By Greg Stier|Christian Post Guest Columnist
“Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.” Genesis 25:34
You know the story. Esau was hungry so he sold his invisible birthright to his little brother for a steaming bowl of lentil soup.
It better have been yummy.
To help you realize the significance of this you should understand that, in this culture, being the firstborn son meant you inherited the lion’s share of blessings from your dying daddy. If he had land you got most of it. If he had sheep you got most of them. The rest of the brothers got whatever was leftover.
Suffice it to say, it was way more fun being son number one.
Esau knew this when he came in from a long day of hunting and just had to have a bowl of his brother’s mouth-watering stew. Jacob bargained with him for the ultimate one-sided swap, his soup for Esau’s birthright. “Throw in a piece of bread and you got yourself a deal Jacob!”Esau negotiated. “Done!” said Jacob with a twisted smile.
The younger sibling knew what this birthright was worth, while Esau had no idea or, at the very minimum, didn’t value it. With every spoonful of delicious soup that made its way into Esau’s mouth and down his throat, his rightful blessings were making their way out of his future and down the toilet.
Which brings us to our subject of sex and soup. Hebrews 12:16 makes the not-so-subtle love connection between this unlikely couple, “See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.”
This verse makes it abundantly clear that the temptation of sexual immorality is just like a bowl of hot, steaming stew waiting to steal a believer’s birthright.
What is this birthright? 1 Peter 1:3,4 gives us a powerful glimpse into its worth, “In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you….”
Hot sex with someone (other than your spouse of course!) may be tasty for a moment, but it has lasting and devastating consequences. Not only is the pipeline of God’s blessing cut off in this life, but the unimaginable inheritance God has reserved for us in the next life shrinks.
The writer of Hebrews goes on to say this about Esau’s not-so-great soup exchange, “Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.” Hebrews 12:17
Esau mourned when he realized that his dying daddy had no blessing for him because he had sold it to his brother for a quickie lunch. We too will mourn when we realize the full implications of selling our sanctification for a bowlful of lust…devastated marriages, dysfunctional families and destroyed lives.
And that’s just on this side of eternity.
As a traveling evangelist I am very aware of the temptations that are on the road. From airports to hotel lobbies to late dinners at Chili’s, a pretty woman is difficult not to notice. So, whenever I see one, I try to remember Esau and his bowl of stew. I try to remember the birthright I would exchange for a small bowl of instant gratification. I remind myself of the wife and kids God has blessed me with on this side of eternity and the blessings God is reserving me on the other side.
The trade is just not worth it.
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Greg Stier is the President and Founder of Dare 2 Share Ministries in Arvada, Colo., where he works with youth leaders and students, equipping them to be effective in sharing the gospel. With experience as a senior teaching pastor and in youth ministry for almost 20 years, Greg has a reputation of knowing and relating to today’s teens. He is widely viewed as an authority and expert teen spirituality. He is known for motivating, mobilizing and equipping teens for positive change. For more information on Dare 2 Share Ministries, and the 2010-2011 Un conference tour, please visit www.dare2share.org.
Sex and Soup
Second 'Homosexuality is a Sin' Preacher Awarded Damages for Wrongful Arrest
By Brian Hutt|Christian Today Reporter
LONDON – Christian street preacher Dale Mcalpine is to receive more than $10,000 in damages after police in Cumbria, England, admitted wrongful arrest, unlawful imprisonment and a breach of his human rights.
Mcalpine, 42, was arrested in April by Cumbrian police in his home town of Workington after he mentioned that homosexuality was among the sins listed in the Bible. His comments were not made in his main public sermon but in response to a question about homosexuality posed to him by a passerby.
He was arrested by PC Craig Hynes for a “racially aggravated” offense under Section 5 of the Public Order Act and, after being detained at the station for more than seven hours, was charged with using “threatening, abusive or insulting” words “to cause harassment, alarm or distress.” The charges were later dropped.
The arrest sparked fears for freedom of speech among Christians and was even criticized by prominent gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell.
According to the Christian Institute, which funded Mcalpine’s legal defense, Cumbrian police have accepted that they acted unlawfully.
Mcalpine said he was pleased the case had been settled without going to court.
Responding to the settlement, he said, “I forgive the police for how they treated me and I hope that this doesn’t happen to anyone else. Despite my experience I still respect the police. I will pray for them because they have a difficult and sometimes dangerous job.”
Mike Judge, spokesman for the Christian Institute, said Christians were being treated unfairly.
“Mr. Mcalpine was arrested and held in a cell for expressing his Christian views. This is Cumbria, not North Korea," he said. “Sadly, it’s not an isolated case. We have defended a number of Christians wrongfully arrested under Section 5 of the Public Order Act.
“There is a problem with the law and it needs to be fixed.”
The settlement comes just weeks after Birmingham County Court awarded street preacher Anthony Rollins more than $6,000 in damages after the judge upheld his claims of wrongful arrest.
Rollins was arrested and charged with breaching Section 5 of the Public Order Act after he described homosexual conduct as morally wrong while preaching in Birmingham city center in June 2008. The charges were later dropped.
The street preacher decided to file a lawsuit against West Midlands Police after his complaint to the Independent Police Complaints Commission was rejected.
His claims of wrongful arrest, unlawful imprisonment, assault and battery, and the infringement of his human rights were upheld by Birmingham County Court on December 8.
The Christian Institute is appealing to the government to amend Section 5 of the Public Order Act, which makes it a criminal offense to use “threatening, abusive or insulting” words or behavior in a way that could alarm or distress another person. It wants the government to repeal the word “insulting.”
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Tweets to be allowed from U.K. courtrooms
Tweets to be allowed from U.K. courtrooms
LONDON, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- A British high court judge ruled that tweeting from courtrooms will be allowed, saying it is "unlikely to interfere with the proper administration of justice."
The ruling from the Lord Chief Justice for England and Wales came after journalists used Twitter at the bail hearing of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to give live updates, the BBC reported Monday.
"The use of an unobtrusive, hand-held, virtually silent piece of modern equipment for the purposes of simultaneous reporting of proceedings to the outside world as they unfold in court is unlikely to interfere with the proper administration of justice," the judge ruled.
Tweeting from courtrooms has been the subject of controversy because it is a form of public broadcasting potentially readable by anyone.
At Assange's bail application hearing on Tuesday last week at the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court, journalists asked the judge whether they could tweet.
District Judge Howard Riddle said he had no objection and several reporters then proceeded to give regular updates throughout the hearing.
The Lord Chief Justice's ruling has immediate effect but a review will be conducted, the BBC reported.
Anonymous thief pays for stolen hammer, decades later
Anonymous thief pays for stolen hammer, decades later
PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - An anonymous thief sent an envelope of cash to a family-owned supply store in western Pennsylvania to pay for a hammer stolen decades ago, one of the store owners said on Monday.
The cash arrived at Central Contractors Supply Co. in Johnstown, Pa., with a handwritten note saying the hammer was stolen 25 to 30 years ago, said Lynne Gramling, who owns the store with her father.
"I knew it was wrong, but I did it anyway. Enclosed is $45 to cover the hammer plus a little extra for interest," said the unsigned letter dated December 6. "I'm sorry I stole it, but have changed my ways."
While plenty of merchandise has disappeared since the family bought the store some 50 years ago, this is the first time anyone has paid for a stolen item, Gramling said.
Gramling took the money to a nearby shopping mall, where her father was volunteering as a Salvation Army bell ringer.
"I went up and dropped the money in his kettle," she said, adding that the money was "really a lot more than a hammer would cost."
"He was very generous," she said.
(Reporting by Daniel Lovering in Pittsburgh; Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Greg McCune)
Govt 'Creating Vast Domestic Snooping Machine'
Govt 'Creating Vast Domestic Snooping Machine'
The government is using for this purpose the FBI, local police, state homeland security offices, and military criminal investigators, the daily added.
The system collects, stores, and analyzes information about thousands of citizens and residents, many of whom have not been accused of any wrongdoing, the report noted.
