Pengakuan Preman Yang Bertemu Tuhan (Harun Sapto)
10 years ago
Sejarah Gereja Santapan Rohani Indonesia
Pendiri
Ketika Dinasti Tang di daratan Tiongkok runtuh pada tahun 997 SM, ada pergumulan diantara pemimpin-pemimpin militer untuk mengambil alih kekuasaan. Pada tahun 960, Dzao Kwang Yin diangkat sebagai kaisar Tiongkok yang baru dengan nama Tai Tzu. Ia berhasil mempersatukan kekaisarannya dan dinasti Sung yang terkenal bertahan samapi tahun 1279.
Lahir di Shanghai pada tahun 1908 sebagai satu-satunya putera dari seorang pedagang, Dzao Yuen Chong adalah generasi ke-33 dari dinasti Sung. Ia dibesarkan oleh ibunya, seorang pemeluk agama Buddha yang setia. Dalam keluarga besarnya hanya ada dua orang Kristen, seorang paman yang menjadi anggota gereja Presbiterian dan seorang saudara sepupu yang mengajar Sekolah Minggu di Gereja Metodis. Yang terakhir inilah yang mengundangnya ke Sekolah Minggu ketika ia berusia 13 tahun. Ia menghadiri Sekolah Minggu selama 4 tahun dan menganggap Yesus sebagai seorang Guru Besar, setara dengan Buddha dan Khonghucu. Pada tahun 1924 ia dibaptis tanpa persetujuan ibunya dan menjadi anggota Gereja Metodis Shanghai. Tapi baru beberapa tahun kemudian dalam suatu kebaktian kebangunan rohani yang dipimpin oleh Padgett Wilkes, seorang missionary Inggris, Dzao Yuen Chong mengerti apakah ke Kristenan sebenarnya. Dia menerima Kristus sebagai Juruselamat dan menyerahkan hidupnya untuk melayani Tuhan.
Ia mengganti namanya dari Dzao Yuen Chong menjadi Dzao Sze Kwang, yang artinya terang dunia. Pada tahun 1928, ia bekerja sebagai guru di sebuah sekolah Kristen. Ia menerima tawaran Persatuan Misionari Kristen untuk menjadi pendeta di sebuah gereja kecil. Pada tahun 1932 ia ditahbiskan sebagai pendeta dan mengambil nama Timothy (Timotius) sebagai nama baptisannya. Ia menikah dengan seorang pemudi Kristen dan selama 8 tahun berikutnya bekerja membangun gereja kecil tersebut di samping aktif berkotbah di berbagai gereja.
Pada tahun 1928, Robert A. Jeffrey, seorang misionari dari Persatuan Misioanari Krsiten membentuk Misi Penginjilan Tionghoa dan merekrut hamba-hamba Tuhan Tionghoa untuk menjangkau Asia Tenggara. Salah satu hamba Tuhan yang mendaftarkan diri ialah Timothy Dzao. Pada bulan September 1937 Timothy Dzao meninggalkan gereja yang ia layani (jumlah anggota berkembang menjadi 600 orang dewasa) dan menggunakan waktu 5 tahun 6 bulan berikutnya berkotbah di Philipina dan Indonesia. Di Indonesia, ia bekerja bersama-sama para hamba Tuhan dari gereja Tionghoa mengadakan kebaktian kebangunan rohani di Menado, Makassar, Banjarmasin, Singkawang, Pontianak, daerah pedalaman Dayak, Jakarta, Semarang, Surabaya dan Bali. Dalam perjalanannya kembali ke Shanghai, ia juga berkotbah di Singapura, Malaysia, Thailand dan Vietnam.
Pada tahun 1938, ia mengunjungi Pasifik Selatan untuk kedua kalinya dan menjadikan Jakarta sebagai "rumah"nya. Ia belajar bahasa Indonesia, berkotbah dan memulai koresponden Alkitab dalam bahasa Indonesia. Tahun 1940 ia kembali ke Shanghai dengan sebuah rencana untuk membawa sekelompok pemuda/I gereja ke Indonesia untuk pelayanan pionir. Tapi pada akhir tahun 1941 perang pasifik berkobar dan ia tak dapat kembali ke Indonesia.
Di Jakarta (Batavia) 4 orang Kristen yang bernama Kho Swan Nio, Kho Hong Nio, Lim A Ten dan Tjoa Kim Djwan, membeli sebuah rumah di Drossaerwerg Straat No. 185 (sekarang Jl. Tamansari no. 79) pada tanggal 5 September 1941. Mereka menyerahkan rumah tersebut sebagai Gereja Sidang Kristoes Batavia dan mengharapkan kembalinya Timothy (Timotius) Dzao untuk menjadi gembala sidang. Sementara itu, beberapa hamba Tuhan bergantian melayani jemaat yang kecil ini.
Dari tahun 1942 - 1947, Timotius Dzao mengkonsentrasikan pelayanannya di Shanghai dan sekitarnya. Ia mendirikan gereja Ling Liang di Nanking, Hang Chow, Su Chow, Ching Po, King Ko dan Enan. Ia mendirikan SD dan SMP, panti asuhan, rumah jompo, seminari Hwa Thung dan sekolah Alkitab. Seusai perang, ia juga mendirikan sebuah seminari di Hanchow. Pada bulan Agustus 1942, ia mendirikan Ling Liang World-Wide Evangelical Mission (LLWWEM) di Shanghai untuk mempromosikan Pengabaran Injil (PI), pembentukan gereja, pelayanan social di daratan Tiongkok, dan juga program Pengabaran Injil di seluruh dunia.
Pada tahun 1947, Timotius Dzao kembali ke Jakarta dan mengadakan satu seri kebangunan rohani di gereja-gereja Tionghoa dan melayani gereja Sidang Kristus. Tahun 1948, ia berkotbah keliling di Amerika dan Kanada lalu kembali ke Shanghai. Pada bulan Oktober 1943, dengan keluarganya ia meninggalkan daratan Tiongkok menuju Hongkong melalui Taiwan ketika Partai Komunis Tiongkok mengambil alih pemerintahan. Di tahun yang sama, LLWWEM Shanghai mengutus Moses Chow dan isterinya ke Jakarta sebagai misionari pertama untuk melayani gereja Sidang Kristoes Batavia.
Pada tanggal 6 Nopember 1949, Timotius Dzao memulai kebaktian siang menggunakan gedung gereja Baptis Kowloon. Yang hadir dalam kebaktian kebanyakan adalah orang-orang Kristen yang meninggalkan daratan Tiongkok. Pada tanggal 9 September 1952, gereja Ling Liang Kowloon terbentuk.
Pada bulan Januari 1950, Timotius Dzao menyewa gedung pertunjukan King di Hongkong untuk Kebaktian Minggu, memasang iklan di surat kabar dan membayar guru musik lengkap dengan sebuah paduan suara. Lebih dari 1000 orang menghadiri kebaktian. Di samping itu ia juga mengadakan kebaktian di lantai pertama gedung perkantoran yang menampung 400 orang. Gedung itu kini menjadi gereja Ling Liang Hong Kong.
Pada tanggal 5 Agustus 1950, Timotius Dzao kembali ke Jakarta; Moses Chow dan jemaat Sidang Kristoes Batavia menyetujui untuk mengganti nama gereja menjadi gereja Ling Liang Tamansari. Pada tanggal 23 Nopember 1950, gereja didedikasi dan Moses Chow ditahbiskan menjadi Gembala Sidang.
Pada bulan Maret 1951, Moses Chow memulai kebaktian dalam bahasa Mandarin, yang berkembang dan kini menjadi GSRI Kartini.
Di tahun 1953, gereja Ling Liang Hongkong mengutus misionari yang pertama, sdri Lo Su Wen, untuk bekerja di Singkawang dan di Pangkalan Kongsi, namun ia mati terbunuh di tahun yang sama.
Di tahun 1953 - 1954, Gereja Ling Liang (GSRI) Tamansari memulai pekerjaan di Karawang dan Cikampek. Misi berkembang dan di dua kota ini gereja Ling Liang terbentuk dan sekarang bernama GSRI Karawang dan GSRI Cikampek.
Di tahun 1955, Timotius Dzao berkunjung ke Jakarta dan bekerja bersama gereja Ling Liang Tamansari untuk mendirikan Sekolah Utusan Injil (Sekolah Latihan Pekabaran Injil) Sebagai bagian dari sekolah ini, didirkan sebuah tempat kebaktian yang kemudian berkembang dan menjadi Ling Liang (GSRI) Kebayoran.
Di tahun 1955, Universitas Gamaliel di Taipei mengadakan perluasan programnya di Jakarta. Timotius Dzao memberi ijin kepada pimpinan universitas untuk menggunakan sebagian tempat Sekolah utusan Injil untuk pertemuan mereka ketika mereka mencari tempat yang tetap. Pemerintah pada waktu itu, di bawah pengaruh Partai Komunis, menganggap Sekolah Utusan Injil sebagai bagian dari Universitas Gamaliel, Taipei yang menentang komunisme. Atas dasar kesalah-pengertian politik tersebut, Sekolah Utusan Injil ditutup dan sebagian besar tanah milik Sekolah Utusan Injil diambil-alih oleh pemerintah pada tahun 1958. Timotius Dzao kembali ke Hongkong dan mengarahkan pelayanannya dalam pendirian gereja sampai kematiannya pada tanggal 17 September 1973.
Sebagian tanah milik Sekolah Utusan Injil dikembalikan pada tahun 1979 dan untuk meneruskan misi dari Timotius Dzao, Institut Misi dan Alkitab Nusantara (IMAN) didirikan pada tahun 1981 di tempat yang sama. Pada tahun 1985 gedung IMAN yang baru dan lebih besar didedikasikan. Institus Misi dan Alkitab Nusantara ini sekarang menjadi Sekolah Tinggi Theologia IMAN.
Di daratan Tiongkok, sampai pada tahun 1951, ada sekitar 3000 anggota gereja Ling Liang di Shanghai dan sekitarnya. Di bawah tekanan dari Partai Komunis Tiongkok, pada tahun 1955, majelis gereja Ling Liang di Shanghai memutuskan hubungan dengan Timotius Dzao yang dituduh sebagai "agen imperialis". Pada tanggal 22 September 1966, semua gereja di daratan Tiongkok ditutup.
Pada tahun 1946, Timotius Dzao diundang oleh gereja Presbiterian Taipei untuk suatu seri kebangunan rohani. Pada tahun 1947, ketika ia kembali ke Taiwan, gereja-gereja Persekutuan Timur Jauh di Taipei, Hsiuchu, Hsikong, Tainan dan Kaoh Shung memutuskan untuk menjadi bagian gereja Ling Liang.
Gereja Ling Liang Kowloon memulai misinya ke India dengan mengutus David Lamb, seorang hamba Tuhan. Ketika Timotius Dzao mendengar hal ini, ia mengambil inisiatif untuk mengadakan suatu seri kebangunan rohani di gereja Old Mission. Beberapa orang Kristen baru dibaptiskan sebagai hasil kebaktian ini. Didukung oleh gereja Ling Liang Kowloon, David Lamb dan keluarga tiba di Calcutta pada tahun 1949. Kebaktian "padang" diadakan di daerah Chinatown dan Tangra.
Pada tahun 1962, gereja Ling liang pertama dan SMA didirikan di pusat Chinatown, Calcutta. SMA tersebut sekarang menampung 1000 murid. Di tahun 1968, gereja Ling Liang Immanuel dan sekolah untuk anak-anak terlantar didirikan di Tangra. Pada tahun 1974, gereja Ling Liang Anugerah (GRACE) didedikasikan di Tangra, bersama dengan Ling Liang Junior College.
Pada tahun 1955, gereja Ling Liang New York dimulai. Pada tanggal 1 Juli 2000, gedung gereja Ling Liang New York yang baru didedikasikan. Pada tahun 1967 gereja Ling Liang Torrence di California dimulai diikuti oleh gereja Ling Liang di Orange County pada tahun 1988.
Di bulan September 1955, Timotius Dzao menerima gelar Doktor Kehormatan (D.D.) dari Taylor University Upland, Indiana dan juga dari Tennessee Temple College, Chattanooga, Tennessee pada tahun 1956. Pada bulan Oktober 1966, ia diundang menjadi salah satu pembicara pada Kongres Pengabaran Injil (PI) sedunia di Berlin Barat, Jerman, bersama Billy Graham, John R. W. Stott dan Carl. F. Henry.
Gereja ling Liang Philipina dimulai dari kelompok Pemahaman Alkitab (PA) yang dihadiri oleh 5 orang dan dipimpin oleh alm. Lulee Tan. Pada tahun 1987, gereja Ling liang Philipina didirikan di kota Manila.
Pada tahun 1973, Gloria Dzao, salah seorang puteri Timotius Dzao, diberi dorongan oleh ayahnya, memulai kelompok Pemahaman Alkitab (PA) di Toronto dengan nama persekutuan Ling Liang. Di tahun 1974, kelompok Pemahaman Alkitab (PA) ini dihadiri oleh 20 orang. Pada bulan Juni 1975, Kebaktian Minggu yang pertama diadakan dihadiri oleh 66 orang. Pada bulan Agustus 1975, gereja Ling Liang Toronto didirikan. Di tahun 1988, Pusat Pengabaran Injil (PI) Ling Liang dan Crescent Outreach didirikan.
Ling Liang World-Wide Evangelical Mission (LLWWEM) kini menjadi wadah persekutuan dari sekitar 45 gereja Ling Liang berikut pos-pos PI-nya di seluruh dunia.
Di tahun 1961, gereja ling liang Tamansari mengganti namanya menjadi Gereja Santapan Rohani Indonesia sesuai dengan himbauan pemerintah. Pos Tomang didirikan pada tahun 1962 dan Pos Bogor didirikan pada tahun 1966, kedua pos tersebut kini telah menjadi Jemaat mandiri dengan nama GSRI Tomang dan GSRI Bogor.
Catatan: Bahan diambil dari disertasi Debora K. Malik.
Kepustakaan:
Mashburn, Charles. Timotius, Rasul Untuk Asia Tenggara. Djakarta : Penerbit Santapan Rohani, 1957.
Ong, Joshua. "Sejarah Gereja Santapan Rohani Indonesia," di tahun ke 45 Gereja Santapan Rohani Indonesia Tamansari. Jakarta: Privately printed, 1994.
Ting, Richard, ed. Timothy S.K. Dzao, 1908-1973, Book of Rememberance. Torrence, CA: Privately printed by Ling Liang World-Wide Evangelistic Mission, 1993.
Copyright © 2003 GSRI TamanSari
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit
by Fr. Fio Mascarenhas
Long before the Holy Spirit became an article of the Creed, he was a living reality in the experience of the early Church. The Acts of the Apostles could well be titled, 'The Acts of the Holy Spirit', since on every page the Spirit's presence is felt, more real and more active than the men and women whose names are recorded there. He is spoken of as a presence both beloved and sure: the Spirit inspires boldness in the apostles (Acts 8:29-39); he gives strength to the martyrs (7:55); he brings Peter, a Jew, to the household of Cornelius, a Gentile (10:19f); he chooses those who are to be sent on mission (13:2); he is the joy and assurance of those who are persecuted (13:50ff); he presides over the decisions made in the new-born Church (15:28); he guides the apostles' travels (16:6f); he especially directs Paul's missionary life (20:22-24); etc.
Over the last twenty centuries too, the Holy Spirit has influenced the great decisions that have determined the course of the Church's mission. This was especially true of the II Vatican Council held 40 years ago. Therefore, Pope John Paul II asked the whole Church to have a clearer understanding of the person of the Holy Spirit; a "renewed appreciation of the presence and activity of the Spirit" in the whole world and especially in the Body of Christ; and a more vivid devotion to the Holy Spirit in our personal lives.
Who is the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father and of the Son, and his wish is to glorify both of them; he never calls attention to himself. In John's Gospel, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are clearly referred to as persons, each of them distinct from one another. Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit, using several times the personal pronoun "he"; and at the same time, throughout the farewell discourse, he reveals the bonds which unite the Father, the Son, and the Spirit to one another: "The Spirit of truth …proceeds from the Father" (Jn.15:26), the Father "gives" the Holy Spirit (14:16); the Father "sends" the Spirit in the name of the Son (14:26), and the Spirit "bears witness" to the Son (15:26). The Son asks the Father to send the Spirit-Counsellor (14:16), but likewise affirms and promises, "If I go, I will send him to you" (16:7).
God's self-gift to us
The Holy Spirit can be called, "God's Self-Gift" to us. Pope John Paul II taught that from the day of Pentecost onwards begins "the new salvific self-giving of God, in the Holy Spirit …The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father, as the words of the farewell discourse in the Upper Room witness. At the same time he is the Spirit of Jesus Christ, as the Apostles and particularly Paul of Tarsus will testify …In this way there is definitively brought about the new beginning of the self-communication of the Triune God, in the Holy Spirit, through the work of Jesus Christ" (DeV, 11,14).
God's first "self-giving" is when the Father creates each human person "in his own image and likeness." God's second "self-giving" is in sending Jesus into our world to become fully a part of humanity and its Savior. And from Pentecost until the end of time, the third "self-giving" of God is when the Holy Spirit fills our hearts and lives, to renew the face of the Church and of the earth!
