Widjojo Family

Ada seorang pemuda yang lama
sekolah di negeri paman Sam kembali ke tanah air.

Sesampainya dirumah ia meminta kepada
orang tuanya untuk mencari seorang Guru agama,
Pendeta atau siapapun yang bisa menjawab 3
pertanyaannya.

Akhirnya Orang tua pemuda itu mendapatkan orang
tersebut.

Pemuda: Anda siapa? Dan apakah bisa menjawab
pertanyaan-pertanyaan saya?
Pendeta : Saya hamba Allah dan dengan izin-Nya, saya
akan menjawab
pertanyaan anda

Pemuda : Anda yakin? Sedang Profesor dan banyak orang
pintar saja tidak mampu
menjawab pertanyaan saya.
Pendeta : Saya akan mencoba sejauh kemampuan saya

Pemuda : Saya punya 3 buah pertanyaan =
1. Kalau memang Tuhan itu ada, tunjukan wujud Tuhan
kepada saya
2. Apakah yang dinamakan Takdir
3. Kalau setan diciptakan dari api kenapa dimasukan ke
neraka yang dibuat
dari api,
tentu tidak menyakitkan buat setan sebab mereka
memiliki unsur yang sama.
Apakah Tuhan tidak pernah berfikir sejauh itu?

Tiba-tiba Pendeta tersebut menampar pipi si Pemuda
dengan keras.
Pemuda (sambil menahan sakit): Kenapa anda marah
kepada saya?
Pendeta : Saya tidak marah…Tamparan itu adalah
jawaban saya atas 3 buah
pertanyaan
yang anda ajukan kepada saya.

Pemuda : Saya sungguh-sungguh tidak mengerti
Pendeta : Bagaimana rasanya tamparan saya?

Pemuda : Tentu saja saya merasakan sakit
Pendeta : Jadi anda percaya bahwa sakit itu ada?

Pemuda : Ya
Pendeta : Tunjukan pada saya wujud sakit itu !

Pemuda : Saya tidak bisa
Pendeta : Itulah jawaban pertanyaan pertama, kita
semua merasakan
keberadaan Tuhan
tanpa mampu melihat wujudnya.

Pendeta : Apakah tadi malam anda bermimpi akan
ditampar oleh saya?
Pemuda : Tidak

Pendeta : Apakah pernah terpikir oleh anda akan
menerima sebuah tamparan dari
saya hari ini?
Pemuda : Tidak

Pendeta : Itulah yang dinamakan Takdir
Pendeta : Terbuat dari apa tangan yang saya
gunakan untuk menampar anda ?

Pemuda : kulit
Pendeta : Terbuat dari apa pipi anda?
Pemuda : kulit

Pendeta : Bagaimana rasanya tamparan saya?
Pemuda : sakit..

Pendeta : Walaupun Setan terbuat dari api dan
Neraka terbuat dari api, jika Tuhan berkehendak
maka Neraka akan Menjadi tempat menyakitkan untuk
setan.

Ayo ayo… rame-rame ke Oregon Convention Center Hall Exhibit A hari sabtu ini May 20.
Ada makanan uenak: lemper, sate ayam, mie ayam, kroket, risoles, serabi, es teler…wah seger bener!
Banyak acara laen juga…. ini acara Asia fest yang diorganized sama AR foundation. pokoknya rame deh acaranya, musik, tarian, kungfu, sampe barongsai juga ada …wah keren deh!
Mulainya jjam 11 siang sampe jam 6 sore, jangan lupa sabtu ini yah!!!!
Cuman sehari, dimana lagi bisa makan sate uenak nongkrong di portland sambil minum es tueler ^-^

See ya there!!!

One Night At Almost Midnight, We Heard Tile Sirens Roar
Everybody In The Neighborhood Was Looking Out Their Door
Then In Bathrobes And Curlers, They Gathered Round To See
The Church Was Going Up In Flames, It Burned ’Til Way Past Three

Now The Preacher Looked Around, Then He Stood Up To Report
This Is The Biggest Meeting That We’ve Ever Had Before,
Most Of You Have Never Come To Church, And I Was Wondering Why
They Looked At Him And All At Once, They Gave The Same Reply

They Said, “The Church Has Never Been On Fire Before,
The Church Has Never Been On Fire, Before
Now That The Flames Are Burning, There’s Something To Come For
But Please Just Try To Understand
The Church Has Never Been On Fire Before

It Seems That Folks Now In Our Day And Time Are Trying To Build The Church
On Programs And Promotions And Sometimes It Seems To Work
But If You’ll Listen Very Carefully A Lesson May Be Learned
That If The Church Will Only Get On Fire, They’ll Come To Watch Her Burn

Oh! The Church Has Never Been On Fire Before;
The Church Has Never Been On Fire, Before.
But, If The Flames Will Start To Burning
There’ll Be Something To Come For
Then Folks Will Never Say Again
The Church Has Never Been On Fire Before.

