Firm Foundation

The most important thing in a construction of a building is its foundation work. I was told by a friend who witnessed the construction of the Petronas twin tower in KL. It took the contractor of the Petronas twin tower 4 years to complete the construction of the 88 storey building. However, 2 years of its construction period was used only to lay a solid and strong foundation for the 88 story tall building. This mean half of the total time required for its construction was channeled in laying its foundation. Why is it that the foundation work is so important that it takes relatively longer period than any other aspects of construction? If the foundation is not strong, then, the building that stands on that foundation will eventually collapse. It will not be able to stand the pressure that builds within and without of the structure.
Likewise, the Christian home should also be built on a strong foundation in order to stand the test of time. So, what is the foundation of a Christian home? Psalms 128 describe one of the most important foundational elements for a Christian family.

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The theme of this Psalm is the fear of God is the basis for the blessed home or family.
The Psalmist has beautifully described the model of a blessed family that is build upon a strong foundation in this Psalm. Even though the psalm is addressed to a husband and father primarily, it is important to see that the blessing promised in verse 1 is for “all: who fears God”.
There is an important balance between this psalm and the earlier one. In Psalm 127 the psalmist wanted to show that all blessing are attributable to God alone. Unless God is working in us and with us, every human endeavor is in vain. Where else in Psalm 128, the psalmist reminds us that there is nevertheless an important responsibility that rest on the person who would partake of God’s blessing – that is to fear God.
The blessing that one will obtain out of fearing God can be seen as a complete form of blessing. The society in which the Psalmist lived in was a very family centered and orientated society (the ancient Near East). Thus, to be blessed is to have a good family life (wife and children).
Another form of blessing in the ancient Near East society is the economic form of blessing which was solely agricultural based. The people of the time were farmers who planted crop and tends animals. So, blessings are also counted from their many crops and the livestock that they owned.
And thus, the Psalmist describes the person who fears God to firstly reap the fruits of his labor. In another word he shall be productive and enjoying the prosperity that comes out of his labor. There are times though a farmer can work very hard but end of the day his crop are eaten away by insect and animals or even dies due to lack of water supply or for many other reasons that will cause the farmer to grieve. Nevertheless, here, we see that a man who fears God is assured to eat the labor of his hands in spite of all difficult circumstances that surrounds him and his crop.

In addition, this man is also assured of having a good and blessed family life. Reading of verse 3 shows us that such a man's wife will also be fruitful. Vines were everywhere in Israel, and grape production was one of its chief industries – this signifies blessing and prosperity. The implication of this statement is that the wife would bear children. In the Old Testament context, barrenness’ is seen as a curse (cf. Deut. 7:14; 28:18). Thus, to bear many children is a blessing from God (cf. Deut. 28:4; Psalms 127:3-5). Therefore, a man who fears God will also have children as a sign of God’s blessing upon him and his generation. Likewise, his children would make beneficial contributions symbolized by olives, another one of the most important crops in Israel. Olive tree is a very strong tree and it symbolizes longevity and productivity. Thus, the children of the man who fears God is not like a grass which is here today but will be gone tomorrow. Rather, they are like the olive trees that will stand strong and even last in an unpredictable climate. They will surround him like olive shoots and be his fortress and stronghold in his later days.

Today, what is the foundation of our families? Is it solely education and materialistic in nature? People of God, our families are God ordained institution. To maintain its sanctity we should all times fear Him and live a life in accordance to His commandments. The foundation of our homes must be build upon the fear of God.

What does it mean to fear God? To fear God is not to tremble or to be afraid as if we encounter an evil spirit in the night. But instead, to fear God is to give Him reverence and respect in all that we do and acknowledge that He is omnipresent and living according to His commandments. Therefore the word fear here is best translated to have a sense of holy awe and that leads one to have a proper God-directed attitude. The implication of this attitude is to have God as the central focus of everything we are, think or aspire to do. He must be our starting point for every project, the strength we seek for every valuable endeavor, the one we earnestly desire to please and honor as our goal. To further stretch this principal to our families. I am convinced that only the fear of God can sustain our families from being ruined by various factors.

