Today, I spent the afternoon at my grandaughters 18th birthday. The party was planned too late to ask the day off of work. So I went to my Father and prayed, being a day before a holiday I couldnt just take off work.  I could but I ‘d loose my holiday pay and I have missed a few days already this week.   Guess What! I actually arrived to the restaurant before everyone else. You see, I serve a Big GOD, my work was slow and the boss ok’d me the afternoon off and I still get my holiday pay.

Children are a blessing of the Lord and I was with the kids once again. I love watching my kids as parents and I have a super good time everytime I see the grandkids.  Redeem the time and spend some quality time with your family today.

Have a nice Labor Day.

Joanne

State Trooper Kelly Rhodes said Anders was “attempting to merge right and realized he didn’t have room and overcorrected,” according to a witness.

Anders, who reportedly died after suffering severe head trauma, was not speeding, driving drunk and was wearing his seatbelt.

However, the victim may have inadvertently left something valuable behind.

“Shane Anders” of Asheville, N.C., which several readers have reported is the same person killed in the accident, posted a moving poem on Facebook about going to heaven — on the day before the crash:

Eternal Life

I had a dream of a place where everything was at peace.

There was no more pain, no hurting or crying,

A place where death forever ceased.

There was no more hunger or disease

Nor, nations rising up against each other.

All pride and jealousy were swallowed up in the final battle.

The King has returned, so let us all rejoice.

We all gathered there to meet

As people assembled to pay homage at His feet.

Even the creatures on earth and in heaven came to proclaim

His eternal, sweet and precious name.

There we will reign with Him forevermore,

As we crowned Him King of kings and Lord of lords.

I am surrounded by thousands and thousands

Of angelic hosts singing His praises.

Oh, what a sweet sound which will continue throughout the ages.

I turned to see our loved ones who had gone on before us

We rejoiced with each other as we joined the endless chorus.

Our new bodies, how perfect we are designed.

Oh, the wisdom and knowledge of God

How unsearchable are His ways,

There will be joy and peace throughout the eternal days.

There in that holy place forever we will be,

The earth shall be full of His knowledge and glory

As waters that cover the sea.

When I woke up from that beautiful dream

I gave thanks to Jesus Christ my Savior, Who will forever reign supreme.

So, read to me the Word of Life page by page

God’s eternal love will never age.

I Corinthians 15: 51-55

Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep,

but we shall all be changed,

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last

trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised

incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this

mortal must put on immortality.

So, when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption,

and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be

brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed

up in victory.

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

Romans 8: 18

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not

worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Matthew Henry sums up the question of which is the great commandment,

“It was a question disputed among the critics in the law. Some would have the law of circumcision to be the great commandment, others the law of the sabbath, others the law of sacrifices, according as they severally stood affected, and spent their zeal; now they would try what Christ said to this question, hoping to incense the people against him, if he should not answer according to the vulgar opinion; and if he should magnify one commandment, they would reflect on him as defame the rest.”

Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, wrote,

“This is the first and great commandment – It is so,

1. In its antiquity, being as old as the world, and engraven originally on our very nature.

2. In dignity; as directly and immediately proceeding from and referring to God.

3. In excellence; being the commandment of the new covenant, and the very spirit of the Divine adoption.

4. In justice; because it alone renders to God his due, prefers him before all things, and secures to him his proper rank in relation to them.

5. In sufficiency; being in itself capable of making men holy in this life, and happy in the other.

6. In fruitfulness; because it is the root of all commandments, and the fulfilling of the law.

7. In virtue and efficacy; because by this alone God reigns in the heart of man, and man is united to God.

8. In extent; leaving nothing to the creature, which it does not refer to the Creator.

9. In necessity; being absolutely indispensable.

10. In duration; being ever to be continued on earth, and never to be discontinued in heaven.”

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God” is explained to mean “Act in such a manner that God will be beloved by all His creatures.” Consequently Israel, being, as the priest-people, enjoined like the Aaronite priest to sanctify the name of God and avoid whatever tends to desecrate it (Lev. xxii. 32), is not only obliged to give his life as witness or martyr for the maintenance of the true faith (see Isa. xliii. 12, ????????; and Pesik. 102b; Sifra, Emor, ix.), but so to conduct himself in every way as to prevent the name of God from being dishonored by non-Israelites.

