A couple days ago my wife Kristen was listening to a video lesson narrated by Dr. Ed Hindson of Liberty University. Dr. Hindson is an instructor that can hold anyone's attention. I became interested in the lesson covering Genesis 25:27-34 concerning a bowl of soup and a birthright. Well, here we are a week away from Super Bowl XLVI, which got me to thinking; how many will skip church to watch the game? I remember two canceling evening service for the game for the last Super Bowl. Okay, so I put the two together. It is a great title and the game has been going on for over four thousand years, more or less.

            As we read this account from the twenty-fifth chapter of Genesis, we find that the first contestants on the game of "How Much Will You Pay for the Soup?", Jacob and Esau.  What made this soup so important? The Bible says it is red soup. Now my wife makes a-sort-of red soup. She calls it chili and if on occasion she adds too much hot stuff, it really gets red. The bowl of red soup spoken of in these verses did not win a blue ribbon at the fair; however, it was Mom's recipe. Esau's hunger has elevated this soup to award winning and he wants it.

            What is the prize? It this game it is a birthright. A birthright is a privilege granted the first-born son, in this case Esau. The birthright given the first son allowed him to succeed his father's rank and head of the family. The birthright son would also be entitled to inherit a double portion of his father's estate. Not only came responsibility as head of the house, it gave a place of honor. The older son could sell or trade a birthright, yet by doing so, would lose both goods and leadership.

            Esau, a skillful hunter the Bible says came in famished from a hunt. Esau and Jacob were quite the opposites, Esau an outdoorsman and Jacob who preferred to stay around home. Esau came home one day from hunting, he was extremely hungry, and Jacob is cooking red soup. The Bible does not say how much soup Jacob prepared. The Bible makes it very clear that Jacob was not about to share the soup without attaching a price. Seizing the opportunity of his brother's hunger, Jacob offers his brother a deal. Esau could not refuse. Esau traded the birthright for a bowl of red soup.

            Was this trade brought about by an exaggerated state of hunger or an act of God? In this case, Jacob became the third link in establishment of Israel as a Nation preceded by Abraham and Isaac. He became father of the twelve tribes of Israel and was determined to work long and hard for what he wanted. Jacob put God first.

            So what is the moral of this game? The satisfaction of present desires does not always meet the future needs. What would you trade for a bowl of soup? In a moment of passion, a partner sets aside their marriage to satisfy sexual desire. You are short of money, yet you want something so bad that you steal it. Perhaps you would skip church to watch the Super Bowl Game. Like Esau, one pressure-filled moment can be the most difficult part of overcoming temptation. Where was God when Esau needed Him? He was right there. Esau did not bother to ask God to help overcome his hunger.

            Soup or Salvation? It is a choice God has allowed each of one to make. Jacob seized an opportunity and chose to follow God. Esau sought short-term satisfaction with long-term consequences. Are you dying of starvation or are you looking to God for the long-term salvation and eternal life? Play the game to win!         

            We know the wind is all around us, we feel it, and we watch it move the trees. If we are unable to see the wind, then how did we really know that the wind exists? I can see water and I can touch water. I can neither see nor touch the wind, still, I must believe that it exists. Salvation is something that exists, yet we are unable to touch it. Like the wind, we can only see the results it causes.

            Look at John 3:1-20. Here is a man who could not see salvation. Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a Jewish religious leader and a member of the Sanhedrin or high council. Most Pharisees disliked Jesus since He called them hypocrites by challenging their authority and their views. He could not see salvation in spite of his religious faith, his high religious office, or his spiritual awareness. In the cover of darkness, he came to Jesus for answers. Why did he come to Jesus during the night? Jesus drew large crowds during the day or maybe he was afraid of being seen with Jesus. Custom of the day allowed officials to meet at night. Whatever the reason, he came in person, he did not send an assistant, because he was looking for answers and he believed that Jesus had the answers.

            Nicodemus doubted the authenticity of Jesus, yet he Honored Jesus by calling him "Rabbi". Nicodemus acknowledges that through the miraculous signs that god has sent him. Jesus then tells him that unless he is born again he will not see the Kingdom of God. He knew that God existed, yet he could not see salvation. We need to examine Jesus just as Nicodemus did. No one can examine Jesus for us. Nicodemus becomes confused by the term born again and questions Jesus about going back to his mother's womb.  Jesus answered: "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit." Just as you were first born when your mother's water broke, you must again be born of water through baptism.

            Nicodemus knew nothing about the Kingdom of God. Jesus in verse 16 told him that God was for the whole world, not just the Jews. "For  God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." (NLT) The Jewish leader thought he knew the Bible teaching of the Old Testament; however, he did not understand what it said about the Messiah. He knew that he could see what the wind did, yet he could not see the wind.

            Christians today in many ways are a lot like Nicodemus, they believe that their works and knowledge is salvation. They do not see the wind and they do not see salvation. People try to protect themselves with knowledge and works while failing as Nicodemus to see salvation. Jesus did not discourage Nicodemus; he simply taught him the insufficiency of his own works. Rather than discourage him, Jesus showed him the way.

           Am I responsible for the sin of my children? So many times, I hear a parent ask the question, "Where did I go wrong?" Many times, I have asked myself that very same question. Actually, I asked God that very question while sitting on a rock in the back yard. The answer I heard nearly startled me. Clear as anything, the voice said, "I do not know, I have the same problem."

             Mom wrote under my name in the front of the very first Bible given me by my parents, Proverbs 22:6, "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn away from it." (NIV) Does this verse mean that we are responsible for what our children do? Yes, we have a responsibility to train our children until they become old enough to make their own choices, i.e. leaving home at a mature age. No, it does not mean that we are responsible for their sin.