The Holy Spirit, therefore, can be pictured in our minds as God delighting in us and rushing to clasp us all in an embrace of love! All the symbols (below) of the Holy Spirit, and terms like "the outpouring" of the Spirit, confirm this mental picture of movement, of God moving towards us in love and power to stay with us and to bless us: to sanctify, and heal, and purify, and strengthen, and comfort…
The Proper Name of the Holy Spirit
"Holy Spirit" is the proper name of the One whom we adore and glorify with the Father and the Son. The Church has received this name from the Lord Jesus and she professes it in the baptism of her new children (Mt.28:19). The term "Spirit" translates the Hebrew word ruah, which means, in its primary sense, breath, air, wind. Jesus uses the sensory image of the wind to suggest to Nicodemus the transcendent newness of the divine Spirit (Jn.3:5f). On the other hand, "spirit" and "holy" are divine attributes common to the three divine persons; by joining the two terms, Scripture designates the inexpressible person of the Holy Spirit.
Titles of the Holy Spirit
Jesus calls him "Paraclete" (Jn.14:16,26; 15:26; 16:7), a Greek word which means, "He who stands at one's side," Counsellor, Advocate, Encourager. Jesus also calls him "the Spirit of truth" (Jn.16:13). St. Paul calls the Holy Spirit "the Spirit of sonship/adoption" (Rom.8:15), "the Spirit of Christ" (Rom.8:9), "the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Co.3:17), or "the Spirit of God" (Rom.8:14). St. Peter refers to him as "the Spirit of glory" (1 Pt.4:14).
Symbols of the Holy Spirit
Water:
The Spirit is personally the living water welling up from Christ crucified as its source (Jn.19:34), as promised earlier by Jesus when he proclaimed, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, 'Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water'. Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive" (Jn.7:37-39). St. Paul too teaches that we are "made to drink of one Spirit" (1Co.12:13). Hence, the symbolism of flowing water signifies the Holy Spirit's action in the sacrament of Baptism.
Fire:
While water signifies birth and the fruitfulness of life given in the Holy Spirit, fire symbolizes the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit's actions. Jesus said of the Spirit, "I came to cast fire upon the earth, and would that it were already kindled!" (Lk.12:49). So too, in the form of "tongues as of fire" the Holy Spirit rested on the disciples and filled them with himself at Pentecost (Acts 2:3). St. Paul continues to use this symbolism when he writes, "Do not quench the Spirit" (1 Thes.5:19).
Anointing with oil:
Jesus is the Christ (Greek) or Messiah (Hebrew) which means "the one anointed" by God's Spirit (see Lk.4:18; Acts 10:38; etc.), hence the symbolism of anointing with oil signifies the Holy Spirit. Anointing is the sacramental sign of Confirmation or "chrismation", corroborated for example, by 1Jn.2: "You have been anointed by the Holy One" (v.20), and "the anointing which you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you; as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true" (v.27).
Finger:
It is by "the finger of God" that Jesus casts out demons (Lk.11:20). God's law was written on tablets of stone by "the finger of God" (Ex.31:18), and the "letter from Christ" is written "with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts" (2 Co.3:3).
Dove:
Christian art traditionally uses a dove to suggest the Spirit, since the Gospels record that when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan, "the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him" (Mt.3:16).
All these symbols represent the action of the Spirit and should not be mistaken for the Person of the Holy Spirit (for instance, the dove is a symbol, and not a photo, of the Spirit). They signify movement, dynamism, divine energy, and tell us that the Holy Spirit is God-in-action, achieving our sanctification and bringing us new life.
Worship of the Holy Spirit
As we profess in the Nicene Creed, each Person of the Blessed Trinity individually, and all Three together are worthy of praise, worship and glory. They are equal in holiness, and majesty, and power, yet the Father takes precedence over the Son and the Spirit, he is the first among equals. Without loss of majesty and power, the Son and the Spirit obey the Father's will and do everything for the glory of the Father - such is the profound mystery of the Holy Trinity. In practice, to worship the Spirit means to be docile and open to his action, yielding to his promptings with love, as the Virgin Mary and the Saints did. It also means that we will express our love for him in prayer, by singing his praises and inviting him into our lives.
The Sin against the Holy Spirit
"Whoever says a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come" (Mt.12:31f). Why is this speaking against or "blasphemy against" the Holy Spirit (Lk.12:10) unforgivable? Pope John Paul II explains: "If Jesus says that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven either in this life or in the next, it is because this 'non-forgiveness' is linked, as to its cause, to 'non-repentance', in other words to the radical refusal to be converted. …This 'blasphemy' does not consist in offending against the Holy Spirit in words; it consists rather in the refusal to accept the salvation which God offers to man through the Holy Spirit, working through the power of the Cross" (DeV, 46). Thus blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the sin committed by the person who claims to have a 'right' to persist in evil - in whatever sin - and who thus rejects Redemption. This is a state of spiritual ruin, because sinning against the Holy Spirit does not allow one to open oneself to the Divine Source of purification and forgiveness of sins. St.Paul exhorts all, "Do not quench the Spirit"; "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit" (1 Thes.5:19; Eph.4:30).
Joint Mission of Jesus and the Holy Spirit
The Spirit of his Son, whom the Father has sent into our hearts, is truly God (1 Co.2:11). He is inseparable from the Father and the Son. But when the Father sends his Word, he always sends his Breath. Hence, their's is a joint mission, in which the Son and the Spirit are distinct but inseparable. It is Christ who is seen, "the visible image of the invisible God" (Col.1:15), but it is the Spirit who reveals him (1Cor.12:3b). Whenever God sends his Son, he always sends his Spirit: their mission is conjoined and inseparable. God's Spirit prepares for the time of the Messiah: neither Word nor Spirit are fully revealed but both are already promised. Therefore, when the Church reads the Old Testament, she searches there for what the Spirit, "who spoke through the prophets", wants to tell us about Christ (see 2 Co.3:14; Jn.5:39, 46).
Main Objective of the Spirit's coming
"For God has called us for holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you" (1 Thes.4:7-8). The very name, Holy Spirit, indicates that he is the Spirit of holiness, who makes holy all those who are open to his sanctifying action. The Holy Spirit works among all God's children, among the disciples of Jesus in a special way (through the sacraments, the word of God, and Christian fellowship), but also among others who sincerely seek God: "the Spirit blows where it wills" (Jn.3:8). In order to glorify Jesus, God's Spirit makes every effort to influence all human beings to receive the gift of eternal life: "Walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh" (Gal.5:17; see also 5:22).
by Fr. Fio Mascarenhas
Long before the Holy Spirit became an article of the Creed, he was a living reality in the experience of the early Church. The Acts of the Apostles could well be titled, 'The Acts of the Holy Spirit', since on every page the Spirit's presence is felt, more real and more active than the men and women whose names are recorded there. He is spoken of as a presence both beloved and sure: the Spirit inspires boldness in the apostles (Acts 8:29-39); he gives strength to the martyrs (7:55); he brings Peter, a Jew, to the household of Cornelius, a Gentile (10:19f); he chooses those who are to be sent on mission (13:2); he is the joy and assurance of those who are persecuted (13:50ff); he presides over the decisions made in the new-born Church (15:28); he guides the apostles' travels (16:6f); he especially directs Paul's missionary life (20:22-24); etc.
Over the last twenty centuries too, the Holy Spirit has influenced the great decisions that have determined the course of the Church's mission. This was especially true of the II Vatican Council held 40 years ago. Therefore, Pope John Paul II asked the whole Church to have a clearer understanding of the person of the Holy Spirit; a "renewed appreciation of the presence and activity of the Spirit" in the whole world and especially in the Body of Christ; and a more vivid devotion to the Holy Spirit in our personal lives.
Who is the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father and of the Son, and his wish is to glorify both of them; he never calls attention to himself. In John's Gospel, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are clearly referred to as persons, each of them distinct from one another. Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit, using several times the personal pronoun "he"; and at the same time, throughout the farewell discourse, he reveals the bonds which unite the Father, the Son, and the Spirit to one another: "The Spirit of truth …proceeds from the Father" (Jn.15:26), the Father "gives" the Holy Spirit (14:16); the Father "sends" the Spirit in the name of the Son (14:26), and the Spirit "bears witness" to the Son (15:26). The Son asks the Father to send the Spirit-Counsellor (14:16), but likewise affirms and promises, "If I go, I will send him to you" (16:7).
God's self-gift to us
The Holy Spirit can be called, "God's Self-Gift" to us. Pope John Paul II taught that from the day of Pentecost onwards begins "the new salvific self-giving of God, in the Holy Spirit …The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father, as the words of the farewell discourse in the Upper Room witness. At the same time he is the Spirit of Jesus Christ, as the Apostles and particularly Paul of Tarsus will testify …In this way there is definitively brought about the new beginning of the self-communication of the Triune God, in the Holy Spirit, through the work of Jesus Christ" (DeV, 11,14).
God's first "self-giving" is when the Father creates each human person "in his own image and likeness." God's second "self-giving" is in sending Jesus into our world to become fully a part of humanity and its Savior. And from Pentecost until the end of time, the third "self-giving" of God is when the Holy Spirit fills our hearts and lives, to renew the face of the Church and of the earth!
The Holy Spirit, therefore, can be pictured in our minds as God delighting in us and rushing to clasp us all in an embrace of love! All the symbols (below) of the Holy Spirit, and terms like "the outpouring" of the Spirit, confirm this mental picture of movement, of God moving towards us in love and power to stay with us and to bless us: to sanctify, and heal, and purify, and strengthen, and comfort…
The Proper Name of the Holy Spirit
"Holy Spirit" is the proper name of the One whom we adore and glorify with the Father and the Son. The Church has received this name from the Lord Jesus and she professes it in the baptism of her new children (Mt.28:19). The term "Spirit" translates the Hebrew word ruah, which means, in its primary sense, breath, air, wind. Jesus uses the sensory image of the wind to suggest to Nicodemus the transcendent newness of the divine Spirit (Jn.3:5f). On the other hand, "spirit" and "holy" are divine attributes common to the three divine persons; by joining the two terms, Scripture designates the inexpressible person of the Holy Spirit.
Titles of the Holy Spirit
Jesus calls him "Paraclete" (Jn.14:16,26; 15:26; 16:7), a Greek word which means, "He who stands at one's side," Counsellor, Advocate, Encourager. Jesus also calls him "the Spirit of truth" (Jn.16:13). St. Paul calls the Holy Spirit "the Spirit of sonship/adoption" (Rom.8:15), "the Spirit of Christ" (Rom.8:9), "the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Co.3:17), or "the Spirit of God" (Rom.8:14). St. Peter refers to him as "the Spirit of glory" (1 Pt.4:14).
Symbols of the Holy Spirit
Water:
The Spirit is personally the living water welling up from Christ crucified as its source (Jn.19:34), as promised earlier by Jesus when he proclaimed, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, 'Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water'. Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive" (Jn.7:37-39). St. Paul too teaches that we are "made to drink of one Spirit" (1Co.12:13). Hence, the symbolism of flowing water signifies the Holy Spirit's action in the sacrament of Baptism.
Fire:
While water signifies birth and the fruitfulness of life given in the Holy Spirit, fire symbolizes the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit's actions. Jesus said of the Spirit, "I came to cast fire upon the earth, and would that it were already kindled!" (Lk.12:49). So too, in the form of "tongues as of fire" the Holy Spirit rested on the disciples and filled them with himself at Pentecost (Acts 2:3). St. Paul continues to use this symbolism when he writes, "Do not quench the Spirit" (1 Thes.5:19).
Anointing with oil:
Jesus is the Christ (Greek) or Messiah (Hebrew) which means "the one anointed" by God's Spirit (see Lk.4:18; Acts 10:38; etc.), hence the symbolism of anointing with oil signifies the Holy Spirit. Anointing is the sacramental sign of Confirmation or "chrismation", corroborated for example, by 1Jn.2: "You have been anointed by the Holy One" (v.20), and "the anointing which you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you; as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true" (v.27).
Finger:
It is by "the finger of God" that Jesus casts out demons (Lk.11:20). God's law was written on tablets of stone by "the finger of God" (Ex.31:18), and the "letter from Christ" is written "with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts" (2 Co.3:3).
Dove:
Christian art traditionally uses a dove to suggest the Spirit, since the Gospels record that when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan, "the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him" (Mt.3:16).
All these symbols represent the action of the Spirit and should not be mistaken for the Person of the Holy Spirit (for instance, the dove is a symbol, and not a photo, of the Spirit). They signify movement, dynamism, divine energy, and tell us that the Holy Spirit is God-in-action, achieving our sanctification and bringing us new life.
Worship of the Holy Spirit
As we profess in the Nicene Creed, each Person of the Blessed Trinity individually, and all Three together are worthy of praise, worship and glory. They are equal in holiness, and majesty, and power, yet the Father takes precedence over the Son and the Spirit, he is the first among equals. Without loss of majesty and power, the Son and the Spirit obey the Father's will and do everything for the glory of the Father - such is the profound mystery of the Holy Trinity. In practice, to worship the Spirit means to be docile and open to his action, yielding to his promptings with love, as the Virgin Mary and the Saints did. It also means that we will express our love for him in prayer, by singing his praises and inviting him into our lives.
The Sin against the Holy Spirit
"Whoever says a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come" (Mt.12:31f). Why is this speaking against or "blasphemy against" the Holy Spirit (Lk.12:10) unforgivable? Pope John Paul II explains: "If Jesus says that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven either in this life or in the next, it is because this 'non-forgiveness' is linked, as to its cause, to 'non-repentance', in other words to the radical refusal to be converted. …This 'blasphemy' does not consist in offending against the Holy Spirit in words; it consists rather in the refusal to accept the salvation which God offers to man through the Holy Spirit, working through the power of the Cross" (DeV, 46). Thus blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the sin committed by the person who claims to have a 'right' to persist in evil - in whatever sin - and who thus rejects Redemption. This is a state of spiritual ruin, because sinning against the Holy Spirit does not allow one to open oneself to the Divine Source of purification and forgiveness of sins. St.Paul exhorts all, "Do not quench the Spirit"; "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit" (1 Thes.5:19; Eph.4:30).
Joint Mission of Jesus and the Holy Spirit
The Spirit of his Son, whom the Father has sent into our hearts, is truly God (1 Co.2:11). He is inseparable from the Father and the Son. But when the Father sends his Word, he always sends his Breath. Hence, their's is a joint mission, in which the Son and the Spirit are distinct but inseparable. It is Christ who is seen, "the visible image of the invisible God" (Col.1:15), but it is the Spirit who reveals him (1Cor.12:3b). Whenever God sends his Son, he always sends his Spirit: their mission is conjoined and inseparable. God's Spirit prepares for the time of the Messiah: neither Word nor Spirit are fully revealed but both are already promised. Therefore, when the Church reads the Old Testament, she searches there for what the Spirit, "who spoke through the prophets", wants to tell us about Christ (see 2 Co.3:14; Jn.5:39, 46).
Main Objective of the Spirit's coming
"For God has called us for holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you" (1 Thes.4:7-8). The very name, Holy Spirit, indicates that he is the Spirit of holiness, who makes holy all those who are open to his sanctifying action. The Holy Spirit works among all God's children, among the disciples of Jesus in a special way (through the sacraments, the word of God, and Christian fellowship), but also among others who sincerely seek God: "the Spirit blows where it wills" (Jn.3:8). In order to glorify Jesus, God's Spirit makes every effort to influence all human beings to receive the gift of eternal life: "Walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh" (Gal.5:17; see also 5:22).
Counselor
Counselor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A counselor (or counsellor) in mental health, psychotherapy or counseling is a licensed and professionally trained person who provides services:
Rehabilitation Counselor, a person assisting injured workers and persons with disabilities to obtain, maintain or regain employment
Marriage and Family counseling, a method of study, understanding and treating disorders of the interactional whole of a family and its individual members as a family unit.
School Counselor, a person who provides systematic school guidance
Mental Health Counselor, a professional who provides psychotherapy counseling to individuals or groups, but is also trained in vocational therapy and family therapy.
In Law, Politics and government a counselor may be a:
· Lawyer as in legal counsel
· Minister-counselor, a high-ranking diplomat usually just below the status of an ambassador or of a diplomatic minister.
· Consul, the highest elected office of the Roman Empire or
· Consul (representative), an official representatives of a state, outside its (metropolitan) territory that takes care of its interests outside the official Embassy in a Consulate.
Other uses:
· Consultant, a professional who provides expert advice in a particular domain or area of expertise.
· Counselor, a children's supervisor, usually at camp
· Councillor, a member of a council
· Privy Counsellor, a member of a Privy Council
· Institution of the Counsellors, an appointed position in the Bahá'í Faith
· Disciplinary council, an ecclesiastical trial.
· Sidewalk counseling a form of pro-life activism.
· Counselor (Role Variant), is a name for the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality type INFJ (Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A counselor (or counsellor) in mental health, psychotherapy or counseling is a licensed and professionally trained person who provides services:
Rehabilitation Counselor, a person assisting injured workers and persons with disabilities to obtain, maintain or regain employment
Marriage and Family counseling, a method of study, understanding and treating disorders of the interactional whole of a family and its individual members as a family unit.
