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\o/ \o/~~~~~~~~(((( Hidup oleh Roh, Dipimpin oleh Roh, Gal.5:25 ))))~~~~~~~\o/ \o/ From: Lauw Eng Tjun
Dealing with Life�s Disappointments Following Ruth�s example on the path to recovery By DR. DAVID D. IRELAND The book of Ruth is known as one of the most beautiful short stories of the Bible. In it we have the opportunity of viewing a snapshot of one family�s pilgrimage � a family of significant genealogy, leading to the birth of Jesus Christ. After serving people for the past seventeen years as a senior pastor, I am convinced that everyone everywhere will one day face-to-face with disappointment. The book of Ruth opens up with disappointment. There�s a famine in the land of Bethlehem. The word Bethlehem means the house of bread. Can you imagine the irony here ? The very place that�s called the house of bread is experiencing a famine. The land of plenty is experiencing emptiness. So Elimelech�s plan to move to Moab temporarily. Unfortunately, he died there. The now widowed Naomi, whose names means pleasant, stays in Moab and eventually both her sons die there. Naomi has every reason in the world to be depressed. She�s faced famine, the grief of leaving her homeland, the death of her spouse, and finally the deaths of both her sons � her only children. After learning that the famine had ended in Israel, Naomi and her two widowed daughters-in-law set out for Naomi�s homeland. In what appears to be a moment of overwhelming grief, Naomi urges her daughters-in-law to go back home. She even gives them her blessing toward finding new husbands, lamenting to them that God�s hand has gone out against her. In Ruth 1:16 we read: �But Ruth replied, �don�t urge me to leave you or turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.� Avoiding the Trap of Denial While we began looking at Naomi and her plight, I�d like us to now focus on Ruth and how she effectively dealt with the disappointing circumstances she and her mother-in-law faced. The first step Ruth took in overcoming life�s disappointments was to accept her circumstances. Ruth did not fall into the trap of denial. Denial is a refusal to admit the truth or reality. It�s a refusal to acknowledge a person or thing. Yet the Bible makes it clear that Ruth had a healthy perspective � first because she was willing to embrace to a new life with the Living God through her determination to follow Naomi; second, because she didn�t become absorbed in Naomi�s grief. She was determined to follow the path of righteousness. Refusing to Dwell on Loss The next step Ruth took to overcome her disappointment was that she did not dwell on her loss. She sought a solution to her dilemma and decided to relocate. I am not suggesting that every disappointment should be handled by packing your bags and relocating. However, I am hoping that you�d recognize that moving on is a practical outworking of not dwelling on the past. When Naomi conveyed the good news to Ruth, that there was food back in Naomi�s homeland, Ruth was willing to move on from the place of disappointment in her place. I encourage you to take similar perspective by thinking and behaving practically in the face of disappointment. Going Out and Doing Something Another practical step Ruth took that led her out of disappointment was that she became productive by going out and landing a job. Let�s look at Ruth 2:1 � �Now Naomi had relative on her husband�s side, from the clan of Elimelech, a man of standing, whose name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, �Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.� Ruth did not sit around wallowing in depression. She was willing to address the practical issue of bringing in an income. Ruth didn�t allow the fact that she was of a different ethnicity and a different culture to stop her from trusting the providence of God in this new land. Similarly, you must relieve your mind from the pressure of disappointment by taking practical steps that can help your situation. It may mean that you have to change jobs or maybe even make a career change. Ruth�s willingness to trust God led her to glean from the fields of Boaz � her future husband. In Ruth 2:3-5 we read, �So she went out and began to glean in the fields behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she found herself working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech. Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, �The Lord be with you !� �The Lord bless you !� they called back. Boaz asked the foreman of his harvesters, �Whose young woman is that ?� Cleaning Up and Looking Forward From Boaz�s reaction to Ruth, we can safely assume that she didn�t let her looks go either. Later, Naomi encourages Ruth to put on some perfume and her best clothes to further attract Boaz. And the ever forward-looking Ruth complies. Some people simply let themselves go after experiencing disappointment. They forget about updating their wardrobe or getting haircuts as often as they used to. I encourage you to keep up your appearances. Don�t walk around cloaked in disappointment. Don�t let your pain define you. While I�m not expecting you to be proud of your pain, I do want you to become sober about it. In this case, sobriety means that you don�t allow your emotions to disable you. It means that you�ve learned some lessons from your disappointment and you�re going to invest your new-found wisdom into a positive outlook on the future. Ruth�s sobriety made her a prized possession, giving her the ability to attract Boaz, who the Bible calls �a man of standing.� Her pain qualified and matured her to the degree that she couldn�t deal with riff-raff. She knew what she wanted and she knew what she deserved. Her pain made her too valuable to deal with someone who would engage her in a childish relationship. Looking to God This brings us to the final step Ruth took in overcoming disappointment. She looked to God for her destiny. In Ruth 4:13, we read, �So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to her, and the Lord enabled her to conceive and she gave birth to a son.� Ruth involved God from the very beginning when she announced to Naomi back in chapter 1, �Your people will be my people and your God my God.� She didn�t allow her sufferings to chase her away from God. Rather, she followed God and He led her to become a mother in the linage of Christ. Her son was named Obed, who was the father of Jesse, who was the father of David. And when you read through the lineage of Christ, in Luke chapter 3, you will find that Christ was from the seed of David. Here we see that Ruth allowed God to create a phenomenal destiny from her season of disappointment. God will do the same for you. Turning to God in your disappointment allows Him to reveal to you the pierced hand of His Son as He invites you to arise and shine in the wonderful purpose He has set for your life. (source: KAIROS Magazine, November � December 2003) ==========================================
From: mario rumengan
Open Letter to Our Muslim
Friends:
I know many, if not most of you share the shock and horror at the actions of the few in the atrocity of September 11th� and I strongly suspect that many of you are as deeply embarrassed�as Muslims�over the actions of these Islamic extremists, as I am�as a Christian�over the atrocities done in history "in the name of Christ" in the Spanish Inquisition, or other insanities. I know many of you to be peace-loving people, who struggle daily with the uneasy tension between the demands of your human heart for peace and trust , and the demands of your faith for victory and "no compromise"�at whatever cost to you and others. Where the "comfortable" Christian or "official" Christian is often weak and superficial in his commitment to his Lord Jesus, many of you are strong in your zeal for your Prophet and his Book. We Christians are embarrassed over our acts of violence, as you are often embarrassed over Islamic violence such as this week's. There is a very fundamental difference between these two, though, and it reveals the heart of the deep differences of our faith and our founders� The modern Christian is embarrassed at the historical acts of violence, atrocity, and conquest committed by the church or with the endorsement of the church because he knows that they violate the deepest teaching and example of Jesus. Our embarrassment is that we lived as 'mere men', that we stooped to the level of those without heart, that we failed to obey the Living Lord. Our Jesus of the Bible said 'no' to such violence. When confronted with an angry, minority faction of first-century religious zealots in power, His response was one of meekness. When slandered with false accusations, "like a lamb drawn to slaughter, he opened not His mouth". When confronted with violent death, He submitted His fate to His Heavenly Father. He conquered death�not by killing it�but by dying Himself. He overcame evil with good. His holy war against hate He fought with Love. His jihad against arrogance and abuse of power was fought by His living as a Suffering Servant among us. He triumphed over the decay among us by bringing His beauty from heaven. As they pierced His flesh on the Cross, He prayed for His tormentors: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do". As His enemies swirled about Him at the Garden of Gethsemane on the night of His betrayal and unjust trials, He could have asked His Father for military assistance�72,000 angels�but He did not (Injil, Gospel according to Matthew, 26.47-54):
Unlike many other religious founders and leaders of the past, He calls His betrayer "friend", and commands His followers to put down their swords� in submission to the will of God. He did not shrink from His wounds�He embraced them. Even after He was raised from the dead by God the Father, He still carried�on His resurrected and indestructible new body�the marks of His deliberate weakness and the evidence of His innocent pain�in the nail prints in His hands. In His unprecedented life of Love, He called His followers to take up their Cross (not someone else's), deny themselves (not others), and live as He did (giving His life for the welfare of others). For the Christian, acts of aggression and intrusive violence are the gravest of sins�for they proceed from hearts that do not live with the "meekness and gentleness" of Christ, hearts that are selfish, arrogance, exploitative, and calloused toward others. Jesus gave His all�His very life�for others, but violence proceeds from 'taking':
Some of you by now have perceived the radical difference between this example of Jesus, and the lives of some of His followers in history. We have misrepresented Him to you, by our own failures to live His way and love His way in history. But the true view of His heart can be seen in the stories in the New Testament�in His words of gentleness, in His deeds of mercy, and in His death for the sins of the world. His sacrifice-of-love death on the Cross before His Father�dying as a curse in our place so that we would not have to be accursed from God ourselves�was for all of us humans: me, you, Peter and Paul, Mohammed, Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar, and those yet unborn. And, some of you by now have perceived the radical difference between the message of this Jesus and some aspects of your faith. While there is much noble truth in your faith, it also contains a disturbing undercurrent in opposition to this way of Love, this way of gentleness, this way of meekness and trust. It is this undercurrent which�in the hands of cruel men�become the tragedy of this week, and which�in the hearts of people like yourself�become a conscience troubled and uneasy. This One taught us�in contrast to our own angry hearts, and in discontinuity with some of the Prophet's teachings:
For Jesus, there was only complete consistency between His words and His actions�He taught love and never lashed out at His enemies or initiated a violent response. We as humans�of all faiths�fail to live as He did. I encourage you to face this uneasiness in your heart, and take a fresh look at this Jesus�NOT at His followers in history�and see for yourselves why His offer of freedom and life was NOT couched in words of conquest and violence, but in words such as these:
RETREAT NASIONAL 2004, Hotel Setia Puncak - Jawa barat, 30 Des. 2004 - 1 Jan. 2005 Pembicara : Pnt. Daud Raubun, Pnt. Dorcas Daud, Dr. Joshua dan Janet Mills Untuk Info Lebih lanjut hubungi : [EMAIL PROTECTED] o)---------------------------( Milis ini didukung oleh I-KAN )--------------------------(o http://rdsb.org ; http://beritasorgawi.com ; http://ob.or.id ; http://revival.or.id Berhenti dari Milis : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Langganan Milis : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Administrasi & Teknis : [EMAIL PROTECTED] petunjuk nomail,mail,digest,gantiemail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Untuk info lebih lanjut kunjungi web kami di http://revival.or.id |
