Drilling to Hadesh

Yesterday at church, our Pastor shared something which terribly shocked us. It's about the Russian scientists who attempted to drill to the core of the earth in Siberia and produced some unexpected results. They recorded what seems to be people screaming when they dropped a specialized microphone designed to record the sounds of moving tectonic plates. It actually happened some years ago. and has been published and announced through any newspapers and/or radios in the States, Europe, and some other places.

The recording itself created a pros and cons. Some Christian people believe it and mostly secular people don't.

My pastor said, that Hadesh does exist. Hadesh is the place of dead people, before they are determined whether to go to heaven or hell. The fact that hadesh does exist, is written on the Bible, in Numbers 16:33.

To believe this or not, it really does depend on you!

I just want to share this, as I believe that Hadesh does exist.

Below is the video contains the recording of the Siberian drilling.

What's so Great about Christmas

Christmas is coming.... Christmas is here..... !!!!!

I always love Christmas. My husband once asked me what's so wonderful about Christmas tree and all those christmas-related stuff that I am so crazy about.
After thoroughly thinking, I come to the conclusion that my family behavior as a conservative "Protestan" family contribute mostly to my liking about Christmas. For us, Christmas is always a perfect time to get together a bit closer; to show our love and appreciation to others by preparing our personal Christmas gift, and to show our 'team-working' by setting up the Christmas tree together, decorating the house with ornaments according to the theme-color we've agreed for, and preparing Christmas dinner.
I remember when I was in the States, I spent my savings and specially went to NYC on December, just to be able to see the famous big Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center.

I think what I like the most from the Christmas season is the peaceful atmosphere that I felt more during this season than in any other seasons. I'm not being so superstitious, but the joyful and peaceful the surroundings create, accompanied with carols and bells, trees and presents, lights and candles, candies and cookies, offers a personal feeling that is so perfectly creating a memorable time of all seasons.

As it was the tradition in my family to celebrate Christmas with the trees, candles, home-decoration, and special dinner, so that is what I'm about to do in my new family. Though my husband considers himself "karismatik", thank God he didn't refuse the idea of celebrating Christmas in a more conservative way I used to have in my so-called "protestan" family.

Above all, for me Christmas tree is the reflection of our life as a Christian. Take a look at the Christmas tree! It is so beautifully decorated with lights, ornaments, and gold and red ribbons. But the fact is, the tree is indeed dead. There is no life in it because it has been separated from its root. That is the picture of our lives. Though we look so fine and achieve so many successful accomplishment, if God is not with us, we are nothing.

Thus, as the Christmas tree can't live longer without its root, so can't we without God living in our lives. It doesn't matter how beautiful your life is; without having God in your life, you simply are like the Christmas tree; having the beauty lasts for just a season......

Azan echoed from New York's Church

This is the news from ANTARA. Kinda late posting actually, because it happened on November 19th, 2007. Its okay, though... It is still November ^__^

The azan, a moslem's way of calling their people to pray, was sounded by Christopher Herbert with his bariton, echoed from Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan, New York. The azan itself was part of the program of Three Parties Dialog between Christians, Jewish, and Moslems.
The theme of the dialog was "Perspective of Three Religions", with speakers from Indonesian Moslem, Syamsi Ali, Jewish Rabbi, Peter J. Rubinstein, and on behalf of the Marble Collegiate Church congregation, Priest Edwin G. Mulder.

The Marble Collegiate Church, that was established on 1854, was filled with hundreds of church congregation and some Moslems and Jewish.

It's always good to know when people can appreciate the difference and sit together as brothers. As Bible stated in Psalm 133:1-3;
"...See how good and how pleasing it is for brothers to be living together in harmony!
It is like oil of great price on the head, flowing down over the face, even Aaron’s face: coming down to the edge of his robe;
Like the dew of Hermon, which comes down on the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord gave orders for the blessing, even life for ever..."


Source

Rick & Paulo

Life is a mystery. An unsolved mystery which makes us curious to dig more and more just to find the true meaning of our life. There are so many books written just to 'help' people in understanding the meaning of life, yet people are still confused about life.