School Counselor, a person who provides systematic school guidance
Mental Health Counselor, a professional who provides psychotherapy counseling to individuals or groups, but is also trained in vocational therapy and family therapy.
In Law, Politics and government a counselor may be a:
· Lawyer as in legal counsel
· Minister-counselor, a high-ranking diplomat usually just below the status of an ambassador or of a diplomatic minister.
· Consul, the highest elected office of the Roman Empire or
· Consul (representative), an official representatives of a state, outside its (metropolitan) territory that takes care of its interests outside the official Embassy in a Consulate.
Other uses:
· Consultant, a professional who provides expert advice in a particular domain or area of expertise.
· Counselor, a children's supervisor, usually at camp
· Councillor, a member of a council
· Privy Counsellor, a member of a Privy Council
· Institution of the Counsellors, an appointed position in the Bahá'í Faith
· Disciplinary council, an ecclesiastical trial.
· Sidewalk counseling a form of pro-life activism.
· Counselor (Role Variant), is a name for the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality type INFJ (Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging)
Counsellor: Job description and activities
Counsellor: Job description and activities
Job description
Counsellors help people to explore feelings about their lives so that they can reflect about what is happening to them and consider alternative ways of doing things. Working in a confidential setting, counsellors listen attentively to their clients and offer them the time, empathy and respect they need to express their own feelings, and perhaps understand themselves from a different perspective, thereby reducing their confusion and enabling them to make changes in their life if they decide to do so.
Counsellors do not give advice, but help clients to make their own choices within the framework of an agreed counselling contract.
Typical work activities
There are a range of models of counselling, each with its own theoretical basis. Differences in approach often relate to the individual practitioner's interests and training, the setting in which the counselling consultation takes place, or the predominant client group. There is also no clear distinction between the terms counselling and psychotherapy. Counsellors working in particular fields (e.g. marriage guidance, addiction, sexual abuse, or health) tend to specialise in the models most used in those areas.
Across most areas of counselling, typical work activities include:
establishing a relationship of trust and respect with clients;
agreeing a counselling contract to lay down what will be covered in sessions (including confidentiality issues);
encouraging clients to talk about issues they feel they cannot normally share with others;
actively listening to client concerns and empathising with their position;
accepting without bias the issues raised by clients;
helping clients towards a deeper understanding of their concerns;
challenging any inconsistencies in what clients say or do;
helping clients to make decisions and choices regarding possible ways forward;
referring clients to other sources of help, as appropriate;
attending supervision and training courses;
undertaking personal therapy (mandatory for accreditation);
liaising, as necessary, with other agencies and individuals to help effect change based on the issues raised by clients;
keeping records.
Job description
Counsellors help people to explore feelings about their lives so that they can reflect about what is happening to them and consider alternative ways of doing things. Working in a confidential setting, counsellors listen attentively to their clients and offer them the time, empathy and respect they need to express their own feelings, and perhaps understand themselves from a different perspective, thereby reducing their confusion and enabling them to make changes in their life if they decide to do so.
Counsellors do not give advice, but help clients to make their own choices within the framework of an agreed counselling contract.
Typical work activities
There are a range of models of counselling, each with its own theoretical basis. Differences in approach often relate to the individual practitioner's interests and training, the setting in which the counselling consultation takes place, or the predominant client group. There is also no clear distinction between the terms counselling and psychotherapy. Counsellors working in particular fields (e.g. marriage guidance, addiction, sexual abuse, or health) tend to specialise in the models most used in those areas.
Across most areas of counselling, typical work activities include:
establishing a relationship of trust and respect with clients;
agreeing a counselling contract to lay down what will be covered in sessions (including confidentiality issues);
encouraging clients to talk about issues they feel they cannot normally share with others;
actively listening to client concerns and empathising with their position;
accepting without bias the issues raised by clients;
helping clients towards a deeper understanding of their concerns;
challenging any inconsistencies in what clients say or do;
helping clients to make decisions and choices regarding possible ways forward;
referring clients to other sources of help, as appropriate;
attending supervision and training courses;
undertaking personal therapy (mandatory for accreditation);
liaising, as necessary, with other agencies and individuals to help effect change based on the issues raised by clients;
keeping records.
INDONESIA: CHURCH CLOSURES MOUNT UNDER ISLAMIC PRESSURE
http://compassdirect.org/
Monday March 10, 2008
Muslim groups demand halts to worship on Sumatra, Java islands; others remain closed.
JAKARTA, March 10 (Compass Direct News) – Islamic protestors have halted worship at a church on Sumatra island and at another church on Java island, even as several other churches remain closed after suffering attacks last year.
The congregation of Love Evangelical Bethel Church (Gereja Bethel Injil Kasih Karunia) near Pekanbaru, Riau province on Sumatra island ceased Sunday services after about 60 demonstrators from four local mosques on February 15 demanded its closure.
The demonstrators, led by Harry Cahyono and Victor Ramaddan, protested that the church in Tangkerang Labuai village, Bukit Raya district, did not have a permit for expansion. They wrote, “Do not build without permit” in red paint on the church wall.
The Love Evangelical Bethel congregation is the only church in the village of 14 mosques, none of which have permits, according to the Rev. Alex Ritonga, its pastor. His church is registered with local Religious Affairs authorities, but he said it has no expansion permit as area people had told him they had no objections to any add-ons.
Rev. Ritonga, 62, said the 100-member church was established in 1980 and registered with the area Religion Department Office in Pekanbaru in 1984.
“We will be going to court if this case cannot be discussed between the church assembly and demonstrators,” Rev. Ritonga said.
There are about 15,000 Christians in the province.
Protestors also had staged a demonstration against the church in July 2007.
Ministry Stopped
In Banten province on Java island, a mob of Islamic youths on February 8 marched on a Christian social services house that also served as the place of worship for the Indonesia Pentecostal Church Kalibaru in Melayu village, Teluk Naga district, Tangerang.
Led by two mosque leaders identified only as Boa and Dedi, the mob demanded that the church be closed and disrupted the ministry of the Harvest Community Development, part of the Harvest Ministry Foundation, serving the community’s poor.
“For five years they have provided programs for the local community, such as free medical treatment, scholarships and so on,” said the Rev. Paulus Minangapangpang, pastor of Indonesia Pentecostal Church Kalibaru, which has 30 members. The pastor’s wife and children were at home when the mob arrived and demanded they leave the premises before they sealed the property shut.
“Referring to a new decree in 2006, they demanded that the church must close,” Rev. Minangapangpang said. “They wanted that there be no church services taking place there.”
The Joint Ministerial Decree issued in 1969 and revised in 2006 requires an official permit for any place of worship, but any group applying must have 90 adult members with identification cards, thus excluding small churches such as the of Indonesia Pentecostal Church Kalibaru. In addition, under the decree at least 60 neighbors must give their written consent before an application is made.
Amos Bunga Ridho, Pasar Kemis district leader of the Peace and Prosperity Party (Damai Sejahtera Party, or PDS), said the attacking Muslim youths were part of the Islamic Defenders’ Front (Front Pembela Islam, or FPI), one Indonesia’s most active Muslim extremist groups.
“They collected signatures from local members to close down the church,” said Ridho.
He added that the village head, who goes by the single name of Rahmat, supported their efforts.
Sealed Up
In Central Java, a church in Keji village, near Ungaran, remains sealed up after 150 Muslim extremists and local villagers forced it to close on November 24, 2007.
After showing the pastor a petition opposing Immanuel Pentecostal Church signed by dozens of villagers – though many of the signatures were forged by village head Achmad Syakir, according to the former leader of the hamlet – the mob entered the church and smashed equipment. They blocked the door with logs and leaves, painting red letters on the wall that read “Sealed by the Community.”
“Whoever opens this church again will die,” one of the perpetrators said, according to the pastor, identified only as Harsinah. Syakir, who became village head a year ago, had accused the church of not having a worship-building permit.
Since being established in 1979, the church had obtained written consent from local officials to function as a worship center and conduct weekly services. Djawadin Saragih, a lawyer for the church, said the written consent carried legal force and could not be revoked.
He said the Joint Ministerial Decree that was revised in 2006 did not take effect until years after the church had been established.
“The law is only relevant for worship centers that are about to build new premises,” he said.
Pastor Harsinah said the church had no option but to take legal action, as he had signed an agreement with opponents of the church before they broke in, vandalized and sealed it shut.
“We signed an agreement that stated two points,” he said. “First, that there should be no acts of violence while the case was processed. Secondly, that we would halt the church and children’s programs until the case was resolved.”
House Church Halted
Also on Java island’s Banten province, Jakarta Christian Baptist Church is still closed following an attack by the FPI on November 21 of last year.
The Muslim extremists of the FPI kicked out the doors and windows of the Tangerang home of the Rev. Bedali Hulu, where the church met, and threw out his belongings. Local officials subsequently asked him to leave the area until tensions cooled, and activities at the church came to halt even though it originally had a permit and was registered with Religious Affairs authorities.
Church activities began in June 2005, but objections didn’t arise until January 4, 2007, when some area residents asked that the church shut down because it was meeting in a home. The congregation had its permit from Religious Affairs authorities in Banten province but not one to worship in the house.
“Right now, we cannot do worship activity,” Rev. Hulu said. Moreover, Rev. Hulu does not have permission to return to his home, as police have failed to provide security. Members of the congregation willing and able must travel to a church site 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the house in order to continue worshiping.
Rev. Hulu said he saw no solution to the church closure. Hanie Lawrence, chairman of the PDS of Banten territory, said talks with FPI leaders have been fruitless.
“It was the same as talking with a wall,” Lawrence said.
Still Afraid
In Central Java, many church members of Java Christian Church Dlagu in Sukoharjo are still too fearful to worship after an attack last August by the Surakarta Muslim Warrior Members (Laskar Umat Islam Surakarta), even though four leaders of the extremist group are facing criminal charges.
Church members defending their worship building filed the charges after they were wounded from stones the Muslim extremists threw during the attack.
END
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Monday March 10, 2008
Muslim groups demand halts to worship on Sumatra, Java islands; others remain closed.
JAKARTA, March 10 (Compass Direct News) – Islamic protestors have halted worship at a church on Sumatra island and at another church on Java island, even as several other churches remain closed after suffering attacks last year.
The congregation of Love Evangelical Bethel Church (Gereja Bethel Injil Kasih Karunia) near Pekanbaru, Riau province on Sumatra island ceased Sunday services after about 60 demonstrators from four local mosques on February 15 demanded its closure.
The demonstrators, led by Harry Cahyono and Victor Ramaddan, protested that the church in Tangkerang Labuai village, Bukit Raya district, did not have a permit for expansion. They wrote, “Do not build without permit” in red paint on the church wall.
The Love Evangelical Bethel congregation is the only church in the village of 14 mosques, none of which have permits, according to the Rev. Alex Ritonga, its pastor. His church is registered with local Religious Affairs authorities, but he said it has no expansion permit as area people had told him they had no objections to any add-ons.
Rev. Ritonga, 62, said the 100-member church was established in 1980 and registered with the area Religion Department Office in Pekanbaru in 1984.
“We will be going to court if this case cannot be discussed between the church assembly and demonstrators,” Rev. Ritonga said.
There are about 15,000 Christians in the province.
Protestors also had staged a demonstration against the church in July 2007.
Ministry Stopped
In Banten province on Java island, a mob of Islamic youths on February 8 marched on a Christian social services house that also served as the place of worship for the Indonesia Pentecostal Church Kalibaru in Melayu village, Teluk Naga district, Tangerang.
Led by two mosque leaders identified only as Boa and Dedi, the mob demanded that the church be closed and disrupted the ministry of the Harvest Community Development, part of the Harvest Ministry Foundation, serving the community’s poor.
“For five years they have provided programs for the local community, such as free medical treatment, scholarships and so on,” said the Rev. Paulus Minangapangpang, pastor of Indonesia Pentecostal Church Kalibaru, which has 30 members. The pastor’s wife and children were at home when the mob arrived and demanded they leave the premises before they sealed the property shut.
“Referring to a new decree in 2006, they demanded that the church must close,” Rev. Minangapangpang said. “They wanted that there be no church services taking place there.”
The Joint Ministerial Decree issued in 1969 and revised in 2006 requires an official permit for any place of worship, but any group applying must have 90 adult members with identification cards, thus excluding small churches such as the of Indonesia Pentecostal Church Kalibaru. In addition, under the decree at least 60 neighbors must give their written consent before an application is made.
Amos Bunga Ridho, Pasar Kemis district leader of the Peace and Prosperity Party (Damai Sejahtera Party, or PDS), said the attacking Muslim youths were part of the Islamic Defenders’ Front (Front Pembela Islam, or FPI), one Indonesia’s most active Muslim extremist groups.
“They collected signatures from local members to close down the church,” said Ridho.
He added that the village head, who goes by the single name of Rahmat, supported their efforts.
Sealed Up
In Central Java, a church in Keji village, near Ungaran, remains sealed up after 150 Muslim extremists and local villagers forced it to close on November 24, 2007.
After showing the pastor a petition opposing Immanuel Pentecostal Church signed by dozens of villagers – though many of the signatures were forged by village head Achmad Syakir, according to the former leader of the hamlet – the mob entered the church and smashed equipment. They blocked the door with logs and leaves, painting red letters on the wall that read “Sealed by the Community.”
“Whoever opens this church again will die,” one of the perpetrators said, according to the pastor, identified only as Harsinah. Syakir, who became village head a year ago, had accused the church of not having a worship-building permit.
Since being established in 1979, the church had obtained written consent from local officials to function as a worship center and conduct weekly services. Djawadin Saragih, a lawyer for the church, said the written consent carried legal force and could not be revoked.
He said the Joint Ministerial Decree that was revised in 2006 did not take effect until years after the church had been established.
“The law is only relevant for worship centers that are about to build new premises,” he said.
Pastor Harsinah said the church had no option but to take legal action, as he had signed an agreement with opponents of the church before they broke in, vandalized and sealed it shut.
“We signed an agreement that stated two points,” he said. “First, that there should be no acts of violence while the case was processed. Secondly, that we would halt the church and children’s programs until the case was resolved.”
House Church Halted
Also on Java island’s Banten province, Jakarta Christian Baptist Church is still closed following an attack by the FPI on November 21 of last year.
The Muslim extremists of the FPI kicked out the doors and windows of the Tangerang home of the Rev. Bedali Hulu, where the church met, and threw out his belongings. Local officials subsequently asked him to leave the area until tensions cooled, and activities at the church came to halt even though it originally had a permit and was registered with Religious Affairs authorities.
Church activities began in June 2005, but objections didn’t arise until January 4, 2007, when some area residents asked that the church shut down because it was meeting in a home. The congregation had its permit from Religious Affairs authorities in Banten province but not one to worship in the house.
“Right now, we cannot do worship activity,” Rev. Hulu said. Moreover, Rev. Hulu does not have permission to return to his home, as police have failed to provide security. Members of the congregation willing and able must travel to a church site 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the house in order to continue worshiping.
Rev. Hulu said he saw no solution to the church closure. Hanie Lawrence, chairman of the PDS of Banten territory, said talks with FPI leaders have been fruitless.
“It was the same as talking with a wall,” Lawrence said.
Still Afraid
In Central Java, many church members of Java Christian Church Dlagu in Sukoharjo are still too fearful to worship after an attack last August by the Surakarta Muslim Warrior Members (Laskar Umat Islam Surakarta), even though four leaders of the extremist group are facing criminal charges.
Church members defending their worship building filed the charges after they were wounded from stones the Muslim extremists threw during the attack.
END
Top
Copyright © 2008 Compass DirectNo material on this site may be reprinted or redistributed without special, written permission from Compass Direct
Home
Quicksearch :
Pakistan - Suspects from 2002 Karachi Massacre Arrested
Iraq - Ransom Deadline for Archbishop Today
Nigeria - Northern Church Survives Arson by Muslims
India - Hindu Extremists Assault New Christian Leader
Turkey - Lawyers Demand Removal of Malatya Judges
India - Hindu Extremists Attack Christians in Madhya Pradesh
Gaza Strip - Murder of Gaza Christian Unresolved as Threats Continue
Nigeria - One Dead, Two Injured in Attack on Christians
Nigeria - Spurned Suitor Triggers Violence
Egypt - Tempers Flare into Melee at Convert’s Hearing
Malaysia - Indigenous Group Sues Over Demolished Church
10 pembunuh yang membuat Doa anda tidak punya Kuasa.
Tahun 2008 adalah tahun kebangkitan nasional dari gereja Indonesia. Bertepatan dengan momentum 100 Tahun Kebangkitan Nasional ( 1 Mei 1908-2008) dan 80 tahun Sumpah pemuda ( 1928-2008). Tahun 2008,bagi dunia adalah tahun Tikus, lambing tikus adalah kotor, licik, koruptor, pencuri makanan.Tapi bagi anak Tuhan. Tahun 2008 adalah Tahun kebangkitan dan Tahun kemenangan bagi anak-anak Tuhan di Indonesia. Karena kita diberi kesempatan memasuki 100 tahun Kebangkitan Nasional.
