He does answer prayer

Today, I stayed at home all day, so I decided to listen to my pastor's sermon (Ps. Daniel Prajogo) while I was sorting photos for my assignments, and God amazed me once again...

God does confirm to me about questions that I have on my mind a month ago (I shared my thoughts with my friends when I went to Melbourne), these questions popped out in my mind after I heard a sermon from the same pastor about 'born again'. In his sermon, he emphasized that it is grace of God if you and I could believe in God today, because He was the one who opened our eyes. He gave an example from one of the criminal who was crucified next to Jesus, one of them could 'see' Jesus as a King (Luke 23:41-42), how so? We might not be able to answer this, and we only could seek answer from God alone, and believe it must be God's work in him. As John 16:8 stated that the Holy Spirit is the one who convicts our heart, therefore no matter how wicked a man is, the Holy Spirit could change heart.

The next day, I was pondering about this and the verses on Romans 9:15-23

¹⁵ For God said to Moses,

“I will show mercy to anyone I choose,
    and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.”

¹⁶ So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it.

¹⁷ For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, “I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth.”^[j] 18 So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen.

¹⁹ Well then, you might say, “Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven’t they simply done what he makes them do?”

²⁰ No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?” ²¹ When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into? ²² In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction. ²³ He does this to make the riches of his glory shine even brighter on those to whom he shows mercy, who were prepared in advance for glory.

From these 2 parts of the bible, I was kinda wondering if some people already 'predestined' by God to have their heart hardened like Pharaoh, and suddenly I refer this 'Pharaoh' to my parents. I was thinking if they were 'Pharaoh' then it would be a mission impossible for them to receive salvation from God. If it's impossible, then should I still bother about their salvation. I should admit that I was nearly gave up on them, but one of my friend encouraged me not to give up just yet, as you will not know the end result, and he even suggested me to keep praying to God and have hope in Him. I was strengthened and God reminded me about the verse from Acts 16:31

“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

I was a bit relieved and not thinking about it anymore, and continue to keep praying for them everyday.

And today from the sermon, Ps. Daniel reminded me once again there is not any stubborn hearts or minds that God cannot change, for He is able. When you and I say that  there is no hope for that person(s) to repent; it is indirectly saying that it is impossible for God, and when we said so it means we shut the door and opportunities for the Lord to work in their life. God doesn't ask us to be 'responsible' for their salvation, as salvation belongs to the Lord (Psalm 3:8), what He requires us to do is to be His messenger in this world.  Use every opportunities that available to introduce God to the unbelievers (including my parents); do our own part as His messenger, and let God do the rest of it. As for faith comes from hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17), how they would have faith if the word of God never been preached or introduced to them?
In addition, from this message, I got another confirmation from God about the theme of this blog ''seeds of life"; whatever seeds that we sow, will never be in vain (Isaiah 55:11), we may not know when it grows, but keep believing that in God's timing it will grow.


Therefore, dont give up just yet, if God could change wicked heart of Niniwe to a repentance heart (Jonah 3), then I must believe that He also could change people's heart. Keep asking God for His mercy...His heart is longing for everyone of us to believe in Him.

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. ¹⁷ For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,^[e] just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17)

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  (John 3:16)

"The church of our Lord Jesus Christ is not a pleasure boat, but a life boat for saving souls... ...and every hand is needed on deck." (Reinhard Bonnke)



Sola gratia,
Ingrid

The Three Bears and Cactus

Dear Grandkids,

I love you and miss you s-o-o-o-o-o much! I can’t wait to see you again.
I wrote a story for you.

Once upon a time there were three bears. Daddy Bear, Mommy Bear, and Baby Bear. They lived in a house in the woods. They loved each other s-o-o-o-o-o much and they loved God.

Every day they went for walks in the woods to learn about God’s wonderful creation. Daddy bear wass-o-o-o-o-o smart. He knew lots about the animals, plants, and rocks. He also loved to learn new things. If he didn’t know something, he would try to learn about it.

One day they went for a long walk. They saw s-o-o-o-o-o many pretty birds, animals, and plants. They walked so far that they walked out of the woods and into a place with very few trees. It was getting pretty hot too.

“Where are we, Daddy?” said Baby Bear.

“This is a very special place called a desert,” said Daddy Bear. “It’s a place where it doesn’t rain very much.”

“Why is this a special place, Daddy?” asked Baby Bear.

“I used to love to come here when I was a young bear,” said Daddy Bear. “The desert shows us how smart God is. All plants need water to live, but it is really dry here. It only rains a tiny bit. S-o-o-o-o-o, God made some really special plants and animals that can live here. Every one of them is amazing to study! Each one shows us that God can provide a way even when it is hot and dry and looks impossible. There will be times in your life when bad things happen to you, Baby Bear. God will always provide even when it looks impossible. When I was sad, I would come to this desert to study something that lives out here.”

