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Of what does life  consist?

We are looking at Christ's teaching in Luke 12 on possessions and money. In the last post we looked at verses 13-15 of this chapter. Christ makes a dramatic observation to a man who was quarreling with his brother about his inheritance. He says that one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions. This was a counter cultural proposition then--and it certainly still is now in the 21^st century! But Jesus does not leave us hanging  with that statement. He tells a parable to go along with his teaching to the man in the crowd. In the gospels, a parable is a literary device used to underscore a particular truth. The point of a parable is to make the teaching memorable so that it can be easily recalled.  In the next five verses, Jesus does exactly that. He gives us a vivid--even shocking--word picture of a man who did think that life consisted of the abundance of his possessions. Also, we are shown the alternative--being rich towards God.

The Super Bowl is a major cultural event. Today's post contains thoughts about this year's game.  I'll also include links to previous posts about this game. It is important to think biblically about this highly visible part of our culture. Take a look at this post and the previous ones and let us know your thoughts!

                The Super Bowl and Proverbs 4:23 part 1 & part 2

                The Super Bowl and Your Heart's Orientation

Greg Doyle is a writer for CBS Sports. He is a good sports reporter and I enjoy his work. I also believe that he represents what many think about the role of sports in our culture. As you may know, Tim Tebow and his mother are going to be featured in an ad sponsored by Focus on the Family during this year's Super Bowl. Mr. Doyle provides this description of what he thinks the ad will be like:

The final point that needs to be covered concerning talking to your children about sex and marriage is the joyous pursuit of sexual purity. Sexual purity is the eager and aggressive commitment to trusting God's parameters for sexual conduct. This should be a pursuit of joy. Sexual purity must not be defined only as a negative. The pursuit is of sexual purity is not only to avoid what is wrong but to eagerly pursue what is right. In this case, what is right is a passionate commitment to engage in sexual matters as God has instructed in his Word. Such purity leads to an active worship of God in all of life. That is something that you can talk about without hesitation with your children. Trusting God with their sexuality is the absolute best thing that anyone can do. You do not have to discuss every area of sexual perversion in order to prepare children for combating sexual sin. To be sure, you should be prepared to discuss questions about the sexual sin that is rampant in our culture, but even this must be in the context that God's ways are superior to the natural practice of this world.

This is the second post in the series What do you think about? Let's pick up where we left off in I Corinthians 13:5,  considering what it looks like to love your children biblically . You can link to part one of this topic here.

Love is not self-seeking
Love is about not putting yourself first. It is not a good idea to assume that what pleases you and what pleases God are one and the same. For example, do you want a house that is quiet and orderly?  Why? Because that is pleasant to you? Or do you want a house full of energy and exuberance? Again, why? If your goal is to satisfy your own preferences and personality, you are not necessarily setting an example of love. It is vital that your children see that you are living a life of sacrifice to God, just as you are asking them to do. The goals you set for your home must first and foremost reflect God's direction in his Word. That means that you will be setting an example of serving others sacrificially, not simply indulging your own preferences.

This is the next post in the series What do you think about? We tend to believe that discouragement comes from circumstances. The biblical reality is that discouragement comes most often from the way you think about the things that happen to you, not primarily from the situation itself. That is why Paul urges you, Christian, to focus your thoughts on things that are excellent and praiseworthy. Taken in this light, biblical love flows from biblical thinking. Love is not just a hit-or-miss reaction to someone else. Biblical love requires that you sacrificially commit your thoughts to God rather than indulge yourself in the flow of the moment. Romans 12:2 declares that minds must be transformed in order to break free of the world and love biblically. This is not true just for marriage; a transformed mind is equally needed for biblical parenting. God is very specific about how he wants you to love your children. Let's take a few moments to look at the familiar words of I Corinthians 13:4-7 and see them in the context of loving your children. These observations are brief, but they should be enough to stimulate your thinking. The main idea is to consider how to conform your thinking so that your thoughts are in line with God's call to love your children. I am sure that you will have plenty of items to add to each category. If you do, please leave a comment for others to consider as well.

New Year's Day--it is supposed to be a time of new beginnings. It is marked by celebrations, parties, football, and resolutions--and for some, hangovers. Culturally, compared to Christmas, New Year's Day is also less stressful. One does not hear declarations of "Keep Christ in the New Year" bandied about on talk shows. No one speaks of New Year's Day as a religious holiday. However, for most people New Year's Day is a deeply religious holiday. It is the holiday of self-worship. It is a day when people believe that if they make specific resolutions and determine to turn over a new leaf, they can change the things about themselves that they don't like.  It is a day on which people believe (or perhaps just hope) that they can change by simply wanting to. But like all other false religions, the worship of self and self-will results in disappointment. In reality, New Year's Day is a day like any other--it is a day to serve God or to serve self.

Isaac Watts wrote "Joy to the World" based upon Psalm 98. The psalm speaks of God's power in winning a great victory. And, of course, the advent of Jesus Christ marks the beginning of this victory that culminated in the triumph of this same Christ on the cross. God fulfilled the promise he offered to Eve and all of mankind in the Garden. Jesus is the One who would crush the serpent's head and give joy to a broken world.

A recent Rasmussen poll found that fifty-three percent (53%) of Americans say they are more thankful this Thanksgiving than they were last year at this time. Digging a little deeper into the contents of the poll, I found a question about religion and thankfulness. The poll found that the plurality (41%) of adults say their religious faith is what they are most thankful for, after family and health. In other words, the thing that most adults are thankful for after their family and health is their religious faith. These findings in the poll point to a sharp distinction between religious faith and biblical Christianity. The first commandment says that there shall be no other gods before the one true God. Clearly, from the results of this poll, family and health occupy the place of most importance to most Americans. While it is important to interpret polls carefully and look closely at the way questions are stated, this result resonates with the trend of American culture. Our religion is something that serves us and satisfies what we want. The immediate, in this case health and family, are those things that truly dominate our lives. These things hold the place of first importance, a place that God reserves for himself alone. Health and family are good things, but they must not surpass fidelity to God as the very core of what is important in life.

Someone recently wrote in and asked how to talk with a young child who had just unexpectedly lost a close relative.  This is a subject we have not yet specifically addressed in this blog, but it is a question that needs good biblical answers. The discussion must be addressed with gentleness and care.  There are some things that can and should take place to prepare for this discussion. So, let's start with laying a solid biblical foundation about life and death.  

The time of the Judges was a dark time in Israel's history. The Israelites had quickly abandoned the responsibility to teach their children about God in their day-to-day life. God became marginalized as the people enjoyed the blessings of the land that God had won for them. By the time Joshua died a new generation had grown up--but this generation did not know God or all of the things he had done for Israel (Judges 2:10. The people did not see the land as a gift from God but rather they viewed it as an entitlement. The faithful worship of God became a relic of the past. As Israel meandered through the years during the time of the Judges, their focus became so self-centered that the last verse of the book of Judges gives this indictment against them: