Daily Soulfood For You
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GOING UP OR GOING DOWN? Okay, you said you've heard it all before From pulpits across the land The Bible they did quote But to no avail! So now suppose there's just 24 hours left to spare Before this ages come to an end; Here's what I would tell the world In case deaf ears are longing to hear One last urgent call to repent: God made man in perfection Satan caused man to sin big time End result a fallen world Where pain, suffering, and destruction abound! Then came God in human flesh As Jesus the Christ To atone for sinful man He took upon Himself the sins of all So that we might have eternal life In heavenly mansions prepared for us! The God of grace, He tells no lies If He says a think is so, it’s so Of that you can be sure; All the same you have a choice Whether you want to be Going ↑↑ OR Going ↓↓ Eternity in Heaven's bliss Or Eternity in Hell's fiery furnace! Time 23 hours 59 minutes .... One minute left to decide! |
For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." (Luke 21:34-36) |
| Should Christians Celebrate Christmas? |
I have been grappling with this question since my visit to the Holy Land in November 2008, where
temperatures dipped considerably at night. There was no way that the shepherds were out tending sheep on
the night of December 25, when tradition states Jesus was born.
My quest for answers sent me digging through photocopied pages of The Two Babylons, written by
Reverend Alexander Hislop in 1853. What I read motivated me to dig deeper, to know what the Bible states.
This I now share with you.
I must admit, that until last year, the Christmas tradition was important to me, especially because of my
Anglican upbringing; however, the uneasy feeling of man following “man-made” traditions rather than what
God required was still bothersome to me.
Early last Sunday morning, during my devotions, I wrote as part of my prayer the following: “What to do
about the pagan symbols that have crept into the Christian way of worship since the 3rd century? This
practice is entrenched in the minds of people! What to do, Abba? Please impress Your thoughts upon my
heart, I ask in Jesus’ Holy Name!” I was uncertain how God would answer this request.
Since the weather forecast indicated freezing rain on Sunday, my husband and I decided to forgo attending
our usual morning church service at 11:30. Instead, we watched several sermons on TV. When the last of our
usual programs ended, I began flipping through channels in search of another sermon. That’s when I
stumbled on a program already in progress; the topic was: Is Christmas Christian! I was intrigued! I needed
to know the answer to that very question! So I listened. The program was televised from The Church of God
International in Texas; the preacher was Bronson James. Here are a few highlights of his sermon.
• Nowhere in the Bible does Jesus specify celebrating His birthday; but He did make a point of telling
the disciples to practice the observance of “bread” and “wine”.
• Deuteronomy 12:29-32 states: 29When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee,
whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land; 30Take heed to
thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that
thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
31Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have
they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.
32What thing so-ever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
• Jeremiah:10 - 1Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: 2Thus saith
the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen
are dismayed at them. 3For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the
work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. 4They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with
nails and with hammers, that it move not. 5They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must
needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in
them to do good.
• Matthew 15:8, 9 – 8This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their
lips; but their heart is far from me. 9But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the
commandments of men.
The sermon can be viewed in its entirety at http://cgi.org/site/index.php/Armor-Of-God-Television.html
[scroll down to Is Christmas Christian, click on view].
The sequence of events interests me: first my doubts and subsequent question to God; then His intervention
in allowing me to stumble upon the sermon which addressed my question. What fascinated me most was when
I phoned The Church of God Ministry order desk to request their free offer of the Is Christmas Christian
recording, along with a cassette titled The Real Christmas Story. Neither of these items was on offer on
Sunday! Puzzled, I checked their website. I found the sermon, but it was aired on December 21, 2008
(approximately one year ago)!
There have been so many instances in my life where our triune God has provided answers, especially when I
am burdened with wanting to know the truth about His Word that I cannot ignore this revelation or place it in
the category of “coincidence”. For me, the reality is Christmas is a man-made tradition steeped in paganism.
I do realize that the church has been practicing this man-made tradition for decades, so it will be difficult for
it to convince their congregations otherwise. Yet, I think the time has come for the truth to be told.
As Jesus said in Mark 16:15-18: “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that
believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall
follow them that believe; In My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they
shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the
sick, and they shall recover.”
We must stand on His Word and worship Him in truth…His truth, not man’s thoughts or man-made
traditions. We must teach the gospel that Jesus taught. Jesus said in John 4:23,24 "But the hour cometh, and
now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to
worship Him."
Colossians 2:8 states "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men,
after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."
Abundant Blessings!
Lena [Written December 14, 2009]
Those interested in pursuing this should Google "Should Christians Celebrate Christmas"... dig deeper to
find out the origins of Christ-mas!
| Should Christians Celebrate Christmas? Scroll down to read.... |