When It's Difficult to Hold On

Has it ever occured to you?
A period of wilderness in your life.
You walk and keep on walking, yet you don't know if you'll ever get out from it.
You hold on for so long, long enough that you start wondering why you are even here.
You pray, but it doesn't seem to change anything, neither you, nor the situation.

I don't know if you have experienced it,
some older people might say they've gone through it..
... the feeling when you lost your will to live, what's the purpose of continuing it.

I know I haven't lived long enough, and that's even scarier,
that I thought of things like this pretty early.

You often hear that the wilderness is not permanent, and you know that it's to prepare young generation of Israelites for God's promises for them.

Still, if nothing has ever happened since your first prayer here, you're goin to start to believe that it might not be preparing you for something better, you think that it's the fact of how you're gonna spend the rest of your life, that it's PERMANENT.
A life full of fights, accusations, misunderstandings, heartbreaking realities.

Oh, well, you might've tried to explain what God's called you to do to some people, and still can't be understood. And the truth is, the more you're trying, often the more you're talking yourself out of what God really wants.
You tried, and the voices and winds of accusations are getting even stronger instead.

And then, not only you lose the vision of why exactly you are doing what you are doing, but you don't understand what's on earth you have been doing ALL THIS TIME and what's left from God's promises for you, or or... what are actually the promises given to you? Did you actually hear any?

You know, this ain't a really happy state of mind or life.

You have lost the sharp edge of your life,
lost your passion,
lost your sight of God most of the time, no matter how hard you pray.
Even worse, you feel beaten up every time you wake up by the voices of chatterbox.

You prayed 'Sun Stand Still' prayers, yet the sun goes down.
You told yourself "just because your progress isn't obvious, it doesn't mean your faith is not working", and nothing worked.
You taught yourself "don't stop on 6", but your 7th day never comes.
2 years ago, I thought it was my last lap, nope
last year, I thought it was so, nay
this year, I can't even think of anything.
(I can't imagine the agony of walking in the wilderness for FORTY years, I'm like just about 1/5 way of it and feel like quitting many times)

Why, God?
I fight the battles You want me to, learn to do it in ways You love, and still I face great afflictions from the inside.
I once believed I was set apart for Your purpose, but now, it feels as if I'm set aside because of these set backs.
I don't mind walking extra miles anywhere You say, I know Your job scope often exceeds what I expect in the beginning, but I don't think I registered for these "extra courses" when I enrolled my life.
I'm okay with all those oppositions if they have purpose, but when will it stop hurting like it's hurting now? Is this a battle that's really worth fighting for? All those fights, all those sufferings, all those nights without sleep, all those prayers that seem unanswered.

For the very first time of my life, I waved a white flag to God.
That was when my Pastor prayed for me and mentioned about 'Second Wind',
to push myself one more time, as my finish line is drawing near, and it's really a shame to quit now.
With all my scepticism currently going on and on in my head, I thought,
"Pastor, that was what I told myself over and over again. So how can I believe that this time is going to be any different?"

But I didn't say that, I was afraid of missing something that God wanted to speak to me.
So I stayed silent.

If you asked me what's the purpose of this post...
Well I don't know, I'm looking for the answer too, for that question and for my questions about this journey.

Maybe, (just maybe, I don't know) God wants to teach me:
1. The true meaning of perseverance, no matter how high the tide's gonna be and how long it's gonna take, when you stand strong and believe in God, you will come out VICTORIOUS.
The Bible is full of people who stood strong even til the end.

2. The God's standardized that is often seen as hard (or harsh) preparations to prepare me for something God has prepared for me, so that I will be ready for greater blessings.
"Never doubt in the dark what God shows you in the light."

3. To fix my eyes on Jesus, "in every high and stormy gale my ANCHOR holds within the veil" that my faith won't be on what I'm doing but on what God's doing.
To show me that His promise is true no matter what, full stop.

4. To understand the true meaning of being set apart and anointed.
"To be anointed means to be singled out by God for special favours or responsibilities"

Last but not least, even the most important, it is.
5. To love the Lord my God with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my strength and with all my mind.


For closing, I would like to write some things from the series Sticks and Stones by Pastor Steven Furtick:

I am anointed to accomplish my assignment

Just because I'm not visible doesn't mean I'm not valuable

It's the things that noone sees that produce the results that everyone wants - Craig Groeschel

I don't need a better assignment to have a greater anointing

I have nothing to prove and only One to please

Fix your eyes on Him and receive what only He can give

Even If

December is not my favourite month, I think, yet it might symbolically represent the "month of completion" for me as much as January represent the "month of new beginning" (okay, it's just me)

I and my sister felt so happy to come home (it's such a rare occurence, y'know).
I'd finished my exams, completed my projects for the semester (FYP 1, Katam-Ciyu's Wedding, FGCC Sunday Services) and even delegated my tasks and vision-mission to my successors in Fresh Ministry: Jansen and Claudys.
Basically, I had accomplished almost all of my works in Malaysia, so I guess that's why I was really looking forward to this holiday period.

I had made this to-do list that I would do during holiday, some are doable, some are prayable, and the others are laughable:
1. Learn how to play guitar (oke, gitar si dedek ketuker sama gitar Deo, n lagi stay di Jakarta)
2. Finish the books that I brought: Blink (Malcolm Gladwell), Limitless (Nick Vujicic), Lead Like Jesus (Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges)
3. Do some futsal coaching (dannn... temen2 gua sudah jarang maen futsal ya)
4. Get enough sleep (biar makin tinggi, tapi kayaknya ini tinggal angan2)
5. Come up with Fresh Ministry hoodie design
6. Understand and play with the Arduino language for the further development of my Final Year Project next semester
7. Gain some weight (pffft)

These activities were postponed somehow, as we went to Jakarta two days after I and my sisters arrived in Palembang for my dad's reunion and my friend's wedding (at where I received the weirdest question of all possible questions for me, "kapan nyusul, dra?" Gua next year baru 22 taun, saudara2)

Back to December, sorry I got a bit lost just now.
For me personally, I would like to call it as the month of transition.
As next semester will be my last semester in Monash, I've started planning what I'm going to do right after I graduate. I listed some possible options, consulted with my parents, mentors and close friends, and finally came up with a particular solution.

