You Are What You Eat

We will continue the discussion on the laws by talking about the dietary laws. I first had a conversation about this topic with my husband after reading Leviticus 11. It describes clean and unclean animals, what to eat and what not to eat. I noticed that some of the animals it mentioned to not eat are some of the things we eat (DID eat for my husband and I). So, I asked him out of curiosity, “hun, are we suppose to still follow the dietary law?” His response was, “no”. I shrugged it off with an, “oh, ok” but still wondering if it really should be followed. Later (some weeks later), my husband came back up to me and said that we actually should still follow the dietary law. His response from before was because of not wanting to let go of those things we love to eat and have become oh so attached to. We had a pretty good discussion about it, and my husband mentioned that he realized that the dietary law was meant to identify what actual FOODS are (what’s meant for food and what isn’t) and that the things not meant for food can actually be harmful.

Deuteronomy 14 also restates the dietary law. It must be important to be repeated. God is trying to protect us. Especially when He says, “it is unclean to you” or “it is detestable to you”. Those unclean animals are not good for you and your body, so don’t eat them as food! For example, pork, which is hard for a lot of people to give up, is not meant for food. Think of all of the health problems that are a result of eating pork. Pork was not difficult for me to give up because I couldn’t eat much of it anyway because it caused me really bad headaches. But you would be surprised at how many things they put pork into, and I will get to that later!

In the very beginning, man ate only from the earth: fruit. In Genesis 1:29-30, man was given fruit to eat and the animals were given the green plants as food. So when did man begin eating meant? Especially since the dietary law was made clear in Leviticus while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, but before they left Egypt, they ate lamb during Passover. Well, in Genesis 9, after the flood, God gives man flesh to eat. “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.” (Genesis 9:3-4)

When God explained the Dietary Law, he specified which of those meats were good for his people, which were clean and which were not good for them. Some of us don’t realize it, but part of honoring God is protecting and honoring our temples, our bodies. And it starts with what we put in them. We have to avoid those unclean things. When Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were sent to Babylon, the king wanted them to eat what he ate. But Daniel realized the king’s food was not clean and he challenged the chief of eunuchs to give them vegetables for 10 days and let the other youths eat the king’s food for 10 days and see who is better in appearance. Daniel did not want to defile himself. Those unclean things are not good for us. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah ended up appearing healthier than the other youths so the other youths were then given vegetables also. God gave these four youths learning and skill in all literature and wisdom. Daniel had understanding of dreams and visions. (Daniel 1:1-21) Daniel is also where we get the “Daniel Fast”, but he was in mourning for three weeks after a word was revealed to him.

Nowadays, it’s a little more difficult to avoid those unclean foods offered by “the king” (the world). Even when we choose things that are considered food for us, we have to look at what was put in it, and you would be surprised!

I find that swine (pork) is mentioned several times throughout the bible, so it seems if there is anything to avoid it is definitely swine! But here’s the thing, if you look on the packages of the foods you eat, you will find there is pork in much of it. What? You say it doesn’t say it has pork in it? Well, lets look at a different name: gelatin. We know gelatin from things like jello, gummy bears, and anything with gel-like textures. But, what exactly is gelatin? Well, in plainest terms, it’s pig skin, pig fat and tissue and cow bones along with other animal by-products. Gross, right? Finding out what all has gelatin seriously broke my heart! My favorite candy was gummy bears. No more of that. My favorite dessert is cheesecake and Sara Lee cheesecakes (my favorites) have gelatin. No more of that. Even sliced cheese that we all eat on burgers, sandwiches, and on broccoli (because that’s the only way you will eat broccoli) has gelatin. No more of that! And it’s not just gelatin. There are so many other unclean things put in the foods but labeled under different names.

