Lahir baru

Header:
Lahir baru

Note:
Ada pembicaraan antara Yesus dan Nicodemus yang mencetuskan suatu istilah lahir baru, dan istilah ini banyak disalah artikan dari arti yg sesungguhnya.

Ini percakapannya :

Yesus : "Aku berkata kepadamu, sesungguhnya jika seseorang tidak di lahirkan kembali,ia tidak dpt melihat kerajaan Allah.

Nicodemus : "Bagaimana mungkin seorang dilahirkan, kalau ia sudah tua? Dapatkah ia masuk kembali ke rahim ibunya dan dilahirkan lagi?

Yesus: "Aku berkata kepadamu, sesungguhnya jika seorang tidak dilahirkan dari air dan Roh, ia tidak dapat masuk kedalam kerajaan Allah.

Apa yang dilahirkan dari daging, adalah daging, dan apa yang dilahirkan dari Roh, adalah roh. Yohanes 3:3-6.

Percakapan ini tidak ada kaitannya dengan baptisan air. Yesus sedang berbicara tentang dua kelahiran yang diperlukan untuk masuk kedalam kerajaan Allah.
Yang pertama adalah kelahiran natural, artinya seorang dilahirkan sebagai seorang bayi dari ibu manusia.
Yang kedua adalah kelahiran rohani.

Kelahiran natural digambarkan dengan dua cara : dilahirkan dari air"  dan "apa yang dilahirkan dari daging adalah daging".
Kelahiran rohani juga digambarkan dengan dua cara :  "dilahirkan dari Roh" dan "apa yang dilahirkan dari Roh adalah roh".

Ada yang berpendapat bahwa tidak ada keselamatan tanpa melalui baptisan. Itu jauh dari kebenaran.

Yesus sedang berkata bahwa seorang bayi dikandung secara natural dalam air didalam rahim ibunya. Pada saat ulang tahun 0 ia dilahirkan dari air. Setelah menaruh imannya didalam Yesus Kristus, ia benar benar lahir kedua kalinya secara rohani. Allah memberi kepadanya sebuah roh yang baru, dan Roh Allah datang dan tinggal didalam dia.

Pendapat yg berkata bahwa seseorang harus dimasukan ke dalam air untuk memperoleh kelahiran baru tidak didukung oleh konteks ayat ini.

Masa lalu

Header:
Masa lalu

Note:
KABAR BAIK...
JANGAN BIARKAN MASA LALU ANDA MERAMPAS ANDA.

Saudara-saudara, aku sendiri tidak menganggap, bahwa aku telah menangkapnya, tetapi ini yang kulakukan:
aku MELUPAKAN apa yang telah di BELAKANGKU dan MENGARAHKAN diri kepada apa yang di HADAPANKU, dan berlari-lari kepada TUJUAN untuk memperoleh hadiah, yaitu PANGGILAN SORGAWI DARI BAPA DALAM KRISTUS YESUS (Fil 3:13-14).

Apakah Anda sedang menjalani kehidupan dengan penyesalan sambil berpikir,
"Jika saja...."?
"Jika saja aku memiliki pendidikan tinggi itu...
Jika saja aku menikahi wanita yang tepat...
Jika saja aku mengambil tawaran pekerjaan lain itu...
Jika saja aku tidak membuat keputusan yang bodoh..."

Apakah masa lalu Anda sedang merampas SUKACITA Anda hari ini?
Jika demikian LUPAKAN masa lalu Anda!
Anda mungkin berkata,
"Tapi Pak, Anda tidak tahu apa yang telah saya lakukan di masa lalu!"

Bayangkanlah Paulus.
Jika iblis memiliki apapun untuk menentang Paulus, itu adalah ingatan tentang bagaimana ia telah menganiaya gereja mula-mula dan menyebabkan  kematian banyak orang, termasuk Stefanus martir pertama.

Paulus telah melakukan banyak hal yang buruk sehingga sulit baginya untuk melupakan itu.
Tetapi ia memperoleh PEWAHYUAN tentang PENGAMPUNAN Tuhan yang dahsyat sehingga ia dapat berkata,
"Aku MELUPAKAN apa yang telah di belakangku...
dan berlari-lari kepada TUJUAN untuk memperoleh hadiah, yaitu PANGGILAN SORGAWI DARI BAPA DALAM KRISTUS YESUS".