Twice every day the Jew recites the Shema, which contains the words: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deut. vi. 5). This verse is understood to enjoin him to willingly surrender life and fortune whenever the cause of God demands it, while it at the same time urges him to make God beloved by all his creatures through deeds of kindness, as Abraham did.

Although only asked about the first commandment, Jesus included the second commandment in his answer – This double reference has given rise to differing views with regard to the relationship that exists between the two commandments, although typically “love thy God” is referred to as “the first and greatest commandment”, with “love thy neighbour” being referred to as “the second great commandment”.

Leviticus 19:18 represents but one of several versions of the Golden Rule. It is seemingly the oldest written version in a positive form.

Hillel the Elder, an elder contemporary of Jesus, formulated a negative form of the Golden Rule and when asked to sum up the entire Torah concisely to a gentile who wished to become a Jew, he answered, “What is hateful to thee, do not unto thy fellow man: this is the whole Law; the rest is mere commentary.”

With these words Hillel recognized as the fundamental principle of the Jewish moral law the biblical precept of brotherly love (Lev. xix. 18). Almost the same thing was taught by Paul, a [former] pupil of Gamaliel, the grandson of Hillel (Gal. v. 14; comp. Rom. xiii. 8); and more broadly by Jesus when he declared the love of one’s neighbour to be the second commandment beside the love of God, the first (Matt. xxii. 39; Mark xii. 31; Luke x. 27).[10] Akiva ben Joseph, a tanna of first and second century Judaism, called “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” the “greatest principle of Judaism”.

C.S. Lewis also offers a substantial commentary on loving your neighbor. In his works, “Mere Christianity” He says “This is what is meant in the Bible by loving him: wishing his good, not feeling fond of him nor saying he is nice when he is not.”

In the New Testament the second commandment is referenced by and to Jesus in Matthew 7:12, 19:19, 22:34-40, Mark 12:28-34, Luke 10:25-28, and by the apostle Paul in Romans 13:8-10 and Galatians 5:13-15:

“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.”

—Galatians 5:13-15

The Didache, an Early Christian treatise, begins with a “way of life” that quotes the Shema (“love God”), the second commandment (“love thy neighbour”), and the Golden Rule.

The Good Samaritan[edit source]

Main article: Parable of the Good Samaritan

The Gospel of Luke connects a story (Luke 10:25-28) similar to the Great Commandment stories of Mark and Matthew with a unique account of a good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37) told to illustrate who a person’s “neighbour” was. The story involves a stranger befriending and aiding a beaten man who had been overlooked or ignored by others passing by. After relating the story, Jesus instructed the questioner to “Go, and do thou likewise.”

Brotherly love[edit source]

Main article: Brotherly love (philosophy)

Brotherly love in the biblical sense is an extension of the natural affection associated with near kin, toward the greater community of fellow believers, that goes beyond the mere duty in Leviticus 19:18 to “love thy neighbour as thyself”, and shows itself as “unfeigned love” from a “pure heart”, that extends an unconditional hand of friendship that loves when not loved back, that gives without getting, and that ever looks for what is best in others.

Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” (John 14:6)

Good works cannot save you.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

(Ephesians 2:8-9)

Trust Jesus Christ today! Here’s what you must do:

Admit you are a sinner.

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

(Romans 3:23)

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”

(Romans 5:12)

“If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

(1 John 1:10)

Be willing to turn from sin (repent).

Jesus said: “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:5)

“And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:”

(Acts 17:30)

Believe that Jesus Christ died for you, was buried, and rose from the dead.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

(John 3:16)

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners. Christ died for us.”

(Romans 5:8)

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

(Romans 10:9)

Through prayer, invite Jesus into your life to become your personal Saviour.

“For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

(Romans 10:10)

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

(Romans 10:13)

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”

(John 1:12)

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

(2 Corinthians 5:17)

If you have received Jesus Christ as your Saviour, as a Christian you should:

Read your Bible every day to get to know Christ better.

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

(2 Timothy 2:15)

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

(Psalms 119:105)

Talk to God in prayer every day.

“And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”

(Matthew 21:22)

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

(Philippians 4:6)

Be baptized, worship, fellowship, and serve with other Christians in a church where Christ is preached and the Bible is the final authority.

