New Year's Day - is it of God?

The post below is reprinted in its entirety with permission from its author, Ken Murray -
https://www.facebook.com/notes/ken-murray/new-years-day-is-it-of-god/10205845683765624

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January 1, 2015 at 7:37am

Here is my latest email Newsletter to Central Asia and many people in other areas of the World...

Hello fellow brethren in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and elsewhere around the World,

The “Silly Season” of this World, following ancient pagan customs is now past, for the moment, until of course “Valentines Day” takes hold of people’s attention in February.

It is a relief for us Christians who love God and God’s true Holy Days, that He has commanded us to keep, that this current hedonistic pagan season is over.

We will be looking forward to the true start of the new year, when God says it begins in the Northern Hemisphere’s Springtime and not as Satan likes it, in the Northern Hemisphere’s dead middle of winter.

Meantime, we have this very enjoyable Sabbath day to relax and be spiritually refreshed.

So let me ask you a question: New Year’s Eve – is it of God?
In my last newsletter to you, I wrote about the pagan Saturnalia festival historical connections to Christmas and how it was syncretised by the Roman Catholic church into their philosophy of christianity.
What about New Year’s Eve?
Is it of God?
Would Jesus Christ keep New Year’s Eve?

Christmas to New Year – 8 day Counterfeit of God’s Holy Days
Very few people are aware of how the eight days of Christmas to New Year’s Day are also a counterfeit by Satan of God’s “appointed” Holy Days of the 7 days of the Feast of Tabernacles and the 8th Day or Last Great Day.  Read on to find out more.

How did the celebration of New Year's Eve begin?
Why is the beginning of a year placed in the dead middle of winter?
Where did the many customs surrounding it originate?
Is New Year’s Eve celebration, something that a true Christian should be observing?
Is the 1st January the true beginning of a new year or has God commanded a different time of the year?
Is it God who has the authority to determine when a new year truly begins or mankind?

New Year’s Eve festival is an ancient Pagan Custom
New Year's is one of the oldest and most universal of all pagan traditions.
The custom of celebrating it has remained essentially unchanged for 4,000 years.
"Mesopotamia," writes Earl W. Count, "is the very ancient Mother of Civilization. Christmas began there, over four thousand years ago, as the festival which renewed the world for another year. The 'twelve days' of Christmas; the bright fires and probably the Yule log; the giving of presents; the carnivals with their floats, their merrymakings and clownings, the mummers who sing and play from house to house; the feastings; the church processions with their lights and song -- all these and more began there centuries before Christ was born. And they celebrated the arrival of a new year." ("4000 Years of Christmas", Earl W. Count, pages 20-21.)
That is how it began. The celebration of New Year's began in ancient Babylonia in Mesopotamia. It was a pagan custom of ancient sun-worship 2000 years before the birth of Jesus.

The celebration of New Year's festival is never once commanded in the Bible
Jesus and the apostles never observed New Year’s Eve. Moses was inspired and commanded by God to forbid such customs of the heathen:

Deuteronomy 12:30-31
"Take heed to yourself that you be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before you; and that you inquire not after their gods, saying 'How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.' You shall not do so unto the Eternal your God: for every abomination to the Eternal, which He hates, have they done to their gods ...." (Deuteronomy 12:30-31)

So, does it really matter?
Is it alright to compromise with God?
After I wrote about the falsity of Christmas, an old past College friend of mine, responded and wrote to me:

“God loves pagan festivals! His love excludes no one, nor their festivals.”
But is that true that God loves paganism?
Along with what Moses would say to him, as we have just read in Deuteronomy 12:30-31, here is what Ezekiel would say to this man:
Ezekiel 11:12: "And you shall know that I am the Lord: for you have not walked in my statutes, neither executed my judgments, but have done after the manners of the heathen that are round about you."

Here is what Jeremiah would reply to this man:
Jeremiah 10:2-4  “Thus says 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.
Jer 10:3  For the customs of the people are vain…”

Here is what Isaiah would reply to this man:
Isaiah 55:7-9  Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Isa 55:8  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
Isa 55:9  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

When it comes to the choice to keep the ways of this world, such as Christmas or the truthful Way of God in the right spirit, we need to remind ourselves of these verses in Ezekiel, Jeremish, Isaiah and Proverbs.
Proverbs 14:12; 16:25:  “There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

So, don't say "it doesn't matter." It does matter to God whether we compromise and adopt the customs of the heathen about us.

New Year’s is a Pagan Roman Feast
Over history. the New Year's festivities that had originated in Babylon found their way to Greece and finally to Rome. The Romans called it "Saturnalia" -- in honour of their false god of Saturn.
Among them it was extremely popular, just like today, it was a time of revelling, drinking bouts, partying and orgies.

It was Julius Caesar, Emperor of pagan Rome, who instituted the New Year's festival on January first. In 46BC Caesar developed his Julian calendar centred on the Sun not the Moon.
He transferred to the first day of January all of the licentious customs surrounding the Roman Saturnalia mid-winter season.
"The first day of the Saturnalia shifted during the lifetime of Rome ... it began around the middle of December ... and continued until January first. In its midst was December twenty-fifth, the day, as the Romans calculated, when the sun was at its lowest ebb ...." ("4000 Years of Christmas", Earl W. Count,  page 28.)