Sejarah adalah milik para pendoa syafaat. Para pendoa mempunyai kuasa dan otoritas dari Maha tinggi mengubah situasi yang tidak menentu menjadi situasi yang penuh harapan dan kemenangan.Bagi anak Tuhan ,tahun ini adalah tahun burung Rajawali. Rajawali lambang kebangkitan dan berani menghadapi badai.
10 pembunuh yang membuat doa anda tidak punya kuasa.
Pembunuh Doa #1: Dosa yang belum diakui.
Mazmur 66:18 Seandainya ada niat jahat dalam hatiku, tentulah Tuhan tidak mau mendengar.
Tuhan adalah sempuna dan tidak bisa kompromi dengan dosa.Jika kita kompromi dengan dosa membuat Tuhan jauh dari kita dan membuat doa kita tidak berkuasa. Kabar baik adalah jika kita mengaku dosa kita maka Tuhan akan mengampuni dosa kita.
Yeremia 31:34 :Dan tidak usah lagi orang mengajar sesamanya atau mengajar saudaranya dengan mengatakan: Kenallah TUHAN! Sebab mereka semua, besar kecil, akan mengenal Aku, demikianlah firman TUHAN, sebab Aku akan mengampuni kesalahan mereka dan tidak lagi mengingat dosa mereka."
1 Yohanes 1:9 Jika kita mengaku dosa kita, maka Ia adalah setia dan adil, sehingga Ia akan mengampuni segala dosa kita dan menyucikan kita dari segala kejahatan.
Pembunuh Doa#2 : Kurangnya Iman
Tanpa iman , doa tidak ada kuasa. Bahkan Jesus tidak bisa melakukan mujizat karena orang Nazaret kurang beriman. (Markus 6:1-6)
Yakobus 1:5-8. Tetapi apabila di antara kamu ada yang kekurangan hikmat, hendaklah ia memintakannya kepada Allah, yang memberikan kepada semua orang dengan murah hati dan dengan tidak membangkit-bangkit,maka hal itu akan diberikan kepadanya.Hendaklah ia memintanya dalam iman, dan sama sekali jangan bimbang, sebab orang yang bimbang sama dengan gelombang laut, yang diombang-ambingkan kian ke mari oleh angin.Orang yang demikian janganlah mengira, bahwa ia akan menerima sesuatu dari Tuhan.Sebab orang yang mendua hati tidak akan tenang dalam hidupnya.
Jesus mengajarkan dalam Matius 21:22.
Dan apa saja yang kamu minta dalam doa dengan penuh kepercayaan, kamu akan menerimanya."
Pembunuh Doa#3: Tidak taat pada Tuhan
1 Yohanes 3:22-23
Dan apa saja yang kita minta, kita memperolehnya dari pada-Nya, karena kita menuruti segala perintah-Nya dan berbuat apa yang berkenan kepada-Nya.Dan inilah perintah-Nya itu: supaya kita percaya akan nama Yesus Kristus, Anak-Nya, dan supaya kita saling mengasihi sesuai dengan perintah yang diberikan Kristus kepada kita.
Tuhan akan menjawab doa kita karena kita taat pada perintahnya. Ketaatan harus menjadi dasar pertumbuhan dari iman kita pada Tuhan dan menjadi doa kita berkuasa.
Pembunuh Doa#4: Tidak ada transparansi dengan Tuhan dan sesama
Yakobus 5:16
Karena itu hendaklah kamu saling mengaku dosamu dan saling mendoakan, supaya kamu sembuh. Doa orang yang benar, bila dengan yakin didoakan, sangat besar kuasanya.
Kitab yakobus menyatakan kebenaran dari Tuhan.Jika kita mengaku dosa dengan sesama dan dimana dibutuhkan transpransi .Tuhan sanggup menyembuhkan kita.Hal yang paling sulit adalah kejujuran dalam pengakuan. Rasa ego menjadi batu penghalang. kita takut reputasi kita tercemar.Tetapi jika taat pada firman Tuhan.Itulah rahasia doa yang berkuasa.Jika kita saling mengaku dosa dan mendoakan.Maka Doa yang telah dibenarkan sangat besar kuasanya.Tuhan hadir jika dua atau tiga orang sepakat dan sehati berdoa. Ini rahasia doa yang penuh kuasa
Pembunuh Doa#5: Tidak mau mengampuni
Kita ingat petrus bertanya pada Tuhan Jesus tentang pengampunan
Matius 18:21-22.
Kemudian datanglah Petrus dan berkata kepada Yesus: "Tuhan, sampai berapa kali aku harus mengampuni saudaraku jika ia berbuat dosa terhadap aku? Sampai tujuh kali?" Yesus berkata kepadanya: "Bukan! Aku berkata kepadamu: Bukan sampai tujuh kali, melainkan sampai tujuh puluh kali tujuh kali.
Matius 6:14-15
Karena jikalau kamu mengampuni kesalahan orang, Bapamu yang di sorga akan mengampuni kamu juga.Tetapi jikalau kamu tidak mengampuni orang, Bapamu juga tidak akan mengampuni kesalahanmu."
Ketika seseorang menolak mengampuni ada akar kepahitan didalam hatinya.Karena tidak mau mengampuni membuat dia terluka dan membuat semakin kepahitan.Dan seseorang tidak dapat berdoa dengan penuh kuasa ketika ada kepahitan.Karena Kuasa Roh kudus tidak bisa tinggal dan bekerja maksimal didalam hati yang penuh kebencian dan kepahitan.
Pembunuh Doa#6: Motivasi yang salah
Yakobus 4:3
Atau kamu berdoa juga, tetapi kamu tidak menerima apa-apa, karena kamu salah berdoa, sebab yang kamu minta itu hendak kamu habiskan untuk memuaskan hawa nafsumu.
Pembunuh Doa#7: Berhala dalam hidup kita
Banyak orang mengira berhala adalah menyembah patung2. Tetapi berhala bisa berwujud dalam berbagai bentuk: Uang ,Karir,anak kita, kesenangan atau hobi dan bahkan pelayanan kita. Sehingga mengangu hubungan kita dengan Tuhan. Berhala adalah Suatu sistem yang membuat kita terikat dan statusnya lebih tinggi dari Tuhan.Sehingga mengangu hubungan komunikasi pribadi kita dengan Tuhan.
Yehezkiel14:3
"Hai anak manusia, orang-orang ini menjunjung berhala-berhala mereka dalam hatinya dan menempatkan di hadapan mereka batu sandungan, yang menjatuhkan mereka ke dalam kesalahan. Apakah Aku mau mereka meminta petunjuk dari pada-Ku?
Pembunuh Doa#8:Tidak menghargai/ menghormati dan mengasihi sesama
Mazmur 33:13-14 : TUHAN memandang dari sorga, Ia melihat semua anak manusia; dari tempat kediaman-Nya Ia menilik semua penduduk bumi.
Tuhan mengasihi semua manusia.Dan Tuhan menginginkan kita mengasihi sesama seperti dianya.Kesatuan anak Tuhan sangat penting. Seperti : Saudara seiman , suami dan istri, Pendeta dan jemaatnya, orang tua dan anak. sehingga doa kita ada kuasa.
Yoh 13:34 : Aku memberikan perintah baru kepada kamu, yaitu supaya kamu saling mengasihi; sama seperti Aku telah mengasihi kamu demikian pula kamu harus saling mengasihi.
1 petrus 3:7 , Demikian juga kamu, hai suami-suami, hiduplah bijaksana dengan isterimu, sebagai kaum yang lebih lemah!Hormatilah mereka sebagai teman pewaris dari kasih karunia, yaitu kehidupan, supaya doamu jangan terhalang.
1 Petrus 2 :13 Tunduklah, karena Allah, kepada semua lembaga manusia, baik kepada raja sebagai pemegang kekuasaan yang tertinggi
Salah satu manfaat dari doa adalah membantu kita untuk belajar mengasihi sesama manusia. Adalah mustahil bagi seseorang jika membenci atau mengkritis seseorang yang mereka doakan. Doa menghasilkan Compassion ( Belas kasihan) bukan Competition ( persaingan)
Pembunuh Doa#9:Tidak menghormati Kedaulatan Tuhan
Tuhan sudah mengenal kita sejak dalam rahim
Yeremia 1:5 "Sebelum Aku membentuk engkau dalam rahim ibumu, Aku telah mengenal engkau, dan sebelum engkau keluar dari kandungan, Aku telah menguduskan engkau,Aku telah menetapkan engkau menjadi nabi bagi bangsa-bangsa."
Ketika Jesus mengajar doa pada murid-muridnya. Dia mengajar untuk menghormati Tuhan.
“ Bapa kami yang di sorga, Dikuduskanlah nama-Mu,datanglah Kerajaan-Mu, jadilah kehendak-Mu di bumi seperti di sorga “ ( Matius 6:9-10). Sangat jelas pernyataan disini Tuhan adalah Maha Kuasa .Kita harus hormat pada otoritas Bapa disurga.Setiap saat kita tidak hormat pada kedaulatan Tuhan, maka kita doa kita tidak ada kuasa.
Pembunuh Doa#10 : Tidak berserah pada kehendak Tuhan
Suatu keuntungan jika kita menyerahkan kehendak kita pada Tuhan, Tuhan berjanji menjawab doa kita.
1 Petrus 3:12 , Sebab mata Tuhan tertuju kepada orang-orang benar, dan telinga-Nya kepada permohonan mereka yang minta tolong,tetapi wajah Tuhan menentang orang-orang yang berbuat jahat."
Kita harus tiap hari bertanya pada Tuhan apakah ada penghalang yang mengangu hubungan kita dengan Tuhan. seperti raja Daud dalam Mazmur 139:23-24 .
Selidikilah aku, ya Allah, dan kenallah hatiku, ujilah aku dan kenallah pikiran-pikiranku;lihatlah, apakah jalanku serong, dan tuntunlah aku di jalan yang kekal!
Kita belajar dari raja Daud. Bagaimana dia mengatasi dosa perzinahannya.Dia seorang penzinah dan pembunuh suami dari Barsyeba. Dan dia merendahkan dirinya dihadapan Tuhan. dan berani mengaku dosanya.Dan membuat dia semakitn dekat dengan Tuhan dengan pengakuan dosanya.Daud adalah contoh yang baik untuk kita teladani.Ketika kita mengaku dosa kita maka Tuhan akan mengampuni dan menjawab doa kita.
Setiap orang berbeda dalam pergumulannya. dari 10 pembunuh doa yang berkuasa . Daftar mana yang menjadi penghalang doa kita dijawab Tuhan. Anda dapat memeriksa bagian mana yang menjadi pembunuh doa anda.
Pembunuh Doa#1: Dosa yang belum diakui.
Pembunuh Doa#2 : Kurangnya Iman
Pembunuh Doa#3: Tidak taat pada Tuhan
Pembunuh Doa#4: Tidak ada Transparansi dengan Tuhan dan sesama
Pembunuh Doa#5: Tidak mau mengampuni
Pembunuh Doa#6: Motivasi yang salah
Pembunuh Doa#7: Berhala dalam hidup kita
Pembunuh Doa#8:Tidak menghargai dan menghormati sesama
Pembunuh Doa#9:Tidak menghormati Kedaulatan Tuhan
Pembunuh Doa#10 : Tidak berserah pada kehendak Tuhan
Jika anda sudah memeriksa semua hal diatas dan sudah membereskan persoalan anda dengan sesama dan Tuhan.Maka Kuasa dari Doa seperti peluru kendali yang melintasi daerah musuh. Kuasa kegelapan akan dihancurkan.Anda punya kuasa untuk mengusir setan,menyembuhkan orang sakit, membawa hadirat kerajaan Allah dimuka bumi.Anda siap menjadi pengubah sejarah.Karena sejarah milik para pendoa syafaat yang diurapi Roh Kudus.
Tugas : Homiletika Bible Leadership school
Nama: Samuel David Immanuel
Dosen: Pdt.Gilbert Lumoindong.
Web: Http://Indonesia99.Blogspot.com
Email: Indonesia99@gmail.com
Sejarah adalah milik para pendoa syafaat. Para pendoa mempunyai kuasa dan otoritas dari Maha tinggi mengubah situasi yang tidak menentu menjadi situasi yang penuh harapan dan kemenangan.Bagi anak Tuhan ,tahun ini adalah tahun burung Rajawali. Rajawali lambang kebangkitan dan berani menghadapi badai.
10 pembunuh yang membuat doa anda tidak punya kuasa.
Pembunuh Doa #1: Dosa yang belum diakui.
Mazmur 66:18 Seandainya ada niat jahat dalam hatiku, tentulah Tuhan tidak mau mendengar.
Tuhan adalah sempuna dan tidak bisa kompromi dengan dosa.Jika kita kompromi dengan dosa membuat Tuhan jauh dari kita dan membuat doa kita tidak berkuasa. Kabar baik adalah jika kita mengaku dosa kita maka Tuhan akan mengampuni dosa kita.
Yeremia 31:34 :Dan tidak usah lagi orang mengajar sesamanya atau mengajar saudaranya dengan mengatakan: Kenallah TUHAN! Sebab mereka semua, besar kecil, akan mengenal Aku, demikianlah firman TUHAN, sebab Aku akan mengampuni kesalahan mereka dan tidak lagi mengingat dosa mereka."
1 Yohanes 1:9 Jika kita mengaku dosa kita, maka Ia adalah setia dan adil, sehingga Ia akan mengampuni segala dosa kita dan menyucikan kita dari segala kejahatan.
Pembunuh Doa#2 : Kurangnya Iman
Tanpa iman , doa tidak ada kuasa. Bahkan Jesus tidak bisa melakukan mujizat karena orang Nazaret kurang beriman. (Markus 6:1-6)
Yakobus 1:5-8. Tetapi apabila di antara kamu ada yang kekurangan hikmat, hendaklah ia memintakannya kepada Allah, yang memberikan kepada semua orang dengan murah hati dan dengan tidak membangkit-bangkit,maka hal itu akan diberikan kepadanya.Hendaklah ia memintanya dalam iman, dan sama sekali jangan bimbang, sebab orang yang bimbang sama dengan gelombang laut, yang diombang-ambingkan kian ke mari oleh angin.Orang yang demikian janganlah mengira, bahwa ia akan menerima sesuatu dari Tuhan.Sebab orang yang mendua hati tidak akan tenang dalam hidupnya.
Jesus mengajarkan dalam Matius 21:22.
Dan apa saja yang kamu minta dalam doa dengan penuh kepercayaan, kamu akan menerimanya."
Pembunuh Doa#3: Tidak taat pada Tuhan
1 Yohanes 3:22-23
Dan apa saja yang kita minta, kita memperolehnya dari pada-Nya, karena kita menuruti segala perintah-Nya dan berbuat apa yang berkenan kepada-Nya.Dan inilah perintah-Nya itu: supaya kita percaya akan nama Yesus Kristus, Anak-Nya, dan supaya kita saling mengasihi sesuai dengan perintah yang diberikan Kristus kepada kita.
Tuhan akan menjawab doa kita karena kita taat pada perintahnya. Ketaatan harus menjadi dasar pertumbuhan dari iman kita pada Tuhan dan menjadi doa kita berkuasa.
Pembunuh Doa#4: Tidak ada transparansi dengan Tuhan dan sesama
Yakobus 5:16
Karena itu hendaklah kamu saling mengaku dosamu dan saling mendoakan, supaya kamu sembuh. Doa orang yang benar, bila dengan yakin didoakan, sangat besar kuasanya.
Kitab yakobus menyatakan kebenaran dari Tuhan.Jika kita mengaku dosa dengan sesama dan dimana dibutuhkan transpransi .Tuhan sanggup menyembuhkan kita.Hal yang paling sulit adalah kejujuran dalam pengakuan. Rasa ego menjadi batu penghalang. kita takut reputasi kita tercemar.Tetapi jika taat pada firman Tuhan.Itulah rahasia doa yang berkuasa.Jika kita saling mengaku dosa dan mendoakan.Maka Doa yang telah dibenarkan sangat besar kuasanya.Tuhan hadir jika dua atau tiga orang sepakat dan sehati berdoa. Ini rahasia doa yang penuh kuasa
Pembunuh Doa#5: Tidak mau mengampuni
Kita ingat petrus bertanya pada Tuhan Jesus tentang pengampunan
Matius 18:21-22.
Kemudian datanglah Petrus dan berkata kepada Yesus: "Tuhan, sampai berapa kali aku harus mengampuni saudaraku jika ia berbuat dosa terhadap aku? Sampai tujuh kali?" Yesus berkata kepadanya: "Bukan! Aku berkata kepadamu: Bukan sampai tujuh kali, melainkan sampai tujuh puluh kali tujuh kali.
Matius 6:14-15
Karena jikalau kamu mengampuni kesalahan orang, Bapamu yang di sorga akan mengampuni kamu juga.Tetapi jikalau kamu tidak mengampuni orang, Bapamu juga tidak akan mengampuni kesalahanmu."
Ketika seseorang menolak mengampuni ada akar kepahitan didalam hatinya.Karena tidak mau mengampuni membuat dia terluka dan membuat semakin kepahitan.Dan seseorang tidak dapat berdoa dengan penuh kuasa ketika ada kepahitan.Karena Kuasa Roh kudus tidak bisa tinggal dan bekerja maksimal didalam hati yang penuh kebencian dan kepahitan.
