Anniversary 2012

AdvisorsRev. Wilson Suwanto

Daniel Loe

EditorsRachel AtmadjaKenny GozaliMerissa Halim

Hubert KusdonoJocelyn Lee-Tindage

Hendry Wijaya

DesignersBuddy Chung

Harold DoryumuEva Leony

Fransisca SugiantoVincent Yobeanto

Cover PageBuddy Chung

PrintingSemiwati Oei

E-mailagape_gii@yahoo.com

Production of GII Azusa

539 N. Sunset Ave.Azusa, CA 91702

Telp: (626) 812-0326http://lax.gii-usa.org

The heart of this edition lies in understanding the delight

that takes place in surveying the Promises of God. We study how

the omnipotent God dispenses and fulfi lls His promises. We exam-

ine the signifi cance of the Beatitudes to discover what these di-

vine promises reveal about the character of the promise-Giver. The

promises of God rest in His faithful character; it is not dependent

on the strength of our obedience or the measure of our faith. The

worth and weight of a promise is revealed by the character of the

Giver of the promise. As we examine the Promises of God, we must

be diligent about viewing each promise within the context in which

it was given. Viewing a particular promise passage in isolation often

causes misunderstandings that led us to apply God’s promises er-

roneously.

The giving of a promise usually comes with the act of waiting. It is

not in our nature to enjoy the act of waiting; and yet God often

makes us wait to see the fulfi llment of His promises. Waiting has its

purpose in testing our faithfulness and developing Godly character.

But as character-building as the act of waiting is; it has also driven

countless men and women into weariness, bitterness, and anger at

what they view as God’s failure to fulfi ll His promises or God’s idle-

ness. Many men of God sinned because they could no longer wait

upon the Lord. Whether it is pride in taking matters into our own

hands or turning away from the Lord; the heart of the disobedience

comes from doubting the faithfulness of God. In this edition, we

also seek to understand the proper attitude when waiting upon the

Lord. Often, believers misintepret waiting on the Lord as idleness.

What many have failed to understand is that actively waiting upon

the Lord is, in itself, a form of action.

Anniversary 2012 1

Editorial ]

Contributors Janice Atmadja

Rev. Kristianto HoseaChristal SetiawanGamas SugiartoEv. Julia Suwanto

Rev. Wilson SuwantoJocelyn Lee-Tindage

Rocky Tindage2012 VBS Kids and Helpers

A promise is also intended to inspire hope. After an exhaustive study

of all the promises in the Bible and the writings of scholars who

have studied them; noted theologian Dr. Herbert Lockyer found

that above all, God’s Promises were never intended to “corrupt the

believer with false hope.” Once God gives a promise, He is legally

bound to honor it as He can neither perjure Himself nor deny His

faithful nature. Many Christians go no further than to take comfort

in the promises of God. But His promises were not meant to merely

soothe our fears and worries by lifting our gaze to the marvelous

future He has promised. God’s promises are intended for believers

to claim. God’s promises are intended to stir us into action by turn-

ing our delight in His Promises into obedience.

2 Anniversary 2012 Anniversary 2012 3

Jadilah Ranting yang Berbuah

Ucapan Berbahagia

Janji Tuhan

Undivided

God-Centered Marriage Life

Testimony: Romans 8

How to Get a Job in Four Easy Steps

Book Review: Parenting by God's Promises

VBS 2012 Survey

Setiap Langkah adalah Anugerah

Caricature

5

15

28

44

48

54

60

62

64

66

68

FeaturingBeatitudes

The Promises of God

Menantikan Janji Tuhan dengan Setia

092036

Contents ]

Do you have

comments, ideas or

suggestions related to

Agape Magazine or GII

Azusa?

Please email it to

agape_gii@yahoo.com

or send it to one of our

staff.

we're also online:

www.gii-usa.org/

agape.php

4 Anniversary 2012

hendaklah kita dengan penuh hati bersyukur kepada Tuhan karena Di-alah yang membangun dan meme-lihara GII Azusa sampai hari ini dan seterusnya. Selama dua puluh sembilan tahun, Tuhan dengan se-tia memimpin hidup kita. Apa yang harus kita lakukan untukNya? Dan bagaimana kita membalas segala anugrah dan kebaikan-Nya kepada kita? Hendaklah kita menjadi ranting

yang berbuah untuk Dia. “Akulah pokok

anggur yang benar dan BapaKulah pen-

Menjelang HUT ke-29 GII Azusa, gusahanya. Setiap ranting padaKu yang

tidak berbuah, dipotongNya dan setiap

ranting yang berbuah, dibersihkanNya,

supaya ia lebih banyak berbuah.” (Yo-

hanes 15:1-2)

1. Tuhan adalah pokok ang-gur yang benar

Tuhan Yesus melukiskan tentang Diri-

Nya seperti pokok anggur yang benar

yaitu seperti pokok anggur yang hidup.

Karena Tuhan kita telah mati di atas

Jadilah Ranting yang Berbuah (Yohanes 15:1-2)Rev. Kristianto Hosea

Anniversary 2012 5

kayu salib dan, di hari ketiga, Dia bangkit

dari kematian, Tuhan kita adalah Tuhan

yang bangkit dan hidup sampai selama-

lamanya. Dialah pokok anggur yang hid-

up sampai selama-lamanya. Dan apakah

kehendak Tuhan terhadap kita yang mi-

lik-Nya?

2. Tuhan ingin kita menjadi ranting yang berbuah

Hidup kita di-

lukiskan seperti

ranting pokok

anggur. Dan apak-

ah kehendakNya

terhadap kita

sebagai ranting-

rantingNya?

A. Dia tidak ingin kita menjadi

ranting yang tidak berbuah.

“Setiap ranting padaKu yang tidak ber-

buah, dipotongNya.” (Yohanes 15:2)

Bagaimana Tuhan terhadap ranting yang

tidak berbuah itu? Kata Tuhan Yesus

kepada kita bahwa setiap ranting yang

tidak berbuah akan dipotongNya yaitu

bahwa hidup kita di dunia ini seperti

ranting yang tidak berbuah akan dipo-

tongNya.

B. Dan apakah akibatnya rant-

ing yang tidak berbuah itu?

“Barangsiapa tidak tinggal di dalam Aku,

ia dibuang ke luar seperti ranting dan

menjadi kering,

kemudian dikum-

pulkan orang dan

dicampakkan ke

dalam api lalu

dibakar.” (Yo-

hanes 15:6) Ji-

kalau hidup kita

seperti ranting

tidak berbuah di dalam dunia ini yaitu

hidup kita tidak berguna di dalam dunia

ini, kita akan seperti sampah demikian

dibakar.

C. Dia ingin kita menjadi ranting

yang berbuah.

Apa yang harus kita lakukan untukNya? Dan bagaimana kita membalas segala anugrah dan kebaikan-Nya kepada kita?

6 Anniversary 2012

“… dan setiap ranting yang berbuah,

dibersihkanNya.” (Yohanes 15:2) Tuhan

ingin kita hidup di dalam dunia seperti

ranting yang berbuah yaitu Tuhan in-

gin hidup kita sangat berguna di dalam

dunia ini. Menjadi berkat untuk orang-

orang berdosa di dalam dunia ini se-

hingga mereka boleh berdamai dengan

Tuhan Allah. “Kamu adalah garam dunia.”

(Matius 5:13) Dan mereka yang hidup

di dalam kegelapan dan menuju kebina-

saan akan berubah hidup mereka masuk

ke dalam terang

Tuhan dan mem-

peroleh hidup

yang kekal. “Kamu

adalah terang

dunia.” (Matius

5:14)

D. Dan Dia ingin hidup kita lebih

berbuah untuk Tuhan.

“… supaya ia lebih banyak berbuah.”

(Yohanes 15:2) Tuhan ingin kita berbuah

makin banyak di dalam dunia ini yaitu

supaya makin banyak orang-orang yang

berdosa di dalam dunia ini memperoleh

keselamatan yang datang dari Tuhan.

“Akulah pokok anggur dan kamulah

ranting-rantingnya. Barangsiapa tinggal

di dalam Aku dan Aku di dalam dia, ia

berbuah banyak, sebab di luar Aku kamu

tidak dapat berbuat apa-apa.” (Yohanes

15:5)

Akhir kata, biarlah setiap kita berdoa

kepada Tuhan di dalam HUT GII Azusa

ke-29 ini. Kita ingin makin berbuah lebih

banyak untuk Tu-

han. Dan biarlah

nama Tuhan tetap

d i p e r m u l i a k a n

sampai selama-

lamanya. “Dalam

hal inilah BapaKu

d i p e r m u l i a k a n ,

yaitu jika kamu berbuah banyak dan

dengan demikian kamu adalah murid-

muridKu.” (Yohanes 15:8)

Hendaklah kita menjadi ranting yang berbuah untuk Dia.

Anniversary 2012 7

As we are near the 29th Anniversary of I.E.C.

Azusa, let us whole-heartedly give thanks to

the Lord. He has built and continually nour-

ished our church for twenty nine years; what

can we do to show our gratitude for His

grace and kindness? Let us become branches

that bear fruit for Him.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the

vinedresser. Every branch in me that does

not bear fruit he takes away, and every

branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it

may bear more fruit.”

John 15:1-2

The Lord is the True Vine. Jesus portrays

Himself as the True Vine that is living and ac-

tive. He died on the cross and rose again on

the third day; He is the True Vine that is eter-

nal. The Lord desires for us to be branches

that bear fruits. Our lives are illustrated as

branches from the True Vine.

What does the Lord desire for His branch-

es?

Be FruitfulBy: Rev. Kristianto Hosea

The Lord not desire unfruitful branches

(John 15:2). Jesus warned that all unfruitful

branches will be cut off from the True Vine.

Unproductive branches are useless and will

be only fi t for burning. Jesus wants our lives

to be like the branches that bears fruit; for

our lives to be useful for others. We are to

be a blessing to non-Christians in this world

so that they may learn that Jesus is the only

way for peace between God and man. In

Matthew 5:13; we are called to be the salt

and light of the earth. The Lord desires for

our lives to bear fruit in the sense that we

become beacons of lights through which sin-

ful people may be saved through hearing

the Gospel and believing in the Lord.

[RA]

I am the True Vine, and my Father is the Vinedresser

8 Anniversary 2012

BeatitudesBy Anonymous

Anniversary 2012 9

Instead Jesus started with the Beatitudes.

The Beatitudes, according to Wikipedia and

many other sources are a set of teachings

that appear in the gospels of Matthew

and Luke. They are eight in all and they

specifi cally talk about the blessed state and

the divine promise or reward if we adhere to

this state. Taken from Matthew 5, they are1:

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is

the kingdom of heaven. (5:3)

Blessed are those who mourn: for they will

be comforted. (5:4)

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit

the earth. (5:5)

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst

for righteousness: for they will be satisfi ed.

(5:6)

Blessed are the merciful: for they will be

shown mercy. (5:7)

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall

see God. (5:8)

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall

be called children of God. (5:9)

Blessed are those who are persecuted for

the sake of righteousness: for theirs is the

kingdom of heaven. (5:10)

Secondly, the term beatitude comes from

the Latin word of beatitude is beatus which

To some, the Beatitudes are the tenets of

the Christian life, and to others, they are a

form of political thought. Jesus' teachings

on the mount are considered by believers

as the core and model of how those who

follow Christ should live. Those, who are

not Christian, also see these teachings as a

model to be a “good” person and to “live

rightly” without acknowledging the Giver

and the Creator. The Beatitudes, as it is called,

has been thought and read for generations

including myself. The issue is that how well we

understand these teachings. My assumption

would be that many of us, including myself,

take it at face value and never really analyzed

them to fully understand what they mean. I

will fi rst give a brief overview of Beatitudes

then delve into the context of the text in

Matthew 5. I intend to focus on the fi rst two

Beatitudes and try to unpack their meanings

so that we can fully understand what they

mean and, hopefully, apply them in our lives.

To begin, after Jesus was tempted by the

accuser, He came from the wilderness, called

the twelve disciples, and began His ministry

with these eight profound sayings. The Jewish

establishment probably was expecting a

different kind of Messiah, a rebel who would

lead the fi ght against the Roman oppression.

10 Anniversary 2012

means happy, fortunate of blissful, hence the

word blessed. Being blessed is being in an

"emotional state represented by the word

happy”. It includes a spiritual well-being,

having the approval of God thus a happier

destiny. (RC Sproul 1367) In a sense, Christ

is sharing the conditions in order to be

happy or experience joy. John MacArthur,

a pastor, theologian, and author, defi nes it

as "the divinely bestowed well-being that

belongs to the faithful”. They are a set of

teachings that direct the life of the faithful.

Lastly, the Beatitudes also provide peace

in the midst of trials. St Augustine calls it

a perfect standard of the Christian life and

that they guide the life of those who are

willing to live by them in order that they may

be compared to one building upon a rock.

One can refer to the passage in Matthew

7:24 further expounding on the Sermon

of the Mount. We can therefore conclude

that the Beatitudes are not just sayings

but also have a deeper meaning to it; they

guide our lives. And by fully understanding

what they are and being completely guided

by them will guarantee divine happiness.