Nevertheless, the sense of worries and doubts started crippling.
I;mma tell you why.

1. What's the purpose, God?
Ever since I was born again (can't remember when to be exact), I prayed that I would live a Spirit-led life. Giving my best, serving God and the people while praying the same.
Yet in this last year of study, after all these things, I think, I barely see any progress.
There are some people grow up as what I ministered from God to them, this blesses me a lot, but many don't.
It's not "many" like legion or something like that, but the numbers are just devastating and even discouraging for me to keep on keeping on.

This brought me to ask God again "Did You really call me? Did You really call me to do this? I ain't hearing wrongly, am I?"
In the past several months, I'd been crashing this chatterbox over and over again (referring to Steven Furtick's latest book) while serving God.

"Will it be any use anyway? What's the purpose of doing this while many people don't even support you?"
were the questions that constantly came into my mind.

I opened my eyes, I saw people I care for compromise with their sins, that they told me that they wouldn't want to actually.
I opened my social medias, I got hot because of their posts (which is why I fasted from some of my medias for months).
I typed something and it hurt people (they said), is my short message that menacing or people are just getting further away from the truth and has trapped in their own compromise?

Ironically, I was worried of typing or saying even anything because of this fear.
I researched on Dale Partridge's blog, Ray Comfort's , and even Pastor Steven's to find out how they respond to such oppositions.
Still, it's scary how negative people can be towards these people.

2. What will I become?
I guess, because my last semester is coming, I asked this frequently.
I've mentioned about this struggle from academic side, but in fact, I'm experiencing in my aspects, including spiritual aspect.

After I 'graduate' from FGCC, what church will I join? What kind of church? What area of ministry? Will I be able to serve like how I serve in FGCC in China?
to the question such as:
Will I be able to play futsal in same or higher level?

I'm starting to see that I have kind of settled down in FGCC, in Malaysia. With all my achievement (I know they are not that great actually, but still they are not instant), how am I going to "level up" in another place?

Simply put, I indirectly questioned about God's ability to put all things together for my good.
This took me days before I realized it.
During my flight to Jakarta, Spirit of God spoke to me in while I was thinking all these lesser priority stuffs, "Why are you making it sound as if you are going to face your life all alone?"

I worried whether or not I would serve God again in leading worship at my church (wherever it is), I worried whether or not I would have the chance to learn to be a preacher, I worried whether or not my style of preaching is acceptable at that church, I worried and I worried that I forgot the One who had called me here.

I thank God for people that helped me to see from different perspectives regarding this "next church" matter, Ricky Hadap, kak Tama n ci Yuyu, Jansen Karim, Brian Adam and Hao2. You guys might not realize it, but your simple messages were really helping me in the time of doubts.

I asked myself, "does it really matter if I would serve like how I expected to be? Doesn't what matter most is that I do whatever God calls me to do?"
Ps. Philip Mantofa said in his sermon "God is not done with you yet".
So why... are you worried, Indra?

For my number one question, I rewatched Ps. Steven Furtick's "Don't Stop On 6" Hillsong Conference 2014 version (love you Pastor Steve, thanks) and was reminded of how obedience is in our department and outcome is in God's, I remembered how Pastor Steven emphasized on standing strong even when nobody supported him or when many people seemed to turn against him even when he did what God told him to do.
Why... are you scared?

I wrote in my previous post of how some things do not make sense even until now.
Again, as if God asked me "if you were given a chance to go back to the past, would you do the same thing?"
Oh yeah, sure, I'd do it again because I know who had called me to do so.
Even if I'm feeling like crap because of that,
even if I'm constantly in doubt because everything doesn't seem to make any sense,
even if I had been disrespectful to God because I experienced what wasn't caused by what I did.
I would do it, again, because God told me to.

I asked myself, "isn't this resolution enough for you to believe God's heart when you can't see His hands?"
I once asked "how to have an 'even if' relationship with God when God had given His love before we even started to love Him?"
and God had led me to have this story where I need to keep my faith, to love God EVEN IF what God's doing doesn't seem to make any sense.

Will you still love God even if He disappoints your expectations?

I love this quote, so I'mma write it again:
“When I realize that everything that is happening to me, is to make me more Christ-like it solves a great deal of anxiety.”- A.W. Tozer

Blessing Through a Chance

I've been doing well recently, thank you for asking hahaha
It turns out that this semester is going to be unexpected one
Simple example, for one of our subjects, we are required to build a robot, and my friend without my knowing, telling the supervisor that we will register for PRIDE competition (robotic competition), I just found out after the supervisor asked me about registeration email and stuffs (I was like: WHAAD, Seriously, dude!??). Hope we can accomplish everything by the end of semester.

Okay, anywayy...
Last time I realized that I needed to focus on some things
However, this year I got a chance to have futsal practise, which I've been longing since long time ago. The practise schedule matches my timetable (previously I couldn't play anymore due to important things to do during weekends) and moreoever it is subsidized, thanks to Monash (or Shaf?) and Coach Kevin Yee.
(Tuhan tau banget gua sering bokek :') ).
Never expected this though

I was introduced to Monash Futsal Captain: Shaf, by Vedo Irawan, a friend of mine whom I met when I was actively playing futsal, then I joined their games several times because their GK just graduated and also introduced to Kevin (whom Valiant told me about. Last year, we played against Kevin's team, RG during a Futsal Competition at Ferro. Of course we lost #justsaying hahaha).
He's a really good coach, kind of fatherly, that's what makes me respect him more.
I don't know why, but the moment is 'just nice' :D

Thank You for the chance, I started to come to their practises, learnt a lot of new things and met many talented people, the ones I met recently or even ones who are famous since long time ago (like Zec, Hassan, RG players).
I know I'm kind of clumsy playing on the rubber floor, my feet often get stuck here and there, messing up my timing every time hahaha.
Nevertheless, futsal is fun :P

When I looked back, there was a time when my friends got intimidated by my determination to improve (too much is a bad thing, though), but this time I have a great circumstance where I need to improve myself and that's all. I don't have to think of this and that, considering this and that, it's simply: Playing futsal.
Sounds fun eh? It sure is :D

Yea, I'm still focusing myself on my service, calling and study in Malaysia, and during my spare time, I play futsal with these talented young players and Kevin. It's really such a pleasure.