Pembunuh Doa#6: Motivasi yang salah
Yakobus 4:3
Atau kamu berdoa juga, tetapi kamu tidak menerima apa-apa, karena kamu salah berdoa, sebab yang kamu minta itu hendak kamu habiskan untuk memuaskan hawa nafsumu.
Pembunuh Doa#7: Berhala dalam hidup kita
Banyak orang mengira berhala adalah menyembah patung2. Tetapi berhala bisa berwujud dalam berbagai bentuk: Uang ,Karir,anak kita, kesenangan atau hobi dan bahkan pelayanan kita. Sehingga mengangu hubungan kita dengan Tuhan. Berhala adalah Suatu sistem yang membuat kita terikat dan statusnya lebih tinggi dari Tuhan.Sehingga mengangu hubungan komunikasi pribadi kita dengan Tuhan.
Yehezkiel14:3
"Hai anak manusia, orang-orang ini menjunjung berhala-berhala mereka dalam hatinya dan menempatkan di hadapan mereka batu sandungan, yang menjatuhkan mereka ke dalam kesalahan. Apakah Aku mau mereka meminta petunjuk dari pada-Ku?
Pembunuh Doa#8:Tidak menghargai/ menghormati dan mengasihi sesama
Mazmur 33:13-14 : TUHAN memandang dari sorga, Ia melihat semua anak manusia; dari tempat kediaman-Nya Ia menilik semua penduduk bumi.
Tuhan mengasihi semua manusia.Dan Tuhan menginginkan kita mengasihi sesama seperti dianya.Kesatuan anak Tuhan sangat penting. Seperti : Saudara seiman , suami dan istri, Pendeta dan jemaatnya, orang tua dan anak. sehingga doa kita ada kuasa.
Yoh 13:34 : Aku memberikan perintah baru kepada kamu, yaitu supaya kamu saling mengasihi; sama seperti Aku telah mengasihi kamu demikian pula kamu harus saling mengasihi.
1 petrus 3:7 , Demikian juga kamu, hai suami-suami, hiduplah bijaksana dengan isterimu, sebagai kaum yang lebih lemah!Hormatilah mereka sebagai teman pewaris dari kasih karunia, yaitu kehidupan, supaya doamu jangan terhalang.
1 Petrus 2 :13 Tunduklah, karena Allah, kepada semua lembaga manusia, baik kepada raja sebagai pemegang kekuasaan yang tertinggi
Salah satu manfaat dari doa adalah membantu kita untuk belajar mengasihi sesama manusia. Adalah mustahil bagi seseorang jika membenci atau mengkritis seseorang yang mereka doakan. Doa menghasilkan Compassion ( Belas kasihan) bukan Competition ( persaingan)
Pembunuh Doa#9:Tidak menghormati Kedaulatan Tuhan
Tuhan sudah mengenal kita sejak dalam rahim
Yeremia 1:5 "Sebelum Aku membentuk engkau dalam rahim ibumu, Aku telah mengenal engkau, dan sebelum engkau keluar dari kandungan, Aku telah menguduskan engkau,Aku telah menetapkan engkau menjadi nabi bagi bangsa-bangsa."
Ketika Jesus mengajar doa pada murid-muridnya. Dia mengajar untuk menghormati Tuhan.
“ Bapa kami yang di sorga, Dikuduskanlah nama-Mu,datanglah Kerajaan-Mu, jadilah kehendak-Mu di bumi seperti di sorga “ ( Matius 6:9-10). Sangat jelas pernyataan disini Tuhan adalah Maha Kuasa .Kita harus hormat pada otoritas Bapa disurga.Setiap saat kita tidak hormat pada kedaulatan Tuhan, maka kita doa kita tidak ada kuasa.
Pembunuh Doa#10 : Tidak berserah pada kehendak Tuhan
Suatu keuntungan jika kita menyerahkan kehendak kita pada Tuhan, Tuhan berjanji menjawab doa kita.
1 Petrus 3:12 , Sebab mata Tuhan tertuju kepada orang-orang benar, dan telinga-Nya kepada permohonan mereka yang minta tolong,tetapi wajah Tuhan menentang orang-orang yang berbuat jahat."
Kita harus tiap hari bertanya pada Tuhan apakah ada penghalang yang mengangu hubungan kita dengan Tuhan. seperti raja Daud dalam Mazmur 139:23-24 .
Selidikilah aku, ya Allah, dan kenallah hatiku, ujilah aku dan kenallah pikiran-pikiranku;lihatlah, apakah jalanku serong, dan tuntunlah aku di jalan yang kekal!
Kita belajar dari raja Daud. Bagaimana dia mengatasi dosa perzinahannya.Dia seorang penzinah dan pembunuh suami dari Barsyeba. Dan dia merendahkan dirinya dihadapan Tuhan. dan berani mengaku dosanya.Dan membuat dia semakitn dekat dengan Tuhan dengan pengakuan dosanya.Daud adalah contoh yang baik untuk kita teladani.Ketika kita mengaku dosa kita maka Tuhan akan mengampuni dan menjawab doa kita.
Setiap orang berbeda dalam pergumulannya. dari 10 pembunuh doa yang berkuasa . Daftar mana yang menjadi penghalang doa kita dijawab Tuhan. Anda dapat memeriksa bagian mana yang menjadi pembunuh doa anda.
Pembunuh Doa#1: Dosa yang belum diakui.
Pembunuh Doa#2 : Kurangnya Iman
Pembunuh Doa#3: Tidak taat pada Tuhan
Pembunuh Doa#4: Tidak ada Transparansi dengan Tuhan dan sesama
Pembunuh Doa#5: Tidak mau mengampuni
Pembunuh Doa#6: Motivasi yang salah
Pembunuh Doa#7: Berhala dalam hidup kita
Pembunuh Doa#8:Tidak menghargai dan menghormati sesama
Pembunuh Doa#9:Tidak menghormati Kedaulatan Tuhan
Pembunuh Doa#10 : Tidak berserah pada kehendak Tuhan
Jika anda sudah memeriksa semua hal diatas dan sudah membereskan persoalan anda dengan sesama dan Tuhan.Maka Kuasa dari Doa seperti peluru kendali yang melintasi daerah musuh. Kuasa kegelapan akan dihancurkan.Anda punya kuasa untuk mengusir setan,menyembuhkan orang sakit, membawa hadirat kerajaan Allah dimuka bumi.Anda siap menjadi pengubah sejarah.Karena sejarah milik para pendoa syafaat yang diurapi Roh Kudus.
Tugas : Homiletika Bible Leadership school
Nama: Samuel David Immanuel
Dosen: Pdt.Gilbert Lumoindong.
Web: Http://Indonesia99.Blogspot.com
Email: Indonesia99@gmail.com
FASTING: The Natural Healer
By Penny Warren
"In my opinion, the greatest discovery by modern man is the power to rejuvenate himself physically, mentally, and spiritually with Rational Fasting." The Miracle of Fasting by Paul Bragg, ND, PhD (p. 5).
"No-one realizes how powerful juice-fasting is- until they do it. Then they will never live without it." Richard Schultz, Medical Herbalist and nutritional expert, "JUICE- FASTING: The powerful healing therapy that no-one ever uses." http://home.online.no/~dusan/schulze/herbal news juice fasting.html
Introduction
Fasting has been a pat of mankind’s existence for thousand of years, as numerous ancient cultures have documented. Fasting was used in mourning rites, initiations into priesthoods, and religious rituals to appease various gods. In modern times, fasting has been used as a form of political protest, to tap into paranormal experiences, and to improve personal health as this article will explain. Most people, however, are unaware of the benefits of fasting because of the pervasive belief in our society of excess and overabundance that more is better than less.
What is the intent of this article?
This article will be the first in a series of articles on fasting. It will appear in two parts and focus on fasting’s effect on the physical body's health, especially as a tool for preventive medicine. Part One of this series will examine fasting in the Hebrew culture and the theory behind fasting. Part Two will provide practical applications and answers to some frequent concerns of first time fasters, including reactions to toxins that are released during a fast. Since the physical body is a temple (1 Cor. 6:19), there must be knowledge of how to keep this temple functioning optimally. Dr. Paul Bragg said that everyone should regard his health "as the most precious temporal blessing that he can possess … He should maintain it in Supreme health, because that is far more important than a knowledge of all the arts (The Miracle of Fasting, p. 106)."
When fasting is examined in terms of health, the two most popular types of fasts are juice fasting and distilled water fasting. Although fasting experts differ in the type of fasts that they believe is most effective, they all agree on the following. If the energy used for digestion is available for cellular repair, elimination, and rejuvenation, the body will begin to purify and heal itself by utilizing its reserve in inverse order of important. Fat, tumors, and damaged cells go first, vital muscle tissue and essential organs last.
This article will also explore the spiritual significance of fasting from physical food, which is a type of spiritual fasting. Now natural fasting causes a power latent in man so powerful and intelligent that it heals the body. Likewise there is power that heals the soul and mind when it fasts from negative attributes as hate, low self esteem, pride, jealously, doubt, etc..
Before we explore why people think it is healthy to eat three meat protein meals a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year with sugary or heavily salted, refined and processed snacks in between, we want to briefly cover fasting within the Hebrew culture.
Did the Hebrews fast?
Fasting is mentioned over 40 times in the Old and New Testament of the Bible. The Hebrew word for fasting is "(tsum,’ ‘innah nephesh, "afflict soul or self " i.e, practice self-denial,’ nesteia, nesteuein):, according to the International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright (c)1996 by Biblesoft). It is mentioned in the prophets and the historical books (2 Sam 12:16; 1 Kings 21:9-12; Ezra 8:21; Isa 58:3-5; Joel 1:14; 2:15; Zech 8:19; etc.). However, it is not mentioned in the first five books of the Old Testament or the Torah.
The Jewish fasts were observed with various degrees of strictness. When the fast lasted only a single day, from evening to evening, it was the practice to abstain from every kind of food, including water. Whereas in the case of private fasts of a more prolonged character, the practice was merely to drink water and abstain from ordinary food.
When did Israel fast?
As one reads the Bible, one can see the circumstances in which Israel fasted.
The Hebrews were in the habit of fasting whenever they were in hard and trying circumstances (1 Sam 1:7), had misfortune, experienced bereavement (20:34; 31:13; 1:12), were threatened of God’s judgments (12:16; 21:27), fell into grievous sin (Ezra 10:6), or wanted to avert heavy affliction (Est. 4: 1,3,16).
Theocratic authorities appointed extraordinary fasts on occasions of great national calamity. Fasting was declared so that the people might humble themselves before Yahweh because of their sins. Following this practice averted His wrath and got Him to look upon them again with favor (Judg 20:26; 1 Sam 7:6; 2 Chron 20:3; Joel 1:14; 2:12; Jer 36:9; Ezra 8:21; Neh 1:4; 2 Macc. 13:12).
King David wrote the following verse that exemplifies the principle of fasting, a humbling of one’s soul before Elohim. He wrote: "But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom (Ps. 35:13 KJV)." Thus, the expression "humble your souls" used in the Law (Lev 16:29-31; 23:27; Num 30:13), implies the sacrifice of personal will and submission to a higher power, which exemplifies the principles and value of fasting.
The Mosaic Law prescribed only one public occasion of strict fasting. Once a year on the great Day of Atonement, this observance seems always to have retained some prominence as "the fast" (Acts 27:9). But as to the nature of the observance, we are nowhere expressly informed, excepting that "it shall be a holy convocation for you" (Lev 23:27-29).
What did the Messiah say about fasting?
When the Messiah was in His ministry, He pointed out the hypocrisy of Israel’s fasting. The religious heads of Israel had turned fasting into work of righteousness and made it a public affair. The Messiah said: "Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast, Verily I say unto you, They have their reward, But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face,’ That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly (KJV Matt 6: 16-18)." The Messiah knew that fasting from food was a private matter and reflected fasting from negative principles, such as doubt, pride, exaltation, anger, fear, etc. No matter how long someone fasts from physical foods, it is not enough to transform his mind or regenerate his soul.
The Messiah told His disciples about spiritual fasting when they could not heal a little boy, who was being plagued by demons (Mk. 9:18-19). The disciples asked the master why they could not cast out this spirit (Mk. 9:28-29). He told them that only much fasting and prayer could cast out the spirit.
What effect does fasting have on health?
Now neither Israel nor other ancient cultures fully understood the impact of fasting upon a person’s health. It has only been in modern times that the benefits of fasting for the body’s health have been scientifically studied and documented. Since the early 1900’s, Paul Bragg promoted the concept of regular fasting to extend life and regain health. Dr. Bragg was the originator of "Health Food Stores" in America, the grandfather of modern natural nutrition, the first person to introduce Juice Therapy in America by importing the first hand juicers, and a man responsible for more firsts in the history of the health movement than any other person.
Let me say at the outset of this article that fasting is not a cure, but a safe, non-toxic, inexpensive, internal cleansing that creates the most ideal conditions in the body for it to heal and purify itself. In short, fasting is a rest or Sabbath from food that restores health through ridding the body of toxins.
Dr. Paul Bragg states: "… fasting is not a cure of any disease or ailment. The purpose of the fast is to allow the body full range and scope to fulfill its self-healing, self-repairing, self-rejuvenating functions to the best advantage. … … [Fasting is] probably the fastest and safest way or means of regaining health ever conceived by the human man. … Fasting puts the body in a condition where all the Vital Force of the body is used to flush out the causes of body miseries (The Miracle of Fasting, p. 145)."
Steve Meyerowitz explains in his book Juice Fasting and Detoxification that: "our bodies are natural healers. ...Without obstacles in its way, our bodies will automatically seek health through the process of eliminating poisons and balancing chemistry. There is a vital force within us that can heal and when that vitality is not exhausted by physical activity, drained by the task of digestion or enervated by stress, it is available to heal. Fasting, essentially promotes self-healing by casting off poisons. It is not so much a cure as it is an opportunity to rejuvenation, ... (p. 2-3)"
Joel Fuhrman, M.D. confirms the restorative powers of a fast. "Fasting enables the body to repair and rejuvenate its own tissues, by directly providing the conditions for recovery and removing the impediments that curtail your recuperative powers. The fast establishes a unique opportunity, vital for the restoration of health." (Fasting and Eating for Health, p. 4)
As noted at the beginning of the article, Richard Schultz also believes in the power of fasting. "Juice fasting is for the incurables. Juice fasting is the answer, because it allows your body to rest—and it lets your body choose what it wants to heal." JUICE-FASTING: The powerful healing therapy that no-one ever uses. http://home.online.no/~dusan/schulze/herbal news juice fasting.html'
Now the above quotes and others describe the purpose and efficacy of fasting.
What is fasting?
Joel Fuhrman, M.D. states: "Fasting, in the strictest sense, is defined as the voluntary abstinence from all food and drink, except water, as long as the nutritional reserves of the body are adequate to sustain normal function. This is a state of relative physiologic rest. (Fasting and Eating for Health, p. 8)"
People who juice fast (drink fruit and vegetable juices in addition to water), fruit fast (eat only fruits), follow mono-diets (eat one food a day), or are liquitarians (drink fiberless liquids including juice, herbal teas, vegetable broths, etc.) are actually limiting their dietary intake. But since nutrition is being taken, in the strict sense, these regimens cannot technically be called a fast. However, Steve Meyerowitz states that "modified fasts are all described as fasts for a good reason, The word ‘fast’ actually comes from the archaic Teutonic language fasestan meaning ‘strict.’ These diets are indeed strict in the sense that they stick to a particular regimen, but because that regimen includes nourishment, they cannot be called fasts in the ‘strict’ sense of the word, (Juice Fasting and Detoxification, p. 5)"
Mr. Meyerowitz thinks the semantics are irrelevant since all fasts are valuable as they involve cleansing or balancing the body chemistry. These restricted regimens may be just what a first time fasters needs to develop knowledge or self-assuredness before entering a full-fledged fast.
Richard Schultze states: "Most people think a fast means deprivation, I see it differently, A fast is a flush -a flush with liquids."
Dr. Joel Fuhrman states: "Therapeutic fasting is not a mystical or magical cure. It works because the body has within it the capacity to heal when the obstacles to healing are removed. Health is the normal state. Most chronic disease is the inevitable consequence of living a life-style that places disease-causing stressors on the human organism. Fasting gives the body an interlude without those stressors so that it can speedily repair or accomplish healing that could not otherwise occur in the feeding state. (Fasting and Eating for Health, p. 7)
What are the benefits of fasting?
Quick, safe, long-lasting weight loss is the most obvious result of fasting. Weight loss to fasting is like getting wet is to swimming. You can’t do one without the other. In fact fasting can break many food addictions, such as coffee, sweets, alcohol, smoke and other bad habits (Juice Fasting and Detoxification, p. 9). Although some people may be attracted to fasting for weight maintenance alone, there are other, more vital benefits that result when one stops eating.
"During a fast:
• The natural process of toxin excretion continues, while the influx of new toxins is reduced, This results in a reduction of total body toxicity.
• The energy usually used for digestion is redirected to immune function, cell growth, and eliminatory processes.
