“Behind a happy baby is a happy family. And behind a happy family is Plunket.”
I am reading that on the Plunket poster that is stuck on the shop window while walking along Commerce Street in Kaitaia in the north of New Zealand.
Most of you have heard about the card game called HAPPY FAMILIES. I have been told that there is a very old HAPPY FAMILIES card game in our house. And it is still complete.
What are the secrets of a happy (Christian) family?
There are actually two.
1. The first secret is in the family altar.
2. The second secret is love.
THE FAMILY ALTAR
The Lord Jesus Christ must be crowned as Head of the home. He is the unseen Head of the family.
The husband is the priest of the family and has two responsibilities.
— He is responsible to establish a family altar.
That means that the family comes together daily for family worship. The father as head of the home is reading from the Bible to the family and praying to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is thanking the Lord, praising the Lord and praying for every member of the family.
— And he is also responsible for prayer at meals.
LOVE
Love is the second secret of a happy family. It is the visible symbol of unity in the family.
It is the duty of the husband to love and comfort his wife. The husband is also required to be faithful to his wife. And of course he must love his wife, but he must love Christ more!
Behind every happy (Christian) family is the Lord Jesus Christ. “….. in him all things hold together.” – Colossians 1:17 He is our foundation. (First Corinthians 3:11)
“FITNESS FEVER – bargains for every body”, I am reading once on the front-page and twice on the back-page of the current “thewarehouse” mailer. On another page of the mailer it says, “Fitness Fever – fantastic value on fitness equipment!” “20-50 % OFF A Huge Range of Fitness Equipment”, on the front-page again!
We want our body to be fit.
But what about our soul? We must not forget our soul! Is our soul fit? Is our soul fit to go to heaven?
We must not only care for our body. We must also care for the soul and the spirit. The Bible teaches that we have three parts, namely body, soul and spirit. Click on First Thessalonians 5:23 and Hebrews 4:12!
The Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross to redeem the soul of man. It says in Hebrews 10:39 “But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.” (Authorized Version)
Do you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? Is your soul fit to go to heaven?
The Lord Jesus Christ says in Matthew 16:26 “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”
I read PM Netanyahu’s speech to US Congress, 24 May 2011. ( ISRAEL & CHRISTIANS TODAY, June 2011 Edition)
Guess how many times I came across the word “PEACE”? The answer is 44 times, and I think I have counted correctly.
“Study the word ‘PEACE’ more,” I told myself.
One of my study books is THE NEW BIBLE DICTIONARY” (Inter Varsity Fellowship).
Why is the world in chaos? The world is in chaos because of our sin.
The Bible teaches that PEACE comes only as God’s gift. The Bible teaches also that:
A. FIRST OF ALL WE MUST HAVE PEACE WITH GOD.
B. ONCE WE HAVE PEACE WITH GOD, INWARD PEACE CAN FOLLOW.
C. THAT PART OF THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH CHRIST DIED IS PEACE BETWEEN MAN AND MAN.
A. FIRST OF ALL WE MUST HAVE PEACE WITH GOD.
Because of our sin we are the enemies of God. We are in a hopeless situation. But the Lord Jesus Christ died for us. He removed sin’s enmity. Through him we can have peace with God. All we must do is believe. Read Romans 5:1 and Colossians 1:20.
B. ONCE WE HAVE PEACE WITH GOD, INWARD PEACE CAN FOLLOW.
Read Philippians 4:7
No matter what happens round about us, we can have this inward peace. John 14:27 and John 16:33.
C. THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT PART OF THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH CHRIST DIED IS PEACE BETWEEN MAN AND MAN.
Ephesians chapter 2.
CAN WE ALSO SAY THAT PART OF THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH THE LORD JESUS DIED IS PEACE BETWEEN NATION AND NATION?
At the present time I am in contact with two Tax Departments, one is here in NZ and the other one in Germany.
The reason why they are in contact with me is that I receive a small pension from Germany since 2005.
Since 2005 I pay tax on my small German pension here in NZ and the payment for the next bill is due at the beginning of February this year.
In 2011 the German Tax Department asked me for the first time to pay tax on my German pension. At the beginning of this year I received tax bills for the years 2005-2010, six in all. The deadline to pay the 6 bills is 5th of March this year.
All this is really bad news for me and I am only at the beginning of this nasty development.
I promised also at that time to let you know about the outcome.
Here it is:
Only Germany is entitled to collect tax for the pension. All the money I paid here in New Zealand I got back immediately. On top of that Germany is not collecting as much tax as NZ. Only about 50 % of what NZ does!
