Tuesday, December 04,
2012, 8:09 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with this song:
Blessed Are You /
An Original Work / August 29, 2012
Based off Luke 6:20-49 NIV 1984
“Blessed are you;
Blessed are you who
are poor
For God’s kingdom is
yours.
(Kingdom is yours)
Blessed are you;
Blessed are you who
are hungry,
You’ll be satisfied.
(Be satisfied)
Blessed are you;
Blessed are you who
weep now,
For you will laugh
with joy.
(Will laugh with joy)
Blessed are you;
Blessed are you when
men hate
And reject you because
of Christ.”
(Because of Christ)
…
The subject of the celebration of Christmas came up this
morning before I read my passage of scripture for the day. I am reading in the
Psalms, and today’s passage was Psalm 12. So, as I went into my time of reading
this morning, I asked the Lord what my response should be to people who ask
about the celebration of Christmas. I prayed, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is
listening.” Then I read Psalm 12.
When I got to verse 8, this is what
stood out to me:
The wicked freely
strut about
when what is vile is honored among men.
The word “vile” stood out to me, and then the Lord
immediately put this phrase in my mind, “pagan revelry.” I believe God sees,
and has always seen in the history of mankind, “pagan revelry” as “vile.”
Do not be idolaters,
as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink
and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.”
~ 1 Co. 10:7
I wanted to understand what this all meant, and how it
related to my inquiry about what my response should be to the subject of the
celebration of Christmas, so I looked up some of these terms in the dictionary
(www.thefreedictionary.com) . Vile means “loathsome, disgusting, objectionable,
offensive, wicked, shameful or evil.” A pagan
is a supporter (sticking or holding to) polytheistic (more than one god) religion,
“especially when viewed in contrast to an adherent (supporter) of a
monotheistic (only one god) religion.” And, revelry is “boisterous, noisy or unrestrained merrymaking; pleasure
and good times, with connotations of carousing and self-indulgence.”
The Christmas
Connection
So, what does this all have to do with the celebration of
Christmas? Well, let’s look at what all the celebration of Christmas entails. For
those of you who celebrate Christmas, what do you spend most of your time,
thoughts and energies on in this celebration? What is Christmas to you? What is
the main focus of Christmas in our society? And, what does the word of God have
to say about celebrating Christ’s birth?
Christmas, in our society, is primarily about Santa Claus,
Christmas trees, lights, decorations, Santa’s stockings, greed, commercialism, and
presents, etc. So, who is Santa? He is an aberration. He is made up. Yet, he
sees all, knows all and he can be all over the world at everyone’s homes all in
one night. Who does this sound like? Yes, you are right: God Almighty. He is
the only one who is all knowing, all powerful, and has the ability to be
everywhere at all times. So, who is the great imitator of God who wanted to be
God? Satan. He parades himself as an “angel of light” to deceive minds and
hearts. Ever notice the similarity between the names “Santa” and “Satan”? Santa
is of Satan and Satan’s goal is to be God in the hearts and minds of all
people, but especially in the hearts and minds of professing followers of Jesus
Christ. He wants nothing more than to steal the hearts and minds of naïve people,
especially young children, away from God and to another god.
Is He the Reason?
Christmas is often marketed as the celebration of Christ’s
birth, i.e. that “He is the reason for the season.” Is he really? Let’s look at
that. How do we celebrate Jesus’ birth? Some people will tell you it is with
the giving of presents to one another, just like the wise men gave gifts to
Jesus or just like God gave us the gift of his Son, Jesus Christ. Well, for
one, the wise men did not visit Jesus when he was born. He was probably a child
of two years old when they visited him, and they were not coming to celebrate
his birthday, per se, but to give honor to the King of kings and Lord of lords,
the promised Messiah of the people of God. They were giving honor to the Savior
of mankind, and they honored him with these costly gifts. Also, the giving of
God’s Son is the giving of salvation to mankind (Jn 3:16).