But my question is WHY??? What is the significance of putting this stuff in the foods? Remember, there is always something spiritual behind something natural that happens and vice versa. Just like God has plans for us, the world also has an agenda. This post is mainly to make you aware of the dietary law and to be mindful of what you put in your body, and also to cause you to question the overall goal of processed food and even any food not handled by your own hands. This sparked in me to grow my own garden. What we put in our bodies should be important to us. What we put in our bodies should bring glory to God. Everything we do should bring glory to God, even what we eat. He wouldn’t specify what to eat if it weren’t important to him!

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) and these verses are referring to sexual sin which is also not glorifying God through your body and is another topic to discuss in another post!

The Feasts of The Lord

For those of you that want to learn more about the feasts of the Lord or you are trying to let yourself go from the pagan feasts we know as Easter, Christmas, Halloween and Valentines, this post is for you! When letting go of something, sometimes it’s easier when you know you have an alternative. Well, as for the pagan festivals and you wanting to let go of that foolishness, God kept you in mind and has feast for you to remember and bring you closer to Him! If you are like me and just want to dig more into the Word of God and get a better understanding of these feasts so you can better please God and live a more righteous life (because you let go of the world already, been there done that!), then this post will work for you, too!

Just to give some background, I was a kid, like most of us, that was brought up on the holidays we know as Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s and Halloween (just to name some). However, I was also the kid that loved Jesus and just couldn’t figure out how this stuff was connected to Him. I was a thinker and unlike other kids, I wanted to please God the right way and not just how people say to please Him. Jesus DIED on a cross for us! That was a big deal to me. I wanted to understand how this stuff really honored Him. I never got a clear explanation.

I also enjoyed the memories and fun traditions, but I still didn’t see the connection to Jesus. The stuff itself was fun, but what does it have to do with Jesus since it is supposedly about Him? My favorite was Halloween all because my birthday is on October 31^st. All of the other stuff wasn’t as big of a deal as it was to others. I just wanted presents, but I would happily take presents any time of the year! What kid wouldn’t??? As I got older, I learned where all of this stuff came from and it wasn’t hard at all for me to let go. All I needed was a reason to let go because I didn’t want it anyway! No one could tell me how it was connected to Christ. And I noticed that people would be super excited about decorations and presents and Christmas trees and I never saw them open the bible…ever. So how could you be celebrating Christ, but don’t learn about Him? You’re more excited about a tree and lights and decorations and presents and music than about the Word itself? It all made me wonder.

So, I wanted to learn about the holy days God actual gave us. These days, we don’t have to wonder what the connection is or focus on worldly things more the Godly things. With these feasts, they’re all God-centered. These feasts are:

                1. Passover

                2. Feast of Unleavened Bread

                3. The Feast of Firstfruits

                4. The Feast of Weeks (Pentacost)

                5. The Feast of Trumpets

                6. The Day of Atonement

                7. The Feast of Booths (Tabernacles)

The Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread

Passover began when God struck Egypt with the plagues. The last plague (10^th) was the death of the first born of every man and beast. The children of Israel were instructed by God through Moses to stay indoors and place lamb blood on the doorposts of their houses. As God struck Egypt with the plague, He passed over the houses with the lamb blood as it was a sign. We are to remember Passover and to keep it as a feast. God also stated that for the next seven days, you should observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread where no leaven is to consumed or even in the house. This also represents the sinless life of Jesus. The first day is a Sabbath and the seventh day is a Sabbath. (Exodus 11-12) If you read from Genesis to Exodus, all of this will make lots of sense and even give you more background. The bible begins with Adam and Eve, but it takes us through the journey of Israel and the children of Israel which ultimately leads us to Jesus! This whole bible is about Jesus!

If you look at Passover, they killed a lamb and shed the blood so that they would have grace through that night of the plague and make it out of Egypt. Who was our ultimate lamb whose blood was shed so that we may have grace and make it to Heaven? Jesus. (1 Cortinthians 5:7) Which this also the time He was actually crucified. (Matthew 26-28) Wow, that’s something isn’t it? So, when Israel was instructed to observe Passover that first night, it was preparing them and their following generations for Jesus.

