Considering Our Traditions

Donna asked me to do a guest post for her today.  We have been considering our traditions, studying days and festivals, looking for idols in our home, and growing and changing.  Several of the past posts have been considering the Christmas holiday season and what it means to us.  What did it use to mean?  What should it mean?

Last year we understood the potential idolatry we were bringing into our home with santa claus.  We removed that last year.  Later on, our pastor had us go through our home in each room and pray for God to show us idols in our home.  I removed all the tiki bar stuff I had collected which were actual idols for some, and decorations for us.  But it got me to thinking about idols.  If someone were to come into my home that did not know me and saw a tiki god, what would they think?  What would they think if it was a god to them?  I did not ever worship a tiki, but it was in my home.  Now it is gone.

What other idols did we have?  After reading Jeremiah 10:3-5 we decided that for us, a Christmas tree in our home was not pleasing to God.  We've heard Pastor MacAurther explain these verses as not relating to a modern Christmas tree, but I am not convinced. 

The pagans used to bring fresh cut trees into their homes and decorate them with silver and gold.  If we do the same now, knowing we don't worship them as idols, what does God think of it?  The actions of the pagan are brought into our home.  For us, we can't do it any longer.

Next we approach the Christmas day.  I am glad that it happens on Sunday this year.  Our day will be much like all Sundays in that we will get up, go to church, and have a good worship service.  We are flip flopping on do we say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays.  Paul wrote about days and idol meat in Romans 14:5. 

One man considers one day more sacred than another, another man considers every day alike.  Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.  He who regards one day as special does so to the Lord.  He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.  For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone.  If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.  For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. You then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your bother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat.  It is written: As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before me every tongue will confess to God.  So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.  Therefore let us stop passing judgement on one another.  Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.

So, we will worship on Sunday.  We are going to work hard to be fully convinced on our own mind.  We are going to do this without pride or by putting a stumbling block out there for anyone.  Our new church has a tradition of cleaning out the freezer on the Wednesday prior to Christmas and having a potluck dinner after observing the Lord's Supper.  We embrace this new tradition.  May our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ bless you and keep you.

Christmas Ministry

This month brings some great challenges/goals for ministry.  It seems like this month is a time when most are more generous with their time and resources for ministry/giving than at other times of the year.  In the past our family has bought toys for our church's Christmas Store for families in need ~ which was not only fun for us to participate in but deeply touched our hearts to watch the parents "shop" for the gifts for their children.  We've bought food for our church's food pantry which serves the community year round.  We've packed shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child and worked at the relay center to pack up 1000's of boxes.  And honestly, none of these things are done to bring any accolades or recognition to us ~ the Lord has allowed us to do these things and has given us the provisions to do them.

As a single Mom for 9 years ~ I was on the receiving end many times of others generosity and service.  We received restaurant meals, toys/gift cards at holiday times, driving lessons for my boys, paid health ins. for 2 years, a paid for Mission Trip to Canada, and many more.  Not to mention all the prayers, hugs, kind words, etc.  I was blessed many times and now can give just a little back. 

This week I heard about a ministry, a friend of mine in GA, started.  She & a small group of friends decided to get up early  one Christmas morning (5 AM), about 7 or 8 years ago and take coffee to downtown Atlanta & serve homeless folks.  The first year they had plenty of coffee but ran out of cups ~ the folks were going through trash cans to find anything they could drink out of for that free coffee.  This ministry has grown by leaps & bounds since then.  This year, they will take coffee, food, personal care items in baggies, socks, coats, hats, gloves, and much more. Whole families get up early and drive downtown to minister to forgotten folks.  They are serving in the Lords name and are only able to do it through the generosity of others.  Her children don't mind giving up part of their Christmas morning fun ~ as her 14 year old son stated "these people need us to love on them".  What a great attitude from a young man.  Life isn't all about us, its about giving and serving others in Christ's name.

Matthew 25:34-40
34. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35.  For I was hungry and you gave me food: I was thristy and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in.
36. I was naked and you clothed Me. I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me.'
37. Then the righteous will answer Him saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?
38. When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You.
39. Or when did we se You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'
40 And the King will answer and say to them, "Assuredly, I will say to you,  inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me."

Ministry doesn't have to involve many hours or lots of money.  You could bring a smile to a childs face with a dollar store stuffed animal, or warmth to someone tummy with a can of vegetables or a hot cup of coffee.  You could comfort someone with your smiles, prayers, and hugs.  Just be willing to let the Lord work through your life.  You will be blessed beyond measure.

Merry Christmas!