So, when we give each other gifts, is this truly giving
honor to God/Jesus as the King of kings and Lord of lords and as the Savior of
mankind? If it is, in your thinking, then how do you believe this is
accomplished? Do you think God is truly pleased with this gift giving of ours
on this holiday? And, how is this similar in nature to what God did for us in
giving us Jesus? If we want to respond in like manner, then instead of giving
each other gifts, most of which we don’t really need, then we should be sharing
the gospel of Jesus with the unsaved. That is why Jesus came! And, that is why
he died on the cross. The greatest gift we can give, then, is the gift of God’s
Son to those who have not yet believed in Jesus as Savior.
Should we celebrate
Christ’s birth?
How did Jesus say we should remember him and honor him? He
said we should honor him and remember him through the remembrance of his death,
not his birth. And, the way in which we remember his death is through the
taking of communion, not just the taking of it in the sense of taking a
sacrament in a ritualistic sense, but as Paul described in 1 Co. 11:
Therefore, whoever eats
the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of
sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself
before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and
drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on
himself.
There is a sense, thus, in which this participation in the
Lord’s Supper is not merely the sharing in the drinking of the vine and the
eating of the bread, but it is a participation in the meaning of these symbols
in reality in how we live our lives. For Jesus, the juice of the vine and the
bread represented his blood and body which were given for us on the cross of
Christ for our sins, so that we could be set free from the penalty of sin
(eternal damnation), and so we could be set free from slavery to sin
(day-to-day). So, when we come to the Lord’s Table in remembrance of him, we
are not merely recalling his death, but we are choosing to partake (drink and
eat) with him in his death, which communion symbolizes, and in his resurrection,
in death to our sins and in resurrection to new lives in Christ. This is why it
is critical that we examine our hearts, not just in communion services, but all
the time, to make sure that we have forsaken our lives of sin, and we are
walking in obedience to Christ in all ways all the time. This is the kind of
worship and honor of Jesus that he desires:
Jesus said: “If anyone
would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and
follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses
his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole
world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of me and my
words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in
the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” ~ Luke 9:23-26
Therefore, I urge you,
brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices,
holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform
any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his
good, pleasing and perfect will. ~ Romans 12:1-2
Who gets Top Billing?
This (the above scriptures) is the kind of “gift giving”
that God approves. It is not that he is against us giving each other gifts, I
don’t believe, but I don’t believe the way we do gifts and the way we celebrate
Christmas in our culture is what he desires, and in fact, I believe he sees it
as “vile” and as “pagan revelry,” because it is a blend of the worship of
Santa, greed, and a pagan holiday with the celebration of Jesus, only Jesus
does not get top billing in this celebration. Think with me about that for a
moment.
Look at your decorations for Christmas. Do you have a tree
beautifully decorated with all kinds of trimmings? Are there lots of gifts
underneath the tree? Who are these gifts for? What do they represent? Do you
have Santa stockings hanging by your fireplace? Do you have images of Santa and
his reindeer displayed in your house? And, where is Jesus in all of this? Do
you buy a bunch of gifts you can’t afford for people who don’t really need them
because tradition dictates that we should do this in celebration of Jesus? How
does any of this give honor and praise to God/Jesus?
And, do you also have a manger scene displayed in your house
along with Santa? Then, this is a celebration of a false god and the true God
side-by-side, which is what God chided his children about all throughout
history. And, how is Jesus pictured? He is pictured as a helpless baby in a
lowly manger. Whose birthdays do we celebrate with images of what we looked
like as babies? - Only Jesus’. I believe this is purposeful. Why?
Children, in particular, will see Jesus as a helpless baby
who does what for them? And, they will see Santa as all powerful, all knowing,
and can be all places at all times, and who brings them presents. What is wrong
with this picture? Do you see the deception here? And, the two are celebrated
together side-by-side. Even if you don’t do the Santa thing, you, perhaps, are
still celebrating the birth of Jesus in a manner which has pagan roots, and
which has nothing to do with Jesus Christ at all, and that minimizes who he truly
is while on the same day an “all powerful, all knowing and omnipresent Santa”
steals the hearts and minds of young children, because he brings them presents.
How can you top that?
And, then we lie to our children and we tell them that Santa
is real, even though they can’t really see him, so is that of God? And, we use terminology
like “I believe in Santa.” And, then we tell our children to believe in Jesus,
whom they also cannot see. Oh, what trickery Satan has concocted to get us to
believe we are truly celebrating the life of Jesus when all we are doing is
falling prey to a lie of Satan.
