From the Admin
From the Admin
Greetings everyone!
Many of you may have had times when you were tired and had to complete an important school assignment, finish a long drama rehearsal, or put forth a final push of physical effort in a sporting event, and you did it! How? It was with perseverance. The theme for this month’ s Viewpoint is perseverance. The definition of perseverance is:“ continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition.” Additionally to persevere means:“ to persist in a state, enterprise, or undertaking in spite of counter-influences, opposition, or discouragement”( www. merriam-webster. com). There are many other sayings that reflect perseverance that you may have heard:‘ never give up’,‘ continue to push forward’,‘ keep putting one step in front of the other and you will make it’, or‘ one day at a time’. As the semester is in its final days it is time to persevere and not give up. The end is in sight and you can make it! You have worked hard this year and you can finish strong. The Bible has at least 89 verses that address perseverance; meditate on this one whenever you feel like you cannot make it. Galatians 6:9( ESV)- And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
Dr. Don McGavran Superintendent
Devotional
Shared by Paul Handali
When suffering crosses our path in life, our most common response is either to
say“ Why me, God?” Unfortunately, it’ s a natural tendency. We always wonder why God brings suffering into our lives, but the real problem is that we’ re blaming Him for it. If you’ re seriously wondering why we suffer, both Old and New Testaments have answers. In the the Old Testament, God generally used suffering to punish the Israelites as well as to get their attention, as seen in the book of Judges. The Israelites rebelled, God brought an oppressor, the Israelites cried out to God, and then God raised a judge. This cycle was one constantly repeated. The New Testament gives us another reason why we suffer. As believers, one of the reasons we suffer is because we follow Jesus( Mt. 10:22). 1 Peter 4:12-16, in a nutshell declares that we as Christians should not be surprised that we suffer“ painful trial,” but instead that we should rejoice because we are able to participate in Christ’ s suffering. The reward is that we will be overjoyed when God reveals his glory. We shall receive a reward for participating and enduring suffering, like Christ did. John Piper says that we should embrace our suffering because we know there is a reward that we will receive in Heaven( Read Hebrew 10, 11, 12).
Are you still wondering why you’ re suffering? Both ways following or not following God, the Bible tells us exactly why we’ re suffering. Stop complaining against God. God remains in control of our lives despite our sufferings and He definitely has a plan and purpose for all of it. If you’ re not embracing God, and you’ re going through suffering perhaps He’ s seeking your attention. If you are embracing God, it’ s because the world hates Jesus.
�Selekan rebels captured the capital of the Central African Republic, its president escaped to Congo.( CNN)
�Seven men were found riddled with gunshot wounds and strapped to plastic chairs in Mexico. Four civilians and three federal agents were also killed in a bar in a neighboring state.( Fox News)
�Buddhist mobs rampaged through Muslim towns in Myanmar, killing thirty-two and displacing thousands of people from their homes.( Fox News)
�China punishes North Korea for continuous nuclear testing by constricting trade and reducing financial aid.( Fox News)
G L O B A L
N E W S
Compiled by Moze Simandjuntak
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