In reading Ephesians 5: 22 – 6: 2, the Apostle Paul admonishes the wives to submit to their own husbands, husbands to love their wives and children to obey their parents. Paul’s emphasis on the family entity to be submissive, loving and committed to each other can only be attained if one would truly fear God. Marriage is a covenantal relationship. This covenant can only be preserved if both the husband and wife are well aware that God is the third person in the covenant. To break the covenant is to break God’s law. Thus, by fearing God, this covenant can be preserved and marriages can be saved from turning into a tragedy and divorce.

The only way for us Christians to save our marriages and families as a whole is to fear God. The fear of God helps us to love, tolerate and accept each other just as they are. Even in the worst scenario, when we truly fear God, the sense of accountability to Him will keep us faithful in the covenant relationship – marriage.

So, when the foundation of our Christian homes are build upon the fear of God, then, wives can truly submit to their own husband and husband can truly love their wives as Christ loves the Church and children can truly obey and honor their parents. For the fear of God is the basis of our faith and the strong foundation for Christian homes. When the foundation of our families is built upon the fear of God we will not only inherit Godly blessing but also fulfill His plans for humankind. May the Lord in His mercy bless each of our families as we built it upon the fear of God.

A reflection - Salt & Light

Matthew 5: 13-16 “Salt and the Light of the World”

By placing "you" (Gr. hymeis) in the emphatic position in the Greek text, Jesus was stressing the unique calling of His disciples (cf. v. 14). Salt was important in the ancient East because it flavored food, retarded decay in food, and in small doses fertilized land. Jesus implied by this metaphor that His disciples could positively affect the world (Gr. kosmos, the inhabited earth, i.e., humankind). They had the opportunity through their lives and witness to bring blessing to others and to retard the natural decay that sin produces in life.

Jesus' disciples likewise are to be different from the world. As salt is an antiseptic, so the disciples are to be a moral disinfectant in a sin-infested world. This requires virtue, however, that comes only through divine grace and self-discipline.

Many people in this world does not know the value of life – they have no meaning for living – When problem and difficult situation comes – they tend to end their lives. We should bring meaning to this meaningless world. We must restore the value of life that many has neglected.

The disciples must therefore manifest good works, the outward demonstration or testimony to the righteousness that is within them (v.16). Our action should speak louder than our words.

When we dysfunction as a salt, which means we lose the influence that we should have in the world around us, then as disciples we are ‘no longer good for anything’.

Light
Matthew 4: 16, describes the coming of Jesus as the coming of light into the darkness of the world. This light came into the world to save humankind from the snare of darkness. (John 8:12). The purpose of the light is to shine out. We should shine out the goodness and the righteousness of God at all times in all that we do. We as the light of God should also illuminate the sin-darkened world. Sin should not be compromised at any level. The world should know the righteousness of God through our illumination.

Vs. 15 - Sometimes it is sad to see we as Christians fail to shine the light of God but instead choose to live in darkness. We compromise with sin – we act like the world – too much of the world in us that our light is hidden under the bushel basket.
Our call is to shine in darkness – that mean it is only possible if we live in the world but we don’t live like the world. The light that shines in and from us should always project the holiness and righteousness of God.

Let us ask ourselves, is our life and testimony like the salt that gives flavor to this world and like the light that projects the characteristics and the fullness of God’s glory? Or, do we live our life as the salt that has lost its saltiness which is good for nothing and like a light that is hidden under the basket that sooner or later dims of and turns into darkness.

Anger management

Anger…..what do we do when we get angry? How do we react in our anger? Jesus does not forbid us from getting angry but he tells us not to sin in our anger. What does that suppose to mean? I believe that Jesus was more concern of our response to anger rather than the feeling and the emotion itself. In another word, we don’t sin by getting angry, but we are reminded not to sin when we are angry.

Though the command itself do not require a thorough exegesis to understand its meaning, its application is not as simple as it sounds. The first thing that most of us do when we get angry with the annoying character of others is to react. Sometimes we confront them when are angry or hurt. But is that the best way to address the situation. From a recent incident, I realized that, confrontation is not the best solution and especially confronting them when you are still angry.

As I was dealing with my anger and hurt, I got this mail from a friend this morning and tI want share with you guys the quotation that I found helpful in the mail that actually helped me to deal with my hurt:-

Anger is a condition in which the tongue works faster than the mind.

