The Gospel

 http://tractleague.com/tracts/the-gospel--good-news/

 

What is the gospel?

According to the Strong's the word that has been translated "gospel" is from the Greek word meaning "good message" ...I've always seen it translated as "good news"...

The gospel is the good news of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ that provides full and free deliverance from the power and penalty of sin according to the grace of God alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone. Why is this such wonderful news?

You and everyone else have been born with a fatal condition. This condition is called sin. Why is this condition so serious? Because God is sinless and hates sin, for sin is rebellion against His perfect and righteous standard. And your sinful actions makes you an enemy of God (Romans 3:23; James 4:4). God made man imperishable, in His own image (Genesis 1:27). He made man so that he may have continual fellowship with Him. But when sin came, the intimate fellowship between man and God changed.

 http://www.gospeloutreach.net/gospel.html

Things can be faked. We are all wicked, self-serving, self-loving above all others...we want to think that we are "good", but the truth is when push comes to shove, we will shove those who shove us and shove harder. Many times we see those who have a form of godliness yet deny His power (2 Timothy 3:5), and Jesus said they are difficult to tell apart without having His discernment, and even then, only after the wheat (true) and tares (false) grow into maturity (Matthew 13), because while these are yet immature they look very much alike....it is only after they bear fruit that we can see the difference.True godliness truly and honestly (perfectly? no, only God is perfect) loves others more than self. None of us have it truly....unless we have the Spirit of God making that true in our lives.

The word "gospel" first shows up in scripture here:


 Matthew 4:23-25  And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.   And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.  And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan. (KJV)

This is really the first time that I'm noticing that this good news went out beyond the borders of Israel during the time of Christ's ministry on earth....

Anyway, the good news is that we were doomed to hell, doomed in our sin, forever outcast from the presence of a holy and righteous God. The good news (gospel) is that God is merciful. He made a way out of this mess through the shedding of His Son's blood as payment for the ransom that needed to be paid for our transgressions.

When I watch the Investigative Discovery channel, the family of victims which were raped, tortured, and/or murdered are relieved when the perpetrator of the crimes is apprehended and sentenced to his just punishment. While he is not yet found, they worry that justice will not be served. But we fail to realize that because of our sinful nature we are all guilty before the perfect law that God demands to be able to stand in His presence. While we yet love sin (and face it we all do, it is part of our fallen human nature to love sin...even if it seems that we only love minor sins to a small degree, we are guilty to the full extent of the law), we do not want to stand in the presence of a holy God. I know that prior to being saved I hated anyone who told me the truth about my sin. Therefore how could I  stand before a perfectly holy God who would see every glaring but secret sin I ever committed that went without His punishment?....however He provided His Son to pay that debt! That's good news! It is like getting a reprieve from the governor while on death row.

A day or two ago DebbieLynne touched on the topic of "the gospel" while I was considering doing a post about it. She has some beautiful insights on this subject. Do take a look and meditate further on this blessed gift of God:

http://debsheadstick.blogspot.ca/2015/03/why-did-he-do-that.html

Fear, Faith, and Love

Proverbs 9:10  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.(KJV)

There are many misconceptions about our God. We want to make Him into our image, our ideas about what is loving and true, instead of coming to Him truly we still hold that little portion back that says "I know this better than He does".

What is "the FEAR of the Lord"? Why should we fear Him? He is SUPPOSED to be loving, so how can this be true at all?

The wisdom of the proverbs gives us that this fear is a beginning point.

Not Everyone Who Says "Lord, Lord"...

Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Mat 7:24  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Mat 7:25  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Mat 7:26  And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Mat 7:27  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.(KJV)


These are hard words. Does a "Loving God" reject those who come before Him and say: "Lord, Lord"? Apparently He will and He does, if you believe what Jesus says, and if you don't believe it and yet say you are saved, you are exactly the one He is talking about here, who is only speaking empty words, and pretends to love Him and believe Him, and yet loves himself and the things of this world more than His words, His love, His price at His terms. Those are the ones who say they love Him and yet Jesus can see into their hearts, He knows the truth, and if they confess the truth of their error, and truly submit to the truth of the fact that no one comes to the Father unless they have left all (their love of the things of this world that they loved more than God) to follow Jesus, then Jesus gives us a hundred fold of what we thought we had to give up.

But there are many who hang on to this world, who want to straddle the fence, and love this world and Jesus equally. Jesus said it cannot be done. He said "You cannot serve God and Mammon".

Luk 16:13  No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Luk 16:14  And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.
Luk 16:15  And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. (KJV)

When Jesus taught the multitudes, many followed Him to get stuff, to get a healing, to get food, and Jesus understood that, and He provided, but when He confronted them about the truth of the selfishness of their seeking, many stopped following Him:

 Joh 6:26  Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.
Joh 6:27  Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
Joh 6:28  Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
Joh 6:29  Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. (KJV)

Their hearts were not changed, they didn't actually see the true miracle of who Jesus was and is, but only wanted to satisfy their belly and their curiosity, and their flesh. Jesus then tells them about Himself being the bread of Life, (this passage is completely misunderstood by Roman Catholics, sorry), and then the Bible tells us:

Joh 6:61  When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?
Joh 6:62  What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
Joh 6:64  But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
Joh 6:65  And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
Joh 6:66  From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
(KJV)

Sobering words, it is a gift, and to say "That isn't loving" doesn't understand true love. He gives abundantly, but many reject it, and then blame Him for their rejection of Him. It is a gift, who throws a gift back at the giver and says "This isn't the kind of gift I wanted! This isn't the way I wanted it to be!"?

 His gift is given to all, but not all want it, in fact no one wants it, at first, because it is contrary to our flesh. But God will draw His own to Himself, and they won't be able to boast that they did anything, even the choosing of Him is done by Him, so we have nothing to boast before Him. He chooses the lowest, the beggars, also there are the Josephs of Arimethea (which aren't low beggars, but respected people in the community, but their heart is lowly and truly humble)...He sees our hearts, He knows who are His because He created us, He breathed life into us.

The ones who do boast:

Mat 7:22...."Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? "
Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

I struggled with this one because I knew that I could do nothing to attain it. I felt it was horrible that I was on the outside unable to come in of my own self, that it was only by God's invitation. I begged the Lord to save me. Even my begging seemed to go nowhere, and I knew that my heart was bad through and through, and that God could not listen to someone as selfish and evil as I, and I like the Caananite woman begged for crumbs from the master's table  (Matthew 15:22-28) or like the woman with the issue of blood who only sought to touch the hem of His garment (Matthew 9:20-22) and was persistent in my looking and seeking for that opening, that day that He would hear me, not because I was good or anything, but seeking His mercy (Luke 18:2-9)...

And yet, if I am sent to hell and it's fires and torments to be there for eternity, I would only be getting what I deserve. If I do find myself there it is just. What is unjust is His mercy. It is true what His enemies say "It is UNFAIR that some don't go to hell and many do"...however it is the upside-down of the fleshy reasoning. It isn't unfair that anyone goes to hell at all, we all deserve no more than hell. The unfair part is that any escape it at all, and that is GRACE.

Happy Reformation Day! :)

October 31, 1517 Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on Wittenburg's door. It marked the beginning of The Reformation. A much nicer greeting is available to us on this day than the world gives on this day.

Check out this link:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/martin-luther-posts-95-theses

...and Happy Reformation Day!

Privacy? or Sneakiness?

There is a difference. I understand the desire for privacy. My dear hubby hates his photograph being taken, let alone having it published on the social media websites (!!!). His reasoning is somewhat unreasonable to me, but I respect it because I know it is not out of a sense of wanting to hide something.