Thank You!

"Why A. C. Milan?" by Me

Associazione Calcio Milan, one of Serie A football clubs
I'm sure many of you have known this name (why many, not all? because my family does not)

Since 1899

When I was younger, I didn't support a certain football team, I just loved to watch a good football match (but I did not focus on a certain sport either, I played badminton, then basketball, football then futsal. So it was 2006-2008 that I started watching football rather seriously, such a newbie huh? haha)

Alright, due to my lackness of knowledge that time, I only had several 'great' players (according to me): Gianluigi Buffon, Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (I was proud for being able to memorize his full name), Oliver Kahn, Iker Casillas, Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi, Del Piero, David Beckham. #sangatsedikit
I was not even interested in the older generation players like Shevchenko, Maradona, Batistuta, Pirlo, Ronaldo Delima etc. Silly younger me, really

Then I was introduced this player and his football team, rather than focusing on how awesome his performance was (he was known with motto: Impossible is Nothing), I learnt about his integrity to live as a devout Christian while he is maintaining his status as a great footballer.
Just imagine, in Brazil, he and his partner (Caroline Celico) remained sanctity until marriage, even a child like me understood how difficult that was
I also learnt about his response about the career-threatening swimming pool accident
I was like: WOOOW :O
I began to love this A.C. Milan team because of his impact, he'd moved to Real Madrid though

I present to you, Ricardo Kaka

Some wondered why I support this kind of non-mainstream team, some said that the reason I support A.C. Milan was because I could not move on (let it remaind silent for some people, ha!), .

Anyway, who does not want Fernando Torres to return to Liverpool, and hopefully regain his prime condition? (I know there are some people who don't, but never mind, just take it as "Noone does not", lol). 

Same thing goes for Kaka's returning to A.C. Milan, at least for me

I know A.C. Milan was experiencing some kind of turbulences and now at the 3rd place of Serie A (after serious instabilities in their performances)

They are not like the mighty Juventus (like I said, I love Buffon and Del Piero haha), they do not have a powerful weapon like Barca's Tiki Taka, etc etc. But I still love them

Milan is the first football team that I love, the one and only *cieh

Il Faraone

You know what, one more player who made me said: "This is it! I love this player" was Stephan El Shaarawy, Serie A Young Footballer of the Year (2012).

Looking at his skills makes me questioning if he is really one year older than me o_O

And Milan now have the trio (mohawk) youngsters::

Left to Right:
M'Baye Niang (1994) - Mario Balotelli (1990) - El Shaarawy (1992)

I care less about the other young players, except for David de Gea (1990) the Monkey Mutant from Manchester United huahahaha

Let me conclude this: 

I love A.C Milan but I'm just a football lover.

It would be really great if we can stop the hating, harsh words among teams, annoying action like green laser things, etc.

When you're supporting a team, what you really want is they win the competition (whatever it is), and it doesn't necessarily mean hating other team, am I right?

You support this team, I support another one, does it make us an enemy?

Come on, let's just enjoy the game and stop hating (although I do hate some players' actions such as diving, fighting, doing violence)

#ForzaMilan

Recent Updates 20/02/2013

Chinese New Year is over, some families still keep the CNY snakcs for their visitors though.
This time, my update includes some conversations during Pai Cia (sanjo), visiting friends or whatever you call it.

Some are good to hear, some are heart-breaking ones...

My parent's friends asked me whether I have got myself a GF (I don't know if they realize I'm just 20 this year or not haha)
Thanks to friends who taught me to answer this kind of question: "Indra, I think your GF-to-be is most likely a nun, pastor or 'like Jesus'."
It effectively closed all of those questions, thank you thank you hahahaha

Personally I have made another vow to God about relationship subject.
What for? #IntimacyWithGod, FGCC's daily devotion project convinced me to do this even more :)

The heart-breaking conversation are like this:
A friend of ours told us, "In doing business, being honest will not make you successful. We are a businessman, it's impossible for us to be honest."
Oh wow...
Many people think like that
But I learn to have God's heart:
Love the sinners, hate the sin

It's difficult, really...

Can't they see that God they (we) worship is a living God

Why do they act like if they are keeping their integrity, God will not take care of them?

Ps. Arman Harijanto (I wrote a bit about him on previous post) is one of the people with integrity.

Maintaining righteousness in living his life, proving that God will take care of the rest.

Too bad, many people just can't see it, can't see how much God loves them even until now.

Nevertheless, rather than focusing on useless things like: Viewing who are the false converts and who are true converts, we should do something much useful, loving them for an example.

Supporting this opinion, I should tell my another story, I attended a workshop, where a musician, named Ps. Xiau Dong San and a speaker, Ps. Samuel Sia were sharing their different topics in one same event.

People started to lose their focus, they chatted and stuffs.

Great lesson I learnt is that both Pastors were still teaching enthusiastically, in spite of the numbers of people who really paid attention to them might be less than the one who did not.

Simple, like rain, it pours impartially

No matter how good, how bad, how this and how that you are, rain will pour fairly for you when it's the time (mencegah ada komentar aneh2 seperti: kalo musim kemarau gimana? dll dll).

I also felt that something was off with me lately.

I don't know what it is and I realized that it's about Fresh Ministry (for me).

Until yesterday, I talked to Kak Tama, asked whether he wanted to say something to me

"Coba untuk lebih serius tapi tetap santai", he said...

I was like, yes that's the answer! I did not behave like my usual self, sangat ga santai, ga tau alasannya apa.

Thank you so much to friends who still maintain my life and evaluate my working or studying.

I can not do much without you guys as my family, team and friends.

God bless :)

Lucy, A. afarensis From Other Perspective

Lucy,our 'ancestor' (according to the evolutionist)

Australopithecus afarensis is one of the so-called 'missing links' for evolution theory
WIKIPEDIA

The links below consist of interesting discussions and explanations from another point of view, written by Carl Kerby (a creationist). For me personally it answered my questions regarding this kind of topic.

Some of you may refuse our belief (about creation, it is), but how about spending some minutes to read this article? It won't do any harm, right? (I can assure you, NO hypnosis in there, ha!)

