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Reality
The assumption that Christmas is a Christian holiday is nearly universal.
It is an institution, an extraordinary cultural phenomenon, and it is promoted by both believers and those who don’t believe.
Rightly or wrongly, it is also seen as a time when people are more open to the Gospel, so that it has the vote of those whose chief desire is to reach the lost for Jesus Christ.
In other words, Christmas is HUGE, and while we need to warn other Christians about its origins and practices, we need to realize that nothing is going to change unless it is God’s good pleasure.
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Some thoughts and a little advice
Unless people are pressuring you to participate, you can pay almost no attention to it except at certain times.
If you don’t celebrate for reasons of conscience, your conscience will be at peace, and this is a good and happy thing when you’re innocent of any particular wrongdoing.
Remember that the Lord commanded Israel not to adopt the customs of the nations, that their disobedience was meant to teach us, and that your stance is Biblical.
Jeremiah 10:1-2a
Hear ye the word which the Lord speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: 2 thus saith the Lord,
Learn not the way of the heathen,
1 Corinthians 10:11
Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
If you watch TV, and enjoy the Hallmark Channel, avoid it for now. Their Christmas movies are appealing, even when they include one of the biggest lies – Santa. Also, Hallmark has been a part of Christmas for decades, and they have a financial reason for promoting this day.
1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
You may still suffer depression, no matter how hard you try to control your thought life and feelings. People are fragile and have little say in what goes on in the larger world around us. So stay in prayer and God’s Word.
When you see Christmas lights still up in February, don’t complain about the people who do this. Pray that the Lord will grant them repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, Who is the Light of the world (John 8:12).
To say that in some way Jesus is coming to us again this December, as if for the very first time, is unreal and untrue, and reflects pagan thinking that has to do with the notion that time is cyclical. The Lord can’t come for the first time every December, anymore than He can die on the cross every spring or in each “sacrifice of the Mass.” Jesus will return to us one day, maybe very soon, and this is our hope which is grounded in reality. Truth has nothing to do with cycles that are pointless and neverending. It runs in a straight line, moving forward purposefully in time toward the goal of the Lord’s return and His actual physical presence with us forever. So take heart, and declare with Job,
For I know that my redeemer liveth,
and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:Job 19:25
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