Should we celebrate christmas?

What is Christmas?
More facts:	( return to Devotionals ) Why even celebrate Christmas? Why should God fearing Christians celebrate Christmas at all? Is it because we have always celebrated Christmas and every Christian does it? What exactly is Christmas? Sure everyone knows that Christmas is when Jesus was born. He was born to save the world and He died on the cross for all of our sins. Everybody knows this, right? Is this the meaning of Christmas? When was Jesus born? Many people have a notion that Jesus was not really born on December 25 but at another time. Some know from reading scripture that it was impossible for Jesus to be born in the winter months because the Bible tells us the shepards saw a bright star in the sky. To this day shepards do not tend the fields from October to April in Bethlehem. So we know that December 25 is not really the birth of Jesus, but this is not a major problem. Or, is it? When did we start to celebrate christmas? The first church in Rome (not the Roman Catholic) recognized January 6 as Jesus' birthday and honored it then. Of course they did not do what we do today for Christmas, and why not? Where did all of these traditions and customs come from anyway? Did they all start at once? First, Christmas is a contraction of Christs' Mass which was started in the Church at Rome, later to become known as the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church will tell you today that in their attempt to usurp the local pagan traditions and bring people into the folds of the church, they celebrated the birth of Christ alongside of the pagan celebrations. Eschew evil It is written in scripture that we are to eschew (avoid) the appearances of all evil, so why would a church want to celebrate with pagans during their worship of Sol Invictus, the sun god? Well, the answer is that the Roman Catholic Church did not initate the change in the celebration, the Roman emperor Constantine did, and the Church of Rome became the dominant church under constantine. Nobody will ever know if Constantine was a real true Christian, some accounts portray him as one, while others indicate he was just a shrewd ruler who understood the importance of uniting his subjects. Satan enters the Church History indicates the before Constantine battled at Rome, he prayed for a sign that would indicate his victory. The sign he saw in his vision is still worn on the garments of the Roman Catholic priests today, the cross that looks like a P. Constantine was victorious in battle against an overwhelming force. He had the cross inscribed on his soldiers armor. Realizing that pagan gods failed their worshippers he took a liking to the church that believed in the One God; his mother was a believer through her life. Christain persecution stopped, and Christianity was soon adopted as the new State religion of Rome. Now think about this for a minute. Anyone in Rome who had aspirations to become a somebody would do as the emperor would, mostly because it was now the official religion. Christmas is born In fact it was over the next few years that the origins of Christmas were formed, or rather adopted from a religion called Mithra and another pagan religion of worshipping the sun god, Sol Invictus. Constantine knew that in order to have a successful reign he needed unity and with a growing population of Christians, and his victory which he thought was divinely guided by the one God, he had to make some changes. The current atmosphere of celebrations in Rome for the sun god started on or about December 17 and lasted up until December 25. There was eating and drinking and being merry, exchanging of food and trinketts, and of course immoral behavior as well. So, Constantine united pagan celebrations and Christian observance of the birth of Christ together, and shortened the celebration of the sun god to just one day, December 25. He told the church they would recognize the birth of Christ also on December 25. He also made Sunday (literally sun day, for it was named after the sun god) the official day of worship, why? Why December 25th First, all major pagan gods were born on December 25 which is close to the winter solstice, the shortest day of the sun. Mithra is no different, in fact their god was also born of a virgin, and could renew life eternally. A high priest in Mithra is called father (Roman Catholic priests are still called father) and this is why Jesus said that we are to call no man on earth father, for we have but one Father in heaven. Mithra was not new to Rome and was popular during the life of Jesus. Moreover Emperor Constantine, while claiming to be a Christian maintained the title "Pontifus Maximus" the high priest of paganism. His coins were inscribed: "SOL INVICTO COMITI" (COMMITTED TO THE INVINCIBLE SUN), and he worshipped God? -- impossible according to God. You can not serve two masters. The similarities of the Christian beliefs and that of Mithra and paganism were just to close. It was so easy for pagans to go into a Christian church and 'celebrate' the official state religion. Who cared if they really were celebrating their own gods, right?. Still, the joining of pagan rituals and celebrations, along with the honest observance of the birth of Christ became a new celebration in Rome. This eventually evloved into what we today call Christmas. So what? Recall that when Jesus ascended into heaven He said that He must go now for the prince of this world cometh and he have nothing on me. The Apostle Paul wrote that the anti Christ was already at work in the world. In 1962 the pope stated that the smoke of satan had entered the church. How true his statement, yet he was not referring to the 4th century when satan was already in the church. Remember, satan's goal is to confuse and deceive you in anyway possible to get you to not only lose focus on God, but to stop following God in such a way as you don't even realise what he has done. Instead of following God for yourself, you go along with the crowd, which is EXACTLY what satan wants you to do. Don't ask questions, just go with the flow like everybody else is doing. So now you have the makings of the biggest lie ever to be followed by mankind, the joining of paganism and Christianity with the belief that this is OK. Satan will feel free to add just enough poison to scripture to make it sound believable, yet still it is a lie. This is why you must read the Bible and pray that God reveal to you His message. Do not follow the 'traditions' of men as the Bible warns us not to. Santa and his elfs Know what an elf is? Everybody knows right? They are those short little men who help Santa make toys and fill his sleigh. Incredible how the truth is so close and nobody believes it. According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, an elf is an evil sprite doing evil upon men. Go ahead and look it up. Yet how many kids are lied to and told that Santa is omnipotent because he can see you all the time, and has elfs to help him. Jesus said that blasphemey against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, so why do we do it to please our kids? Kids are born not knowing anything, so why teach them a sin against God? Elfs really are evil. Now what? Is it possible to celebrate Christmas while being a Christian? Absolutely, but be careful. God knows our hearts and intentions. In Luke we are reminded that one man esteemth the Lord one way while another man esteemth him differently, let every man be convinced in their heart. Paul taught us about the incredible freedom in Jesus Christ when he preached of eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols. He reminds us of carrying our own cross and understanding our freedom. Ask yourself, how am I brining honor to Jesus and glorifying God's Holy name when I put up a tree and decorate it? Where is the rememberance of Jesus when we string lights up across our house and lawns? How do we serve God by lying to our children about santa and elfs? Remember that we are but branches on the vine, alone we can do nothing. May the peace and love of Jesus Christ be with all. Pray that the Holy Spirit guide your heart to it's proper celebration and worship of Jesus Christ our Lord. ( return to Devotionals )

