So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” ~ John 10:7-10 ESV
We are about to enter into the Christmas season, at least
here in America. Christmas, as it has come to be known, is largely considered
to be a Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, God the Son. But… there
is another god that is celebrated on Christmas Day, and his name is Santa.
So, what does the word “Christmas” literally mean?
Well, the first part of the word is Christ, meaning the
Anointed One, meaning Jesus Christ, the Son of God (See: Isaiah 61; Luke
4:18-19).
But, what about the word “mas”? What does that mean?
Well, it is generally held that the word “mas” means “dismissal.”
Yet, whether you agree with that or not doesn’t really matter, for I believe we
shall see here, by the evidence itself, that indeed that is what is intended.
Thieves and Robbers
The thieves and robbers Jesus Christ is talking about here
are those who are false teachers or prophets who lead people to follow other
gods and other religions, or another gospel. Or else they are the false gods
themselves who, according to their prophets and teachers, promise people all
sorts of things if they will only bow down and worship them, instead of the
people worshiping the One and Only True God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
So, they are thieves and robbers because their goal is to
steal the hearts of people away from the One and Only True God to follow after
them and their false gods, instead. And, I believe that is the entire goal of
the creation of the celebration of Christmas and of Santa Claus.
Satan and His Angels
From what I have been taught, and from what I understand, Satan
used to be an angel in heaven, but he wanted to be God, and so he rebelled
against God along with about a third of the angels, and so God cast them down
to the earth (Is. 14:12-14; Lu. 10:18; Rev. 9:1; Heb. 12:22; Rev. 12:3-9).
“How you are fallen from heaven,O Lucifer, son of the morning!How you are cut down to the ground,You who weakened the nations!For you have said in your heart:‘I will ascend into heaven,I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;I will also sit on the mount of the congregationOn the farthest sides of the north;I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,I will be like the Most High.’” Is. 14:12-14
Now, let’s think about Santa Claus for a moment. Where does
he live? The North Pole. How does he deliver gifts to children all over the
world in a single night? He rides on a reindeer-driven sleigh up in the sky, on
the heights, or above the heights of the clouds.
And, what attributes is this false god given? He is
omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent, meaning he is present in all places at
all times, he is all-knowing, all-seeing (like the all-seeing eye of Horus on
our national seal), and he is all-powerful. And, what this means is that he has
been given the attributes of Almighty God, because he, Santa/Satan, wants to be
God.
Don’t believe me? Well, Santa knows when every child across
the world is sleeping and when they are awake. He knows when they have been
good or bad, too. He is also able to be in multiple department stores all
across the world, all at the same time, holding children on his lap, promising
them presents they will most likely never receive. And, he is able to magically
deliver gifts to every child on the globe – that is the ones who have been
good, so he says, and in a single night, too. So, he must be able to see all,
know all, and be everywhere all at the same time, and be all-powerful, too.
The Christmas
Deception
Ok, so we in America, at least, traditionally celebrate
Christmas on the 25th of December. [My husband and I stopped
celebrating in 2012.] For many of us, we were taught to celebrate this day from
the time we were small children, and many of us were taught that this was the
celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, thus it is considered a sacred
holiday. But, is it really?
What is the central focus of the celebration of Christmas,
in reality? Is it not the buying of gifts, many of which people do not need,
and many of which those buying them cannot afford? And, so many people go into
massive debt just to be able to buy Christmas presents, and for all the people
they feel obligated to buy them for, as well. And, then when they are given,
often times they are returned for something better, in the eyes of the
receivers, who are the ones who return them to the stores, because they reject
them.
And, is it not all about Christmas trees and decorations
which many people also cannot afford, but they do so to keep up with everyone
else who is doing it, too? And, then there is all the baking of cookies, and
the shopping, and the Christmas cards, and the new clothes and shoes and hats,
and all the parties and games and some raunchy Christmas movies, too, etc.
So, what does any of that have to do with Jesus? Well, they
say that Jesus was given gifts when he was born and thus we give each other
gifts when we celebrate his birthday. But, does that even make sense? Some will
say Jesus was our gift and thus we give each other gifts, but that doesn’t make
sense, either. For the gift of Jesus is the gift of salvation from sin, so the
gift we should give each other is the message of how we can all be forgiven our
sins and be delivered from our bondage, and now walk in Christ’s holiness.