There are only 5 parts of it

First Part
Directories

Spoiler:

Perhaps you are thinking, “Carl, You’re a creationist. You’re biased!” Well, you’re right, I am biased. My presupposition is that I believe what God said in His Word. So let’s look at only the observable evidence, the “beef”, and follow it to a logical, testable conclusion.

See? No forcing, no childish arguments, we just want the 'beef'. Why shouldn't we share the 'beef'? ;)

The Transformer Generation

The words "Transforming" and "Fighting" echoed in my head lately

We are the fighting generation, transformer generation

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. - Ephesians 6:12

We have to fight in this era, to create better generation.

Perhaps, many of our parents have 'wordly teachings' (their life, lifestyle and teachings imparted to the children that are according to the world)
However, who on earth is righteous since their born day?
Clearly shown by Colossians 1:21

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.

We are fighting to break the chain
What chain?

CURSE (idolatry, child's sacrifice to gods, occultism)
HATRED (violence, trauma, vengeance)
... You name it

To put it simple: Chain of SIN

Fighting this kind of chain can not be done by hating, it needs LOVE. Whose? GOD
Hating your previous generation (parents, leaders, seniors) will never solve the problems, you'll be trapped in this chain of sin instead, slowly but sure you'll take resemblance with people you hate (at heart)

God said:

"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you." - Exodus 20:12

8Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
9They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.
- Proverbs 1:8-9

I know many of you have known these verses, but knowing it and living it are not the same thing.

As the transformer generation, we ought to create better generation starting from us to the next generation. It's a textbook thing to say 'this generation should be better than previous, and so on", yet we often forget about it, we live like we have no responsibility at all, we live only for ourselves.

Here's the thing, maybe nothing seems wrong by living according to your heart, but there's no guarantee that you'll create better future and generation (moreover, if you are teaching them to live just according to their own way, without a MANUAL).

Be strong and stay faithful, friends

How to break the chain and create better generation?

Do what GOD told us to do, some verses above have answered that

But it's hard to do so, you don't know about my parents, my life... ...

No, I don't

Every person has their own kind of struggle in their life according to their own capacity

But God does

God has His own reason in giving His commands

I can't promise you anything for I'm a mere human, except to show you God's promise to those who's faithful to Him.

How can I believe that?

Because God is faithful

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
- 1 Corinthians 10:13

Do not repeat bad history, we have that choice to transform the generation, starting from ourselves.

This task is not for some of us, but all of us.

Believe me, the next generations need our efforts today

Fight for our generation and be different (living what God, and not human said) as the transformer generation

Born Again?

Born again!
A familiar phrase known by many believers
Ada yang bilang lahir baru or lahir kembali

Ceritanya: I registered myself to the Men's Conference, held by GMS Lighthouse Palembang and I'm blessed so much.
Maybe I have understood the points of the workshop. But, hey! With a truly humble heart, I'm equipped with even much much greater things

I've promised my beloved Fresh-Com mates to do a short summary about this workshop, so I'll get it done ASAP :D

There were 2 speakers: Ps. Maxi Eduard Lonta and Ps. Arman Harijanto
Ps. Maxi is the senior pastor in GMS Lighthouse, while Ps. Arman is an often-invited speaker by GMS.
Their messages are powerful, I'm thankful for joining this conference.

Ps. Arman sometimes mentioned about his service age, 11/12 years in CMN etc etc.
I wonder, but then I remembered Sidney Mohede's project to celebrate his 20th year of being born again in Christ (Solo Concert: Louder Than Life)
Then today, my friend, Irawan Chandra tagged me on his own note. Sorry haven't read it all, bro haha.
I saw his writing about his past experience of being born again in 2010 and Silvia Sugianto's comment: First love with God is unforgettable

I told myself,"Mak, gua ga pernah ingat kapan gua lahir baru. Padahal banyak orang bilang 'pengalaman pertama' itu sulit dilupakan". Padahal pengen kan tuh, bisa mengingat n merayakan berapa tahun bersama2 dengan Tuhan (jadi momen yang berharga untuk diingat misalnya), dll dll hahaha
As long as I can remember, I've surrendered myself to God personally since I was in elementary school (Kelas 1 SD, BPK Cirebon) or even earlier, I'm not sure.

Being a rationalist, I remember that I said: I never want to believe something (God) just because my parents believe in it (Him).
Mengesampingkan fakta bahwa gua lupa kapan gua lahir baru (haha), I'm grateful that God Himself leads me and my family step by step, slowly but sure, in knowing Him more!

And that's God's Grace!
Mentioned by Ps. Arman today, seringkali kita bingung untuk bebas dari dosa ini itu ini itu, inget bahwa itu bagiannya Tuhan! We just have to let Him live in us and us in Him, itu kuncinya.
Banyak orang Kristen merasa cukup setelah 'Yesus hidup di dalam kita', sayang sekali Yoh 15:5 berkata lain
Akulah pokok anggur dan kamulah ranting-rantingnya. Barangsiapa tinggal di dalam Aku DAN Aku di dalam dia, ia berbuah banyak, sebab di luar Aku kamu tidak dapat berbuat apa-apa.

Banyak yang lupa untuk tinggal di dalam Tuhan.

My point is:
Ga peduli kapan engkau mulai mengenal Tuhan, jangan pernah lepas dari Pokok Anggur yang benar!
Mau baru percaya kek, mau sudah lama ikut Tuhan kek, mau baru melayani, atau sudah tua dalam pelayanan, God's grace is enough to refresh and strengthen your everyday life. Bahkan, without God's grace, we are actually nothing!
Pengalaman hidup bersama2 Tuhan bukanlah pedoman yang credible untuk dijadikan sebagai pengganti Firman Tuhan, never has and never will.

Gua bersyukur, meskipun gua ga pernah mengingat kapan tanggal exact gua dilahirkan kembali ataupun bagaimana manisnya awal cinta gua sama Tuhan, Tuhan tetap mengajarkan gua tentang hal tersebut bahkan manisnya cinta Tuhan itu gua alami lebih dan lebih. Hidup gua saat ini is the sweetest and closest moment with Jesus as long as I live, YET FOR NOW

I don't know why I wanted to write this kind of random post
I merely hope we can rejoice in Him every single day far from feeling bored or living life as routinity.
Caranya mudah: Biarkan Tuhan hidup di dalam kita DAN (yes, it is an AND expression, not OR) kita di dalam Tuhan
Happy sunday!

