The Birdcage Story

A man was on the side of the road with a large birdcage. A boy noticed that the cage was full of birds of many kinds. "Where did you get those birds?" he asked.
"Oh, all over the place," the man replied. "I lure them with crumbs, pretend I'm their friend then when they are close, I net them and shove them into my cage."
"And what are you going to do with them now?"
The man grinned, "I'm going to prod them with sticks, and get them really mad so they fight and kill each other. Those that survive, I will kill. None will escape."
The boy looked steadily at the man. What made him do such things? He looked into the cruel, hard eyes. Then he looked at the birds, defenceless, without hope.
"Can I buy those birds?" the boy asked.
The man hid a smile, aware that he could be on to a good thing if he played his cards right. "Well," he said hesitantly, "The cage is pretty expensive, and I spent a lot of time collecting these birds, I'll tell you what I'll do, I'll let you have the lot, birds, cage and all for ten pounds and that jacket you're wearing."
The boy paused, ten pounds was all he had, and the jacket was new and very special, in fact it was his prized possession. Slowly, he took out the ten pounds and handed it over, then even more slowly he took off his jacket, gave it one last look then handed that over too.
And then (well, you've guessed it) he opened the door and let the birds go free.
The Enemy of the world, Satan, was on the side of life's road with a very large cage. The man coming towards him noticed that it was crammed full of people of every kind, young, old, from every race and nation. "Where did you get these people?" the man asked.
"Oh, from all over the world," Satan replied. "I lure them with drink, drugs, lust, lies, anger, hate, love of money and all manner of things. I pretend I'm their friend, out to give them a good time, then when I've hooked them, into the cage they go."
"And what are you going to do with them now?" asked the man.
Satan grinned. "I'm going to prod them, provoke them, get them to hate and destroy each other; I'll stir up racial hatred, defiance of law and order; I'll make people bored, lonely, dissatisfied, confused and restless. It's easy. People will always listen to what I offer them and (what's better) blame God for the outcome!"
"And then what?" the man asked.
"Those who do not destroy themselves, I will destroy. None will escape me."
The man stepped forward. "Can I buy these people from you?" he asked.
Satan snarled, "Yes, but it will cost you your life."
So Jesus Christ, the Son of God, paid for your release, your freedom from Satan's trap, with His own life, on the cross at Calvary. The door is open, and anyone, whom Satan has deceived and caged, can be set free.
adapted from a leaflet from Shiloh Church, Landes du Marche

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कीसः तिगा Pohon

Alkisah, ada tiga pohon di dalam hutan. Suatu hari, ketiganya saling menceritakan mengenai harapan dan impian mereka. Pohon pertama berkata, “Kelak aku ingin menjadi peti yang diisi dengan emas, perak dan berbagai batu permata dan semua orang akan mengagumi keindahannya.

“Kemudian pohon kedua berkata, suatu hari kelak aku akan menjadi kapal yang besar. Aku akan mengangkut raja-raja dan berlayar ke ujung dunia. Aku akan menjadi kapal yang kuat dan setiap orang merasa aman berada dekat denganku.

Akhirnya pohon ketiga berkata, aku ingin tumbuh menjadi pohon yang tertinggi di hutan di puncak bukit. Orang-orang akan memandangku dan berpikir betapa aku begitu dekat untuk menggapai surga dan Tuhan. Aku akan menjadi pohon terbesar sepanjang masa dan orang akan mengingatku.

Setelah beberapa tahun berdoa agar impian terkabul, sekelompok penebang pohon datang dan menebang ketiga pohon itu. Pohon pertama dibawa ke tukang kayu. Ia sangat senang sebab ia tahu bahwa ia akan dibuat menjadi peti harta karun. Tetapi doanya tidak menjadi kenyataan karena tukang kayu membuatnya menjadi kotak tempat menaruh makan ternak. Ia hanya diletakkan di kandang dan diisi jerami.

Pohon ke dua dibawa ke galangan kapal. Ia berpikir bahwa doanya menjadi kenyataan. Tetapi ia dipotong-potong dan dibuat menjadi sebuah perahu nelayan kecil. Impiannya untuk menjadi kapal besar untuk mengangkut raja-raja telah berakhir.

Pohon ketiga dipotong menjadi potongan-potongan kayu besar dan dibiarkan teronggok dengan gelap.

Tahun demi tahun berlalu, dan ketiga pohon itu telah melupakan
impiannya. Kemudian suatu hari, sepasang suami-istri tiba di kandang. Sang istri melahirkan dan meletakkan bayinya di atas tumpukan jerami di kotak makanan ternak yang dibuat dari pohon pertama. Orang-orang datang menyembah bayi itu. Akhirnya pohon pertama sadar bahwa didalamnya diletakkan harta terbesar sepanjang masa.

Bertahun-tahun kemudian, sekolompok laki-laki naik ke atas perahu nelayan yang dibuat dari pohon ke dua. Di tengah danau, badai besar datang dan pohon kedua berpikir bahwa ia tidak cukup kuat untuk melindungi orang-orang didalamnya. Tetapi salah seorang laki-laki itu berdiri dan berkata ” DIAM! Tenanglah! dan badaipun berhenti. Ketika itu, tahulah bahwa ia telah mengangkut Raja di atas segala raja.