The government's goal is to have every state and local law enforcement agency in the country feed information to Washington to buttress the work of the FBI, noted the paper, which has conducted its own investigation of the matter.
According to the report, the network includes 4,058 federal, state, and local organizations, each with its own counterterrorism responsibilities and jurisdictions.
At least 935 of these organizations have been created since the 2001 attacks, The Post added.
The probe has revealed that technologies and techniques developed for use on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan have migrated into the hands of law enforcement agencies in the United States, the paper pointed out.
In addition, the FBI is building a database with the names and personal information of thousands of U.S. citizens and residents, the report said.
The database is accessible to an increasing number of local law enforcement and military criminal investigators, the report noted.
In a bid to counter what is seen as a threat from radical Islam, some law enforcement agencies have hired as trainers people whose extremist views on Islam and terrorism are considered inaccurate and counterproductive by U.S. intelligence agencies, the paper pointed out.
The cost of the network is difficult to measure, the paper said. But the Department of Homeland Security has given $31 billion in grants since 2003 to state and local governments for homeland security and to improve their ability to find and protect against terrorists, The Post said.
Only this year, it gave $3.8 billion to local law enforcement agencies.
FCC Chair Closes in on Network Neutrality
FCC Chair Closes in on Network Neutrality
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski (pictured) is inching closer to securing approval for his network neutrality proposal designed to protect the openness of the Internet. The National Journal reports that fellow Democrats Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn may be ready to sign on the deal.According the Journal, Copps and Clyburn have been reluctant to go along with the chairman’s plan because it is too favorable to major broadband providers. An FCC source tells the National Journal’s Tech Daily Dose column that progress is being made in “addressing concerns about wireless carriers, limiting Internet toll lanes and adding protections for a new online pricing model.”
According to the Journal, Republicans on the commission object to the rules as unnecessary government regulation. The new regulations could be considered at the commission’s meeting on Tuesday.
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York Area Regional Police plan citizens police academy
York Area Regional Police plan citizens police academy
The York Area Regional Police Department will conduct the second session of its Citizen Police Academy in the upcoming year, according to a news release.
The concept for the academy is to allow citizens to gain a better understanding of how law enforcement works, including traffic enforcement, K-9, motorcycle patrols, communication, use of force, criminal investigations and forensics.
A tour of the York County 911 Center in Springettsbury Township is also part of the curriculum.
The academy begins Jan. 25 and ends March 29. It will be 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays at the police department at 33 Oak Street, York Township.
To enroll, call the department between normal business hours at 741-1259. A short application must be completed, and the first 35 qualified applicants will be taken. Applicants must be 18 or older.
Police log: York City man charged with exposing himself to a 9-year-old girl
Police log: York City man charged with indecent exposure
York City Police on Sunday afternoon arrested a city man for allegedly exposing himself to a 9-year-old girl, police said.
Angel Berrios, 51, of 55 N. Queen St., is charged with indecent exposure, according to police.
Police said they were called to Berrios home about 1:30 p.m. after a woman called 911 to report Berrios had exposed himself to her daughter as he stood in his doorway.
York City to offer free flu medication to residents
York City to offer free flu medication to residents
York City residents experiencing early symptoms of the flu but who are uninsured or tight on cash, have the opportunity to keep about $70 in their pockets.
The city's Bureau of Health is making Tamiflu, an antiviral medication used to treat flu symptoms, available to city residents free of charge until April.
Because of the high cost of Tamiflu, some residents aren't able to get their hands on the medicine, which is used in the early stages of the flu and reduces its symptoms, said Dr. David Hawk, medical director of the bureau.
The program was initiated last year and requires a certification from an individual's medical care provider to make sure the individual meets the criteria for the free medicine.
After health officials at the bureau receive the OK from a doctor, Tamiflu will be dispensed to the city resident at the bureau's Albert S. Weyer Health Center at 435 W. Philadelphia St.
For more information about Tamiflu, contact the York City Bureau of Health at 849-2299.
"In today's economic hard times, nobody should have to suffer from influenza because of lack of funds to pay for very expensive yet very effective medicine," Hawk said.