Handling Arguments

In the wisdom reading of today, Proverbs 25:8-10 stands out
    v8   - do not bring hastily to court, for what will you do in the end if your neighbor puts you to shame?
    v9   - If you argue your case with a neighbor, do not betray another man's confidence,
    v10 - or he who hears it may shame you and you will never lose your bad reputation.

I am being reminded of what a very close friend of mine said when I was growing up - 
   "never engage in an argument, because..."
  - when you lose an argument, you have just lost face but 
  - when you win an argument, you have just lost a friend. 

How true! Over the years I have endeavored to avoid entering into arguments and whenever I do get into some serious discussions and circumstances point me to a potential argument brewing, I have learnt quickly to back off and walk away.

It is always better to walk away and hence never get into the argumentative mood than to regret later for staying too long. Trust me, I had been there before - multiple occasions and have saved both my reputation and my friends.

Relationships in Marriage

When a person believes in Jesus as his Lord and Savior and receives Him into his heart, the Holy Spirit comes and indwells him and with the Lord's presence, he becomes a blessings magnet. Now, imagine what it is like when two believers come together in a marriage and form a family unit - that relationship is doubly blessed since Christ is now not only present in each believer's life but, being united, He become the third cord in that family unit and soon that relationship will begin to flourish.
Ecclesiastes 4:12 tells us, "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken".
So a marriage that is centered around Christ (the third person in the marriage) will be strong (see picture - Three-strand Cord) as each strand twines around the other two and hence strengthens each other. However, looking at the picture on the right (Four-strand Cord), one can easily observe that alternate strands will not touch each other (the two black strands do not touch each other; similarly, the two brown strands never get to meet each other).

   

When a party outside of the marriage relationship enters into the fray, one of the two will become intertwined and 'break away' from the family unit and soon the entire marriage will be weakened.

The same can be shown in the second set of pictures - the picture on the left shows a three-strand cord and because of the way it is being pleated together, it is the strongest rope available. However, when we add the fourth strand into the rope, unless one is very careful in pleating, the cord do become weakened whenever a cross-over is missed.

   

                            
When a new person is added into the family nucleus, the marriage relationship has to be worked on with double vigor else the distraction will impact the tenacity of the marriage. More strands do not automatically mean a stronger cord; unless conscious effort is put in to avoid crowding, the entire rope will be weakened and the cord will have to be discarded or rewoven. This conscious relationship building applies also to members of the family - children can occupy the place once held so lovingly by the spouse and if nothing is done to correct this, precious marriages can start to crumble and disintegrate.

Are We Using Wealth Or Are We Being Used By Wealth?

Very interesting that the wisdom verses for me today talks about our attitude for wealth. Are we using wealth or are we being used by wealth?

Proverbs 23:4-5

v4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint.

v5 Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.

And my daily devotion (Ecclesiastes 2 & 3) talks about the futility of our daily struggles to amass wealth and fame with our own strengths. King Solomon (who wrote Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs and a couple of psalms) found in the later part of his life that whatever he had achieved will no longer remain his after his demise, nor will they belong to his children or grandchildren if they do not obey the Lord.

So often people of the world struggle to build their fortunes and acquire fame but they fail to realize that what they did achieve will in the end be lost when the Lord is absent in their lives. We need to realize that the most important component of our life is to be at peace in the Lord. When we are completely at peace with our Lord Jesus, health and wealth will hunt us down - the Righteousness of Christ will envelope us and attract the blessings of God into our lives.

Jesus himself taught His disciples that they (and we are also included as His audience) "cannot serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money" (Matthew 6:24). When man serve Money (or wealth) he will be so consumed with that passion that he will forgo all else in order to get what he set out to receive even to the extent of his physical well-being. How sad to find people who spend the first forty years of their lives to get wealth but had to give back this wealth later to retrieve their health in the second half of their lives.

So which category would you rather be in? Love the Lord or to serve Money? As for me and my house, we would rather love and serve the Lord.

The Devil Will Have To Restore What He Tried To Steal From My Family

Two things happened to my family and I today and my wife and I had declared to the Lord that the devil tried to steal from us and now he has to restore and do that BIG time.

Incident #1

This morning when we woke up, my son discovered that our kitchen was flooded with almost 0.5 cm of water and that the water continued to flow unceasingly. Of course, that woke the entire family up and after we had washed up, I had to shut the main tap off to prevent more wastage.

Tried to call the contractor who renovated our home at around 07:30 AM but he was not answering his call and so after sending him an urgent text message to his mobile phone, I called him again and managed to talk with him at around 08:30.

He came to look at the kitchen and tried to diagnose the problem and after about 30 minutes he discovered where the fault area was. What baffled him was that the pipe that was supposed to have burst led to nowhere and also there were no welding or any form of stopper in the first instance and how after all these years (15 years to be precise) the problem surfaced surprised him as well. Finally he brought in his welding tank and after 30 minutes, managed to seal the leakage area.

Incident #2

This evening as I was about to enter the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) through a slip road near my home, a long string of cars stopped to allow some pedestrians to cross the road at the zebra crossing. Of course I also stopped and waited. Just as my car came to a complete halt, a brand new Merc came from behind and, not paying attention to t he long line of cars, collided into the back of my Honda Jazz and damaged my rear door (hatchback) as well as the rear bumper. Now my car moves with a loud rattle as the loose bumper vibrates with the engine and I have to send the car in for replacement of parts which may take up to one week.

So, am I annoyed? you bet I am and I also know who the real culprit is - the one who came to steal, kill and destroy - but he will never be able to get away because my Daddy God will deal with him and make sure he restores to us, not one for one but a hundred-fold.

The Devil Knows His Time Is Running Short

Two days ago, Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) was celebrated in Israel and around the world among the Jews and in 2 days the Feast of Tabernacles will be celebrated. Usually around this time of the Hebrew calendar, interesting things do take place.

The WTC twin-tower attack on September 11, 2001 also took place around this time based on the Hebrew calendar and to have two big earthquakes and one monster typhoon all happening within one week is just uncanny. Typhoon Ketsana left a trail of devastation in Manila and now Vietnam and even Cambodia were lashed by this same monster. Imagine one month's equivalent of rain fell on Manila in just under 20 hours and caused floods affecting more than 2 million people.

Next came the 8.0 magnitude earthquake around Samoa this morning and because the epicentre was not that deep, a tsunami with waves of around 5 metres swept over the islands in the region. And just three hours ago a 7.6 magnitude earthquake shook Padang in Sumatra island and we could feel the tremor here in Singapore.

So what conclusions can we draw from these incidents? that the devil is angry because his time is really running out literally as the Lord Jesus Christ will come back very shortly for His Bride the Church.

Hebrews 12:26-29 states -

v26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens."
v27 The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
v28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,
v29 for our "God is a consuming fire."

Was God responsible for these incidents? Definitely not for it is very clear that the devil is responsible. Is God doing anything to prevent or stop these? I do believe that God is in control and He will definitely not allow His children to be touched by the devil. But a friendly word for those who have yet to put their faith in Jesus - even the devil knows when his end is coming so how about you?

When the Lord Jesus Christ returns, there will be a reckoning for eternity - those who have place their faith in Christ will be taken up to spend eternity with the Father while those who do not believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior will be eternally separated from the Source of Life. So what would you choose?