When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, their first reaction was to cover themselves. They did not want what they did to be in full view. That is why they made fig leaved aprons for themselves. There was a slight difference between Adam and Eve's situation and our own situation today. Adam and Eve were not in the midst of a sinful (sin-filled) culture, but were alone with only animals and plants...and the Lord...I personally don't believe they were trying to hide their sin from the plants and animals, so the only One they were trying to keep from finding out about their sin was God. God did not accept THEIR MEANS of covering themselves but instead provided them with a skin of an animal (something had to die as a result of their sin) and HE PROVIDED the proper way to be covered.

Are we so different from our first parents? We too try to cover the wrongs that we do in ways that perhaps we think will make them appear less bad, or make ourselves look good (in our own eyes, at least). Is that the correct way? Of course not. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father but THROUGH HIM. Those are not just pretty words. They are the truth that sets us free from having to cover ourselves with our own ways of trying to "look good", or hiding altogether from others. I have been to websites where the blogger cleverly hides everything about what they really are about. The website is pretty, pretty pictures, pretty (but empty) words, things that inspire others to want to know more about this family and this blogger, and this blogger always, ALWAYS, had me wondering about what they really stood for, and why it was not openly proclaimed. Why hide? Privacy? Then why blog? And if we truly are in Jesus, why not proclaim it in everything, truly showing that we have HIS covering over OUR SIN, which is something we as Christians are to proclaim, especially in a time such as this....

And yet, instead, there are excuses, and charming alternatives that Jesus "must also bless" because He is a loving God after all, isn't He? Yes. He is a loving God. And like a truly loving Parent, He won't allow for self-deception, especially self-deception in Christians (or those who when pressed will say they are) who have as their main self-interest the desire to gain other people's praise for themselves, instead of where it rightly belongs, with God alone. Then it is still our own works, fig-leaves, that we want others to be impressed with. When we truly love our loving God, we only find comfort in desiring that others know how Jesus alone gets all the glory..... if there is any good to be found in me, it is ONLY because of Him. Is that something that I should keep hidden? Will God be "ok" with my attempts at making Him a hidden "side-kick" of mine that I once in a while bring out so that I can show myself to be a "good Christian"? What can we learn from our first parents regarding such behavior?

This is something that I've been wondering about with all the "big brother surveillance" lately. Many want to do away with such surveillance and I agree in part that it is again the way this world operates, it wants to replace God, to make itself God, watching over us. But do we need to hide ourselves? Do we need fig leaves to make ourselves appear good to others? Or can our lights shine all the brighter when those in the world are calling evil "good" and calling good "evil"? Do we hide our light under a bushel when it is unpopular to be a Christian and only display it for self gratification? Or must we proclaim it even if it gets us, like the early disciples, killed?

Time will tell who the "real Christians" truly are. We have nothing to hide, because we have an Advocate to the Father. :)

John Piper

I really love John Piper :)

In this clip, John Piper explains why he believes homosexuality is wrong. I like when he admits his own brokenness by saying: "I'm just wired to like certain sins alot"

Just because we may have a genetic predisposition toward a certain sin (such as alcoholism, or a bad temper/prone to violent behavior, homosexual cravings, etc) doesn't make it excusable, but it is forgivable.

Well I should let John Piper say what he has to say, since this blog entry is supposed to be about what he thinks about this:

In this next one he tackles a very difficult question, and I find myself in complete agreement with his thoughts on whether he thinks Jesus was tempted with homosexuality:

And then also there is a very terrific article on the topic of hatred (which I find very well written and balanced, gcmwatch is correct to point out that "we live in a world system that misunderstands and misapplies hate primarily because they misunderstand God and his word",  & another excerpt:

"We know homosexuality is a false way because God did not create the male and female and tell them to find someone of the same gender and have sex with them. That simply does not exist. Thus, all sexual activities that are outside of what God commanded and blessed are false ways and false roads. We know where a false road leads to.  And we have liberty to hate them as he does.