To experience the divine happiness or

the promise that follow these states is to

understand what these means. Since Christ

called me by His grace and mercy, I have read

this text so many times, but I do not believe

I understood them fully. I just read them and

moved on to the next. I tried to live by them

but in my own understanding and strength.

Many believers also share this sentiment

in the sense that we read it at face value

and sometime interpret it without further

study. What does it mean to be poor in

spirit? What kind of poverty is Christ talking

about? And, why is it a happy statement,

especially in the world we live in where

being poor is not an ideal state and looked

down upon? This section hopes to search

into that, and by the power of the Holy

Spirit helps us get a better understanding

of what it means to be poor in spirit.

First, Jesus opened His sermon on the

mount with these words "Blessed are the

poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of

heaven." (Matthew 5:3) My theory is that,

this may mean that materially one has to be

poor. Jesus stressed in Matthew 19:24, Mark

10, and in Luke 18:25 that it was hard for

the rich man to enter into the kingdom of

heaven. This was after His encounter with

the rich man who wanted to know what

good thing he must do to inherit eternal life.

So, is this true? Tod Lindberg of the Hoover

Anniversary 2012 11

Institution at Stanford University agrees.

He claims that, "We begin with the poor

in spirit. It is an ambiguous phrase, but one

that evokes a sense of those incapable of

taking care of themselves at all: the dejected,

the demoralized, those in whom the spark

has gone out. They have given up, resigning

themselves to their lonely place at the

bottom, beyond reach of all others."2 So then

Jesus' saying has a political motive? To be poor

is to be without anything. This is for the poor

and the downtrodden, the oppressed and

the demoralized. What I think Mr. Linberg

and many others may be missing is the "in

spirit" aspect of it. To be poor can be defi ned

as broke, destitute, or bankrupt. Thus to be

poor in spirit means we are bankrupt, empty

in spirit. Being empty spiritually means we

need to be fi lled, and that is where the grace

and mercy of Christ comes. Happy are those

who are bankrupt in spirit, bankrupt to the

point where we realize how much we need

Christ and realizing that it is only by grace

that He saves us. The meaning of material

poverty or wealth has no connection with

it. We can be poor and still be arrogant,

proud, and self-centered. It means we must

get rid of our self-suffi ciency, pride, and self-

righteousness, and instead, we must be fi lled

with a deep humility of recognizing one’s

spiritual bankruptcy. It means we realize

our own sinfulness and the need to put

our faith and trust in Jesus. We need to be

a broken vessel before Him. Psalm 51:17

says, "My sacrifi ce, O God, is a broken spirit

a broken and contrite heart you, God, will

not despise.” One example is the parable of

the tax collector and publican in Luke 18:9-

14. The publican recognized that he was a

sinner, depraved, bankrupt in every way,

and needing mercy, forgiveness, and grace.

He was poor in spirit and was ready to be

fi lled. It produces humility.

Second, the poor in spirit "are those who

are conscious of their own sin and know

in their hearts that they are completely

unworthy of the grace that a most Holy

and loving God pours through them."3 They

acknowledged and came to understand that

their righteousness is as fi lthy rags before

Him (Isaiah 64:6). In a sense, our own works

cannot save us; nothing “good” can redeem

us from sin. It is only by faith in God and

dependence on Him (Ephesians 2:8, Romans

9:30, 31). One commentator puts it this

way, "It is to be humble and lowly, it is to

acknowledge that God is great, and we are

mean; that He is holy and we are sinful; that

He is all and we are nothing."4 In conclusion,

12 Anniversary 2012

it does not mean that we throw away what

God has given us materially. Material things

have no connection with being poor in spirit.

It is simply understanding how we need Him

every hour and need to depend on Him above

all else because we are spiritually bankrupt.

And, it leads us into the result that it is we

must be fi lled. Filled with what? The Spirit of

the living God who strengthens and sustains

us by His grace and, most importantly, by the

promise of eternal life: the kingdom of heaven.

So we have an understanding of what it

means to be poor in Spirit. Jesus said in His

second statement, “Blessed are those who

mourn for they shall be comforted." Well,

when one hears this off the bat, one may ask,

how is it possible to mourn and be happy

at the same time? It does not make sense

logically. How is it that you are blessed?

Society tells us that we always have to be

happy all the time, not "sadness" in that

sense of the word. I read this earlier, and

again like the fi rst one, did not really get it.

So the questions are: would be how do we

read this and how do you understand this?

First, to mourn is to weep for or over

something. It could be a loss of something or

someone, a regret, or an experience of some

pain or some sort. In general, to mourn is not

a pleasant experience. However, Christ says

that happy is the one who does this. So, what

does it mean to be mournful in this context?

To mourn in this sense is to mourn over

our sin. Godly sorrow produces repentance

that is leading to salvation without regret.5

2 Corinthians 7:10 says, "For Godly sorrow

worth repentance unto salvation not to be

repented of: but the sorrow of the world

worth death." So, as the Spirit leads us to

realize our sin, we mourn and realize how

much we have sinned against a holy God

and deserved His wrath as expected, we are

comforted. We are comforted because He

forgives us and gives us rest. (Matthew 11:28)

If we ponder and contemplate our present

state after the fall, we can only mourn our

present sinful condition. The more we know

Him and understand the cost, we mourn and

feel broken, contrite, and humbled. It is in that

state that we are lifted up and comforted. St.

Augustine, in his commentary on the Sermon

on the Mount, explains this point this way:

It is sorrow arousing from the loss of things

held dear; but those that are converted to

God lose things which they are accustomed

to embrace as dear in this world: For they

do not rejoice in the things which they

Anniversary 2012 13

righteousness, woodworks, or religiosity

will bring us salvation or merit or favor

with God. The Beatitudes most importantly

brings the believer to acknowledge our

spiritual bankruptcy and the price that

He paid to cleare our debts. They teach

us of our need to depend on Christ and

to be faithful in Him. That only by faith in

Christ and Christ alone we can be saved.

Sources:

1. "The Eight Beatitudes of Jesus". July 6th

2011. (http://www.jesuschristsavior.net/

Beatitudes.html)

2. Lindberg, Tod. "What The Beatitudes

Teach." Hoover Institution. July 30 2007

(http://www.hoover.org/publications/policy-

review/article/6127)

3. Wells, Robert. Home Page "Beatitudes

- Their Signifi cance and Meaning" July

4th 2011. (http://robertwells.tripod.com/

Beatitudes.html)

4. Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henry's

Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan

Publishing House.

5. MacArthur, John. The MacArthur Bible

Commentary. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Inc.

6. Bridges, Jerry. Transforming Grace:

Living Confi dently In God's Unfailing Love.

Colorado: Navpress

formerly rejoiced; and until the love of

eternal things be in them, they are wounded

by some measure of grief. Therefore they

will be comforted by the Holy Spirit who on

this accord is called the Comforter in order

that while losing the temporal joy, they

may enjoy to the full that which is eternal.

As we grieve over our sin, the Lord comforts

through the Holy Spirit as promised. Like the

prodigal son, we are welcomed with warmth

and rest when we deserved punishment.

This produces hope and an unspeakable

joy to the believer. Thus, it is necessary

that we continually mourn and come to

repentance that we might receive mercy

and grace. These states are not separate

entities. They are connected in every way.

As we are emptied, we are broken and

mourn our discretion. God calls these

states blessed or happy because it brings

everything under His authority, the authority

that His glory will be shown. For that, we

are rewarded, and these rewards could be

in the future or in our temporal present

state. Blessed because we are constantly

depending on Him. By that we fi nd rest,

comfort, and experience the promises that

He has bestowed on us through His word.

In conclusion, no form of works or self-

14 Anniversary 2012

Indonesian Translation

Kotbah di bukit merupakan pusat kehidupan orang Kristen tetapi juga merupakan

pikiran politik buat beberapa orang. Ajaran Tuhan di bukit dianggap orang Kristen sebagai

inti dan model untuk berkehidupan di dunia ini. Untuk orang tidak percaya ajaran ini

juga merupakan model untuk menjadi orang “baik” dan hidup dengan “benar” tanpa

menyadari Pemberinya. Mungkin kebanyakan dari kita hanya mengerti dari permukaan

saja tentang ajaran Tuhan di bukit. Oleh sebab itu artikel ini akan mengupas lebih

dalam apa yang diajarkan Tuhan di dalam kotbah di bukit, terutama dua ajaran pertama.

Ucapan Berbahagia

Anniversary 2012 15

Setelah Yesus dicobai oleh Setan di padang

gurun dan memanggil kedua belas murid,

Dia memulai pelayanan dengan delapan

ajaran di bukit. Orang-orang Yahudi mungkin

mengharapkan kedatangan nabi yang

berbeda yaitu nabi yang dapat memimpin

mereka untuk menghadapi orang-orang

Romawi, tetapi Yesus memulai dengan ajaran

di bukit. Ada delapan ucapan berbahagia

yang diajarkan Tuhan sebagai hadiah jika kita

berada di keadaan tertentu. Matius 5 berkata:

“Berbahagialah orang yang miskin di hadapan

Allah, karena merekalah yang empunya

Kerajaan Sorga.” (5:3)

“Berbahagialah orang yang berdukacita,

karena mereka akan dihibur.” (5:4)

“Berbahagialah orang yang lemah lembut,

karena mereka akan memiliki bumi.” (5:5)

“Berbahagialah orang yang lapar dan haus

akan kebenaran, karena mereka akan

dipuaskan.” (5:6)

“Berbahagialah orang yang murah hatinya,

karena merekan akan beroleh kemurahan.”

(5:7)

“Berbahagialah orang yang suci hatinya,

karena mereka akan melihat Allah.” (5:8)

“Berbahagialah orang yang membawa damai,

karena mereka akan disebut anak-anak

Allah.” (5:9)

“Berbahagialah orang yang membawa damai,

karena mereka akan disebut anak-anak

Allah.” (5:10)

Ucapan berbahagia menujukan

seseorang mempunyai keadaan rohani yang

sehat. Supaya mempunyai kerohaniaan yang

sehat, seseorang harus mendapatkan rasa

penerimaan dari Tuhan sehingga mereka

mempunyai pengharapan yang bahagia. John

MacArthur, seorang pendeta dan penulis

mengartikannya sebagai “keadaan sehat ilahi

yang diberikan untuk orang-orang percaya”.

Kedelapan ucapan berbahagia merupakan

ajaran Tuhan untuk mengarahkan kehidupan

orang-orang Kristen. Ucapan berbahagia

ini juga dapat memberikan ketenangan di

tengah-tengah pencobaan. Santo Agustinus

mengartikan ucapan berbahagia sebagai

model sempurna untuk kehidupan orang

Kristen dan bisa mengarahkan mereka yang

bersedia untuk hidup di dalamnnya. Maka

dari itu ucapan berbahagia di dalam ajaran

Yesus di bukit bukan merupakan suatu

ucapan saja karena mereka mempunyai arti

yang lebih dalam. Kedelapan ajaran ini dapat

mengarahkan kehidupan kita di dunia ini dan

dapat memberikan kita kebahagiaan ilahi.

Berbahagialah Orang yang Miskin

Rohani

16 Anniversary 2012

Untuk mengalami kebahagiaan ilahi

dan janji Tuhan, kita harus terlebih dahulu

memahami arti ajaran Yesus. Tetapi sejak

Tuhan memberikan anugrah keselamatan-

Nya kepadaku, aku masih belum bisa

mengerti seluruh arti Matius 5. Aku mencoba

untuk hidup di dalamnya tetapi berdasarkan

pengertian dan kekuatanku. Banyak orang

percaya yang mengalami hal yang sama; kita

hanya mengerti dari permukaan saja dan

mengartikannya tanpa mendalaminya dahulu.

Apa artinya lemah rohani? Lapar dan haus

apa yang Tuhan maksudkan? Kenapa kondisi

berbahagia yang dikatakan disini, dimana

miskin merupakan kondisi tidak ideal di dunia

yang berdosa ini? Artikel ini mencoba untuk

mengali arti sebenarnya dari lemah rohani.

Yesus membuka kotbah-Nya dengan

“Berbahagialah orang yang miskin di hadapan

Allah, karena merekalah yang empunya

Kerajaan Sorga.” (Matius 5:3) Menurut aku,

ini berarti seseorang harus miskin secara

material. Yesus menegaskan di Matius 19:24,

Markus 10, dan Lukas 18:25 bahwa sulit

sekali untuk orang kaya masuk ke dalam

kerajaan surga. Ini dikatakan-Nya sehabis

pertemuan-Nya dengan orang kaya yang

ingin mengetahui hal baik apa yang harus

dilakukannya untuk mendapat hidup kekal.