The Challenge
You don’t have to believe this, obviously, because I said
it, but I pray that each person reading this today would prayerfully and honestly
before God examine what has been shared here today in light of God’s word, and
that you would inquire of God as to how he views our celebrations of Christmas.
God gave us the gift of salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ shed on a
cross for our sins. The best way we can celebrate the life of Jesus is to honor
him with our lives, and to share the truth of his gospel with a world in need
of the Savior. Will you pray and ask God if he is pleased with your celebration
of him?
Sing Praises / An
Original Work / November 30, 2012
Based off Psalms 6-9
Sing praises to the
Lord!
Tell of His wond’rous
works.
Afflicted, they cry
out;
The Lord will not
forget;
The needy, not desert.
The Lord’s our refuge
now;
A stronghold when we fear.
The Lord will ne’er
forsake
The ones, who Him
pursue!
Sing praises to the
Lord!
With all my heart I
sing.
I will rejoice in Him;
Sing praises to His
name;
Tell of His wond’rous
works.
My shield is God Most
High.
He saves those who
believe
In Jesus Christ, God’s
Son.
His grace has pardoned
you!
The Lord accepts my
prayer!
The Lord has heard my
cries.
He is so merciful.
He heals my anguished
soul.
The Lord has made me
whole.
Give thanks unto the
Lord.
Give praise unto His
name.
Our Lord is righteousness.
Sing praises to the
Lord!
Sing praises to the
Lord!
Sing Praises: http://originalworks.info/sing-praises-2/
Blessed Are You: http://originalworks.info/blessed-are-you/
Note: All
scripture references are taken from the NIV 1984.
3 comments:
Thank you for pointing out these things. However, you are using a version of the Bible which you would do well to investigate. There are many things in our lives that we do that are questionable - Christmas is not the only culprit. Not everyone who participates in the holiday deserves to be labeled "wicked". There are those who choose to use the holiday to speak freely of Christ to people who would not otherwise listen. Not everyone portrays Christ as a helpless babe, but I have seen and heard those who present him as the risen Savior - that He came to die.
I agree Christmas is largely paganish and extremely worldly. But it is what it is and each individual has a choice to make regarding it before their Lord and God (speaking of Christians) Many have found ways to use it as an opportunity to be a light to a dark world. Should they be judged? Yes, by the Lord, not by fellow Christians. In our Bible we never see where Jesus Christ practiced isolation, but rather engaged people where they were.
I have seen people go to the extreme and not acknowledge Mother's or Father's Day. If we want to get legalistic about it, we shouldn't celebrate Thanksgiving. The Pilgrims were Calvinist and believed in a false Gospel. They were drinkers and they had crime and adultery amongst their community. Thanksgiving has taken on worldly significance as a day of gluttony and football. Should we abandon the celebration of it because of this?
Take Resurrection Sunday (the world calls it pagan Eastar) with many having egg hunts and bunnies, etc. The world corrupts everything. Can we celebrate the Lord's victory over death and not these other things? I would hope so.
My point is that these issues can be complex as they are applied in each life. We all will be held accountable before the Bema Seat for how we have lived our lives. Our sins are forgiven, but our lives as believers will be examined. None of us want to stand before our Lord and be ashamed. But each one of us need to approach these issues carefully and prayerfully and the impact they have on others, including family members.
If family members perceive us as isolationists, they will not be willing to listen to our testimony and the presentation of the Gospel. Some will say that is the price to be paid for rejection of the celebration of Christmas especially. Others choose to celebrate it without the pagan trappings.
Anon – Thank you for responding and for sharing your thoughts with me on this subject. I appreciate your input into this difficult and controversial subject.
With regard to the Bible version I used, please feel free to point out to me where the specific passages I quoted do not match with the original Greek, and I will check it out.