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”

(Matthew 28:19)

“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”

(Hebrews 10:25)

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”

(2 Timothy 3:16)

Tell others about Christ.

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”

(Mark 16:15)

“For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!”

(1 Corinthians 9:16)

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

(Romans 1:16)

The Bible instructs us to forgive as the Lord forgave us:

Colossians 3:13

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. NIV

It is not uncommon for Christians to have questions about forgiving. Forgiveness is not very easy for most of us. Our natural desire think self-protection when we’ve been injured. We don’t always act upon mercy, grace and forgiveness when we’ve been wronged.

Is forgiveness a  choice, a physical act involving the will, or a feeling, an emotion? The Bible offers insight and answers to these and many more questions about forgiveness. We’ll take a look at the some asked questions and find out what the Bible says about forgiveness.

What is forgiveness?

Usually, forgiveness is a decision to let go of resentment and thoughts of revenge. The decision to not what to get even with the one who hurt or offended you . Forgiveness can lessen the  grip on you and help you focus on other, positive areas of your life. Forgiveness can even lead to feelings of understanding, empathy and compassion for the one who hurt you.

Keep in mind, that forgiveness doesn’t mean you deny the other person’s responsibility for hurting you, and it doesn’t minimize or justify the wrong. You can forgive the person without excusing the act. Forgiveness brings a kind of peace that helps you go on with life. Believe me its worth it!

What are your benefits of forgiving someone?

Healthier relationships,  Greater spiritual well being, Less anxiety, stress and hostility,

Lower blood pressure and Fewer symptoms of depression.

Philippians 1:6

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. NLT

How will we know if we have truly forgiven?

Lewis B. Smedes wrote in his book, Forgive and Forget, “When you release the wrongdoer from the wrong, you cut a malignant tumor out of your inner life. You set a prisoner free, but you discover that the real prisoner was yourself.”

Let me mention we will know the work of forgiveness is complete when we experience the freedom that comes as a result. We are the ones who suffer most when we choose not to forgive. When we do forgive, the Lord sets our hearts free from the anger, bitterness,  resentment and hurt that previously imprisoned us.

However, forgiveness is a slow process.

I  alway find prayer is one of the best ways to break down any unforgiveness in my heart. When I  pray for the person who has wronged me, God gives me new eyes to see and care for that person. As I pray, I start to see that person as God sees them, and I realize that he or she is just as precious to the Lord as I am.  I also see myself  just as guilty of sin and failure as the other person. I too am in need of forgiveness. If God did not withhold his forgiveness from me, why should I withhold my forgiveness from another?

What must I do  to be saved we must:

1.) Hear the “good news” (i.e. the gospel) of Jesus Christ(Romans 10:14)

2.) Believe(Hebrews 11:6; Acts 8:37; Mark 16:16; John 8:24)

3.) Repent of our   sins (Luke 13:3,5; Acts 2:38; Acts 17:30; Mark 10:15)

4.) Confess faith in Jesus Christ(Acts 8:36-37; Romans 10:9) {Footnote}

5.) Be baptized (in water) for the forgiveness of sins(Acts 2:37-41; 1Peter 3:21; John 3:3-5; Acts 22:16; Romans 6:3-8; Colossians 2:12; Galatians 3:26-27; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 8:34-39; Titus 3:5; Ephesians 4:5)

6.) Remain faithful for the rest of our lives and carry our cross daily(Revelation 2:10; Matthew 24:13; Luke 9:23) (What about, “Once saved always saved”?)

Note:    This process of “remaining faithful” consists of striving to develop and let Christ within you. The Holy Spirit will be your guide.