For every minute you are angry with someone, you lose 60 second of happiness that can never get.

Patience is the ability to idle your motor when you feel like stripping your gears.

Love is strengthened by working through conflicts together.

Harsh words break no bones, but they do break hearts.

Tips on raising Christian children

Hi Friends, i was browsing the net the other day and found some interesting tips on raising Christian children. Indeed it is great challenge for parents in upbringing their children in the ways of the Lord especially in this evil and corrupted world. I hope that the below tips will be a good guideline for us.

• Pray for your family everyday. Give thanks to God always for the family he has blessed you with!
• Begin at birth by saying bedtime prayers with your children. You will be amazed how quickly they pick them up and begin to say prayers with you! Help them to know Jesus as early as possible.
• Read to your children bible stories from a children's bible for their age group. Family time together, sharing the bible, can be a wonderful experience.
• Have patience with your children. Our world sadly goes much faster than theirs.
  Always build confidence in your child whatever you do!
• Listen to them, don't just hear what they are saying. Give them your attention and direct eye contact when they speak to you. Your children will let you know what concerns or problems they have and what you may need to bring to the Lord in intecessory prayer for them. This is such an important way in which to show them how much you value them, and will also teach them to pray for others. (contributed by Denise, thank you!
• Do everything possible to have Mom stay at home with the children. This is a great sacrifice for many women who have already established themselves in a career or families who have great financial difficulty on one income. Pray to God to find the way if this is a difficult situation for you. God will provide, if you believe He will! There is no greater duty on this earth than raising your children.
• Watch over your children diligently! Know where they are, who they associate with, what they are watching on T.V., listen to the music they are playing....get involved and stay involved. This is not dress rehersal! You only get a small amount of time to raise your children. Train them with good Christian moral values.
• Give you children responsibilty early in life. Children love to "help" at a very eary age. They may not do things quite the way YOU would, but this is not the lesson they are learning. Children trained in responsibility grow up to be self reliant dependable s. Todays work ethic is a prime example of lack of responsibility in the home. Teach them to respect proper authority.
• Keep control over the home! Your children must know who is in control.
  Love your children unceasingly! Hug them as much as possible. Praise them always! Nothing delights a child more than praise from his parents. Let them know just how much you love them!
• Spend time enjoying your children. Get down on their level and see the world they see! Its marvelous to bring out the child in Mom and Dad! Seek to have as much family time as you can.
• Have a "happy home". Laugh alot!, proper humor is good for the soul. Always look for the positive. This is a great attribute to give your children
• Study your children! Know who they are, what they love, even the bad "bents"(as they call it!)that they may have. (we ALL have them!) Bring out the good whenever possible....and try to re-shape any tendancy towards bad behavior. Each an every child is a masterpiece from God, individual in nature. Allow them to be be individual, never compare.
• Keep your marriage together! Children need parents who love each other! If you grew up in a home where your parents did not get along whether divorced or not, you have probably realized later in life the devasting results in your own personal life. However, you can overcome this!! Many are living proof it can be achieved. Parents,.....your relationship is a role to your children. What kind of marriage do you wish for YOUR children! Show them how to be good partners and parents. Be the example of a good Christian marriage!
• Your conduct as well reflects to your children your walk with the Lord! What are you teaching your children by your example? Remember, you are raising someone else's future husband or wife, mother or father! Parents with solid Christian marriages have a spiritual, loving home that filters down to their children, which provides them security, love, the foundation for self-esteem, and the example with which to make a good decision in for themselves.
• Take your children to a good church you feel comfortable with as early as possible. Make sure you do not neglect your own relationship with God. How can you lead your family, and children without it?
• Tell your children you are sorry when the need arises. Afterall, we parents make many mistakes. Teach your children how to forgive and be forgiven by being the example!
• Discipline Your Children When Needed! We believe the bible to say that children must be lovingly guided with patience, humility, compassion, kindness and taught right from wrong as early as possible. Parents who do not consistently and fairly deal with the "wrongs" in a child's life will most likely face many years of misery! If necessary, seek qualified professional help.

Source:http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/8218/family.html