Yet, we must be careful that our hate is not prejudicial or motivated by personal vendettas apart from God. The scriptures are clear on that.

Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 1 John 3:15

Such hatred is malicious and does not reflect the divine nature rather it reflects the nature of satan. John frames his words with the story of Cain and Abel who represent humanity.

Hating the deeds of the sinner is well within the realm of our biblical responsibilities. It is not a sin. If it was then Jesus himself sinned. In Revelation 2:6, he praised the church at Ephesus for “hating the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I hate also”."

Do Dreams Mean Anything? Part 3

 Pro 18:11  The rich man's wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit.

Pro 18:12  Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.

Yesterday morning I wrestled in a dream that when I awoke had me thinking about a girl at work that had "visited" me in my dream. Let's call her Sarah....a bit of background info on Sarah: she is a young lady of about 21 years of age. She is a smart, and pretty little red head. The expression on her face is usually blank, but with her mouth turned downward giving her an angry expression. When she does laugh, it is a bitter sort, haughty and cynical, and soon after that moment passes, she reverts back to the blank and angry stare. Her attitude and actions say "I really don't give a $#I+ about you, or about anything, so let's just get on with it".

The dream:

Sarah smirked about my faith in Jesus and made snide remarks about my age affecting my ability to reason. I said "I can hardly wait to see YOU when you are 60 (I'm not 60, but getting close), and see how you handle it" to which she coldly and calmly countered "And YOU won't be around to see it"....I then grabbed her by the shoulders and drew her right up to my face and said: "Jesus REALLY IS true and real, there IS a God, and that is the TRUTH!"  She didn't budge, and while my face was in hers says coldly "You are not getting through to my heart". I let her go but while doing so said haughtily "That's too bad, I feel SORRY for you". In the dream I caught a glimpse of a coworker (who says he's an atheist, but I do not get that "vibe" from him at all) and he's trying to get my attention with a look of sad disapproval in how I'm behaving.

When I awoke I kept thinking about my reaction (which is pretty accurate of how I am, unfortunately) and about Sarah, about how she is at work, and about what took place in my dream.

In part, this is what I've come up with so far (it needs alot of unpacking):

1. Sarah has a huge guard up. She's a tiny thing barely 5 feet (I think... if that) and has a huge wall that says "You cannot hurt me because I'm inside my huge fortress". Her attitude, ideas, frame of reference, etc, all are part of the fortress that "protects" her, giving her an appearance of strength and invulnerability.

2. Sarah is young, and has a cockiness toward everyone that says "I'm better than you are...get used to it" and I have a problem with that kind of attitude, always have...especially with someone as young and impertinent as that. Now they call that sort of thing "precocious". I just think it's terribly bad manners.

3. My approach (exaggerated, however right on target in this dream) is to drill the truth into people. "Jesus is Lord, like it or lump it!!! Too bad for you if you are so retarded you can't accept the fact" Yeah, that's how I think, even if I don't express it in words to people, it's there just under the surface. :-(

4. Sarah is somewhere inside there, and I think she's hurting and afraid to let it show, and actions and attitudes such as mine drive her deeper and make her more sure that keeping that guard way high is the right thing to do especially around Christian fanatics.

5. Yes, God does not like haughtiness, therefore for me to counter what I perceive as haughtiness with haughtiness of my own is doubly wrong. Two wrongs definitely don't make a right. :-(

There's alot more there, but that is the main thrust of it.