How to Observe Passover: Many of us go to church and have communion services and feet washing services. For those of you that think it’s for Easter, WRONG!! It’s for Passover. Matthew 26: 26-29 explains why we have communion. Jesus was letting His disciples know that it was getting close to Him leaving and it was going to be His last Passover before He eats with us again in God’s kingdom. Doesn’t that make you excited? It makes me excited, that Jesus did all of that (dying on the cross and going to preparing a table) just for me and you if you want it. Think of loving someone so much and so unconditionally that no matter how much wrong they do, if they come back and ask you for your forgiveness and truly give their life over to you and no other lover (gods) anymore that you will still take them in and still have their seat at the table set for them!

Also, there is the unleavened bread. During these days, it is a little difficult to rid our houses from leaven (yeast) because it is in almost everything! My advice is to do the best you can and definitely avoid eating any of it. Use this time to spend even more time with the Lord and He will lead your steps. The Passover meal includes lamb of course, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs (list of bitter herbs: http://herbs.lovetoknow.com/List_of_Bitter_Herbs).

The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is a Sabbath and also the last day of Unleavened Bread. On these days, just observe them the same as your weekly Sabbaths, a day of rest and worship. Remember, it’s all about God, not you. Now, many work places are quick to observe these pagan days. We can be closed for Christmas and New Years, but are we off for Passover and Unleavened Bread? No, but off for Good Friday? (which has nothing to do with Christ) So, it may be hard to rest and worship on these days if they fall on workdays. I you are adamant about observing these Sabbaths, there are forms you can fill out and have your employers excuse your days. If not, I would suggest that as soon as you get home from work, REST and get into that Word! Already have your meals prepared and chores around the house already done so all you literally do is rest and worship.

Additionally, Passover is also the first feast of the new year. Passover is the 14^th of the month (month of Nisan) and the first day of the sacred year is on the 1st of Nisan (Exodus 12:1-2). We go by the Gregorian calendar so we celebrate the new year in the middle of winter, but the beginning of Spring makes more sense. The beginning of new life, the new year…the resurrection.

The Feast of Firstfruits

The Feast of Firstfruits is a time to offer the fruits of your labor and harvest to God. It falls on the Sunday during the Feast of Unleavened Bread and gives God thanks for all that He has provided. The Feast of Firstfruits also point to Jesus because Jesus was the ultimate Firstfruit offering. The first begotten son of the Father, the firstborn of creation (Colossians 1:15), the firstborn of the dead (Revelation 1:5), and the Firstfruits of those who are to be resurrected (1 Cortinthians 15:20). Adam brought us death by sin, and Jesus brought us life through resurrection. I don’t know about you all, but I am so blessed by this! So, the Feast of Firstfruits is all about offering thanks to God. This was also the last feast that Jesus fulfilled.

How to observe Firstfruits: Remember to give God thanks. This day has been overshadowed in our oh so worldly world by Easter. Easter is about a pagan god, not our wonderful Jesus! Firstfruits is about Jesus!

The Feast of Weeks (Pentecost)

We also know the Feast of Weeks as Pentecost. It is called the Feast of weeks because it is seven weeks after the Feast of Firstfruits, or the 50^th day after the Feast of Firstfruits which is why it is also called Pentecost. This was a day of holy convocation and Sabbath (rest and worship). During the Feast of Weeks in Acts 2:1-4 the believers were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues. Peter then gives a sermon and about 3,000 souls were saved that day.

How to observe the Feast of Weeks: We usually spend this day…yes, in church! We know about Pentecost service. This is a time to rest and worship and to gather and be filled with the Holy Spirit!

