Friday, December 23, 2022

In Remembrance of Yeshua (Jesus) the Christ

 


Did you know that December 25th is not the actual arrival date of Yeshua (Jesus) Christ? 

Did you know that Christmas was a celebration of Christ that was established by the Roman Catholic Church when they initiated a Mass during the same season that people were already engaged in various winter solstice celebrations? 

That's how the term Christ Mass was established. It was all part of an effort to convert people to Christianity. However they failed to steer the people away from the sun god rituals in spite of the new church-initiated Mass to celebrate the Son of God.

We share this with you because many skeptics use this well established historical fact to attack the validity of Christian beliefs because of Christians who are ignorant of Church history. They feel that this discrepancy, concerning the birth of Christ, gives them leverage to deny the Bible and the Son of God.
We're just providing a little more understanding as to why there is so much confusion and controversy surrounding December 25th. There is a vast difference between Christmas and the winter sun god rituals that permeate our society.

Many Believers already know that the Bible never says that Christ came in December. The point is that it doesn't matter that His coming wasn't on December 25th. We assert that this church-initiated celebration was never an attempt to celebrate December 25th as Christ's date of birth. It was intended to celebrate the REALITY and PURPOSE for Him coming into our world. 

Since millions of people have come into the Faith as Protestants, they have never been aware of the history behind December 25th. Most of the evolution and perversion of the original purpose for Christmas is very negative and even involves an annual persecution of Jewish people on that day. For most Jewish people, December 25th is directly connected with a negative history of persecution, and it is a 24-hour celebration declaring that there is another way to come to Jehovah God; so they want no part of it.

Over the years, the Christmas (Christ Mass) celebration has embraced many non-Biblical traditions and those traditions have become disconnected from historical facts and understanding. Of course the history is far more complicated than this, but we really don't have space to cover every detail in a simple newsletter. Hopefully, this will get you started in pursuing answers in your own personal study.

As a side note, many Biblical historians believe that Christ actually arrived at a much more significant God-ordained time (perhaps the Feast of Tabernacle). 

Over the past few weeks, we have been offering very important points for you to consider for making Godly responses to the pagan origins of December 25th.

Here are the four points we asked you to consider for responding to people who are caught in the midst of this controversy:
1.) Become all things to all men - 1 Corinthians 9:18-23
2.) Don’t cause your brother to stumble - 1 Corinthians 8:4-13
3.) Use the opportunity (holiday) to bless your enemies - Matthew 5:43-45; and
4.) Continue in the early church lifestyle of giving to others/ helping the poor - Acts 2: 40-47

This week we are offering the fifth response:
5.) Consider a foundational Christian celebration: Partaking of the Lord's Table in Remembrance of Christ (Luke 22:14-20).

Yeshua (Jesus) instructed His followers to partake of the communion table in remembrance of Him. The winter holiday season is simply another OPPORTUNITY to RETURN the emphasis back to Christ by gathering to do what HE instructed us to do. That's what we choose to do every year within our Fruitful Life Learning Community.

Millions of Believers will gather in sanctuaries or in their homes to partake of Holy Communion and truly reflect upon the reason Christ came into the world.

These special gatherings remind us that the Son of God is not to be merely thought of as a baby lying in a manger, but as our Savior who was brutally beaten and nailed alive to a wooden cross. We should remember that He rose again from the dead to usher all of us into the Family and Kingdom of God.

As we stated last week, we are simply trying to communicate that in spite of the historical facts, controversies and conflicts that surround December 25th, CHRIST must truly become YOUR reason for this season and all year round.

The world will continue to celebrate the sun god (in all of its many names and forms) as part of their annual winter celebrations. WE must celebrate the Son of God and give a Godly RESPONSE to our non-believing family and friends, and to our Christian brothers and sisters who may not have this insight.

We're Building People.

Friday, December 16, 2022

Giving Is Already Our Lifestyle



Over the past few weeks we have been offering very important points for us to consider for making a Godly response to the pagan origins of December 25th. As Faith Leaders and Community Life Coaches, we have decided to provide practical answers and solutions for you and your family.

