Marriage

A study of nearly 34,500 people in 15 countries found married people are less likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and substance abuse, clinical psychologist Kate Scott of New Zealand's University of Otago said.

Marital relationship offers a lot of mental health benefits for both men and women, and that the distress and disruption associated with ending marriage can make people vulnerable to developing mental disorders.

Marriage is the product of a divine plan. Human being did not think it up or invent it - God created it. It is the union of a man and a woman that legally and morally binds the two together for life.

However, each partner need to know their role and respect each other for the happiness of a marriage. There is never any excuse for infidelity. We are all equal in that all of us have self-control. The men as the heads of the households, sow the seeds of discord ourselves when we fail in any way to ensure that our wives feel loved and secure with us. If we want to be treated like kings, we must first treat our wives like queens.
Happy and fulfilled marriages are built on solid foundations of companionship and giving. Not selfish desires from any one party.

Matthew 19 :4-6 "Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."

Marriage is like a pepper bottle and salt bottle coming together - if you separate them - one of them will break or both will break. [FIREPROOF]

Giving Thanks

An attitude of thanks can do wonders for your health.
Academics have long theorised that expressions of thanks promote health and happiness and give optimism and energy to the downtrodden. Now, the study of gratitude has become a surprising burgeoning field, and research indicates being thankful might help people actually feel better. There's a catch, however : You have to say thanks more than just once a year. "If you don't do it regularly you're not going to get the benefits," said Sonja Lyubomirsky, a psychology professor at the University of California, Riverside.
"Gratitude leads people to act in virtuous or more selfless ways," said David DeSteno, psychologist at Northeastern University. Those who offer gratitude are less envious and resentful. They sleep longer, exercise more and report a drop in blood pressure, report Robert Emmons, a psychology professor.
"It makes a person physically, mentally, in every way healthier."

Psalm 92:1 It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High.

THANKFULNESS IS THE SOIL IN WHICH JOY THRIVES

Money - Servant or Master ?

"Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses" [Luke 12:15].
"Money is power." That principle drives most cultures of the world. People scramble for wealth, often at the price of personal integrity, in order to gain the power to live where and how they want, drive the kind of vehicle they want, and get whatever else they want.
Money will buy : A bed but not sleep. Food but not appetite. A house but not a home. Amusement but not happiness. A cross but not a Savior. A church pew but not heaven. What money can't buy, Jesus Christ gives freely without charge."
The problem is not having money, but "living a life where that's your focus."

Agur, the wise author of Proverbs 30, didn't want too much or too little of it (Proverbs 30:7-9). Jesus used it (John 13:29). Paul could take it or leave it (Philippians 4:11-12). The rich young ruler clung to it (Luke 18:23). Ananias and Sapphira died because they lied to God about it (Acts 5).
What about our relationship to money ? Do we used it wisely or does it control us ?

MONEY IS A GOOD SERVANT, BUT A POOR MASTER

Loneliness

Loneliness has been termed the most desolate word in the English language. It is no respecter of age, race, economic status, or intelligence. Albert Einstein said, "It is strange to be known so universally, and yet to be so lonely."
Loneliness, like the flu, is contagious, US research shows. It can spread among groups of people and women are more likely than men to become "infected", according to researchers at the University of Chicago, the University of California-San Diego and Harvard.
Lonely people tend to transmit their sad feelings to those around them, which eventually led to them being isolated from society. They became less trustful of others, and a cycle develops that makes it harder for them to form friendships.
Loneliness is associated with mental and physical diseases that can shorten life, said psychologist, John Cacioppo, a leading US expert on loneliness.
What circumstances make you feel helpless or hopeless today? Poor health, broken relationship, a family member in great need? In Jesus Christ, God has pierced the dark winter of our world in a daring rescue through His redeeming love. He is therefore able to reach us and calm our fears in the most desperate circumstances.
If you feel unloved, don't run from your pain or try to get love through wrong means. Instead, devote yourself to knowing God and loving Him. Allow Him to meet your deepest needs. Then give Him all the praise !
God made us for intimacy and companionship with others. Even before sin entered the world, He declared that it is not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2 : 18). That's why many people often feel so empty inside.
Those who know Jesus are never alone.
THOUGH PEOPLE MAY NOT LOVE YOU. GOD WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU.
GOD'S HELP IS ONLY A PRAYER AWAY.

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.