The real problem with Christmas

Every year the controversy over Christmas grows more intense. In this country (America), there is the uproar over secular attempts to replace the greeting of "Merry Christmas" with "Happy Holidays." And the removal of manger scenes from public property.

Even among Christians there is the seasonal angst over the emphasis placed on materialism, over-indulgence of our children, wasteful, unaffordable spending, and a fictional Santa.And worse still is the sad realization that the holiday itself, which falls on December 25th, has more to do with the continuation of the pagan celebration of the winter solstice than biblical truth. For as most Christians know, the date of Jesus birth is not mentioned in the Bible.

However, all of this controversy is but a distraction from the real problem with Christmas. The real problem is the misguided focus it causes us all to put upon the birth of Jesus, rather than upon the message he came to deliver through his life and death. That message is summed up in one of the most quoted verses in the Bible: "For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten son..." (John 3:16)

The true message of Jesus is not found in his miraculous birth, but in his pointing us to the great love God has for His children, which was articulated through Jesus' death and resurrection. For if we believe his death atones for our sin, we gain victory over man's greatest enemy - death. And we receive the most sought after treasure in the world - eternal life. It assures us we will be awakened from the sleep of death to live forever with Jesus in the kingdom of God.

I'm certain the reason God didn't put the date of Jesus birth in the Bible was because He knew we'd make it a religious holy day. Under the New Covenant, the requirement to celebrate religious holy days was rescinded. When the early disciples in Galatia were coaxed into celebrating the Jewish feast days, which God did ordain under the Old Covenant,Paul scolded them, saying: "How is it you turn back again to the weak and and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you" (Gal. 4:9-11).

The problem with celebrating unauthorized holy days like Christmas and Easter, even though they may include some biblical truths, is they take on a life of their own. Their observance soon becomes a substitute for living lives of faith and obedience to the glory of God, and separating ourselves from the contamination of this world.

Jesus said the only way to worship God is "in spirit and truth" (John 4:23). Therefore, the more we separate ourselves and our families from the contaminated mixture of religious holy days like Christmas (Christ's mass) and Easter (from the goddess Ishtar), the more we separate ourselves unto God.

The God of Fire

This insight relates to Israel's recent terrible fire in the northern Carmel region near Haifa. I am a bit reluctant to write this because of the many lives lost in the fire. Yet I cannot escape the "coincidences" surrounding it. First, Carmel is the area where Elijah challenged the priests of Baal to a test of fire in the midst of a three-year drought. The drought itself was a judgment brought upon Israel through the prayers of Elijah for their idolatry (James 5:17).

I didn't think more deeply about it until a brother pointed to the words of Elijah's challenge to the Baal priests: "The God who answers by fire, He is God" (1 Kings 18:24). Which quickly begs the question: "Is God speaking again through this fire?" And if so, what is He saying?

Israel was again in the midst of a drought, the worst in their 90+ years of recorded history (a judgment in itself?). So for "coincidences" we have the drought, the fire, the words of Elijah, and the site of the Carmel region.

As to what God's message might be, I think we can rule out Baal worship. But what about faithfulness? If you recall, the real issue was Israel's double mindedness. "How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him" (1 Kings 18:21). It is reminiscent of the warning by Jesus: "I would that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold,I will spit you out of my mouth" (Rev. 3:15,16).

There is no question Israel is again torn between two opinions. Either appease the Arabs and world opinion by surrendering its ancestral lands to create another Palestinian State (Jordan was the first). Or believe that God has miraculously brought them back to the land after 2000 years of exile to fulfill the promises to their forefathers. The promise as stated to Abraham was: "And I will give it to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God" (Gen. 17:8).

It's true Israel was out of the land for centuries(though a remnant always lived there),and many other powers ruled over it. Still it never became the nation of another people. It remained a God-forsaken, barren territory called Palestine, a name referring to Israel's arch enemy the Philistines, that the Romans slapped on it as an insult.

But now they've returned and the land is again prospering. And even though the Jews were officially recognized as the rightful owners by the League of Nations (1920),there has been a continual international drumbeat demanding they relinquish more and more land to their sworn enemies.

So if the one "who answers by fire" is God, then Israel's leaders might want to take more notice before offering to give away any more land. The next conflagration might be even worse.

God's unfrozen chosen

Reading how the Israeli government is being pressured by the whole world to impose another building freeze in Judea and Samaria, I sensed God might be saying something to us. World events almost always carry some communication from Father if we bend our ear a bit.

As I prayed about this racist policy, which is designed to ultimately make the Jewish heartland judenrein,I wondered if it was connected to another "freeze." One that has encased all God's chosen people for two centuries, but especially the Jewish people.

Isaiah had prophesied that Messiah would become to "both houses of Israel, a stone to strike, and a rock to stumble over" (Isa. 8:14). And Jesus did just that. The first house, the house of Judah,who are the Jews,rejected him outright in the first century in fulfillment of another word from Isaiah. He prophesied, "The Lord has poured over you a spirit of sleep; He has shut your eyes" (Isa 39:10). Paul even includes that verse in his olive-tree explanation.

