Riwayat singkat hidup Papa

(disampaikan di ibadah menjelang pemakamanan almarhum, di gereja GPDI jemaat Efrata Dumai)

Kami dari keluarga Pak Sam, mengucapkan terima kasih kepada saudara-saudari sekalian yang sudah menyempatkan diri hadir di sini. Tidak lupa kami berterima kasih kepada Bapak dan Ibu Gembala beserta keluarganya juga kepada seluruh jemaat GPDI Efrata bahkan semua pihak yang terlibat dalam proses persiapan pemakaman almarhum papa terkasih.

Almarhum papa kami adalah seorang suami dan ayah yang sangat bertanggung jawab, jujur, ulet, gigih, setia bahkan humoris. Papa telah membesarkan dan mendidik kami dengan kasih dan bijaksana dan mengantarkan kami sampai tingkat pendidikan sesuai keinganan kami anak-anaknya. Papa tidak pernah mengekang kami dan tidak pernah memaksakan kehendaknnya. Papa selalu memberi kami anak-anaknya tuntunan dan nasehat dan memberi kebebasan untuk memilih baik dalam memilih iman kepercayaan, studi, pekerjaan, dan sebagainya.

Papa kami yang dipanggil dengan nama Po Khoei, nama lahir barunya SAMUEL, lahir di Belitung, Tanjung Pandan 28 Februari 1942, anak ketiga dari tujuh bersaudara. Papa memberi dirinya dibaptis ketika masih remaja di usia 17 tahun. Kisah perjalanan imannya di mulai ketika berusia 10 tahun saat bekerja di sebuah took dimana pemilik toko adalah pengikut Kristus. Karena merasa jenuh di toko, dengan iseng membaca alkitab milik atasannya. Dia tertarik dengan sejarah di Alkitab. Karena memang papa kami sangat menyukai pelajaran sejarah ketika masih duduk dibangku sekolah bahkan sempat menjadi asisten guru di kelasnya. Karena buku Alkitab itu sangat tebal, dia berpikir lebih baik dia pergi ke gereja untuk mendengar kisah-kisah di Alkitab. Dia juga mengajak adik-adiknya ke gereja. Saat itu ada KKR di lapangan terbuka, papa membawa ibunya (yang adalah nenek/apho kami) yang waktu itu sedang sakit keras, dengan sepeda. Di ibadah KKR tersebut apho mengalami mujizat kesembuhan. Sejak saat itu papa sangat yakin bahwa Yesus adalah Tuhan dan Juruselamat sehingga papa memberi dirinya dibaptis.

Ketika masih muda, masih single, papa kami sangat popular di antara teman-temannya. Bisa bernyanyi dan mahir main alat musik seperti seruling, harmonika sampai teman-teman perempuannya naksir padanya tapi papa kami jodohnya sama mama kami. Boleh dibilang “love at the first sight”. Selanjutnya papa kami mulai dagang kecil-kecilan. Yang akhirnya sampailah ke kota Dumai. Jaman itu, dari Tanjung Pinang ke Dumai itu membutuhkan perjalanan yang berhari-hari karena hanya dengan kapal yang sederhana teknologinya. Kemudian dia berallih pekerjaan sesuai kebutuhan kota Dumai.

Papa suka menolong orang, tetangga, teman-teman dan lain-lain jika mampu. Di GPDI Efrata juga papa kami terlibat dalam pembangunan gereja ini.

Papa tipe orang yang setia dan komit, dia katakan bahwa Firman Tuhan jangan hanya dibacakan saja tapi juga harus dilakukan dalam bentuk perbuatan/tindakan.

Papa suka mendengar sejarah, khususnya sejarah tionghoa dan china. Walaupun dia sangat bangga dengan budaya tionghoa, dia tidak pernah membeda-bedakan orang sehingga papa bisa bergaul dengan siapa saja. Papa selalu bilang dia telah menyelesaikan tugasnya di dunia ini yaitu telah membesarkan anak-anaknya dengan baik dan menyekolahkan anak-anaknya sampai ke jenjang pendidikan sesuai keinginan anak-anaknya.

