Christmas Part 3

So...the why of Christmas. Why is the birth of this Jesus something to celebrate?  Why do we celebrate on December 25th?  These are some pretty common and reasonable why question. Why why do we have this holiday that is pretty much a worldwide phenomenon and why is it in the middle of winter, for at least half of us?

I'll look at the second question first. Why December 25th? Do don't have to look very hard  on the internet to hear somebody claiming that Jesus Christ is a mythological copy cat of the vast array that they will claim were born on or around December 25th or the winter solstice.  Well to dispel this myth first. The man we call Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth  was not actually born on the 25th of December. In fact we actually don't know the exact date when he was born and as far as I've read the best guess would actually put his birth sometime in the spring. ( this seems like a pretty good article and this one guesses it to be sometime in September)

So why do we celebrate Christmas in December? This is actually something that I'm finding to be quite easy to find as well and to be honest the reason all boils down to recognition.  December 25th and the days preceding it ,especially the Winter solstice have been for centuries already established pagan holidays.   Yule, Saturnalia, Larentalia, feast of the new sun, the winter solstice itself, and I'm sure I could find others were all already established holidays.  So the Catholic church that ruled Christendom and eventually Rome decided that since there was no feast to celebrate the birth of Jesus they would  appropriate one of the already established Pagan feast days. And thus we have Christmas or the Feast of Christ.  Because of this, after the reformation many protestant Christians didn't actually celebrate Christmas due to it's day being historically a pagan feast day. In fact it was illegal in many states until the 19th century.

Ok so we've figured out that Christmas is a holiday stolen from the Pagans to worship a man named Jesus who was born 2000 years ago.  So what makes this guy so special that we still have a near worldwide holiday for him? Why does this guy deserve a holiday to begin with?

 As many times as we hear it I that we've become so accustomed to hearing it that it doesn't register like it should any more but the reason that we celebrate the day of the man Jesus's birth is that he is the only begotten son of the living God. Think about that. Not only that but Jesus himself said that he and the father are one. He is God made flesh. He is the God that spoke this entire universe into creation become one of us. Both fully man and fully God...here on earth living as a poor carpenter.  When I sit and just think on that I am awestruck!  Jesus Christ both man and God!  He gave up his majesty his riches in his kingdom, to slum it with us so that we would know him! He did not just live with us, he died as one of us. He was subjected to one of the most humiliating, painful deaths imaginable not just as one of us, but for us! All so that we might know how much he loves us. So that we would believe in him and not suffer his wrath and the Fathers wrath because of the sin of the world! THIS is why we celebrate this man's birth 2000 years later. This one day a year, whether they know it or not, whether they like it or not, whether they acknowledges it or not all eyes turn to this man, the only son of the living God, the son begotten not made, the second member of the holy trinity, Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ.

None go to the Father except the go to the Son. Have you Gone to the Son? Do you know Jesus Chist as Lord and Savior?

Christmas part 2

     So, from Christmas Part 1 post we've seen that the meaning of Christmas is literally Christ. So what about Christ? What about Christ specifically does Christmas celebrate?  It celebrates the birth of Christ.
It celebrates the long prophesied, coming of the messiah, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords!  The one prophesied even in Genesis!

How did he come? Did he come like a king? Did he come in glory and majesty with trumpets and soldiers proclaiming his arrival? No, Gods only begotten son came humbly. As a servant.  He wasn't born in a castle or a palace or even a decent Roman hut or hotel, he was born in a barn.  His bed that first night, was the feed trough for the animals. His parents weren't royalty. His mom was teenage virgin and his step-dad a carpenter. And those who came to pay homage the night of his birth, not foreign royalty but shepherds.

To the world this is absolutely ridiculous. What kind of second rate king or deity actually would subject his offspring to this type of entrance to the world? Or for that matter what kind of horrible person in this day and age would let their kid even be born at home with out the attendance of trained professionals?  This is definitely not what the Jews expected when reading Isaiah.

Paul wrote in the new testament that God makes the wise of the world foolish. This is part of the story of Jesus birth. Those who consider themselves very wise tend to consider this story foolishness. The story not only showing that Jesus first coming he come in humility and service but is a parody of the world. When Jesus returns the rulers of this world will bow to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords who entered into his time on this earth in the most humble way possible.