Recent Updates 2013/02/02

Dear blogspot...
Today I started my day with some urgent business given by my father.
After I finished my work, I'm resting myself and writing this post while drinking a cup of delicious coffee
(boong abis hahaha).

I'm not a huge fan of coffee, apalagi setelah dengar seminar Pak Yohanes Sunardi kalo 1 glass of coffee = - 4 glasses of water, idih males abis la itu.
I do drink coffee on some special occasions such as: Kejar bahan exam sistem SKS, ditraktir orang, diajak temen, lagi pengen (jarang banget), biar terasa romantis, ataupun biar terasa ada kesan dewasa n misterius nya *apasih.

Oke, lupakan cerita singkat tentang kopi di atas, yuk kembali ke jalan yang benar...

The real story is that I'm really helping my father's business haha
Like today, I had to utilize my brain to remember what I've been taught in university.
Ilmunya keluar tuh, itung volume la, sudut la, dll (in case you don't know, my father previously worked as binchotan producer), it also includes my experience in researching/ writing an essay (I'm glad I met the spartan CIMP ENG4C lecturer, Mr. Tan Meng Chwen that I learnt so much about this)
ps: akhirnya ilmunya kepake *terharu.

Yang lagi terngiang2 belakangan adalah: God's Heart.
Dari post yang di-share oleh Bu Silvia Sugianto, chattingan dengan Bu Sarita, komennya Brian Adam dll, it's about understanding God's Heart.
Simple principle and fact: Jesus LOVES sinners but HATES sin
I don't know what you've been going through, I don't understand, and can't as deep as you yourself. But God can, I don't care (don't want to focus on) what our problems are, I just believe as long as you are faithful to Him, He will make a way. That's it!

Perjalanan keluarga gua dari Medan-Bandung-Cirebon-Palembang adalah mujizat, kelangsungan study gua dari kecil is a miracle, diterimanya gua dari SD Meth 2 ke SMP Xav 1 is a miracle, masuk dan lulus dari kelas Aksel is a miracle, kuliah di Malaysia tanpa 'ditarik kembali' is a miracle, what happened to me (us) on 31 January 2013 is a miracle. (no, I'm not dating anyone. Gua jadian mah bukan mujizat la ya #eh #sombong #ngelantur)
Buat teman2 dekat, I will tell more about it specifically (if only you ask, anyway haha).

I'm the product of God's love, grace and miracles... full stop.

Next, "We used to try to be holy so that we can be close to Jesus, but His grace lets us be close to Him and make us holy..." @kennysgoh
Source: Sidney Mohede's instagram
I don't have android or stuff, so I just follow (stalk) some people via website haha

Gua sedikit kebingungan untuk me'rumus'kan kalimat kesimpulan tentang hal ini.
Kalimat2 yang sudah gua susun, susah untuk menjawab pertanyaan2 yang muncul (dari gua sendiri misalnya), for example: Kalo God's grace yang "lets us be close to Him and make us holy", kenapa kita masih perlu 'berusaha' untuk hidup kudus? Terus, tujuan menjadi holy kalau bukan 'to be close to Jesus' apa dong? (please note that I understand the importance of keeping one's holiness before God dan bahwa manusia itu ga sanggup melakukannya tanpa grace dari Tuhan haha).

Yah pertanyaan2 semacamnya lah, sampe kepengen order rekaman khotbahnya Kenny Go untuk bisa mengerti lebih dalam apa arti dari penggalan kalimat di atas. Sekali lagi, gua orang yang rasional, butuh bukti dan peneguhan juga dong, ga bisa modal utamanya 'I think' or 'I feel that...' doang dalam share ke orang2

Masih menyangkut God's Heart, tiba2 kalimat2 ini muncul: "Word of God is not restrictive, it's protective."
Bahwa apa yang dituliskan oleh Tuhan, adalah untuk kebaikan kita sendiri (if we know that breaking traffic laws is dangerous for us, we will not do that, will we?).

Everything's from God and everything's for God
Benar, tapi bukan berarti Tuhan itu egois #simple

God is a loving Father.
Yang dikehendakiNya adalah kebaikan kita. Supaya kita hidup maksimal dan dicap baik. 'Baik' yang seperti apa? Seperti standarnya Tuhan la #simple #kokmasihnanya (padahal ga ada yang nanya)

Sooo, kalaupun kita diperintahkan Tuhan untuk hidup kudus (kenapa kekudusan? Karena ini topik yang muncul dari membuka instagram Sidney Mohede tadi dan juga topik dari Men's Conference GMS Lighthouse Palembang), itu juga untuk kebaikan kita, supaya kita hidup berkenan di hadapanNya.

God's grace bikin kita dekat dengan Tuhan, tapi untuk menjaganya/supaya kita tetap mengarah kepadaNya, kita mesti berusaha hidup kudus (ga cuma doa tanpa usaha mematikan kedagingan). Jangan sampe kita bilang, "yah tunggu God's grace aja untuk menang dari kedagingan, kita mah sante2 aj."

Prayer Is Never a Substitute for Obedience - A. W. Tozer

Kenapa kita harus dekat sama Tuhan? Supaya kita maksimal hidupnya dan memenuhi tujuan kita diciptakan, di mana tujuan tsb disimpan oleh Allah sendiri (manusia = objek kasih dari Allah).