            What does the word "train" really mean? When we train our children, we help them to choose the direction of their future. Proverbs 22:6 implies that each child is different from the other and needs to be trained according to their direction, not the direction to the parent. This does not mean that we are to excuse a self-willed attitude as the direction a child should go. We must steer a child in a direction that best suits the child, not the direction that best suits us. Our job is to teach children to make the right decisions, not wrong ones. We cannot watch every step a child makes; we can only train them to do what is correct in our absence.

            God had problem after problem with his chosen children of Israel. They were given rules to live by yet they continually failed to do the right thing. Look at Samuel (1 Samuel 8:1-5) in his old age appointed his sons to judge over evil. These fellows were so corrupt that Israel demanded a king like other nations. We do not know how Samuel's sons became corrupt. Was Samuel a bad parent? Samuel's sons were of a mature age relieving him of parental responsibilities.

            Once our children are grown, they no longer become our responsibility. If they do not follow God there is nothing that we can do but pray for them. Prepare children, who are still in your care for the day when they will be on their own. As they grow older, they will come back to their training or at least they will remember the training.

            I find no verse in the Bible that says that a parent will be punished for his child's sin. Parents must train their children. I heard a pastor say just a couple days ago that when it came to church he was "drugged". "Every time the church doors were open they drugged him kicking and screaming to church. Now look what all that drugging did, I am a preacher." Children do not have to like everything we do as their parents. Good or bad, the parents seem to get the credit or the blame.

            What would be the first thing that you think about the other side of the road? Probably going the opposite direction would come to mind. We think of a road as endless miles of blacktop and countless number of vehicles. We find good drivers, bad drivers, and some that are in their own little world.

            There is another road, the road of life. It also has two sides. The road of life also has two sides going in opposite directions, not north or south, east or west, but heaven or hell. This road of life can and is traveled much like the other roads around us. Some people serve God, some serve Satan, and some have no clue where they are heading.

            Let me tell you about another road, leading from Jerusalem to Jericho. This story comes from Luke 10:30-35:

            (30) ….A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. (31) And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. (32) And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. (33) But a certain Samaritan as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, (34) And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. (35) And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave it to host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

            The priest didn’t even take time to pray, he went to the other side of the road, and he could not be bothered. We could call the next guy, the Levite, a rubber-necker; he at least looked at the injured man before crossing to the other side of the road. Not only did the Samaritan render aid but he provided for follow-up care. There is no indication that the man who was robbed had any means of repaying the Samaritan.

            Today we are each faced with which side of the road to travel. We go to the other side of the road to avoid facing disappointment, financial problems, hurt, and a host of others. Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14; Enter ye in the straight gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: (14) Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. The narrow gate represents Jesus and the wide gate represents the false and misleading religions. The strait and narrow gate referred to in verse 14 is missed by many because they are not willing to meet the requirements. The Samaritan loved his neighbor as himself.

            As you face each day, and each situation before you, ask yourself, which side of the road am I on? It’s time to choose Jesus, the strait and narrow gate, and get on the right side of the road.

            We made it to 2012, so now we make those resolutions that we make each time the calendar enters a new year. Torn between losing weight and getting new clothes, new clothes seem to be the easier of two choices. Each year we try to make new resolutions that undoubtedly change our present lifestyle. Somehow, we often feel a need to change the wrong things.

            The 1946 Christmas movie "It's a Wonderful Life" directed by Frank Capa, starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed illustrates how changes neither are not always good choices nor are they always dealt with properly. George Bailey, the movies main character has great dreams of leaving Bedford Falls to see the world and go to college. George's father who operates the Bedford Falls Savings and Loan has a stroke and dies. To keep money hungry Mr. Potter from taking over George is forced to change everything he dreamed about to run the business. The once compassionate George falls into state of defeat and discouragement when the savings and loan runs into financial problems. The discouraged George decides to take his life when an angel named Clarence steps in. George wishes he had never been born and Clarence grants that wish. George learns that other people would have been much worse if he had not been around. George returns to normal in Bedford Falls realizing that "It's a wonderful Life."

            We spend hours pondering the word "if". How things would be different "if" we had done things different. The divorce would not have happened "if" I had married the right person the first time. I would be rich "if" I had started saving when I was younger. I would change a few things "if" I could start over. You get the idea. God told Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5) Yes, God created each one with a specific plan.

            Ephesians 5:15-21 explains how we should live as children of the light; "Be very careful, then, how you live---not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." (NLT) Will any mistake destroy our witness for Christ? Weakness as a Christian reflects on the way non-Christians see us. For this reason, we are to take care and be wise. When as a Christian you "mess-up" there is restoration in the church. It is natural to think away from God when things get crazy leaving them to rely on their own understanding. If we listen to God, we will be always changing.

            Christian Cheong, pastor of the Kim Tian Christian church in Singapore used this example to show what God expects from His followers. "A man is selling an old warehouse. The building had been empty for months and needed repair. Gangs had damaged the doors, smashed the windows, and thrown trash everywhere. As he showed a prospective buyer the property, he took pains to say that he would replace the broken windows, bring in a crew to correct any structural damage, and clean out the garbage.

            The buyer said, "Forget the repairs. When I buy this place, I'm going to build something completely different. I don't want the building; I want the site." God does not want the building either. When we become a child of His we will put away the old and put on the new. God will create in us what He wants. Look back on this past year of 2011. How many changes has God made in you? God does not remodel, he builds something new on the old site.

            George Bailey had many plans of his own; however, God had other plans. I read this quote in a message written by Melvin Newland of Ridge Chapel in Kanas, Oklahoma "Life is what happens to you when you are planning to do something else." We get into trouble when we make the plans and do not listen to what God wants. Paul told the Ephesians to leave their life of sin behind, follow Christ, and become a new person. Follow Christ in 2012. There will be no need for any other New Year Resolutions.