So for 2000 years the freeze on Judah's heart has been in place.He was offended by the gospel and would have none of it.Which is how God arranged to get it to us.But God did promise that a day would come when Judah would thaw out and get a second chance.And when he did, "then all Israel would be saved" (Rom. 11:25,26).

That brings me to the freeze on the other house, the descendants of the house of Israel, who we call "Christians." Namely, us. We might have had a moment of wakefulness granted us when we understood the gospel and got saved, but generally speaking most went right back to sleep. For we were soon lulled into accepting a religion that nullified our faith in Jesus and signed us up for a religious program of works righteousness.

But as the Psalmist wrote, God has set His alarm clock to wake us all at the right time. "His set time to favor Zion" (Ps. 102:13). And God's clock is waking up the whole house right now!

Christians are rubbing the sleep from their eyes to discover the Hebraic roots of their faith and reaching out to love and encourage their still sleeping brother, Judah. And as a result, Judah is stirring. He is looking at those who he once considered his mortal enemies, and for good reason,and seeing a new loving attitude. And his heart is melting.

So just as this awful building freeze will be lifted and life will resume, so too will it happen for the Israel of God. Soon we will see all the prophecies about returning to the land fulfilled, when the peace of God will reign, and the promised Son of David has vanquished all our enemies.

I just hope the Israeli government also realizes the Ice Age is over and stops talking about freezing anything.

Ready for finals?

Consider this a heads up. I believe the church is about to be given a final exam as far as the Jews are concerned. As you know, we have not done very well on this subject in previous tests. When asked if we loved and respected the Jewish people before, a people who we'd been taught were "beloved by God for the sake of the fathers," we answered with Replacement Theology, the crusades, the Inquisition, pogroms, expulsions, and a turning away during the Holocaust. And although a number of our coreligionists rose to the occasion during those trying times and shone brightly, as a group we failed miserably.

But for those who have since learned from the mistakes of prior generations and repented of our former anti-Semitism and bad theology, we'll have a golden opportunity to show new wisdom in the days ahead.

Because it doesn't take a genius to see that Israel and the Jewish people will soon be the most hated people on earth once again. They have already been accused, tried and convicted by world opinion of having stolen the Palestinian homeland. And blamed as the number one disruptor of world peace for fermenting Islamic hatred against the West. It won't be long before another Islamic-inspired war with Israel breaks out, which will no doubt interrupt oil supplies and bring catastrophic economic hardship upon the world.

And when that happens, will we stand alongside the Jews? Will we raise our voice against the angry mobs demanding that the Jewish homeland be sacrificed for world peace? Or will we once again be swept along in a sea of anti-Semitic malevolence?

If you're not sure how you will answer the question, or even how important the right answer is to getting a passing grade, let me show you something from the word of God.

After raising the question of how Gentile believers in Jesus should treat those Jews who had rejected Him as Messiah, Paul warns: "Do not be arrogant towards the natural branches [who had been broken off for unbelief]; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you [...] Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell severity, but to you God's kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief will be grafted in; for God is able to graft them in again" (Romans 11:18-23).

In other words, Paul reminds us that we got into this tree of His chosen people only by the kindness of God (we were saved by His grace, not just by faith). But if we don't continue in His kindness, as evidenced by our treatment of the Jewish people, He will withdraw His kindness and we will be lopped off.

These are sobering words of warning that every Christian should take to heart. Which is why I'm sure the Jewish question will be on the final exam. So get our your Bible and study yourself to be approved. Finals are right around the corner.

Rest: God's Growth Hormone

A brother was commenting on the advice he'd given his teenage son to put aside his worldly music before going to bed for the night, and instead read his Bible. He told him, "The body needs rest at night to grow."

Immediately I got a Holy Spirit flash that what is true in the natural is true in the spiritual. Therefore if we rest in God and the truth of His word it will cause our spiritual man to grow. And as we grow, so does the whole body of Messiah. "For the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love" (Eph. 4:15,16).

But the key is rest."There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore, let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall through following the same example of disobedience [as those in the wilderness].For the word of God is living and sharper than any two-edged sword." (Heb. 4:8-12).

In other words, God commands us to cease from all our labors and enter into His Sabbath rest. He is not speaking here of the 24-hour Sabbath rest of the Old Covenant,but our resting in Jesus and His covenant promises 24/7. And the work we are to rest from is not our physical labor, but all the dead works of the flesh in which we try to continue to earn a salvation that has already been freely given to us. Or to secure ourselves in this world after we've been told to "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness [through faith], and all these things [food, clothing, shelter, security] would be added to you" (Matt. 6:33).

If we sense we are not growing in the Lord as we should, maybe it's time to check how well we are resting. Are we exhausting ourselves running to church, and doing good things to make the world a better place to live? Are we working feverishly to pay our bills and provide for our family, instead of committing our financial, emotional, and physical well-being into the hands of the One who has promised to meet all our needs "according to His riches in Messiah Jesus" (Phil 4:19).

If we see we are not where we want to be, Jesus bids us to lay it all down and, "Come unto Me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will GIVE YOU REST" (Matt. 11:28).