Now The Preacher Learned A Lesson, That Night The Church Burned Down
He Got On Fire For Jesus, And He Prayed Revival Down,
And The Church Will Never Be The Same, They’ve Caught The Fire Too
And The Folks There In That Neighborhood Have Changed Their Point Of View

They Said, The Church Has Never Been On Fire Before,
The Church Has Never Been On Fire, Before,
But Now The Flames Are Burning
And There’s Something To Come For,
And Folks Will Never Say Again
The Church Has Never Been On Fire Before.

Ada 3 sahabat: kura-kura, kodok, dan uler kaki seribu.
Suatu hari kiura-kura mengundang kedua temannya untuk pesta kecil-kecilan di rumahnya. Setelah asyik ngobrol dan main-main, si kodok berkata,” “eh…dari tadi kayaknya ada yang kurang yah. Elu pada ngerasa ga?” Oh iya kita kok belum makan ya..pantesan perut gue bunyi-bunyi keroncongan.
Kura2: Iya..ya..sori gue lupa ngga nyediain makan..kalo gitu lu beli aja deh ‘Dok…warungnya deket kan…!
Kodok: lho..kok gue sih…kan tuan rumahnya eloe ‘Ra!
Kura2: Iya sih…tapi kan gue jalannya pelan..lambat…kalo elu kan bisa cepet!
Kodok: Ah…nggak bisa begitu dong!! lagian kalo soal cepet…pasti si uler Kaki seribu lebih cepet dari gue…kakinya aja seribu!!!
Kura2: Oh iya ya…elu aja deh yang pergi…uler kaki seribu.
Uler: Koq jadi gue sih??
Kodok: Udah deh ga papa. Elu aja…buruan…males gue
Akhirnya si uler pergi juga untuk membeli makanan. Si kodok dan kura2 nungguin sambil ngegosipin artis-artis lokal.
Lima menit menunggu…si uler belum dateng juga…10 menit…20 menit…satu jam…dan ternyata sampe dua jam si uler kaki seribu ga juga nongol-nongol.
Kodok: Koq si uler nggak pulang2 yah??
Kura2: Iya nih..gue jadi kuatir…kita susulin aja yuk, ‘Dok!
Kodok: Ayuk deh!
Tapi pada saat si kura2 buka pintu…ternyata si uler kai seribu udah ada di depan pintu.
Kura2: Nah ini dia!
Kodok: Iya nih dari tadi ditungguin juga. Mana makanannya? Perut guaa dah laper banget nih!
Uler: Boro-boro makanan…jalan aja belon!
Kodok: Haah belum jalan??? Emangnya dari tadi eloe ngapain aja?
Uler: Yee…elu nggak liat gue lagi PAKE SEPATU!!

Seringkali kita seperti kura-kura…menganggap diri sendiri banyak kekurangan dan merasa orang lain bisa lebih cepat dan lebih baik…ternyata belum tentu mempunyai lebih itu menjadi suatu kekuatan.
Seringkali kita seperti kodok…yang tahu dirinya mempunyai kelebihan..mampu melompat jauh namun terlalu malas untuk melakukan sesuatu yang bisa dilakukan.

Janganlah hanya melihat kekurangan diri sendiri…lakukanlah yang terbaik dan biarlah Tuhan yang menyelesaikan yang selebihnya…jangan berharap pada si uler..yang walaupun punya banyak kaki…namun perlu juga banyak tanggung jawab dan persiapan. Mengucap syukurlah atas apa yang saudara ada sekarang.
What you are is God’s gift to you…what you make of yourself is your gift to God!