“In early times, the ancient Romans gave each other New Year’s gifts of branches from sacred trees. In later years, they gave gold-covered nuts or coins imprinted with pictures of Janus, the god of gates, doors, and beginnings. January was named after Janus, who had two faces—one looking forward and the other looking backward” (World Book Encyclopaedia, 2001).

“In 46 B.C.E. the Roman emperor Julius Caesar first established January 1 as New Year’s day. Janus was the Roman god of doors and gates, and had two faces, one looking forward and one back.  Caesar felt that the month named after this god (“January”) would be the appropriate “door” to the year.  Caesar celebrated the first January 1 New Year by ordering the violent routing of revolutionary Jewish forces in the Galilee.  Eyewitnesses say blood flowed in the streets.  In later years, Roman pagans observed the New Year by engaging in drunken orgies—a ritual they believed constituted a personal re-enacting of the chaotic world that existed before the cosmos was ordered by the gods.” (U.S. News and World Report December 23, 1996)

But how did such a pagan festival day ever get syncretised into this World’s so called "christian" calendar?
Here is the answer from church history around 375 A.D, when Emperor Constantine imposed the catholic version of "christianity" on the Roman world.
"There were many immigrants into the ranks of the Christians by this time," writes Earl W. Count. "The Church Fathers discovered to their alarm that they were also facing an invasion of pagan customs. The habit of Saturnalia was too strong to be left behind. At first the Church forbade it, but in vain" ("4000 Years of Christmas", Earl W. Count, page 31).
Rather than resist the influence of pagan customs, the Catholic Church fathers compromised and simply syncretised it into their own philosophical version of Christianity.
"The Church finally succeeded in taking the merriment, the greenery, the lights, and the gifts from Saturn and giving them to the Babe of Bethlehem .... The pagan Romans became Christians -- but the Saturnalia remained!" ("4000 Years of Christmas", Earl W. Count,, page 31.)

There is something even more insidiously diabolical in the Catholic history of New Year’s Day, which you will see, as we continue exposing this phoney New Year’s Day. You will see how it was used for evil and not good.

New Year’s Day the Catholic “Feast of the Circumcision”
New Year’s day did not become a holy day for the Roman Catholic Church until 487AD when it was declared to be the “Feast of the Circumcision”:
“Our “New Year’s Day, “the “Feast of the Circumcision,” was called the octave of Christmas as early as 487, AD, and was instituted by the Church to commemorate the ceremony of the Jewish law which the Saviour submitted. In the time of Numa the old Roman heathens dedicated the day to Janus, the double-faced deity…” (Savage J., editor. The Manhattan and de la Salle monthly. New York Catholic Protectory, 1875 Original from the New York Public Library Digitized Jul 13, 2006, p. 2)

“The Feast of the Circumcision has been observed in the Roman church since 487AD and in the Anglican church since 1549AD.” (Douglas GW, Compton HD. The American book of days: a compendium of information about holidays, festivals, notable anniversaries and Christian and Jewish holy days, with notes on other American anniversaries worthy of remembrance. H. W. Wilson Co., 1957 Original from the University of California Digitized Sep 25, 2008, p. 2)

8 Days Counterfeit of God’s Holy Days
The 8 days of Christmas to New Year’s gave the Catholic, as well as Anglican, Church an 8 day festival with a ‘holy day’ at the beginning and the end, similar in that respect to God’s Feast of Tabernacles and 8th Day – Last Great Day (Leviticus 23:34-35).
The Roman Catholic church determined that if Jesus was born on December 25th (even though he could not have been), then they reasoned wrongly that Jesus was circumcised 8 days later, and therefore He would have been circumcised on the 1st January, hence their wrong rationale for New Year’s being ‘the Feast of the Circumcision.’

It should be added that there is no indication in the Bible that Jesus’ circumcision should be celebrated.

New Year’s Day “Feast of Circumcision” used for evil purposes by the Roman Catholic church
In the Roman Catholic church, Jesus’ circumcision was believed to have “initiated the reign of Christianity and the death of Judaism.”
As a result of this Catholic labelling, throughout the Medieval Period, the first day of January was blatantly anti-Jewish.
On that day, synagogues were ransacked or burned, Jewish books were publicly burned, and Jews were tortured and killed.
In keeping with this anti-Jewish trend, Pope Gregory XIII decreed on New Year’s day, 1577, that all Roman Jews were to attend a special Catholic “conversion service” which was to be held in Jewish synagogues every Friday night.
A year later, on New Year’s day, Pope Gregory signed into law a tax on Jews to pay for a “house of conversion” used to convert Jews to Christianity. Again, in 1581, on 1st January, Gregory ordered the confiscation of all sacred literature from the Jewish community, leading to the death of thousands of Jews.
In Catholicism, each “Saint” is awarded a particular day on which to be honoured.
31st December, New Year’s Eve, is “Saint Sylvester Day,” and celebrations dedicated to his memory are held on that night.
Who was this so-called saint Sylvester?
Sylvester was the Roman Pope who reigned during the Council of Nicaea (325 AD).
Prior to the council, Sylvester managed to convince Constantine to ban Jews from Jerusalem. Then, during the council, Sylvester “arranged for the passage of a host of viciously anti-Semitic legislation.”  (http://www.simpletoremember.com/articles/a/newyearshistory/

 

 ).