Apakah ini benar? Tod Linberg dari Hoover

Institution menyetujui hal ini. Tod berkata

“kita memulai dengan miskin rohani.” Untuk

dapat diselamatkan, manusia harus berada

di situasi dimana ia tidak bisa lagi mengurus

dirinya sendiri: sedih, putus asa, dan dimana

semua semangat sudah hilang. Mereka sudah

menyerah dan menyendiri di tempat yang

jauh dan dalam dimana tidak ada seorang pun

yang dapat membantu. Apakah ini arti miskin

yang dimaksud Tuhan? Miskin rohani berarti

kita memerlukan Tuhan, anugrah keselamatan,

dan pengampunannya. Miskin sampai kita

menyadari bertapa kita memerlukan Tuhan

dan menyadari bahwa hanya anugrah yang

dapat menyelamatkan kita. Ini berarti miskin

disini tidak mempunyai hubungan dengan

kemiskinan materi. Kita bisa miskin dan

tetap sombong dan mengutamakan diri

sendiri. Ini berarti kita harus menghilangkan

kesombongan dan diri sendiri sehingga

kita bisa dipenuhi dengan kerendahan

terhadap kemiskinan rohani. Kita harus

menjadi bejana yang hancur dihadapan-Nya.

Mazmur 51:17 berkata, “Ya Tuhan, bukalah

bibirku, supaya mulutku memberitakan puji-

pujian kepada-Mu.” Satu contoh ialah cerita

pemungut cukai di Lukas 18:9-14. Penulisnya

menyadari bahwa dia adalah pendosa dan

bangkrut dan memerlukan pengampunan

dan anugrah. Dia miskin rohani dan siap

Anniversary 2012 17

dipenuhi. Ini menghasilkan kerendahan diri.

Miskin rohani adalah orang-orang

yang merasakan bahwa dirinya adalah

manusia berdosa dan tahu bahwa mereka

tidak pantas untuk mendapatkan anugrah

yang dicurahkan oleh Tuhan kepada mereka.

“Demikianlah kami sekalian seperti seorang

najis dan segala kesalehan kami seperti kain

kotor.” (Yesaya 64:6a) Ini berarti kerja keras

dan kebaikan yang kita lakukan tidak bisa

menyelamatkan kita. Hanya melalui iman

kepada Tuhan dan bergantung kepada-Nya

(Efesus 2:8, Roma 9:30,31). Ada seorang

berkata, “Dengan merendahkan diri maka

kita dapat menyadari bahwa Tuhan itu

agung. Dia adalah kudus dan kita adalah

berdosa. Dia adalah segalanya dan kita tidak

mempunyai apa-apa.” Hal ini dikatakan

bukan berarti kita membuang semua

pemberian materi dari Tuhan. Barang-barang

materi tidak mempunyai hubungan dengan

miskin rohani. Tetapi menyadari bahwa kita

membutuhkan Dia setiap saat dan perlu

bergantung kepada-Nya karena kita miskin

secara rohani. Dengan begitu maka kita

akan diisi dengan Roh Kudus yang akan

menguatkan dan memelihara kita dengan

anugrah-Nya; dan tentu saja memperoleh

janji hidup kekal di kerajaan surga.

Berbahagialah Orang yang

Berdukacita

Supaya kita mempunyai pengertian

tentang miskin rohani. Yesus berkata

di janjinya yang kedua, “Berbahagialah

orang yang berdukacita, karena mereka

akan dihibur.” Ketika baru mendengar ini,

seseorang mungkin bertanya “bagaimana bisa

sedih dan bersukacita pada saat bersamaan?”

Hal ini sangat tidak masuk diakal. Dunia ini

mengatakan bahwa kita harus bersukacita

setiap saat dan bukan bersedih. Jadi

bagaimana kita sebagai orang Kristen

seharusnya membaca dan mengerti hal ini?

Bersedih berarti menangisi sesuatu.

Ini mungkin disebabkan karena kehilangan

sesuatu atau seseorang, penyesalan, atau

kesakitan. Apa pun alasannya sedih bukan

merupakan pengalaman yang menyenangkan.

Tetapi Tuhan berkata untuk bersukacita untuk

orang yang demikian. Jadi apa yang dimaksud

sedih disini? Bersedih yang dimaksudkan

adalah bersedih untuk dosa kita. Sedih yang

ilahi akan mendatangkan pertobatan yang akan

memimpin kita menuju keselamatan. 2 Korintus

7:10 berkata, “Sebab dukacita menurut

kehendak Allah menghasilkan pertobatan yang

membawa keselamatan dan yang tidak akan

disesalkan, tetapi dukacita yang dari dunia ini

18 Anniversary 2012

menghasilkan kematian.” Jadi Roh Kudus

memimpin kita untuk menyadari dosa kita

sehingga kita sedih dan menyadari bahwa

kita pantas untuk mendapatkan amarah

Tuhan, dan kita akan dihibur. Kita akan

dihibur karena Dia memaafkan kita dan

memberikan kita kelegaan. (Matius 11:28)

Jika kita merenungkan keadaan kita setelah

jatuh kedalam dosa, kita hanya bisa bersedih.

Semakin banyak kita mengetahui tentang

Dia dan upah yang harus dibayar, kita akan

bersedih, menyesal, dan direndahkan. Di dalam

kondisi inilah kita akan diangkat dan dihibur.

Santo Agustinus menjelaskan

kalimat kedua dari kotbah di bukit begini:

Kesedihan datang dari kehilangan hal yang kita

anggap penting. Tetapi orang yang bertobat

akan kehilangan hal yang dianggap penting oleh

dunia karena mereka tidak akan bersukacita di

dalam hal yang sama seperti dulu. Dan sampai

mereka mendapatkan cinta yang sempurna,

mereka akan disakiti oleh perasaan penyesalan.

Jadi mereka akan dihibur oleh Roh Kudus yang

disebut sebagai Penghibur sehingga walaupun

mereka kehilangan kesenangan semu, mereka

akan mendapatkan kesenangan yang kekal.

Ketika kita menyesali dosa kita,

Tuhan memberikan penghiburan melalui

Roh Kudus sesuai dengan janji-Nya. Seperti

perumpamaan anak yang hilang, kita akan

disambut dengan kehangatan dan kelegaaan

walaupun kita pantas untuk dihukum. Hal

ini mengdatangkan harapan dan sukacita

yang besar untuk orang-orang percaya. Jadi

seharusnyalah kita terus bersedih dan bertobat

sehingga kita mendapatkan pengampunan.

Jadi sedih dan sukacita bukanlah situasi yang

berbeda. Mereka mempunyai hubungan yang

erat. Di dalam situasi kosong, hancur, dan

sedih yang manusia rasakan terhadap dosa

yang mereka perbuat, Tuhan menyebutkan

untuk berbahagia karena di dalam situasi

itulah Tuhan akan berkuasa dan bekerja.

Bersukacita dan bersengang karena kita akan

terus bergantung kepada-Nya sehingga kita

mendapatkan ketenangan dan penghiburan

sesuai dengan janji yang telah Dia ucapkan.

Untuk mengakhiri, tidak ada

pekerjaan, kerajinan, dan sifat beragama

yang akan mendatangkan keselamatan

atau upah dengan Tuhan. Kotbah yesus

di bukit tentang kebahagiaan membawa

orang percaya untuk menyadari kemiskinan

rohani dan upah yang telah Dia tebus untuk

menebus dosa kita. Kedelapan ajaran Yesus

mengajarkan kita untuk selalu bergantung

dan beriman kepada Dia. Dan hanya

iman yang di dalam Dia dan hanya Dialah

yang mampu menyelamatkan kita. [HW]

Anniversary 2012 19

One of the things that I fi nd most

intriguing is the amount of God’s

promises found the Bible. Thus

far, no one is able to count the exact amount

of promises there are in the Bible. Some say

that there are 3000, 7000, or even 8000.

Typically, we are wary of those who make

too many promises; but that is not the case

with God’s Promises. Why does God make

many promises in His Word? Because we

need promises. A promise gives us assurance

and a sense of security. Man has a tendency

to live in fear of the future and wonders

what happens tomorrow. But when the Lord

promises; it is sure to come in the future.

This gives us assurance and peace so that we

no longer fear for tomorrow.

Let us discuss the origin of fear for a

moment. Fear is originally caused by

sin. Adam and Eve ate the forbidden

fruit and fell into sin. After they fell into

sin; they felt fear and shame. They hid

themselves from God and when God came;

He condemned them for their sins and justly

sentenced them to punishments. But God

20 Anniversary 2012

did not only give Adam and Eve punishments;

he also gave them a promise. In Genesis 3:

15, the Lord said,

“I will put enmity between you (the devil) and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (ESV)

This promise is unconditional in

nature; God did not say that an

action is needed in man’s part in

order to bring about the fulfi llment of this

promise. This promise is God’s grace for

the sinful human race where one day, He

will send a Savior to save the human race

from sin. Sinful human beings do not deserve

salvation; but God in His Goodness gave

man this promise. Through this promise, we

are able to study the characteristics of God’s

Promises in the Bible.

1God’s Promises are born of His Grace and Mercy

God did not have to promise us

anything. It was us who have

sinned and rebelled against His

Commandments in the fi rst place. In fact it

is safer for God not to promise us anything

because we will always sin and disobey His

Word. We ourselves do not dare to give

promises to people who are egotistical,

selfi sh, and evil. But God dared to give a

promise to us who are sinful and evil because

God is full of grace. Although we are not

deserving of His promises; He gave them to

us anyways. The promise legally binds God

to fulfi ll it. This is the grace of God: rather

than punishing men for their sins, He gave

them a promise for salvation instead.

Anniversary 2012 21

2God’s promises rest on His Faithfulness and Holiness

Titus 1:2 says, “in hope of eternal

life, which God, who never lies,

promises before the ages began.”

God is holy and he can not lie. God is

so faithful in character that anything He

promises, He will fulfi ll. 1 John 1: 9 tells us,

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just

to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from

all unrighteousness.” The Lord is faithful and

He will fulfi ll His promise to forgive all who

confess their sins in His presence.

The promise of salvation is not conditional upon the faithfulness of man. In other words; God’s

promises are unconditional and are based on the grace and faithfulness of God.

When God promised salvation

to Adam and Eve after their

fall into sin; He did not give

them a single condition that they must fulfi ll

in order for His promise for salvation to be

fulfi lled. Just as it was with Adam and Eve; so it

was with Abraham when God promised that

out of him will come many nations (Genesis

12: 1-3, 15: 18-21). Once again there were no

conditions set by God for Abraham to meet

in order for God’s promise to be fulfi lled (1

Chronicles 17: 11-14, 2 Chronicles 6: 16).

Before Abraham and David; God also gave

a promise to Noah (Genesis 9: 8-17) that

22 Anniversary 2012

He will never destroy the earth with fl ood

again; no matter how evil the deeds of man

become.

It is clear that whatever man does will

never nullify or unbound God’s promises

for them. Jesus gave unconditional

promises for believers in the Bible. The

term ‘promise’ is closely related to the term

‘covenant.’ A covenant is defi ned as a formal

agreement between two or more persons. To

the Lord; to enter into a promise with man

is to bind Himself into a formal agreement

with man. This is a sacrifi ce on the

Lord’s part; but why did He choose

to do it? God is sovereign; He

does not have to bind Himself

in a legal agreement with

man. Man has a long track record of being

unfaithful; reneging on God’s covenants. But

God never once reneged on His promises

to man. God never forgets nor reneges on

His promises. This shows God’s faithful and

merciful character. He binds himself into an

agreement to man not because He needs

the promises; but because we need the

promises.

We need assurance and certainty.

Because the promises were

given in the spirit of grace;

God’s promises for Christians are often

Anniversary 2012 23

referred to as the Covenant of Grace.

This Covenant of Grace states that

God promises eternal life for those

who believe in Jesus Christ. This promise is

unconditional; independent of any actions

done by man for its fulfi llment.

There are some who argue that the act

of believing in God is the condition

for receiving the promised eternal

life. But believing is not an action. Believing is

receiving what God has promised. In order

to believe in God’s promises; we must have

faith. Having faith is not an action because

to have faith is to receive what God has

promised through Jesus Christ. God Himself

is the one who gave us faith. There are no

actions required on the part of man in order

to receive this God-given faith.

Exodus 19:5 says that, “Now therefore,

if you will indeed obey my voice and

keep my covenant, you shall be my

treasured possession among all peoples,

for all the earth is mine.” Does this verse

indicate that God’s promise will only be

fulfi lled if the Israelites obey His Voice and

stay faithful to the covenant? We know that

Israel failed to be faithful to the covenant

and was exiled from the Promised Land as

a result. Is this incident proof that there are

conditional promises? In actuality that is not

the case. The Nation of Israel had disobeyed

God’s Commandments for so long; and yet

God did not exile them until 567 SM when

King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem.

Therefore, even in a promise that sounds

“conditional,” the grace and mercy of God

still abounds. Although the Israelites were

exiled from the Promised Land of Israel; it

served to remind them that the Promised

Land is actually Heaven; not the land of

Palestine. In other words; God did not take

the Promised Land away from them forever.

The promises in Moses’ time that appeared

“conditional” is intended to remind us that

man is only saved by grace alone; not good

works or obedience to the Law.

