Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
You can set aside a day to honor CHRIST whenever you please, it just cannot be wrapped up in SIN ! He does not except just any kind of worship, it has to be on HIS TERMS, based on HIS WORD.......not mingled with flesh/idoltry/money/pagan rituals/etc. just like he doesn't hear the prayers of the wicked. HE is the one who set down the rules of worship and celebrations.
The only time gifts are given to each other in the WORD is when something awful happens. See below.....study the whole chapter not to take it out of text.
And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another, because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth" (Rev. 11:9, 10).
"Love not the world, (if Christmas is not worldly I don't know what is) neither the things that are in the world If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (I John 2:15).
". . . Learn not the way of the heathen,. . . For 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. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not... But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities"
(Jer. 10:2-4, 8). This my friends, is the CHRISTMAS TREE in all it's glory.
The only thing Christ told us to REMEMBER was his DEATH = PASSOVER...which is NOT EASTER !
"My people perish for lack of KNOWLEDGE". "Study the Word to show thyself approved'.
"Not everyone who says Lord, Lord will enter the Kingdom of God, but only he who DOES the will of my Father".
You can worship Christ on Dec. 25th without the SIN of Christmas.....if it's about HIM really, then why do we need the hullabaloo.
For those who ARE celebrating may I ask : What are you doing to make it about CHRIST ? and HIM only......since HE'S the HONOREE that is not of SIN ? What are you giving HIM for HIS BIRTHDAY ?
I'M SORRY TO READ ALL OF THE ABOVE. IT REMINDS ME HOW SELF- RIGHTOUS I WAS IN THE CHURCH I ONCE BELONGED.MUCH OF WHAT YOU WROTE(AND I'M SURE WITH MUCH EFFORT AND THOUGHT ) IS ABOUT THE PAGAN ROOT OF XMAS, ALL CHURCHS HAVE SOME MAN MADE TEACHINGS,ESPECIALLY THE ONES WHO PROFESS THEY HAVE THE "TRUTH".YOU ARE HUNG UP ON DAYS OF WHEN TO CELEBRATE AND PUTTING A LOT INTO SELF (OR CHURCH'S) INTERPERTATION. I ONCE BELONGED TO A SATURDAY SABBATH KEEPING CHURCH ; THE SELF RIGHTOUSNESS' THEY DISPLAYED BECAUSE THEY WERE THE ONLY ONES WHO KNEW THE" RIGHT DAY OF THE WEEK TO WORSHIP" WAS PROBABLY SINFULLY PRIDEFULL!THEY HAD OTHER TEACHINGS THEY WERE INTERPERTED, OPPOSITE OF MOST MAINLINE CHURCHS.THEY DIDN'T BELIEVE IN JEWLERY,MAKE-UP,HOLIDAYS, EATING MEAT AND DAIRY PRODUCTS, DIVORCE,(ALL THINGS CAN BE FOUND AS NO'S IN THE BIBLE), YET THERE WERE ALWAYS MEMBERS DOING THESE THINGS. WHAT WE GET FROM THIS IS LEGALISM. INTERPERTING STRICTLY LEADS TO JUDGING,HYPORCRACY,SIN,DEBAUCHERY, SELF- RIGHTOUSNESS.
WE ARE HUMANS AND WE WILL ERR.I DO NOT CELEBRATE XMAS IN THE TRADITIONAL WAY.BUT, I'M NOT ABOUT TO GET ON MY HOLY HIGH HORSE AND TELL YOU DON'T DO THIS OR THAT (UNLESS IT WAS OUTRIGHT NON- ARGUABLE SIN, LIKE MURDER)BECAUSE THESE KINDS OF WARNINGS ARE LIKE CRYING WOLF-WHEN YOU REALLY NEED TO WITNESS TO SOMEONE ABOUT THEIR ETERNITY,THEY WILL NOT LISTEN.