There are 2 famous books which are so bestselling because those books are able to explain the meaning of life in such a convincing way. They are The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren, and The Alchemist by Paul Coelho. Those books carry the similarity that the essence of the book is the true meaning of life in every person. The difference lies in the point of view. TPDL views things from religioun side while TA uses such an ancient symbolic Medieval mysticism.

In The Alchemist, though it sounds mystics, yet at the end Paul Coelho stated that our mission on Earth is the way to find "God". That's the ultimate purpose of creation. Since this book is about how to follow your dream, I like the fact that Coelho presents the person who denies to follow his dream as person who denies to see God. "Every happy person carries God within him" stated Coelho.

We are all people who are trying to catch our dreams. We all are dream-catchers. However, are we dreaming the right dreams? How if we are putting our all just to catch the wrong ones?? How can we know that we are pursuing the right dream? Then, The Purpose Driven Life is the right answer for those questions. This book offers some principal wisdoms and understanding on the essence of life and how to achieve a purposeful life. Life with contentment.

The Alchemist is a good novel. A novel that encourages us to have dreams and tells us that they may come true. But the Purpose Driven Life is even better because this book teaches you that through God your dreams will surely come true.

Incredibly Blessed

As the spirit of Thanksgiving is still around, I wanna share one of my favorite poem (I'm not quite sure if this is a poem, though hehehe) which I read in the book of Chicken Soup for Christian Soul in 199something.
Actually I want to post it in English. However, I am having quite a problem finding the English version of this; which is so ironic because the original version of this poem is in fact in English.

Well...., may you be blessed with the poem, so that you may enjoy your Thanksgiving even more....


Yang Paling Diberkati Secara Melimpah

Aku meminta kekuatan kepada Tuhan supaya aku berhasil,
aku dibuatNya lemah supaya aku dengan rendah hati belajar untuk taat.

Aku meminta kesehatan supaya aku berbuat perkara-perkara yang lebih besar,
aku diberi kerentanan supaya aku berbuat perkara-perkara yang lebih baik.

Aku meminta kekayaan supaya aku menjadi bahagia,
aku diberi kemiskinan supaya aku menjadi bijaksana.

Aku meminta kekuasaan supaya aku dipuji manusia,
aku diberi ketidak berdayaan supaya aku merasakan kebutuhan akan Tuhan.

Aku meminta segala sesuatu supaya aku menikmati hidup,
aku diberi hidup supaya aku menikmati segala sesuatu.

Aku tidak mendapatkan yang kuminta,
tetapi aku mendapatkan segala yang kuharapkan.

Hampir disamping diriku sendiri,
semua doaku yang tak terucapkan dijawab.

Aku adalah, diantara semua manusia, yang paling diberkati secara melimpah....

"Tentara Sekutu tanpa Nama"

Source: Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul

Kode Da Vinci

Kode si embah dari kampung vinci, alias the Da Vinci Code. Udah baca bukunya???? Seru dong ya.... Malah (menurutku lho!) seruan buku daripada film nya. Emang bener sih kata pepatah, don't judge a book from its movie... hehehehehee......

Buat kebanyakan org Kristen, film ini adl film yg menyebarkan ajaran2 sesat, yg tidak bisa dipertanggunjawabkan kebenarannya, tidak alkitabiah, menginjak2 harga diri org Kristen..dsb..dsb.... Kamu ngerasa gitu ngga??? Terlepas dari apa pendapat orang, aku punya pendapat sendiri soal buku/film ini. Mungkin benar, mungkin pula salah. Mungkin ada yg setuju, mungkin juga ada yang mengsinis-i aku. Terserah. I just wanna share my thought about this story. Believe it or not, agree with it or not, it's all just up to you...

