Actually, we live in this world with purpose. As you can see in the verses above, God said to Jeremiah to speak all that He commanded him to speak to Israelites. But before He did what God asked Him to do, God warned him first, that if they will fought him and if he got dismayed at them God would dismayed him before them. He said that clearly, His rule is clearly here. He said, if you dismayed by them, so I will dismayed you before them. It just like He said that, we need to do His will with faith and trust, how can we obey them with hesitation in our heart. You know, He knows our heart, even in the deepest part of our heart, He knows it. And then, how it feels that if He find us do His will but there is doubt in our heart ? Have you read that, ‘When the Son Of Man cometh to earth, shall He found faith on the earth.’

The thing is, He knows everything, even the slightest hesitation in our heart, He knows it. You know, He can’t be wrong. It’s impossible for Him to be wrong, just when He asks us to do something, He wants us to do it with faith, fully believe to Him, what He looks is faith, trust Him, have you ever read that He can be wrong, never right. So, just trust Him and do everything as He wants us to do, because He loves someone who trust Him. Remember Abraham, what made God fell for Him, what made God wants to be a friend of a man, that because Abraham fully believe Him, when God asked Abraham to leave his country, He just obeyed even though He didn’t know who was talked with Him, He didn’t know who is God that time, but He choose to believe, to believe that strange voice, and I believe that moment, made His heart flutter. If we can obey Him, without any single compromise and hesitation, His promise, He will never let our enemy, evil, prevail against us, for Him always with us, to deliver us. Amen.

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

I Corinthian 15 : 22 (ASV)

Kita adalah anak – anak Adam, manusia pertama yang ada di bumi ini. Firman Tuhan katakan, di dalam persekutuan dengan Adam kita mati. Di dalam alkitab versi ASV, terjemahannya berbunyi bahwa di dalam Adam kita semua mati, tetapi di dalam Kristus kita akan hidup. Firman Tuhan sudah jelas mengatakan bahwa di dalam kemanusiaan kita, kita akan mengalami kematian. Adam melambangkan kemanusiaan dengan semua keduniaannya, dan Firman Tuhan katakan bahwa di dalam Adam kita mati, yang artinya apabila kita hidup di dalam dunia dengan semua perinsipnya, hati kita condong ke dunia, hidup kita condong ke dunia, dan semua di dalam kita adalah tentang hal yang dunia, yang kita kejar, yang kita ingini semuanya dunia, maka Firman Tuhan katakan kita mati.

Tapi ada satu yang menghidupkan, sesosok pribadi yang dapat menghidupkan kita, yaitu Kristus. Hanya pertanyaannya, sekarang kita condong ke mana dan ke siapa ? Kemanusiaan kita dengan segala hawa nafsu dunianya, atau pada Kristus dengan segala yang ilahi. Adam adalah diri kita dengan segala kemanusiaan kita, sedangkan Kristus adalah Tuhan dengan segala keilahiannya. Yang di dalam kita ini apa, Adam kah dengan segala keduniawiannya atau Kristus dengan segala ke-ilahiannya. Apabila kita hanya terfokus pada diri kita sendiri dengan segala kelemahan kita, berarti kita masih hidup di dalam Adam dan di dalamnya ada kematian, tapi apabila kita fokus ada Tuhan dengan segala ke-ilahianNya, melakukan apa yang Ia ingini, maka kehidupan ada di dalam kita.

Jangan pernah katakan, aku tidak bisa melayani Tuhan karena aku masih penuh dengan dosa dan kotor. Jangan pernah katakan aku tidak layak untuk datang pada Tuhan karena aku terlalu kotor. Bertobat memang perlu, tapi jangan pernah ditipu oleh iblis untuk tidak datang pada Tuhan, hanya karena kita kotor dan berdosa. Mari kita datang pada Tuhan, karena di dalamnya ada kehidupan, bukankah ketika Lazarus mati dan membusuk, ketika Tuhan memanggilnya, ia bangkit lagi dan mangalami kehidupan. Di dalam Kristus ada kehidupan, hanya dengan memanggil Lazarus saja, Lazarus yang mati bangkit, dan ketika Ia menyebut dan memanggil nama kita, maka setiap yang mati di dalam hidup kita, setiap yang membusuk dari hidup kita akan Tuhan bangkitkan, karena di dalam Dia ada kehidupan.

(I Thessalonika 5 : 18)”

Have you ever experience something that really bad in your life, something that made you lose your calm ? have you ? Of course we often experienced something like that, something that make us lose our calm, me too, I experience something like that several times, when bad things happened, and when people badmouth me without I know why, even when I experience a humiliated failure, sometimes the verse was really hard to apply in that situation. But the thing is, it said, giving thanks is the will of God, so I realize when I give thanks, I do God’s will, and I belive when I do His will, I am making Him happy, right.

So, this gratitude thing, is God’s will, He wants us to give thanks in everything, don’t care what is the situation we are in, He simply wants us to give thanks, even it’s hard, even it needs tears just to say, thanks God, just to say thank you God. Why, because He wants us to trust Him, He wants us to trust His plan for us, if something bad happen to us right now, it means, we are prepared for something bigger and magnificient, just keep your trust in Him, give thanks to Him, trus His heart, because He knows what He is doing in our life. Amen.

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love,

I am become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal.