The idea of celebrating any kind of “New Year’s day” is clearly without scriptural backing.
The fact that our modern celebration of January first as New Year’s day is linked directly to paganism and prejudice should pull us up in our tracks, and cause us to reject observing such pagan customs, that God loathes.
New Year’s is just one more example of man’s rejection of the Word of God while illicitly taking from the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”

When Does God Begin the New Year?
We need to remember that it is God Almighty who created the Universe.
He set the heavenly bodies in their courses at Creation. It is by His "master-clock" that time is determined.
The first month of God's sacred calendar is called, in the Bible, "Abib".
It means the month of "green ears." Later, the Jews called it "Nisan" which is a Persian Babylonian word having the same meaning.

God's sacred calendar year begins in the spring, not in the dead middle of winter.
Notice Exodus 12:1-2, "And the Eternal spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the FIRST MONTH OF THE YEAR TO YOU."
Yes, only God has the authority to set the date of the beginning of the new year.
The earth's rotation regulates the length of a day and the lunar phases indicate the length of a month. The orbit of the earth around the sun dictates the length of a year.
It was in the month of Abib (Hebrew) or Nisan (Persian) that Israel came out of Egyptian captivity under Moses (Exodus 34:18). The Hebrew month Abib overlaps the months of March-April on the pagan Roman calendar in use today.
Satan, however, has cleverly deceived the world into believing the new year begins on 1st January.
God placed the beginning of the sacred year in the early spring to mark the beginning of the seasonal harvests. The two annual harvests in Palestine foreshadowed God's Plan for the twofold spiritual harvest of people to be born into His Kingdom as part of God’s Family.

The Bible speaks of a great false religious system which will "think to change times and laws" (Daniel 7:25).
This system has deliberately thought to change the beginning of God's calendar year in an attempt to hide God's Plan for the salvation of mankind. But mankind has no authority to change God's "master-clock."

Pagan symbolism ingrained into New Year’s Eve festivities
New Year's Babe?
"Actually, the New Year’s Babe is far older than he looks. In ancient Greece, it was customary at the great festival of Dionysus to parade a babe cradled in a winnowing basket. This was taken to symbolize the annual (or periodic) rebirth of that god as the spirit of fertility. The ceremony is portrayed on a sarcophagus now in the Fitzwilliam at Cambridge, England. Two men, one bearded, the other in the flower of youth, are shown carrying the infant in the winnowing basket… (New Year: Its History, Customs, and Superstitions, p. 67)
The symbol of a baby for the new year was common in pagan practice, and the Catholic church disallowed it for centuries. Eventually these religious leaders gave in to the pressure, allowing infants to be used during celebrations that took place during this time of year, but with one adjustment.
The New Year's Babe was transformed by the Catholic church into the Babe of Bethlehem, a symbol of Christ.
The New Year’s babe is no less than a symbol of Dionysus, a Greek god of wine! It was in his honour that the Greeks held the festival of the wine-press in January. It is no wonder that New Year’s Eve parties have become an excuse to drink. More than any other holiday, New Year’s Day holds the record for the most alcohol consumed on any one day!
As sophisticated as we might think our society is in our modern age, we are still worshiping the god of alcohol!

"Father Time"
Another symbol of New Year's celebrations is equally pagan! It is the familiar figure of a white-haired man carrying a scythe. What does he represent? The ancient Greek god Cronos. It is from the name "Cronos" we derive our "chronograph" which measures time.
Among the Greek gods, Cronos originally cut a swath of human sacrifice, with his sharpened scythe! The "silent reaper" anciently "reaped" little children in horrible episodes of mythical cannibalism. This Greek rite of human sacrifice was adopted by ancient Rome, where human sacrifice was practiced at least until 300AD.
Strange as it seems, the professing Christian world praises and practices customs and days of pagan origin, thinly cloaking them in "Christian" sounding names! You too, may have accepted these vain traditions of men, never realizing they are pagan to the core and certainly not condoned by God
In fear of a prophecy that he would be in turn be overthrown by his own son, Kronos swallowed each of his children as soon as they were born.

In art, Cronus was depicted eating a baby or carrying a sickle used to gather the harvest.  This was also the weapon he used to kill his father.
Do you seriously believe that “God loves pagan holidays”, as my dear friend from my old College days, believes?

"In VAIN do they worship me," said Jesus Christ, "teaching for doctrines the commandments of men!"
Jesus said it is possible to worship God,  to venerate the name of Christ, but still do it all in vain.
"Full well you reject the commandments of God, that you may keep your own tradition," He continued, "... making the Word of God of none effect through your tradition, which you have delivered!" (Mark 7:7, 9, 13)

The Modern Attitude of Compromise
Many people will confess, when forced to, the pagan origin of these days.
Sadly, they stubbornly refuse to stop observing them!
They seemingly just do not care, but foolishly follow the crowd.
There is a general “don’t care” attitude in the world today, along with a total disrespect for God and God’s instructions of how we should live our lives wisely.
God is their Judge!
Excessive alcohol and drug use as well as promiscuous behaviour, has become common at New Year's Eve events.
Today, New Year's Eve has become a time for people to wallow in excesses of liquor and drugs and illicit sex.
The modern attitude, just like the ancient Romans, seems to be, "have a wild time on New Year's Eve, and turn over a new leaf on New Year's Day."