All the promises of God are born of

His Grace and are unconditional in

nature. We are saved only by grace

alone. We became children of God through

God’s grace. As children, we inherit all the

promises of God in Christ (2 Corinthians

1: 20). For instance, God promises to fulfi ll

all of our needs, to protect us, and to care

for us until the end. It is true that there are

24 Anniversary 2012

times when we feel that God’s promises

have not been fulfi lled. Or we have not seen

the fulfi llment of His promise in the sense

that we believe it should be fulfi lled. At those

times, we must remember two things:

1. God fulfi lls His promises in His time, not our time.2. God fulfi lls His promise in His sense, not our sense.

There are many Biblical characters

that never received the fulfi llment

of the promise in their lifetimes.

Jesus promised Abraham a bountiful land

and offspring as numerous as the sand

on the seashore and stars in the sky. But

Abraham was still sojourning like a stranger

in a foreign land at the time of his death.

Does this mean that God reneged on His

promise? Does this proof God unfaithful?

Hebrews 11:3 says, “These all died in

faith, not having received the things

promised, but having seen

them and greeted them from

afar, and having acknowledged

that they were strangers and

exiles on the earth.”

Whatever God promises to

believers in this world; we

must always remember that

all those promises will be fulfi lled when

Jesus Christ comes for the second time.

We are wanderers and strangers on this

earth until then in the sense that we are

looking forward to the true Promised Land

that is Heaven. God’s promises are already

partially fulfi lled; but we must still await

its full fulfi llment at the second coming of

Christ. The Lord is faithful, and He will give

us the strength to faithfully await the full

fulfi llment of His Promises. Knowing that

God’s promises are unconditional gives us

a sense of security because the fulfi llment

is not dependent on the state of our lives

before God. Even though we are unfaithful,

He will remain faithful because He “cannot

deny himself (2 Tim 3:13).”

Anniversary 2012 25

How should Christians respond

towards God’s Promises that are

unconditional and beautiful?

1. He learns faithfulness

Because God is faithful in keeping

His promises; we must also learn to

be faithful. In the bond of marriage,

the faithfulness of one will encourage the

faithfulness of another. God’s faithfulness

ought to inspire us to be faithful.

2. He learns to trust

God promised; but He does not

reveal when the fulfi llment will

take place. By doing this He is

teaching us to fully trust in His Word. God

is holy and true; he can not lie. We learn to

trust in God’s Word and to hide His Word in

our hearts; strengthening our trust in Him.

3. He learns to live a holy life

1 John 3: 3 says, “And everyone who

thus hopes in him purifi es himself

as he is pure.” When we await

the fulfi llment of His promises; we learn

to prepare ourselves. Because God who

promised is holy; we learn to follow His lead

to live a holy life. The world teaches us that

it is unnecessary to wait. In learning to wait

on His promises; we learn to live like Christ;

not like the world.

4. He learns patience and perseverance

Waiting on God’s promises

is different from regular

waiting. Waiting on God’s

promises yields Godly character in

ourselves; characters such as patience and

perseverance. Many prayed once; did not

see a result of the prayer, and quit praying.

26 Anniversary 2012

Waiting on God’s promises gives us the

strength to be patient and persevering in

prayer. We learn not to insist that everything

must happen now or instantly.

5. He learns humility

Because God’s ways is above our ways

and God’s timing is not our timing;

we learn to always be humble. God

knows what is best for us and for His Glory.

By learning to submit to God’s ways and

God’s timing; we learn humility. We are not

God or masters of the universe. We are

always reminded that we are all creations

that receive the kindness of God.

In Hebrews 10: 23, Christians

are urged to “hold fast the

confession of our hope

without wavering, for he who

promised is faithful.” We must read the Word

of God and personally discover His promises.

Study His promises by holding on to them in

your heart and uttering it in your prayers to

God. You will fi nd that God’s promises give

us strength to face this life until we meet the

Lord. With God’s promises, we can face any

situation in this life. [RA]

Anniversary 2012 27

Satu hal yang selalu menarik bagi saya

adalah begitu banyaknya janji-janji

Tuhan di dalam Alkitab. Tidak ada orang

yang sanggup menghitungnya dengan persis.

Ada yang berkata 3000, 7000, bahkan 8000.

Biasanya kita berhati-hati dengan mereka

yang terlalu banyak mengucapkan janji, tetapi

tidak demikian dengan Tuhan. Mengapa

Tuhan membuat begitu banyak janji di dalam

fi rmanNya? Karena kita memerlukan janji;

janji itu memberikan jaminan dan rasa aman.

Manusia cenderung hidup dalam ketakutan

tentang masa depan (apa yang akan terjadi

esok). Tetapi ketika Tuhan menjanjikan

sesuatu yang pasti di masa yang akan datang,

kita bisa merasa tenang dan damai. Kita tidak

takut akan hari esok.

Ketakutan itu pada awalnya

disebabkan oleh dosa. Adam dan

Hawa memakan buah yang dilarang

Tuhan sehingga mereka jatuh dalam dosa.

Setelah berdosa, mereka merasa takut dan

malu. Maka mereka menyembunyikan diri

dari Tuhan. Tuhan datang dan menjatuhkan

hukuman atas dosa mereka. Tetapi Tuhan

28 Anniversary 2012

tidak hanya memberikan hukuman; Tuhan

juga memberikan janji kepada mereka di

dalam Kejadian 3:15 yang berkata,

“Aku akan mengadakan permusuhan antara engkau dan perempuan ini, antara keturunanmu dan keturunannya; keturunannya akan meremukkan kepalamu, dan engkau akan meremukkan tumitnya."

Janji ini tidak bersyarat (unconditional).

Tuhan tidak berkata bahwa manusia

harus berbuat sesuatu agar janji ini

dapat terlaksana. Janji ini adalah anugerah

Tuhan bagi manusia berdosa dimana suatu

hari Dia akan mengutus Juruselamat untuk

menyelamatkan mereka dari dosa. Manusia

berdosa tidak layak diselamatkan, tetapi

Tuhan bermurah hati dengan memberikan

janji ini. Melalui janji ini, kita bisa belajar

tentang sifat atau karakteristik janji Allah di

dalam Alkitab.

1Janji Tuhan lahir dari anugerah dan belas kasihanNya.

Tuhan tidak harus berjanji apapun

kepada kita. Kita telah berdosa dan

melanggar perintahNya. Lebih aman

bagi Tuhan kalau Dia tidak mengucapkan

janji apapun kepada manusia sebab kita akan

terus berdosa dan melanggar fi rmanNya.

Kita juga tidak berani berjanji kepada orang

yang egois, serakah, dan berniat jahat. Tetapi

Tuhan berani berjanji kepada kita yang penuh

dengan berbagai dosa dan kejahatan.

Ini disebabkan karena Tuhan penuh

dengan anugerah. Sekalipun kita tidak

layak, Ia mengucapkan janji itu, dan janji

itu mengikat Tuhan dan mewajibkan Tuhan

menepatinya. Inilah kemurahan Tuhan;

bukannya memberikan penghukuman bagi

manusia berdosa, Ia malah memberikan janji

keselamatan.

Anniversary 2012 29

2Janji Tuhan ditopang oleh kesetiaan dan kekudusanNya

Titus 1:2 berkata, “Dan berdasarkan

pengharapan akan hidup yang kekal

yang sebelum permulaan zaman

sudah dijanjikan oleh Allah yang tidak

berdusta.” Tuhan itu kudus dan Ia tidak bisa

berdusta. Dan Allah itu setia sehingga apa

yang Ia janjikan akan Ia tepati. 1 Yohanes

1:9 mengatakan, “Jika kita mengaku dosa

kita, maka Ia adalah setia dan adil, sehingga

Ia akan mengampuni segala dosa kita dan

menyucikan kita dari segala kejahatan.” Tuhan

setia dan Ia akan menepati janjiNya untuk

mengampuni setiap orang yang mengaku

dosa di hadapanNya.

Karena berdasarkan pada anugerah dan kesetiaan Tuhan, janji-janji

Tuhan tidak tergantung kepada ketaatan manusia. Dengan kata lain, janji Tuhan tidak bersyarat atau unconditional.

Tuhan berjanji kepada Adam dan

Hawa setelah mereka jatuh ke dalam

dosa. Tidak ada syarat apapun yang

disebutkan di dalam janjiNya. Demikian juga,

Tuhan berjanji akan memberikan Abraham

dan keturunannya sebuah negeri (Kej. 12:1-

3; 15:18-21). Tidak ada syarat apapun yang

disebutkan di dalam janji-janji ini. Demikian

pula kepada Daud dan keturunannya (1

Taw. 17:11-14; 2 Taw. 6:16). Jauh sebelum

Abraham dan Daud, Tuhan juga memberikan

janji kepada Nuh (Kej. 9:8-17) bahwa Ia tidak

akan menghancurkan bumi dengan air bah

lagi, betapapun jahatnya perbuatan manusia.

30 Anniversary 2012

Jelas bahwa apapun yang manusia lakukan

tidak bisa menggagalkan janji Allah bagi

mereka. Tuhan memberikan janji-janji

yang tidak bersyarat ini kepada orang-orang

percaya di dalam Alkitab. Itu sebabnya istilah

‘janji’ (promise) ada hubungan dengan istilah

‘perjanjian’ (covenant). Tuhan mengadakan

perjanjian dengan manusia berarti Tuhan

masuk dalam ikatan persetujuan dengan

manusia. Ini merupakan pengorbanan

dari pihak Tuhan. Mengapa? Tuhan adalah

Tuhan yang bebas, Ia tidak harus mengikat

diriNya dalam perjanjian dengan manusia.

Manusia sering tidak setia dan melanggar

perjanjian Tuhan, tetapi Tuhan tidak pernah

melanggar perjanjianNya dengan

manusia. Tuhan tidak pernah

melupakan atau mengingkari

janjiNya. Ini menunjukkan

kerendahan hati Tuhan. Ia

mengikat diriNya dalam perjanjian dengan

manusia bukan karena Ia perlu, tetapi karena

kita memerlukan janji. Kita perlu jaminan dan

kepastian.

Karena ini bersifat anugerah,

perjanjian Tuhan dengan orang

percaya juga sering dikenal dengan

istilah Perjanjian Anugerah (Covenant of

Grace). Perjanjian anugerah ini menyatakan

bahwa Allah menjanjikan hidup kekal bagi

mereka yang percaya kepada Yesus Kristus.

Perjanjian ini bersifat tanpa syarat sebab

tidak menuntut perbuatan apapun dari pihak

manusia.

Anniversary 2012 31

Ada yang bertanya, “Bukankah

perjanjian ini menuntut manusia

untuk percaya, dan kalau tidak

percaya, tidak akan beroleh hidup kekal yang

dijanjikan?” Percaya bukanlah perbuatan.

Percaya adalah menerima apa yang Allah

janjikan. Percaya kepada janji Allah berarti

beriman. Iman bukanlah perbuatan. Iman

adalah menerima apa yang Allah janjikan

melalui Kristus. Dan Tuhan itu sendiri juga

dengan memberikan iman. Tidak ada syarat

atau jasa apapun dari pihak manusia.

Bagaimana dengan Keluaran 19:5 yang

mengatakan, “Jadi sekarang, jika kamu

sungguh-sungguh mendengarkan

fi rman-Ku dan berpegang pada perjanjian-Ku,

maka kamu akan menjadi harta kesayangan-

Ku sendiri dari antara segala bangsa, sebab

Akulah yang empunya seluruh bumi”?

Bukankah janji Tuhan akan terlaksana kalau

bangsa Israel memenuhi syaratnya, yaitu:

sungguh-sungguh mendengarkan fi rman dan

berpegang pada perjanjian Tuhan? Israel gagal

untuk taat dan akhirnya dibuang dari tanah

perjanjian. Bukankah ini membuktikan bahwa

ada perjanjian yang bersyarat? Sebenarnya

tidak demikian. Bangsa Israel sudah

melanggar perintah Tuhan begitu lamanya,

namun Tuhan tidak membuang mereka

sampai tahun 567 SM ketika Nebukadnezar

menghancurkan Yerusalem. Jadi bahkan

dalam perjanjian yang kedengarannya

“conditional” (bersyarat), ada anugerah dan

kemurahan Tuhan. Ketika akhirnya Israel

dibuang ke Babel dan kehilangan tanah

perjanjian, itu hanya mengingatkan mereka

bahwa tanah perjanjian sebenarnya adalah

surga, bukan Palestina. Dan perjanjian zaman

Musa yang nampak “bersyarat” ini bertujuan

mengingatkan bahwa manusia hanya

diselamatkan oleh anugerah, bukan karena

melakukan hukum Taurat.

Dengan kata lain, seluruh perjanjian

Tuhan lahir dari anugerahNya dan

tidak bersyarat. Kita diselamatkan

hanya oleh anugerah. Kita menjadi anak-

anak Tuhan hanya oleh anugerah. Sebagai

anak, kita merwarisi seluruh janji Tuhan di

dalam Kristus (2 Kor. 1:20). Tuhan berjanji

akan mencukupkan segala kebutuhan kita,

melindungi kita, dan memelihara iman kita

sampai akhir, dan sebagainya.