Sodara-sodari semuanya yang berada di Portland, Oregon dan sekitarnya, akan diadakan INDONESIAN FESTIVAL 2005 Tgl 20 Agustus 2005. Makanan sudah dijamin uueenaakk; ada sate ayam, pempek palembang, mie gajahmada, syomay bandung, jajanan pasar, es teler, es sarang burung, wahhh pokoknya suueerruu bener…ada tarian, kulintang dan band local: the encomium lagi.
Berikut detail infonya:

Date: August 20th, 2005
Time; 11 am - 5 pm
Location: Trinity Broadcasting Network Parking Lot (432 NE 74th ave, Portland, OR 97213)

Hasil keuntungan akan 50% didonasikan ke Indonesian Relief Fund untuk membantu korban Tsunami di Aceh dan Nias. 50% berikutnya akan dipakai untuk pembangunan gedung gereja di Portland.

Ayo undang teman-teman, sanak sodara, keluarga, dan tante, paman, om, bibi, dan tetangga, kita ramekan INDO FEST ini sama-sama. Mari-mari…

The definition of a good sermon: It should have a good beginning. It should have a good ending. And they should be as close together as possible.

How long should a good sermon be? It should be like a woman’s skirt, long enough to cover the essentials and short enough to keep you interested!

A priest whose sermons were very long and boring, announced in the church on a Sunday that he had been transferred to another church and that it was Jesus’ wish that he leave that week.
The gathering in the church got up and sang : “What a Friend we have in Jesus !”

A Baptist preacher, while beginning his text, said this to the congregation: “I’m gonna tell you the same thing Elizabeth Taylor told all her husbands. And that is - ‘I’m not gonna keep you long!”

A preacher announced from the pulpit,” I have good news and bad news. The good news is we have enough money to retire the mortgage on the church.”
A sigh of relief went through the congregation.
The preacher continued: “the bad news is: the money is still in your pocket.”

Billy Graham tells of a time, during the early years of his preaching ministry, when he was due to lead a crusade meeting in a town in South Carolina, and he needed to mail a letter. He asked a little boy in the main street how he could get to the post office. After the boy had given him directions, Billy said, “If you come to the central Baptist church tonight, I’ll tell you how to get to heaven.” The boy replied, “No thanks, you don’t even know how to get to the post office!”

The old preacher had spent 40 years pastoring in the same church and was highly respected in the community. The end of his life was drawing near and as he lay on his death bed he ask for the local banker and the local lawyer to come and spend his last hours with him. Both were impressed that they would be ask and discussed amoung themselves what great pearl of wisdom the old pastor wished to share with them. As they enter his room he motioned for one to sit on his left and one on his right. As they sat down a great peace came upon the man of God, 30 minutes passed and not a word was spoken. Finially the banker leaned forward and ask, Reverend, we were wondering what great pearl of wisdom you may want to share with us since you called us here. The old preacher looked at him and replied, “as you know Jesus has been my example all my life, and since he died between two theives I decided thats the way I wanted to go”.

A Roman Catholic Priest, an Anglican priest and a Baptist preacher were standing near a river conversing when the subject of which church was nearest to the teaching of God arose. The Roman Catholic priest said that of course there was no argument that the Roman Catholic church was they were descended directly from the Apostles, in fact Peter was their first Pope. He said in fact so close are we that I can even walk on water like Jesus and he proceeded to walk on the water to the other side.
The Anglican Priest said the Anglican church was very similar in origin to the Catholics and he too demonstrated his ability to walk on water like Jesus Christ. The Baptist preacher said that he could not care where their origins were, he studied the word and preached it purely, and without any embellishments. Since the could walk on water he should be even better at it. He took one step forward and sunk knee deep into the river. athe Roman Catholic Priest whispered to the Anglican Priest, “Do you think we should tell him where the rocks are?”

Jamie- God how long is a million years to you?
God- it is but a second Jamie.
Jamie- God how much is a million dollars to you?
God- it is but a penny to me
Jamie- God can I have a penny
God- just a second

As a christian, I understand that the joy of the Lord is my strength. I knew well the verse rejoice in the Lord always but many times during my walk, I lost my joy due to circumstances, tiredness and burn out. But I am thankful that Jesus is faithful and ever forgiving in my life

It is amazing how we can enter a ministry with the best of intentions and end up getting sidetracked. Why? because it is possible to do all the right things with all the wrong motives. We can witness…out of pride, we can serve others…to be noticed and admired, we can go to church…out of habit, we can pray…to get what we want/need. Many people can master ministry and perform great but the heart is far from the Lord. I know how it feels to lose the joy in ministry, you will feel bored week by week, you will feel mistreated, not appreciated for what you have done in ministry, you will feel not growing, you will feel not excited anymore to do what last time you pray so hard to get into ministry.

