Yes, it is the Christmas season, a season that will be celebrated by the buying and giving of gifts. Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday will resound through the land, yet many are succumbing to the politically correct ideology of suppressing the use of the word Christmas. Still, many of us who will look upon this season with a type of sadness because of the celebration that is going on around us tends to amplify our loneliness. Between the shopping, the gift giving, and the acclamation of merry and happy, the true meaning of the season seems to have been cast aside. Christmas once was and should be a celebration of The Christ child's birth and his gift to us, a plan whereby we all can become a part of his kingdom. The three wise men travel from afar to join in the celebration of his birth along with the Holy Angels. Their bringing of gifts and worshiping the Holy Child should be an inclination and establishment of guidelines to celebrate the birth of our Savior.
The sorrow that emulate throughout the land during this Christmas season is somewhat amplified by the transforming of the Word of God into a Gospel supportive of a worldly economy rather than a spiritual inheritance. This presentation is beginning to lose it luster with the emerging generation, as men of skill seek to maintain its hold on its indoctrinated core. The true Christian rhetoric is becoming unpopular as each facet of the Christian experience is reshaped and redefined to merge into a politically correct society. This type of shaping of the Gospel has turned many congregations into a Laodicea cesspool. The ancient values that once defined Christianity today are easily discarded as foreign and untested ideologies are adopted. The interpretation of the Word of God is often left to the whim of the charlatan priest whose honorariums rival that of the Christ, and their motive and objective is suspect at best.
As our knowledge of good and evil increases, we are no longer comfortable with a passive God. A passive God would seem so out of place as we engage in our daily affairs. Our Christian journey has become like driving down a segment of a highway looking for the road crew, maybe we should be comfortable with the work that has already been done. We are constantly searching for and begging for that extraordinary gift from God. It is not what we have got from God, but what we want from God that has become the focus of our attention. Imagine telling God, "Father, you have done enough for me, now I just want to see how much I can do for you." Rather, we are encouraged to stand in line with uplifted hands pleading for the earthly blessing while the fruit of the spirit goes lacking.
Christmas is a season celebrated by giving, It is also a season when those who cannot afford to give suffer from severe depression and their self-worth is called into question. Many Christmas gifts are judged by the price tag, and their acceptance or rejection is based upon the cost of the gift received. Again, consider the three wise men, they came to the Christ child bearing gifts, not looking for gifts. There is no hesitation in thanking God, but it usually it when we assume that we have received a special favor from God.
Christmas is a time for family. Christmas not only brings out the best in many of us, it also brings out the worst in some. Strained relationships are often left strained or strained even further. Families that often consist of a high number of ministers will use the Word of God to divide the families even further. Durning the Christmas season the crime rate within the family has been known to increase. Families are reminded of the distance that they are separated emotionally and physically, this realization has been known to cause un-reversal trauma. Yet, Christmas should be at time for healing of the family, the community, and the church.
Christmas is a time of confusion. Some claim it is a pagan holiday and should not be celebrated by Christians. Every aspect of the celebration is subjected to intense scrutiny. The date, the yule log to the Christmas tree, the stigma of Paganism is attached. Yet, in an apostate and politically correct society the commercialization of gift giving get a free pass. For the first 300 years of Christianity Christmas was not celebrated on December 25. Western Christians first celebrated Christmas on December 25 in 336, after Emperor Constantine had declared Christianity the empire's favored religion. Eastern churches, however, held on to January 6 as the date for Christ's birthday and Baptism. From that time forward Christian churches throughout the world began to define how they would celebrate the birth of Christ.
Because of the Roman association with December 25 celebration, pagan customs became associated with Christmas. Christian stories replaced the heathen tales, but the practices hung on. Candles continued to be lit. Kissing under the mistletoe remained common in Scandinavian countries. But over the years, gift exchanges became connected with the name of St. Nicholas, a real but legendary figure of 4th century Lycia (a province of Asia). A charitable man, he threw gifts into homes. Thus evolved the legion of Santa Claus until modern day Christians decided that the spirit of Santa was a lie because it was not mentioned in the Bible. A point of confusion always emerge from this type of rationalizing, try as I may I find no reference to computers in the Holy Scripture.