“What was your favorite plant, Daddy?” asked Baby Bear.

“That’s a hard question. I like them all, but I guess the cactus plant was one of my favorite ones,” said Daddy Bear. “They are s-o-o-o-o-o amazing!”

“What do they look like, Daddy?” asked Baby Bear.

“Well, there are about 2,000 different kinds of them. If you have only one of them it is called a cactus. If you have more than one, they are called cacti,” said Daddy Bear. “Let’s walk over this little hill and I’ll show you some,” and off they walked.

“Oh, there’s a cactus now,” said Daddy Bear. “It’s called a prickly pear cactus. Let’s go look at it.”

“What are all those needles on it, Daddy? They look like they would hurt if I touch them,” said Baby Bear.

“Those are called the spines,” said Daddy Bear. “Each one is like a little needle with a hook on the end. If you get stuck with one, it will hurt pretty bad. Most cacti have thousands of them so nobody will try to eat them. Those needles also make a special kind of way to keep the cactus cool when it gets hot. They make broken shade that makes the air move around. They also reflect sunlight away from the cactus to help it stay cooler. The air next to a cactus can be twenty degrees cooler than the rest of the air.”

“Wow! That’s real smart for God to make those little spines all over the cactus,” said Baby Bear. “Where does a cactus get water out here, Daddy?”

“Oh, that’s really amazing, Baby Bear!” said Daddy Bear. “Do you see how fat the leaves are on the cactus?”

“Yes, they are really thick,” said Baby Bear. “Why?”

“When it does rain a little bit, the cactus will soak up all the water it can and save it inside those fat leaves for all the days it doesn’t rain,” said Daddy Bear. “When I was little, I learned we should save up when things are good to have what we need when things are bad. It’s smart to save a little food and money when you can. Don’t spend it all. The cactus also has hundreds of little tiny roots that go way out to collect as much water as it can. This plant helped me learn that I should have lots of ways to get food, not just one way. That’s why we bears eat almost anything like nuts, berries, fish, moose, and even grass! God provided lots of ways for us to eat. He loves us s-o-o-o-o-o much!”

“How big do cacti get?” said Baby Bear.

“I think the littlest ones are about two inches tall, but the biggest ones…well, there are some over the next hill. Let’s go see them. You won’t believe it,” said Daddy Bear as they started walking again.

“Is that a funny tree, Daddy?” asked Baby Bear.

“No, that is a saguaro cactus,” said Daddy Bear. “They get fifty feet tall! One of these cacti can hold enough water to fill a bath tub.”

“Wow! That’s a huge cactus! Does it have poky spines too?” asked Baby Bear.

“Go over and touch it,” said Daddy Bear, “but be careful.”

“Ouch! They are sharp!” said Baby Bear as he touched one of the cactus spines. “It’s covered in them, Daddy! There are millions of them!”

“Look at those holes up by the top of the cactus, Baby Bear,” said Daddy Bear. “Some birds peck holes in the cactus to make their nest. It’s a real safe place for their babies to grow up. Do you think any animals would ever try to climb up there to get them.”

“No way!” said Baby Bear. “They would get poked all over their body!”

“Baby Bear, did you know that some books teach that cacti slowly evolved from other plants and that they learned to live in the desert all by themselves?” asked Daddy Bear.

“Plants don’t have brains to learn things! God designed plants to do the special things that they do. Why would someone come up with such a funny idea, Daddy?” asked Baby Bear.

“Son, some people just do not like to admit that God created the world, and some have been confused by their teachers. Those who are afraid to admit God created the cacti are afraid God may expect something of them. They want to do bad things, and so they just pretend that God is not real,” explained Daddy Bear.

“But, Daddy! God d-i-i-i-d make everything!” exclaimed Baby Bear.

“Yes, Son, everything we study in God’s creation points to Him as the Creator and just how w-o-o-o-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l a creator He is!” agreed Daddy Bear.

“Well, Baby Bear, let’s go back home and pick some cactus fruit on the way for Mom,” said Daddy Bear.

“What is cactus fruit?” asked Baby Bear as he wrinkled his nose.

“Almost every cactus makes beautiful flowers after they get a little rain. The flower turns into a fruit that Mom will use to make jelly,” said Daddy.

“Cactus jelly? Is it good?” said Baby Bear.

“You won’t believe it!” said Daddy Bear. “I will be really careful when I pick the fruit off so I don’t get poked. Mom will cook them to make jelly and you can put some on your supper. God was s-o-o-o-o-osmart to make cactus plants!”

“What’s for supper, Daddy?” said Baby Bear.

“Why, porridge of course,” said Daddy Bear, “with cactus jelly on top.”
“Oh, goody! I love porridge!” said Baby Bear, and they walked home.

THE END

Source: The Three Bears and Cactus