The Feast of Trumpets

The Feast of Trumpets is a day of rest and holy convocation. It begins with the blowing of the trumpets. We mostly associate the trumpets with Jesus’ return. 1 Thessalonians 4:16 says For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. In Leviticus 23:23, God tells us that the Feast of Trumpets is a day of rest with no usual work on the first day of the seventh month (beginning of civil year on Hebrew calendar). On this day there should be a holy convocation and a memorial through the blowing of trumpets. Also, there is a food offering. Numbers 29 specifies the details of the offerings for the feasts.

How to observe the Feast of Trumpets: The Feast of Trumpets is observed by having a day of rest (holy Sabbath) and the blowing of trumpets, which is usually done during the Feast of Trumpets church service (holy convocation).  The Feast of Trumpets is the civil new calendar year and the beginning of the Fall feasts. Therefore, this is a time of reflection on the past year and your relationship with God. Happy New Year!

The Day of Atonement

The Day of Atonement and the Feast of Trumpets and the days in between (10 days total) are considered the High Holy Days or Days of Awe(days of repentance). The Day of Atonement is on the tenth day of the seventh month. This is a day of rest and absolutely no work. This is also a day of fasting and prayer (Leviticus 23: 26-32).

How to observe the Day of Atonement: The Day of Atonement (humble our soul) is observed by fasting from food, drink, marital relations and leather clothing. “Afflict yourselves” stated in Leviticus 23:27 refers to refraining from food, drink, bathing, sex, and luxury clothing which pleasures the flesh. The purpose of fasting is to suppress physical desires (humble yourself) in order for spiritual desires to surface. Fulfillment of this feast will be when Jesus returns, day of repentance.

The Feast of Booths (Tabernacles)

The Feast of Tabernacles is on the 15^th day of the seventh month. This feast lasts for seven days (season of our joy). The first and eighth day are days of solemn rest. (Leviticus 23:33-43) This is a time for rejoicing (Deuteronomy 16:14). When Jesus returns, he will “tabernacle” with his people. The feast also celebrates how God provided shelter for the children of Israel while in the wilderness after their exodus from Egypt.

How to observe the Feast of Tabernacles: A sukkah or “tent” is built and decorated before the feast begins. This is to be the dwelling place for the duration of the feast. This represents the tabernacles, or booths (tents) that Israel dwelt in while in the wilderness and the fellowship with Jesus when he returns to dwell with us (Jeremiah 23:7-8). The sukkah meant to be outdoors. Also, a lulav is made from specific branches (Leviticus 23:40). These branches are meant to be waved during the feast to rejoice.  It is a time to celebrate, praise God and give Him thanks, sing, and do things that make you happy. Also, reading from the Torah (first five books of Bible) is done each day.

The Sabbath

In addition to these feasts, we have the weekly Sabbath. My very first post was on the Sabbath. I began this blog on the Sabbath, the day of rest. Leviticus 23 walks us through the seven feasts and also begins with the Sabbath. The Sabbath began in the beginning. We all know that when God was done with His work with creating the world, He rested on the seventh day. There is a reason this is told to us and a reason God did this. We are made in His image, so we, too, need to rest. We would go non-stop if we let ourselves. We work all through the week and all through the weekend. But God gave us the seventh day to rest. He was the first example. Genesis 2:1-3 tells us that God blessed the seventh day, making it holy.

In Exodus 16:22-30, the children of Israel were instructed on how to conduct themselves for the Sabbath. They were to gather bread and eat for six days. On the sixth day, they were to gather bread for that day and for the next day. This way, there would be no gathering or working on the Sabbath day, but they would already have the food they need for that day and already prepared. Exodus 20:8-11 gives us the commandment to remember and observe the Sabbath and to keep it holy. We are to work for six days and rest on the seventh.

God reminds us in Exodus 31:12-18 the reason for the Sabbath. It is a reminder that God created the heaven and the earth in six days and rested on the seventh. Deuteronomy 5:12-15 also reminds us of how keeping the Sabbath reminds us of how the children of Israel were kept in bondage with no rest and God freed them from the bondage of Egypt and should work for six days and take the seventh day to rest and be refreshed.