• The immune system’s workload is greatly reduced, and the digestive tract is spared any inflammation due to allergic reactions to food.
• Due to a lowering of serum fats that thins the blood; tissue oxygenation is increased and white blood cells are moved more efficiently.
• Fat-stored chemicals, such as pesticides and drugs, are released.
• Physical awareness and sensitivity to diet and surroundings are increased.
Due to these effects of fasting, a fast can help you heal with greater speed,’ cleanse your liver, kidneys, and colon,’ purify your blood,’ help you lose excess weight and water,’ flush out toxins,. clear the eyes and tongue,’ and cleanse the breath."
(Prescription for Nutritional Healing by James and Phyllis Balch, pp. 548-550)
Steve Meyerowitz in his book, Juice Fasting and Detoxification, lists allergies, skin diseases, and digestive disorders that have historically responded well to fasting (p. 9). Mr. Meyerowitz uses "the word ‘historically’ because fasting, today, is not recognized to be of legitimate therapeutic values by allopathic medicine (p. 8)," which we will discuss later. Allergies that fasting has helped are asthma, bronchitis, hay fever, hives, rheumatism, obesity, insomnia, migraine headaches, inflammations, arteriosclerosis and high/low blood pressure. He lists skins diseases such as acne, psoriasis, ulcers, and boils. Digestive disorders that improve with fasting are liver problems, constipation, gall stones, diarrhea, and tumors. Mr. Meyerowitz says that even if a person does not have serious ailments, they "may chose to fast purely for purposes of detoxification and health improvement. This is more a measure of prevention than a treatment of disease. Periodic fasting maintains an optimum level of functioning (p. 9)."
Do animals fast?
In the animal kingdom, fasting is quite common. Animals instinctively fast when sick or hurt. The wounded animal finds a warm secluded spot where it can lie undisturbed to rest and fast for a period of time until it is restored. The ill animal sips only water until well again. (Fasting and Eating for Health, p. 13).
Steve Meyerowitz said that in a study on mice that were fasted every third day the lifespan of mice increased by 40 percent (p. 9).
Does digesting food take a lot of energy?
Digestion drains the body of energy and diverts the healing processes. Richard Schultz states that to digest food takes a tremendous amount of blood and energy to fill the muscles and the tissues of our digestive system. "When you stop eating, your digestive system rests, and all that blood and energy can be put somewhere else to heal you.") JUICE-FASTING: The powerful healing therapy that no-one ever uses. http://home.online.no/~dusan/schulze/herbal news juice fasting.html
The body is constantly busy with the metabolic process, changing food into energy and cell tissue. Fasting allows the body to purge itself from toxins, metabolic debris.
"Each time we take in food we take in not only nutrients but also additives and other toxins. The digestive tract, the liver, the kidney, and other organs must work to remove these non-nutritive substances from the body. These wastes include by-products of digestion, bacterial by-products from the decomposition of inadequately digested foodstuffs, and excess nutrients the body cannot use. All these as well as the waste products of normal cellular metabolism must be actively eliminated for us to maintain excellent health.
Food; therefore, while providing essential nutrients for life, also introduces toxins. Fasting, particularly when we are ill and the body is already overburdened with self-produced wastes, can provide a welcome relief by halting the introduction of further toxins and waste products. Without this extra burden, the body is finally able to heal itself (Joel Fuhrman, Fasting and Eating for Health, p. 8)."
Can the body regenerate?
Since the body is wonderfully and fearfully made (Psa. 139:14), one of its attributes is self-healing or regeneration.
Dr. Paul Bragg said: "Healing is an internal, biological function that only the body can perform, and by fasting you are helping your body do its work efficiently (The Miracle of Fasting, p. 107)."
Dr. Joel Fuhrman knows that the normal state of the body is health and the body will maintain health when the disease-causing stresses are removed. "… Within a short period of time, allergic and mucus-filled individuals clear their nasal passages, asthmatics breathe easier, arthritis sufferers report their pain is resolving, and cardiac patients begin to have increased circulation to their hearts. Healing has begun.
… In our society, most people eat heavy foods during much of their waking hours. This not only overworks the digestive tract, but also forces the body to continue its work of digesting and absorbing foodstuffs and eliminating food-derived wastes well into the night. This prevents the body from totally directing its energies toward repair and self-cleansing of its tissues.
To regain normalcy or health, individuals suffering from chronic illnesses must rid their systems of the burdens of toxic material and excesses, such as fatty or swollen tissues or atherolerotic plaque. … Fasting offers an efficient means of accomplishing healing that is dependent on the elimination of retained waste. This is because fasting gives the body an opportunity to focus completely on the elimination of the waste deposits and the purification of its tissues that are necessary to reach a recovered state of health. (Fasting and Eating for Health, p. 15)
The body’s wondrous ability to autolyze (or self-digest) and destroy needless tissue such as fat, tumors, blood vessel plaque, and other nonessential and diseased tissues, while conserving essential tissues, gives the fast the ability to restore physiologic youth to the system. (Fasting and Eating for Health, p. 16)
Scientific studies prove fasters live longer, better quality lives.
What does allopathic medicine use to treat illness?
As the Scribes and Pharisees rejected the Messiah’s healing, allopathic medicine has frowned on fasting. "The medical profession’s primary method, over the last century for combating the effects of improper diet and life-style has been to offer medication and surgery. This approach has not been effective. Almost every medical treatment offered for the chronic sufferer today attempts only to control symptoms. There are no "cures." The current medical treatments not only have risks, but also represent a Band-Aid type of approach—they can offer relief from symptoms, but they cannot cure because they do not address the cause of the disease. Under "modern" medicine, the incidence of most chronic diseases has increased and the vast, majority of people are still dying from what are preventable, diet- and life-style induced illnesses." (Fasting and Eating for Health, Dr. Joel Fuhrman, p. 21)
Conclusion
In an effort to achieve optimal health, one must do three things. Stop the toxins, internally cleanse the body, and nourish it. If people understood the power that can be released in the body through fasting, everyone would practice it with diligence and regularity. However, very few individuals will choose less instead of more. Dr. Joel Fuhrman states that: "the self healing power of the body is often overlooked because it is rarely given a chance to act in a world that expects the quick fix. " (Fasting and Eating for Health, p. 4)
As long as the advertising media offers the public one more diet substance, remedy, cure (a silver bullet) that promises to give them health, most people will not make a total change in their lifestyle. They would rather continue the conditions that made them sick in the first place and take, in addition to the poisons they consume, one more pill that supposedly will counter all their years of abuses. One treatment cannot fix years of damaging the body. For healing to occur there must be a change in lifestyle. Fasting is a place to start.
Sources
Balch, James and Phyllis, Prescription for Nutritional Healing, (Copyright 1977, Avery Publishing Group, Garden City Park, New York)
Barron, Jon, Lessons from The "Miracle Doctors", (Copyright 1999, Progress Printing Co. Inc.)
Bragg, Paul, ND, PhD, The Miracle of Fasting, (Copyright MCMXC Health Science)
Fuhrman, Joel, M.D., Fasting and Eating for Health, (Copyright 1995, St. Martin’s Griffin, New York)
Meyerowitz, Steve, Juice Fasting and Detoxification, (Copyright April 1999, Copyright 1984, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1996 Book Publishing Company)
Meyerowitz, Steve, Power Juices, Super Drinks
Schultz, Richard, JUICE- FASTING: The powerful healing therapy that no-one ever uses." http://home.online.no/~dusan/schulze/herbal news juice fasting.html
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"In my opinion, the greatest discovery by modern man is the power to rejuvenate himself physically, mentally, and spiritually with Rational Fasting." The Miracle of Fasting by Paul Bragg, ND, PhD (p. 5).
"No-one realizes how powerful juice-fasting is- until they do it. Then they will never live without it." Richard Schultz, Medical Herbalist and nutritional expert, "JUICE- FASTING: The powerful healing therapy that no-one ever uses." http://home.online.no/~dusan/schulze/herbal news juice fasting.html
Introduction
Fasting has been a pat of mankind’s existence for thousand of years, as numerous ancient cultures have documented. Fasting was used in mourning rites, initiations into priesthoods, and religious rituals to appease various gods. In modern times, fasting has been used as a form of political protest, to tap into paranormal experiences, and to improve personal health as this article will explain. Most people, however, are unaware of the benefits of fasting because of the pervasive belief in our society of excess and overabundance that more is better than less.
What is the intent of this article?
This article will be the first in a series of articles on fasting. It will appear in two parts and focus on fasting’s effect on the physical body's health, especially as a tool for preventive medicine. Part One of this series will examine fasting in the Hebrew culture and the theory behind fasting. Part Two will provide practical applications and answers to some frequent concerns of first time fasters, including reactions to toxins that are released during a fast. Since the physical body is a temple (1 Cor. 6:19), there must be knowledge of how to keep this temple functioning optimally. Dr. Paul Bragg said that everyone should regard his health "as the most precious temporal blessing that he can possess … He should maintain it in Supreme health, because that is far more important than a knowledge of all the arts (The Miracle of Fasting, p. 106)."
When fasting is examined in terms of health, the two most popular types of fasts are juice fasting and distilled water fasting. Although fasting experts differ in the type of fasts that they believe is most effective, they all agree on the following. If the energy used for digestion is available for cellular repair, elimination, and rejuvenation, the body will begin to purify and heal itself by utilizing its reserve in inverse order of important. Fat, tumors, and damaged cells go first, vital muscle tissue and essential organs last.
This article will also explore the spiritual significance of fasting from physical food, which is a type of spiritual fasting. Now natural fasting causes a power latent in man so powerful and intelligent that it heals the body. Likewise there is power that heals the soul and mind when it fasts from negative attributes as hate, low self esteem, pride, jealously, doubt, etc..
Before we explore why people think it is healthy to eat three meat protein meals a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year with sugary or heavily salted, refined and processed snacks in between, we want to briefly cover fasting within the Hebrew culture.
Did the Hebrews fast?
Fasting is mentioned over 40 times in the Old and New Testament of the Bible. The Hebrew word for fasting is "(tsum,’ ‘innah nephesh, "afflict soul or self " i.e, practice self-denial,’ nesteia, nesteuein):, according to the International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright (c)1996 by Biblesoft). It is mentioned in the prophets and the historical books (2 Sam 12:16; 1 Kings 21:9-12; Ezra 8:21; Isa 58:3-5; Joel 1:14; 2:15; Zech 8:19; etc.). However, it is not mentioned in the first five books of the Old Testament or the Torah.
The Jewish fasts were observed with various degrees of strictness. When the fast lasted only a single day, from evening to evening, it was the practice to abstain from every kind of food, including water. Whereas in the case of private fasts of a more prolonged character, the practice was merely to drink water and abstain from ordinary food.
When did Israel fast?
As one reads the Bible, one can see the circumstances in which Israel fasted.
The Hebrews were in the habit of fasting whenever they were in hard and trying circumstances (1 Sam 1:7), had misfortune, experienced bereavement (20:34; 31:13; 1:12), were threatened of God’s judgments (12:16; 21:27), fell into grievous sin (Ezra 10:6), or wanted to avert heavy affliction (Est. 4: 1,3,16).
Theocratic authorities appointed extraordinary fasts on occasions of great national calamity. Fasting was declared so that the people might humble themselves before Yahweh because of their sins. Following this practice averted His wrath and got Him to look upon them again with favor (Judg 20:26; 1 Sam 7:6; 2 Chron 20:3; Joel 1:14; 2:12; Jer 36:9; Ezra 8:21; Neh 1:4; 2 Macc. 13:12).
King David wrote the following verse that exemplifies the principle of fasting, a humbling of one’s soul before Elohim. He wrote: "But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom (Ps. 35:13 KJV)." Thus, the expression "humble your souls" used in the Law (Lev 16:29-31; 23:27; Num 30:13), implies the sacrifice of personal will and submission to a higher power, which exemplifies the principles and value of fasting.
The Mosaic Law prescribed only one public occasion of strict fasting. Once a year on the great Day of Atonement, this observance seems always to have retained some prominence as "the fast" (Acts 27:9). But as to the nature of the observance, we are nowhere expressly informed, excepting that "it shall be a holy convocation for you" (Lev 23:27-29).
What did the Messiah say about fasting?
When the Messiah was in His ministry, He pointed out the hypocrisy of Israel’s fasting. The religious heads of Israel had turned fasting into work of righteousness and made it a public affair. The Messiah said: "Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast, Verily I say unto you, They have their reward, But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face,’ That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly (KJV Matt 6: 16-18)." The Messiah knew that fasting from food was a private matter and reflected fasting from negative principles, such as doubt, pride, exaltation, anger, fear, etc. No matter how long someone fasts from physical foods, it is not enough to transform his mind or regenerate his soul.
The Messiah told His disciples about spiritual fasting when they could not heal a little boy, who was being plagued by demons (Mk. 9:18-19). The disciples asked the master why they could not cast out this spirit (Mk. 9:28-29). He told them that only much fasting and prayer could cast out the spirit.
What effect does fasting have on health?
Now neither Israel nor other ancient cultures fully understood the impact of fasting upon a person’s health. It has only been in modern times that the benefits of fasting for the body’s health have been scientifically studied and documented. Since the early 1900’s, Paul Bragg promoted the concept of regular fasting to extend life and regain health. Dr. Bragg was the originator of "Health Food Stores" in America, the grandfather of modern natural nutrition, the first person to introduce Juice Therapy in America by importing the first hand juicers, and a man responsible for more firsts in the history of the health movement than any other person.
Let me say at the outset of this article that fasting is not a cure, but a safe, non-toxic, inexpensive, internal cleansing that creates the most ideal conditions in the body for it to heal and purify itself. In short, fasting is a rest or Sabbath from food that restores health through ridding the body of toxins.
Dr. Paul Bragg states: "… fasting is not a cure of any disease or ailment. The purpose of the fast is to allow the body full range and scope to fulfill its self-healing, self-repairing, self-rejuvenating functions to the best advantage. … … [Fasting is] probably the fastest and safest way or means of regaining health ever conceived by the human man. … Fasting puts the body in a condition where all the Vital Force of the body is used to flush out the causes of body miseries (The Miracle of Fasting, p. 145)."
Steve Meyerowitz explains in his book Juice Fasting and Detoxification that: "our bodies are natural healers. ...Without obstacles in its way, our bodies will automatically seek health through the process of eliminating poisons and balancing chemistry. There is a vital force within us that can heal and when that vitality is not exhausted by physical activity, drained by the task of digestion or enervated by stress, it is available to heal. Fasting, essentially promotes self-healing by casting off poisons. It is not so much a cure as it is an opportunity to rejuvenation, ... (p. 2-3)"
Joel Fuhrman, M.D. confirms the restorative powers of a fast. "Fasting enables the body to repair and rejuvenate its own tissues, by directly providing the conditions for recovery and removing the impediments that curtail your recuperative powers. The fast establishes a unique opportunity, vital for the restoration of health." (Fasting and Eating for Health, p. 4)
As noted at the beginning of the article, Richard Schultz also believes in the power of fasting. "Juice fasting is for the incurables. Juice fasting is the answer, because it allows your body to rest—and it lets your body choose what it wants to heal." JUICE-FASTING: The powerful healing therapy that no-one ever uses. http://home.online.no/~dusan/schulze/herbal news juice fasting.html'
Now the above quotes and others describe the purpose and efficacy of fasting.
What is fasting?
Joel Fuhrman, M.D. states: "Fasting, in the strictest sense, is defined as the voluntary abstinence from all food and drink, except water, as long as the nutritional reserves of the body are adequate to sustain normal function. This is a state of relative physiologic rest. (Fasting and Eating for Health, p. 8)"
People who juice fast (drink fruit and vegetable juices in addition to water), fruit fast (eat only fruits), follow mono-diets (eat one food a day), or are liquitarians (drink fiberless liquids including juice, herbal teas, vegetable broths, etc.) are actually limiting their dietary intake. But since nutrition is being taken, in the strict sense, these regimens cannot technically be called a fast. However, Steve Meyerowitz states that "modified fasts are all described as fasts for a good reason, The word ‘fast’ actually comes from the archaic Teutonic language fasestan meaning ‘strict.’ These diets are indeed strict in the sense that they stick to a particular regimen, but because that regimen includes nourishment, they cannot be called fasts in the ‘strict’ sense of the word, (Juice Fasting and Detoxification, p. 5)"
Mr. Meyerowitz thinks the semantics are irrelevant since all fasts are valuable as they involve cleansing or balancing the body chemistry. These restricted regimens may be just what a first time fasters needs to develop knowledge or self-assuredness before entering a full-fledged fast.
Richard Schultze states: "Most people think a fast means deprivation, I see it differently, A fast is a flush -a flush with liquids."
Dr. Joel Fuhrman states: "Therapeutic fasting is not a mystical or magical cure. It works because the body has within it the capacity to heal when the obstacles to healing are removed. Health is the normal state. Most chronic disease is the inevitable consequence of living a life-style that places disease-causing stressors on the human organism. Fasting gives the body an interlude without those stressors so that it can speedily repair or accomplish healing that could not otherwise occur in the feeding state. (Fasting and Eating for Health, p. 7)
What are the benefits of fasting?