Memang dlm beberapa hal, fakta2 yg ada dalam buku itu benar. Disini aku ga akan bicara soal fakta. Krn jika bicara soal fakta2 paganisme, adat Yahudi zaman dulu ttg pria yg konon ditabukan utk melajang, prajurit Templar, rapat Nicea (=nicaea) di Constantinople, dsb..dsb...maka a whole page of this blog won't be enough to put all the facts and describe it one by one.
Tapi, kalo ditanya where my standpoint is, aku akan bilang aku percaya. Shocked?? Ahh...jangan....krn point ku adlh, aku bukan percaya isi buku itu, tapi aku percaya pada Tuhanku. Itu yg paling penting!!! Mengutip kalimat rasul Paulus utk Timotius "Aku tau kepada siapa aku percaya!!!" Kalau di sampul buku ini tertulis, "buku yang menggoncang iman", hmm... mungkin benar....tapi mungkin juga ngga.
Klo buat aku pribadi, buku ini bukanlah buku yg menggoncang iman org Kristen, tapi buku yg mempertanyakan iman org Kristen; seberapa besar imanmu terhadap Tuhan Yesus Kristus.
Lucu juga sih klo ketemu tman yg nolak nonton film ini krn takut terguncang imannya. Hmmm....berarti dia ga punya keyakinan klo imannya cukup kuat dan tak akan tergoncangkan oleh 'hanya' sebuah film karya hollywood biasa...
Ayolah teman...coba dipikir lagi....masa imanmu gampang berubah hanya karena sebuah buku yg bahkan ditulis oleh seseorang yg dipertanyakan keKristenannya...??!! C'monnn.... Kalau kau tau buku ini mampu meruntuhkan imanmu, berarti kau juga tau bahwa imanmu itu tidak cukup kuat hingga mudah 'terguncang' oleh 'hanya' sebuah buku.. ^__^

Bagian mana sih yg membuatmu gelisah..?? Bagian bahwa Yesus yang ternyata menikahi Maria Magdalena ..????
Klo benar, pertanyaanku adl, so whattt?????...... Tidakkah Dia menjelma menjadi manusia utk turut merasakan penderitaan manusia dalam segala aspek kehidupan???
Well...benar...Yesus menikah ngga pernah tertulis dalam Alkitab. But let me put this way; adakah tertulis dalam Alkitab bahwa Yesus menikah??? Tidak!!!
Now, adakah tertulis dalam Alkitab bahwa Yesus TIDAK menikah???.... Tidak juga kan!!??!!.... So...????
Klo menurut ku, kita percaya bahwa Yesus tidak menikah, karena kita sejak kecil di sekolah minggu 'terbiasa' utk familiar dgn kenyataan bahwa Yesus itu tidak menikah. Coba kalau sejak dari sekolah minggu dulu kita terbiasa dgn cerita bahwa Yesus menikah, pasti pendapat qta ttg davinci code akan lain ceritanya. Bner ga?? Intinya bhw, qta percaya pada suatu pemahaman umum org Kristen yg telah diajarkan sejak turun temurun, bahwa Yesus tidak menikah.

Well, readers, blog ini bukan mempertanyakan benar tidaknya Tuhan Yesus menikah. Ngga! Krn aku juga ngga tau jawabannya. Tapi apapun faktanya itu, so what??? adakah itu mengurangi keajaiban2 yg Dia buat di jaman perjanjian baru dahulu???

Point ku disini;
Dia menikah atau tidak, mujizat2 yang Dia lakukan di masa lalu tetap ada. Dan itu jelas tertulis dalam Alkitab.
Dia menikah atau tidak, aku percaya pada apa yg tertulis dalam Alkitab bahwa Dia lah Jalan, dan Kebenaran, dan Hidup.
Dia menikah atau tidak, tertulis jelas dalam Alkitab bahwa Dia mengorbankan diriNya hingga mati di kayu salib, utk menebus dosaku, dosamu, dosa kita.
Isn't it more important than arguing whether He's married or not??????
Mengapa qta hrs mempertentangkan sesuatu yg tidak tertulis, sedangkan hal2 yg tertulis itu jauh lebih penting utk pembangunan iman percaya kita kepadaNya.... ?!?

Guys, berdirilah teguh dan jangan goyah!!!!....
kalian udah mengalami begitu banyak mujizat, campur tangan, dan pertolongan Tuhan dalam hidup ini. Jgn biarkan sebuah buku menyurutkan imanmu!!!!
Apapun yg kalian dengar tentang Tuhan kita, rasa percaya terhadap Allah kita jauh lebih menentukan dari apapun yg kau dengar dari manusia...!!!
Just remember, He is an Awesome God!!!!.......

God bless, everyone!!!....

As posted by 'Cia' Elfine on July 15, 2006 at 08:57 AM in Friendster's blog