How to observe the Sabbath: Observing the Sabbath does take some getting used to in our day and time. For my husband and I, as you’ve read in the first Sabbath post, it felt more like a burden than a day of rest. It felt like we were not allowed to do anything and in bondage at home. But after I read Exodus 16, 22-30 it was clearer to me. We needed to get everything done before the Sabbath so that everything was already done and prepared and all we needed to do was rest.

We have a different calendar now from back then, but we still function with seven days per week. Sunday is our first day of the week, but MANY people observe the Sabbath on this day, which is why we have church serves on this day and some businesses are closed on this day. This is where observing the Sabbath became challenging, because the bible says the seventh day. This would make our seventh day on Saturday, which is the day we normally like to do stuff and get stuff done. So how backwards things are when you listen and follow man and not God?

But observing it can be done and it can be refreshing just like God made it to be. I usually cook a big meal on Friday that we can eat from through Saturday evening. Any chores or school work (I’m a teacher) that need to be done, I do through the week or on Friday before sunset. If there is something that can wait until Sunday then it will wait. By sunset, food is prepared, chores are done and I’m ready to get into the Word. From sunset Friday to sunset Saturday, we rest. We relax. We read and study the Word. We pray. We talk. We laugh. We rest. When we get hungry, we just fix a plate of food and eat. No cooking. If we can help it, no going to the store. No shopping, just resting and relaxing. Any shopping that needs to be done, is done on Friday or Sunday and the rest of the week.  When you have kids, emergencies come up, but try to be prepared!

The Sabbath is our day to rest our bodies, rest our minds, be refreshed for the next week and remember that God created the world, He created us so He gets ALL of the glory! It’s our day to chill. Jesus reminded us in Mark 2:27 that, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” because even then they were complaining and acting like the Sabbath was a burden and they couldn’t do anything at all. Jesus told them, “If your sheep fall into a pit on the Sabbath, don’t you get it out?? So how is a man less than an animal??? Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to harm, save life or to kill???” when the Pharisees were wondering if He was going to heal the man with the withering hand on the Sabbath. And He healed the man’s hand. Basically, a lot of the stuff we go through, we put on ourselves.

Keeping the Feasts

Exodus 23:10-19 tells us to keep the feast, in other words continue to observe these feasts throughout the generations. Many people say that we do not have to follow the law, but does that mean we no longer are required to follow the ten commandments??? It is part of the law. And Jesus made it perfectly clear that he came to fulfill the law, not destroy it. Matthew 5:17-20 quotes Jesus saying in his sermon that, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Fore I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus makes it clear to continue to follow the law, which is laid out throughout the Torah. This includes the feasts. We celebrate all of these days of foolishness (Christmas, Easter, etc.) when God has specifically created days of observances that honors Him and helps us grow as His people. I hope you all join me in celebrating and honoring God for all He has done for us!!!

The Problem With Our Traditions

Talking about the truth behind these traditions that we practice every year is a touchy topic seems like, since people are so attached to their worldly things that they become defensive about the topic. For example, if I tell you that Christmas is demonic, how do you feel right now???......... I simply want everyone to understand what it is that you are doing, what it means to God, and you choose for yourself whether or not you continue in it. But at least KNOW what you are doing. Hosea 4:6 says, “My people will perish for lack of knowledge because you have rejected knowledge.” Please don’t reject this knowledge. The reason people share this information is because they don’t want YOU to PERISH, that’s all. If they didn’t care, they wouldn’t worry about telling you. I mentioned in my last post about letting things go, that sometimes we don’t let go because we’re scared or it’s uncomfortable. Also, sometimes it’s because we become so engulfed in that thing that we’ve made IT our god and not God himself. How many of you will sing Christmas songs all day, but you have to make time to pray to God? How many of you spend all week decorating your house for Christmas, but don’t have time to open your bible?