Most people seem to have foolishly and ignorantly convinced themselves that God is out of the picture for good. They falsely believe that God is not concerned with their modern revelling, drunken parties, and fornication.

New Year's resolutions are simply empty and meaningless, usually trifling matters of jest. Few people make a lasting change.

Will God intervene and put an end to Paganism in our Nations, just as God did to Israel?
Read, in 2Kings 17:15-18, the reason why God Almighty took ancient Israel into captivity:
"And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them, that they should not do like them!"
The Northern 10 tribes of Israel never returned as a nation to the land of Palestine.

What was the result of Israel following the customs of the heathen nations around them?
"Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight .... and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight .... so was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day. (II Kings 17:18, 20, and 23.)

History is getting ready to repeat itself.
Revelation 18:2-10:
"And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power, and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he said mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the Great is fallen, is fallen.
"Her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues!"

So, let me ask you a question?
Will you be keeping Satan’s deceitful Christmas and New Year’s Eve this year or will you stay faithful to God and “worship God in spirit and in truth”? (John 4:23-24)

Want to learn more about God’s wonderful Holy Days, rather than the phony holidays of this World?
If you would like to know more about God’s true Holy Days compared to this World’s deceitful “worldly christian holidays”, why not read the following Bible study guides:
God’s Holy Days or worldly holidays?
http://www.ucg.org/booklet/holidays-or-holy-days-does-it-matter-which-days-we-observe/

 

AND:
“God’s Holy Day Plan” at:
http://www.ucg.org/booklet/gods-holy-day-plan-promise-hope-all-mankind/

 

Keep in touch.
Warm regards,
Ken Murray

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The 2nd Greatest Commandment

This is a study I prepared for myself after being convicted by a sermon given at the Feast of Tabernacles this year. This is not an attempt to re-create that Feast sermon but a study I did to deal with my own shortcomings and judgmental attitudes. I thought I’d share it with you today in case you too might find it helpful.

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As we make our way through this world each day, we encounter others who do not know God’s truth and their words and their actions give testimony to that fact. They’re just trying to make their way in this world too but do it without the benefit of God’s Spirit and His truth to guide their way.

Either they haven’t been given the instruction manual to life or they haven’t been given the key to unlocking its contents. In other words, they don’t know any better. But how do we react to others we meet along the way?

Do we ever shake our heads or roll our eyes in disdain because of what someone says or the way they act? Maybe they let their children dress up as demons to celebrate Halloween or they’re decorating their house for the Christmas holidays?

Just shaking our heads or rolling our eyes without engaging with them doesn’t enlighten them to change their behavior and bashing them over the head with a few choice verses certainly doesn’t help either.

“You know, in Jeremiah 10 it says we shouldn’t put up Christmas trees!”

We have been given the truth and the ability to understand the deep things of God but to them it has not been given. (1Cor 2:10) So how can we hold that against them? And who are we to treat them like heathens? (1Cor 1:26-31) Sometimes we can forget from whence we came, once we have come into His marvelous light. (1Pet2:9)

There have probably been many times in the past when we have felt like we have had to defend our faith against the attacks of non-believers, be they family or friends, and against false Christianity in general, such that we’re in an ever ready state to go on the offensive. Maybe we even have a chip on our shoulder, a “Christian chip”, daring anyone to just try and knock it off! Standing at the ready with our sword, so at the slightest appearance of a provocation we can cut asunder their false beliefs and pagan practices, (Heb 4:12) but to what end? Does it further the cause of Christ? Or is it only an attempt to justify our own beliefs, to prove that we are right and to exalt ourselves over them.

Let’s turn to Luke 18:9 and let’s see where this can lead in the extreme. We can get to the point where we have forgotten that it is only by God’s grace that have been called, not by anything we’ve done, but it is the gift of God.

Luke 18:9-14 New King James Version (NKJV)

  

⁹ Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

[Who did they trust in? What was their attitude toward the others?]

¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

¹¹ The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. [or this Catholic, or that Methodist]

¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ 

[I keep the Sabbath, I keep the Holy Days, I don’t eat pork or shrimp, I don’t do Christmas.]

¹³ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’

¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The Pharisee was diligent to follow the letter of the law and thought of himself as one in right standing with God, one of His true disciples, but he thought of those who were not as beneath him and ignorant and unworthy.

Is this how the guardians of God’s truth are to act? Is the look on our face one of a loving brother who understands why they err and tries to gently reveal to them the Father (Matt 11:27) or is it one of superiority and self-righteousness. Sometimes our pride in our own knowledge can get in the way.

Keep in mind this was a study for me dealing with my own issues. Ever have to give yourself a good talking to?

We have been given so much by God - truth, knowledge, and understanding and yet sometimes we hold it against those to whom it has not been given. When someone gives you a special gift, do you act like you’re maybe a little better than others who didn’t receive one? We know intellectually that we shouldn’t do that but deep down do our actions demonstrate otherwise? Do we act like we’re better than others because we have received such a marvelous gift?

Or are you quick to give credit to the giver and tell them from whom you got the gift and how much it means to you? Maybe even tell them of the special relationship you have with that person and how special they are to you and you to them.