Memang ada kalanya kita merasa

bahwa janji Tuhan belum

ditepati, atau kita belum melihat

penggenapan janji Tuhan. Dalam keadaan

demikian, kita harus mengingat dua hal:

32 Anniversary 2012

1.Tuhan menepati janji menurut waktuNya, bukan waktu kita.2.Tuhan menepati janjiNya menurut caraNya, bukan cara kita

Banyak tokoh iman di dalam Alkitab

tidak menerima apa yang dijanjikan

dalam masa hidup mereka. Tuhan

menjanjikan Abraham tanah dan keturunan

seperti pasir di laut dan bintang di langit,

tetapi ketika ia mati, ia tidak melihat banyak

keturunan, dan ia masih pengembara di

tanah asing. Apakah berarti Tuhan ingkar

janji? Apakah berarti Tuhan tidak setia? Ibrani

11:13 berkata,

“Dalam iman mereka semua ini telah mati sebagai orang-orang yang tidak memperoleh apa yang dijanjikan itu, tetapi yang hanya dari jauh melihatnya dan melambai-lambai kepadanya dan yang mengakui, bahwa mereka adalah orang asing dan pendatang di bumi ini.”

Apapun janji Tuhan

bagi orang

percaya di dunia

ini, kita harus selalu ingat

bahwa semua janji itu akan mencapai puncak

ketika Tuhan Yesus datang kedua kali. Kita

adalah pendatang dan orang asing di dunia

ini. Kita sama-sama masih menantikan tanah

air kita yang sejati, yaitu: sorga. Janji Tuhan

sudah digenapi sebagian, tetapi kita masih

menantikan penggenapan seluruhnya pada

kedatangan Yesus kedua kali. Tuhan itu setia,

dan Ia memberikan kita kekuatan untuk

setia menantikan penggenapan janjiNya.

Mengingat janji Tuhan yang tidak bersyarat,

kita merasa aman sebab penggenapan janji

itu tidak tergantung kepada situasi hidup kita.

Sekalipun kita tidak setia, Tuhan tetap setia

sebab Ia tidak dapat menyangkal diriNya (2

Tim. 2:13).

Apa respon seorang Kristen terhadap

janji Tuhan yang tidak bersyarat dan

demikian indah ini?

Anniversary 2012 33

1. Ia belajar setia.

Karena Tuhan itu setia, dan janji-

janjiNya setia adanya, kita juga

perlu belajar untuk setia. Seperti

dua orang yang mengingatkan diri dalam

ikatan pernikahan, kesetiaan satu pihak akan

mendorong kesetiaan pihak lainnya. Kesetiaan

Tuhan mendorong dan memberikan inspirasi

agar kita juga setia.

2. Ia belajar percaya.

Tuhan berjanji, tetapi Ia tidak

memberitahukan waktu

penggenapanNya. Dengan demikian

Ia mengajar kita untuk percaya penuh akan

perkataanNya. Tuhan kudus dan benar

adanya. Ia tidak bisa berdusta. Kita belajar

percaya pada fi rman Tuhan, dan menyimpan

perkataanNya di hati kita. Ini menjadi

pegangan kita sehingga kita tidak menjadi

ragu-ragu atau tidak percaya.

3. Ia belajar hidup kudus.

1 Yohanes 3:3 berkata, “Setiap orang

yang menaruh pengharapan itu

kepada-Nya, menyucikan diri sama

seperti Dia yang adalah suci.” Ketika kita

menantikan penggenapan janji Tuhan, kita

belajar mempersiapkan diri kita. Karena

Tuhan yang berjanji adalah kudus, kita belajar

mengikuti teladanNya. Dunia mengajar kita

untuk tidak usah menunggu, dan menuntut

segala sesuatu datang secara instant. Dengan

belajar menantikan janji Tuhan, kita belajar

hidup berbeda dari dunia ini, dan lebih serupa

dengan Tuhan.

4. Ia belajar sabar dan bertekun

Menantikan janji Tuhan bukan

sekedar menantikan sesuatu.

Proses menantikan ini

menghasilkan karakter di dalam diri kita,

yaitu: kesabaran dan ketekunan. Banyak orang

34 Anniversary 2012

sekali berdoa, lalu tidak melihat hasilnya,

kemudian berhenti berdoa. Menantikan janji

Tuhan memberi kekuatan kepada kita untuk

sabar dan bertekun dalam doa. Kita tidak

menuntut segala sesuatu harus sekarang juga

atau instan.

5. Ia belajar rendah hati

Karena jalan Tuhan di atas jalan kita,

dan waktu Tuhan bukanlah waktu

kita, kita belajar untuk senantiasa

rendah hati. Tuhan tahu yang terbaik bagi

kita dan bagi kemuliaan namaNya. Dengan

belajar tunduk kepada waktu dan jalan

Tuhan, kita belajar rendah hati. Kita selalu

diingatkan bahwa kita adlaah ciptaan

yang menerima belas kasihan

Tuhan. Kita bukan Tuhan ataupun

Penguasa alam semesta.

Ibrani 10:23 berkata, “Marilah kita

teguh berpegang pada pengakuan

tentang pengharapan kita, sebab Ia, yang

menjanjikannya, setia.” Bacalah fi rman Tuhan,

temukan janjiNya, pegang janji tersebut, dan

nyatakan dalam doa-doa kita kepada Tuhan.

Janji Tuhan memberikan kita kekuatan untuk

melewati kehidupan ini sampai kita bertemu

dengan Tuhan. Dengan janji Tuhan, kita

sanggup menanggung segala perkara.

Anniversary 2012 35

1 2 3 4 5 6

36 Anniversary 2012

Menunggu atau menanti bukanlah

hal yang mudah bagi banyak orang.

Sebagai contoh, kita tidak suka

kalau lalu lintas macet. Kita merasa kemacetan

itu sebagai pembuangan waktu. Demikian juga,

kita tidak suka antrian yang panjang kalau

berbelanja. Kita tidak mau buang waktu dan

tenaga untuk menunggu.

Tetapi menunggu adalah pekerjaan yang

penting. Seorang wanita harus menunggu

sembilan bulan supaya anaknya dapat lahir

ke dalam dunia. Seorang petani harus

menunggu agar tanamannya berbuah pada

waktunya. Kita tidak bisa menghindari

7 8 9 10 11 12

Anniversary 2012 37

1 2 3 4 5 6 pekerjaan menunggu dalam hidup ini.

Tuhan juga mau kita belajar menunggu,

itu sebabnya Ia memberikan janji-janjiNya

dan tidak langsung menggenapinya. Untuk

sesuatu yang berharga, kita rela menunggu.

Kadang-kadang kita mengeluh kalau harus

menunggu sesuatu yang kita anggap tidak

berharga. Tetapi janji-janji Tuhan itu sangat

berharga. Mazmur 119:103 berkata, “Betapa

manisnya janji-Mu itu bagi langit-langitku,

lebih dari pada madu bagi mulutku.”

Menantikan janji Tuhan adalah pekerjaan

yang sangat indah sebab janji Tuhan itu sangat

manis dan berharga. Menantikan janji Tuhan

bukan berarti diam dan tidak melakukan apa-

apa sampai janji itu digenapi. Kalau demikian,

orang Kristen menjadi orang yang pasif.

Sebelum Yesus naik ke sorga, Ia

memerintahkan murid-muridNya untuk

menantikan janji Bapa (Kisah Para Rasul

1:4). Dan Yesus tidak memberitahukan

berapa lama mereka harus menunggu.

Kita tahu bahwa mereka menunggu

selama sepuluh hari sampai Roh Kudus

akhirnya turun pada hari Pentakosta.

Tetapi waktu Yesus memerintahkan

mereka menunggu janji Bapa akan Roh

Kudus, mereka tidak diberitahu waktunya.

Yesus hanya berkata ,”Tidak lama lagi.”

Setelah Yesus menyuruh murid-muridNya

menunggu, apa respon mereka? Mereka

bertanya, “Tuhan, maukah Engkau pada masa

ini memulihkan kerajaan bagi Israel?" (Kis.

1:6). Mereka tidak sabar, dan mereka ingin

tahu waktu Tuhan. Tetapi Yesus menegaskan

kepada mereka, “Engkau tidak perlu

mengetahui masa dan waktu, yang ditetapkan

Bapa sendiri menurut kuasaNya” (Kis. 1:7).

38 Anniversary 2012

Waktu Tuhan bukanlah urusan kita, yang pasti

janji Tuhan itu akan digenapi sebab Tuhan itu

setia dan maha-kuasa. Ia rela menggenapi

janjiNya, dan Ia sanggup menggenapi janjiNya.

Sering kita ingin tahu waktu Tuhan supaya

kita bermalas-malas sampai waktu itu datang.

Ambil contoh seorang anak raja yang sudah

tahu bahwa ia akan menggantikan ayahnya

sebagai raja tahun depan. Ia tidak perlu susah-

susah sebab ia tahu bahwa tahun depan ia pasti

menjadi raja. Tuhan tidak mau kita menjadi

orang Kristen yang malas seperti demikian.

Mengapa Tuhan tidak memberitahukan

waktu penggenapan janjiNya kepada kita?

Apa yang terjadi kalau Tuhan memberitahu

tanggal dan jam kita meninggal? Pasti kita

tidak bisa hidup dengan tenang, dan kita akan

menjadi orang-orang yang tidak ada semangat

dan pengharapan. Itu sebabnya Tuhan tidak

memberitahukan waktuNya supaya kita

belajar berharap dan menantikan Dia.

Yesus pernah menceritakan perumpamaan

tentang hamba-hamba yang setia. Tuannya

pergi jauh dan mempercayakan kepada

mereka talenta untuk dikembangkan. Dan,

Tuannya tidak pernah memberitahu kapan

ia akan datang kembali. Namun hamba-

hamba itu dengan setia mengerjakan

talenta yang tuannya berikan. Suatu

hari, tuannya tiba-tiba kembali, dan ia

mendapati hamba-hamba itu tetap setia

mengerjakan talentanya. Tuan itu akan

memberikan upah kepada hamba yang setia.

Ketika seorang anak minta sebuah mainan,

orang-tuanya berkata, “Tunggu sampai

7 8 9 10 11 12

Anniversary 2012 39

1 2 3 4 5 6 hari ulang tahunmu bulan depan.” Orang-

tua anak itu bisa memberikan mainan itu

langsung, tetapi mereka ingin mengajar anak

itu agar sabar. Demikian juga, Tuhan ingin

mengajar kita sabar dengan cara menunggu

janjiNya. Itu sebabnya Yesus menyuruh

murid-muridNya menunggu di Yerusalem

sampai Roh Kudus diberikan pada hari

Pentakosta. Itu sebabnya Simeon menunggu

sampai hari tua sebelum ia bisa melihat

bayi Yesus. Itu sebabnya Hannah menunggu

sekian lama sebelum Tuhan memberikan

anak kepadanya. Tuhan melatih anak-

anakNya untuk sabar menantikan Dia, karena

kesabaran mengajarkan orang menjadi tekun.

Apa yang harus kita lakukan sementara kita menantikan janji Tuhan?1. Berdoa2. Membaca fi rman3. Melayani Tuhan

Dengan ketiga hal ini, sementara kita

menantikan Tuhan, kita bertumbuh dewasa

dalam kerohanian kita. Kita lebih mengenal

dan mengasihi Tuhan. Kita lebih rendah

40 Anniversary 2012

hati. Kita lebih sabar. Kita lebih berserah.

Kita lebih melayani. Kita lebih mencintai

Firman Tuhan. Kita lebih tekun berdoa.

Ketika kita tidak sabar menantikan janji

Tuhan, kita akan mengambil jalan pintas atau

shortcut. Apa akibatnya? Kita kehilangan apa

yang kita nantikan. Ambil contoh seorang

yang ingin mendapatkan gelar dari sekolah

tetapi tidak sabar bersekolah. Ia mengambil

jalan pintas dengan membeli gelar, dan

menyatakan kepada semua orang bahwa ia

mempunyai gelar pendidikan. Apa yang dia

dapatkan? Gelar pendidikan (palsu). Apa

yang ia kehilangan? Pendidikan. Shortcut

tidak menghasilkan apa-apa. Shortcut

tidak lain adalah menipu diri sendiri.

Mengambil jalan pintas juga berarti tidak

percaya kepada Tuhan. Kita ingat bagaimana

Yakub menggunakan caranya sendiri untuk

mengambil hak kesulungan yang Tuhan

berikan kepadanya. Ia tidak sabar menunggu,

dan ia mengambil dengan caranya sendiri.

Apa akibatnya? Ia hidup dalam ketakutan

terhadap Esau. Demikian juga dengan

Abraham yang mengikuti nasihat istrinya

dan mempunyai anak melalui hambanya yang

bernama Hagar. Apa akibatnya? Ishmael, anak

Abraham dan Hagar, menjadi batu sandungan

untuk Ishak dan keturunannya. Banyak orang

mengambil jalan pintas mengira bahwa

mereka memperoleh sesuatu. Mereka

tidak memperoleh apa-apa. Bahkan, mereka

kehilangan banyak hal atau segala-galanya.