Akhirnya, seorang datang dan mengambil pohon ke tiga. Ia dipikul sepanjang jalan sementara orang orang mengejek lelaki yang memikulnya. Laki-laki ini kemudian dipakukan di kayu ini dan mati di puncak bukit. Akhirnya pohon ketiga sadar bahwa ia demikian dekat dengan Tuhan, karena Yesus yang disalibkan padanya.

KETIKA KEADAAAN TIDAK SEPERTI YANG ENGKAU INGINKAN, KETAHUILAH TUHAN MEMILIKI RENCANA UNTUKMU.

JIKA ENGKAU PERCAYA PADA-NYA, IA AKAN MEMBERIMU BERKAT-BERKAT BESAR.

KETIGA POHON MENDAPATKAN APA YANG MEREKA INGINKAN TETAPI TIDAK DENGAN CARA SEPERTI YANG MEREKA BAYANGKAN.

KITA TIDAK SELALU TAHU APA RENCANA TUHAN BAGI KITA. KITA HANYA TAHU BAHWA JALANNYA BUKANLAH JALAN KITA, TETAPI JALANNYA ADALAH YANG TERBAIK.

GBU ALL

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I am already dead

Surprising huh? Yes, I am dead. Don’t you wonder when I say I am dead, because I am dead already. Let's see if you are also included the dead.
This is a revelation that the Lord opened to me lately. I hope you do not think I’m bringing a new teaching or new doctrine and theology of the death! I don’t call it a doctrine because it is not a doctrine, I am just sharing what I learned in my life.
I can say, this year is a year of process for me. Many unexpected things happened in my life this year. Rejection, betrayal, disappointment, humiliation, being despised without reason, and went through many hard times in life. I was willing to be disappointed in God and stop hoping in Him. How not, I was almost got my dream when suddenly I was cheated and someone else gets what I think is a blessing for myself. Plus the challenge that I got from a church member who thinks my music bothers her as she is worshiping, so she hates me and eventually moved out of the church. I lost an opportunity which I think is the chance of a lifetime to make my dream come true. My rights were taken and given to others, being despised, even humiliated in the public. But this is what I learned, in Galatians 2:20 says " I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me..."
We're already dead, Christ who is now living.
What I am trying to say is, in facing insults, humiliation, ridicule, when we are shamed and even humiliated, sometimes we have to become like the dead. You got what I mean now? Yes to be like the dead. Have you ever seen a dead man feels offended when he is humiliated? Have you ever seen a dead man gets mad when his rights are taken away from him? Or have you seen a dead man slaps back when he was slapped? In fact, whatever you do to a dead man he will just remain calm. Even if he can talk, do you know what would he say? "I'm fine, I no longer feel the pain so it would in vain for you to beat me or humiliate me. I FEEL IT NO MORE! "
Yups, a dead man no longer feel pain. So, deal with disappointment, humiliation like a dead man. Whatever someone does to you, just say "I'm fine, I'm dead anyway, why should I bother myself with broken heart or things like that which are definitely not going to build myself?" A dead man lays down his right and surrenders even when he is treated unfairly.
Jesus himself once said "If someone slaps your left cheek, give also your right cheek"
A DEAD MAN FEELS PAIN NO MORE!
So now, have you been a dead man?

Hopefully what I share today is useful for you.

God bless.

~ Jack Loloin ~

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Not spreading the gospel = Indirect murder

The bible says, if you know what is good but you don't do it, you sin!

Lets say someone is poisoned right in front of you and is dying, you know and you do have the cure but you don't give it to him. He'll die and you will be counted guilty and the judgje will charge you for indirect murder! The same is true when you know the unbelievers are going to hell but you don't share the gospel with them. They'll die but God will hold you responsible!

DUTY CALLS!

BLESS YOU ALL
~JACK L~

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Keep Your Dream

I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch in San Ysidro. He has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events to raise money for youth at risk programs.
The last time I was there he introduced me by saying, “I want to tell you why I let Jack use my horse. It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses. As a result, the boy’s high school career was continually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.
“That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch, showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the track. Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-foot house that would sit on a 200-acre dream ranch.
“He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, `See me after class.’
“The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class and asked, `Why did I receive an F?’
“The teacher said, `This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You come from an itinerant family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for the original breeding stock and later you’ll have to pay large stud fees. There’s no way you could ever do it.’ Then the teacher added, `If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.’
“The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He asked his father what he should do. His father said, `Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very important decision for you.’ “Finally, after sitting with it for a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all.
He stated, “You can keep the F and I’ll keep my dream.”
Monty then turned to the assembled group and said, “I tell you this story because you are sitting in my 4,000-square-foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school paper framed over the fireplace. He added, “The best part of the story is that two summers ago that same schoolteacher brought 30 kids to camp out on my ranch for a week.” When the teacher was leaving, he said, “Look, Monty, I can tell you this now. When I was your teacher, I was something of a dream stealer. During those years I stole a lot of kids’ dreams. Fortunately you had enough gumption not to give up on yours.”
“Don’t let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no matter what.”