"WHO ARE YOU TO JUDGE SOMEONE ELSES SERVANT?TO HIS OWN MASTER HE STANDS OR FALLS.AND HE WILL STAND, FOR THE LORD IS ABLE TO MAKE HIM STAND." ROMANS 14:4 NIV
WHO AM I ? A servant of JESUS CHRIST, just like PAUL was, who did a lot of JUDGING the HOUSE OF GOD, and how it lived for... and in.. the WORLD. The scripture tells clearly that we are to JUDGE the things of the House of GOD, and to try and lead them back to the truth.
NO ONE IS ON A HIGH HORSE (that's DEFENSIVE, because your flesh doesn't want to give up anything for CHRIST so you fight me....AND could care less about TRUTH).
DYING TO SELF and the WORLD is not popular among the CHURCH GOERS, but it's clearly the criteria of a disciple. TO COME OUT of the WORLD.
I am a TRUTH SEEKER and I might add.........I adhere to that TRUTH when I find it....and I know it is from GOD. Takes very little research to find this out.
I have always said: If anyone can show me one scripture in the Word of GOD that tells me to keep such PAGAN traditions in JESUS NAME AND FOR HIS GLORY...........I'll celebrate it again, but they can't and I therefore will not. WHen we learn the truth and we do not ADHERE TO IT..........we go deeper into a darkness.......a blindness, whereas when we OBEY the truth we learn, Christ takes us HIGHER. Time for the church to GO UP HIGHER. GROW UP ! Stop looking and acting like the world. I am NOT HOLIER THAN THOU.........just into a DEEP WALK with the LORD CHRIST who said: BE PERFECT, even as I am perfect. Not my words.........but HIS !
CHRISTMAS is WRACKED WITH SIN.............and GOD would have NOTHING to do with that. Remember how HE went nuts over them turning the HOUSE OF GOD into a DEN OF THEIVES.....I shiver to think how HE must feel about all the sin done in HIS HONOR.....that HE PLAINLY did not tell us to do. Does not make it right. They may have been raising money to give to the TEMPLE, but that didn't matter to CHRIST.......HE cannot except as HOLY that which is DRENCHED in SIN. It just doesn't work that way. Folks make excuses for all the sin....so they can keep doing it to BLESS THEIR FLESH and keep the traditions of men.........SIMPLE AS THAT. (well, God can get glory out of it....well, HE turned a bad thing into good). Let's MATURE here..........you can't knowingly SIN and then ask GOD to receive it as HONOR and WORSHIP..........that is NOT what turning it into GOOD MEANS. That's called TWISTING the Scriptures.........mishandling it..... not rightly dividing it.
It is FLESH that does not want to DIE to the WORLD SYSTEMS...........do you realize that if you were caught KEEPING CHRISTMAS in a CHURCH as late as the 1800's that you would been KICKED OUT OF THE CHURCH. ??? DO you know anything about the history of the true church and Christmas ??? Obviously not.........just flesh screaming at me........not a TRUE TRUTH SEEKER.
You can hang me from the highest tree branch and calll me whatever you want too.......that doesn't change the TRUTH of God's Word, it just makes one feel better for engaging in the SINFUL acts (multitudes) of X-mas. I realize it's not the messenger that you HATE and JUDGE, but the MESSAGE ! JESUS was very familiar with the "religious" folks of that day too, they hated HIS message that said they must STOP SINNING.....and turn from their evil, but they loved their EVIL and didn't want to TURN from it........therefore they killed the messenger, thinking they would also kill the message.
TODAY is just as important to me as Dec. 25th. TODAY I must try to live HOLY and SERVE the LORD, CELEBRATE HIM and HONOR HIM with my life....and serve others.........and then tomorrow, and then the next day and then all the other 365 days of the year. PASSOVER is the only one HE told the church to REMEMBER and OBSERVE.
The anti-christ will have an EASY JOB in the church ! Sad isn't it........that the world knows more about it all, and seems to be against more sin than we are sometimes. I've never talked to a wiccan, or other CULT like religious folks on discussion boards who did not know these basic truths of X-MAS........and they LAUGH AT US........SERIOUSLY.....they laugh and say we are sooooooooooooo blind and ignorant of the real TRUTH of what we do. SAD, SAD, SAD !
Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." Mark 12:28-31
Alpha, I have always struggled with this. We've had some pretty strange neighbors. Some, I've never met. How can you love everyone like that? Do you think it literally means your next door neighbors? your neighborhood?
Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." Mark 12:28-31
Alpha, I have always struggled with this. We've had some pretty strange neighbors. Some, I've never met. How can you love everyone like that? Do you think it literally means your next door neighbors? your neighborhood?
I think we're all neighbors. So, no, I don't think it necessarily means your literal next door neighbor, but I don't think it excludes them either.
You're my neighbor. I'm yours.
We love each other because the same Jesus that gave Himself for me, gave Himself for you.
I also think you can love someone, but not necessarily like them.
Forgot: I wanted to ask those Christians who DO Celebrate Christmas, WHAT THEY are going to give JESUS at HIS BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION ? Do you give HIM Money for missions ? Do you spend more on HIM than yourselves and others ?
What do you do to honor the honoree and what gift do you give HIM ? Since it's HIS BIRTHDAY AND ALL ?
I'm not being cute..........I'm very interested.
I think one person said, they were doing GOOD to others. That's a 365 thingy.
I'm interested to know exactly what you give KING JESUS on HIS BIRTHDAY ?
AND YES...........loving our neighbor as ourselves is it 365/24/7....after loving the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength.
AND: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Christ-mas should really be about celebrating that Christ was born so that we could have the gift of eternal life by accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
While gifts and decoration and beautiful lights are great and exciting, over time, Christ is being kicked out of Christ-mas, He is being replaced with Santa and the focus of Him, is being removed out of the season. My pastor says it like this...we are the reason, Christ is season. If there was no sin, then Christ would not have to be born so that He could die for us. May the Spirit of Christ minister to all who read this. Amen.
Forgot: I wanted to ask those Christians who DO Celebrate Christmas, WHAT THEY are going to give JESUS at HIS BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION ? Do you give HIM Money for missions ? Do you spend more on HIM than yourselves and others ?
What do you do to honor the honoree and what gift do you give HIM ? Since it's HIS BIRTHDAY AND ALL ?
I'm not being cute..........I'm very interested.
I think one person said, they were doing GOOD to others. That's a 365 thingy.
I'm interested to know exactly what you give KING JESUS on HIS BIRTHDAY ?
We can give Him just what the three wise men give Him, gold of a pure heart, frankincense of a dedicated life, and myrrh a death to the old life and total surrender to Him.
Last edited by Alpha8207; 12-12-2007 at 07:01 AM..
Reason: fixed quote bracket
I'm interested to know exactly what you give KING JESUS on HIS BIRTHDAY ?
We can give Him just what the three wise men give Him, gold of a pure heart, frankincense of a dedicated life, and myrrh a death to the old life and total surrender to Him.
ILNC, if only this thread could stop right here with those words!
How can celebrating the birth of the Saviour of the whole world be considered a pagan holiday? I celebrate Christmas big time on Dec. 25th, but Christians celebrate it best every day by living their life in a way that reflects Jesus to the world. I don't think there is anything pagan about that. Merry Christmas!
Whether He was born on Dec. 25 or April 18 makes no matter. We are on a different calendar system than in the days of Christ. To me this sounds like legalism...holding to the letter of the law. Didn't the Saducees and Pharisees hold to the law like this?
I agree Hoosier. I used to be a Jehovah's Witness, and when going door to door I always envied people that celebrated Christmas for any reason. When I left I went all out for Christmas and continue to do so to this day. Of course I never went back to Christianity, but that doesn't matter. And I certainly don't like the idea of saying Happy Holidays in place of Merry Christmas.
This thread was a set up from the word go. It was designed to be a witness to others, and Witnesses count the hours that they Witness from door to door, online, etc. It is designed also to save y'all.
I really don't think that God cares whether Christmas is a pagan holiday or not. What God would care about is that you love him. And if people believe that they are loving God by celebrating Christmas, then it should be so. Celebrating Christ's death, as the Jehovah's Witnesses do is just as fine with me. And the Jews love God just as well and so on.
Last edited by Mattie Jo; 12-13-2007 at 07:15 AM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Merry Christmas!