Names of Jesus

Name ~ Emmanuel/Immanuel

References ~ Isaiah 7:14-8:8; Matthew 1:23

Related Titles ~ Only Begotten Son (John1:18)

Meaning ~ Jesus is God with us

Insights ~ Jesus was born on earth a real human being.

Name ~ King of Kings

Reference ~ Revelations 17:14

Related Titles ~ King, King of Israel, King of the Jews, Lord or Lords. Master, Prince, Ruler, Sovereign (Matthew 21:5, John 1:49, Matthew 2:2, Revelation 9:16, Luke 8:24, Daniel 9:25, 1Timothy 6:15)

Meaning ~ Jesus is king over all.

Insights ~ Christ is the king over all kings and rulers.  As subjects in His kingdom, we owe Him our complete allegiance.

Name ~ Lord of Lords

Reference ~ Revelation 19:16, 1Timothy 6:15

Related Titles ~ Lord (Phillipians 2:11, plus all titles under King of Kings)

Meaning ~ Jesus is Lord

Insights ~ Jesus is Lord over all!  He has this title by right as the Son of God and the Creator of the Universe.  It is also a title he "earned" by His humble work of becoming human in order to redeem us through His death.

Name ~ Messiah

Reference ~ Daniel 9:25, John 1:41;4:25

Related Titles ~ Christ, Anointed One (Matthew 1:16, Psalm 2:12)

Meaning ~ Jesus is Messiah.

Insights ~ Messiah is the Hebrew word, translated into Greek, as Christ.  Both words mean  "Anointed One" (one especially appointed by God for His plan and purpose).

The above is taken from Rose Publishings Names of Jesus chart. 

Daybook

 

For Today..

Outside my window...cloudy, cool, looks like a normal Christmas in Miss.

I am thinking...How imperfect we are and how perfect God is

I am thankful for...my Bible

From the kitchen...breakfast & dinner at home, lunch at Sams while we shop for the churchs fellowship meal tomorrow night

From the learning rooms...Christmas break

I am wearing...night clothes

 

I am creating...working on a cross stitch picture, doing some machine embroidery, cutting out some baby things from flannel to embroider and then sew

I am going...to enjoy time with my family

I am reading..."The Substitute Guest" by Grace Livingston Hill, working on the last 8 books of the Old Testament

I am praying...for salvation for family members

I am hearing...a sermon on Sermon Audio, doors opening & closing, cars driving

Around the house...enjoying our 2 week old puppies ~ their eyes are opening, crafts, some yard cleanup during good weather, enjoying our quiet, simple Christmas

One of my favorite things...festive holiday music

A few plans for the rest of the week...church dinner, birthday for our twins #24, Gregs days off, worshiping the Lord on Sunday, sewing, games, yummy treats

You can visit other ladies and read their daybooks at...

http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

Survivor

We have a couple of tv shows the whole family likes to watch together. One is "Survivor" and the other is "Amazing Race". Usually these shows are family friendly and fun to watch. We all pick our favorites and critique the ones we don't favor. All the contestants come onto these "reality" shows with their own agenda in mind and not just to play the game. Some agendas pop up at the beginning of the season and some just surface throughout the game.

Last night was the season finale of Survivor. 2 of the remaining 5 contestants, had been on the series 2 other times, each. They know "how" its played, they know what you have to do in order to "win" either an immunity challenge as an individual or team or win the whole game and walk away with the prize. Interestingly, neither have "won" the game and been awarded the title of Survivor.

Last night I really started listening to what these "adults" said to each other and how they acted. They will lie, cheat, steal, connive, backstab, etc. to get their own way and to get further in the game. This season "prayer" was discussed and shown many times ~ I'm not calling into question their faith but it was evident that not all had a mainstream, Evangelical view of faith & God. Theirs was more new age, wordly, love creation faith. Honestly & integrity were also words that were openly tossed about. But, their take on honesty was "I'll be honest and upfront with you as long as it gets me somewhere and helps my agenda but if it suits my purposes, I will change my tactics without alerting anyone if I want to." But when they were caught in their dirty dealings & lies, they were "hurt" that others thought ill of them and their excuses were "they were just playing the game".

Which really got me to thinking....How many times do we do the same things ~ ours just aren't shown on National Television in front of millions of people.