Like everything else with Jesus, His rest is a gift, also. And His rest is the growth hormone we need to develop spiritual muscles and grow strong in the Lord.

God's Bomb Shelters

The Lord just showed me from the Bible He will be providing the equivalent of secure bomb shelters for His people during the coming tribulation. I know many Christians are hoping to be raptured out before the feathers hit the fan, but that is not what I see the Bible teaching. Rather He will be protecting and nourishing His people here on earth during the time when His wrath is being poured out on the evil of this world. It will be as in the days of Noah when he was protected from the flood. And Israel when she was sheltered in the land of Goshen while the plagues were devastating Egypt.

The Scripture the Lord used to show me this was Revelation 12. "Then she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne. Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that she would be 'nourished' (GK: trepho - pampered w. food) for one thousand two hundred and sixty days" (Rev. 12:5,6).

The woman is Israel. And the male child is Jesus, who was taken up into heaven 2000 years ago where He is seated at the right hand of the Father "until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet" (Acts 2:34,35). But since the "church" is also Israel, we see that all the chosen followers of Israel's Messiah alive at the time, both Jew and Gentile, are included in the "woman." And all these, I believe, will be protected in God's bomb shelters until the night is over and the day dawns. Like the Israelites in the wilderness, food and water and shelter from the elements will be supernaturally provided. It is during this time of supernatural protection that Psalm 91 will come into play. Isaiah also foretold of these shelters, saying, "Come My people, enter into your rooms and close your doors behind you; hide for a little while, until indignation runs its course" (Isa. 26:20 & 21).

So the only thing we have to do is make sure we get to the bomb shelters, which I believe are foreshadowed by the "cities of refuge" (Deut. 19). Whether there will be one or three or ten thousand of these "cities," the Lord will show us as we get nearer. And where they are. (It could even be Israel.) But when the time comes we must be ready to leave everything - country, family, home, jobs, church, everything - and go! Otherwise we will be counted among the five foolish virgins who were not ready and "the door was shut" (Matt. 25:10).

The consequences for us if we aren't ready are chilling. We will be left behind to be at the mercy of Satan's anti-christ. We will either have to bow to his "666" system to survive or we will be killed (Rev. 13). And martyrdom will be the only way we will be able to save our souls. But as Satan crushes the remaining believers, God will be crushing him and his kingdom and his fifteen seconds of infamy.

One last thing. The last verse in the twelfth chapter gives us a clue what will be the deciding factor whether you will escape or not. "So the dragon was enraged with the woman [who he couldn't get at because she was protected] and he went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus" (Rev 12:17). Who are these? I believe they could be Christians who were not walking in faith righteousness, but in self-righteousness. That is they gave testimony that they trusted in Jesus, but actually relied more on their religious works, either church attendance or the practices of the Mosaic Law. We need to get free of all such double-mindedness - NOW!

When I Was a Child

It is becoming increasing clear to me that the biggest problem in the church today is we have not left our childhood religions behind. Remember Paul's admonition? "When I was a child, I used to speak as a child, think as a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things" (1 Cor. 13:11) So why have the majority of us, both Jewish and Gentile believers, carried over our respective childhood religious ideas and practices into our "adult" walk with Christ.

What do I mean?

Take non-Jewish believers first. Most of us have been going to some sort of Christian church our whole life. Even before we came to know the Lord's love and forgiveness in a personal way. So what are we doing now that we have experienced our life-changing, miraculous rebirth in Christ? Exactly what we were doing before. Going to church every Sunday, maybe singing in the choir, maybe ushering, just trying to keep our noses clean and live as good Christians. Nothing has really changed has it? Except now we pay a little more attention to pastor's message, act a little more serious about our commitment, and maybe tithe. Because we know it's for real now.

And what about Jewish believers? The same thing. Most have attended synagogue, at least until the Bar-Mitzvah was done at age twelve. Most have celebrated the Passover seder and watched mom scrub the house of all traces of leaven, have fasted at Yom Kippur, and have honored the Sabbath. Most know dairy and meat should never be served together (even if they never got that crazy with it themselves). So what has changed since they have invited Messiah into their lives and been reborn? Not much. In fact, most Jewish believers, who call themselves Messianic Jews, are probably under even more pressure now from certain quarters to commit to living a "Torah-compliant lifestyle."

But is this what Messiah Jesus (or Yeshua) has called us to do? No way! "It is for freedom [from all religious law] that Messiah set us free, so keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery" (Gal 5:1). If we received Him by faith, by faith we must now live our lives! "The righteous man shall live by faith" (Rom. 1:17). All mandated religious practices, whether Christian or Jewish, can not please God because they do not require faith. They are expressions of law. And law is the opposite of faith. So why do we bother?

To continue to practice the same religions we did as children that couldn't save us then, and can't save us or keep us saved now, is to "still think, speak, and reason like a child." This childish behavior is not only destroying our own personal walk of faith with the Lord, it is separating us into two groups. And Jesus shed His blood to make us one flock, with one Shepherd.