Christmas celebrations Controversy compels Christian considerations

They’ve become so fed up with the modern paganization of Christmas in our society that they’ve stopped participating in Christmas celebrations, thinking of the possibility that some holiday traditions might have their roots in pagan customs. Their sincere hearts want to please God, so they’ve even given up on the idea of trying to “keep Christ in Christmas.” I certainly respect these sentiments, but as with so many things… especially the controversies of our generation… there’s nothing to be gained by allowing a lack of knowledge to destroy our family’s delight with the celebration of our Savior’s birth. The solution to the controversy… like with other controversies… is taking the time to be like the Bereans in the New Testament book of Acts (Acts 17:11) and “test all things” (1 Thes 5:21), searching the Scriptures and digging into history to see what’s true.

Continue reading →

Let’s be sure our kids discover the Real Santa Claus

The modern make-believe fable of Santa began only 5 or 6 generations ago, in 1823. Would you believe that? It began with the publishing of a children’s poem called “A Visit from Saint Nicolas.” It’s pretty familiar to many English-speaking people today. Though many additions have been added on, there really was a godly, courageous man who became a Bishop in the Christian church in 4th century in Asia Minor. His name was Nicholas. He loved Jesus enough to go into the ministry, but more than that, he was imprisoned for his faith by the Romans. He stood for the doctrine of the Trinity, and he preached against sexually immoral pagan temples, and was very generous, giving to the poor in their time of need!

Continue reading →

Americans Rediscovering their Covenant with God

America’s Declaration of Independence is a covenant document that joins member states together under a common frame of government. On a deeper spiritual level, the Declaration of Independence is a spiritual covenant between a people and their God. To state this concept of the spiritual covenant with God another way, America consists of separate sovereign independent member states that voluntarily joined under a covenantal framework of government as “One Nation Under God. “They,” the American people, as John Quincy Adams stated “were bound by the laws of God, which they all, and by the laws of the gospel, which they nearly all, acknowledged as the rules of their conduct. They were bound by the principles which they themselves had proclaimed in the declaration.”

Continue reading →

Thanksgiving 4 Centuries after Our Pilgrims’ First Celebration #323

To better appreciate the roots of this special season for us as a people, let’s unravel the chain of events that helps us understand the implications of what led to the divinely innovative beginning of a whole new national identity. Nobody I know does that better than my friend Bill Federer – Listen as he describes parallels between the treacherous 16th century time of the Pilgrims and our time 400 years later.

Continue reading →

Thanksgiving in America – a legacy worth reclaiming #316

Is Thanksgiving in America a legacy worth reclaiming? We all know the traditional Thanksgiving story of the Pilgrims, but have you considered the little-known experiences of the his-story that COMPELLED those humble believers to take such risks, posed by tyrants, to make the choices they did?

Continue reading →

Our Personal Quest to Reclaim a Legacy of Thanksgiving #367

America is a nation of people with a centuries-old tradition of celebrating annual solemn days of Thanksgiving. Yet, it seems that our current generation has almost no concept of the deeply personal conviction of the crucial importance of gratitude. And it’s pretty obvious that that gratitude should most deservedly be directed to the Almighty Giver of every blessing and perfect gift in our lives. When you’re stunned with the reality that you survived what could have been a fatal event, how does that make you feel? Let’s look back to the time of the infancy of our American republic, two and half centuries ago.

Continue reading →

Tyranny or Liberty – the Choice is Yours

To honor Christ and disciple the nation – our own nation first – we must be willing to be discipled. That desire must be one of our highest priorities. When we, as individual followers of Jesus, are in the process of being discipled, then we can be trustworthy disciple-makers of our families. Then we can expect the church – the Ekklesia – to be walking in discipleship authority and receive Christ’s power to use His spiritual gifts in us to bring glory to Him. And then we can expectantly disciple those in our communities whom the Lord uses us to draw to Himself. This is the reality of healthy communities of true believers who become beacons of light to the “ethnos” community of our regions and nations. Nothing in the Bible would lead us to expect anything less. And that’s why we participate in the policy-making decisions of our communities however God leads us. At a minimum we must take seriously the privilege of being an informed voter.

Continue reading →

The Most High God raises up kings and takes down kings

Like those times of ancient Israel, before the long age of their many kings, America… and our whole world really… has mirrored those generations when “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). As a society, it seems to most ordinary folks, that the people in charge of the nations… the rulers, the princes, the governing bureaucrats, and people with influence in the halls of schools and churches alike… have partnered with the gatekeepers of hell. To the horror of honest men and women who are just trying to raise their families with some kind of common decency and respect for righteousness, we’ve wondered if common sense and sanity would ever return in our lifetimes. Well… like the prophet Daniel wrote, the Most High God is in charge… “And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding” (Daniel 2:21). Being human… every king that God has ever raised up … has flaws. Their knowledge is imperfect. They are all subject to being influenced by misguided counselors. They make mistakes… sometimes grievous mistakes. And that’s why God’s faithful people who love God and observe to do His commandments as best they know how (1 John 5:2-3), do “...not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:9-10). And never forget to “Pray for kings and all who are in authority…” Why? “…so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity” (1 Timothy 2:2).

Continue reading →

Could celebrating Halloween be spiritually dangerous?

Did you know that the word Halloween can be translated as holy night? But holy for whom? What happens when a night meant to be sacred is hijacked by rituals of death and darkness? The word Halloween comes from something that sounds sacred. It means ‘All Hallow's Eve,’ meaning the evening before All Saints Day. In the medieval Christian calendar, November 1st was chosen to honor believers who had died as martyrs. The night before became known as the eve of this holy day. When church leaders chose November 1st for All Saints Day, that date was already marked by ancient peoples across Northern Europe. It was a time for rituals far older than any Christian observance. The church tried to overlay a holy remembrance on top of existing pagan celebrations.

Continue reading →

Josiah – Boy King – a model of bold humility

The integrity of King Josiah’s promise to lead his people to obediently comply with God’s covenant, was followed by immediate action; After the ways of God, recorded in the Torah were brought to the attention of all the people of the land in a public declaration, King Josiah ordered the high priest to remove and destroy all the objects of Baal worship in the country; He did away with the idolatrous priests appointed by the two previous kings over the course of 57 years. Think of it… That’s like removing all the evil, anti-God, secularist bureaucrats from public office in today’s nations. He even tore down the houses of the male cult prostitutes where women were weaving some kind of tent-like coverings used in grossly degrading and immoral pagan practices (2 Ki 23:4-7). Then King Josiah tore down all the depraved, idol-worshipping high places across Judah, outside of Jerusalem.  He even managed to tear down some of the deviant shrines of pagan perversion north of Judah in Samaria. This would be like shutting down all the porn shops and human trafficking dens across the nation. This was social reform on a scale never seen in the four hundred years since the time of King David.

Continue reading →