We Make Each Other Holy

What is the purpose of marriage?  A single person might tell you that it is meant to be the cure for loneliness.  A newly engaged person might tell you it is for the joy and fulfillment of spending the rest your life with your best friend.  But a married person will tell you the truth: the purpose of marriage is sanctification.

This sounds remarkably unromantic and brings to mind images of suffering and discipline rather than long walks on the beach, but it is one of the first lessons any married person will learn.  All illusions of "marital bliss" will be shattered within days once you realize that you are a sinner, your spouse is a sinner, and that putting two sinners in an intimate, lifelong relationship is an incredibly messy business.

But this journey toward making each other holy is also a journey of discovering the beauty and joy of this God-designed marriage covenant.  Yes, you will fight; you will hurt each other and judge each other.  Your deepest insecurities will be exposed, as will all your idols and your best-hidden flaws.  It is in this place of vulnerability, however, that you will give and receive grace like you never have before.  You will be challenged to throw away your vices and grow in the virtues of patience, forgiveness, and selflessness.  No, it will never be perfect.  But it will always be a testimony of how God used this one person - this fellow sinner - to draw you closer to Himself.

[Extracted from LIVING Life October 2016]

Dinner at Tsuruya Japanese Restaurant at E-Gate, Penang

Spent dinner at Tsuruya Japanese Restaurant at E-Gate before adjourning to Queensbay Mall for desserts at Haagen Dazs.

Blesser not the Blessing

In the Old Testament, riches were considered tangible evidence of God blessing.  Prosperity was seen as a proof of right living.  In ideal conditions, people prosper when God runs their lives, but prosperity is not guaranteed.  Wealth does not prove that a person is living right before God, and poverty does not indicate sin.
I believed when God blesses us, He wants to use us as a channel to bless others.

In fact, 1 Samuel 2:7 states  "The Lord sent poverty and wealth, He humbles and He exalts."  In other words, God is the sources of all blessing - He gives and He takes away because He is God.

Salt: Good or Bad?

Salt is an essential nutrient and the amount of salt in the diet influences health.  Too much salt can raise blood pressure and may increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes in susceptible populations.  On the other hand, a low-salt diet may cause serious health consequences and higher overall mortality, especially in the presence of certain chronic health conditions and lifestyle factors.

So is salt good or bad?  It's not that simple, is it?  For example, the salt that an athlete needs to prevent dehydration is the salt that some experts believe play a significant role in many health problems, such as high blood pressure.

God calls us to be salt in a bland, dark society.  Matthew 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth.  But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?   It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot."

However, salt is now considered so bad that international health organisations have made calls to reduce salt content in edibles.  Likewise with churches today, instead of heeding Paul's call as written in Romans chapter 12, not to conform to the pattern of the world, we are now compromising to the culture and expectation of the world.

Are Christians doing what Christians need to do?

Are we salt that flavors food?

Are we living our faith?

What happen often times is that Christians live in this cozy bubble, and we do not know any non Christians.  How then can we truly be the salt of the world?

Romans 12:1-2 "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Discipline

Disciplining our child is one of the most important things as a parent or caregiver, can do.  Remember the words of the world's wisest man, Solomon?  "He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him." (Proverbs 13:24 NIV)

Children need to be disciplined but never belittle them as it can really be damaging to a child's self esteem.  And only use the cane when absolutely necessary.

The Bible recorded that a home cannot be happy without children but at the same time parents are to bring their children to the Lord at an early age.  Matthew 19:13-14.  Parents are to discipline, teach, nurture, and "train up a child in the way he should go" knowing that "when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6)

Psalm 127:3-5 reminded us that Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.  Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth.   Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.  They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enermies in the gate.

Discipline is vitally important as it teaches children the concept of right and wrong.  They are also taught to respect authorities like teachers, parents, pastors and even authorities of the law.

Besides teaching them good social skills, it also develop good habits.  They learn that there are boundaries that must not be crossed, such as poor eating habits, poor personal hygiene, and the more deadly traps of drugs, alcohol and sex.

Even as we love our children we should also teach them to obey God and the laws of the country.  Humility is a choice, not a state of being.  True humility relates to two basic choice we make.   The first is a choice to recognize that all we are and all we accomplish is due only to the fact that Someone else has made it possible for us to succeed.  Secondly, true humility chooses to humble its will in submission to a higher moral authority. - Joe Stowell

A best friend

SSAMBAP

Lunch at Ssambap Korean Restaurant in Bayan Baru, Penang.

Privilege to grow old

Unforgiveness

The weak can never forgive, forgiveness is the attribute of the strong - Mahatma Gandhi.

Forgiveness is a choice you make.

The roots of unforgiveness are very dangerous, they grow deep below the surface and take hold deep within us.  Staying angry at someone who has hurt you is like taking poison hoping that your enermy will die.

Anger is linked to unforgiveness.

Anger, bitterness, resentment, and unforgiveness are the leading causes of different kinds of sickness and disease.

Spirit of unforgiveness can be passed down as curse.

Anger is like a weapon we carry with us so we can lash out at people who appear to be on the verge of hurting us.

If we do not forgive we will be miserable and our soul will be poisoned with the malignancy of bitterness.  When we forgive someone who has hurt us, we are actually doing ourself a favor.

Forgiveness can be healing balms and protective factors that will enable us to deal with the disease that may result from abusive relationships.  If someone has hurt you deeply and you fail to forgive them, you are allowing them to injure you a second time.  

Our unforgiveness hurts us more than it does anyone else.  God never asks us to do anything unless it is going to ultimately be good for us, so we should trust Him and learn to freely forgive.  Forgiving another does not mean that we condone their actions or justify what they did to us.  Rather, forgiveness is releasing another from our condemnation when they do not deserve it.  As the apostle Paul so clearly states, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)

Jesus came that our sins might be forgiven and we would be restored to an intimate relationship with God through Him.

Daughter