> Disciple means  student, and the disciples were people who chose to follow Jesus and to learn from his teaching. They called him Rabbi, or Teacher. The twelve disciples were followers of Jesus whom he had chosen to become his  group, the people he talked things over with and depended on.  Simon and his brother Andrew were the first disciples Jesus chose. Next Jesus called James and John, then Philip, Nathaniel (also called Bartholomew), Matthew, Thomas, and James, son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas, son of James, and Judas Iscariot.  According to the Gospel of John, Andrew and one other of the disciples had first been disciples of John the Baptist.  The disciples were more interested in telling Jesus’ story than in telling their own, but we do know a few things about some of them.  Jesus nicknamed Simon Peter, and the nickname stuck.  Peter, Andrew, James and John were commercial fishermen. They (or their families) owned boats. James and John were the sons of Zebedee, and  John may be the person who wrote the Fourth Gospel, the Gospel of John. Andrew and Philip have Greek names and spoke Greek to the travelers who came from Greece to hear Jesus preach. It is unsure if they had Greek relatives or Greek or Roman educations.  Matthew had been a tax collector, which at the time was a disrespected way of earning a living. Everyone believed tax collecter were totally dishonest. Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot may have been political activists, belonging to some of the many groups that wanted to overthrow the Roman government. The Jews at that time wanted very much to have a Jewish king and Jewish courts that understood their beliefs and the way they observed the religious laws.   We only know Thomas’s nickname: both Thomas in Aramaic and Didymus in Greek mean twin.  What we know for sure about all the disciples is that they all left their livelihoods and commitments to follow Jesus as he traveled around the world, preaching, teaching, and healing.

Read Matthew 9: 35 – 10: 8 ; Mark 3: 13 – 19; Luke 6: 12 – 18 ; John 1: 35 – 42

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Eagles

When the babies are born, both parents assume responsibility for their care. They are gentle parents, sitting on the eggs
for one month. The parents bring food up to the nest and
feed them small pieces of meat. Within 45 days, they
can weigh nearly 40 times their birth weight.

At three months they get special feathers for flying and a
new learning experience begins. The Mother eagle flies into the
nest and begins to thrash around causing a great commotion.

Eventually, one of the babies will fall out of the nest and
will begin heading for the earth below. Never having used
his wings before, he’s not really sure what to do, but
does do a lot of flapping while heading straight down.

But just before the baby eagle hit’s the ground, the Mother
eagle flies underneath in order to catch the baby on her
powerful wings, as she flies him safely back to the nest. This continues on day after day until all the babies learn how to fly

There are two verses in Scripture that actually mention this routine
of the eagle. In

Deuteronomy 32:11, Moses reminds the children of
Israel how God cared for them and guarded them just like an eagle
that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings
to catch them and carries them on its pinions. Again in Exodus 19:4,
God says that “He will carry the children of Israel on eagles’ wings”.

We can get very comfortable in our nest. Perhaps that can be our
way of doing things, our way of thinking, our opinions, our way of
living life. Then when God comes and stirs up our nest, we get
upset. We don’t always identify this as a growing experience.

Sometimes if we’re really honest, we really don’t want to grow.
We get so very complacent and satisfied with where we are,
that any interruptions are viewed as negative. But God wants
us to fly, to become all that he intends for us to become.
He never stirs up our nest without good reason.

Did you know the eagle can see a rabbit two miles away?
It can soar up to two miles above the ground and can fly
at speeds up to 100 miles an hour. They have a separate
eyelid which slides across the eye sideways in order
to keep the eye clean and free from dust as they fly.

  Their bones are hollow and therefore light of frame.
Their frame has cross ribs, like steal bars in sky scrapers.
The eagle has 7000 feathers. The back feathers are as
long as the head feathers. Their beak is black until
they turn 3 years of age, and then it turns golden.

When eagles are about 30 years old, they go through a
renewal process. They find a secret place high in the
mountains and begin to claw at their face and tear out
the feathers that have been damaged over the years.
As a result, it bleeds badly. But this is necessary for the
eagle in order to renew its strength. If it did not do this,
it would not be able to live to its normal 60 years of age.

Psalms 103:5 says, “who satisfies your desires with good
things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” A
time of renewal is necessary for every child of God. A time
when we get rid of what is weighing us down, holding us back,
aging us spiritually. A time to give up the sinful habits, to give
in to the Holy Spirit in whichever way He is convicting us.

We need to do this, even to the point of renewal with
pain. Some things we hold on to so tightly, that to let
go actually causes us pain. But in order to have the long,
powerful, useful, spiritual life that God plans for us, we
need to do that. It will renew our spiritual youthfulness.

When the eagles are free to soar in God’s creation, they are
the cleanest of birds. They were created to be free and to soar
to great heights. They were not meant to remain close to the
earth in the lowlands. They were created to soar. When they
are held in captivity, they become one of the dirtiest of birds.