*Do we deal dishonestly with others to further ourselves along through life?
*Do we "play the God card" when its convenient or do we live for Him everyday, no matter what?
*Do we "forget" to do things intentionally or neglect to pass in information because that fits better into our own agenda?
*Do we lie about our intentions, our views, our own agenda to get our way, or do we deal openly and honestly with people?
*Do we do/say one thing and turn around & do something different to make us look better?
*How often do we defend what we've done if we get caught or try to justify the actions so the consequences are lessened?
*Do we get upset or self righteous when others don't recognize our thoughts/opinions as valid or do we weigh both sides & pray about what God thinks is right?
*Who should we care about impressing? God or man?
*At then end of the day, can we look back and be satisfied that we did our jobs/chores/etc. with integrity & honesty ~ would the Lord have the same opinion of our actions?
*Do we want everyone to know our opinions, interpretations, ways of doing things ~ or do we want to point to the One who knows all, sees all, and created all?

I am guilty of many, if not all of the above at different times. And I think everyone of us, is also. Our ways may fool our friends, relatives, acquaintances but the Lord knows the intentions of our hearts. We can't hide the truth of our sins from Him!

Proverbs 27:19 "As in water face reflects face, so a man's heart reveals the man."

Ephesians 6:12 "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

As Christians, we are in a battle. The battle began in the Garden & will end when the Lord chooses. We can daily approach our tiny corner of the battlefield with prayer, guidance, humility, love and integrity & honesty.

Wonderful Saturday

Today has been a great, family, fun day. Greg and I had our Sat. date this morning and started with breakfast at Primo's. The fun was diminished somewhat when the waiter came to the table and told me they were out of gravy for the biscuits ~ How does a breakfast place run out of gravy on a Sat. morning? The substitute hashbrowns were good, but not on the same level of good as the gravy.

We then hit some week before Christmas sales with our coupons in hand. Penneys coupon was $10 off $10 ~ we found a cutesy denim jumper for Olive at 40% off and with the coupon cost us $2! Went into Belks and got a gown using a gift card so the cost was $0. Headed to Kohls to exchange a shirt for Will $1.62. Then onto Hobby Lobby to match some yarn and get some floss $12. Bargain shopping is fun! The crowds ~ not so fun.

At home, I spent an hour or so reading in the Old Testament. I've hit some difficult books in the OT, and switched to some New Testament reading and research, so its taken me longer than I anticipated. But, I will complete the OT! Greg got the "Masterlife" bible study set, so he read the first lesson or so in that book. Masterlife will be a study we do in church this year.

We watched a little tv, worked in the yard some ~ blowing leaves out of the grass, moving the RV, and sweeping. Now the county leaf vacuum needs to come take care of the piles at the curb. I also am updating my address book and trying to eliminate the little pieces of paper with addresses written on them. Got the calendar filled out for next year of everyone's birthdays.

Dinner was warm chili and then watching "Cars 2". I got to snuggle with 2 of Hersheys puppies ~ they are squirmy little critters. I think Oreo has doubled in size and the other 3 aren't too far behind.

Tomorrow is church ~ our family has been asked to light the Advent Candle during the service. Then we will be celebrating James 28th birthday at home (how can I be old enough to have a 28 year old?). Greg has a meeting in the afternoon and then we are off to watch the kids do their choir program at a Mission Church about 30 minutes from here.

I pray everyone will have a blessed Sunday!

Should Christian Celebrate Christmas?

Here is a brief statement from John Piper at Should Christians celebrate Christmas?:

I sympathize with those who want to be rigorously and distinctly Christian, who want to be disentangled from the world and any pagan roots that might lie beneath our celebration of Christmas, but I don’t go that route on this matter because I think there comes a point where the roots are so far gone that the present meaning doesn’t carry the pagan connotation anymore. I’m more concerned about a new paganism that gets layered on top of Christian holidays.

Here’s the example I use: All language has roots somewhere. Most of our days of the week—if not all—grew out of pagan names too. So should we stop using the word “Sunday” because it may have related to the worship of the sun once upon a time? In modern English “Sunday” doesn’t carry that connotation, and that’s the very nature of language. In a sense, holidays are like chronological language.

Christmas now means that we mark, in Christian ways, the birth of Jesus Christ. I think the birth, death and resurrection of Christ are the most important events in human history. Not to mark them in some way, by way of special celebration, would be folly it seems to me.

I remember I lived next door to somebody back in seminary who didn’t celebrate birthdays for their kid. The idea was, partly, that all days were special for their kid. But if all days are special then it probably means that there are no special days. Yet some things are so good and precious—like anniversaries, birthdays, and even deaths—that they are worthy of being marked. How much more the birth and death of Jesus Christ!

It’s really worth the risk, even if the date of December 25 was chosen because of its proximity to some kind of pagan festival. Let’s just take it, sanctify it, and make the most of it, because Christ is worthy of being celebrated in his birth.

There is no point in choosing any other date. It won’t work.

I got this statement from Scott Brown's website ~ listed on my sidebar under blogs I read. He has got a series of posts on this subject that are all very good.