When we see those who have not been called, do the things they do, let’s not be judgmental or hold them in contempt. Jesus Himself told us that second only to loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang ALL the Law and the prophets. (Matt 22:37-40)  Both are important! Let’s look at Mark 12:28 –

Getting our relationship right with God is a full-time job, at least for me it is. And we sometimes have a tendency to put our entire focus on that and that alone.

Mark 12:28-34 New King James Version (NKJV)

²⁸ Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”
²⁹ Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.

³⁰ And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.

³¹ And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

THIS is the 2^nd Greatest Commandment!

³² So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He.

³³ And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

³⁴ Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” [And isn’t that what we all are seeking?]

So we must love both God and our neighbor. For who can say, “I love God,” and hate his brother… for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? (1John 4:20) The parable of the good Samaritan helping the stranger in Luke chapter 10 teaches us that our neighbor is not just the guy next door, or the people who live in our community, it’s everyone we meet! This parable also teaches us that we can’t sit idly by either, we have to get involved!

We are called to be fishers of men. (Matt 4:19) But you have to do something to attract the fish. You have to engage. As we know, only God the Father can draw them (John 6:44), but we bait the hook. 

When someone says to you, "Jesus is the reason for the season!”, instead of keeping quiet, or saying, "No, he's not! Christmas goes all the way back to Babylon and Mithraism, sun worship and the Saturnalia! Say instead something like, "What makes you say that"? drawing them into conversation. You may just get an opening to give them a tidbit of truth to chew on.

Let’s not hold people in contempt for not knowing the truth. Let’s instead show compassion for them, knowing how they must be suffering inside going through the same struggles we face in this life but having to do so without the precious gift we’ve been given. And it’s only going to get worse.

Let’s not give them a reason to dismiss the good news of the kingdom of God because of our attitude. (Mark 1:14-15) Instead, let’s give them every reason to ask us about the light that shines within us. (1Pet 3:15-16; Matt 5:16) Let’s be good ambassadors for Christ. (2Cor 5:20)

We might have all knowledge, and understand all the mysteries of God but if we turn people away by our Christian pride or condescending attitude, what good is it? 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter puts it all in perspective. Let’s turn there.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 New King James Version (NKJV)

 ¹ Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

² And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

³ And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

We are to love others despite how they act. It is not up to us to judge them. (Matt7:1-2) That Day of Judgment rapidly approaches. Though others trample on the truth of God or even mistreat us without cause, let’s remember our Lord’s response to worse treatment than we have ever experienced.

Luke chapter 23, verse 34

This was after Jesus was rejected and scourged beyond recognition. After all they had done to him, what was His response

Luke 23:34 King James Version (KJV)

³⁴ Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.

 

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Earnestly Contending for the Faith Once Delivered to the Saints

Richard Rives, the author of Too Long in the Sun and Time is the Ally of Deceit, gives Just the Facts of Biblical Christianity in 3-minute insightful video clips.

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Christ was never in Christmas in the first place! What?!

Many Christians have celebrated Christmas since they were children and the rich traditions live on and are anticipated as a time of togetherness, family warmth, and all around good cheer. Many have come to love the change of heart displayed by many people toward their fellow man as they are imbued with the "Christmas spirit".

Others, however, have become disillusioned with the crass commercialism, greed and drunken revelry that is rife during this season. The hustle bustle of running to and fro purchasing just the right gifts, decorating and preparing the home for the little ones too often is met with a post-Christmas crash like coming off a sugar high.

That gift that seemed so special at the time of purchase and was maybe just a little more expensive than planned but purchased anyway "because, well, it's Christmas", was greeted with a hearty, "Gee thanks", and set aside in favor of some other plastic pleasure. What Christmas has become is not what many of us remember from our youth. Maybe there's a reason for that. Maybe as we've become the adults that have to pay the credit card bill in January we're experiencing the same disheartening disenchantment our parents experienced but never expressed. Maybe Christmas isn't what we thought it was at all.

I won't bother delineating all the structured arguments about the pagan Saturnalia or Mithraic origins of this holiday or about how Christ really isn't the reason for the season. Most of you don't want to hear it anyway and if you really wanted to know you could research it for yourself. You might suspect though, deep down that there's truth here. Maybe you don't want to delve into it because it might cause you to be faced with an unpopular decision. After all, isn't it for the children anyway? What does it really matter as long as our heart's in the right place? As long as we 'say' we're honoring Jesus, isn't that what really counts?

Let me ask you a question. If you 'say' you love and honor your wife but your actions prove otherwise, do you think she still believes you? If you 'say' you love and honor Christ but your actions follow pagan rituals, do you think He still believes you?

I suspect most of you have heard enough and will click over to something more interesting or something more in keeping with your traditions and that's fine. But if you've ever wondered why you still have that empty feeling inside after all the hype and fervor are over, here are a few resources that present a different view of Christmas and why thousands of Christians don't celebrate it.
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The Top 10 Reasons Why I Don't Celebrate ChristmasThe Real Nativity Story: Surprising Truths You May Not Know!
Holidays or Holy Days - Does It Matter Which Days We Observe?
Christmas: The Untold Story
Christians Who Don't Celebrate Christmas: Here's Why
Christmas Before Christ: The Surprising Truth!Christmas: The Curious Origins of a Popular Holiday
Christmas: The Greatest Story NEVER Told


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Bunnies, Colored Eggs, and Counting to Three

When was Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected? Did He really die on Good Friday and come back to life on Easter Sunday?