With regard to labeling people as wicked who choose to celebrate Christmas, I don’t believe I did that. I quoted a scripture verse from where I was reading for my quiet time that day, and I noted that the word “vile” stood out to me. The second reference to the word “wicked” was in the definition of the word “vile.” The context was that “pagan revelry” was “vile,” i.e. “wicked.” The description of pagan revelry, with regard to the subject of how Christmas is often celebrated, had to do with blending the worship of Santa, greed and a pagan holiday in with the celebration of Jesus, i.e. it had to do with the worship of a false god along with the worship of the one true God, which God has always seen as vile. It is what God’s word teaches. God does not share his glory with any other gods.
With regard to my comment concerning Jesus being pictured as a helpless baby, the context was that in reference to displaying a manger scene in one’s home, if one does that, not inferring that everyone does. My parents attended church meetings all their lives, and so I did from infanthood. Most all the Christmas plays pictured Jesus as a helpless babe in a manger, and many church institutions also displayed pictures of Santa and talked about Santa to the kids, too, though I don’t recall that at my home church. You see these manger scenes in institutional church yards in front of their buildings. It is what most people present of Jesus at this time of year, and what most children think about Jesus, I believe, at least here in America, when or even if they think about Jesus at all during Christmas.
Anon – There is a huge difference between total isolation from people and choosing to not participate in what is pagan and worldly, and which blends the worship of the one true God with the worship of a false god. We are instructed in scripture to come out from the world and to be separate and to touch no unclean thing. We are commanded by God to be holy, which means to be set apart (unlike, different) from the world, because we are becoming like Jesus Christ. Jesus would not participate in the celebration of God in conjunction with the celebration of a false god in order to engage people where they were. He didn’t become like the world to win the world. He did not immerse himself in the culture of his day in order to connect with the people of the world. He went to where the people were, but he proclaimed the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ to them, confronting them with sin, warning of judgment, and calling them to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.
Anon - With regard to all our holidays, two of them blend the worship of the one true God in with the worship of a false god, and the false god gets top billing, and is much more exciting and appealing to young minds than either a babe in a manger or a man hanging on a cross. I believe this was intentional and that Satan is behind it, and that the purpose is that Satan still wants to be God, and to be worshipped as God, and so he planned it out so that Jesus would be celebrated on pagan holidays which blend the worship of God with the worship of a pagan god so that people, especially the young, are more drawn to what is pagan and worldly than they are to what is of God, and is holy and righteous. Ask most any American child what it is about Christmas they like most, or what it is about Easter they like most, and I am most certain their answer will not be a baby in a manger or a man hanging on a cross and rising from the dead, though I am certain there are always exceptions.
God/Jesus did not ask us for these celebrations, at least not in this way. He did not ask us to celebrate his birth but his life, his death and his resurrection, and to do so, not by getting what we want (gifts, eggs, new clothes, food for our stomachs, etc.), but to honor him in true worship of him, which is the giving of our lives to him in humble submission and obedience, and for us to no longer be conformed to the ways of this sinful world (Ro. 12:1-2). And, we are to do this EVERY DAY, not just one day a year.
Think with me a minute about your birthday or my birthday. How do you celebrate? Do you invite your friends over to your house to look at baby pictures of you and to then give each other gifts while largely ignoring you? And, then for them to sit around the TV set or to play games with each other, but to not include you? In some homes they read the “Christmas” story, i.e. they read the Biblical account of Jesus’ birth, and then they close the book, and go on with their own celebration. They might even have a cake and candles and sing “Happy birthday Jesus,” and then go on with their own celebrations with no further thought to Jesus Christ. I believe this is more the rule than it is the exception.
Personally, I believe that is a deception to believe that you have to participate in worldly activities or even in pagan celebrations (or syncretistic celebrations) in order to win people for Jesus Christ. I celebrated Christmas for 60 years and didn’t impact anyone for Jesus Christ because I celebrated Christmas that I know of. The Lord has used me in people’s lives, though, through acts of kindness, generosity, showing love to the hurting, via encouraging and comforting others with what I received from the Lord, and through the sharing of his word with all who will listen. We can live godly and holy lives, set apart (unlike, different) from the sinful world around us, and still have an impact in their lives for Jesus Christ and for his gospel. This is the way God designed it to be. And, yes, each one of us is answerable before God with what we do with Jesus and with what his word teaches us.
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