As a teacher, our instruction is best when it is student-centered. It takes work to create lessons that involves more student interaction than lessons where the teacher just stands in the front of the classroom and just lectures. Student-centered means the students get more out of it. Student-centered means the student gets more of the learning. God-centered means God gets all of the glory!

These things that we celebrate are not God-centered. We say they are, but we say a lot of things…does that mean it’s all true?....... Look at it this way, if Christ is really the meaning behind all of these traditions, does that mean He’s a god that lies??? Jesus was not born on December 25, there is no Santa Claus, there are no reindeers, there is no Easter bunny, Jesus did not die on the cross on Good Friday and raised on Easter Sunday (that’s not even three full days). My God is not a god that He should lie, so these traditions should not be associated with Him. How do we sit there and take a bunch of lies and demon celebration and put Christ on it???

I will give some background on each of these traditions and then give what The Word says about these things. The background given is just snippets of the large amounts of details and histories that make up these celebrations. I know some of you don’t want to hear some of these things and possibly didn’t even know any of this, but I look at it this way, if I reject the knowledge then I’m rejecting God. I definitely don’t want to do that! So, let’s start at the beginning of the Gregorian calendar, January.

The Traditions

January-New Years

New Years was derived from the Babylonian(pagan) celebration called Akitu. This celebration took place during the first new moon that followed the vernal equinox in March. It involved an 11 day celebration counting down to the new year and celebrated the sky god named Marduk, whom had defeated the evil sea goddess Tiamat. This is also the time that they crowned their new king. Even the new year’s resolutions was Babylonian as they made promises in order to please their gods. The Romans changed the calendar and then it was changed again by Pope Gregory XIII (Catholic) in 1582 where new years ended up on January 1. And eating black-eyed peas for good luck for the new year…it’s pagan, too!

February-Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day, or St. Valentine’s Day, was originally a fertility festival in ancient Rome called Lupercalia (or wolf festival), which honors the god named Lupa which was a she-wolf that suckled the two founders of Rome. This festival also honors the Roman god named Lupercus (Pan in Greek mythology). It took place from February 13 to 15 and included the priests to sacrifice a goat and a dog, touching women with the goat skin to produce fertility in the next year. These women would also get matched with men to be with for the next year using what seems to be a lottery type system. It became Christianized then later outlawed (just renamed). This is when Lupercalia became Valentine’s Day. It still didn’t become about love until centuries later. During Lupercalia festival, februa was included which was an early spring cleaning ritual, hence the name February.

March-St. Patrick’s Day

Saint Patrick’s Day is a Roman Catholic festival that honors an Irish patron saint named Patrick. He was kidnapped and brought to Ireland from Roman Britain. He later escaped and returned to Ireland to convert the pagan Irish people to Christianity (Roman Catholic). He died on March 17, which is celebrated as St. Patrick’s Day today. The green is for the shamrock that Patrick used to teach the people about the holy trinity. He used the Celtic cross to aid in converting pagans and getting them to understand the importance of the cross. The Celtic cross is a combination of a cross and the sun cross, which is a pagan symbol which finds its roots to Tammuz and Nimrod from Babylon.

April-Easter

Easter was also a pagan festival that was later converted into Christianity. Easter, named after the fertility goddess Ishtar, Ashtoreth, Astarte (The same deity but different in names depending on the culture) was a festival honoring Eostre/Ishtar. Ever wondered what the rabbit and eggs had to do with anything? (I never saw the connection because rabbits don’t lay eggs!) Well, rabbits and eggs represented fertility (this is the fertility festival. So, you are letting your kids are partake in fertility festivities.) When it was converted to Christianity, it became one of the major days during the Lent season (Roman Catholic). There’s Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, which is basically get all of your sinning done before the fast day (part of the pagan Saturnalia and Lupercalia celebrations); Spy Wednesday, observing the betrayal; Maundy Thursday, which observes the last supper; Good Friday, which observes the day of the crucifixion; Holy Saturday, which observes the days between the crucifixion and the resurrection; Easter Sunday, which observes the resurrection and begins the days leading to Pentecost.