Masih banyak lagi sih yang lagi gua pelajari belakangan, tapi untuk saat ini, sekian deh ya :D

Gbu guys

Recent Updates 2013/01/22

Hey guys, now I've been working on something important, my dad's business stuffs haha
Short story, it's kind of tiring, I've spent 6+ hours/day at a cyber cafe for 3 days. Without doing anything fun (except playing Cat Mario, is it fun? Just try it, click HERE to download and you'll understand) while checking on the download progress.
At the first day, I had to click on each file just to download, there were 785 files and my recent download was 1.9 GB in size, luckily now it's within a rar folder. There are some more problems happened like ISP Server's disturbed connection and stuffs beyond my ability scope, and I prayed once again asking for God's guidance (if you understand the story behind this business, you'll see what I mean)

I'm reminded at Colossians 3:23

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 

 

Second, my pastor in GMI Bethlehem Palembang is one of writers for Manna Sorgawi, Pdt. Sadikin Gunawan. We had some conversations about things like theology, teaching English to his daughter, books he write (Rhema Sorgawi etc), Mansor's trip to Israel, blog writing and many more hahaha.
I think he's the second person at Bethlehem (since Cuantau Jefry Lie) that I can talk many things with.
I'm blessed to know him (well, I knew him since I was a kid, but you know, I didn't expect him to be this 'fun' regarding Christian's life :D)

So he offered me to read his book collections, mostly about theology, written by credible authors.
I was being alert whenever I heard the word 'Theology', I found it was fascinating since years ago (I studied theology from bible workshops), but I'm tired of facing people with theological knowledge minus heart of God, people who chase after the 'logos' but not God Himself, people who understand many things but do less things or even nothing at all, which doesn't show that they are Jesus' followers. I don't want to become one of them.

Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.

 

I prefer 'know less love more' to 'know more love less'
and I decided to walk my way focusing more on the heart of God, rather than on the knowledge

During my daily devotion, I was reminded that "everything about Jesus is good, even the knowledge itself". I know that God had led me to FGCC to prepare me more and more of God's heart before I'm equipped with more knowledge.
When the time comes that I should be equipped with more theology, I'll be prepared from the inside out.
I don't need to worry too much, to the point that I'm afraid of learning so-called theology.
If it is God's will, He'll prepare everything and of course He's wiser than anyone else.

I want to share some of  what I think interesting lesson I learnt :P
Matius 5:14
Kamu adalah terang dunia. Kota yang terletak di atas gunung tidak mungkin tersembunyi.

Adalah = bentuk penegasan (by Pdt. Sadikin Gunawan)
Bukan 'jadilah terang dunia'.
Kata 'jadilah', 'haruslah' itu berarti proses: belum menjadi -> sudah menjadi.
Again, you ARE the light

There must be something wrong if you are not (living as the light)

I also read some writings such as:

Sarita's post
Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, "I have no delight in them"; -  Ecclesiastes 12:1

Her friend's post

And short sentence from Pdt. Petrus Agung's sermon by Yohana Setiani
We mostly talk about Jesus, but rarely talk with Jesus. Let's change that

Reading YOUR Bible

Unexpected development today, from a simple twit about a Bible verse, I was led to another deeper study about this topic (maafkan gua, Angel. Kalo menumpahkan isi pikiran ke lu, tapi ga terlalu berat kan? kan? :P)

First of all, I found article about BIBLE's CONTRADICTION with the explanation from Answers in Genesis (you click on it if you want, but it's long, dan tolong jangan tanya apa isinya gua lagi males menulis kesimpulan *memelas)

HOW to read your Bible?
When I was younger *ceilee, I was taught this 'Inductive' way of reading (OIA):
ps: Praying to ask for God's guidance and wisdom before reading Bible is a MUST *end of story*.

1. Observation
What, Who, Where, When, Why + How and Conclusion

2. Interpretation
What's writers want us to understand from their writings?

You can (should) check and compare each writings using the facilities:
Another Bible translation: KJV, NAS, ESV etc
Bible Dictionary
Bible Maps
Commentaries (written by Theologians)
Concordances

To read Bible verse in parallel, most of the time I use: http://bible.cc/
(just type out your desired verse, and WOOSH, it'll give you almost all versions of Bible translations).
Ah yes, with Commentaries!!

For concordance, I use http://www.biblestudytools.com/
Choose KJV or NAS as your Bible translation, type out the verse, and check the 'Strongs Numbers' box on right side below 'version' box)

Bible.cc provides us the same facility of Strongs Concordance Numbers, but well, I've gotten used to Biblestudytools (thank you for asking)

3. Application
Know + Relate + Meditate + Practise
Yes, PRACTISE
Don't let your understanding be in vain because you are not practising it

You can find the full information HERE

WHY is this kind of "How to read Bible" important?
In short words: So that we are not translating it RANDOMLY or even according to what we 'think'.
Practise EXEGESIS, NOT EISEGESIS (I hope some readers understand these terms :P)

By understanding what the writers meant, we can understand more about God (because He inspired the writers). Bible is about God, God's Stories, God's Laws, God's Loves for us, while He is the main actor.
That's why I'm not the protagonist there (if you understand what I mean)

The most crucial point is: Understanding and reading your Bible in the right way is important (read: IMPORTANT), but don't forget to DO what the Bible says

For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. - James 2:26

Let's become the DOERS of God's Words (starting with understanding the Words in the right way)

Random Updates

I feel like writing a really random post, so please don't mind my writing here

It's almost been 3 weeks since my arrival,

which means my holiday is almost over no it's not and some days left before studying again (it's almost the same as the story of pessimist vs optimist who are viewing a glass of water. But that's not my point here)
*next

I watched Hitam Putih today and the guest are Annisa Bahar with her daughter Juwita Bahar (if I'm not mistaken), what I saw was that Ms. Bahar wore a huge pair of earring.

I remember some people asked about my type of girlfriend-to-be

Some say I have high standards I do
Some (Ivan Jaya, to be precise) say my gf-to-be will be a nun
Some say she will be like Jesus
Some say (I did) that she's a tough, strong, huge, scary footballer that will score a goal at my goal post
etc etc

Told you not to bother reading this post :P

I'm also now facing a dilemma, in which I can't fulfill one of my 2013 Resolutions:

Doing simple and short work-out (push up, sit up, rope jumping) 2 times a week

I still do some sports like futsal and badminton here (can you imagine that I play futsal at 7 in the morning? It's like waking up for morning class in Uni, you know. I'm so diligent)

But whenever I try to do this workout, I face many problems such as weakened physical condition, delicious foods appeared, friends were coming to my house, having  influenza, and delicious foods appeared.

