is inspired by a sermon by Fuji Harsono (GMS Jabodetabek).

Spiritual Hunger & Believe

Behavior changes when someone is hungry and has the hope to obtain food somewhere. Often, the behavior is connected to the level of hunger and the level of hope. 

Hunger without any hope often leads to complaining, giving up, or even depression.

On the other hand, having no hunger will lead to a different type of behavior. Sometimes it leads to the act of judging the hunger people.

It is interesting that the bible verses connected to spiritual hunger and thirst come with the concept of believing and the act of coming to God.

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty. John 6:35

“Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” John 7:37b-38

How much do we want Him along with putting our hope in Him? 

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) -

Come to Jesus after Knowing (John 3:1-2)

"Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him." (John 3:1-2, NIV)

Not only Nicodemus know that Jesus has come from God. However, that night only he came to Jesus. He eventually learned directly from Jesus about the principle of being born again.

Only knowing about Jesus is not enough. It is important to come to Him. Let Him speak to your heart directly.

What hinder you to come to Jesus?

The Fields are Ripe for Harvest

Interesting translation: (considering different vegetation found in particular area)

"Lihatlah sekelilingmu dan pandanglah ladang-ladang yang sudah menguning dan matang untuk dituai" (LAI - Indonesian Bible)
"Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." (KJV)
"Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest." (NIV)

LAI: Menguning = is yellow
KJV: Putih = white
NIV describe without color information