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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

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