Psalm 139 – Nothing to hide

"There’s no place like home" they say. When you’re at home, you don’t need to act or talk certain way, you can be just who you are and you will still be accepted because it’s your home—your family, where you belong. When I’m at home with my family, I could do certain things that I would not be able to do when I’m with my friends. And that’s because I know that my family knows me very well, I grow up with them, and I AM a PART of them. If our family is that close to us and we can be so real and carefree with them, how do you think we should be when we are with our Creator?

A lot of times, we don’t realize that God is our CREATOR, He designed and created us. He knows us inside out; He knows us better that we know ourselves. And still, we often act like Adam and Eve when they fallen into sin, we like to hide from God, hide behind our rituals, hide behind our worship and not get REAL with Him and let Him DEAL with us. When I read Psalm 139:1-6, I felt foolish when I’m reminded of how I try to cover things in front of God. When I felt ashamed of my sins and try to run away from Him because I felt not worthy and condemned, He still reached out to me and never left me.

Friends, know that once you accepted Him in your heart, He will hold you tight and never leave you. No matter how far you try to hide, no matter how dirty you become to push Him away from you, He will always reach out to you, maybe through a friend, a prayer, a word, a revelation, a memory, God has million ways to call you back but again, it’s always up to us to respond to Him or to keep running away.

Know that when we’re with God, we don’t need to hide anything because he knows what’s in your heart before you said it or even before it is in your heart. He even knows if you’re going to reject Him but still, He loves you the same and He has said it all on the Cross. So, please don’t be foolish by trying to hide from Him J

Putri Dariani

Psalm 138:1-8 – Praising in Times of Trouble

Do you remember when you first got saved? Remember the pure joy and bliss? It was like wearing rose-tinted glasses. You saw the same people and places, but everything was different. Life was good. Everything was celebrated. Then suddenly it came. It was as if somebody smashed your new glasses with a 10 pound hammer. You faced your first adversity. Maybe this was criticism by your parents or teachers. Maybe it was the loss of a job and financial trouble. For me, trouble came in the form of rejection by some of my closest friends. It is as if the happiness and joy flee and are replaced by concern and fear.

David, the psalmist and king, acknowledges troubled times. He dealt with it a good part of his life. From battling Goliath the giant to running away from King Saul’s army, David was well aware that following God can be tough. But he also got to see the hand of God deliver him time and time again. So he learned to give God praise even in the midst of trouble.

We are not immune to trials. In fact, we often have more trouble once we become saved. The reason is that before we were under the dominion of Satan, the ruler of this world. Now we are under the kingdom of God. The devil would like nothing more than to confuse and distract God’s people from fulfilling the purposes in their lives. Although we must be prepared, we don’t have to be worried. God is greater than the enemy, and promises to sustain us. He will stretch out His hand against the anger of our enemies. We can praise him even in the middle of our troubles, knowing that at the other end of our test is a testimony!

Matthew White

Psalm 137:1-9

The psalm spoke about the times the Jews were in captivity in Babylon and the treatment they received there.

As I ponder and reflect of the times then, I began to realize the kind of oppression these people received back then. The last verse talks about infants being taken from their mother, and smashed onto rocks.

It is a cruel world!

However, in times oppression, people return back to God. They lifted up cries and tears, in hope to be comforted by God and God is faithful always.

Yes, God is faithful always… no matter what!

Keith S. Muljadi

Psalm 136:1-26 – His Love Endures Forever

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever" (Psalm 136:1).

Exactly one week from now, it will be Christmas Eve, a time for celebration, family gathering, and gifts and toys. Some people will be hoping to receive a gift they would like. Some may be preparing for the New Year, planning out the year and writing resolutions. And some may look back at 2007 to count their victories and perhaps failures.

In all the planning and holiday activities, let us remember God, draw near, renew our commitment, and lift up our needs and wishes to Him, our loving Father God who provides and gives His blessings generously. And through it all, let us always remember to "Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever" (Psalm 136:26).

Hansel Ong

I am reminded that the Word of God is flawless. Nothing that is written in the Word of God contains any falsehood or error. We serve the God of truth who cannot lie, and thus His Words are full of integrity. Every single teaching is pure, free from the philosophy of men.

Slowly we learn to trust in God. He will become a shield and a place of refuge. During times of oppression, every arrows of the devil will be nullified by the Word, and those restless, will be able to find refuge in Him.

Thus, we ought to take joy, and treasure the Word of God. Always be discerning of the ones that have altered the Word itself.

Let’s go deep and learn straight from His Words!

Keith S. Muljadi

Micah 3:5-12

In the book of Micah, the prophets and leaders were rebuked. What is the reason for that?

"Micah 3:5-7 – This is what the Lord says: As for the prophets who lead my people astray, if one feeds them, they proclaim ‘peace’, if he does not, they prepare to wage war against him"

Leading people astray is the reason why they received such a rebuke from God. It is their office and their character that have causes people to worship and walk in God the wrong way.

What was to be done? They were to feed the people.

Essentially, reading further, I realized that feeding or proclaiming peace is not to proclaim things that are good to be heard, but it is to feed the people with the truth; the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Two things: 1) The choices we make to walk, and the character we have causes others to either be built or fall. 2) The proclamation of peace is really speaking truth to correct and impart something that is of the Word.

It is not a choice whether our lives will impact others. How we will impact people, is the real choice we each have to make. What’s your choice?

Keith S. Muljadi

Jonah 1-2 – In the bottom of the Big Fish’s Belly

Jonah 1:17 -- But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.