July-Independence Day

One question, whose freedom are we celebrating here???..... And wasn’t America supposedly founded in Christianity? What happened to that?? (okay, those were three questions)

October-Halloween

Halloween was a pagan festival called Samwain (SAH’ win). It was a day that the people thought that the pagan gods and other spirits could come into our realm more easily (rising dead). The people would dress up as ghosts to disguise themselves and leave food and wine on the front steps in order to keep the spirits from entering. When Christians (Roman Catholic) converted it, it became All Hollow’s Eve, along with All Saints Day (Nov. 1) and All Soul’s Day (Nov. 2). It all eventually merged and became Halloween and now targets children (like the rest of these festivals). Now, my birthday is on October 31, but please don’t call me a Halloween baby or a Spook! You will be dismissed! (LOL) As a kid, I didn’t even care about all of this stuff. I can get candy anytime through the year! What I need to dress up for as a demon?! Also, Halloween or Sahmain is still celebrated by modern pagans, which are now called Wiccans, witches, and wizards (pagan=witchcraft…starting to see it now?). Still want you kids a part of it? That’s who they’re after!

Bonus-Columbus Day

Christopher Columbus didn’t even do any of what they teach us that he did! So why are we even…oh wait…..Christopher Columbus was Italian…..Roman Catholic……moving on!

November-Thanksgiving

The most “traditionally accepted” story about Thanksgiving is where the pilgrams and native Americans had a wonderful first harvest festival from the natives teaching the pilgrams how to grow certain crops. They laughed, ate, and played games. There’s also the story where some years later, the settlers (we call them pilgrims) had a big dinner to give thanks for their victory over the natives. They slaughtered hundreds of native men, women, and children. Many of the women and children were put into slavery. We get the lovey-dovey stories in school because basically, that’s what we want to hear! Nobody wants to hear this. But deep down, some of you knew that this was the true story when they taught us isn’t quite the whole story. Thanksgiving wasn’t a tradition until Lincoln declared it.  

Bonus-Black Friday

Basically, we show up in long lines for Black Friday, but can’t pray. We show up in long lines for Black Friday and can’t even show up at our children’s school. We fight over TVs and game systems, but won’t fight for our kids or fight our flesh when we know we need to live right. This day just shows where our priorities are.

December-Christmas

Christmas! This is the big one! People don’t like you talking about Christmas…well let’s dig in!

Just like Valentine’s Day began a Lupercalia, Christmas actually began as a Babylonian celebration of the rebirth of the sun-god Tammuz( Nimrod/Baal reborn/ the sun of the sun-god really), but later became known as Saturnalia, or Yule. This festival was in honor of the Roman god Saturn and was filled with gift-giving and partying. It began on December 17 because of the winter solstice. This day on the Julian calendar is December 25. December 25 is also the birth of the sun god Sol Invictus (Persian sun-god named Mithra). Notice there is nothing about Jesus. The Roman Catholics later “Christianized” the festival referring to it as the day of Jesus’ birth (more like the day celebrating His birth). But there are no exact records of what specific day Jesus was born. If this isn’t enough, let’s talk about what all Christmas includes:

Christmas tree- Pagans cut down and put evergreens in their houses and temple during the winter solstice (Saturnalia). It too, was “Christianized” and hung apples on the tree to represent the Garden of Eden, along with candles and sweet treats. The decorations later became round, glass ornaments and lights. A pagan tree in your house is not okay just from the fact that it’s pagan, but check out Deuteronomy 16:21 and Jeremiah 10:1-5 (forbidden forms of worship).

Christmas lights- When light bulbs were invented, lights were specially made for and placed on the Christmas tree in place of candles. The candles came from the Saturnalia festival where the people greeted each other holding the candles. The lights represented Saturn’s light. This later became the light of Jesus.

