Taking the Me out of Christmas

[LatterDays]

Rizen1,

I think yours is an excellent post in many regards. The insights about the importance of the first-born son provides great reason to rejoice!

I do think though there are some unfair categorizations in your post. Just like people should not be labeled for celebrating Christmas, the same consideration should be shown for those who don't.

It is untrue to imply that those who do not celebrate Christmas do not acknowledge the birth of Jesus. Or that they are somehow getting "distracted by Satan" and getting "technical" to the point of "forgetting about Jesus".

Also, candles were not created for the express purpose of supporting witchcraft. Witches also wear clothes, should we stop doing that? Of course not.

The question for my family was not whether there are commonalities in basic aspects of living between those who practice pagan rituals and ourselves. The question for us was whether we could take rituals which were created specifically for the worship of false gods and reappropriate that worship to God.

We decided, "No", but that was our decision and everyone must do what is right for themselves. Neither do we condemn those who celebrate it.

Yes, God existed well before pagan rituals, which is why He is so careful to give us Scriptural guidance (such as Jeremiah 10:1-5). Some might say it is a distraction of Satan to try and sanctify a holiday that was never about the reverance of God to begin with. But what point does it serve to argue about or malign others regarding non-essentials of the faith? I would certainly say that doing such is a distraction of Satan for sure.

Parts of your post are absolutely poetic in putting forth the joy that the birth of Christ should inspire in all Christians. I just think we should be careful not to improperly represent or cause divisions that really aren't there amongst those who glory in the Lord - which I am sure you do (and I do too).

 

[rizen1]

It is untrue to imply that those who do not celebrate Christmas do not acknowledge the birth of Jesus. Or that they are somehow getting "distracted by Satan" and getting "technical" to the point of "forgetting about Jesus".

There's no where in my post did I address anyone or any group, besides the devil.
The scripture posted backs up everything that follows. Explaining why the devil would create stuff to make the season bad and cause a stir.

There's only I's, us and we's....indicating the message is a general one. To anyone that wants to listen about the devil and and the true meaning of a first born.

But there was no " those people believe this ", or they and them in my post to say I'm addressing those who don't support Christmas.

It was not meant for you to take personal or feel the need to defend yourself.

There is power in the Gospel, and you can not celebrate the resurrection without acknowledging the birth.
The birth, death and resurrection.

This is a factual statement, not an attack to any group or person. There was no words before or after that said " people who don't believe in Christmas do not acknowledge the birth "

Man Christmas gives me more reasons to celebrate his birth. The date might be off and the devil enjoys putting distractions to take our eyes off Jesus. He always want us to get technical, so technical we forget Jesus and debate stuff thinking we're doing God a favour.

I acknowledge the date may be off, so in other words what benefit is there for me to get technical or spend time trying to find out. When the truth of the matter is “ He was born” It would be a distraction. Been there done that. I've gotten into so many debates and studies about Christmas and Easter, at the end it was always about pride on both sides. Who's right or wrong. The story of his birth is in great detail in the bible. I give God credit for Christ, the devil can keep santa claus and the rest of them.

The devil failed with Heord, so he’s trying to distract us

Again '' us '', there was no pointing of fingers to any particular group. The church in general.

It was a generalized post, that’s why I ended by saying..


Christmas is what we make of it.

Not you, not they or them but..we.

Meaning at the end of the day it's what ever we choose individually. Your family my family.

The devil hates Christmas, its the time of year he has to face the fact that his plan of termination failed and the resurrection took place.

Again my post was not directed to anyone or any group. The topic is taking me out of Christmas and letting the truth reign this season. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, a celebration is required because the first born did destroy the works of the devil.
When we put aside tradition, what we've been taught , and we go to the bible we'll get the revelation of what God is saying, or what God said or required.

The people I’ve debated would say, no where in the bible does it say “Christmas “, which is true. That’s why I went into the Jewish custom of the first born. If I turn to those same people and say show me Obama as the anti-christ in the bible. They would say his name is not there but he is the anti-christ.

Sometimes we choose what we want the bible to say. That's when we become technical, we want our beliefs to be the truth that we use the bible to prove our opinions. Whether Christmas was a plan of God or not, the bible tells the story of his birth and that’s my reason for the season.
My celebration is the birth because it is found in the bible.


