Pray For The Nation

I pray for the people / I pray for the nation
For us to bow before you / And humble ourself and pray

You hear our prayer from heaven / You heal our land today
You turn our hearts from all the wicked ways

I kneel right know before you / I lift my hands towards the heaven
I pray, yes I pray / For Your mercy and grace over us

You seated on the highest throne
You lifted all above all things
Exalted and adore / I worship You in awe
Be glorify and magnify today

Bridge:
There’s now no more condemnation, over this land no more
There’s now no more, no more curses
Over our lives, over our family, over our church today

Gw suka banget sama lagu di album barunya TW, judulnya Pray For The Nation. Terlepas dari lagunya emang keren banget – aransemen musiknya itu lho, pake musik tradisional segala – it has deep meaning inside. Waktu itu Andre pernah nanya apa gw cinta sama Indonesia, karena gw ga’ pernah punya keinginan tuk tinggal di luar. Gw ga’ perlu mikir lagi, yes I do love my country.

Sekarang ini negara kita banyak dihubungkan dengan masalah-masalah internasional. Kondisi internal bangsa kita sendiri emang ga’ bagus. Harga bahan pangan naik melulu. Pemerintahan ga’ beres. KKN yang ga’ pernah bisa diberantas. Intinya moral bangsa kita emang lagi bobrok. Kalo orang luar mikir, apa sih yang bisa dibanggain dari bangsa ini??? Jawaban gw, BANYAK!!

Indonesia has so many cultures, yang ga’ dipunyai sama negara lain. Semua itu meliputi, pakaian, makanan, bahasa, alat musik, lagu daerah, dan masih banyak lagi! Indonesia punya bejibun suku bangsa, belum lagi kalo ditambah etnis-etnis luar (terutama cina ya…hahaha. Emang narsis!). Kekayaan alam kita juga bejibun, contohnya kelapa sawit, beras, batu bara, mutiara, dan masih banyak lagi. Tapi itu semua ga’ keliatan karena ga’ dikelola secara maksimal.

Kalo tiap sarapan gw nonton berita, orang bisanya cuma ngeluh aja – kenapa sih begini, kenapa sih begitu, semua pada saling nyalahin – tapi mereka ga’ pernah bawa perubahan yang berarti pada bangsa ini. Hey, wake up!! Kalo bisanya cuma ngeluh aja, ya jangan harap Indonesia bisa tambah maju! Di konser All Things New, Ps Jeffrey melalui kotbah multimedianya bilang, perubahan itu dimulai dari diri sendiri. If you wanna change your country, start with yourself first!

Salah satu benih yang ditanam Ps Jeffrey and Jose dalam hati gw adalah so that we become the generation of stars. Caranya gimana?? Use all your talents. Kembangin itu semua. Ga’ ketinggalan we must impact the world, light and salt the world. Kalo kata kak Vita, coz we Representative Christ. John F. Kennedy said, “Don’t ask what your country can do for you. But ask what you can do for your country.” Pesan-nya uda jelas kan??

Stop blaming your country! Tunjukkin kalo di dalam bangsa ini ada suatu generasi yang hebat. Generasi yang powerful, yang bisa membawa perubahan pada bangsa ini. It’s all within you. How about that?

Deep Of Your Grace

Di pertemuan DATE Rabu kemarin, Kak Vita share something yang bagi gw bagus banget. She talked about Grace. According to what Ps Jose said, grace is something that costs the one who receives it nothing, but costs the one who give it everything. Grace/kasih karunia adalah kemurahan dan kebaikan dari Tuhan yang kita terima, bukan karena perbuatan dan hasil kerja kita dan tidak ada yang dapat kita lakukan untuk membalas kebaikan Tuhan tersebut.

When do we receive grace? Specifically, when Jesus came to this world, and died at the cross for us. And because of that, we receive HIS grace everyday of our life, in every breath that we take, every move that we make. Can you guys ever imagine, what would it be if Jesus didn’t come to this world??? Meniru kata kak Vita, kalo Tuhan ga’ pernah dateng ke dunia, kita uda pasti mati punya cerita (duh, cina banget ga’ seh?! Hahaha).

God’s grace in our life could never be count, it has no limit. For me personally, God’s grace in my life can be described from my fave Bible’s verse. John 10:28 said “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” Sejak gw bertobat, berkat Tuhan ga’ pernah berhenti ngalir dalam semua aspek kehidupan gw. And berkat ayat itu, gw semakin ngerti tentang how great is HIS love for us. Berawal dari situ, gw mulai belajar tuk nyalurin grace itu sama orang lain.

You know, grace seharusnya membuat kita menjadi orang yang gracious/generous. Butuh latihan tuk jadi orang baik. Dengan mendemonstrasikan kebaikan, kita bisa menunjukkan kasih karunia Tuhan dalam hidup kita. Itu semua butuh tindakan nyata, ga cuma OmDo (omong doank). Ga’ harus tunjukkin dalam moment tertentu, but do it everyday. Contohnya, kalo naik angkot, say thank you sama supirnya pas bayar. Bisa juga senyum sama OB kita di kantor. Ato ga’ bilang good morning sama orang yang kita temuin di kantor. Hal kecil yang kita lakuin bisa tanpa sadar menjadi “angin segar” bagi mereka yang punya beban di bahunya. Siapa tau kita bisa bikin mereka cheer up dari persoalan yang mereka hadapin. You’ll never know. So start to be gracious.