What is Christmas?

More facts:

Why even celebrate Christmas?

Why should God fearing Christians celebrate Christmas at all? Is it because we have always celebrated Christmas and every Christian does it? What exactly is Christmas? Sure everyone knows that Christmas is when Jesus was born. He was born to save the world and He died on the cross for all of our sins. Everybody knows this, right? Is this the meaning of Christmas?

When was Jesus born?

Many people have a notion that Jesus was not really born on December 25 but at another time. Some know from reading scripture that it was impossible for Jesus to be born in the winter months because the Bible tells us the shepards saw a bright star in the sky. To this day shepards do not tend the fields from October to April in Bethlehem. So we know that December 25 is not really the birth of Jesus, but this is not a major problem. Or, is it?

When did we start to celebrate christmas?

The first church in Rome (not the Roman Catholic) recognized January 6 as Jesus' birthday and honored it then. Of course they did not do what we do today for Christmas, and why not? Where did all of these traditions and customs come from anyway? Did they all start at once?

First, Christmas is a contraction of Christs' Mass which was started in the Church at Rome, later to become known as the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church will tell you today that in their attempt to usurp the local pagan traditions and bring people into the folds of the church, they celebrated the birth of Christ alongside of the pagan celebrations.

Eschew evil

It is written in scripture that we are to eschew (avoid) the appearances of all evil, so why would a church want to celebrate with pagans during their worship of Sol Invictus, the sun god? Well, the answer is that the Roman Catholic Church did not initate the change in the celebration, the Roman emperor Constantine did, and the Church of Rome became the dominant church under constantine. Nobody will ever know if Constantine was a real true Christian, some accounts portray him as one, while others indicate he was just a shrewd ruler who understood the importance of uniting his subjects.

Satan enters the Church

History indicates the before Constantine battled at Rome, he prayed for a sign that would indicate his victory. The sign he saw in his vision is still worn on the garments of the Roman Catholic priests today, the cross that looks like a P. Constantine was victorious in battle against an overwhelming force. He had the cross inscribed on his soldiers armor. Realizing that pagan gods failed their worshippers he took a liking to the church that believed in the One God; his mother was a believer through her life. Christain persecution stopped, and Christianity was soon adopted as the new State religion of Rome. Now think about this for a minute. Anyone in Rome who had aspirations to become a somebody would do as the emperor would, mostly because it was now the official religion.