..........................
I really don't hear people talking about Christmas as a celebration of the first born, or the fact that the devil hates it. I can not see the devil roaming the earth happy because his evil plan of Christmas was a success. I'm sure he was all smiles when Jesus was on the cross but on the third day, he probably cried like a baby. If Christmas have pagan roots and the devil has something to do with this holiday, I'm sure he was all smiles at the beginning but when the nativity scenes are placed outside houses, churches having christmas plays, and kids singing " Away in a manger "..I know he's crying like a baby.

Again that post was not directed to anyone, therefore someone would have to be seraching for something to start division. I was very careful with my pronouns making the post neutral.

 

[LatterDays]

There's no where in my post did I address anyone or any group, besides the devil. The scripture posted backs up everything that follows. Explaining why the devil would create stuff to make the season bad and cause a stir.

What about the following:

"The date might be off and the devil enjoys putting distractions to take our eyes off Jesus. He always want us to get technical, so technical we forget Jesus and debate stuff thinking we're doing God a favour."

The above quote equates noting that Jesus was not born in December to being a technical distraction from Satan that takes "our eyes off Jesus" leaving us "thinking we're doing God a favor." To whom does this apply if not those very persons aknowledging that this is not when He was born?

The Scripture does not in fact back up those portion of your comments. There is nothing in the Scriptures about the validity of Christmas or the supposed December birth of Jesus. It should not be a point of separation among the brethren.

There are very valid reasons some have for not celebrating this day. To imply that some Christian objections to Christmas are the works of Satan's distractions is to slander those brothers and sisters.

I am not trying to argue with you. I only mention that as a fellow Christian - and a Moderator - your words could be taken in a light that I am hopeful you did not intend.

It was not meant for you to take personal or feel the need to defend yourself.

I actually don't feel the need to defend myself, but I did feel the need to correct what could be taken as misrepresentations in your comments. I didn't want people who read the post to assume that those who don't celebrate Christmas do not acknowledge Jesus' birth or are being influenced by Satan to distract other believers.

I acknowledge the date may be off, so in other words what benefit is there for me to get technical or spend time trying to find out. When the truth of the matter is “ He was born” It would be a distraction. Been there done that. I've gotten into so many debates and studies about Christmas and Easter, at the end it was always about pride on both sides. Who's right or wrong. The story of his birth is in great detail in the bible. I give God credit for Christ, the devil can keep santa claus and the rest of them.

There may be no benefit to this information for you. And it may a be a distraction for you. It also may be an issue of pride for you or for others with whom you have dialogued about this. It would be a mistake to assume this is the case for all.

I also don't think it is a matter of right or wrong. It is simply a matter of faith, in terms of how people chose to express that to the Lord.

Even for Christians who include references to Santa Claus and such, that may not be what you choose, but that is also their choice.

The devil hates Christmas, its the time of year he has to face the fact that his plan of termination failed and the resurrection took place.

I understand this is how you feel. I am also hoping you can understand the implications of your statement.

"If" the devil hates Christmas and wants to diminish it, then by default those Christians who do not celebrate it are giving in to the devil. No, you have not stated that exactly, but it is the implication, especially when you look at your earlier quote about such being a distracted by Satan.

What if I said Satan loved Christmas because he could deceive thousands of Christians into participating in idolatrous, pagan rituals rejected by God while all the time thinking they are worshipping God? The implication of my statement is that those who DO celebrate Christmas are giving into Satan. I don't have to say it specifically for it to be implied.

Do you see what I mean about how such comments can be taken and how divisive they can be?

I do not think anyone is in a position to say how God feels about Christmas (or Satan). But aside from that, we diminish the faith of others by appending God/Satan labels to certain actions where there is no Scriptural foundation for doing so.

Sometimes we choose what we want the bible to say. That's when we become technical, we want our beliefs to be the truth that we use the bible to prove our opinions. Whether Christmas was a plan of God or not, the bible tells the story of his birth and that’s my reason for the season.
My celebration is the birth because it is found in the bible.

You have every right to celebrate Jesus the way you choose. My request is that you don't judge others for choosing differently.

 

[Witness4Christ]

How about this way of celebrating Christmas..
Remember the Cross as a reminder as the Greatest Gift ever Given
A Scarlet Ribbon represent the Price paid. Let celebrate this Christmas by Sharing the Message & Reclaim the Meaning Jesus is the Gift.
Happy Birthday Jesus..