Christmas part 1

       We have reached the official start of the Christmas season. Anymore it actually seems like the the "Christmas season " is starting earlier and earlier, in fact I believe that Wal-mart began putting decoration out before Halloween. It's really gotten kind of silly, because you've got Freddy Cruger and Dracula at one end of the store and Santa and Christmas trees at the other.

     So what is this "Christmas" I'm speaking of. Ok, some of you may say that's a dumb question, but in today's world is it really that bad of a question?  What is Christmas?  What does this time of the year really mean? Well in this pluralistic age this is not the easiest question to answer.  However I think I can answer it or at least try.

     Christmas as we know it today is a hodgepodge. A mishmash of cultural and religious celebrations and traditions. The Christmas tree comes from Germanic and northern European  religious traditions. The day itself  ,December 25th, comes from various winter solstice traditions.  The tradition of giving presents seems to have come from St Nicholas a 4th century saint, as well as other pagan gift giving traditions. The famous and sometimes infamous nativity scene depicts the birth of Jesus Christ.( see the Christmas Wiki for additional details)

   I ask the question again...what is the meaning of Christmas. Can we get the meaning of Christmas out of any of these traditions? Many of these pagan traditions predate Christ. So is this the meaning of the season, celebrating the winter solstice and honoring pagan gods? Another possibility is the celebration of wealth and materialism that kicks off the day after Thanksgiving.  If this either of these are the meaning of Christmas, then why call it...Christmas? Yule or Solstice day or Saturnalia, or there may be others that fit these meaning better.

     So if we're not getting the meaning of Christmas from the origins of the actual traditions that we use, so we must divine the meaning of the season from the name we give the season. Christmas or Christ - mass, the root here is Christ. Christ mass, or the Mass of Christ, these words actually mean death of Christ however the meaning we've assigned to the word Christmas is the birth of Christ.  So the meaning for the season based on the name association is literally the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.



   

The Machine the Matrix and the Kingdom

I know, I know, it looks looks like I've missed the bus seeing as the Matrix movies came out a decade ago. However seeing as some of the concepts have become ingrained in pop culture. As well I seem to be hearing more and more that we may be living in a "holographic universe" like the matrix, though this is probably more pop-sci than science. However these things have gotten me thinking.

It got me thinking about sin and this world system, the kingdom of God and "the Matrix". In the movie the Matrix was a holographic world wired directly into peoples brains from birth. Except for a select few no one knew that the Matrix was not the real world. The few that did know worked to awaken people from their captive sleep and to the awareness that the matrix was not the real world.  When people were awakened and released from their imprisonment they woke to a world more frightening than the matrix ruled by living machines and they were draft into a war against the machines and for the freedom of mankind.
Eventually they awaken a savior character that kind of sort of defeated the machine...well more of a stalemate.

Now how does this apply to...anything?  Our world has been invaded by a "Matrix" of sorts. The illusion brought by sin is our matrix, it saturates every aspect of our world and its systems. Sin is the lie, the illusion pulled over our eyes, the prison that we can't touch tor taste or see or smell. It is the virus that corrupts our world even creation itself.

All men are born in to the matrix of sin...lets carry the computer metaphor a little further. Thousands of years ago the virus of sin completely dominated man, much as is it is now, so much that God decided to reset the system sending the flood to kill all men save eight that found his favor. However the virus began to replicate again and one day he will perform a complete hard drive wipe and reinstall and the virus and those who perpetuate it will be locked in the ultimate virus vault.
 
Until then God has sent the ultimate anti-virus. His son Jesus Christ. Loaded into this world to overcome this matrix of Satan and sin. Unlike Neo it wasn't a stalemate caused by Jesus's death bought the complete defeat of Satan's machine.

Jesus's death and resurrection was the jailbreak performed for all the captives who will take the "red pill" if you will. That's actually and apt metaphor as the shed blood of Jesus is how we're saved.
Take the red pill and you will wake up to a world of horror. A world corrupted and dying. You will begin to see the world as it is. The world will be against you as it has always been against now it will hate you because you are free. Because you have taken the anti-virus and it will do all it can to bring you back to its prison. It will and always has tried to keep you from the savior that lived and bled and died and was resurrected so that when your time runs out or when the great reformat comes you will not be sentenced to the virus vault...to Hell the place of darkness and torment. 