Tuhan menjanjikan hari depan yang indah

di bumi dan langit yang baru. Untuk

mencapai itu, Tuhan membimbing kita

lewat proses menantikan janjiNya dengan

sabar. Proses lebih penting daripada hasil.

Hasil ada di tangan Tuhan, tetapi proses

membuktikan karakter seseorang. Tuhan

ingin kita melewati proses menunggu

dengan sabar sehingga boleh kelihatan buah-

buah atau karakter Kristen di setiap kita.

7 8 9 10 11 12

Anniversary 2012 41

1 2 3 4 5 6

Waiting is not an easy task to do because

we do not like to waste time and energy.

However, waiting is a very important task,

and we cannot keep on avoiding it. God

also wants us to learn to wait. This is why

He gave us promises and does not fulfi ll

them immediately. We are usually able to

wait willingly for something precious and

important but will complain for something

unimportant and not precious. However

God’s promises are very precious. Psalm

119:103 said “How sweet are your words to

my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”

Waiting on God’s promises does not mean

that we stay still and do nothing until those

promises fulfi lled. Christians are not passive

people. Before Jesus rose to heaven, He told

the disciples to wait on God’s promises (Act

1:4). He told them to wait for God’s promises

for the Holy Spirit. However, when Jesus told

them this, He did not tell how long they have

to wait. He just told them that it will not

be long. We know they waited ten days until

the Holy Spirit fi lled them on Pentecost day.

After Jesus gave them His command, the

disciples asked Him ,“Lord are You at this

time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

(Act 1:6) They were impatient and wanted to

know God’s timing. But Jesus told them, “It is

not for you to know the times or dates the

Father has set by His own authority.” (Act

1:7) God’s timing should not be our concern

and focus. We only need to know and be sure

that God will fulfi ll all His promises as He is

By: Ev. Julia Suwanto

42 Anniversary 2012

faithful and just. He does not want us to be

concerned with timing because He does not

want us to be lazy while waiting. For example,

a prince who knows that he will one day

replace his father to be a king. He does not

need to work hard because he knows that

he will one day become a king. God certainly

does not want us to be lazy like the prince.

1. Teach us to have hope in all situation2. Teach us to be faithful3. Teach us to be patient

1. Pray2. Read His Words3. Serve God

When we do all of these three while we

are waiting on God, our spiritual life will

grow more mature. We will know and

love God more. We will be more humble,

more patient, more surrender, more

serving, love His Word, and pray more.

We will lose what we are waiting for. For

example, a person who wants to get a

degree so he takes a shortcut and gets

a fake certifi cate degree. He will get a

fake certifi cate, and he will not get what’s

important: education. Shortcut does not

give anything. Shortcut is only deceiving

oneself.

God promises a beautiful future with a new

world and sky. To get there, God guides us

through a process of waiting patiently. Process

is more important than the result. Results

are in God’s hand, but process will show a

person’s characteristics. God wants us to go

thru a process of waiting patiently so we will

be fruitful in our Christian character. [HW]

7 8 9 10 11 12

Anniversary 2012 43

kingdom of heaven. However, upon closer examination, we can not view the beatitudes as a cause-and-effect or a formula for receiving a divine promise. If we view the beatitudes in this manner, then we are viewing the work of His grace and His plan of salvation as something we have earned. This is where we fall into error by viewing our salvation as a product of our works. We must not forget that we are saved purely by grace alone, and not by works.

At fi rst glance, Matthew 5 verse 8 seems to convey a cause and effect relationship; if that is the case, which

comes fi rst? Does purity in heart result in the ability to see God? Or must you fi rst see God and then acquire a pure heart? Often times, we see the beatitudes as a promise followed by a divine reward; like a cause and effect clause. For example, to be poor in spirit (to rely on God for spiritual fulfi llment) seems to be a prerequisite for inheriting the

“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”Matthew 5: 8

44 Anniversary 2012

are a byproduct of spiritual growth. As we

go through the process of sanctifi cation (to

be set apart for God’s work), our character

approaches that of God’s character. In every

pronouncement of the blessed state of

man (beatitude) found in Matthew 5; each

blessed state (for example poor in spirit,

pure in heart) is always connected to the

pursuit of Godly holiness and being in awe

of the Holiness of God. Christians undergo

sanctifi cation in order to understand the

Holy God. The pursuit of holiness is essential

to a Christian’s walk with God.

By contrast, seeing and knowing God is

impossible for those who are impure

in heart. Impurity in the sense that

one has divided allegiance; that something or

someone is vying with God for the throne

What does it mean then to be

pure in heart? In the context

of Matthew 5 verse 8; to be pure in heart is to be undivided in allegiance. When we are devoted to Jesus

entirely, we are blessed for we exist for one

purpose: to serve the Lord. In Matthew 6,

Jesus spoke of how a heart with a divided

allegiance can not serve God. “No one

can serve two masters,” Jesus warned, “for

either you will hate the one and love the

other, or he will be devoted to the one and

despise the other (ESV, Mat. 6: 24).”

How is it possible for us to be

purely devoted to Christ and

to serve Him only for the rest

of our lives? The answer is through the

power of the Holy Spirit. The beatitudes

“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”Matthew 5: 8

Anniversary 2012 45

in our hearts. We often defi ne purity

as the absence of fi lth; but the Biblical

defi nition of purity goes a step further to

defi ne purity as being of one heart with God.

A divided heart is considered unclean and

impure before God. Those not undergoing

sanctifi cation will have a much more

divided heart; making

it diffi cult to “see” God

and less sensitive to

God’s leading in their

lives. Having divided

allegiances deprive

them of the joy that

comes from God’s

promises. We will never

be truly pure in our

motives and our devotion to God as we are

sinful beings, but those who are pure in heart,

single-minded in their purpose, innocent as

lambs in their motive, and purifi ed in their

desires as to desire God Himself through

the power of the Holy Spirit, can see God

through the revelation of Christ Jesus.

There are many misunderstandings

about the nature of the beatitudes.

According to the world, the blessed

state of man are nothing

to rejoice about. Far

from it, these blessed

states are where men

are most vulnerable

and weak; in the eyes

of the world these

characteristics suggest

naiveté. But being pure

in heart is not a state

of being naïve or simple. The Biblical defi nition of purity in heart is to guard oneself against double-mindedness; it is the recognition of one’s weakness

46 Anniversary 2012

and being a faithful steward to God’s call of being set apart for Him. Purity

in heart is the recognition of the evils of sin

and staying ‘set apart’ amidst temptation.

The only way a man may remain pure in

heart is by “guarding it according to His

Word (Psalm 119:1).”

Being pure in

heart is related

to being poor

in spirit. In Matthew

5 verse 3, the poor

in spirit are given the

promise to inherit the

kingdom of heaven. The

poor in spirit are those

who are aware of the poverty of their spirit

because of their sins (see Psalms 10:25, 34:6,

40:17, 68:10). When one is aware of sin,

one is aware of the Holiness of Christ and

is grieved by their spiritual depravity. When

one is aware of his spiritual depravity, only

then can one know the

full weight of the joy of

the grace of salvation.

For this reason, we are

blessed for undergoing

the sorrowful albeit

blessed states of man

mentioned in Matthew

5. May the humility with

His grace remind us to

look forward to His

promises.

“Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him

as he is.”1 John 3:2

Anniversary 2012 47

Most of us have seen a lot of Disney animation movies where the princess meets her

prince charming; the beauty meets the beast, Fiona meets Shrek, and all of their stories

end in “happily ever after”. Often times, we also have a notion about a nice godly young

couple, who meets with each other, falls in love at the fi rst sight, dates, and then gets

married, is guaranteed to have a nice and rewarding marriage life. Well, let us see the facts

to this claim. About 50% of the fi rst marriages in the United States end in divorce. About

66% of the second marriages in the U.S. end in divorce. About 75% of the third marriages

in the U.S. end up in... well, I think you can fi nish my sentence here. Are Christians a part of

BY Gamas Sugiarto

48 Anniversary 2012

this statistic as well? It would be nice if the

answer is “no”, but in reality, Christians are

not immune to divorce. In this short article,

I want to discuss briefl y about problems

with marriage in the U.S. and share some

principals and scientifi c techniques that can

help us improve our marriage love life. A lot

of the materials in this article is taken from

the works of two well-known authors and

physiologists: Dr. Robert Epstein1 and Dr.

James Dobson2.

1. Problems with marriage in the

U.S. Let us take a look at what seems to

be the problems with marriage in the U.S.

Most of us enter relationships with poor

skills of maintaining the relationships and

have highly unrealistic expectations. We also

tend to pick unsuitable partners, mistakenly

believing that we are in love simply because

we feel the physical attraction and have a

lot of passions and a strong feeling. Often

in marriage, within a mere 18 months, these

passions and the feeling disappear, and we

begin to see our partner with new clarity.

All too often, we react by saying, “Who

Anniversary 2012 49

are you?” or “You’ve changed”. We might

try hard for years after that to keep things

going, especially if children are in the picture.

However, since we start the relationship

with the wrong person and with a lack

of basic tools for resolving confl icts and

communications, most often than not, we

end up like most Hollywood celebrities’

marriages with “irreconcilable differences”

problem.

2. Principals for Strong Marriage

life. Now let us look at some principles

that can help us build and sustain strong

marriage foundations. These two principles

apply assuming that both you and your

spouse are true born again Christians

2.1 Strong Prayer Life

First of all, we need to have a meaningful

prayer life. Prayer is our communication

with the God of the universe who is very

interested in the success of our marriage

life. Prayer of course is very important not

only in our marriage love but in all aspects of

our lives as well. Pray together regularly. You

will have a close relationship with God in a

strong prayer life. And as you build a strong

relationship with God, you and your spouse

will also have a strong spiritual bond.

2.2 Read the Bible

Secondly, we need to read the Bible regularly.

The Bible is the inspired Word of God. The

more you read the Bible, the more you know

the mind of our heavenly Father. Marriage

and parenthood are His ideas, and He tells

us in His Word how to live together in peace

and harmony. Everything from handling

money to sexual attitudes is discussed in the

Holy Scriptures.

2.3 Commitment

Thirdly, we need to have a commitment in

our marriage. Commitment is so critical

to the success of a marriage. There are

occasions when we as husband and wife feel

as though we will never love our partner

again. Emotions and passions dissipate. What

will we do then? Will we throw in the towel

and declare, “I don’t love you anymore.”

Absolutely, the answer is “no”. Just as Pastor

Hosea always says, “Marriage is no refund,

no exchange, and no discount!” Nothing

short of death must be permitted to come

between the two of you. This kind of attitude

is very essential in staying in your marriage

when things get tough.

Commitment is not based on feelings or

emotions, and it is the essential element in

building and growing your love. In India, an

50 Anniversary 2012

estimated 95% of the marriages are arranged,

and although divorce is legal, India has one of

the lowest divorce rates in the world. The

marriages are brokered by either the parents

or the professional matchmakers. Their main

concerns are long-term suitability and family

harmony. The Indian couples usually meet

each other for the very fi rst time in a few

weeks to one month before their wedding

day. Some Indian couples usually describe

their fi rst meeting as “LIKE at the fi rst

sight” instead of “LOVE at the fi rst sight”.

A 1982 study done by psychologists Usha

Gupta and Pushpa Singh of the University

of Rajasthan in Jaipur, India resulted in

the following conclusion: love in arranged

marriages usually started low and gradually

increased. On the other hand, Western-

style love marriage usually started high and

declined fairly rapid. However, in about fi ve

years, the love in the arranged marriages

usually surpassed the love in the Western-

style marriages. And in ten years into the

marriage, the arranged marriage love was

nearly twice as strong as compared to the

regular love marriage. Basically, couples in

India emphasize their marriage heavily on

commitment rather than feelings, emotions,

or physical attraction alone.

3. Love Building Exercises Nothing

is more fulfi lling than being in a successful

love relationship. Yet, we leave our love lives

entirely to chance. Maybe we do not have

to anymore. Dr. Epstein has compiled 8 love

building fun exercises which can increase the

relationship between a man and a woman. In

this article, three of these exercises will be

discussed:

3.1 Two as One

Embracing each other gently, begin to sense

your partner’s breathing and gradually try to

synchronize your breathing with his or hers.

After a few minutes, you might feel that the

two of you have merged.

3.2 Soul Gazing

Standing or sitting about two feet away from

each other, look deeply into each other’s

eyes, trying to look into the very core of

your beings. Do this for about two minutes

and then talk about what you saw. More

than 90 percent of Dr. Epstein’s students in

his course reported using these methods

successfully improved their relationships, and

more than 50 of the 213 students submitted

detailed reports about their experiences.

Nearly all the reports documented increases

in liking, loving, closeness, or attraction by 3

Anniversary 2012 51

to 30 percent in about a month. In a few

cases, ratings tripled.

3.3 Secret Swap

Write down a deep secret and have your

partner do the same. Then trade papers and

talk about what you read. You can continue

this process until you have run out of secrets.