Jesus Christ said He would be in the grave for three days and three nights. How can you get 3 days & 3 nights between Good Friday afternoon to Easter Sunday morning?

What is the true origin of Easter? What do chocolate rabbits, colored eggs, hot cross buns, and new clothes have to do with the resurrection of our Lord? How could this have anything to do with Jesus Christ when this custom seems to predate Christ’s birth?

The Chronology of Christ's Crucifixion and Resurrection

Tuesday: Jesus Christ ate an early-evening Passover meal with His disciples (at the beginning of Nisan 14, the first month of the Hebrew calendar) and instituted the New Covenant symbols (Matthew 26:26-28). Jesus was then betrayed by Judas, arrested and during the night brought before the high priest.

Wednesday: Jesus was crucified and died around 3 p.m. (Matthew 27:46-50). This was the preparation day for the annual, not weekly, Sabbath, which began that evening (Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:31). Jesus' body was placed in the tomb at twilight (Matthew 27:57-60).

Thursday: This was the high-day Sabbath, the first day of Unleavened Bread (John 19:31; Leviticus 23:4-7). It is described as the day after the Day of Preparation (Matthew 27:62).

Friday: The high-day Sabbath now past, the women bought and prepared spices for anointing Jesus' body before resting on the weekly Sabbath day, which began at sunset (Mark 16:1; Luke 23:56).

Saturday: The women rested on the weekly Sabbath, according to the Fourth Commandment (Luke 23:56; Exodus 20:8-11). Jesus rose around sunset, exactly three days and three nights (72 hours) after burial, fulfilling the sign of Jonah and authenticating Jesus' Messiahship.

Sunday: The women brought the prepared spices early in the morning while it was still dark (Luke 24:1; John 20:1). Jesus had already risen (Matthew 28:1-6; Mark 16:2-6; Luke 24:2-3; John 20:1). He did not rise on Sunday morning, but at sunset the day before.

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Refs. - The Hidden Truth About Easter: Christians Can Learn From the Origins of Easter

Frequently Asked Bible Questions: When was Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected?

What are the real origins of Easter?
Teen Study Guide: Easter

Holidays or Holy Days - Does it Matter Which Days We Observe?

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Thank God It's Paraskeví !

Is Friday the 13th a day when you expect “bad luck”? Is it a time to indulge in superstitious behavior “just in case” it might protect you from bad things that could happen? Do you avoid leaving the house or going anywhere that's not absolutely necessary? Ever wonder where and when this "fear" became a "factor"?

"It's been estimated that [U.S] $800 or $900 million is lost in business on this day because people will not fly or do business they would normally do," said Donald Dossey, founder of the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina. More than 80 percent of high-rises lack a 13th floor. Many airports skip the 13th gate. Hospitals and hotels regularly have no room number 13. On streets in Florence, Italy, the house between number 12 and 14 is addressed as 12 and a half. Many triskaidekaphobes, as those who fear the unlucky integer are known, point to the ill-fated mission to the moon, Apollo 13.

The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia a word derived from the concatenation of the Greek words Paraskeví (Παρασκευή) (meaning Friday), and dekatreís (δεκατρείς) (meaning thirteen), attached to phobía (φοβία) (meaning fear). Otherwise normal people alter their behavior for no other reason than that the calendar reflects a date that has an unlucky stigma attached to it. Where did this originate and should a Christian be concerned about it?

A number of incidents on their own have been attributed to Friday the 13th being unlucky but when taken all together the date takes on an other worldly aura.
A Norse myth about 12 gods having a dinner party at Valhalla, their heaven. In walked the uninvited 13th guest, the mischievous Loki. Once there, Loki arranged for Hoder, the blind god of darkness, to shoot Balder the Beautiful, the god of joy and gladness, with a mistletoe-tipped arrow. "Balder died and the whole Earth got dark. The whole Earth mourned. It was a bad, unlucky day," said Dossey. From that moment on, the number 13 has been considered ominous and foreboding.

Another origin of the superstition, though, appears also to be a tale in Norse mythology. Friday is named for Frigga, the free-spirited goddess of love and fertility. When Norse and Germanic tribes converted to Christianity, Frigga was banished in shame to a mountaintop and labeled a witch. It was believed that every Friday, the spiteful goddess convened a meeting with eleven other witches, plus the devil - a gathering of thirteen - and plotted ill turns of fate for the coming week. For many centuries in Scandinavia, Friday was known as "Witches' Sabbath."

The Knights Templar were a monastic military order founded in Jerusalem in 1118 AD., whose mission was to protect Christian pilgrims during the Crusades. Over the next two centuries, the Knights Templar became extraordinarily powerful and wealthy. Threatened by that power and eager to acquire their wealth, King Philip secretly ordered the mass arrest of all the Knights Templar in France with the Pope`s blessing. The arrest of Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Knights Templar, and 60 of his senior knights on Friday, October 13, 1307 by King Philip IV of France is the origin of this superstition. That day thousands of Templars were arrested and subsequently tortured. They then 'confessed' and were executed. From that day on, Friday the 13th was considered by followers of the Templars as an evil and unlucky day.