Durning this Holiday or Christmas season, (the use of both words was used on purpose.) there is an endless stream of messages in the media proclaiming the evils of Christmas. In a diverse society, we are attempting to lay aside the things that separate our religion from the others. The sacred entities of the Holy Scripture now longer hold a special place in our society, as each aspect of Christianity is questioned by its detractors. As knowledge increases the fear of God decreased. Santa Claus head long ago has been placed on the chopping block, but his tattered body was never laid to rest. It seems as if there are those who are craving for attention will forever drag his limp lifeless body through the streets as no God-fearing Christian would dare teach, "Santa Claus is coming." The desecration of the spiritual aspect of Santa Claus paved the way for a modernist society to bring the spiritual aspects of the son of God to the same chopping block. Now some are beginning to wonder why the message of Christ, Christmas and Christianity continue to change, and the more we improve on the message our believability suffers.
As our knowledge of good and evil increases, we are no longer comfortable with a passive God. A passive God would seem so out of place as we engage in our daily affairs. Our Christian journey has become like driving down a segment of a highway looking for the road crew, maybe we should be comfortable with the work that has already been done. We are constantly searching for and begging for that extraordinary gift from God. It is not what we have got from God, but what we want from God that has become the focus of our attention. Imagine telling God, "Father, you have done enough for me, now I just want to see how much I can do for you." Rather, we are encouraged to stand in line with uplifted hands pleading for the earthly blessing while the fruit of the spirit goes lacking.
Christmas is a season celebrated by giving, It is also a season when those who cannot afford to give suffer from severe depression and their self-worth is called into question. Many Christmas gifts are judged by the price tag, and their acceptance or rejection is based upon the cost of the gift received. Again, consider the three wise men, they came to the Christ child bearing gifts, not looking for gifts. There is no hesitation in thanking God, but it usually it when we assume that we have received a special favor from God.
Christmas is a time for family. Christmas not only brings out the best in many of us, it also brings out the worst in some. Strained relationships are often left strained or strained even further. Families that often consist of a high number of ministers will use the Word of God to divide the families even further. Durning the Christmas season the crime rate within the family has been known to increase. Families are reminded of the distance that they are separated emotionally and physically, this realization has been known to cause un-reversal trauma. Yet, Christmas should be at time for healing of the family, the community, and the church.
Christmas is a time of confusion. Some claim it is a pagan holiday and should not be celebrated by Christians. Every aspect of the celebration is subjected to intense scrutiny. The date, the yule log to the Christmas tree, the stigma of Paganism is attached. Yet, in an apostate and politically correct society the commercialization of gift giving get a free pass. For the first 300 years of Christianity Christmas was not celebrated on December 25. Western Christians first celebrated Christmas on December 25 in 336, after Emperor Constantine had declared Christianity the empire's favored religion. Eastern churches, however, held on to January 6 as the date for Christ's birthday and Baptism. From that time forward Christian churches throughout the world began to define how they would celebrate the birth of Christ.
Because of the Roman association with December 25 celebration, pagan customs became associated with Christmas. Christian stories replaced the heathen tales, but the practices hung on. Candles continued to be lit. Kissing under the mistletoe remained common in Scandinavian countries. But over the years, gift exchanges became connected with the name of St. Nicholas, a real but legendary figure of 4th century Lycia (a province of Asia). A charitable man, he threw gifts into homes. Thus evolved the legion of Santa Claus until modern day Christians decided that the spirit of Santa was a lie because it was not mentioned in the Bible. A point of confusion always emerge from this type of rationalizing, try as I may I find no reference to computers in the Holy Scripture.
Durning this Holiday or Christmas season, (the use of both words was used on purpose.) there is an endless stream of messages in the media proclaiming the evils of Christmas. In a diverse society, we are attempting to lay aside the things that separate our religion from the others. The sacred entities of the Holy Scripture now longer hold a special place in our society, as each aspect of Christianity is questioned by its detractors. As knowledge increases the fear of God decreased. Santa Claus head long ago has been placed on the chopping block, but his tattered body was never laid to rest. It seems as if there are those who are craving for attention will forever drag his limp lifeless body through the streets as no God-fearing Christian would dare teach, "Santa Claus is coming." The desecration of the spiritual aspect of Santa Claus paved the way for a modernist society to bring the spiritual aspects of the son of God to the same chopping block. Now some are beginning to wonder why the message of Christ, Christmas and Christianity continue to change, and the more we improve on the message our believability suffers.
A big AMEN brother! But, do you and your family celebrate Christmas?
ReplyDeleteOr don't you?