Better yet, save some of your secrets for

another day. This is another exercise which

creates vulnerability when people disclose

secrets to each other. This can increase

intimacy between a husband and a wife.

4. Conclusion Keeping solid marriage

love life requires good relationship with

God, hard works, and deliberation. A God-

centered life and a careful look at arranged

marriages (commitment), combined with

the accumulating knowledge in the science

of relationship, have the potential to give us

the real control over our marriage life. The

alternative of leaving marriage love life to

chance makes little sense.

Sources:

1Dr. Epstein can be frequently heard in

Christian Radio stations such as KKLA 99.5

and also seen in Fox News channel television.

His website is http://www.drrobertepstein.

com/.

2Dr. James Dobson is the founder of Focus

on the Family ministry and can be heard

daily at Dr. James Dobson Family Talk

radio broadcasts. His website is http://

drjamesdobson.org.

Indonesian Translation

Masalah Pernikahan di Amerika

Banyak sekali orang yang memasuki

hubungan pernikahan tanpa mengetahui cara

untuk bisa tetap menjaga keeratan hubungan,

dan banyak yang mempunyai ekspetasi-

ekspetasi yang tidak masuk akal. Selain itu

kebanyakan orang berasa cinta hanya karena

tertarik dari segi fi sikal saja. Tentu saja

perasaan cinta seperti itu akan lenyap sekitar

18 bulan setelah pernikahan. Hal-hal inilah

yang membuat orang-orang bercerai dengan

“irreconcilable differences” atau berarti

perbedaan yang tidak dapat diselesaikan.

Cara mendapatkan pernikahan

yang kuat

� Tuhan harus dapat dilibatkan di

dalam pernikahan. Berdoa adalah

cara kita melibatkan Tuhan di dalam

pernikahan. Jika sepasang suami-istri

dapat berdoa bersama maka mereka

52 Anniversary 2012

akan dapat membangun hubungan

rohani dengan Tuhan. Ini juga akan

menghasilkan hubungan suami-istri

yang lebih erat dan dekat.

� Selain berdoa, suami-istri juga harus

sering membaca Alkitab. Alkitab

merupakan salah satu cara Tuhan

mengajarkan cara berkehidupan

sehari-hari termasuk kehidupan

pernikahan. Di dalam Alkitab kita

dapat menemukan cara yang benar

dalam menghadapi berbagai masalah,

mulai dari masalah keuangan sampai

masalah hubungan.

� Komitmen merupakan salah

satu hal terpenting di dalam

hubungan pernikahan. Perasaan

dan ketertarikan fi sikal akan hilang

tetapi komitmen tidak dapat hilang.

Kita dapat melihat pasangan India

untuk contohnya. Di India masih

ada banyak orang yang dijodohkan

oleh orang tua, jadi mereka belum

tentu dapat melihat satu dan yang

lain. Mereka memulai pernikahan

dengan komitmen, dan cinta

merupakan perasaan yang perlahan-

lahan meningkat di dalam hubungan

mereka. Lain halnya dengan di

Amerika dimana pernikahan diawali

dengan cinta, dan perlahan-lahan

perasaan cinta menghilang.

Latihan memperkuat hubungan

� Berpelukan dengan erat dan

merasakan pernapasan satu dengan

yang lain sehingga pernapasan

menjadi satu.

� Berdiri atau duduk berhadapan

sehingga dapat memandang mata

dengan mata. Setelah melihat

selama dua menit kalian dapat

membicarakan apa yang kalian lihat.

� Menulis rahasia kelemahan diri

sendiri di dalam kertas, bertukaran,

dan membaca dengan suara. Ini dapat

meningkatkan rasa kepercayaan

suami-istri. [HW]

We're also on Facebook Group

Search for:Los Angeles Indonesian Evangelical Church

Anniversary 2012 53

Testimony: Romans 8By Christal Setiawan

Saya percaya bahwa Tuhan memegang kendali

atas segala sesuatu. Tuhan terlibat di dalam

setiap langkah kehidupan kita bukan saja pada

waktu kita merasa senang dan berkecukupan,

tetapi juga pada masa-masa yang sukar. Dan

justru melalui saat-saat yang sukar tersebut,

Ia menyatakan keagungan, kepribadian,

pertolonganNya, dan membuat kita semakin

bertumbuh seperti halnya yang terjadi di

dalam kehidupan saya dan keluarga saya.

Pada tanggal 29 Desember 2010,

Tuhan mengaruniakan kami seorang anak

laki-laki, Clement Christopher Setiawan

“Kita tahu sekarang, bahwa Allah turut bekerja dalam segala sesuatu untuk mendatangkan kebaikan bagi mereka yang mengasihi Dia, yaitu bagi mereka yang terpanggil sesuai dengan rencana Allah.” (Roma 8:28)

54 Anniversary 2012

yang lahir dengan sehat dan sempurna.

Kurang lebih dua bulan setelah itu, saya

mendadak mengalami sakit yang sangat

parah yang mengancam nyawa saya dan saya

pun harus dirawat di 5 rumah sakit di 5 kota

yang berbeda selama hampir 5 bulan. Saya

mengalami puluhan prosedur kritis selama

berada di rumah sakit, mulai dari tusukan

jarum untuk test darah dan pemberian

obat-obatan, tusukan infus yang memenuhi

kedua lengan dan tangan saya, bahkan karena

penuh, tusukan infus juga harus diberikan

dari central line dari leher saya. Setelah

itu saya juga mengalami proses intubasi,

tracheostomy, G-tube, dan 5 tusukan selang

chest tubes di kedua paru-paru saya.

Perjalanan panjang saya dari rumah

sakit ke rumah sakit berawal di kota

Coalinga, tempat dimana saya, suami saya

Heri, dan Clement tinggal. Kami pindah dari

Los Angeles ke Coalinga karena pekerjaan

suami saya dan kota tersebut terletak sekitar

tiga jam perjalanan dari kota LA. Pada tanggal

21 Februari, saya menderita sakit panas yang

semakin parah. Saya hampir tidak dapat

bergerak, hampir tidak dapat bangun, bahkan

hampir tidak dapat berjalan dari tempat

tidur. Dengan segera Heri membawa saya

ke ruang gawat darurat terdekat, dan disana

saya berangsur-angsur mulai kehilangan

kesadaran. Dokter berkata bahwa saya harus

dirawat di rumah sakit tersebut dengan

segera karena jumlah sodium didalam tubuh

saya berkurang drastic, dan bila tidak dengan

segera dirawat, saya akan mengalami seizure

dan kerusakan otak. Selama lima hari saya

dirawat di Coalinga Regional Medical Center

tanpa ada yang tahu penyebabnya. Pada

hari yang kelima, mendadak jumlah oksigen

di dalam tubuh saya semakin berkurang.

Karena kondisi ini dapat menyebabkan

kelumpuhan dan kerusakan otak, dokter

kemudian memutuskan untuk mentransfer

saya dengan ambulan ke tempat gawat

darurat yang lebih baik di kota Hanford

yang bernama Adventist Medical Center.

Malam tersebut yaitu tanggal 25

Februari, saya mulai tidak sadarkan diri

setelah mengalami proses intubasi. Proses

ini bertujuan untuk memasukkan jumlah

oksigen yang lebih banyak kedalam paru-paru

saya. Setelah dibius, dokter memasukkan

selang panjang yang menghubungkan

mesin oksigen dan paru-paru saya melalui

mulut dan tenggorokan saya. Keesokan

harinya, saya mengalami krisis besar. Karena

kekurangan oksigen, tubuh saya terus

menerus menggelepar disertai dengan alarm

Anniversary 2012 55

gawat darurat dan mesin vital sign yang terus

menyala dan berbunyi. Dokter dan perawat

kehilangan akal karena mesin oksigen

telah terus menerus memompa sebanyak

100% oksigen tetapi paru-paru saya hanya

dapat menyerap sebanyak 50-60% oksigen.

Tetapi karena Anugerah Tuhan, setelah lima

jam mengalami krisis, tanpa sengaja para

perawat menemukan posisi dimana tubuh

saya dapat menerima

oksigen lebih lancar.

Selama se-

belas hari di kota

Hanford, ke-empat

dokter spesialis yang

ternama di kota ter-

sebut beserta dengan

begitu banyak test

darah dan obat-

obat mahal yang diberikan (termasuk obat

Xigris yang bernilai 24,000 dollar per vial)

tidak juga memberikan kesembuhan. Begitu

banyak test yang saya lalui mulai dari test

Valley Fever, Lupus, H1N1/Swine Flu,

bahkan test HIV, tidak ada satupun yang

positifDokter hanya memutuskan bahwa

saya mengalami pneumonia yang sangat

parah dan Acute Respiratory Distress

Syndrome (ARDS). Situasi saya pada saat itu

semakin mengkhawatirkan dengan tubuh dan

mata yang semakin membengkak, dan kedua

tangan saya yang sempat direstraint berhari-

hari karena tanpa sadar saya berusaha untuk

mencabut selang infus dan pipa intubasi saya.

Setelah para dokter spesialis dan perawat di

kota Hanford menyerah dan pengharapan

untuk sembuh semakin menipis, pada tanggal

8 Maret, saya ditransfer ke kota Visalia,

tepatnya di rumah

sakit yang lebih cang-

gih bernama Kaweah

Delta Medical Center.

Di tempat ini pun

saya mengalami pera-

watan yang lebih baik.

Tetapi pada tanggal 13

Maret, saya mengalami

krisis besar dimana

selain pneumonia dan ARDS, dokter

menemukan penyumbatan di saluran jantung

saya. Setelah itu paru-paru saya collapse

dan saya tidak dapat bernafas. Dokter ahli

pun akhirnya kehilangan akal dan meminta

suami saya Heri untuk memberitahu anggota

keluarga dan teman-teman untuk bertemu

dengan saya terakhir kalinya. Heri pun

kemudian bertemu dengan social worker

dan hospital chaplain. Kedua perawat yang

56 Anniversary 2012

merawat saya melakukan tugasnya dengan

terus menerus menangis. Malam tersebut,

keluarga, saudara-saudara seiman dari GII,

dan kedua Pastor pun datang menjenguk.

Mereka berdoa sepanjang malam dan sempat

memperdengarkan suara Clement lewat

rekaman di telinga saya yang waktu itu tidak

sadar dan di dalam

kondisi yang semakin

menghawat i rkan .

Pagi hari

pun berlalu dan

karena pertolongan

Tuhan, kondisi saya

mendadak stabil

dan dalam tiga

hari ke depan, saya

berhasil ditransfer

dengan helicopter ke

tempat perawatan yang lebih baik di UCLA.

Disinilah kemudian tim dokter berhasil

melakukan bone marrow biopsy dan

menemukan penyebab dari penyakit saya.

Menurut Dokter, saya menderita penyakit

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis atau

disingkat dengan HLH. Dokter berkata

bahwa penyakit ini mungkin telah ada di

dalam tubuh saya bahkan sejak saya lahir dan

mendadak keluar kemungkinan dikarenakan

oleh proses perubahan hormon selama

sembilan bulan kehamilan, proses operasi

c-section, dan breast feeding selama dua

bulan pertama sehingga daya tahan tubuh

saya semakin menurun. HLH adalah penyakit

dimana tubuh saya memiliki terlalu banyak

jumlah immune system dan cell darah putih

tersebut saling men-

yerang satu sama

lain sehingga tubuh

saya tidak terlindung

dari serangan virus

atau bakteri dari

luar tubuh. Akibat

serangan tersebut,

paru-paru saya pun

menjadi rusak dan

tidak dapat men-

yerap oksigen untuk

disalurkan ke seluruh

tubuh saya. Setelah diketahui penyebabnya, tim

dokter UCLA pun segera memberikan saya

chemotherapy dan steroid untuk mengurangi

jumlah sel darah putih di dalam tubuh saya.

Pergumulan saya waktu itu belum

selesai karena selama berhari-hari saya

mengalami lung collapse sehingga dokter

harus menusukkan chest tubes ke dalam

paru-paru saya untuk mengeluarkan udara

Anniversary 2012 57

dan jumlah air yang berlebihan dari paru-paru

saya agar paru-paru saya bisa mengembang

kembali. Kemudian, supaya pipa intubasi tidak

merusak pita suara saya, dokter membuat

lubang di leher saya agar saya bisa bernafas

(tracheostomy), dan juga dokter membuat

lubang di intestine saya agar tubuh saya dapat

menerima nutrisi (g-tube) langsung dari

lubang tersebut tanpa harus melalui mulut

dan tenggorokan. Pada tanggal 5 April, 5

hari sebelum saya berulang tahun, saya mulai

sadar penuh setelah tertidur sejak tanggal

25 Februari. Pada waktu itu saya tidak dapat

bergerak sama sekali dan hanya bisa bernafas,

bahkan menggerakkan jari sedikit pun saat

itu belum bisa. Saya merayakan ulang tahun

saya di intensive care di UCLA dan untuk

pertama kalinya kembali bertemu dengan

Clement pada tanggal 15 Mei. Akhirnya

pada tanggal 9 Juni, saya berhasil ditransfer

dari UCLA ke Garfi eld Medical Center

dimana saya dengan perlahan mulai belajar

untuk makan, berbicara, menulis, berdiri, dan

berjalan kembali. Pada tanggal 8 Juli, saya

pun diijinkan Tuhan untuk keluar dari rumah

sakit dan kembali tinggal di rumah kami di

El Monte. Melalui prosedur bone marrow

biopsy bulan lalu, dokter menyatakan

bahwa saya telah sembuh dan tidak perlu

menjalani proses stem cell transplant.