The Dutch Centre for Insurance Statistics (CVS) on June 12, 2008, stated that "fewer accidents and reports of fire and theft occur when the 13th of the month falls on a Friday than on other Fridays, because people are preventatively more careful or just stay home. Statistically speaking, driving is slightly safer on Friday 13th, at least in The Netherlands; in the last two years, Dutch insurers received reports of an average 7,800 traffic accidents each Friday; but the average figure when the 13th fell on a Friday was just 7,500. However, a 1993 study in the British Medical Journal that compared the ratio of traffic accidents between Friday the 6th and Friday the 13th, stated that there is a significant increase in traffic-related accidents on Fridays the 13th.

There is also a biblical reference to the unlucky number 13. Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th guest to the Last Supper. As for Friday, it is considered among many Christians as the day Jesus was crucified. (Learn the real day Christ died for our sins.)

As Christians we have no reason to fear as we have not been given the spirit of fear and the LORD our God goes with us and He will not fail us nor forsake us.

Refs. Friday the 13th: Superstition, Fear or Fraud?
Friday the 13th Phobia Rooted in Ancient History
Why Friday the 13th Is Unlucky

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2Ti 1:7 (KJV)For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Deut 31:6 (KJV) Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
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Would you be my Lupercalian?

Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday? The history of Valentine's Day — and its patron saint — is shrouded in mystery and contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. At that time it was the custom in Rome in the month of February to celebrate the Lupercalia, feasts in honour of a heathen god. On these occasions, amidst a variety of pagan ceremonies, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite?

Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II, Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that roman men did not want to leave their lovers or families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. The good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, about the year 270.

According to folklore, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl — who may have been his jailor's daughter — who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.

While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial, others claim that the Catholic Church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to 'christianize' the pagan celebrations of the Lupercalia festival. In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia, which began at the ides of February, February 15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.

To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at the sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would then sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. Luperci, Lupercalia, and Lupercal all relate to the Latin for 'wolf' lupus, as do various Latin words connected with brothels. The Latin for she-wolf was slang for prostitute. The legends say that Romulus and Remus were nursed by a she-wolf in the Lupercal. Servius, a 4th century pagan commentator on Vergil, says that it was in the Lupercal that Mars ravished and impregnated the twins' mother.

The boys then sliced the goat's hide into strips, dipped them in the sacrificial blood and took to the streets, gently slapping both women and fields of crops with the goathide strips. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed being touched with the hides because it was believed the strips would make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. Each young man would draw a girl's name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry.

Sacrifice, which was a part of Roman ritual, had been prohibited since 341, but the Lupercalia survived beyond this date. The pastors of the early Catholic Church in Rome endeavoured to do away with the pagan element in these feasts by substituting the names of saints for those of maidens. And as the Lupercalia began about the middle of February, the pastors appear to have chosen Saint Valentine's Day for the celebration of this new feast. So it seems that the custom of young men choosing maidens for valentines, or saints as patrons for the coming year, arose in this way.

Generally, the end of the Lupercalia festival is attributed to Pope Gelasius (494-496). It may have been another late fifth century pope, Felix III. The ritual had become important to the civic life of Rome and was believed to help prevent pestilence, but as the pope charged, it was no longer being performed in the proper manner. Instead of the noble families running around naked, riffraff was running around clothed. The pope also mentioned that it was more a fertility festival than a purification rite and there was pestilence even when the ritual was performed. The pope's lengthy document seems to have put an end to the celebration of Lupercalia in Rome, but in Constantinople the festival continued to the tenth century. Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D. The Roman 'lottery' system for romantic pairing was deemed un-Christian and outlawed.

Lupercalia is one of the most ancient of the Roman holidays (listed on ancient calendars from even before the time Julius Caesar reformed the calendar) and is familiar to us today for two main reasons. It is associated with Valentine's Day and it is the setting for Caesar's refusal of the crown that was made immortal by Shakespeare, in his Julius Caesar.The Lupercalia may be the longest lasting of the Roman pagan festivals.

Lupercalia started out as a fun event with spectators serving occasionally as willing participants. Naked bodies were unusually exposed to view. There was a fertility component. There was food from the sacrificial animal. Everything centered around the place where the Vestal Virgin was raped by the god Mars in order to conceive the founder of Rome, Romulus. It's this blend of pagan worship, fertility and erotic elements, as well as the date, that ties Lupercalia to Valentine's Day.

We continue as a nation to pray for God's blessings while practicing pagan rituals and celebrations. We think God doesn't hear us. Did it ever occur to us that maybe it's not that He doesn't hear us but that He won't hear us?

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2Tim 3:1-7 (KJV) This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. (2) For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, (3) Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, (4) Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; (5) Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. (6) For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, (7) Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
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Refs. http://www.pictureframes.co.uk/pages/saint_valentine.htm
http://www.history.com/content/valentine/history-of-valentine-s-day
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/socialcustomsdailylife/a/010908Lupercal.htm

Punxsutawney Pagan?!

Many of Americans will be celebrating Groundhog's Day on February 2nd right on schedule as they do each year hoping for relief from the wintry weather that has them trapped indoors. How many would still do so if they realized that Wiccans delight in their acceptance of this pagan holiday?

