Out of the mouth....

We may think that we're godly people because we go to church regularly or pray, but then we gossip or talk about people behind their backs. James 3 : 9-10 says, "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be."

The book of James gives us three practical exhortations to deal with life's stressful situations : "Be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath" (James 1 : 19). In life's stresses, let's be "doers of the Word" (v22), and take the time to listen and show restraint with our words and anger today.

Matthew 15 : 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.'

Ephesians 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

More Girls under 14 having sex

IT IS a sign of the times - More girls aged below 14 are having sex - report The Straits Times newspaper of Singapore.

One in three female secondary school students who took part in a Universiti Malaya study a decade ago admitted they were sexually active.

"If that was a decade ago, imagine what it would be like today" child psychology researcher Datuk Dr Chiam Heng Keng told the New Sunday Times at the Sarawak Women's Bureau seminar on "Training our Children on Personel Safety".

She said the study found that some had sex for pleasure, but most prostituted themselves for the money to buy expensive goods. It gives them [the girls] the feeling 'I'm very cool because my friends are doing it' and it must be right because everyone is doing it.

Sex has a part to play in everybody's life, but let us not be obsessed by it. Let us weave sex intelligently into our family lives. Let us understand our emotions, let us try and control our sexual urges until we are ready to meet the responsibilities which go with them. Sexual laxity is nothing to be proud of, and, furthermore, is associated with certain risks, among which pregnancy and venereal infection rank foremost.

According to Datuk Dr Nor Ashikin Mokhtar, a senior consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, because of engaging in sex with multiple partners early in life, more women [in their 30s] are diagnosed with cervical cancer.

We are to practice and pursue sexual relations in holiness and honour (each one of you [is to]) know how to control his own body as recorded in 1 Thessalonians 4:4.

1 Corinthians 10:31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

God's Promises

It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart - Ecclesiastes 7 : 2

My late father, attended the wake service of my aunt years ago, and were ministered and touched by the peacefulness of the situation. He was also encouraged by the love and care extended by the church.
About two years ago on 22 November 2007, while going through pain due to gangrene of his toes, he accepted Jesus as his personal Lord and Saviour at Lam Wah Ee Hospital. Dad's reason for wanting to be a Christian is because he wanted a Christian funeral and wake service - they are peaceful. He feels the comfort, assurance and goodness of Jesus the Comforter.

The Lord Jesus revealed to us signs that dad's time is up. At about 4-30 pm, he vomitted and passed motion, the family cleaned and changed him. Suddenly, his facial countenance changed from a wrinkled and haggard face to one that was radiant and shinning. A few minutes later staring blankly into space, he asked the question "where are you taking me ?" thereafter he dozed off. Those were the last audible words he said. Then at about 7-30 pm, while taking our dinner, we [my sister (pre believer), daughter and myself] heard joyous songs of praise coming from the back door.

The Lord took dad home at about 9-30 pm peacefully in his sleep. Church friends came and went. After settling the necesarry funeral arrangement, when we finally sat down, it was about 3-00 am in the morning. It suddenly dawned on the family that the Lord was preparing us for dad's passing; through the changed facial countenance [the glory of God came upon him], the question, "where are you taking me ?' [he saw the Lord Jesus] and the joyous songs of praise [angelic hosts singing] we heard.

What a wonderful God we have. We believed that Jesus and His angels came to welcome dad home. Surely it must have been a wonderful glorious sight to behold.

Thank you Jesus, and all glory be unto You.

After the funeral, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law requested/inquired about the Christian songs sung during the past few days. I strongly believed that the Holy Spirit is planting the seed of salvation into their heart.

Once again, all glory to God for His promise in Acts 16 : 31 - They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household."

Saying Goodbye

This life is but the childhood of our immortality.

Dad complained of pain on his left leg on 19 October 2009 but resist to visit the doctor. After persuading him for a few days and the pain persisted, we managed to take him to visit a nephrologist on 24 October. On 6 November 2009 at 9-30 pm the Lord graciously took him home peacefully. He departed as his heart desire, without any pain or groaning, without causing any hardship to the loved one.

“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal”. - Richard Puz

Weeping for our loss is good, but we need not weep like those who have no hope. Instead, we must rely on three certainties of death said Albert Lee of Our Daily Bread.

First, the soul does not die. The soul of the departed believers are with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:14) We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. They have retired from this problematic world, and they "sleep in Jesus".
Second, Jesus will come for every believer. Whether a Christian is alive on earth or asleep in death, Jesus will return for all His children. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
Third, there will be a joyous reunion. (1 Thessalonians 4:17) After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

BECAUSE CHRIST LIVES, DEATH IS NOT TRAGEDY BUT TRIUMPH

Sinless Anger

"In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry - Ephesians 4:26

What others say and do may arouse our anger and in some cases could make us angry. But we must be careful we don't overreact and lose control. Paul reminded us that "though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. [2 Corinthians 10 : 3-4]

Anger can be bad for our health. Doctors have estimated that 60% of all diseases are caused by emotional stress. Anger causes our glands to release toxins into our bloodstream. Our anger can cause us to suffer high blood presure, ulcers, strokes and scores of other killer diseases.

Should Christians ever become angry ? Certainly! But we should never allow our anger to erupt in a sinful response. Angry words are contagious, we should not spread them!

Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Proverbs 14:17 A quick-tempered man does foolish things, and a crafty man is hated.

Blessings and Curses

Caramba! A new survey says Mexican adults curse an average of 20 times a day, serving up about 1.3 billion swear words daily.

Some people are inclined to think that blessings are real but not curses. That is illogical. For any pair of opposites that we care to think of, if one is real, the other must be real. Take the following examples: day and night, heat and cold, good and evil, and strong and weak. We cannot simply focus on one and ignore the other. So it is with blessings and curses; blessings are real and curses are real.

The words "bless" or "blessing" occur in the Bible about 430 times. The word "curse," in various forms, occurs about 160 times. Blessing and curses essentially take the form of words. They may be spoken, written or merely uttered inwardly. These words are not just ordinary words but are vessels of supernatural power. Blessing produce good effects and curses produce evil effects. Blessing proceed from God or men representing God likewise, curses are proceed from Satan or men representing him, as Satan cannot bless anyone but only curses.

A very important point to remember is : once released, both blessings and curses tend to continue on through time until they are revoked. Genesis 12:3 recorded "I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

James 3 : 9-10 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.

[Extracted from 'From Curse To Blessing by Derek Prince]

So let the words of our mouth be a blessing and an encouragement to others daily.