Chris Cross
Our Daily Bread
December 23, 2010 — by C. P. Hia
"Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ"John 1:17

If your physician called you and in a serious voice said, “Please come in as soon as you can. I have something to discuss with you,” you would know he has bad news! Your first response might be, “No, I don’t want to know.” But you go because it is only when you know the diagnosis that you can learn the cure.

God, our Great Physician, also has some bad news—about man’s spiritual condition. When against His expressed warning Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, God told Adam that all mankind would die spiritually and physically. That’s the bad news.

Chris Cross
by Rick Warren

Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come. 
1 Timothy 4:8 (NLT)

One of the ways we train for godliness is by maintaining our physical health. The truth is, your body was not designed for inactivity. God created you to be active. Even a daily walk will make a difference in your physical well-being and your spiritual well-being. 
One thing I have noticed is that most of us are convinced but not committed. We know that exercise is good for us. We are convinced of that, but that doesn’t mean we are committed to exercise.
What is the common excuse?  ‘I don't have the time.’
Chris Cross
by Rick Warren

"These instructions are not mere words - they are your life! By obeying them you will enjoy a long life ..." 
Deuteronomy 32:47 (NLT)

Many people think the Bible is only filled with commands labeled "Thou shalt not..." They assume the Bible is all about restrictions and making you lead a boring life.
But God wants you to live a joy-filled, healthy life. The last two factors for good health that I want to share with you should put a smile on your face.
Chris Cross
by Rick Warren

When I refused to confess my sin, I was weak and miserable, and I groaned all day long. 
Psalm 32:3 (NLT)

Yesterday we looked at the importance of trusting God and letting go of resentment, worry, and fear to maintain good health. This leads right into the second biblical factor for good health.
Chris Cross
by Rick Warren


I said to myself, "Relax, because the Lord takes care of you." 
Psalm 116:7 (NCV)

God has given you the gift of your body and it comes with an owner's manual - the Bible. In it are all the instructions you need to take care of yourself and live a long life.
You already know the basics - proper nutrition, exercise, a good night's rest. Today I want to look at the first of four health factors you may not have thought of for living long and well.

Chris Cross
 “Kesembuhan yang Ajaib” (Miraculous Healing)
Henry Frost
176 halaman
Visipress



It was one hot Sunday noon (12 o’clock in the equator sunlight!!). I went home to have lunch, opened my FB and clicked the News Feed. A list of status updates showed up and one of them stroke me like thunder in a one holed-noon (itu kan Inggrisnya untuk “petir di siang-bolong”??).

About one month before, she wrote that she had pleural effusion – accumulation of fluid in thorax cavity between lung and pleura (selaput paru-paru). Back then, I thought that she got TBC (Indonesia’s national lung disease). And finally, they found the pleural effusion cause. The malignancy - lung cancer.

She’s a doctor, the same year as me, our age only differ one year.  She’s a Sundanese and we share hometown, Bandung. We were in the same lab group during med school. After graduation I don’t really know her updates, until now, when I learned her lung cancer. Stage 4 Squamous Cell Lung Cancer.

All of a sudden, a consciousness comes to mind. How does it feel? What if…it’s me and not her?
But more than that, I suddenly feel sad. My colleague, who hasn’t met HIM personally, is dying.

P

“Mengapa Allah menyembuhkan beberapa orang dan tidak menyembuhkan yang lainnya?“

Demikian tag line dari buku putih terbitan Visipress berjudul “Kesembuhan yang Ajaib” (Miraculous Healing). Walau katanya buku itu diterbitkan thn 2009, baru beberapa bln lalu aku melihat buku itu terpampang di toko buku rohani. Waktu itu aku baru saja pulang dari mission trip di Temanggung, my second mission trip yang meninggalkan kesan cukup dalam. Karena pengalaman di Temanggung itulah (akan kuceritakan lain kali), aku sangat tertarik ketika melihat buku itu (dan satu buku lain yang juga akan kuceritakan di lain kesempatan). 

Penulisnya adalah direktur nasional pertama dari China Inland Mission (a.k.a OMF International) di Amerika Utara, Henry Frost, yg juga merupakan rekanan dari (the famous) Hudson Taylor, pendiri CIM. Sebenarnya buku ini sudah lansia, pertama kali diterbitkan dalam bahasa aslinya pada tahun 1931 (wow, Indonesia masih dibawah penjajahan Belanda tuh). Pada edisi Indonesia-nya ini, turut diterjemahkan kata pengantar dari Joni Eareckson Tada, seorang penderita tetraplegia (kelumpuhan tangan dan kaki) selama 30 tahun lebih.

