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NASB | Jeremiah 10:1 Hear the word which the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Jeremiah 10:1 Hear the word which the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. |
Subject: Christmas |
Bible Note: I appreciated your thought, Aixenyz4 - “Therefore we are also free to invent religious ceremonies or import strange practices into the church”… because it shows that you CAN understand exactly where Tim and others who experience the joys of this Christmas, Hanukkah or Chanukah season. We are free to worship Him as David did when he saw the ark was coming up the road – with dancing and … Then, you tossed a foul ball, when you added, “But God has not left it up to us to decide what we should remember and celebrate and do. He tells us what he wants.” Where is the verse that states the God wanted the Jews to celebrate what John the Apostle wrote in John 10:22: “It was the time when the feast of the Dedication WAS BEING celebrated in Jerusalem. It was winter and Jesus was in the Temple walking up and down in the Portico of Solomon.” WHY would John mention a “celebration of the rebirth of a temple built with hands” that was apparently pleasing to God, yet, some people today preach that the “celebration of the birth of the firm once and for all foundation of the temple built without hands” be considered pagan? I can’t imagine an answer either. What exactly was happening during the “celebration” John mentioned? The one that the God DIDN’T decide, but the Jews “themselves decreed by public edict, ratified by vote, that the whole Jewish nation should CELEBRATE those same days EVERY year.” 2 Maccabees 10:8 Eight days are STILL set aside beginning on the 25th of the Jewish month which happens to be “THIS month, on a different day than “our” 25th, BUT the same month. What happens during this every year “celebration”? Besides the lighting of candles, there is many gifts exchanged, music, extra festive food, gathering together of family, friends … Does it sound familiar yet? If your church sings old worship songs, how many carry the tunes from the taverns. Many do, you know. Words of praise and adoration sung to tunes once carrying an opposite theme. Please, in order to fulfill your heart’s plea – that which you wrote to Tim – “Since we have so much freedom, why not use it in the area that God has suggested? Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good works. Let's see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out in times of need” – abide by what Paul admonished so eloquently in Romans. 14:6a “The one who observes special days does so in honor of the Lord.” 14:22 “Hold on to your OWN belief, as between yourself and God, and consider the man fortunate who can make his decision without going against his conscience.” Blessings, Taleb P.S. In case you really want to know – it had to be pagan who invented men’s pants. :) The reasoning is obvious |