Christmas - Fact or Fiction

The more I study the more I understand why Jesus said it would be easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle. (Matthew 19:24). The enemy is so good at what he does that we commit sin after sin without even realizing at the time we are doing it. The biggest way he gets to us and causes us to break our relationship with God is through "little white lies". The Bible says to keep "all" God's commandments. Even Jesus himself said He did not come to do away with the law but to fulfill it. Meaning He did not do away with any of God's previous laws and especially the 10 commandments (laws). One of the ten commandments that just about anyone can quote you is "thou shalt not lie". So why then as christians is it so easy for us to do and to excuse ourselves for by saying we are doing it for the good of others? A little white lie to keep from hurting someones feelings, a little white lie to cover up another little white lie. The biggest lie of all - "yes Virginia, there IS a santa claus"!! If we thought more of God and less of ourselves we would realize earlier that we are breaking God's commandments all in the name of keeping "Jesus birthday".
I see things from friends all over the internet asking me to join causes and posting signs, "keep Christ in Christmas". News flash: Christ NEVER was in Christmas!! Christmas was started way way before the birth of Christ. Not only that, it began as a pagan holiday to celebrate the birth of the "sun" god (little g). Like many secular holidays, the church incorporated it into christian beliefs "to give christians a way to celebrate without sinning"!!! Plus one for the enemy, the church, christians, bought it. Not only that, they took it one step further and incorporated a lie, thereby breaking the commandments. Teaching your children to believe in santa claus. What happens when they are older and you have to tell them there really is no santa and you've lied to them their entire young life. At the same time, their entire young life you've led them to believe that they can trust you, that you would never lie to them or do anything to hurt them. Any of you reading this that remembers telling your children the truth, what was their reaction. To say that most of them are hurt is an understatement. Many of them refuse to accept the truth for a long time after they are told, and many are angry at their parents.
I have been intensely studying the Bible, searching for God's truths and when you open your Bible and ask God to open up His word in your heart and open your eyes of understanding, He will give you what you ask for. I have been just as guilty in the past of celebrating this holiday, I've believed like many that Christmas was a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. I love the Lord with all my heart, mind, soul and body and I loved Christmas because it was celebrating Him, I thought. Once I actually started studying I've learned that not only Christmas but also Easter are pagan holidays. Please don't take my word for it, study it out for yourself, but, be willing to accept the truth when God reveals it to you. Be ready to change your way of thinking. Remember if you break one commandment, you've broken them all, there is no big sin, little sin. Remember that keeping God's commandments and laws is crucial to your salvation but mostly remember that YOU are responsible for your children's salvation. You are responsible for them learning the truth. We say we teach our children Christmas because we love them, because we want them to love Jesus and honor His birth. Nowhere in the Bible does God tell us to celebrate Jesus birthday, only that He was born. What we need to remember is that He was born and died for our salvation. If the day mattered, God would have put it in the Bible. He has given us Holy Days in the Bible to celebrate and those we should keep. If we have a prayer of making it into the Kingdom of God we've got to wake up, we have got to quit incorporating the world into our lives, into our children's lives. God has something to say about this in the Bible - Matthew 15:9, But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
And in Matthew 15:8, Jesus said: This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
In all "truth and honesty" how much glory does Christ get on the very day the world celebrates as His birthday? How many of us would go to a birthday party for someone we care about and take gifts not to that person but to everyone else attending the party!!!! That's exactly what we do on Christmas. We give gifts to everyone else that is there and how many of us actually even take time to honor Christ? As I said earlier, I was just as guilty. This has been one of the hardest truths for me to wrap my mortal mind around because Christmas was my favorite holiday BEFORE I learned the truth. Why do we need a special day to buy gifts or show our family that we love them? We are free to do that at anytime. We should be more concerned with our salvation, our children's salvation and the signs that we truly are living in the last days. It isn't easy sometimes to learn and accept the truth but if we have a hope of making it into the Kingdom of God, we must do this.
Christmas is NOT a command of God, it is a tradition of men. Mark 7:6-9,