When I was a newborn Christian, I had a dream that went like this:

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I saw a parade of men in business suits and ties, dress shoes polished, and brief cases in their right hand, jogging in formation, all looking straight ahead with no expression, like robots. I wondered about them...and then saw a beautiful young woman who looked wise beyond her seemingly young appearance...so I asked her "Who are they, and what are they about?" She pointed in the direction they were running and said "Look and see" so I walked a few steps their direction and saw up ahead beautiful suburbs and quiet streets and homes, all identical, row after row. Their whole purpose and goal was that life here that lay in front of them.... and I called out to them "but there's so much more!!!" but they didn't hear me, they continued stone-faced in lock step "trudge-trudging" ahead in their lock step jog.  I looked at the young woman and asked "how do I get through?" and she pointed at me...but it wasn't at me, she was pointing to someone behind me. There was a girl that was crying, deeply hurt. I asked her what was wrong and how I could help her. She immediately stopped crying and told me she wanted a sandwich.

At the time I had that dream, I was unsure about evangelism and what my role needed to be in it. This dream helped me to understand what part of the problem (for me, anyway) is. People have their hearts and minds set to the things of this world, not realizing that this world is passing away...and that our lives are very short when compared to eternity. Getting people to think about it is.....hard, if not impossible, if they don't want to. The young and hurting girl in the dream seemed to be telling me that I stand a better chance at reaching the hurting, and yet still they will try to make their hunger only about immediate gratification, when of course, the hunger goes much deeper than the immediate.

Both of these dreams have a common thread. They both are about reaching others, and about my natural inclinations of how to do it, and how off the mark my natural reactions and inclinations are, even when it is well intentioned (most often my ways don't even reach that high...but even that "well meaning" high reach isn't high enough).

This world is lost. The people are blind, deaf and dumb, like the jogging businessmen. My noise of "clanging cymbals" will only make them want to run away from me. It doesn't work. What did the Apostle Paul say about how to reach others?

Col 4:3  Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:

Col 4:4  That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.

Col 4:5  Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.

Col 4:6  Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

In all things, seeking the Lord in prayer for openings (for God to soften their heart and make them open and receptive), for wisdom, for endurance through adversity when we are met with ridicule and hostility, and in everything, with grace and love, giving thanks to our Heavenly Father who supplies us with the gifts that are truly appropriate to each moment, and not dependent on our fleshy ways to achieve anything for Him.

The area of God's sovereignty comes into this in a way that is beyond my limitations of how to understand it. He has provided a means to alter what "is", by using us to reach others, when we get ourselves out of His way to do it through us. I've seen the sovereignty issue ignored and/or abused, because it causes Christians to think they don't need to do anything, God is doing it and what I do won't change what He has purposed...yes, AND no. There is an interactive element to His dealings with us, one that causes us to submit to His sovereign will because of His doing, not ours, and yet WE CAN get in the way and impede progress, hardening ourselves, like young Sarah has hardened herself. What I see in Sarah, is also true about myself.

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Celebrating Christmas Part 2

Something that is missing from this wheel is the word "spiritual" ... the abuse and the tearing apart of each other in backbiting and trying to boss each other around is very pervasive in the body of Christ.
Must it be so?

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I've been looking at the comments on Jred's blog, the usual arguments against "the traditions of men"....but isn't it a "tradition of men" to tell other people what they should and shouldn't do, instead of following as the Holy Spirit directs? The Lord shows us how He can use things that bless people "in season and out of season" and find treasures in both old and new:

Mat 13:52 Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.

We are not to force others to our own opinion, if they see it fine, and if they don't fine....and believe me it has taken me a long time to see that. When I felt strongly that the Lord showed me something, that I saw others doing wrong, I honestly felt it my duty and responsibility to force others to see what God had shown to me....that is not what God has put me here for. I can be guilty (and have done so, I confess) of this very abusive behavior myself.

Each of us is directed by God individually, and each of us is given gifts by God to do with as He personally directs each of us individually. What He has me to do might be (and probably is) different from what He has others do uniquely made to what He made me for. God didn't make cookie cutter Christians. :) I was reading something somewhere yesterday which stated that the way of the Lord is so narrow that it only lets one individual in at a time, not groups. We are each on the path that the Lord has mapped out for each of us as He has created us each individually, to be. Jesus is my shepherd, not another person dictating to me what he thinks I should be doing (or not doing).

