Hardly! Where does God say not to celebrate Jesus' birth? Where Does The Bible Say Not To Celebrate Christmas For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Pondering is work. In early fall. It was lost, confused, dying. But the circumstances were not good. I The difficulty with this approach does not lie in the thought that the biblical view of salvation is unrelated to such themes. Most people think that the day of one's birth is special. Crashaw wrote of this wonder: This is why the wonder of children seems so appropriate at Christmastime. But the writer of this epistle had a deeper insight into humanity. It was a sad world in their time. I love this word "glorify." Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. We also can celebrate Christmas by being amazed at it "And all who heard it were amazed" (Luke 2:18). Jesus Christ does not thus become some magical wand which causes all our troubles to disappear. Also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toilthis is God's gift to man. He makes me lie down in green pastures. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957), page 166. Some even contain good emphases. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. He was, however, making a very important point: We should never celebrate Jesus birth at Christmastimeand then forget Him the rest of the year. So do that. Colossians 2:16 Verse Concepts Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day Psalm 95:2 Verse Concepts So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. One theory is that the early church decided to celebrate Christmas on December 25th in order to oppose the pagan celebration of Sol Invictus. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. W Like the message to Mary, this message also has four parts: Also, like the message to Mary, it has an important emphasis which, in this case, is the proclamation of joy. In one sense all the acts of God are legitimate grounds for such amazement. I am not referring to activity, of course. Ponder the great doctrines of the Christian faith doctrines of the incarnation, atonement, grace, sanctification, heaven, perseverance, and others so that you begin to grow strong in doctrine. - Sort By Book Order. Do you sometimes feel that God has forgotten you? In 1872 an edition in 2 volumes was printed for private subscription by A.B. As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. But how should a Christian celebrate Christmas? O come, let us adore Him, There are a few Bible verses that seem to suggest that Jesus did not want people to celebrate his birth. ( Egypt Today .) The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. So they left their flocks and came and found Jesus, precisely as the angels had indicated. And then this is what is so wonderful Joseph believed him. Do you know that you have fallen short of God's standards and that nothing within you will ever be able to move up to the fulfilling of them? Finally, in chapter 1, verse 7, Paul indicates that the only solution to the problem lies in receiving peace from God: "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ." Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem; Come and behold Him Of course, you can and you should! Bible Verses About Celebrating Birthdays - KING JAMES BIBLE ONLINE Of course He should. Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. The question is important because of the significance of the day and because so many obviously do not know how to celebrate it. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. It is the way mentioned in the book of Philippians. In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. Music: In Dulci Jubilo, 14th Century German melody; harmony from Christmas Carols Old and New, 1871. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. What does the Bible say about Christmas? - Becoming Christians And they know that as a result of this faith, they are at peace with one another. So the question is not "where did God say not to ." It is always the question "where did God say to ." See: Holiday Observances. Reprinted by Moody Press, 1969. But she could not have known that for sure. Our children's gift to us is their example of amazement which will lead us to recapture our own sense of amazement at the incarnation. L And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. Christmas is a very important holiday for Christians because it celebrates the birth of their savior. Volume I, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1951), page 146. Frank E. Gaebelein writes about this passage in The Practical Epistle of James, "A few years ago, former Chancellor Hutchins of the University of Chicago said war begins in the minds of men. On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time; according to all its statutes and all its rules you shall keep it. So Moses told the people of Israel that they should keep the Passover. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Further light is shed upon these verses by the meaning of the words for peace in the original Greek and Latin. It refers to what we would call "peace of mind" or a "peace of heart." But it does not mean that God has forgotten. But the angel appeared and explained to Joseph what was happening. In chapter 2, verse 10, Paul writes of God's fairness in granting "glory, honor and peace, for everyone who does good.". Quite obviously, the fact that the world often celebrates the day in non-Christian ways is no excuse for Christians to either neglect or misuse it. Be amazed at the event itself. In this verse the word "learn" is a Greek word from which we have derived our word mathematics. H Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. He would say that He was the life for a world that was dying. And you will enter, perhaps for the first time, into the Christmas story. He asked him to examine the last clause of the verse carefully: "good will toward men." He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago)" (Luke 1:68-70). It is selfishness and pride, plus the lack of individual peace and contentment. Privacy I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well. They had no thought about spiritual things at least we are not told that they did and they certainly didn't expect the miracle. One day just before Christmas vacation, the professor said, "Well, Keiper, are you going to preach that old Christmas farce again?" U And God will grant your requests." Does the Bible Condemn Using Tarot Cards? We are told of them that they "returned glorifying and praising God." Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Why We Celebrate The Birth Of Jesus | Hearinnh However, by the late fourth century it was generally celebrated in churches. Now the one thing prayer will most do for us is bring our minds into a greater conformity with the mind of God. Let your prayer be the cry of the publican: "God be merciful to me, a sinner!" If we turn back to the earliest chapters of Genesis, we discover a description of the globe before God fashioned it into the kind of world we know now; and we are told that "the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." For you see, Joseph was in a difficult position. "He was born like us as well as died like us. For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life. Joy is of God. Christmas is not Christian because it is associated with many pagan birth mythsand Dec. 25 was not the date of Christ's birth. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost. Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. In the book of Philippians, Paul speaks of this peace when he says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. That is what Jesus Himself said: "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. There is one kind of amazement which is merely a tickling of the fancy. Imitate the shepherds in spreading the word concerning what you know about the Christ child. To the choirmaster. But the problem is that what God means by the phrase is not what men generally mean when they use it. It is the kind of amazement we associate with special effects in a movie or with an Olympic gold medal winner. pages 24-25. "A Hymn to the Nativity." Many people believe that the celebration of Christmas is rooted in the pagan holiday of Saturnalia, which honored the god Saturn. Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The passage begins by speaking of the shepherds. There is peace with God. To what did they return? The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. The Truth! All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Well, the birth of Christ itself teaches us of God's love; for God loved us so much that He became man in order to die for us. Instead they carry us deep into the mind and counsels of our great God. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men. Suddenly the angels appear, first to Zechariah and then to Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds, and the word is out: God has not forgotten! He became a man in His incarnation. In other words, what they had been told coincided with their own experience, and they could not resist speaking of such things.
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