Rabu, 28 Januari 2009

Paul's teaching to Titus


"The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age."
Titus 2:11and 12 (NIV)

Senin, 26 Januari 2009

C.S. Lewis said


"Regarding the debate about faith and works: It's like asking which blade in a pair of scissors is most important."
~C.S. Lewis~

Rabu, 21 Januari 2009

MORE GREAT QUOTES

More GREAT QUOTES
-Sermonindex.net

"We need a Heaven-sent revival, a burning fire from on high,
A purifying passion and a forsaking of our stubborn pride.
We need a vision of eternity, of Hell and the Judgement Day,
A fervent love for our Savior, that will gladly serve and obey.
We need a Pentecostal purging and a breaking deep within,
A vision of God Almighty and a river of tears for our nations sin.
We need a Heaven-sent revival, a burning fire set ablaze.
Yet, we'll never see such glory, until the Church begins to pray." -
David Smithers

"Revival is the assemblies of God manifesting the oneness of the
membership in the mystical, supernatural body of Christ, delivered
from denominational bigotry." – James A. Stewart

"Revival is the saints of God agonizing on behalf of lost souls going
to hell." – James A. Stewart

"Revival is the people of God living in the power of an ungrieved,
unquenched Spirit." – James A. Stewart

"Revival is the child of God desperately in love with his glorious
Savior and Lord." – James A. Stewart

"Revival is living the Christ life in the home." – James A. Stewart

"Revival is the heathen saying, "The Lord hath done great things for
them" (Psa. 126:2). – James A. Stewart

"Revival is Zion travailing in spiritual childbirth." – James A. Stewart

"Revival is the Church of God as a conquering army putting to rout
the hosts of hell." – James A. Stewart

"Revival is torrents of living water flowing out of the individual
believer." – James A. Stewart

"Revival is the beauty of holiness adorning the saints."
– James A. Stewart

"Revival is the recognition of the ministry of insignificant members
of the body, and deliverance from idol worship of the more prominent
members who are in the limelight." – James A. Stewart

"Revival is the people of God constrained, gripped, overmastered,
and overwhelmed by the love of Christ, so that they are feverishly
restless to win souls for Christ." – James A. Stewart

Kamis, 08 Januari 2009

Great Quotes

More GREAT QUOTES
-(Mostly) Sermonindex.net

"Many have an idyllic and sweet idea of revival. And they pray to
this end. But our prayer should be to expose sin and lies, first in
our own hearts and then in the churches. To pray for a great
conviction of sin and that man would crumble and surrender at the
terrifying presence of a Holy God. Then they would find the sweet,
rapturous joy of being at peace with their God!... Do you still want
revival? We must pray and PREACH to this end. If we are silent,
or silenced, many in the churches will perish." - Jeri Woods.

“To the church, a revival means humiliation, a bitter knowledge of
unworthiness and an open and humiliating confession of sin on
the part of her ministers and people. It is not the easy and glorious
thing many think it to be, who imagine it fills pews and reinstates
the church in power and authority.... It comes to scorch before it
heals; it comes to condemn ministers and people for their unfaithful
witness, for their selfish living, for their neglect of the cross, and
to call them to daily renunciation, to an evangelical poverty and to
a deep and daily consecration….Because it says nothing to them
of power such as they have learned to love, or of ease, or of
success; it accuses them of sin, it tells them they are dead, it
calls them to awake, to renounce the world and to follow Christ.”
- James Burns in his 1909 book 'Revival, Their Laws and Leaders'.

"Some people become tired at the end of ten minutes or half an
hour of prayer. What will they do when they have to spend Eternity
in the presence of God? We must begin the habit here and
become used to being with God." - Sundar Singh

"Prayer is reaching out after the unseen; fasting is letting go of all
that is seen and temporal. Fasting helps express, deepen, confirm
the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, even
ourselves to attain what we seek for the kingdom of God."
- Andrew Murray

"Continuing instant in prayer (Rom. 12:12). The Greek is a
metaphor taken from hunting dogs that never give over the game
till they have their prey." - Thomas Brooks