Here are three points we asked you to consider for responding to people who are caught in the midst of the December 25th controversy:

1.) Become all things to all men - 1 Corinthians 9:18-23

2.) Don’t cause your brother to stumble - 1 Corinthians 8:4-13, and

3.) Use the opportunity (holiday) to bless your enemies - Matthew 5:43-45


This week we are offering the fourth of five responses:

Response #4: Continue steadfast in the first-century church lifestyle of generosity - Acts 2: 40-47

In the early church, they developed a lifestyle of sharing with others and making intentional efforts to help those in need. This was not a practice that came out of pagan rituals or December 25th. The church did this as part of the overflow of the life of Christ within them.

Never think of gift-giving and helping the needy as only a December 25th thing. It's simply a Godly response. This date just happens to be a great time to do what should come naturally for Believers all year.

Today, we are urgently trying to communicate that in spite of the negative history, controversies and conflicts that surround December 25th, Christ must truly become YOUR reason for this season and all year round.

The world will continue to celebrate the sun god (in all its many names and forms) as part of their annual winter celebrations. WE must celebrate the Son of God and give a Godly RESPONSE to our non-believing family and friends, and to our Christian brothers and sisters who may not have this insight.

Many religious leaders are preaching strongly about the negative issues that surround December 25th. However, we believe that it is one thing to expose all the problems with this date, but it is another thing to actually offer a way for people to RESPOND in this season and bring Glory to God the Father.

Yes, we must speak the truth about December 25th, but what does it matter if we cannot present TRUTH in LOVE and take advantage of the opportunity to lead people to a genuine relationship with Father God through Christ?

Giving gifts and helping the needy is more than a December 25th thing; it's a Godly thing. God gave us the gift of His son. For God so loved the world that He gave..... 

We're Building People.

Friday, December 9, 2022

The Gift of Forgiveness

 


In the midst of global political and economic upheaval, people are struggling, trying to find a way to still celebrate the holiday season. The entire year has been challenging and even as it wraps up, it still shows no sign of letting up on the relentless assault on our lives.

For centuries, people of various faiths and religious beliefs have furiously battled over the appropriate way to deal with the holiday season. Even within Christianity there are debates about the way December 25th should be celebrated, or if it should be celebrated at all.

A couple weeks ago we started discussing the controversies surrounding various December 25th celebrations and traditions; and how we, as Believers, must stop merely REACTING to the negative origins of this date and begin making a wise RESPONSE to this season.

We are offering at least Five Godly Responses to December 25th.

So far we have presented two responses:
#1: Become All Things to All Men from 1 Corinthians 9:18-23 (NKJV)
#2: Don’t cause your brother to stumble from 1 Corinthians 8:9-13 (NKJV)


This week we’re offering response #3 - Use the opportunity (holiday) to love, bless, do good and pray for your enemies, cursers, haters and persecutors. 

Many people are giving in to the pressure to buy gifts and they’re going to run up huge credit card bills to do it. Recently, we saw a celebrity on a talk show and he said the only thing he asked his family and friends to give him was a gift that doesn’t cost any money. So he simply asked for a letter, a poem, a song, a phone call, etc. It is truly amazing how one of the richest people in America has a request for the most important things in life. Meanwhile, many of the poorest people in America will try to spend money.

We plan to enjoy the holiday by spending time with family. We are focusing on our relationships; even the relationships that are not doing so well. We encourage you to do the same.

In Matthew 5:43-45 (NKJV), Jesus said: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."

This may seem radical, but we believe that we can use this holiday season as an opportunity to bless those who are our enemies. Jesus actually tells us to bless those who curse us.

What a marvelous time to do something so completely unexpected that it truly personifies what it means to be a child of our Father in heaven. Just like HE provides sunshine and rain (and rain was a wonderful thing for their agriculturally-based society) to evil and good people, we can express His goodness and mercy in a tangible way as well.

For many of us, we don’t have to think too hard to come up with a name or two of people whom we could bless in this way. Many people will be scrambling through shopping malls trying to find the perfect gift for someone who is very special to them. But what if we include in our lists, a couple of people who don’t like us very much?

In these harsh economic times, millions of people don’t have very much money for purchasing gifts and December 25th has become more of a burden of obligation than a time of celebration. However, we encourage you to consider those who spitefully used you or even persecuted you. It might be something as simple as sending a Christmas card or extending an invitation to dinner.

One year the Holy Spirit showed me that I had buried unforgiveness regarding a childhood bully. Just mentioning his name brought up old feelings of anger and resentment. So the Lord impressed upon me to start the cleansing process by sending a Christmas card with a letter. It was to be the first step in blessing someone who persecuted me long ago.

