In Exodus 12, there is the story of the first Passover. It is a simple, and very powerful story. After Moses had tried in vain to convince Pharaoh of the need to let the people of God go, and after having sent 9 different plagues on the Egyptians, Jehovah pronounced a new curse on the people of Pharaoh.

In a world where religious confusion is rampant, it is refreshing to read and study the Bible. In an obvious effort to elevate himself, man has so complicated religion that what most people seek to pass off as devotion and service to God has no similar at all to what is written in the Bible. It is appalling to hear today’s theologians as they seed to justify such things as abortion on demand, homosexuality, social drinking, and many other fleshly gratifications.

Sports are not a recent phenomenon. Man has long been interested and engaged in athletic contests. Their influence is even reflected in the language of the Scriptures, particularly Paul’s writings. “I press on to the goal” (Phil. 3:4). “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1-2). “I have finished the course” (2 Tim. 4:7).

Family. There’s something warm and inviting about the word. It floods the mind with thoughts of home and hearth, of fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles, grandma and grandpa. It conjures memories–memories of togetherness, of commonality, of all being in one place at the same time. It calls to mind picnics, ball games, holidays spent with loved ones. Family. It just says something special. And the thing it most especially says is “together.”

I like to browse through the used book stores. There’s one on Spencer Highway that I particularly frequent called “The Dusty Cover.” Unfortunately, that also describes about half of the library in my office.

Responsibility is the lot of every normal person. Things that have no purpose have no right to exist. When Jesus came across the fig tree that bore no fruit, he cursed it and it died. It was not performing according to its purpose. Just as “to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven” (Eccles. 3:1), there is a purpose for man. His primary purpose is to “fear God and keep His commandments” (Eccles. 12:13).

People today do not have the denominational loyalty and strife that was common a generation ago, but the idea is widely accepted that one cannot be a Christian without being a part of a denomination. Is this premise correct? Maybe we can illustrate the truth by an article that appeared in the Houston Chronicle, June 13, 2008, the World Section:

“Scientists have confirmed that a Judean date palm seed found in the ruins of Masada and planted three years ago is 2,000 years old, the oldest seed ever to germinate.

Religion in our time has been reduced in most instances to what makes you feel good. Today’s religious scene is filled with invitations to achieve an emotional “high” by coming to Christ. “God loves you” today means that He wants you to be happy and healthy, as well as financially sound. Much of the preaching on television is little more than a health and wealth gospel, one where you just “sow a seed,” and God will make a bumper crop for you, one where you will not only be wealthy, but conspicuously happy.

When friends from other places ask me how the work at Southside is doing, I don’t go very long before I mention the seven fine men who serve as our elders. What a blessing to have such godly men who are devoted to the Chief Shepherd and to leading His flock by word and by example.

Here are some things you can do this week–and every week for that matter–to help you be a better person, a more dedicated Christian, and make you less vulnerable to the attractive things of the world.