Picture what it’s really like in there, inside the Big Fish’s belly. The humidity, the total darkness, the terrible heat, the struggle just to breath above the water line, swimming against all the slimiest creatures that the big whale has swallowed, not to mention the rotten smell of dead microorganisms! Eugh! The picture’s quite depressing isn’t it? Even Jonah depicted it as a living hell!!!

Imagine that Jonah has to endure such situation for three days and three nights, all alone, no one to hold on to. He did not know what’s going to happen next, even whether he’s going to come out of the fish alive. In the middle of a deep desperation and struggle, he had no other choice but to cry out to God; the God he has been running away from, the God that at that time- seems so far away.

There are going to be some times in our lives where we hit rock bottom. There are times in our lives, when our world seems so dark, we don’t know what is going to happen next. Our future seems to be nothing but a big blur, the heats of problems keeps pouring down on us, and burying us alive. I often call it, The Bottom of Big Fish’s Belly Experience. This situation’s enough to make us distracted, distressed, restless, worried, and alone (The last one is the most dreadful for us social creatures).

Pay attention to what Jonah did, that catches God’s attention right away! It brings him out of the situation FAST! (Read the whole Jonah 2, Jonah’s prayer was AWESOMELY POWERFUL)!!!

In the end, God heard Jonah’s prayer: "So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto the dry land. A BREAKTHROUGH IS WAITING IN THE END OF THE DARK TUNNEL! Just press on! Don’t give up! J Finally, let you come out of the "Big Fish’s Belly" changed, empowered, and stronger than ever before to do THE PERFECT WILL OF GOD!!!! You might even change a nation, just like Jonah did.

Just never give up. Never.

Joy Holyzia

Proverbs 29:26 – Many seek the ruler's favor; But a man's judgment cometh from the Lord.

Often times, injustice happens in our lives. Many times, we seek to find ‘justice’ with our own understanding and ways.

I remembered the TV show Judge Judy. There is many other TV show Judges that have appeared in our TV screen over the years. The one thing that I always remember is that whenever there are lawsuits between two parties, usually one side wins and the other side is not happy, or the case is dismissed and one party would be happy and the other is not happy or both will be unhappy. However, justice is served – a justice that points one party as right and another as wrong, however, deep inside, one might still be in bondage of hatred and revenge.

As I was reading this, I remembered that the highest of all the judges is God. He is one that is fair and just. Every single one of his decision, makes both side feel at peace, and restored. I remembered when Jesus were with that prostitute that were going to be stoned, and how he handled the situation so well, that those who were condemning and trying to trap Jesus, were rebuked, and the prostitute were given a chance to be restored.

Often times, the justice we seek is impartial and always imperfect. The only perfect judge that would resolve any injustice well is Jesus. Whenever, we are in that state where we felt that injustice were done to us, we need to keep in mind that God will judge equally and justly in due time. All of this, God has done, so that we can do one thing.

So that we can learn and be able to forgive others. The most important for God is to restore us daily, and not let Satan takes away the fullness of life that had been promised to us.

Who do we need to forgive, today?

Keith S. Muljadi

Revelation 3:7-22 – The Key of David

"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this:

'I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name. – Rev 3:7-8

These two verses are very powerful. The reference of the key of David was made in Isaiah 22. Christ was reflected to hold that master key that opens the Heavenly door and the door of opportunities in our lives.

How many of us are frustrated because doors are being closed in your face? Things do not seem to go according to the desires of your heart. As a student, you started with the ambition of being an Accounting major, but the door to the Accounting department was shut. You tried to apply for the Finance major, and again, this door was shut. Do not be discouraged, Jesus, who is holy, who is true, has the master key of our lives. When a door shut, Jesus will open a door of opportunities for you.

As a professional or entrepreneur, sometimes we too are faced with closed doors in our careers or businesses. For years, I’ve always wanted to start my own café, but somehow the Lord always shut my café business door. However, I did not give up, I tried the second time, it was shut, the third time, it was shut. Finally, after the last attempt in 2006, I finally figured that this is not the door of opportunity that the Lord wanted me to go through. It was so powerful for me to understand how strong the Lord is in our lives. When he opens the door of opportunity for you, no one can shut it. Not the economy, not the government, not the circumstances of our lives, not our family background. IT IS HUGE!!!!

All we need to do is to keep His word close in our hearts, and walk in Christ glorifying lifestyle, and He will set before you an open door. AMEN.

Irwan Ngadisastra

Psalm 130:1-8 - hope for the hopeless

Psalm 130 is David's testimony of trusting in the Lord - for one who knows that even though he is a sinner, the Lord hears his cry out of the depths and forgive his sin.

On verse 3, David was asking who can stand if God keeps account and treat us according to our sins. We cannot justify ourselves before God nor plead not guilty. If God deals with us in strict justice, we are undone. It is because of His mercy that we are not consumed by His wrath. If God were not forgiving, people could only flee from him in terror. There is forgiveness with him, for this is what we need. He has promised to forgive the sins for those who do repent. Thank God that He is not imputing our sins.

Psalm 32:2 "Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit."

Romans 4:6-8 ^{" 6David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 7"Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 8Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him."}

On later verse, David was asking Israel to put hope in the Lord for with the Lord is unveiling love and with him is full redemption. He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins. The same applies to all of us. We are sinful and hopeless people. We need to put our hope in Him. The greatest of all hopes has been fulfilled in Christ.

Lie Tju