What names and faces come into your thoughts as you consider this Godly response? Don’t hesitate. Take advantage of this holiday season to respond like a child of God. Give the gift of forgiveness.

We're Building People!

Friday, December 2, 2022

A Matter of Conscience

In the midst of global political and economic upheaval, people are struggling, trying to find a way to still celebrate the holiday season. The entire year has been challenging and even as it wraps up, it still shows no sign of letting up on the relentless assault on our lives.

In years past, people of various faiths and religious beliefs have furiously battled over the appropriate way to deal with the holiday season. Even within Christianity there are debates about the way December 25th should be celebrated, or if it should be celebrated at all.


Last week we began discussing some of the controversies surrounding December 25th and how we, as Believers, can stop merely REACTING to the negative origins of this date and begin making wise RESPONSES to this season.

We are offering at least Five Godly Responses to December 25th.

Last week we presented response #1: Become All Things to All Men, according to 1 Corinthians 9:18-23.

This week we offer response #2: Don’t cause your brother to stumble - 1 Corinthians 8:4-13 (NKJV)

In his first letter to the church in Corinth, Paul was dealing with a matter that was very similar to the controversial December 25th issues. Some Believers were participating in the practice of eating food that was offered to idols. They didn’t feel restricted because they knew that the idols were not real gods and they also knew that what goes into a person is not what defiles them.

It’s the same for Christian Believers today who participate in modern December 25th rituals that have proven historical foundation in idol worship (The sun god and a season known as Saturnalia). They feel, just as those early Believers to whom Paul had written, that they are free in Christ Jesus. Therefore, they have no problem with celebrating December 25th with some of the pagan mixtures. 


Many educated Believers know that Christmas was started as something that was seperate from Saturnalia and sun god celebrations, but a lot of those pagan rituals became mixed in with the celebration of Christ; even confusing December 25th as Christ's date of birth, when it was actually a celebration of His coming to save mankind, not a commemoration of the day He was born.

However, Paul admonished those early Believers to not allow their freedom to cause another brother to stumble. He explained that due to his brother's conscience, he did not have internal permission to participate in that practice of eating food offered to idols.

If another Believer is struggling with our practices, it may wound their conscience. Paul actually says that we sin against our brother and Christ. The sin is not the practice itself, but it is in how the participation affects our brothers.

Let’s read the letter: “Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.

However, there is not in everyone that knowledge; for some, with consciousness of the idol, until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. But food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse.

But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols? And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.”


We realize that even though there are many things that are okay for Chris and Carol to do, as Spiritual life coaches and leaders in this community, they are not always expedient. Some things are not wise for us to do. Some things are not beneficial for us to do. There are many things that we were at liberty to say and do in Missouri that have proven to be offensive in Pennsylvania. So we don't do them for the sake of our brothers and sisters in this region and culture.

Why abstain? Well, because we have an extremely important mission and purpose. Some of our freedoms could go beyond merely offending another brother, and could actually cause them to stumble. Paul says that some of our freedoms could actually wound another brother’s conscience. Our freedoms can cause others, who are outside of the Faith, to continue in their ungodly practices. So, we have learned that some things are just not worth it. Why risk losing potential brothers and sisters or wounding current brothers and sisters?

What are we saying to you today? We're saying, please be very careful of what you practice in this controversial season. Allow the Holy Spirit to give you the 'yea and nay' about what you do. Don't question Him. Just obey Him.

We cannot, do not, must not, and will not dictate what goes on in your home. We’re not the December 25th police! God knows who is in your family and He knows the people who are part of your life. You might be connected to people with whom your response is based upon what we mentioned last week ….I have become, to those who are without law, as without law.

Most of today’s December 25th practices don’t cause people any internal conflict because they have no knowledge of the history. But if you are closely connected with Believing family members who have issues with these things, be very wise and sensitive to where they are in their conscience. They would require the response from last week's scripture .…I become to those who are under the law, as under the law.

Remember, a person’s beliefs are often deeply rooted in teachings, upbringing, personal interpretation, history and life-long understandings. It really is a matter of their conscience. Don’t force someone to violate their own conscience. It’s not simply a matter of whether THEY are right or wrong about December 25th. Don’t let your freedom cause your brother to stumble.

We're Building People.