And, when we celebrate each other’s birthdays, who gets the
gifts? The person with the birthday, right? So, if we are truly celebrating
Jesus Christ, then should he not be the one to receive our gifts? And, what
gift does he want from us? He wants are all on the altar of sacrifice laid, living
lives holy and pleasing to him, no longer conformed to the ways of this sinful
world, but transformed in the renewing of our minds away from what
is sinful to walking in Christ’s righteousness and holiness, in his power and
strength.
Also, when we celebrate each other’s birthdays, does
everyone in the room, besides the one with the birthday, all congregate
together and give each other gifts, and then pass around pictures of what we
looked like when we were helpless babies, while the one having the birthday is
ignored? But, that is what we do, isn’t it, when we picture Jesus as a helpless
baby in a manger, and we put a manger scene somewhere in our houses, and then
we all gather together and give each other presents and play games and eat lots
of food and watch movies, too.
Ok, so let’s go back to Santa, for he plays a huge role in
this deception, too. For, while Jesus Christ is pictured as a helpless baby in
a manger doing nothing but just lying there, Santa comes on the scene in all
his glory. And, he promises to bring gifts to children and to ride through the
sky on a sleigh and to deliver gifts across the globe on a single night. And,
he asks children across the world to write him letters (like prayers)
requesting what they want from him. And, children, who have long awaited his
return, are anxiously anticipating his soon arrival (like Jesus’ return one
day).
So, who has the hearts of children on Christmas? Jesus
Christ? Or, Santa? And, who wanted to be God? And, who masquerades himself as
an angel of light? Satan/Santa. And, what has the hearts of adults during the
Christmas holidays? Shopping, presents, parties, food, games, fun, movies, etc.
etc.
Know the Truth
The whole point of Christmas is to dismiss Jesus Christ in
favor of Santa, a false god, who is truly Satan, who wanted to be God. It is to
dismiss Jesus Christ in favor of gifts, commercialism, greed, worldliness, and
idolatry, etc. Jesus is pictured as a helpless baby on purpose, while Santa, a
false god, is given the attributes of Almighty God, and steals the hearts of
children away from God; away from Jesus Christ, and the hearts of many adults,
too.
So, don’t listen to these thieves and robbers who want to
pull us away and our children away from pure devotion to Jesus Christ. Don’t
give your hearts away to false gods and idolatry and commercialism and to
ignoring Jesus.
If truly you want to celebrate Jesus Christ, then do it the
way Jesus says. He says to remember him by remembering his blood that was shed
on the cross for our sins, and by remembering his body which was given for us
in death so that we can die to sin and live to righteousness. And, this
remembering of him is not a mere formality or a mere ritual we go through,
either.
For, when we remember him and what he did for us, we examine
our own hearts to make certain that we are worthy to partake in his blood and his
body via confession of sin, in true repentance, and in committing our lives to
our Lord and to his service. For, what he wants from us are not our festivals
and our parties, which he largely hates, in reality, but what he wants, again,
is our all on the altar of sacrifice laid, our hearts thus the Spirit controls.
My
Sheep
An Original Work / June 24, 2012
Based
off John 10:1-18 NIV
My sheep hear me. They know me.
They listen to my voice and obey.
I call them and lead them.
They know my voice, so they follow me.
They will never follow strangers.
They will run away from them.
The voice of a stranger they know not;
They do not follow him.
So, I tell you the truth that
I am the gate, so you enter in.
Whoever does enter
Will find forgiveness and will be saved.
Nonetheless whoever enters
Not by the gate; other way,
He is the thief and a robber.
Listen not, the sheep to him.
Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,
Who laid his own life down for the sheep.
I know them. They know me.
They will live with me eternally.
The thief only comes to steal and
Kill and to destroy the church.
I have come to give you life that
You may have it to the full…
They know my voice, so they follow me.
Thursday, December 6, 2018
No comments:
Post a Comment