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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.

Following the recent massive earthquake in Haiti, a question hangs in the air:  of all the places in the world to be struck with total devastation, why Haiti? The death toll seems likely to reach 200,000 according the Haitian Interior Minister. Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital, has been virtually destroyed by this earthquake. Chaos, anarchy, and devastation--all these words seem inadequate to describe the suffering of this Caribbean nation. So, again, why Haiti?

Dr. Al Mohler made this statement in his post "Where does the Story of Christmas Begin?": "A closer look at the narratives in both Matthew and Luke reveals a richness that familiarity may hide from us. Matthew begins with the genealogy of Christ...." Dr. Mohler makes an excellent point. We tend to put aside verses in the biblical text that don't appear to be of particular interest--like genealogies. However, skipping over such pasages is not wise. The Holy Spirit included these names for a reason. His version of the Christmas story includes more detail than we have become accustomed to thinking about. Each of the names in the genealogy represents a story within the larger story of Christmas. In the initial post in this two-part series we looked at the inclusion of Rahab in Matthew's genealogy of Christ. Ruth is also part of this story. Her inclusion in this listing of names is just as stunning as Rahab's. You see, Ruth was from Moab.

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.

I enjoyed reading Al Mohler's post "Where does the Story of Christmas Begin?" This thought in particular caught my attention: "A closer look at the narratives in both Matthew and Luke reveals a richness that familiarity may hide from us. Matthew begins with the genealogy of Christ...." Dr. Mohler, as usual, is on target. We tend to put aside verses in the biblical text that don't appear to be of particular interest-- like genealogies. However, this is not wise. The Holy Spirit included these names for a reason. His version of the Christmas Story includes more detail than we have become accustomed to thinking about. Each of the names in the genealogy represents a story within the larger story of Christmas. In some cases, we know very little about the stories of the persons named. But each one played a role in God's plan of redemption. There is drama and wonder connected with each name. For example, let's look at Rahab. Failing to understand her role in the Christmas story robs us of some of the richness that Dr. Mohler writes about.

Matthew quotes the Prophet Isaiah and in so doing he brings to us perhaps the most amazing reality of the Advent.  This wonderful  truth is that in person of Jesus Christ, God is continually with his people.  People often say they wish Christmas could last all year long. Well, for those whom God has called, the reason for Christmas will be with us for eternity.  Once the presents are opened and the tree is taken down the world's thoughts of Christmas fade into the New Year celebrations. But for you, God's child, the person of Immanuel lives on.  He is with you. Praise God, he is with you! 

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us." Matthew 1:22-23

This is a busy time of year.  Yet we should never be so busy that the wonder of Jesus becomes ordinary to us.  Read these two passages of scripture slowly. Think deliberately about them. Then read them to your children.  Ask God to overwhelm you with the glorious deeds of Jesus Christ.

As I listen to the radio, read various opinion articles, and view cable news programs, I have found that  the seasonal greeting of Happy Holidays is a hot topic this year. Particularly, some say that Happy Holidays is a concession to political correctness.  And, of course, this is true.  Happy Holidays has come to replace the more antiquated Season's Greetings in the marketplace as the accepted seasonal salutation. The primary reason for this choice is the motivation to avoid offending anyone who has a  different religious preference.  Happy Holidays, then, is supposed to accommodate Buddhists, Jews, Hindus, Muslims, and other groups, even the non-believers.  In reality, Happy Holidays is a denial of the reason for the Christmas celebration.   However, this phrase is not the real problem but only a symptom. Let me explain.

What does Merry Christmas mean? The first widespread usage of the greeting Merry Christmas apparently began in 1843 with the publishing of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.  Not surprisingly, the greeting first appeared on Christmas cards that same year.  The idea behind this phrase is that Christmas should be a happy, joyous  time.  So when you wish someone a Merry Christmas, you are, in fact, offering a blessing to them for a merry or happy occasion. For Christians, this is where it gets interesting. The annual celebration of Christ's birth is not directly commanded in Scripture. However, we do have a good example to follow in the proclamation of the angels announcing Christ's birth. We looked briefly at this announcement, recorded in Luke 2:14, in the last post. The glorious pronouncement by the angels is also anticipated in Psalm 98:4-9:

This Christmas season the truth about God and his Son is mixed with cultural myth and fantasy. This mixture dilutes the power of the gospel. This mixing of truth and cultural myth can also help to mislead your children about the real meaning of the incarnation of Christ. For example, look at Luke 2:14:

                 "Glory to God in the highest,
                       and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" ESV