Friday, August 27, 2010

Why Do Some Christians Look Like They're Not?

Christians are accused of being hypocrites by unbelievers. Some say that is it still relevan to apply Christian’s Law in such as world? Life had been changing, everything’s unpredictable. Some People who claim them as christians has no differences with others who’s not. Why ?  
Mart De Haan gives ten answers to this charge in his pamphelt Ten Reasons To Believe Christians Can Look Like They're Not.
Disappointment with God.
Some people who claim to be Christians are impostors. The Bible does not hide the fact that real people faith have also been  disappointed with God. Many examples had been happened.

 
Distraction
Under pressure, even in times of prosperity, Christians can be distracted from the confidence that their ultimate well-being lies in the hands of God. Many attemptions in many way always surround Christian. That's why Bible tells us to keep on renewing our minds.
 
Dangerous Relationship 
Paul wrote, "Do not be misled : 'Bad company corrupts good character". Being a "friend of sinners" does not not mean being a sinner. Christians have to make a relationship with others. It’s a Christian’s duty to bring a sinner to God, but sometimes the opposites happened. So, Christians have to be equipped with “God weapons”. 

Unchanged Tendencies
Genuine Christians make delicious of faith that signal a change in their thinking. But many still have not overcome the struggle with self-centeredness. The battle with self continues.
 
Self-reliance. 
God asks His people to trust Him on His terms rather than their own. It takes some Christians a while to obey that command. Many “battles” in mind when somebody asked to obey Him. Even the apostle Peter had trouble.

Prayerlessness.  
Christian look-alikes have a reputation for being hypocritical in their prayers. People of genuine faith use prayer correctly, without drawing attention to themselves. Christians have an example for prayer in Bible.

Carelessness.
King David was a man after God's own heart. Even so, through carelessness he became adulterer and a murderer. Carelessness made Saul and others became sinner too

An Unexamined Heart
Jesus reminded us that unexamined motives can result in complicated forms of self-deception.

An Unseen Enemy 
The people of Christ have unseen enemy who is attempting to confuse the and neutralize their impact. This adversary is fighting a war of attrition. There are many casualties.

A Lack of Accountability 
Even the strongest Christians were never meant to go it alone. Believers who refuse to see themselves as part of body leave 
themselves unprotected and without accountability.


Sunday, August 22, 2010

Accident or On purpose ?

Have you ever heard about how Douglas Corrigan got his nick name? “Wrong Way” Corrigan. He acquired this nick name in 1938, when he took in his plane from Brooklyn, New York, flight to Long Beach, California.
After his about 24 hours flight, he touched down in Dublin, Ireland. Then he asked officials in airport, “Is this Los Angeles?” Spontaniously people laughed at his “miscalculation” for years. But then finally, he admitted that his trip across the Atlantic had been planned in 1963. After he’s unable to get clearance to fly across the ocean, he went ahead and made the flight on purpose.

It could be happened to our spiritual life. When we go the wrong way and found bed resutl as  a consequency of our mistake, we immediately said “it’s an accident”. Then tried to blame somebody or something.

When Satan is temping us, there is still time to choice. Our decision is not an accident. It sometimes, is a choice we make to go against the moral law of God. We make anything becomes worse when we convince ourselves it was an accident. Gradually, it affected to become to habit. Finally, when we choose to disobey God, we always treat it as an accident.

Why do we look for someone or something to blame for our shortcomings? Because we are not willing to accept responsibility for our wrong choice. Blaming for someone or something is very easy and there are so many way to do that.

We sometimes deliberately choose to break the moral law of God. We go the wrong way on purpose then we insist, it was an accident.

Sin is a choice, not an accident. It’s about the struggle between the flesh and the indwelling Spirit. Sin principle work strongly in our lives. The struggle leaves us with a choice – either submit God’s law, or satisfy our sinful desires.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

A Third Eye


What good would a third eye do for you? One in the back of the head might come in handy. You wouldn't have to look in the rear-view mirror when you drive, and you could keep an eye on that cute people who sits behind you in a bus. But think about your position when you're sleeping. I think, you need to redesign your bed.

I read an article, published by RBC Ministries in 1996. The thought of a third eye sounds pretty bizarre, but there is a creature who has one. It can be found roaming around the rocky canyons of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It's Yarrow's spiny lizard, and it has a third eye right on top of its head. I've never see such as the creature.

Two biologist from New York's City College spent some time studying these unusual little critters to find out what function the extra eyes serves. They discovered that the vision in the third eye is unfocused, but that it detects sunlight and helps the animal to find its way home. When scientists covered the third eye, the lizards wandered aimlessly; when they uncovered it, they went straight to their nests.

We don't have a third eye on top of our head, or in other place of our body. But we need to keep our eyes on God and follow Him in facing problems in our life. Then we won't get lost in discouragement or give in to sin. To look for direction for life elsewhere, to close our eyes to the Lord, would lead only to aimless wandering and ruin. We're not on our own, of course. God promises to give us His wisdom.

In practical terms, keeping our eyes on the Lord means that we give Him our constant attention. God is talking to us all the time through
His Word. And what He has to say can save us from a lot of problems that result from aimless living. But most of all, keeping our eyes
on Him will lead us to the joy of going with Him through life and enjoying His favor.

As we face the day, direct some of our attention to what you like on the inside. Good idea, I think. And spend some time to pray. Make sure our spiritual ensemble is in good shape.

Perhaps a friend of yours is being forced to through a time of unusual stress right now, or leading to aimless wandering. Let's keep your hearts so attuned to God that we will respond to His leading and step in with a helping hand.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Visit Lake Toba, Indonesia, why not ?

Lake Toba surrounding small and beautiful island of Samosir with a cool, friendly climate, is located on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Lake Toba is one of the world's great natural lake. It formed inside the crater of an ancient supervolcano. About 100 km long, 30 km wide and over 400 m at its deepest, and home to Batak tribe.

How to visit Lake Toba and Island of Samosir?
  1. Get to Sumatra, via Medan, the airport : Polonia, Sumatra´s largest city, the capitol of North Sumatra Province. Use International flight to Medan, or by flights from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. There is also a ferry crossing from Penang, Malaysia. From Medan, you can reach the lakeside town of Parapat by public bus, private bus, or hired car and driver. You can ask the taxi driver at Polonia Airport to take you directly to Hotel in Parapat (like : Niagara Hotel, Pardede Hotel, etc.), and pay him Rp.500,000 (US$ 50).
  2. Go to Samosir Island. While there are hotels in Parapat, the place to be is on Samosir. Ferries or small ships (Rp.8000 or about US$ 1) run from Parapat to Samosir,  and will drop you off at different parts of the small neck of land
  3. Choose a trip, take a sight seeing, go for a swim, rent a speedboat, or get a used book from a local shop, have a cup of delicious sumatra coffee or tea, use internet service, etc.
  4. Hike over Samosir ridge to break up your relaxation with something strenuous, try hiking these rugged trails.
  5. Get a scenic ride, rent a bike or motorcycle (about US$ 10/day) to explore Batak culture. There is a museum and culture center on the far end of Samosir island, several kilometers from the main tourist strip. A little collection of antique Batak-style houses, and a traditional dance waiting for you.
  6. Try the baked goods at Tabo Cottages. It is one of the most luxurious Cottages on the island.
  7. Try dancing with the locals. The local Batak girls are eager to dance with you, they are not "bar girls." they just nice want to have a good time with a foreigner.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Why You Should Do Electronic Recycling?

Do you have obsolete electronics in your home or office? There is great importance in how we handle unused parts. Some electronic supply companies are able to take old or unused parts and refurbish them for reuse. Read this article to become more familiar with recycling issues.

Electronic recycling is an alternative approach to waste disposal of unused electronic devices and their components. It is a process of re-using the raw materials in a product to make a new one. Imagine the effect for the world, for natural resources, etc.
Although recycling is a good way to reuse such raw materials, it can be hazardous to the workers in the yard, to the neighboring communities, and to the environment. In developed countries like the European Union States, recycling takes place in recycling plants built specifically for recycling electric supplies and electronic gadgets.
But in developing countries like Asia, there is no such thing as recycling plants. It needs much money and apply high technology. Hence, there is a possibility that materials such as plastics from e-wastes are recycled, thereby, releasing brominated furans and dioxins into the atmosphere. Also, electronic recycling is often done by children with bare hands in scrap yards.
There are four main types of electronic recyclers. Some recyclers carry out the tasks of collecting, refurbishing, de-manufacturing and processing. In collecting, the collectors receive electronics from the general public and from businesses. The collected material is then shipped to refurbishing, de-manufacturing or processing department.
Collectors come in two kinds: the one who has affiliation with a permanent drop-off site, and the one who operates from a temporary location set up for a specific collection event.
In refurbishing, the refurbisher can be a non-profit or for-profit organization that accepts, sorts, and refurbishes used computer equipment, cellular phones, and other devices for electronic recycling. Products that are reparable are sold or donated after being restored to working condition. Non-reparable components are then sent to a de-manufacturer or processor.
In the de-manufacturing department, the de-manufacturers accept computer equipment and broken computer components. These components are further broken down into plastic housings, wires, metals, and circuit boards. The simpler parts are sent to processors or smelters that have the facility or equipment needed to process such parts.
In processing, the processors accept de-manufactured electronic components, which are broken down into their raw state. The processing includes resource recovery procedures like separation of precious metals, smelting of lead, and incineration of waste to energy. This is also the last stage of recycling before the component is ultimately disposed.
Recycling can reduce or slow down the rate at which landfills are filled. It recovers valuable materials, conserves virgin resources, resulting in lower environmental emissions including greenhouse gases.
Each year, around 128 million cell phones are not being used. These cell phones are discarded, retired or thrown away. Apart from that, obsolete or damaged computer processors and monitors are dispatched in replacement of brand new sets. Around 2 million tons of used electronics including televisions, and media players are discarded.
When done under desirable conditions, electronic recycling can protect public health and the environment from further damage. It can create jobs locally as new businesses are formed to perform any of the four types of recycling.
Finally, instead of creating brand new materials from new raw materials, electronic recycling recovers the valuable materials from old electronics, conserving the natural resources.

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