Saudaraku yang terkasih, TUHAN TELAH MENGAMPUNI Anda dari SEMUA DOSA Anda.
Ia TELAH MENGAMPUNI Anda sepenuhnya dengan menyatakan,
"dan AKU TIDAK LAGI MENGINGAT DOSA-DOSA dan KESALAHAN mereka." (Ibr 10:17).

Seperti Paulus, Anda dapat MELUPAKAN masa lalu Anda, kesalahan-kesalahan yang Anda telah lakukan dan rasa sakit yang telah Anda timbulkan dalam diri orang lain atau yang telah Anda alami sendiri.
Tuhan dapat mengambil airmata kemarin dan mengubahnya menjadi mukjizat-mukjizat hari esok.
Ia dapat memulihkan kepada Anda kelimpahan yang hilang dari Anda.
Ia dapat menyebabkan semua hal, bahkan peristiwa-peristiwa yang paling menyakitkan dari masa lalu Anda, bekerja bersama untuk mendatangkan KEBAIKAN bagi Anda (Rom 8:28).

Firman Tuhan berkata,
"... dan KEMULIAAN TUHAN barisan belakangmu" (Yes 58:8).
KEMULIAAN-NYA akan menutupi masa lalu Anda.
Kemanapun Anda pergi, KEMULIAAN-NYA akan menutupi masa lalu Anda.
Itu bukan lagi masa lalu yang sama yang Anda kenal, karena KEMULIAAN-NYA telah turun atasnya.
Masa lalu Anda telah lewat.
Masa lalu Anda telah dihapuskan.
Masa lalu Anda telah hilang!
Jadi, jangan biarkan masa lalu Anda merampas SUKACITA Anda hari ini!

Renungan:
Karena KEMULIAAN TUHAN menutupi masa lalu Anda, Anda tidak perlu membiarkan masa lalu Anda merampas SUKACITA Anda hari ini!

GRACE TO YOU.
JKB Jaringan Kabar Baik +6287821969633.
(Source by Joseph Prince, Revised by Sugiono Sutedjo).

Be Holy For I Am Holy In Context (1 Peter 1:15-16)

By : Brad Robertson


Note:
Be Holy For I Am Holy In Context (1 Peter 1:15-16)

So often, when I teach on grace, legalists pridefully ask me this question:

"Doesn't the Bible say that we should be holy for God is holy?"

I always respond "Yes, that is what the Bible says."

Then I ask them, "Do you know where this verse is in the Bible and what the context is?"

I have never had one of these legalists know the context of this verse.

They may know where this verse is in the Bible, but they never know the context.

This verse is found in 1 Peter 1:15-16.

"But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy.'"

The context of these verses is all about God's grace.

1 Peter 1:10-12 says:

"Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the GRACE that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things. Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the GRACE to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming."

The context is grace!

The grace Peter refers to in 1 Peter chapter one is about the salvation spoken of by the prophets in the Old Testament when the Spirit of Jesus in them told of his coming into the world as the Messiah, or King, to establish his kingdom of love, joy, peace, healing, and wholeness.

In this kingdom, the world will no longer live in chaos, being hurt by and hurting one another.

In this kingdom, there will be no more death, deformity, or disease.

There will be no hunger.

There will be no more terrorism or wars.

In this kingdom, the people of the world will live in love. 

Peace will flow all over the world.

Peter writes that the prophets spoke of the sufferings of the Messiah, this coming King, before the glories of his kingdom would be realized.

The sufferings of the King refer to his death.

The prophets searched intently to know more about God's grace to come and when the King would usher in this kingdom of grace.

What we learn from the Old Testament prophets is a Messiah, a King, was coming into the world.

He would wear a crown as King, bringing peace all over the world.

He would bear a cross as Savior, bringing peace to the hearts of people.

The prophets, looking ahead at the grace to come, did not understand all that we do.

They knew the Messiah would die, according to Isaiah 53, and rise from the dead, according to Psalm 16:10.