Quick, safe, long-lasting weight loss is the most obvious result of fasting. Weight loss to fasting is like getting wet is to swimming. You can’t do one without the other. In fact fasting can break many food addictions, such as coffee, sweets, alcohol, smoke and other bad habits (Juice Fasting and Detoxification, p. 9). Although some people may be attracted to fasting for weight maintenance alone, there are other, more vital benefits that result when one stops eating.
"During a fast:
• The natural process of toxin excretion continues, while the influx of new toxins is reduced, This results in a reduction of total body toxicity.
• The energy usually used for digestion is redirected to immune function, cell growth, and eliminatory processes.
• The immune system’s workload is greatly reduced, and the digestive tract is spared any inflammation due to allergic reactions to food.
• Due to a lowering of serum fats that thins the blood; tissue oxygenation is increased and white blood cells are moved more efficiently.
• Fat-stored chemicals, such as pesticides and drugs, are released.
• Physical awareness and sensitivity to diet and surroundings are increased.
Due to these effects of fasting, a fast can help you heal with greater speed,’ cleanse your liver, kidneys, and colon,’ purify your blood,’ help you lose excess weight and water,’ flush out toxins,. clear the eyes and tongue,’ and cleanse the breath."
(Prescription for Nutritional Healing by James and Phyllis Balch, pp. 548-550)
Steve Meyerowitz in his book, Juice Fasting and Detoxification, lists allergies, skin diseases, and digestive disorders that have historically responded well to fasting (p. 9). Mr. Meyerowitz uses "the word ‘historically’ because fasting, today, is not recognized to be of legitimate therapeutic values by allopathic medicine (p. 8)," which we will discuss later. Allergies that fasting has helped are asthma, bronchitis, hay fever, hives, rheumatism, obesity, insomnia, migraine headaches, inflammations, arteriosclerosis and high/low blood pressure. He lists skins diseases such as acne, psoriasis, ulcers, and boils. Digestive disorders that improve with fasting are liver problems, constipation, gall stones, diarrhea, and tumors. Mr. Meyerowitz says that even if a person does not have serious ailments, they "may chose to fast purely for purposes of detoxification and health improvement. This is more a measure of prevention than a treatment of disease. Periodic fasting maintains an optimum level of functioning (p. 9)."
Do animals fast?
In the animal kingdom, fasting is quite common. Animals instinctively fast when sick or hurt. The wounded animal finds a warm secluded spot where it can lie undisturbed to rest and fast for a period of time until it is restored. The ill animal sips only water until well again. (Fasting and Eating for Health, p. 13).
Steve Meyerowitz said that in a study on mice that were fasted every third day the lifespan of mice increased by 40 percent (p. 9).
Does digesting food take a lot of energy?
Digestion drains the body of energy and diverts the healing processes. Richard Schultz states that to digest food takes a tremendous amount of blood and energy to fill the muscles and the tissues of our digestive system. "When you stop eating, your digestive system rests, and all that blood and energy can be put somewhere else to heal you.") JUICE-FASTING: The powerful healing therapy that no-one ever uses. http://home.online.no/~dusan/schulze/herbal news juice fasting.html
The body is constantly busy with the metabolic process, changing food into energy and cell tissue. Fasting allows the body to purge itself from toxins, metabolic debris.
"Each time we take in food we take in not only nutrients but also additives and other toxins. The digestive tract, the liver, the kidney, and other organs must work to remove these non-nutritive substances from the body. These wastes include by-products of digestion, bacterial by-products from the decomposition of inadequately digested foodstuffs, and excess nutrients the body cannot use. All these as well as the waste products of normal cellular metabolism must be actively eliminated for us to maintain excellent health.
Food; therefore, while providing essential nutrients for life, also introduces toxins. Fasting, particularly when we are ill and the body is already overburdened with self-produced wastes, can provide a welcome relief by halting the introduction of further toxins and waste products. Without this extra burden, the body is finally able to heal itself (Joel Fuhrman, Fasting and Eating for Health, p. 8)."
Can the body regenerate?
Since the body is wonderfully and fearfully made (Psa. 139:14), one of its attributes is self-healing or regeneration.
Dr. Paul Bragg said: "Healing is an internal, biological function that only the body can perform, and by fasting you are helping your body do its work efficiently (The Miracle of Fasting, p. 107)."
Dr. Joel Fuhrman knows that the normal state of the body is health and the body will maintain health when the disease-causing stresses are removed. "… Within a short period of time, allergic and mucus-filled individuals clear their nasal passages, asthmatics breathe easier, arthritis sufferers report their pain is resolving, and cardiac patients begin to have increased circulation to their hearts. Healing has begun.
… In our society, most people eat heavy foods during much of their waking hours. This not only overworks the digestive tract, but also forces the body to continue its work of digesting and absorbing foodstuffs and eliminating food-derived wastes well into the night. This prevents the body from totally directing its energies toward repair and self-cleansing of its tissues.
To regain normalcy or health, individuals suffering from chronic illnesses must rid their systems of the burdens of toxic material and excesses, such as fatty or swollen tissues or atherolerotic plaque. … Fasting offers an efficient means of accomplishing healing that is dependent on the elimination of retained waste. This is because fasting gives the body an opportunity to focus completely on the elimination of the waste deposits and the purification of its tissues that are necessary to reach a recovered state of health. (Fasting and Eating for Health, p. 15)
The body’s wondrous ability to autolyze (or self-digest) and destroy needless tissue such as fat, tumors, blood vessel plaque, and other nonessential and diseased tissues, while conserving essential tissues, gives the fast the ability to restore physiologic youth to the system. (Fasting and Eating for Health, p. 16)
Scientific studies prove fasters live longer, better quality lives.
What does allopathic medicine use to treat illness?
As the Scribes and Pharisees rejected the Messiah’s healing, allopathic medicine has frowned on fasting. "The medical profession’s primary method, over the last century for combating the effects of improper diet and life-style has been to offer medication and surgery. This approach has not been effective. Almost every medical treatment offered for the chronic sufferer today attempts only to control symptoms. There are no "cures." The current medical treatments not only have risks, but also represent a Band-Aid type of approach—they can offer relief from symptoms, but they cannot cure because they do not address the cause of the disease. Under "modern" medicine, the incidence of most chronic diseases has increased and the vast, majority of people are still dying from what are preventable, diet- and life-style induced illnesses." (Fasting and Eating for Health, Dr. Joel Fuhrman, p. 21)
Conclusion
In an effort to achieve optimal health, one must do three things. Stop the toxins, internally cleanse the body, and nourish it. If people understood the power that can be released in the body through fasting, everyone would practice it with diligence and regularity. However, very few individuals will choose less instead of more. Dr. Joel Fuhrman states that: "the self healing power of the body is often overlooked because it is rarely given a chance to act in a world that expects the quick fix. " (Fasting and Eating for Health, p. 4)
As long as the advertising media offers the public one more diet substance, remedy, cure (a silver bullet) that promises to give them health, most people will not make a total change in their lifestyle. They would rather continue the conditions that made them sick in the first place and take, in addition to the poisons they consume, one more pill that supposedly will counter all their years of abuses. One treatment cannot fix years of damaging the body. For healing to occur there must be a change in lifestyle. Fasting is a place to start.
Sources
Balch, James and Phyllis, Prescription for Nutritional Healing, (Copyright 1977, Avery Publishing Group, Garden City Park, New York)
Barron, Jon, Lessons from The "Miracle Doctors", (Copyright 1999, Progress Printing Co. Inc.)
Bragg, Paul, ND, PhD, The Miracle of Fasting, (Copyright MCMXC Health Science)
Fuhrman, Joel, M.D., Fasting and Eating for Health, (Copyright 1995, St. Martin’s Griffin, New York)
Meyerowitz, Steve, Juice Fasting and Detoxification, (Copyright April 1999, Copyright 1984, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1996 Book Publishing Company)
Meyerowitz, Steve, Power Juices, Super Drinks
Schultz, Richard, JUICE- FASTING: The powerful healing therapy that no-one ever uses." http://home.online.no/~dusan/schulze/herbal news juice fasting.html
Copyright © 1994-2008 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of Service - Copyright/IP Policy - GuidelinesNOTICE: We collect personal information on this site.To learn more about how we use your information, see our Privacy Policy
Are there different types of fasting?
The Bible describes four major types of fasting:
A Regular Fast - Traditionally,
a regular fast means refraining from eating all food. Most people still drink water or juice during a regular fast. When Jesus fasted in the desert, the Bible says, "After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry." This verse does not mention Jesus being thirsty.
A Partial Fast - This type of fast generally refers to omitting a specific meal from your diet or refraining from certain types of foods.
Daniel 10:2-3 says, "At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over." In Daniel 1:12, they restricted their diet to vegetables and water: "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink."
A Full Fast - These fasts are complete - no food and no drink.
Acts 9:9 describes when Paul went on a full fast for three days following his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus: "For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything."
Esther also called for this type of fast in Esther 4:15-16:
"Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 'Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.'" It is recommended that this type of fast be done with extreme caution and not for extended periods of time.
A Sexual Fast - 1 Corinthians 7:3-6 says, "The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control." Although not mentioned in the Bible, Christians today commit to fasting from other activities as well. Some give up entertainment such as TV or movies to concentrate on prayer. Others fast from sleep or another activity for a specified period of time.
A Regular Fast - Traditionally,
a regular fast means refraining from eating all food. Most people still drink water or juice during a regular fast. When Jesus fasted in the desert, the Bible says, "After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry." This verse does not mention Jesus being thirsty.
A Partial Fast - This type of fast generally refers to omitting a specific meal from your diet or refraining from certain types of foods.
Daniel 10:2-3 says, "At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over." In Daniel 1:12, they restricted their diet to vegetables and water: "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink."
A Full Fast - These fasts are complete - no food and no drink.
Acts 9:9 describes when Paul went on a full fast for three days following his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus: "For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything."
Esther also called for this type of fast in Esther 4:15-16:
"Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 'Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.'" It is recommended that this type of fast be done with extreme caution and not for extended periods of time.
A Sexual Fast - 1 Corinthians 7:3-6 says, "The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control." Although not mentioned in the Bible, Christians today commit to fasting from other activities as well. Some give up entertainment such as TV or movies to concentrate on prayer. Others fast from sleep or another activity for a specified period of time.
What are the scriptures on prayer and fasting?
There are many Scriptures on prayer and fasting. Here are several:
Occasions of prayer and fasting in the Bible:
Occasions of prayer and fasting in the Bible:
Praying for health: "David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground" (2 Samuel 12:16)
Praying for safety: "There, by the Ahava Canal, I [Ezra] proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions" (Ezra 8:21).
As an act of repentance: "When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, "We have sinned against the LORD." And Samuel was leader of Israel at Mizpah" (1 Samuel 7:6).
As a sign of mourning: "They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the LORD and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword" (2 Samuel 1:12).
Before making an important decision: "While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.' So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off….Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust " (Acts 13:2-3; 14:23).
Teachings on prayer and fasting in the Bible:
Fasting is a personal event: "When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you" (Matthew 6:16-18).
Fasting can be from things besides food: "The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control" (1 Corinthians 7:3-5).
Jesus did not require fasting as a part of Christianity: "They [Pharisees] said to him, 'John's disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.' Jesus answered, 'Can you make the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.'"
Fasting is a form of worship: "Then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying" (Luke 2:37).
Prayer and Fasting
Pray Etymology
Middle English preien < Old French preier, (French prier) < Latin precari, from prex, precis, “a prayer, a request”; akin to Sanskrit prach “to ask”, Old English frignan, fricgan, German fragen. Confer deprecate, imprecate, precarious.
Verb
To petition or solicit help from a supernatural or higher being.
To humbly beg a person for aid or their time.
(Christianity, Judaism) to talk to God for any reason.
Prayer and Fasting - A Definition
Prayer and fasting is defined as voluntarily going without food in order to focus on prayer and fellowship with God. Prayer and fasting often go hand in hand, but this is not always the case. You can pray without fasting, and fast without prayer. It is when these two activities are combined and dedicated to God's glory that they reach their full effectiveness. Having a dedicated time of prayer and fasting is not a way of manipulating God into doing what you desire. Rather, it is simply forcing yourself to focus and rely on God for the strength, provision, and wisdom you need.
Prayer and Fasting - What the Bible Says
The Old Testament law specifically required prayer and fasting for only one occasion, which was the Day of Atonement.
This custom became known as "the day of fasting" (Jeremiah 36:6) or "the Fast" (Acts 27:9).
- Moses fasted during the 40 days and 40 nights he was on Mount Sinai receiving the law from God
(Exodus 34:28).
- King Jehoshaphat called for a fast in all Israel when they were about to be attacked by the Moabites and Ammonites (2 Chronicles 20:3).
- In response to Jonah's preaching, the men of Nineveh fasted and put on sackcloth (Jonah 3:5).
- Prayer and fasting was often done in times of distress or trouble.
- David fasted when he learned that Saul and Jonathan had been killed (2 Samuel 1:12).
- Nehemiah had a time of prayer and fasting upon learning that Jerusalem was still in ruins (Nehemiah 1:4).
- Darius, the king of Persia, fasted all night after he was forced to put Daniel in the den of lions (Daniel 6:18).
Prayer and fasting also occurs in the New Testament. - Anna "worshipped night and day, fasting and praying" at the Temple (Luke 2:37).
- John the Baptist taught his disciples to fast (Mark 2:18).
- Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights before His temptation by Satan (Matthew 4:2).
- The church of Antioch fasted (Acts 13:2) and sent Paul and Barnabas off on their first missionary journey (Acts 13:3).
- Paul and Barnabas spent time in prayer and fasting for the appointment of elders in the churches (Acts 14:23).
Prayer and Fasting - Required or Recommended?
The Word of God does not specifically command believers to spend time in prayer and fasting. At the same time, prayer and fasting is definitely something we should be doing. Far too often, though, the focus of prayer and fasting is on abstaining from food. Instead, the purpose of Christian fasting should be to take our eyes off the things of this world and focus our thoughts on God. Fasting should always be limited to a set time because not eating for extended periods can be damaging to the body. Fasting is not a method of punishing our bodies and it is not be used as a "dieting method" either. We are not to spend time in prayer and fasting in order to lose weight, but rather to gain a deeper fellowship with God.
By taking our eyes off the things of this world through prayer and biblical fasting, we can focus better on Christ.
Matthew 6:16-18 declares,
"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting.
I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
Prayer and Fasting - What Does it Accomplish?
Spending time in prayer and fasting is not automatically effective in accomplishing the desires of those who fast. Fasting or no fasting, God only promises to answer our prayers when we ask according to His will. 1 John 5:14-15 tells us, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him." In the prophet Isaiah's time, the people grumbled that they had fasted, yet God did not answer in the way they wanted (Isaiah 58:3-4). Isaiah responded by proclaiming that the external show of fasting and prayer, without the proper heart attitude, was futile (Isaiah 58:5-9).
How can you know if you are praying and fasting according to God's will? Are you praying and fasting for things that honor and glorify God? Does the Bible clearly reveal that it is God's will for you? If we are asking for something that is not honoring to God or not God's will for our lives, God will not give what we ask for, whether we fast or not. How can we know God's will? God promises to give us wisdom when we ask. James 1:5 tells us, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."
Tahun 2008 adalah tahun kebangkitan Nasional dan Tahun kebangkitan gereja Tuhan di Indonesia
Shalom Sahabat Kristus yang tercinta.
Kita telah memasuki Tahun 2008 dengan selamat dan sehat.Tahun 2008 adalah momentum Kebangkitan Nasional 1908 yang dipelopori oleh Budi utomo.
Kebangkitan nasional adalah masa bangkitnya semangat persatuan, kesatuan, dan nasionalisme serta kesadaran untuk memperjuangkan kemerdekaan Indonesia, yang sebelumnya tidak pernah muncul selama penjajahan 350 tahun. Masa ini diawali dengan dua peristiwa penting Boedi Oetomo (1908) dan Sumpah Pemuda (1928). Masa ini merupakan salah satu dampak politik etis yang mulai diperjuangkan sejak masa Multatuli.Tokoh-tokoh kebangkitan nasional, antara lain: Sutomo, Gunawan, dan Tjipto Mangunkusumo, dr. Tjipto Mangunkusumo, Suwardi Suryoningrat (Ki Hajar Dewantara), dr. Douwes Dekker, dll
Refleksi Menuju 80 Tahun Sumpah Pemuda dan 100 Tahun Kebangkitan Nasional
Bagaiman dengan peluang sejarah kemimpinan Kristen Indonesia?
Tahun 2008 adalah momentum 100 tahun bangkit Indonesia dari keterpurukan Ekonomi,politik dan bencana.
Tahun 2007 dibuka dengan bencana pesawat Jatuh dan ditutup dengan bencana banjir.
Saatnya para pemuda Gereja dan para pemimpin gereja Kristen
( Pendeta,Pengusaha,Guru,Pemuda) untuk bangkit dari ketidak perdulian atas persatuan dan kesatuan umat Tuhan. Karena Roh Kudus ada didalam hati kita selalu membakar hati kita untuk tetap maju menyongsong dan membuat sejarah dalam Indonesia .Bersama 80 tahun sumpah pemuda dan I00 Tahun Kebangkitan Indonesia.