The Groundhog Day came into being in North America during the late 1800s. Thanks to the combined effort of Clymer H. Freas, a newspaper editor, and W. Smith, an American Congressman and newspaper publisher. They organized and popularized a yearly festival in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the State was populated predominantly by German settlers. The festival featured a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil which used to foretell how long the winter would last. This very popular event is still being held and is called Groundhog Day.

There has been a concerted effort in popularizing and commercializing the Groundhog Day across the United States. Chuck Wood is The Committee for the commercialization of Groundhog Day's official mascot. The movie "Groundhog Day," has played a key role in popularizing the schedule of Events in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, on and around February 2. Apart from Pennsylvania, fascinating Groundhog Day events are also held in other states, especially, Nebraska, Tennessee, Georgia, Ohio, Arkansas, and California.

In its earliest incarnation, Groundhog Day was Imbolc, a pagan celebration associated with fertility and weather divination. The word, Imbolc is Gaelic, the language of the Celts. Imbolc is traditionally a time of weather prognostication, and the old tradition of watching to see if serpents or badgers came from their winter dens. In Irish, Imbolc (pronounced im'olk) from the Old Irish, meaning "in the belly", referring to the pregnancy of ewes, and is also a Celtic term for spring. Another name is Oimelc, meaning "ewe's milk". Some Celts and Neopagans shorten the name to Brigid, referring to the Celtic goddess of healing, poetry and smithcraft, to whom the day is sacred. There is a strong association between Imbolc and Brigid, a Celtic fertility goddess. The holiday is a festival of the hearth and home, and a celebration of the lengthening days and the early signs of spring. Rituals often involve hearthfires, special foods, divination or simply watching for omens (whether performed in all seriousness or as children's games), a great deal of candles, and perhaps an outdoor bonfire if the weather permits.

Wiccans celebrate a variation of Imbolc as one of four "fire festivals", which make up half of the eight holidays (or "sabbats"), of the wheel of the year. Imbolc is defined as a cross-quarter day, midway between the winter solstice (Yule) and the spring equinox (Ostara). The precise astrological midpoint in the Northern hemisphere is when the sun reaches fifteen degrees of Aquarius. In the Southern hemisphere, if celebrated as the beginning of Spring, the date is the midpoint of Leo. Among Dianic Wiccans, Imbolc (also known as "Candlemas") is the traditional time for initiations.

One folk tradition that continues in both Christian and Pagan homes on St. Brigid's Day (or Imbolc) is that of the Brigid's Bed. The girls and young, unmarried women of the household or village create a corn dolly to represent Brigid, called the Brideog ("little Brigid" or "young Brigid"), adorning it with ribbons and baubles like shells or stones. They make a bed for the Brideog to lie in. On St. Brigid's Eve (January 31), the girls and young women gather together in one house to stay up all night with the Brideog, and are later visited by all the young men of the community who must ask permission to enter the home, and then treat them and the corn dolly with respect.

Brigid is said to walk the earth on Imbolc eve. Before going to bed, each member of the household may leave a piece of clothing or strip of cloth outside for Brigid to bless. The head of the household will smother (or "smoor") the fire and rake the ashes smooth. In the morning, they look for some kind of mark on the ashes, a sign that Brigid has passed that way in the night or morning. The clothes or strips of cloth are brought inside, and believed to now have powers of healing and protection.

On the following day, the girls carry the Brideog through the village or neighborhood, from house to house, where this representation of the Saint/goddess is welcomed with great honor. Adult women — those who are married or who run a household — stay home to welcome the Brigid procession, perhaps with an offering of coins or a snack. Since Brigid represents the light half of the year, and the power that will bring people from the dark season of winter into spring, her presence is very important at this time of year.

When the pagan holidays were transformed into Catholic equivalents, two new holidays emerged from Imbolc. One, Saint Brigid's Day (a.k.a. Saint Bridget's Day), was celebrated on February 1. Saint Brigid's Day honored an Irish saint, named after the Celtic goddess, who was a contemporary of Saint Patrick's.

But how did a groundhog become the symbol for a holiday that was marked by a candle procession? Well, the Romans, for instance, had celebrated a rough equivalent to our Groundhog Day in early February -- only a hedgehog was in charge of the weather divination, not a groundhog. And such beliefs survived the Christianization of Europe (going "underground," if you will), attaching themselves to Candlemas Day as folklore. European settlers in North America kept the pagan tradition alive, but substituted the native groundhog for the European hedgehog. Clearly, Imbolc and the older traditions have won out: today in North America, almost everyone in the general public has heard of "Groundhog Day," while mention of "Candlemas Day" would generally draw expressions of puzzlement!

Most people have now distanced themselves from fertility rites, purification rituals and weather divination. Nonetheless, on some level, don't we still intuitively associate fertility and purification with spring?

We are a nation that was founded on religious freedom. But we began tolerating other religions to the point of not only accepting them but now embracing them as our own. It's little wonder that the God of creation is lifting His hand of blessing from our nation. We have ceased worshipping the Creator and begun worshipping the creation. We esteem God's creatures, trees, the seasons and the earth itself much more highly than the God that created them, and us.

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Rom 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
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Ref. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day
http://www.theholidayspot.com/groundhogday/theday.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imbolc
http://landscaping.about.com/cs/pestcontrol/a/groundhog_day_4.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_of_the_Year
http://www.healinghappens.com/wheel.htm
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