I can guarantee that when someone lost the joy in ministry, that means he/she also lost the appetite over spiritual things and that means his/her daily lives won’t be much different either.

The problem: we started to focus on ourself too much, we focus on our feeling and most of all, we are too selfish. All we think at this point is ourself. Jesus said," for even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve." First check point will be what did we focus on? serve or to be served?

Let us examine ourself: Are you operating as the vessel of God that draws people to Jesus or are you just drawing attention to yourself? Do your ministry efforts draw people to God or the other way around? Ask yourself will help: do you expect anything in return in what you do? Have you ever say," Lord I have done this much, why….happened to me? If you still have that attitude, please together with me, let us repent before the Lord and come back to the Joy in Ministry. We are created to serve and no to be served.

"If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." John 15:10-12

"Janganlah biarkan kerajinanmu kendor, biarlah Rohmu menyala-nyala dan layanilah Tuhan." Roma 12:11

I just joined a conference that taught about prophetic and power evangelism last weekend. I was thinking that might be so cool to learn evangelzing in prophetic knowledge. But I found it different that what I expected and that was better. I learned these simple things about prophetic evangelism and it works so powerfully. Thought I want to share it with all of you:
1. First, we must have the compassion of Jesus.
This is very important foundation because Love conquers al things, Love covers multitude of sins…and so on. This Love of Christ made us humble so when we are on the street to evangelize, we don’t feel like we are the superhero type that try to save people, but instead, we are there to extend the Love of Christ to fill people’s needs. This way, we look at people differently. We see them through God’s eyes and not for the sake of “evangelism” task.
First time in my life that I started to walk in Pioneer square in Downtown POrtland with such compassion and I am bringing Jesus to this marketplace to sit with them and talk with them and be among them and share one simple Message.
2. That message is a very prophetic and powerful message. That message is this: Jesus loves you with an everlasting love. First time hearing it, I thought this message sound cheesy and too simple. But then I realize the power of that message when said with a heart of Jesus, it melted hearts and people are actually longing to hear such Love message.
Once, me and Rick encounter a Burma student, and we chatted a while with him and we ended up saying that there is a message from God, Jesus loves you very very much regardless anything you’ve done. And he looked up to us and he appreciated the word. It was a simple experience but the seed of Love was planted deep in his heart.
3. Be who you are in every approach.
Since I never do such evangelism like this, I had so much concern and worry in me. I thought I was not the bold and confidence type, I am not a natural talker type, I am pretty much a shy guy, and I am Asian, What would they think about me approaching them and tell them Jesus loves you. So in mymind there is an image that I cannot be like Patricia King (the seaker at the conference) who is very easy to initiate conversation and very in tune with what God is saying. I thought I had to be like that type to win souls but It is back to simplicity, just be who you are.
We are Christ’s anointed and what we do Christ is always there backing us up. Nothing to worry about, just have a heart to love others and say it not necessarily with a loud bold voice “Jesus loves you” but a soft touching voice will do just the same. When we walk near Nordstrom Mall, we encountered 4 homeless teens asking for change. We stopped there and each of us talked to each of them. I was basically just asking if he believe in God, he said no, I then added,” do you believe in prayer?” he replied again,” no.” Then I asked how come he ended up on the streets and he started to share his life story of hurts and dissapointments, and that’s where I came in with encouragement and faith to make him feel like somebody again. Then I ended up praying for him and I challenge him that in 48 hours, God will reveal himself to him personally and that he would know Jesus Christ as His personal savior.
And before we left we gave 5 dollars to all of them as an action of our love. And bottom line, we love to see the smile on their face knowing that there are people who care for them and they have a better day than yesterday.
4. Do not be afraid to exercise your gift.
Maybe a word of knowledge, maybe a word of prophecy, and I did exercise mine eventhough it was not correct 100% but I loved to try it again.
TO conclude this, I never thought really really…that evangelism is so fun to do and knowing that I am the light and where ever I go, my light will shine on the dark places and when we do it together, the streets are no dark places no more. For His glory alone may this testimony be a blessing.
Amen.