And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge;

and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

(I Corinthians 13 : 1-2)

Paul had said that, love is something that really important. I asked God, why Paul said like that, why Paul said, if he can speak with tongues of men and of angels but have no love, he is like sounding brass, and if he has the gitt of prophecy and know all the mysteries in this world, faith to remove mountain, but have no love he is nothing.

Why he thought like that, why without love everything is nothing. And God answer like this to me, He said, it is because of love He died for us, it is because of Father’s love for this world that He gave His only Son, for us who believe in Him shall live and not perish. Maybe as a christian, we often hear about love, love and love until we are bored with it, but do you know that, love is God’s most powerful weapon, where with love, Jesus conquered the death, so we can receive the gift of salvation. And because of that Paul had said, love is bigger than faith and hope, because love is God’s motive to come down to earth to save us from sin and gave us the gift of salvation. Amien.

Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also: And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised. (Rome 4 : 9 – 12)

          

            These days, God had spoken to me about covenant that He had made with Abraham, and this morning the verses suddenly comes up as my devotional. It’s interesting that the verses spoke about Abraham faith which God has reckoned as righteousness. If we dig deeper for the verses, it said that Abraham’s faith was reckoned as a righteousness not after he had circumcised but before that. And the interesting thing here is, word circumcision which means peritome in Greek, which is metaphorically means : 1. Separation from unclean multitude and consecrated for God. 2. The extinction of passions and removal of spiritual impurity.

            It said that, Abraham became the Father Of Believer legally after he had circumcised, so circumcision is a symbol of the covenant between God and Abraham. Not just that, circumcision is a symbol that we are the descendants of Abraham. So it means, we have right to receive the covenant which God had promised to Abraham. And what is the promise ? God has promised to Abraham that, He will give them, Abraham descendants, nations and because of them nations will be blessed, so it means they become the decider who will decide a nation fate. But who are they ? who are the descendants of Abraham ? Israel ? Yes, they are Abraham biological descendants. But bible said, Abraham descendants is they are who received circumcision, absolutely what I mean is not physically circumcised, but spiritually circumcised. We often hear that, Jesus call Israelite that they are physically circumcised but spiritually not, right.

            Maybe we are not direct line of Abraham, or not even have his genetic, but if we are spiritually circumcised, which means we are separated from unclean multitude and consecrated for God; we extinct our worldly desire and to remove our spiritual impurities, and in the 12th verse said, walk in the same road as Abraham, that is road of faith, or to simplify it I will just call it, live by faith just like Abraham, in the strange land.

            If, we want to inherit the covenant that God had given to Abraham, so we need to pass the qualification as Abraham’s Descendant, that is spiritually circumcised and live by faith just like Abraham obey God, he didn’t know what kind of place that God will lead him to, but he simply obey and trust Him, and leave his oldman house. Everything is full of uncertainty but he simply trust God and walk by faith, because in God there is certainty, and God reckoned it as righteousness.

God’s promise to Abraham is so amazing, and if we act like these verses said, to circumcise and live by faith like Abraham, believe it the Covenant that God has made with Abraham will be fulfilled in our life. God will take us higher and admirable, but remember in the covenant there is condition, meet the condition so we can see His covenant be fulfilled in our life. If you said you are child of Abraham spiritually, but you don’t see anything that God has promised happen in you life, ask yourself, are you meet the condition or not ? meet the condition that God wants, and you will see, the blessing will come abundantly to you. Amen.

Who is ever expereinced failure ? All people have ever expereinced a humuliated failure, even in some cases there are a lot of people who done something stupid because of their failure. There was a case in a town in Indonesia, which there was a mother who killed her children, because her bussines was bankrupt and made her in a lot of pressure about how she can pay for the tuition of the children and made her did something really stupid, killed her own children and then suicide.

            

That day, there was a family who die in vain. I don’t know where they heading to after they dead like that, but their death is really unnecessary. It is true a failure is so hurt, I often see news about people who is suicide after they expereinced failure, but do you know, our life is in God’s hand (Isiah 55 : 8), God knows and understand what we will face in the future, even He lets something bad happen to us not only because He knows that we can surpass it but He wants to teach us for us become mature enough to inherit all things that He wants us to have, like autority, power, and prosperity. But evil against that, so he always accuses all of you, accuses you for your failure and push you down with it. And it is your decision to fall in his trap or to rise and shine.

            

I hope, we understand God’s desire and His plan for us. Fall and fail is hurt, yes. Even maybe make us afraid to go out from our house because we are to embrass to face people around us. But I believe, you can surpass it because you are stronger than that (I Cor 10 : 13), because you are the child of God, The Mighty God, a prince or princess from The King Of Universe. Believe that His eyes always watch for you, belive that The Guardian Of Israel is never sleep, His eyes always on you (2 Chornicle 16 : 9). Can you believe Him and keep running to chase your destiny in Him, don’t care what obstacle that you need face, don’t care what people will say about you in the future, can you trust His plan (Jeremiah 11 : 29), for there is an end and expectation shall not be cut off from you  (Proverbs 23 : 18), and for He is the same God, the God who led Israel out form Egypt and enter their promise land. For He is the same God who took Joseph to be a prime minister of Egypt, the same God who made David to be the king of Israel and the world to bow before him. So don’t ever give up, whatever the obstacle, whatever the circumtances, and whatever that want to take you down face it and believe God, in His strength you will win the battle of faith. Amien.