It's so easy, turn from the matrix, turn from sin take the red pill from Jesus.  Accept his gift of grace through faith that he, bled and suffered and died to give you, but yet many will not. The letter from Paul to the Romans he states men have exchanged Gods truth for lie and love the creature and not the creator.  They worship the Matrix, they love their sin more than God. They are blind to the fact that anything is even wrong. (1cor 2:14). To say that what anybody is doing is sin seems foolish to those who are so completely take by this life. Another great lie of the matrix, the lie of sin is that their is no such thing as sin that it's all relative and they see no reason to try to escape.

And like the matrix movies when you accept the red pill of Gods salvation you too are drafted into a war against Satan's machines and his agents but this war will end completely and all those who accepted Gods gift will be gathered to him and Satan and his agents will also be cast into Hell that great virus vault of darkness and torment. And when the end of this world comes a new one will replace it...no matrix...no illusion...no sin...just God...just reality

So...Wake up! The Matrix has you! You are a sinner! You have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23) Take the red pill of Gods love and salvation and begin to experience reality!  Jesus Christ is the red pill the only way out of the matrix! The only way to have freedom from the machine!  Not wisdom as the gnostics and new agers suppose. Not some long elaborate ritual as the occults say...Just Jesus Christ.

Fear, Sadness and Rapture.

This year started off with a bang and it hasn't stopped. Egypt in chaos, possibly lost to the "Muslim Brotherhood", other riots in various mid-east countries. A broad day light assassination attempt of a congresswoman by a crazed (some have postulated demon possessed man) man, resulting in the death and injury of several innocent including a child. The U.N., NATO, The U.S. and Lybian rebels launching attacks against the dictators regime in the country. Like I said an interesting year so far.

And the last week or so has certainly has not left us with any lack of excitement and chaos. We got everything started off with President Obama trying to give Israel to Hamas, next we had a predicted "Rapture" that wasn't and to top it all we here in the mid-west were hit with the deadliest tornadoes in more than a half century. I could do probably several pages on each of these, but I will try to keep this short(ish).

First thing I want to comment on is a speech by our seemingly useless excuse for a President or at least part of his speech, the part where he suggested that Israel return the pre - 1967 war borders , giving the rest back to Palestine. This is a huge betrayal. Israel has been our ally and only stable presence in the mid - east for years. This is near political suicide for the President as both the House and Senate has turned on him. As well spiritually unhealthy , in Genesis 12, 1-3 God tells Israel I will bless those that bless you and curse those that curse you.
Which do you think this is?

This is not a good situation and we need to let the People of Israel know that this is essentially the act of one man and not the act of the whole country and you can do that here.

The Second thing I want to Comment on is the "Rapture" that wasn't. The is what Christians call the event where all those who are saved are taken to heaven before (or at some point during the early part of ) the "Tribulation" that occurs before the second coming of Christ. Well a recently a pastor, who now has put himself in the ranks of false prophets, predicted that the rapture will occur on May 21 2011 at 6:59pm et. This didn't happen. The problem with this like the other times this has happened. It is has effected peoples lives, devastated some I'm sure as I've heard stories of people investing their lives saving and quitting jobs due to this mans prediction. Not to mention this has given massive ammunition to those who make a point to attack Christianity at every turn. As well this is just another divide in an already fractured church.

The people who have been involved with this man do not need the ridicule of other believers. I saw a lot of it before May 21. The Church need to be there for these people as they are claiming to be believers as well. Unfortunately this isn't stopping on May 21 this man has come out and said he miss calculated and has updated his prediction for Oct 21. This is very sad and these people need our prayers and encouragement to overcome these false teachings.

Finally most recently and closest to home for me on Sunday May 22 and EF5 tornado tore a half-mile wide and 6 mile long path of destruction through Joplin Mo. As of today the death toll has reached 125 with over 200 missing. Like I said one of the most destructive tornadoes in the last 50 or so years. It all but destroyed the hospital and the school. It did destroy businesses, houses, apartment complexes all in less than an hour. The stories of tragedy and heroism has made national news. At the very least these people need our prayers and support


I would have to say that this is ,at least, a time of reflection. A time to look at every thing around us as I think we can see through all this how fast the things of this world can be changed, ended and snatched away with little or no warning and with seeming little reason. This is a chaotic time and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. I know the "Rapture" didn't happen on May 21 but it could happen any time. The Bible says no one knows the time, not the Angels, not the Son, none but the Father, as well in the Book of Acts it's not for us to know till it happens.

So I must ask now...if the "Rapture" happens tonight or if a Tornado drops on your house do you your fate? Will you be left behind? If you died tonight would you go to heaven? Do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)