Pada suatu hari Yesus dan Musa sedang bersiap-siap untuk bermain golf. Tiba-tiba seorang laki-laki tua mendekati mereka dan bertanya apakah ia boleh ikut bermain golf. Yesus dan Musa tersenyum satu sama lain dan mempersilakan laki-laki tua itu bergabung.
Musa mendapatkan giliran pertama memukul. Bolanya meluncur ke daerah yang berair. Namun, air terbelah sebelum bola itu menyentuhnya. Bola itupun jatuh di atas permukaan yang kering dan bergulir ke daerah hijau. Yesus tersenyum kepada Musa dan berkata,” pukulan yang bagus.” kemudian Dia melangkah menuju first tee (tempat permulaan bermain golf) dan memukul bola pertamaNya. Sekali lagi bola meluncur ke daerah yang berair, namun pada saat akan jatuh ke air, bola tersebut justru meluncur di atas permukaannya sehingga sampai ke daerah hijau. Kali ini Musa memuji Yesus. “Pukulan yang bagus,” katanya.
Kini tiba giliran untuk laki-laki tua tersebut. Dia berjalan menuju first tee dan memukul bola dengan sekuat tenaga. Yesus dan Musa saling bertukar senyum. Tiba-tiba muncul seekor tupai yang menangkap bola itu dengan mulutnya dan menelannya. Lalu seekor burung raksasa muncul dari langit dan memangsa tupai tersebut. Tak lama kemudian guntur menggelegar di angkasa dan menyambar burung tersebut. Burung itu ******ik kesakitan dan menjatuhkan tupai itu ke tanah. Si tupaipun memuntahkan bola yang ditelannya dan kemudian bola itu bergulir dan berhenti tepat di samping lubang. Akhirnya angin berhembus dan dengan pelan mendorong bola itu masuk ke dalam lubang. Musa memandang Yesus, dan Yesus memandang orang itu lalu berkata,” Pukulan yang bagus, BAPA.”
How Great Thou Art!!!

Ada seorang tukang kayu. Suatu saat ketika sedang bekerja, secara tak disengaja arlojinya terjatuh dan terbenam di antara tingginya tumpukan serbuk kayu. Arloji itu adalah sebuah hadiah dan telah dipakainya cukup lama. Ia amat mencintai arloji tersebut. Karenanya ia berusaha sedapat mungkin untuk menemukan kembali arlojinya. Sambil mengeluh mempersalahkan keteledoran diri sendiri si tukang kayu itu membongkar tumpukan serbuk yang tinggi itu.
Teman-teman pekerja yang lain juga turut membantu mencarinya. Namun sia-sia saja. Arloji kesayangan itu tetap tak ditemukan. Tibalah saat makan siang. Para pekerja serta pemilik arloji tersebut dengan semangat yang lesu meninggalkan bengkel kayu tersebut.
Saat itu seorang anak yang sejak tadi memperhatikan mereka mencari arloji itu, datang mendekati tumpukan serbuk kayu tersebut. Ia menjongkok dan mencari. Tak berapa lama berselang ia telah menemukan kembali arloji kesayangan si tukang kayu tersebut. Tentu si tukang kayu itu amat gembira. Namun ia juga heran, karena sebelumnya banyak orang telah membongkar tumpukan serbuk namun sia-sia. Tapi anak ini cuma seorang diri saja, dan berhasil menemukan arloji itu.

“Bagaimana caranya engkau mencari arloji ini ?”, tanya si tukang kayu.

“Saya hanya duduk secara tenang di lantai. Dalam keheningan itu saya bisa mendengar bunyi tik-tak, tik-tak. Dengan itu saya tahu di mana arloji itu berada”, jawab anak itu.

Keheningan adalah pekerjaan rumah yang paling sulit diselesaikan selama hidup. Sering secara tidak sadar kita terjerumus dalam seribu satu macam ‘kesibukan dan kegaduhan’. Ada baiknya kita menenangkan diri kita terlebih dahulu sebelum mulai melangkah menghadapi setiap permasalahan. “Segenggam ketenangan lebih baik dari pada dua genggam jerih payah dan usaha menjaring angin.” (Pengkhotbah 4:6). ”