God has created us to remain pure and holy and conformed to
His Image. Don’t allow the freedom we are to experience in
Him to be compromised by spending too much time in worldly
thinking, activities and mindsets. We need to remain clean.

Eagles do not fly like other birds, they don’t flap their
wings, they soar! Flapping their wings would use incredible
amounts of their own strength and endurance, and they would
require so much more food as fuel if they did not soar

God makes His Word so clear to us. So here is on Chapter I will share today!

Romans 8:1 There is  therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not  after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Romans 8:14 For as many as  are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Romans 8:15-17 For ye have  not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the  Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth  witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:  And if children,  then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer  with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Romans 8:18 For I reckon  that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the  glory which shall be revealed in us.

Romans 8:28 And we know  that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are  the called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:31 What shall we  then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

Romans 8:33  Who shall  lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.

Romans 8:35 Who shall  separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or  persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Romans 8:37 Nay, in all  these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Romans 8:38-39 For I am  persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor  powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any  other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in  Christ Jesus our Lord.

The ROMANS ROAD….is a pathway you can walk.
It is a group of Bible verses from the book of Romans in the New Testament. If you walk down this road you will end up understanding how to be saved.
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
We all have sin in our hearts. We all were born with sin.
We were born under the power of sin’s control.
– Admit that you are a sinner.
Romans 6:23a “…The wages of sin is death…”
Sin has an ending. It results in death. We all face physical death, which is a result of sin. But a worse death is spiritual death that alienates us from God, and will last for all eternity. The Bible teaches that there is a place called the Lake of Fire where lost people will be in torment forever. It is the place where people who are spiritually dead will remain.
– Understand that you deserve death for your sin.
Romans 6:23b “…But the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Salvation is a free gift from God to you! You can’t
earn this gift, but you must reach out and receive it.
– Ask God to forgive you and save you.
Romans 5:8, “God demonstrates His own love for us, in
that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us!”
When Jesus died on the cross He paid sin’s penalty. He paid the price for all sin, and when He took all the sins of the world on Himself on the cross, He bought us out of slavery to sin and death! The only condition is that we believe in Him and what He has done for us, understanding that we are now joined with Him, and that He is our life. He did all this because He loved us and gave Himself for us!
– Give your life to God… His love poured out in Jesus on the cross is your only hope to have forgiveness and change. His love bought you out of being a slave to sin. His love is what saves you — not religion, or church membership. God loves you!
Romans 10:13 “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved!”
– Call out to God in the name of Jesus!
Romans 10:9,10 “…If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
– If you know that God is knocking on your heart’s door,
ask Him to come into your heart.
Jesus said,
Revelation 3:20a “Behold I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him…”
– Is Jesus knocking on your heart’s door?
Believe in Him.
Ask Him to come in to your heart by faith,
and ask Him to reveal Himself to you.
Open the Bible to the Gospel of John and read what God says about Jesus,
about you, and about being born again.
God will help you. He loves you.
You need to look for a local church where
God’s word is preached. The Bible says that we are to desire
God’s word like a newborn baby desires mother’s milk.
Aren’t you hungry to know the truth?
Water baptism is one of the ways you first show that
you have been joined to Jesus. This is an action, and actions will not save you. However, it is an act of obedience and a symbol of commitment.
The symbolism is this:
When you go down in the water you show that
You have been crucified and buried with Him,
And when you come up out of the water you show that
you have been raised to walk with Him in newness of life.
(See Romans chapter 6)
You have been born again.
(See John chapter 3)
Your body has become God’s temple.
Your heart is where He lives.
Forgiveness is yours in Jesus.
And you belong to Him.
You were sin’s slave.
But now…
You are a child of GOD!
John 1:12
“As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name!”

The Origin Of Christmas

——————————————————————————–

Christmas is a holiday shared and celebrated by many religions.
It is a day that has an effect on the entire world.

To many people, it is a favorite time of the year involving gift giving, parties and feasting. Christmas is a holiday that unifies almost all of professing Christendom.

The spirit of Christmas causes people to decorate their homes and churches, cut down trees and bring them into their homes, decking them with silver and gold.

In the light of that tree, families make merry and give gifts one to another.

When the sun goes down on December 24th, and darkness covers the land, families and churches prepare for participation in customs such as burning the yule log, singing around the decorated tree, kissing under the mistletoe and holly, and attending a late night service or midnight mass.