If Jesus decides to bring some to a knowledge of who He is through celebrating His birth at Christmas time, why would He be wrong to do so? If some (many?) decide that Christmas is a good time to bring warmth to the winter months by remembering the blessedness of Jesus birth, why should anyone say "You mustn't do that!"...?

Jesus brings blessing and goodness to His own any and every season, not condemnation and cursing. Jesus birth into the world is a reason for celebrating and for thinking on with wonder and joy.

Just because some decide that Jesus not being born on Dec 25th should be a reason to not celebrate, well, that is their own journey, and peace be unto them.

<3

Celebrating Christmas

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I've been somewhat on the fence on this topic for many years...and that's because I really didn't know how I SHOULD stand on this topic. I've heard the arguments from both sides of the isle, and I find truth and error in both arguments. Those who say we shouldn't celebrate it at all make me sad...by that I mean, they seem to rigid and dogmatic to me. They remind me of Jehovah's Witnesses who say it is wrong to celebrate birthdays because the only birthday mentioned in the Bible cost John the Baptist his head. Well that IS true...but do we cut off someone's head to celebrate anyone's birthday these days? I agree that celebrating with a fictional character of Santa Claus and flying reindeer makes no sense...however, celebrating Jesus birth into the world ....(aside from the argument that His birthday PROBABLY WASN'T December 25th.....SO WHAT!???!) ....why exactly is it wrong?

So I was heartened to see that Jred spoke on this topic, and asks some very good questions:


http://www.lookupfellowship.com/2011/12/mixing-holy-with-profane-is-what.html

Excerpts:

 This year, I wondered why it is that we seem to know all the demonic, occult, pagan, Satanic things associated with this time of year as if we are experts on the subject (and all in the name of "exposing the darkness of deceit" consistent with Ephesians 5:11 and Matthew 10:16 I'm sure), but we don't seem to possess the same kind of knowledge when it comes to the holy, religious, redeeming, and spiritual aspects associated with this time of year?.....

.....There's something potentially significant that I'm wondering about. There's something pertaining to those who were alive in Jesus' time.

I imagine they had trouble (actually, we know they had trouble) accepting Jesus Christ as the Son of God because of sin, yes, but also because some of them just couldn't understand why a "holy" and "sinless" God would incarnate Himself in a "fallen", "unholy", and "sinful" human body (Mark 10:45; 2 Corinthians 5:21). It's because sin is the reason for the season.

I bring that up because it seems to correlate quite nicely with this entire debate, doesn't it? I mean, those who oppose the celebration of Christmas will often cite all the verses from the Bible about mixing the "holy" with the "profane".

Forgive me, but isn't that what the birth of Jesus Christ is all about? Isn't the virgin birth a mixing of a holy God with an unholy human body? Isn't that the very essence of the thing we celebrate during this (or any other time of the year) as a fundamental tenet of our shared faith?

So what's the problem then? Why the constant debate? Why the protest? Why the incessant hand-wringing over the celebration of Christmas?

************************

It does seem that those who advocate not celebrating Christmas in any way whatsoever do seem to know all about the Pagan, demonic, occult, Satanic things about it, and nothing of what is:

Philippians_4:8  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

It's almost as if there is an all-pervasive need to always find the ugly about anything with some of these folks...and perhaps that is the problem Jesus saw in the Church at Ephesus:

Rev 2:2  "'I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.
Rev 2:3  I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary.
Rev 2:4  But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

With all the finding what is wrong with everything, do they ever mention what is good and sweet and gracious and encouraging? Perhaps they think that making everyone hate Christmas is doing good and sweet and gracious and encouraging things by making everyone aware (continuously) of every evil in the world....but then doesn't that go against Philippians 4:8 admonition to only concentrate on those things that are good and pure? Do we have to constantly find the ugly in everything and continue to purge it out with our disdain for anything that might even have a faint glimmer of possible Pagan influence in it? Or can we find that good part that might turn other people's attention back to the One who makes all things pure?