Christmas is born

In fact it was over the next few years that the origins of Christmas were formed, or rather adopted from a religion called Mithra and another pagan religion of worshipping the sun god, Sol Invictus. Constantine knew that in order to have a successful reign he needed unity and with a growing population of Christians, and his victory which he thought was divinely guided by the one God, he had to make some changes. The current atmosphere of celebrations in Rome for the sun god started on or about December 17 and lasted up until December 25. There was eating and drinking and being merry, exchanging of food and trinketts, and of course immoral behavior as well.

So, Constantine united pagan celebrations and Christian observance of the birth of Christ together, and shortened the celebration of the sun god to just one day, December 25. He told the church they would recognize the birth of Christ also on December 25. He also made Sunday (literally sun day, for it was named after the sun god) the official day of worship, why?

Why December 25th

First, all major pagan gods were born on December 25 which is close to the winter solstice, the shortest day of the sun. Mithra is no different, in fact their god was also born of a virgin, and could renew life eternally. A high priest in Mithra is called father (Roman Catholic priests are still called father) and this is why Jesus said that we are to call no man on earth father, for we have but one Father in heaven. Mithra was not new to Rome and was popular during the life of Jesus. Moreover Emperor Constantine, while claiming to be a Christian maintained the title "Pontifus Maximus" the high priest of paganism. His coins were inscribed: "SOL INVICTO COMITI" (COMMITTED TO THE INVINCIBLE SUN), and he worshipped God? -- impossible according to God. You can not serve two masters.

The similarities of the Christian beliefs and that of Mithra and paganism were just to close. It was so easy for pagans to go into a Christian church and 'celebrate' the official state religion. Who cared if they really were celebrating their own gods, right?. Still, the joining of pagan rituals and celebrations, along with the honest observance of the birth of Christ became a new celebration in Rome. This eventually evloved into what we today call Christmas.

So what?

Recall that when Jesus ascended into heaven He said that He must go now for the prince of this world cometh and he have nothing on me. The Apostle Paul wrote that the anti Christ was already at work in the world. In 1962 the pope stated that the smoke of satan had entered the church. How true his statement, yet he was not referring to the 4th century when satan was already in the church.

Remember, satan's goal is to confuse and deceive you in anyway possible to get you to not only lose focus on God, but to stop following God in such a way as you don't even realise what he has done. Instead of following God for yourself, you go along with the crowd, which is EXACTLY what satan wants you to do. Don't ask questions, just go with the flow like everybody else is doing. So now you have the makings of the biggest lie ever to be followed by mankind, the joining of paganism and Christianity with the belief that this is OK. Satan will feel free to add just enough poison to scripture to make it sound believable, yet still it is a lie. This is why you must read the Bible and pray that God reveal to you His message. Do not follow the 'traditions' of men as the Bible warns us not to.

Santa and his elfs

Know what an elf is? Everybody knows right? They are those short little men who help Santa make toys and fill his sleigh. Incredible how the truth is so close and nobody believes it. According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, an elf is an evil sprite doing evil upon men. Go ahead and look it up. Yet how many kids are lied to and told that Santa is omnipotent because he can see you all the time, and has elfs to help him. Jesus said that blasphemey against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, so why do we do it to please our kids? Kids are born not knowing anything, so why teach them a sin against God? Elfs really are evil.

Now what?

Is it possible to celebrate Christmas while being a Christian? Absolutely, but be careful. God knows our hearts and intentions. In Luke we are reminded that one man esteemth the Lord one way while another man esteemth him differently, let every man be convinced in their heart. Paul taught us about the incredible freedom in Jesus Christ when he preached of eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols. He reminds us of carrying our own cross and understanding our freedom. Ask yourself, how am I brining honor to Jesus and glorifying God's Holy name when I put up a tree and decorate it? Where is the rememberance of Jesus when we string lights up across our house and lawns? How do we serve God by lying to our children about santa and elfs? Remember that we are but branches on the vine, alone we can do nothing.

May the peace and love of Jesus Christ be with all. Pray that the Holy Spirit guide your heart to it's proper celebration and worship of Jesus Christ our Lord.

( return to Devotionals )