6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
God gave us free will but His original plan was that all might be saved. It's up to us what we do with the truth. We can't just pick and choose what part of God's word we want to believe or live. He gave us the Bible for instruction, nothing can be added to it or taken away from it. You either follow God or man, your choice.
Now that you have learned the truth, you can't unlearn it. I pray that you take it, pray over it and ask God to help you do the right thing in your life, your children's lives, grandchildren's lives, whoever you might speak to.
God bless

Walking on Egg Shells

We've all had to do it at one time or another. You have a boss, a friend, a co-worker, or maybe even a family member that you have to watch everything you say or do around them for fear of facing their wrath or hurting their feelings. Walking on eggshells gets tiring doesn't it? Sometimes you would just like to say, "look, this is how I feel or this is what I think", and just let the chips fall. But then what happens? What can they do? Kill you, eat you? I think that's against the law. While we should never be tempted to bring someone to wrath or cause them to stumble (hurt their feelings), we have feelings too. Is that person worth your time? What are the consequences of NOT walking on eggshells? Is it worth your mental well-being? Who suffers the most from you walking on egg shells? I'm not a psychiatrist, however, from personal experience I can tell you that you are the one that suffers the most. In my experience, most of "those" kinds of people have the type of attitude that they can say what they want but if you react in like manner, they get mad or get their feelings hurt, not considering your feelings to start with. (See my earlier blog about narcissistic personalities). In some cases as your boss or co-worker there might be an easier way to deal with the problems if you have time to think before you speak. What happens though when it's family or friends, people you really don't want to lose, people you love and who supposedly love you. They avoid you, they talk to other family or friends about you. Somehow you come out the bad guy. THAT is what causes us to walk on egg shells. Our own fear of repercussions. But now, what do we do about it.

You should always strive to keep peace and harmony but never at the risk of your own mental health and well-being. If you are having to walk on egg shells around someone YOU need to realize that it is THEIR problem. If you crack the shell and say something that does upset them, keep in mind that it is their personality, their problems, their perceptions that caused it. No one should have to walk on egg shells. You should guard the words of your mouth according to the Bible and not deliberately provoke or hurt, but that is different than having to guard every word that comes out of your mouth because of fear. I use fear because it is a fear, it's a fear of making that person mad at you. Generally when you have to walk on egg shells around a particular person it is more because of their temper than hurt feelings.

The Bible says the tongue is a mighty member in James 3:8, "But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison". That is a totally different matter. That applies also to the person you are talking to. The tongue is a two edged sword, it can lift you up or it can tear you down. Don't let it tear you down. Remember having to walk on eggshells is not YOUR choice, it is not because of something you have done, it is because of the person you are dealing with and their problems and perceptions. Which brings me to the next thing I would like to mention.

When you are walking on egg shells, do you have to stray from the truth to please that person? You should never ever have to lie to appease another person. There are times that you can say nothing at all or direct the conversation in another way or even reword what you might want to say so it doesn't sound harsh or cause problems. But again I repeat, you should never have to lie. The Bible says in Proverbs 12:22, "Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight". Don't ever compromise YOUR walk with God no matter who you are dealing with.

I'm probably mostly talking to us women here because most men don't worry about walking on eggshells lol. But I'm going to use a few minor examples: if a friend asks you how you like their hair, if you don't like it, don't tell them its beautiful! Why? Because no matter how small , a lie is a lie. You can, however, still answer that question without hurting their feelings. Example: I really really like it the way you wore it yesterday (if you did of course) or its so flattering on you when you wear it the other way etc etc. You see what I'm getting at. Don't deliberately hurt someone's feelings but don't compromise yourself. I told you it would be a minor example.

Back to walking on eggshells, you should respectfully state your mind, don't be crude or cruel to the person you are talking to but God does not intend us to live in fear of any kind. Walking on egg shells is a sense of walking in fear. Keep God in your heart, then let the words from your mouth come from your heart. Rely on God to take care of the rest. And most of all, pray for the person you are dealing with.