Tahun 2008 Kebangkitan pemimpin kristen bangkit dari segala masalah.
Punya Hati seperti Tuhan Jesus
Heart for the Poor
Heart for Unjustice
Heart for Wisdom
Heart for Peace Maker
Heart for the Mission
Heart for Spiritual Friendship
Heart for Spiritual Leadership
Heart for Revival
Bagi dunia dan paranormal, tahun 2008 adalah tahun Tikus. Tahun yang diidentikkan dengan sifat dari Tikus. Sifat dari Tikus adalah gesit,suka tempat yang kotor dan gelap. Mencari makan ditempat sampah. Licik dan lambang dari koruptor.Tapi bagi kita anak2 Tuhan. Tahun 2008 adalah Tahun kebangkitan dari kegagalan dan dari bencana2 alam.
Bagi kita anak anak Tuhan.Tahun 2008 seperti Burung Rajawali yang gagah perkasa. Terbang tinggi melintasi badai .Mata yang tajam menangkap mangsanya seperti tikus,ular, ayam ,anjing,kelinci (Semua binatang Shio) . Anak anak Tuhan dilambang dengan Rajawali.
Dalam mitologi Timur, Hindu dan Budha, Garuda disebut "The Bird of Life". Dalam salah satu cerita, Garuda ini diceritakan membebaskan ibunya dari perbudakan.Jadi katanya, karena pembebasan ini makanya burung garuda digunakan sebagai simbol negara Indonesia, karena kita juga membebaskan diri dari penjajahan.Burung Rajawali 1. Burung yang buas. Ayub 9:26; Mat 24:28
2. Haram. Im 11:13; Ul 14:12
3. Jenis-jenisnya. Im 11:13,18; Yeh 17:3
4. Dinamai - di angkasa. Rat 4:19
5. Dilukiskan sebagai burung yang: 5.1 Dapat melihat dari jauh. Ayub 39:32
5.2 Tangkas. 2Sam 1:23
5.3 Terbang ke angkasa. Ams 23:5
6. Berbulu panjang. Dan 4:33
7. Sayap - besar dan panjang. Yeh 17:3,7
8. Terbang luar biasa.Ams 30:19
9. Bersarang di bukit-bukit batu yang tinggi. Ayub 39:30,31
10.Suka akan puncak pohon aras. Yeh 17:3,4 1
11. Memberi makan darah kepada anak-anaknya. Ayub 39:32,33
12. Menjadi lambang tentara Romawi.Mat 24:13,28
13. Melukiskan: 13.1 Hikmat dan semangat pelayan-pelayan Allah. Yeh 1:10; Wahy 4:7
13.2 Raja-raja yang besar dan berkuasa. Yeh 17:3; Hos 8:1
13.3 (Kekuatan dan kegagalan - yang baru) pembaruan orang-orang kudus
Mazm 103:5
13.4 (Cara - mengajar anak-anaknya terbang) pemeliharaan Allah kepada jemaat-Nya. Kel 19:4; Ul 32:11
13.5 (Sayap - ) perlindungan kepada jemaat. Wahy 12:14
13.6kekuatan rohani orang-orang kudus yang tetap berdoa. Yes 40:31
13.7 (Kecepatan - terbang) kecepatan tentara musuh.Ul 28:49; Yer 4:13; 48:40; Rat 4:19
13.8 (Kecepatan - terbang) hilangnya kekayaan. Ams 23:5
13.9 (Tinggi dan amannya tempat kediaman ) keselamatan orang-orang fasik yang hanya berupa khayalan saja. Yer 49:16; Ob 1:4
13.10 (Bertambah rontok bulunya pada musim gugur) kecelakaan. Mi 1:16
13.11 Kecepatan hidup manusia. Ayub 9:26
MENJADI SEPERTI BURUNG RAJAWALI"
Yes 40:31 "Tetapi orang-orang yang menanti,nantikan TUHAN
mendapat kekuatan baru: mereka seumpama rajawali yang naik
terbang dengan kekuatan sayapnya; mereka berlari Dan tidak
menjadi lesu, mereka berjalan Dan tidak menjadi lelah. "
Bagi setiap orang yang menantikan Tuhan, akan diperbaharui
kekuatannya menjadi seperti seekor burung rajawali.
Apakah ciri-ciri burung rajawali?
Ciri yang utama Dan terutama yaitu tidak takut badai. Orang yang berkarakter
burung rajawali tidak takut badai kehidupan. Burung rajawali
= malah menantikan datangnya badai. Dia akan mengembangkan
sayapnya, memperhatikan dengan pandangan visinya, kapan badai
datang. Sebab dia akan menghadapinya Dan menggunakan badai
itu untuk melambung tinggi mendekati matahari.
Burung rajawali tidak mengepak-ngepakkan sayapnya, tetapi dia
mengembangkan sayapnya. Dia tidak terbang dengan kekuatan
kepak sayapnya, tetapi dia terbang dengan kekuatan angin.
Orang yang diperbaharui kekuatannya oleh Tuhan akan menjadi
seperti burung rajawali, tidak mengepak-ngepakkan sayap,
bekerja Dan berjuang memakai kekuatan sendiri, tetapi akan
bersandar kekuatan angin Roh Kudus.
Burung rajawali tidak seperti ayam atau anak ayam.Ayam atau
anak ayam penciumannya tajam, mereka tahu saat akan datang
badai. Mereka ribut berkotek-kotek, bingung
lari kesana kemari, sambil mengepak-ngepakkan sayapnya
mencari tempat persembunyian untuk berlindung terhadap badai.
Apabila badai datang mereka bisa menjadi korban, sebab mereka
lemah, tak berdaya, dia menjadi victim badai.
Lain dengan burung rajawali, dia tidak menjadi victim, tetapi menjadi
victor, pemenang, terbang mengatasi badai.
Demikian pula orang percaya yang menanti-nantikan Tuhan.
Kekuatannya akan diperbaharui oleh Tuhan, sehingga IA menjadi
kuat, sayap iman Dan pengharapannya kuat. Dia tidak menjadi
korban badai, tetapi dia menjadi lebih dari pemenang. Dia
menghadapi badai dengan penuh keyakinan.
Badai pencobaan dalam kehidupan, badai masalah yang melanda
datang dengan kencang Dan derasnya, tetapi IA menanti dengan
tenang, dia hadapi dengan kepastian, Dan dia melayang di
atasnya, dengan bersandar kekuatan Dan kuasa Roh Kudus.
Enam Hal Yang Dapat Dipelajari Dari RAJAWALI
Rajawali adalah makhluk ciptaan Tuhan yang sangat indah. Alkitab menuliskan mengenai rajawali sebanyak 38 kali, jauh lebih banyak dibandingkan merpati atau jenis burung lainnya.Seekor rajawali dewasa
PELAJARAN 1 :SEMUA BAYI RAJAWALI HARUS BELAJAR UNTUK TERBANG
Di atas puncak gunung yang tinggi, telur rajawali menetas dan muncullah bayi rajawali. Seperti layaknya bayi yang lain, hanya ada dua hal yang sangat disukai oleh bayi rajawali ini untuk dilakukan, yaitu makanan dan tidur. Bayi rajawali akan menghabiskan masa-masa pertamanya di dunia di dalam sarangnya yang nyaman. Setiap hari, induk rajawali mencarikan makanan untuk bayinya dan menyuapi mulut bayi yang sudah terbuka untuk menerima makanan. Dengan perut kenyang, bayi itu tidur kembali. Hal itu berlangsung berulang-ulang dalam hidupnya.
Siklus ini berjalan beberapa minggu, sampai pada suatu hari, induk rajawali ini terbang dan hanya berputar-putar di atas sarangnya memperhatikan anaknya yang ada di dalamnya. Kali ini tanpa makanan. Setelah berputar beberapa kali, induk rajawali akan terbang dengan kecepatan tinggi menuju sarangnya, ditabraknya sarang itu dan digoncang-goncangka nnya. Kemudian ia merenggut anaknya dari sarang dan dibawanya terbang tinggi. Kemudian, secara tiba-tiba, ia menjatuhkan bayi rajawali dari ketinggian. Bayi ini berusaha terbang, tapi gagal. Beberapa saat jatuh, cepat-cepat meraih anaknya kembali dan melayang ke bawah mendekati batu-batu karang, induk rajawali ini dengan ahli dan dibawa terbang tinggi. Setelah itu, dilepaskannya pegangan itu dan anaknya jatuh lagi.
Tapi sebelum anaknya menyentuh daratan, ia mengangkatnya kembali. Hal ini dilakukan berulang-ulang setiap hari. Hingga hanya dalam waktu satu minggu anaknya sudah banyak belajar, dan mulai memperhatikan bagaimana induknya terbang. Dalam jangka waktu itu, sayap anak rajawali sudah kuat dan ia pun mulai bisa terbang.Saudaraku, banyak orang Kristen seperti bayi rajawali ini. Terlalu nyaman di dalam sarangnya. Kita datang ke gereja seminggu sekali untuk mendapatkan makanan. Kita menunggu pelayan Tuhan untuk memberi mereka “makanan rohani” ke dalam mulutnya. Kemudian setelah ibadah selesai, kita pulang dan “tidur” lagi, tanpa melakukan Firman Tuhan dan hidup tidak berubah.
Baru setelah beban-beban berat menindih selama 1 minggu, kita merasakan “lapar” dan butuh diisi makanan, kemudian kita pun pergi lagi ke gereja untuk di-drop makanan lagi. Hal ini berlangsung terus menerus berulang-ulang tanpa ada pertumbuhan secara rohani dalam hidup kita. Sampai suatu saat, sesuatu pencobaan terjadi dalam hidup kita, sarang digoncangkan dengan keras, dan kita tidak tahu apa yang harus dilakukan. Kita mulai menyalahkan Tuhan,”Tuhan jahat! Tuhan tidak adil!….”Tidak ! Tuhan tidak jahat ! Jika kita mengalami pencobaan dan goncangan berarti Bapa di Surga sedang melatih kita untuk bisa lebih dewasa lagi, agar kita bisa siap untuk terbang. Akan sia-sia menjadi rajawali kalau dia tidak bisa terbang. Berarti akan sia-sia menjadi orang Kristen kalau dia tidak pernah dewasa dalam iman! Akan tetapi perhatikanlah hal ini.
Setiap pencobaan datang, Tuhan tidak pernah membiarkan anak-anakNya jatuh tergeletak, tapi seperti induk rajawali, pada saat kritis, ia menyambar anaknya untuk diangkat kembali. Beban berat boleh datang, tapi kemudian mulailah untuk berdoa. Mulailah membuka Alkitab dan membaca Firman Tuhan. Kemudian kita akan menyadari bahwa jawaban doa itu telah datang. Masa-masa sukar akan selalu ada di depan kita, tapi kita akan menemukan diri kita selalu penuh dengan pengharapan jika kita tetap berdiri pada kebenaran Firman Allah. Apa yang sedang terjadi ? Ternyata kita sedang merentangkan sayap kita ! Kita sedang belajar terbang ! Tuhan mengangkat dan memuliakan kita melalui pencobaan-pencobaan yang kita alami.
Jika induk rajawali melatih anaknya untuk mempergunakan sayapnya, Tuhan melatih kita untuk mempercayai FirmanNya dan mempergunakan iman
PELAJARAN 2 :
RAJAWALI DICIPTAKAN UNTUK TINGGAL DI TEMPAT TINGGI
Berbeda dengan jenis burung lainnya, rajawali diciptakan untuk terbang di tempat-tempat yang tinggi, jauh dari pandangan mata telanjang dan jauh dari jangkauan para pemburu. Burung rajawali memiliki keunikan, jika ia berada di alam bebas, akan menjadi burung yang paling bersih di antara burung lainnya, tapi jika dia berada di dalam ‘penjara’ dan terikat, ia akan menjadi burung yang paling kotor (hal ini dikarenakan rajawali mengkonsumsi makanan yang berbeda dengan burung lainnya).Saudaraku, Tuhan menciptakan kita untuk selalu terbang dan berada di tempat yang tinggi, yaitu selalu berada dalam hadiratNya dan bebas dari kontrol dunia. Jika orang Kristen berada dalam ikatan-ikatan duniawi, ia akan menjadi orang yang terkotor dibandingkan dengan orang lain.
PELAJARAN 3 :RAJAWALI TIDAK TERBANG,
PELAJARAN 3: RAJAWALI TIDAK TERBANG TAPI MELAYANGMELAYANG
Rajawali tidak terbang seperti layaknya burung-burung yang lain, mereka terbang dengan mengepak-epakkan sayapnya dengan kekuatan sendiri. Tapi yang dilakukan rajawali ialah melayang dengan anggun, membuka lebar-lebar kedua sayapnya dan menggunakan kekuatan angin untuk mendorong tubuhnya. Yang membuat rajawali sangat spesial ialah ia tahu betul waktu yang tepat untuk meluncur terbang. Ia berdiam di atas puncak gunung karang, membaca keadaan angin, dan pada saat yang dirasa tepat ia mengepakkan sayapnya untuk mendorong terbang, lalu membuka sayapnya lebar-lebar untuk kemudian melayang dengan menggunakan kekuatan angin itu.
Saudaraku, angin sering disebutkan dalam Alkitab sebagai penggambaran dari Roh Kudus. Kita dapat belajar untuk bekerja sama dengan Roh Kudus dan membiarkan-Nya mengangkat kita lebih tinggi lagi, semakin dekat dengan Tuhan Yesus. Seringkali kita ‘terbang’ dengan kekuatan kita sendiri, hasilnya kita menemui banyak kelelahan, kekecewaan dan kepahitan dalam hidup ini. Tapi belajar dari rajawali, kita mau untuk ‘terbang’ melintasi kehidupan ini dengan mengandalkan Roh Kudus.
Angin, juga berbicara mengenai kesulitan-kesulitan hidup. Badai sering menggambarkan adanya pergumulan dalam hidup ini. Bagi rajawali, badai adalah media yang tepat untuk belajar menguatkan sayapnya. Dia terbang menembus badai itu, melayang di dalamnya, melatih sayapnya untuk lebih kuat lagi. Orang ‘Kristen Rajawali’ seharusnya mengucap syukur dalam menghadapi berbagai-bagai pencobaan. Karena saat itulah saat yang tepat bagi kita untuk mempergunakan pencobaan sebagai media untuk menguatkan sayap-sayap iman kita.
PELAJARAN 4 :
RAJAWALI MEMILIKI WAKTU KHUSUS UNTUK PEMBAHARUAN
Ketika rajawali berumur 60 tahun, ia memasuki periode pembaharuan. Seekor rajawali akan mencari tempat tinggi dan tersembunyi di puncak gunung. Ia berdiam disitu, membiarkan bulu-bulunya rontok satu demi satu. Rajawali ini mengalami keadaan yang menyakitkan dan sangat mengenaskan selama kira-kira 1 tahun. Ia menunggu dengan sabar selama proses ini berlangsung, dan setiap hari ia membiarkan sinar matahari menyinari tubuhnya untuk mempercepat proses penyembuhannya.
Saudaraku, seperti rajawali, orang kristen perlu memiliki waktu-waktu khusus untuk proses pembaharuan dalam hidup ini. Membiarkan hal-hal lama yang tidak berguna lagi ‘rontok’ dan menanti-nantikan dengan sabar pemulihan dari Tuhan. Pembaharuan adalah prinsip Ilahi, dimana Allah memotong segala sesuatu yang tidak menghasilkan buah dalam hidup kita ini agar kita mampu berbuah lebat. Selama kita menantikan Dia, relakan proses pembaharuan itu berlangsung.
PELAJARAN 5 :
RAJAWALI JUGA KADANG-KADANG SAKIT, SEPERTI MANUSIA
Ketika rajawali mengalami sakit di tubuhnya, ia terbang ke suatu tempat yang sangat disukainya, dimana ia dengan leluasa dapat menikmati sinar matahari. Karena sinar matahari memainkan peranan yang sangat penting dalam kehidupan rajawali, dan juga merupakan obat yang paling mujarab baginyaSaudaraku, ketika kita sakit, baik itu sakit secara fisik, ekonomi, rumah tangga, pekerjaan, pelayanan, atau sakit rohani kita, apakah kita juga mencari Allah yang memainkan peranan penting dalam hidup kita, yang juga merupakan sumber kesembuhan bagi segala macam ‘penyakit’ ?
PELAJARAN 6 :
SETIAP BURUNG RAJAWALI PASTI MATI
Ketika rajawali berada dalam keadaan mendekati waktu kematiannya, ia terbang ke tempat yang paling disukainya, di atas gunung, menutupi tubuhnya dengan kedua sayapnya, memandang ke arah terbitnya matahari, lalu…..mati.Saudaraku, sudah selayaknya, semua orang Kristen mati dengan mata dan hati tetap tertuju pada Yesus sebagai sumber
dari pengharapan dan jaminan di dalam kehidupan kekal.
Jadilah RAJAWALI
Indonesia beralih dari kerajaan Majapahit ke Kerajaan Islam melalui para wali songo.Kita adalah Rajawali yang perkasa terbang tinggi.Raja para wali.
Terbang seperti Rajawali
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