BLESS YOU
~JACK LOLOIN~

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The Diver

A young man who had been raised as an atheist was training to be an Olympic diver. The only religious influence in his life came from his outspoken Christian friend. The young diver never really paid much attention to his friend's sermons, but he heard them often. One night the diver went to the indoor pool at the college he attended. The lights were all off, but as the pool had big skylights and the moon was bright, there was plenty of light to practice by.
The young man climbed up to the highest diving board and as he turned his back to the pool on the edge of the board and extended his arms out, he saw his shadow on the wall. The shadow of his body, was in the shape of a cross. Instead of diving, he knelt down and finally asked God to come into his life. As the young man knelt, a maintenance man walked in and turned the lights on. The pool had been drained for repairs.
ROMANS 8:28

Sang penyelam

Ada seorang pria muda yang dibesarkan sebagai ateis yang sedang dalam pelatihan untuk menjadi penyelam Olimpiade. Satu-satunya pengaruh agama dalam hidupnya datang dari teman Kristennya yang vokal. Si penyelam muda ini tidak pernah benar-benar memperhatian khotbah temannya, tapi dia sering mendengar mereka. Suatu malam penyelam itu pergi ke kolam renang indoor di kampusnya. Lampu-lampu semua mati, tetapi karena kolam itu mendapati cahaya dari langit dan bulan yang cerah, ada cukup cahaya untuk berlatih.
Anak muda itu naik ke papan loncat tertinggi dan saat ia berbalik ke kolam di tepi papan dan merentangkan lengannya, ia melihat bayangannya di dinding. Bayangan tubuhnya, membentuk salib. Tidak jadi menyelam iapun berlutut dan akhirnya meminta kepada Tuhan untuk masuk dalam hidupnya. Saat sedang berlutut , seorang petugas pemeliharaan kolam masuk dan menyalakan lampu. Ternyata kolam itu telah dikeringkan untuk perbaikan.

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When My Fingers Grow Back? / Kapan Jariku Akan Tumbuh Kembali?

A man came out of his home to admire his new truck. To his puzzlement, his three-year-old son was happily hammering dents into the shiny paint.
The man ran to his son, knocked him away, hammered the little boy's hands into a pulp as punishment. When the father calmed down, he rushed his son to the hospital.
Although the doctor tried desperately to save the crushed bones, he finally had to amputate the fingers from both the boy's hands. When the boy woke up from the surgery & saw his bandaged stubs, he innocently said, "Daddy, I'm sorry about your truck." Then he asked, "but when are my fingers going to grow back?"
The father went home and committed suicide.
Think about the story the next time you see someone spill milk at a dinner table or hear a baby crying. Think first before you lose your patience with someone u love. Trucks can be repaired. Broken bones & hurt feelings often can't. Too often we fail to recognize the difference between the person and the performance. People make mistakes. We are allowed to make mistakes. But the actions we take while in a rage will haunt us forever.
Pause and ponder. Think before you act. Be patient. Understand and love.


INDONESIAN TRANSLATION

Seorang pria keluar dari rumahnya dan mengagumi truk barunya. Betapa bingun dan kagetnya ia mendapati anaknya yang berusia tiga tahun bermain dengan gembira menempa hingga penyok dan merusak cat yang mengkilap dari mobilnya
.
Pria itu berlari ke anaknya, mengetok kepalanya sebagai hukuman dan memukul tangan anak kecil itu hingga hancur. Ketika sang ayah sudah tenang, ia bergegas membawa anaknya ke rumah sakit.

Walaupun dokter berusaha keras untuk menyelamatkan tulang-tulang yang hancur, ia akhirnya harus mengamputasi jari-jari dari kedua tangan anak itu. Ketika anak itu sadar setelah operasi & melihat lilitan perban, ia dengan polosnya berkata, "Ayah, aku minta maaf atas trukmu." Dan ia melanjutkan pertanyaannya, "tetapi kapan jari-jariku akan tumbuh kembali?"

Dengan penuh penyesalan sang ayah pulang ke rumah dan akhirnya bunuh diri.

Ingatlah cerita ini suatu saat ketika Anda melihat seseorang yang terlalu cepat bertindak.. Pikirkan terlebih dahulu sebelum Anda kehilangan kesabaran Anda terhadap orang yang anda kasihi. Truk dapat diperbaiki. Patah tulang & sakit hati sering tidak bias diperbaiki. Terlalu sering kita gagal untuk mengenali perbedaan antara orang dan tindakan. Semua orang pasti melakukan kesalahan. Kitapun sering melakukan kesalahan. Namun tindakan yang kita ambil di tengah amarah akan menghantui kita selamanya.

Sejenak coba renungkan. Berpikirlah sebelum bertindak. Bersabar. Coba mengerti dan mengasihi.


Blessing to you all

~Jack Loloin~

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