Papa sangat energik, penuh semangat dan kuat. Ketika pensiun, dia masih produktif, papa tipe orang yang tidak bisa diam. Beliau melakukan beberapa aktifitas seperti berkebun, membersihkan halaman rumah dan jogging.
Ketika papa sakit, dia tidak mengeluh, supaya istri dan anak-anaknya tidak khawatir bahkan papa tidak ingin kakak adiknya dan keluarga besar khawatir dan menjadi repot karena kondisinya yang sakit.
Papa selalu berkata bahwa dia baik-baik saja jikalau ada yang bertanya kabarnya dan berusaha menunjukkan bahwa dia sehat-sehat saja.
Demikian riwayat singkat hidup papa.

Ada satu ayat yang menarik dalam 2 Tim 4:7 yang berkata:
“Aku telah mengakhiri pertandingan yang baik, aku telah mencapai garis akhir dan aku telah memelihara iman”.
Ya papa kami telah mengakhiri pertandingan yang baik, papa kami telah mencapai garis akhir dan papa kami telah memelihara iman.
Sekarang kami ingin menyanyikan lagu favorit papa kami yang berjudul “Khan gua e chiu” (Hold my hand).

Penanaman pohon sebagai simbol permulaan proyek pembangunan gedung Gereja GPDI Efrata.

Foto di ibadah pelepasan jenazah di Gedung Gereja GPDI Efrata.

(Almarhum dipanggil pulang ke Rumah Bapa di Sorga pada 2 Nov 2017).

A Call to Spread the Good News

Two weeks ago I dreamed about Jesus when He was on His way to Golgotha. I saw He knelt down with the cross was beside Him, crown of thorns on His head. He whimpered and suffered. Seem He just felt down due to weight of the cross. To see that moment, my heart was so broken. I called His name, “Jesus!” Then I woke up. I was reminded about “Great Commission”.
The dream was almost similar with this picture.

In Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV)
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

This is the last command given by Jesus to the disciples while He was on earth, before He was taken up into Heaven. This message is applicable to the called. As Christians, we are all called to share what Christ has done. Jesus came to this world, He died on Cross to set us free from eternal death.

Sharing our faith is not just a suggestion, it’s a command!

Sometime we are afraid to share our faith because we don’t know how to say. We think more than twice when we feel the burden to share. tell or not, tell or not, tell or not. And sometime we are afraid the person, to whom we share the gospel, gets offended. And maybe we’re sharing the Gospel but nothing is happening; people aren’t committing their lives to Christ. What’s wrong?

Well, we can’t open someone’s heart to the truth of the Gospel – but God can, by His Spirit.

Now, what do we do?

One of the best ways to share our faith is to live a godly life. Non-Christians often look at Christians as hypocritical because we say one thing but do another.
Show those close to us that we care—spend time with them, help meet their needs and offer to listen when they have problems. We might not be able to answer all of their questions, but they can’t deny the reality of what Christ has done in our life. If you find this is hard to do, perhaps God is speaking to you about your own need to walk more closely with Him every day.

Another important part of sharing our faith is to pray for those you interact with. If we can’t think of anyone who isn’t a Christian, pray for God to place someone in our life who needs Him.

Also make a habit of reading the Bible, praying and going to church. These things shouldn’t be done for attention or for the sake of doing them, but to help us grow in our own faith. Being passionate about Christ will help others see that there’s something different about us, and they will want to know what it is.
We can also reflect Christ through kind words, patience, a gentle temperament, choosing to love even difficult people, carefully monitoring what you watch or listen to, and treating others with respect.
At the same time, we must do more than live godly lives. People need to hear the Gospel—to hear that God loves them, Christ died for them and that they can have eternal life. Romans 10:13-14 says, “‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”

I ever shared about Jesus and His love to my colleagues. Some of them felt unhappy and felt bored about it. They just didn’t want to hear it. Some just nodded their head and listened to it. Even though the result was not as expected, I felt joy and peaceful came upon me because I’ve done my part. I didn’t owe them.

