newsletters
December 2022 (1)
Exploring Hidden Talents
We often think serving the Lord in a ministry merely involves doing the work for others. That is why we do not mind pledging our talents and interest to be used, but we seldom allow God first to choose the work that is most suitable for us. We certainly believe that God knows what is best for us and how we can best serve Him, but often so determined to do only certain things, thus we close any possibility to do anything else. We need to remember that without the work of transformation we can never be a true missionary. God must use the work of a ministry first to help us. He knows our weaknesses and strengths, and He needs to mold us with His own work before we can help others. We are saved first before we can serve.
At HCBN Indonesia we believe God’s hands are actually working, and toiling our hearts. The callous hearts we have can never fully surrender to be used to serve others unless God’s hands cultivate it first. Each one of us came to HCBN Indonesia with different expectations. But whatever talent and interest each one of us may have, we have all certainly been surprised. Why? We all have been given tasks that we never thought possible to accomplish. One person came to teach, but ending up often in the kitchen. Another person joined to do cleaning work, ended up on hosting our TV program. Someone came without a talent to speak, but became a preacher. With such cross-training we are finding ourselves equipped with different talents, and finally the God’s mission in us is accomplished: humility of Christ. Only then we can return to the work we signed up for.
Each one of us takes part in the upkeep of the facility, regardless of age and main responsibilities. The tasks of weeding, gardening, farming, building, painting and cleaning may be completely new to some, but certainly challenging to learn. Young ones get to learn welding, mixing concrete, woodworking, roofing and plastering. And some have to learn to drive and work on engines. Our expectations are not necessarily met but certainly we have gained more than what we came for. It’s not wrong to offer what we know as our talent to the Lord, but always expect the unexpected.
We arrive at each of our position gladly, because we believe that with God there is no promotion or demotion when assigned a different task than what we expect. In His eyes, only a director position in a company is just as humble as a gardener. A teacher’s job is as important as a maintenance worker's. The work on the screen is just as sacred as the work behind it.
Every day at noon we gather for noon prayer. At evening for about an hour we exchange thoughts during devotional time. Every sabbath we keep our worship simple: everyone shares their highs and lows for the week, and every person gets to witness God’s care in their lives. We can conclude one thing from our this month’s readings, that God wants us to remain joyful. We have no reason to be unhappy with our work, our assignments, and with our lives. We cannot live in violation of God’s law, not to envy others, and expect to find happiness with what we have.
We are not to allow our hands and mind be idle. The bible reminds us that “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might;” Ecclesiastes 9:10.
The time is short, and soon God will place upon our hands duties that have been impossible for men to accomplish. We will have the strength and skills that God is developing in us right now so we can stand as His beacon of hope to this dying world. We need to prepare ourselves for that event. We cannot afford to pick and choose what we like in this life, but allow Him to make all choices for us. Thank you for your supports and prayers for us in HCBN Indonesia, see you all in the front line!
Puji Tuhan🙏🙏🙏🙏
Puji TUHAN utk pengalaman2 spiritual yg di share dan pekabaran2 akhir zaman yg dikumandangkan,
kiranya TUHAN senantiasa memberkati & memelihara kita sekalian hingga maranatha :)
🙏❤️
Saya melihat bahwa kehidupan yang sederhana adalah membahagiakan, termasuk juga hal2 sederhana yang kita lakukan, yg rasa syukurnya disampaikan kepada Tuhan, mis: terima kasih Tuhan krn saya sudah bisa buat ini buat itu krn pertolonganMu.
Tetaplah menginspirasi kami, hcbn Indonesia....🙏🙏
Amin! Saya sangat terberkati atas cerita-cerita ini. Banyak yang mau bekerja di depan layar akan tetapi sedikit di balik layar... padahal Kristus meihat pekerjaan kita semua itu sama rata. Semoga pelayanan HCBN terus diberkati. Tuhan memberkati!