Hope I'll do at least one in this week

And last thing, a serious one

I'm preparing myself to share teachings at churches

My seniors asked me to share what I learnt in Malaysia (FGCC) with some people

Again, everything's from God and everything's for God

My Simple Happiness #2012

Yes, happiness doesn't necessarily have to be complicated
Alright, I think it's gonna be my last post with "2012 review" theme

Soo, these are what (I think) interesting during 2012

1. Getting injured at ISCF Futsal Cup 2012

Sounds silly? hahaha
Ga pernah gua cedera gara2 tanding futsal (ataupun futbol) sebelumnya

One of my injuries, this cool scar remained for 2 weeks haha.

Puji Tuhan, entah tulang tangan kaki gua lumayan kokoh atau gimana, kena sliding pun paling usap2 dikit terus maen lagi
And this time, I got my right ankle sprained and couldn't continue the match

My teammates often got this kind of injuries, Aloy, Andro, Jepe etc etc. Masa gua nggak pernah? hahaha

2. Guitar practise at FGCC Music Clinic

Bersama pelatih Spartan kita, Kak Tama Eka Prasetya Pakpahan
You can see how spartan he is:

"Takluklah kepadaku hai anak2"

Seorang cewek pernah ngomong sama gua kalo setelah ikutan Music Clinic ini, gua semakin bisa maen gitar n keliatan progressnya secara signifikan. Meski dia adek gua juga bilang genjrengan gua sangatlah cupu -_-

I'm truly happy you know, dulunya genjreng2 yang ga sampe selagu udah ga ngerti ini maen apaan, atau maennya C A Minor D Minor ke G pun culun2 (sekarang juga sih), dll dll. Eh sekarang mayan la, bisa nyanyiin reff lagu2 favorit dibarengin maen gitar dengan genjrengan satu arah hahaha

3. Getting to know my teammates in Fresh Ministry

Ipoh Trip

Leni's Farewell

My privilege to have been working together with all of you and it will be another, to work with same and new people in this team for one more period :D

4. Food-testing team

Bersama Ibu Peri, ce Kherina Suryadi yang suka edit2 foto dan selalu memasak makanan2 lezat dan gratis dan enak dan sering dan dan yang lainnya

First time joining the food-testing team :P

We Are Not Alone

Snow Flake, KLCC

Mafia Baru Tobat

FUNway

5. Mengenal orang2 luar biasa, as one big family in God

Guy's Fresh Com in Sunway

Ga mirip sih tapi yah oke la ya

FGCC Gahul 5 RM 2012

Monash Friends

Pre-Christmas Sunway

Fresh Com partners yang alay (kebangetan) tapi tetep awesome

ISCF Cup 2012 Euphoria
You can see I was wearing #42 jersey and had sprained ankle :P

ISCF Spirit, ISCF Cup 2012 winner + ISCF Full Team

Sg-Trip Team

Ko Budi + Ce Raissa's Wedding Day in Sg

Komsel Gabungan: Tea O' Ice + Rainbow 

Vocal Gathering (like finally) 2012

Akhirnya foto bareng juga sama Nonie haha.
Muka gua ga natural tapi ya sudahlah

FGCC Christmas Celebration 2012 #Luminous

TENGKIIUU for being the BEST part of my life!! 

(Ala Nonie Marshella) :P

Thank you guys, meeting you all is one of the proudest moments in my life and will always be
I am grateful for your presence in my life :D
I am sorry for everything I did wrong

Let your light shine
Let's face our new adventures in 2013
God bless

The Evidence Bible

I found it at Ray Comfort's page
I fell in love with it right away hahahah

The Evidence Bible. All you need to understand and defend your faith.
New King James Version. Includes a Concordance, Topical Subheads, and the Words of Jesus in red. Hardcover.

How do you respond when a coworker labels you intolerant for believing Jesus is the only way to God? How would you answer those who claim the Bible is filled with contradictions, or there is no absolute truth?

Newly revised and expanded, The Evidence Bible arms you not just with apologetic information to refute the arguments of skeptics, but with practical training on how to effectively and lovingly share the truth.

• Discover answers to over 200 questions such as: Why is there suffering? How could a loving God send people to hell? What about those who never hear of Jesus?

• In addition to thousands of verse-related comments, over 130 informative articles will help you better comprehend and communicate the Christian faith.

• Over two dozen articles on evolution will thoroughly prepare you to refute the theory.

• Dozens of articles on other religions will help you understand and address the beliefs of Mormons, Hindus, Muslims, Jehovah's Witnesses, cults, etc.

• Hundreds of inspiring quotes from renowned Christian leaders and practical tips on defending your faith will greatly encourage and equip you.

The Evidence Bible provides powerful and compelling evidence that will enrich your trust in God and His Word, deepen your love for the truth, and enable you to radically impact those you care about.

Norman Geisler: "The Evidence Bible is filled with excellent apologetic tools and insights to help Christians reason with those who need to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. I highly recommend it."

Franklin Graham: "In a day when Christians are too often silenced by the questions of skeptics, The Evidence Bible will help you be prepared to give an answer. Compiled by seasoned evangelist Ray Comfort, its innovative format makes it especially easy to use. You'll find it to be an invaluable tool for becoming a more effective witness."

D. James Kennedy: "The Evidence Bible is specifically designed to reinforce the faith of our times by offering hard evidence and scientific proof for the thinking mind."

Tim LaHaye: "The Evidence Bible is a handy tool for anyone interested in proving the reliability of Scripture, the deity of Jesus Christ, and the incredible offer of our eternal salvation. It makes the defense of Scripture easily understood and should be read by all serious Bible students."

Allan Parker, President, The Justice Foundation: "The Evidence Bible is the most interesting, amazing and useful Bible I have ever read. It has become my favorite of all and is incredibly useful for devotionals, evangelism, apologetics, and even nagging doubts or questions we hear in the world and don't quite have the answer. I urge everyone to have a copy."

Kirk Cameron: "The Evidence Bible is a reservoir overflowing with powerful quotes from famous people, amazing anecdotes, sobering last words, informative charts, and a wealth of irrefutable evidence to equip, encourage, and enlighten you, like nothing else could. I couldn't recommend it more highly."

Ken Ham: "In our modern scientific age when God's Word is coming under increasing attack, Christians need to be equipped with answers to defend the reliability of the Bible from its very first verse. I thank God for resources like The Evidence Bible and am glad to have had a small part in it."