But they did not understand, as we do, that his death would come through the cross.

Peter even says the angels long to look into "these things", meaning the grace of God coming into the world through the Messiah and flowing throughout the entire world.

Peter, in 1 Peter 1:3-5, delightfully celebrates this coming kingdom of grace and our eternal enjoyment of it.

In 6-9, he speaks of the difficulties we will have to go through on this earth before Jesus comes as King and establishes his kingdom.

Yet, he writes, these difficulties on earth will refine our faith, a faith that is of greater worth than gold.

Peter says we are filled with inexpressible and glorious joy as we await by faith this coming kingdom.

Peter, in joyful anticipation of this King who is coming to establish his kingdom of grace, writes in verse 13 for us to have sober minds, meaning minds that are not intoxicated with Satanic and worldly lies about how to live, but minds that think soundly and morally.

He writes for believers not to conform to the evil desires of the world, which they had before being told about the King of grace and his coming kingdom of grace, but to live holy lives, meaning a lives of moral purity and love in context, on earth as we await this coming King and kingdom.

So we see in 1 Peter 1:3-16 that the motivation for living a holy life comes from the inspiration of grace.

Self-righteous legalists, who are so afraid someone might use grace as a license to sin, never bother to teach about God's grace when telling others to be holy for God is holy.

It never occurs to them that grace is the inspiration for living a holy life.

Instead, taking verses out context, as exemplified by their constant prideful quotation of the verse "Be holy as I am holy", they seek to intimidate people by fear to live a holy life, rather than inspire them by grace.

Dusta setan

Header:
Satan

Note:

Setan adalah ahlinya dusta

Setan tidak akan berkata kepada kita bahwa Tuhan itu jahat dan tidak baik,, tidak demikian.

Jika itu dustanya maka dengan cepat kita akan tahu bahwa itu tidak benar.

Setan akan berkata bahwa Tuhan itu baik dan juga bisa jahat. Tuhan akan memberkati mu hari ini dan besok Dia bisa membawa anda ke dalam masalah.

Dusta seperti ini akan dengan mudah dipercaya, dan banyak orang mempercayainya.

Mereka percaya bahwa Tuhan itu bisa berbuat baik dan juga berbuat jahat kepada mereka.

Yesusku adalah Yesus yang baik, sangat baik dan teramat baik.

Why was Jesus nice but the Old Testament God angry?"

Header:
Angry God

Note:
Someone asked me the question:
"Why was Jesus nice but the Old Testament God angry?"

My answer:
"Jesus and God are the same - Father and Son are of one heart. It's not as if Jesus was trying to pacify an angry Father.

So then why was God angry in the Old Testament?
It's because the law brings wrath and a curse for those who cannot obey it.
(Romans 4, Galatians 3)

Why did God put man under the law?
It's because man wanted to become perfect and righteous like God by doing good and avoiding evil.
Man did not accept that God simply loved him the way he was but man attempted to gain God's blessing through perfect conduct.
This was the fall of Adam.
When the written law came to Israel....3000 died on the day they received the 10 commandments....

God never wanted man to be under the law and it's wrath.
God's nature is LOVE and not wrath.
But man wanted the law and it's justice....and could never be saved from it's judgment

So then God became a man - in the form of Jesus and He fulfilled the law perfectly...and then He took the punishment of the law on the behalf mankind on the cross.

The law remained from the Cross till the Judgment day.

That is why you see the judgment of Ananias/Sapphira. It's because the Church was under the law.

Then in the 2nd coming in 70aD was the judgment day for those who refused to believe in Christ but held on to the law. They faced the self-appointed wrath that they deserved from the law.

At that time God made a new covenant to never remember sin any more....there is no more judgment.
It's because the law ended in the destruction of Jerusalem and it's Temple in 70AD.

Romans 4 - there is no wrath where there is no law !

The true nature of God has been revealed to humanity AFTER the judgment day - LOVE that does not keep record of wrongs -

"I will remember their sin no more" - Heb 10:17
This is the NEW COVENANT...The old has passed away !"

There is no more judgment - that's why you don't see anyone falling dead in the churches like Ananias/Sapphira today.

God loves everyone unconditionally !"