I found this book very interesting karena Frost membahasnya bukan hanya dari segi biblikal, tapi juga segi praktikal. Dia membeberkan argumen2 yang masuk akal sekaligus alkitabiah sebagai penjelasan thd pokok2 perdebatan yang umum, terutama dari orang2 yang mengklaim mukjizat secara ekstrim & keliru. Tetapi dia tidak kehilangan iman bahwa Allah tetap mampu dan mau memberikan kesembuhan yang ajaib pada masa sekarang ini.

Let’s peek in! ^ ^

Chris Cross
by : Rick Warren

“Keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.” Proverbs 3:1-2 (NIV)

If I had a pill that could promise to add years to your life, you’d probably pay a lot of money for it. But what if I told you, as a Christian, you already have the key to a long life and it’s free?
Chris Cross
by Philip Yancey

Read: Psalm 27
The Lord is the strength of my life. —Psalm 27:1
Bible in a year:
Ezekiel 27-29; 1 Peter 3
We tend to compartmentalize our lives. We fill our days with activities such as work, errands, chores, caring for children. And then we try to carve out time for “spiritual” activities such as church, small groups, personal devotions.
Chris Cross
by : Rick Warren


I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Romans 12:1 (NIV)

Did you know that twenty percent of the population in every state in America is obese? And 50 million people worldwide will die this year from chronic diseases due to being overweight.
Your physical health is an important part of making your life count. I want to look at the right motivation for getting healthy – what God’s says about the importance of your body in 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 (NIV).
Chris Cross

by Marvin Williams

A certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. —Luke 10:33
Bible in a year:
Jeremiah 27-29; Titus 3
One of the major obstacles to showing compassion is making prejudgments about who we think is worthy of our compassion. Jesus told a parable to answer the question: “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29). Or, who qualifies as worthy of our neighborly acts?

Chris Cross

OUR DAILY BREAD
READ: Colossians 3:12-17
 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. —Colossians 3:17 
I have learned much about the conscious remembrance of God from Brother Lawrence, a cook in a 17th-century monastery. In his book The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence mentioned practical ways to “offer God your heart from time to time in the course of the day,” even in the midst of chores such as cooking or repairing shoes. One’s depth of spirituality, said Lawrence, does not depend on changing things you do but rather changing your motive—doing for God what you ordinarily do for yourself.
One of his eulogies said, “The good Brother found God everywhere, as much while he was repairing shoes as while he was praying . . . . It was God, not the task, he had in view. He knew that the more the task was against his natural inclinations, the greater was his love in offering it to God.”
That last comment affected my wife deeply. While working with senior citizens in downtown Chicago, she at times was called to do tasks that went beyond her natural inclinations. As she tackled some of the least desirable duties, she reminded herself to keep God and His glory in view. With effort, even the most difficult tasks can be performed and presented as an offering to God (Col. 3:17).  — Philip Yancey
Follow with reverent steps the great example
Of Him whose holy work was doing good;
So shall the wide earth seem our Father’s temple,
Each loving life a psalm of gratitude. —Whittier


Duty alone is drudgery; duty with love is delight.
Chris Cross


OUR DAILY BREAD
April 23, 2010 — by Julie Ackerman Link
Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn
Nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives. —Ecclesiastes 3:12
It’s been a long, cold winter, and I am eager for warm weather. I’m tired of seeing bare trees and lifeless brown leaves covering the ground. I long to see wildflowers poke through the dead leaves and to watch the woods turn green once more.
Yet even as I anticipate my favorite season, I hear my mother’s voice saying, “Don’t wish your life away.”
If you’re like me, you sometimes hear yourself saying, “When such and such happens, then I will . . . or, If only so and so would do this, then I would do that . . . or, I would be happy if . . . or, I will be satisfied when . . .”
In longing for some future good, we forget that every day—regardless of the weather or our circumstances—is a gift from God to be used for His glory.
According to author Ron Ash, “We are where we need to be and learning what we need to learn. Stay the course because the things we experience today will lead us to where He needs us to be tomorrow.”
In every season, there is a reason to rejoice and an opportunity to do good (Eccl. 3:12). The challenge for each of us every day is to find something to rejoice about and some good to do—and then to do both.

Just as the winter turns to spring,
Our lives have changing seasons too;
So when a gloomy forecast comes,
Remember—God has plans for you. —Sper
Every season brings a reason to rejoice

Chris Cross
11 days after leaving the jungle.


I finally make myself arouse early and go out for a morning walk. Haven't started my running again, just a brisk, observational walk. 5.30 AM. Going around the block, bertemu satu dua orang yg juga (dari naga-naganya)(naga apaan coba??) lagi OR pagi. Udara tidak begitu dingin, biasa saja. Rupanya Bandung benar2 "kepanasan" sekarang ini. Dulu sampe berkabut klo lagi dingin2nya. 
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