What is the meaning of Christmas? Where did the customs and traditions originate?

You, as a Christian, would want to worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth, discerning good from evil.

The truth is that all of the customs of Christmas pre-date the birth of Jesus Christ, and a study of this would reveal that
Christmas in our day is a collection of traditions and practices taken from many cultures and nations.

The date of December 25th comes from Rome and was a celebration of the Italic god, Saturn, and the rebirth of the sun god.

This was done long before the birth of Jesus.

It was noted by the pre-Christian Romans and other pagans, that daylight began to increase after December 22nd, when they assumed that the sun god died.

These ancients believed that the sun god rose from the dead three days later as the new-born and venerable sun.

Thus, they figured that to be the reason for increasing daylight.

This was a cause for much wild excitement and celebration. Gift giving and merriment filled the temples of ancient Rome, as sacred priests of Saturn, called dendrophori, carried wreaths of evergreen boughs in procession.

In Germany, the evergreen tree was used in worship and celebration of the yule god, also in observance of the resurrected sun god.

The evergreen tree was a symbol of the essence of life and was regarded as a phallic symbol in fertility worship.

Witches and other pagans regarded the red holly as a symbol of the menstrual blood of the queen of heaven, also known as Diana.

The holly wood was used by witches to make wands.

The white berries of mistletoe were believed by pagans to represent droplets of the semen of the sun god.

Both holly and mistletoe were hung in doorways of temples and homes to invoke powers of fertility in those who stood beneath and kissed, causing the spirits of the god and goddess to enter them.

These customs transcended the borders of Rome and Germany to the far reaches of the known world.

The question now arises: How did all of these customs find their way into contemporary Christianity, ranging from Catholicism to Protestantism to fundamentalist churches?

The word “Christmas”itself reveals who married paganism to Christianity.

The word “Christmas” is a combination of the words “Christ” and “Mass.

The word “Mass” means death and was coined originally by the Roman Catholic Church, and belongs exclusively to the church of Rome.

The ritual of the Mass involves the death of Christ, and the distribution of the “Host”, a word taken from the Latin word “hostiall” meaning victim!

In short, Christmas is strictly a Roman Catholic word.

A simple study of the tactics of the Romish Church reveals that in every case, the church absorbed the customs, traditions and general paganism of every tribe, culture and nation in their efforts to increase the number of people under their control.

In short, the Romish church told all of these pagan cultures, “Bring your gods, goddesses, rituals and rites, and we will assign Christian sounding titles and names to them.

When Martin Luther started the reformation on October 31st, 1517, and other reformers followed his lead, all of them took with them the paganism that was so firmly imbedded in Rome.

These reformers left Christmas intact.

In England, as the authorized Bible became available to the common people by the decree of King James the II in 1611, people began to discover the pagan roots of Christmas, which are clearly revealed in Scripture.

The Puritans in England, and later in Massachusetts Colony, outlawed this holiday as witchcraft.

Near the end of the nineteenth century, when other Bible versions began to appear, there was a revival of the celebration of Christmas.

We are now seeing ever-increasing celebrating of Christmas or Yule, its true name, as we draw closer to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ!

In both witchcraft circles and contemporary Christian churches, the same things are going on.

As the Bible clearly states in Jeremiah 10:2-4, “Thus saith the Lord, learn not the way of the heathen; and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven. For the heathen are dismayed at them. 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.”

So, what is wrong with Christmas?

1. To say that Jesus was born on December 25th is a lie! The true date is sometime in September according to the Scriptures.

2. Trees, wreaths, holly, mistletoe and the like are strictly forbidden as pagan and heathen! To say that these are Christian or that they can be made Christian is a lie!

3. The Lord never spoke of commemorating his birth but rather commanded us to remember the sacrifice of His suffering and death, which purchased our salvation.

Think about it! Can we worship and honor God by involving ourselves with customs and traditions, which God Himself forbade as idolatry? Can we convince God to somehow “Christianize” these customs and the whole pretense and lie of Christmas, so we can enjoy ourselves? Can we obey through disobedience?

So what is right about Christmas? 1. Nothing!
For more information and documentation contact:

Last Trumpet Ministries International
PO Box 806
Beaver Dam, WI 53916