If Jesus is the reason for every season...doesn't that INCLUDE Christmas?

********************************

Edited to add:

 Jred had a couple of comments in the comment section, which he addresses, and then he has this which is about where I am with this right now too:

At the end of the day, I think this still holds true...

"To summarize briefly, I’m convinced by Scripture and conscience that Christians are not obligated to observe Christmas, and that Christians are not obligated to not observe Christmas.

Christmas observance, or non-observance, (just like the observance or non-observance of any other day) plainly falls into the Biblical category of a matter of indifference and liberty (Romans 14-15; Col 2:16-23).

 

My point in publishing this material isn’t to advocate for, or against, the observance of Christmas (or any other day), but rather to make the case that

a.) such things are matters of liberty and conscience in the light of Scripture

b.) many of the popular myths surrounding the origins of Christmas, even within the church, are often dubious, and sometimes misleading/false and 

c.) many of the most strident objections to the observance of Christmas if applied equally and consistently can have far reaching [and quite probably un-Biblical, legalistic] implications in actual practice."

Some of you will maintain that 'Christmas' IS ugly and evil. I get where you’re coming from. There are many points where I actually agree with you. Really, I do.

In the spirit of Romans 14, I’m okay with that though. I would never dream of trying to convince YOU that YOU should celebrate something that YOU don’t believe YOU should.

I’m just wondering where the line is drawn between 'celebration' and 'worship' because that’s what I think this all comes down to. Maybe that would’ve been a better angle for me to have approached this study from this year.

Fragility and Strength

On the topic of butterflies, I recently heard someone mention an interesting thing about their transition from caterpillars to those lovely winged creatures. It was said that a butterfly must emerge from the chrysalis without assistance or it wouldn't develop properly and die. The struggle to emerge from the confinement of the chrysalis causes the butterfly to become strong enough for the next stage of it's life.

The Butterfly and the Cocoon

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. The man sat and watched the cocoon for several hours as the butterfly struggled to force its body through the little hole.
Then it seemed to stop making progress. It appeared as if the butterfly had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further. The man decided to help the butterfly in its struggle. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.
The butterfly then emerged easily, but it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.
He continued to watch the butterfly. He expected that, at any moment, the wings would dry out, enlarge and expand to be able to support the body. He knew that in time the body would contract, and the butterfly would be able to fly.
But neither happened. In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.
What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were Nature’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been.
We could never fly.

~ original author unknown (sometimes attributed to the American writer and painter Henry Miller)

I've heard that said of baby birds coming out of their eggshells as well. If you break away the shell to help the "poor little bird" in it's struggles, you are actually doing it a disservice because in order for the bird to be strong, it has to come through that struggle on it's own.


God knows what will build us up in Him. He uses the challenges in the lives of His children to develop us and strengthen us. He is with us as we deal with life's trials and tribulations. When I was a baby in Christ, He heard my never ending cries and pleadings. As He continues to help me to grow in Him, I cry less and rest assured in His loving care of me despite the fact that I fall far short of deserving it.

From the writer of the book of Hebrews:

Heb 12:5  And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Heb 12:7  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
Heb 12:8  But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
Heb 12:9  Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
Heb 12:10  For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
Heb 12:11  Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Heb 12:12  Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
Heb 12:13  And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. 

And from James:


Jam 1:2  My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
Jam 1:3  Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
Jam 1:4  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.


When we go through the deep and murky waters of various trials and tribulations, may we remember that as sons and daughters of the living God, He is with us developing our "wings" for our flight to meet Him in the sky when He comes for us. Hallelujah! Count it all JOY!!! ;-)

Some links about butterflies :-)

Lots of articles and fun games and drawing tutorials for children and adults:
http://www.cocoon.org/

and this one:

http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/monarch_butterfly.htm