Melalui pergumulan yang berat ini,

Tuhan menyatakan diri-Nya dan mengajarkan

saya tentang banyak hal antara lain adalah:

1. Tuhan adalah sumber kekuatan saya dan

keluarga saya. Saya yakin tanpa kekuatan

dari Tuhan, tidak mungkin kami semua

akan tetap setia menjalani semua ini.

2. Tuhan kita adalah Jehovah Jireh yang

mencukupi segala kebutuhan saya dan tidak

pernah lalai dalam memelihara keluarga

kami melalui bantuan orang tua, saudara-

saudari seiman, dan teman-teman kami.

3. Melalui kehidupan suami saya Heri saya

mengalami kasih Tuhan yang Agape, yaitu

kasih yang sempurna, kasih yang tidak

mengharap timbal balik, dan kasih yang

penuh pengorbanan.

4. Saya mengalami belas kasihan Tuhan

melalui dukungan dan doa-doa keluarga,

teman-teman, dan saudara-saudari seiman

di seluruh dunia (Los Angeles, Indonesia,

Singapore, China, German, Canada, dan

Australia). Saya percaya Tuhan mencurahkan

belas kasihanNya melalui doa-doa anak-

anak-Nya, dan Ia sangat bersukacita

58 Anniversary 2012

Dr. R. C. Sproul, the founder and president of Ligonier Ministries, is known for his ability to communicate the deep truths of the Christian faith. He is president of Reformation Bible College, preaches at Saint Andrew’s in Sanford, Florida, and teaches on the daily raido program Renewing Your Mind. He has written more than seventy books, including The Truth of the Cross.

Trust? Hope? Or Something Else?The word faith is heard often these days, but it is given many different meanings. Sometimes it is used in the sense of trust. Other times, it has more to do with hope. Perhaps most often, it is used to mean belief in something apart from rational or empirical support.

“I Trusted CHRIST, Am I Still Saved?”Many people in the church today are plagued by doubts about their salvation. Satan whispers that it is impossible that sinners such as they could be in a state of grace, and some churches compound the problem by teaching that it is possible for believers to lose their salvation.

Library hours are every Sunday 12:30 - 2 PM

For more information, please contact our librarian Janice Atmadja (626-123-4567)

Anniversary 2012 59

In the words of Paul, “May it never be!”

It is tempting to believe that our present

state of misery and struggle is a direct result

of hidden sins, as if God were the god of

“an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”

The reasoning is actually quite simple. If I

do “A” then God will give me “B”, but if I do

“C” then God will give me “D.” Aha! I have

fi gured out how to get God to do what I

want!

As ridiculous as this may sound, we do it so

often and so well that time and time again

we fall into this mindset more often than we

ought, or even worse, we use it as an excuse

for our sins!

Even in retrospect, the temptation lingers.

“God had let this and this happen so that

today I can have this.” We are in such a

hurry to get a handle on our situations and

explain how our defeats are stepping-stones

to victory that we fall right into another

snare. The truth of that matter is,

"For as the heavens are higher than the

earth, so are my ways higher than your ways

In Five Four Easy StepsHow To Get A Job

by Rocky Tindage

60 Anniversary 2012

and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

– Isaiah 55:9

I don’t fully know why God allowed me to

remain unemployed for 523 days, lose our

home and sit many days in seeming idleness.

I know I did reap many spiritual fruits such

as trust, hope and patience, and that today

I have fulfi lling job that I believe is the

beginning of my ministry/career in Airport

Administration (basically I work for the

landlord of the airport and the airlines and

concessionaries are our tenants) but to say

in complete confi dence that I understand

God’s plan and path for my life would be

shortsighted and foolish. Part of the reason

is that my story is not over yet! I wasn’t

exactly fond of the latest chapter, but it was

necessary to lead to the next chapter in the

story of my life.

So to my brothers and sisters that are

struggling, remember the next chapter is

just around the corner! May the words

of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ be an

exhortation in your greatest times of need.

“I have said these things to you, that in

me you may have peace. In the world you

will have tribulation. But take heart; I have

overcome the world.” – John 16:33 [END]

melihat pengorbanan mereka dalam

melayani sesama dengan kerendahan hati.

5. Selama mengalami recovery di Garfi eld

Medical Center, saya mengalami pribadi

Tuhan yang begitu sabar. Ia sangat sabar

dalam membentuk karakter saya dan

memilih untuk memproses saya dengan

sabar ketimbang memberikan saya jalan

pintas yang akan berakhir kepada kebinasaan.

6. Tuhan adalah sumber anugerah

kita dan Ia penuh dengan Rahmat

dan Anugerah. Walaupun kita adalah

manusia yang sangat berdosa dan lebih

kecil dari debu dihadapanNya, tetapi Ia

tetap menyembuhkan dan menyelamatkan

saya (Yesaya 42:3). Karena begitu besar Kasih

Allah di dalam kehidupan saya, sehingga Ia

mengaruniakan Anak-Nya, Yesus Kristus

untuk mati di kayu salib menebus dosa-dosa

saya. Saya tidak layak menerima semua ini

tetapi Tuhan mencurahkan anugerah-Nya

kepada saya. Untuk itu selama-lamanya saya

bersyukur atas anugerah-Nya yang begitu

besar.

Testimony: Romans 8

Anniversary 2012 61

I stared at the cover of what I thought

would be the most boring read of my life

since the days of managerial accounting

(which promptly put me to sleep during

many late college nights). The silver title is

elegantly embossed along the coffee brown

spine of the book: Parenting by God’s

Promises by Dr. Joel R. Beeke1. Not only

is the topic of the book irrelevant to me,

but what qualifi cations would I have for

reviewing on a subject to which I was not

privy to experience? Nonetheless, I began

reading (however reluctantly) because it was

assigned. Imagine my surprise to fi nd that

it was not at all what I had expected and I

actually enjoyed reading it.

Rather than opening with anecdotes, child

psychology, child development, or a list of

to-dos, Dr. Beeke begins his book with God’s

covenant with Abram in Genesis 15. He then

spends the next four chapters delving deep

into the theological foundation of God’s

covenant and what it means to Christians,

Book Review Parenting by God's Promises By Jocelyn Lee-Tindage

This book is available in our library

62 Anniversary 2012

especially Christian parents. He encourages

parents with a reminder that it is by God’s

grace alone that sinners (both parents and

their children) are saved, and because He

is a “covenant-keeping God”, we can look

to Him and trust Him who is our strength.

From there, Dr. Beeke continues to discuss

the implication of God’s covenant in raising

children in the faith, the purpose/signifi cance

of infant baptism, and bringing children to

Christ.

From the foundation of Scripture, he moves

on to nine chapters worth of parents’

“offi ce-bearing responsibilities as prophets,

priests, and kings.” He spends two to three

chapters describing each offi ce and how each

offi ce effects the duties and responsibility of

parents. In essence:

• like prophets, parents are to teach

their children the truth;

• like priests, parents are to pray for

and sympathize with their children;

• fi nally, like kings, parents are called

to rule over their children.

As I read, I fi nd myself imagining the household

that Dr. Beeke described – one that is fi lled

with the Truth, with prayer, and with love. A

very idyllic scene lingers in my mind.

But of course, a family in this fallen world is

rarely perfect or idyllic. While the concept

of a perfect family is easy to grasp, the

execution is, well, perhaps more elusive.

Thus, in the fi nal two sections of the book,

Dr. Beeke spends the last eight of his twenty-

two chapters offering practical advice to

parents. He refers parents to the ways of

the Puritans as example of godly parenting;

he gives counsel on issues such as taming

the tongue, learning to listen, handling

sibling relationships and guiding teenagers

through the beginning of their adulthood.

He emphasizes in all of these chapters, that

parents are to model the behavior they wish

to see in their children.

This book is a perfect reminder of the good

ol’ adage: “Do not judge a book by its cover”

(or in my case, by its title). I have learned

much from this book about God’s covenant

from which His mercy and faithfulness is

evident. We can rest assured because He

has promised: “He remembers his covenant

forever, the word that He commanded, for a

thousand generations, the covenant that he

made with Abraham, His sworn promise to

Isaac, which he confi rmed to Jacob, to Israel

as an everlasting covenant.” (Psalm 105:8-10)

Anniversary 2012 63

Name: MeganAge: 7I learned about the words wisdom, my hope, and my delight.My favorite activity was playing all the games. All of them were my favorite.

Name: Timmy Gozali (helper)Age: 15I learned that humans are strangers on Earth. People like us are meant to be alone. As Christians, we must stand fi rm in our faith.My favorite activity was helping preschool with their games and activiy. Also eating food. :-P

Name: Sarah Lam (helper)Age: 12I learned that you need God’s help and wisdom to survive school.My favorite activity was helping with craft.

Name: MelodyAge: 10I learned that God’s word is life, my delight, and true.My favorite activity was game time.

Name: JoelAge: 8I learned that God’s word is life, delight, wisdom, truth and hope.My favorite activity was painting the hands.

VBS 2012 Survey

64 Anniversary 2012

Name: StevenAge: 8I learned that God’s word is life, delight, wisdom, truth, and hope.My favorite activity was painting the hands.

Name: Hubert Kusdono (helper)Age: 16I learned that it is not embarrassing to just be yourself with the little kids. In fact, it’s actually pretty fun to goof off with the kids.My favorite activity was playing games and activities with the kids before lunch.

Name: Jessica Lam Age: 9I learned that God’s words is life, my delight, wisdom, truth and hope.

My favorite activity was the game where we tried to protect our balloon.

Name: Michelle LamAge: 7I learned that God’s word is life, my hope, truth, wisdom, my delight.My favorite activity was painting and draw-ing the bag.

Name: Stuart Kusdono (helper)Age: 13I learned that if you have a non-Christian friend, you must have 7 different prayers for them to help evangelize him/her.My favorite activity was the snack time be-cause the food was good and you could get more (especially the fried dumplings).

Anniversary 2012 65

Setiap LANGKAH ADALAH

Seorang professor diundang untuk

berbicara di sebuah basis militer. Di

sana, ia berjumpa dengan seorang praju-

rit yang tak mungkin dilupakannya, Ralph,

penjemputnya di bandara. Setelah saling

memperkenalkan diri, mereka menuju

tempat pengambilan bagasi. Ketika ber-

jalan keluar, Ralph sering menghilang.

Banyak hal dilakukannya. Ia membantu

seorang wanita tua yang kopornya jatuh

dan terbuka, kemudian mengangkat dua

anak kecil agar mereka dapat melihat

sinterklas. Ia juga menolong orang yang

tersesat dengan menunjukkan arah yang

benar. Setiap kali, ia kembali ke sisi sang

professor dengan senyum lebar meng-

hiasi wajahnya.

“Dari mana anda belajar melakukan

semua hal itu?,” tanya sang professor.

“Melakukan apa?,” tanya Ralph.

“Dari mana anda belajar untuk hidup

seperti itu?,” desak sang professor.

“Oh,” kata Ralph, “selama perang .....

Saya kira, perang telah mengajari saya

banyak hal.” Lalu ia menuturkan kisah

perjalanan tugasnya di Vietnam. Juga

ANUGERAH

66 Anniversary 2012

tentang tugasnya saat membersihkan

ladang ranjau, dan bagaimana ia harus

menyaksikan satu per satu temannya

tewas terkena ledakan ranjau di depan

matanya. “Saya belajar untuk hidup di

antara pijakan setiap langkah.” Katanya,

“Saya tidak pernah tahu, apakah lang-

kah berikutnya adalah pijakan terakhir,

sehingga saya belajar untuk melakukan

segala sesuatu yang sanggup saya laku-

kan tatkala mengangkat dan memijakkan

kaki serta mensyukuri langkah sebelum-

nya. Setiap langkah yang saya ayunkan

merupakan sebuah dunia baru, dan saya

kira sejak saat itulah saya menjalani ke-

hidupan seperti ini. Kelimpahan hidup

tidak ditentukan oleh berapa lama kita

hidup, tetapi sejauh mana kita menjalani

kehidupan yang bermakna bagi orang

lain.”

Nilai manusia tidak ditentukan dengan

bagaimana ia mati, melainkan bagaimana

ia hidup. Kekayaan manusia bukan apa

yang ia peroleh, melainkan apa yang

telah ia berikan.

Selamat menikmati setiap langkah hidup anda dan BER-

SYUKURLAH SETIAP SAAT ....... Banyak orang berpikir

bagaimana mengubah dunia ini. Hanya sedikit yang me-

mikirkan bagaimana mengubah dirinya sendiri..

Sumber: Anonim Anniversary 2012 67

68 Anniversary 2012