Nowadays information spread rapidly because of the social media like facebook, twitter, Instagram, youtube, etc. By those media, we can post an article/video about our personal life with Jesus, His great works, God’s love and or share article about gospel. Other way, you can testify about Jesus through our club’s out reached event.

Hence, as Jesus commands us to spread the word. Just do it. Don’t think too much about the result. We do our part, God will do the rest. The world needs to hear the good news.

The Most Powerful Book on Earth

Have you read your bible today?
As a Christian, we were told to read bible and meditate on God’s word daily. Why? Because there is mystery in the scriptures written in this book. The bible contains God’s word.
John wrote, John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John1:14 also wrote “The word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace & truth”
Revelation 19:13 says “He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.”
Jesus is “the word of God. When we read bible, we read Jesus!
By reading bible and living in God’s word, our mind will be transformed. Our knowledge about God, Jesus, & Holy Spirit increased. Bible filters our mind from false doctrines & teaching, and it renews our mind. There is power in the scriptures because Jesus is the Lord!
Today is 29 April, it’s 2nd anniversary of the death of ring leaders of Bali Nine drug traffickers, Andrew Chan & Sukumaran. They were executed 2 years ago in Indonesia. They were arrested on April 2005, and convicted for smuggling 8.3 kg of heroin from Indonesia to Australia valued at around US$3.1 million. But they were executed 10 years later. The execution news was very big. Not only in Indonesia, the world media spotted on this case too. There were pros and cons of the execution. One of the ring leader, Andrew Chan, an Australian, was fully rehabilitated from drug and gave big positive influence in Kerobokan prison. When he was arrested in 2005, he wanted to kill himself in cell. But he cancelled it because he doesn’t want to go to Hell. Then he asked the guard for a bible. The following day, he got bible sent by his Sunday school friend surprisingly. After he read bible, his life was changed. He became a pastor & led English Christian service and bible study in prison.


In reconciling his death sentences with his faith in God, he said:
"When I got back to my cell, I said, 'God, I asked you to set me free, not kill me.' God spoke to me and said, 'Andrew, I have set you free from the inside out, I have given you life!' From that moment on I haven't stopped worshipping Him. I had never sung before, never led worship, until Jesus set me free."

You can just google “Andrew chan”, you will find many bloggers and news about him.

Another true story is Khalil, a radical muslim Egyptian (a jihadist), converted to Christianity after reading bible. His initial purpose to read bible was to write book about the lies of bible. But the scriptures had changed his mind and he met Jesus in his dream.


And about healing story, Steve Hannett, a pastor and an author, was diagnosed with cancer when he was 19 years old. He was frustrated. He didn’t know God personally. He felt fear and tarry. Three months later, he met a korean man for an alternative medicine to get well. The Korean man asked him to read bible and gave him bible study for 5 hours. He learnt a lot about sin, God, Jesus and Holy Spirit. He learnt where the cancer came from. How Jesus healed everyone. Jesus died on cross not only for his sin, but to bless him.



And the last story, my experience, about few years ago, I just read daily devotion article with some bible verse as references. That time, even though I did pray daily, my faith was easily being shaken if there was problem. Until I was not busy anymore with my job, i didn’t have things to do in office from Monday to Friday. I read online news from Monday to Friday to kill the time. Because the news was almost the same every day, I decided to read bible from genesis to revelation. Slowly my mind was changed. My faith increased and I am easily discerned the mind attack by Satan.

Bible is indeed full of power. It is powerfully enough to be used by God's Spirit to change us. It is more powerful than a surgeon's knife as it cuts deep into our inner most thoughts and desires, exposing us for what we really are, and releasing us from our sinful habits. It is living, life-changing, and it’s helping us to get the victory over our problems. When pressures and problems seem to overwhelm us, that is an excellent time to saturate our mind with God's Word.
Therefore, let’s read bible every day. Because Bible is the most powerful book ever!