Josh McDowell: "The Evidence Bible will certainly assist you to always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks to give the reason for the hope that you have."

(Almost) Everything Important in 2012

2012 had been a pleasant journey for me personally

I can't even describe the whole things happened
(But well, please let me describe it through this blog huahaha)

- Starting with my 2012 Resolution after consulting with Ko Reza: Hanging out with Jesus and Holy Spirit (sound cliche, doesn't it? But it's true :D)
I've been walking on this journey to find out more about Him
My reason is simple "If we are to call Him God, Lover of my soul or Father, you should understand with your life those titles of Him. Noone would call a stranger (or a non-lover) as your lover, right?"

- Godly jealousy
I shared with my friends about this experience, which I was reminded about being 'complete' as a single.
God loves me too much to let me be lovey-dovey with a particular person, no not yet, not this time.

Even things that distract me most of all the times, manga, anime or anything.
He really dislikes when I'm not thinking of Him
It's affirming Ko Reza's sharing and Ko Geboy's sermon about "Surat Cinta Tuhan yang Bikin Guling2"

Renewing my resolution and improving my mindset regarding this matter, I focused on seeking Jesus

- Promotion
Viewing the previous days, I couldn't believe how much opportunities I've been trusted with.
Masih saja bingung soal teknik2 'worship leading', 'how to improve in singing' and my other life-long studies, gua sudah dipercayakan dengan banyak hal.
Memimpin pujian di acara Paskah (Servant King), acara Natal (Luminous) misalnya
Bertemu teman2 sepelayanan yang luar biasa, dan juga faithful yet excellent teammates in FGCC #Luminous

Bahkan sebelum itu, in 2011, I was trusted as Vocal Ministry Coordinator
Dan sekarang, as Fresh Ministry Coordinator menggantikan teman seperjuangan saya yang sudah lulus dan bekerja, Bu Leniwatih Handoko
many many things to be grateful for!!

Wow, who am I really?
I never miss the point I always say: It's not about us, it's about Jesus

- Apologetic and Evangelism
From Answers in Genesis' Demolishing Stronghold, until Living Waters' Way of the Master, I really learnt a loottt of things

I found who I am to be, my planning about future, my passion and my calling
I slowly began to understand the prices, risks, and facts in doing all these services

I have not completed my "What's next after I graduate?" plan yet
At least I know what I'm going to do, to keep, to bear in the future. Be it as a full-timer or a part-timer in this ministry

The more I see this thrilling yet exciting calling for me, I understand that some things should be done properly:
1. Getting more intimate with God
2. Faithful in what I've been given (Mechatronics Engineering in Monash, FGCC Fresh Ministry, Fresh Com, etc)
3. Communicating my plans with my family (believe me, not an easy task :D)
4. Finding out and doing what I have to do according to His plan (I'm seeking even more)

People asked me about this girlfriend topic and I found hard to explain it to some of them hahah
My calling in God is not an easy one (never be, for all God's followers, in meaning that you should carry His cross), so the question I'll ask to my gf-to-be is "Are you willing to suffer with me in fulfilling God's will?"

 27Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; 
28in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. 
29For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, 
30experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

It's hard to find one like that, I know.

But I'm not afraid of my tomorrow, God will prepare a special one for me.
I will not focus on this thing, let's focus on what He wants us to do

Once I dreamed of building a happy family in God, but now I surrender everything to Him. Even if I am called to remain single for my whole life because of doing His will, I have no problem as well

(conversation with brother Brian Adam)

- Last thing in sequence, I am deeply grateful for everyone I know, especially in FGCC:

Ko Eddy and family, Kak Dicky and family, Kak Tama, Ko Geboy, Ko Epi,
Fresh Ministry Team 2011/2012 and 2012/2013
#Luminous Team (again)
Tea O' Ice, my family that I need
Brothers and Sisters in Christ


Thank you

Yang terus kucari ialah kepenuhan oleh RohNya, sebab cukuplah Dia bagiku

This sentence came into my mind just now, it describes my reason and longing on walking this journey pretty well:
"Yang terus kucari ialah kepenuhan oleh RohNya, sebab cukuplah Dia bagiku"

Penuh: Pimpremi (4092)

1. to blow, to burn
2. to cause to swell, to render timid
3. to swell, become swollen
1. of the parts of the body

Spirit of God is like the fire, its flame easily burns everything, and with the respect to the power given by Holy Spirit

Power: Dunamis (1411)
strength power, ability

1. inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth
2. power for performing miracles
3. moral power and excellence of soul
4. the power and influence which belong to riches and wealth
5. power and resources arising from numbers
6. power consisting in or resting upon armies, forces, hosts

Which is something active, powerful and explosive

Daily Devotion 9/12/12 Part 2

I almost forgot to continue this post
However, I'm reminded to fulfill our Fresh Com's (newly found) motto: We finish what we have started (by Pendy Anggoro) huahaha
So, here we go, Part 2

Ephesians 3:14-15
14For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 

'is named' is an expression derived from the custom in a family, where they bear the name of the Head of the family.
That's why, in God, we are one big family :)

16That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man

Do we still pay attention in taking care of our inner man ?
Do we train our inner man routinely and give the 'proper food' (God's Words)?
It will be granted by His Spirit, so seeking Him with all our might is the key to strengthen our inner man

17That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

Does Christ dwell in your heart?
Does His love flow through your life?

18May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;19And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

20Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 
21Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Knowing Jesus and His love that exceeds knowledge is a process, a continuous yet life fulfilling process

The point is that our ultimate goal is to know the personality of Jesus Christ

If you need after something like, His anointing, blessing, guidance, grace, favour , you are not exactly wrong, but above all, do you need Him Himself?

Ko Rizaldi Putra described it to us through this story about a couple.

The wife asked for a new car, granted by her husband.
New house, granted
Jewelries, granted
Getting their children into proper education, granted
etc etc

And then he said:
If I were her husband, I would wonder and ask "Do you ever ask for me? Do you need me?"

Same goes to us, we sometimes feel that we know God. But, DO WE?

Ask this directly to Him, let it be our prayer.

Jesus is all we need, He is sufficient for us