These are song from Hillsong, composed by Mia Fieldes. This song tells us how deep God’s grace for our life is. And I do really love this song

You are my Shepherd / giving what I could not afford
Leaving the many / You sought to find me Lord
I will remember / You are the reason for my song
Blessed Redeemer / You love me as Your own

In the deep of Your Grace
All my sins are washed away
Here I know the power of forgiveness
Here I now the power of Your blood

All I am will I lay down
All I am / before Your cross

Praise Looks Good on You

Many people ask, “What does God think about our praises? Does HE like it, or not? Do our praises make Him happy? Dos He accept our praise?” I try quite some time to find the answer. And few days ago, I listened to Don Moen’s song called Praise Looks Good on You. Before I describe it, try to open Psalm 33:1. It says “Praise is becoming to the upright.”

This song describes how God feels about our praises. Don Moen says that he believe worship means to more than a mono log. Worship means, He wants to speak to us, and say ‘I bless you, and I love you’. Hope this song can help you find out what God thinks about our praises. Here are the lyrics:

When you lift your hands up high
And you sing a song of praise to Me
It brings Me great delight / Such a lovely sight
And yes it is true, Praise looks good on you

Morning night and noon
Your praises ascends to heaven
Like the smell of sweet perfume
Filling every room / And yes it is true
Praise looks good on you

You bring your sacrifices
And you offer up your praise
You lift your hands up high / but your heart seems far away
More than a sacrifice / I am looking for your life
Holy and acceptable / And pleasing in My sight

So offer up your lives / Holy and acceptable
A willing sacrifice / Precious in My sight
But in all that you do / Remember all I want is you

So lift your hands up high
And worship Him before the altar
Consecrate your life / A willing sacrifice
But in all that you do / Remember all He wants is you
And yes it is true / Praise looks good on you

Above All

GOD IS ABOVE ALL POWERS AND ALL KINGS.
Psalm 95:3 says, “For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.” From the beginning of time there has not ben a leader or a king who has even come close to affecting the world in the way that Jesus Christ has. Two thousand years after His death, burial, and resurrection, the lives of millions of people continue to be transformed as they receive His love and foriveness.

HE IS ABOVE ALL NATURE AND ALL CREATED THINGS.
In the first chapter of Romans, Paul talks about how God has revelaed His eternal power and divine nature through the beauty of His creation, and so man has no excuse for not acknowledging Him.

HE IS ABOVE ALL WISDOM AND ALL THE WAYS OF MAN.
The scriptures are many that say God’s wisdom is greater and His ways are higher than ours.

HE IS ABOVE ALL KINGDOMS, ABOVE ALL THRONES.
Our Lord’s Kingdom is not of this world, but as His children we’ve been iven a deposit of His heavenly Kingdom here on earth.

HE IS ABOVE ALL WONDERS THE WORLD HAS EVER KNOWN.
Most of us have never actually seen the Lord in the natural but we’ve all witnessed His grace and mercy, both personally and through each other. That kind of beauty far surpasses anything I’ve ever laid eyes on or experienced.

HE IS ABOVE ALL TREASURES OF THE EARTH.
Many people live their whole lives trying to gain wealth and fame, hoping that they will be fulfilled, when all the while the One who can quench their endless thirst and hunger stands waiting with arms open wide. His undying love is the most precious jewel of all.

THERE’S NO WAY TO MEASURE WHAT YOU’RE WORTH.
There is simply no unit of measurement we could use to calculate the worth of our Lord. How can you even begin to asses the value of the One who spoke the universe into existence?

CRUCIFIED, LAID BEHIND THE STONE.
It seems like after all that’s been said about His worth and His supremacy, we should now say He is worthy, holy, and so majestic. But wait. Look at what our Lord allowed to happen.

YOU LIVE TO DIE, REJECTED AND ALONE.
Jesus’ sole purpose was to do the will of the Father, even to the point of dying and being rejected by the ones He came to see.

LIKE A ROSE TRAMPLED ON THE GROUND.
Those seven words only begin to portray how something so pure and beautiful could be so crudely discarded by the very ones to whom the gift was given.

YOU TOOK THE FALL AND THOUGHT OF ME ABOVE ALL.
Oh Father in heaven, how great is Your love for us, that You would give the dearest thing to Your heart as a sacrifice for the sin of mankind that we might know You and have relationship with You. Help us, Lord, to somehow understand the weight of what You did for us. May we surrender our hearts and forever place You … Above all.

Words are from the Songwriter, Lenny LeBlanc.

To You

(To You)

Here I stand, 4ever in Your mighty hand

Living with Your promise, written on my heart

I am Yours, surrendered wholly to You

You set me in Your family, You calling me Your own

(He Knows My Name)

I have a maker (Father), He formed my heart

Before even time began, my life was in His hand

He knows my name, He knows my every thought

He sees each tears that falls, and hears me when I call

These songs are two of my favorite songs ever. The lyrics are so great, and it captured my heart. Every time I hear these songs, makes me fall in love deeper with my Creator. What a great love He had and always gives me!

We are so precious in His eyes, so He puts us in His family. How worth we are, so we have an authority to call Him “Abba, Father”. How huge His love to us, so He died in that cross for us. How he loves us so He can knows each of our names.

Two weeks go when I knell on His feet, when I confess all sins I had done. I can really hear His voices said: “You thought you were unlovable? Look at my scars. You thought no one was listening to you? Just watch what comes next. You thought you’d never make it through another day? Look at every angel in disguise I sent to you though the faces and hands of those you love, and even some you didn’t know you loved.”

We live in this world to worship Him. Surrender means, you give up your life & trust everything He makes in our life. And since we walk by faith and not by sight, we have to continue the journey with the simple trust that God is in His heaven and all is right with our world. Ultimately, His ways are not our ways, but miraculously, He sometimes allows us a passing glance at what might be … and what we might become.

Bless You All ^ __ ^