"There is no power like that of prevailing prayer, of Abraham
pleading for Sodom, Jacob wrestling in the stillness of the night,
Moses standing in the breach, Hannah intoxicated with sorrow,
David heartbroken with remorse and grief, Jesus in sweat of blood.
Add to this list from the records of the church your personal
observation and experience, and always there is the cost of
passion unto blood. Such prayer prevails. It turns ordinary mortals
into men of power. It brings power. It brings fire. It brings rain. It
brings life. It brings God." - Samuel Chadwick

"To strive in prayer means to struggle through those hindrances
which would restrain or even prevent us entirely from continuing in
persevering prayer. It means to be so watchful at all times that we
can notice when we become slothful in prayer and that we go to
the Spirit of prayer to have this remedied. In this struggle, too, the
decisive factor is the Spirit of prayer." - O. Hallesby

"How hard is it sometimes to get leave of hearts to seek God!
Jesus Christ went more willingly to the cross than we do to the
throne of grace." - Thomas Watson

"Oh brother, pray; in spite of Satan, pray; spend hours in prayer;
rather neglect friends than not pray; rather fast, and lose breakfast,
dinner, tea, and supper - and sleep too - than not pray. And we
must not talk about prayer, we must pray in right earnest. The
Lord is near. He comes softly while the virgins slumber."
- Andrew A. Bonar

"No erudition, no purity of diction, no width of mental outlook, no
flowers of eloquence, no grace of person can atone for lack of fire.
Prayer ascends by fire. Flame gives prayer access as well as
wings, acceptance as well as energy. There is no incense without
fire; no prayer without flame." - E. M. Bounds

"A man can not lead others where he is not willing to go himself.
Therefore, beware of the prayerless church leader who no longer
readily admits his own need for more of the person and power of
Jesus Christ. Only a seeking, praying heart can truly encourage
spiritual HUNGER in others!" – David Smithers

"I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to preach."
- J. H. Jowett

Selasa, 06 Januari 2009

DIRIMU ADALAH GEREJA

DIRIMU ADALAH GEREJA

Banyak orang Kristen hidup seolah orang yang memiliki kepribadian ganda. Mengapa? Sebab di dalam gereja (tempat ibadah) nampak suci namun setelah keluar dari tempat ibadah dan kembali ke keluarga atau masyarakat, hidupnya berbeda lagi.

Pertama-tama, kita perlu menyadari bahwa setelah kita menyerahkan diri padaNya, dan mengakui Yesus Kristus sebagai Tuhan dan Juruselamat kita, lebih lagi sebagai Raja di atas segala raja. Kita diangkat sebagai keluarga (anak Tuhan) sekaligus warga Kerajaan Tuhan (dimana kita harus tunduk pada nilai, hukum dan cara hidupNya sebagai hambaNya) dan kita diberi Amanat Agung untuk melakukan tujuan hidup kita di muka bumi di dalam rangka memperlebar Kerajaan Bapa dengan memuridkan bangsa-bangsa.
Ingatlah selalu setelah ditebus, tubuh kita telah disucikan oleh darahNya dan Ia bertahta atas hidup kita (1 Kor 6:19-20, 2 Kor 6:16b-7:1)

Kedua, pikul salib setiap hari (Luk 9:23) dan perbaharui pola pikir kita (Rm 12:1-2, 2 Kor 10:5, 1 Yoh 2:6,15-16)

Ketiga, selalu penuh dan dipimpin Roh Kudus untuk mencapai destiny Tuhan (Kis 1:8, Ef 5:18)

Kita harus memiliki integritas dalam hidup kita. Dimanapun hidup kita/ kita berada, kualitas kita tidak berubah.

Takut akan Tuhan harus:

1.Dimulai di rumah dan kualitas rohanimu teruji di rumah (1 Tim 3:2-5,12)
2.Memiliki kualitas di tempat kerja dan masyarakat (1 Tim 3:7, Kis 6:3, 9:36-39)
3.Menjadi berkat dalam komunitas Kristen/gereja (Kis 2:42-47)

Anda bisa melayani “di gereja” namun hidup keluargamu berantakan, tetapi keluarga atau pribadi yang takut akan Tuhan dan “mempraktekkan hidup Kristus” pasti bukan hanya melayani keluarganya namun juga masyarakat dan saudara seimannya/gereja.