Wreaths- You know those leafy crowns or headbands worn by the Romans and Greeks that we have seen? That’s what we put on our doors. They represented social status and is included usage of Greek and Roman gods. They were made from the branches of the evergreen trees that were also used as worship in the houses.

Mistletoe- This plant was believed to have special powers against evil spirits, along with representing love, friendship, and fertility (from Norse mythology). Wiccans would place love spells on women through the mistletoe to render a woman powerless against seduction. This is where kissing under the mistletoe came from. It was also used as Saturnalia decorations.

Christmas carols- These songs were also a part of the Saturnalia festival. While the people partied, they would travel the streets and sing.

Santa Claus- This guy that we teach our children comes into our homes at night while we are sleeping (breaking and entering) to leave us presents is based on a combination of deities such as hearth gods (coming down the chimney) and a pagan god named Odin. When Christmas was “Christianized”, they renamed this god after a bishop of Myra named Saint Nicholas. He died in December, which is how the celebration of him ended up combining with the pagan god Odin. If that’s not enough, then take the “n” in Santa and place it at the end of Santa and what do you get?.....

Even Though it’s Hard for Some

Now, I know some of you may be thinking, “Ok, so what? I don’t celebrate these things for these reasons! I just like to have fun and spend time with family!” Others of you may be thinking, “Well, I’m hanging up my Christmas decorations, and nobody is going to take that away from me!” Which is true. No one is going to take them away, the choice is yours. Some of you probably wish you never read any of this because you really want to do what’s Godly and it breaks your heart because you’ve become so attached to these customs and you don’t want to let go, but you know you should. And then there’s those of you, a few, that what you’ve read so far is all you needed to know and you’re ready to drop it all and follow God completely without throwing all of this pagan in His face! That was me! I never understood the connections between Jesus and trees and lights and bunnies and eggs! I was always told what the holiday was for, but nobody could explain to me why we have a Christmas tree with presents under it and why does it have to be so big??? Why does it have to be in front of the window? So everyone can see how pretty it is? But is that giving God glory?

Maybe some of you were this way, but I was that kid that asked questions. I wanted to understand. I didn’t want to be told something and just follow along just because I was told to. I wanted to understand what I was doing. That’s why I fell in love with God so young, because I understood His love, His forgiveness, and His protection and through Him, no weapon formed against me would prosper! So, I wanted to understand all of this extra stuff we were doing. What does the mistletoe have to do with Jesus? What do these decorations have to do with Jesus? What does Santa and reindeer have to do with Jesus? (And I never believed in Santa. My parents made it clear to us when we were very little that there was no Santa and our parents gave us the presents and we would leave cookies out for my dad for getting the presents together while we were sleep…but why are we doing the rest of this stuff?)

I know some people also say, “but the look on my kids’ faces Christmas morning is just priceless!” (so we lie to our children, teach them how to lie, and wonder why they won’t worship God when they grow up) Okay, when I was a kid, all I wanted was presents and candy. Guess what, we can get candy and presents ANY time of the year!!! Why does it have to be on pagan festivals just because you want to see your kids smile? (If I told my students, “let’s have a party tomorrow in class” their faces will light up just the same!) Come up with you own days to spend special time with family and give gifts just for the fun of it. Give gifts any random time of the year! Give to the needy ANY time throughout the year! Not just the end of the year. As Christians, why do we have to take part in pagan festivals to have a nice time? Because we were told to?? Because that’s what everyone else is doing? Because our best childhood moments came from those times of year, so we want the same for our own kids??? Just because it is popular doesn’t mean it’s right, and just because it’s right doesn’t mean it’s popular. Stop following the crowd!

I love the idea of originality. Create special times with your family that’s just for your family. Let it be just a family thing. Give thanks to God for your family. Pray together, study the bible together, eat together, play games together, and laugh together! But can we please stop worshipping these other gods and putting Christ’s name on it? If you are going to celebrate this stuff, can you not include Jesus? If you say you would like a sparkly necklace as a gift, but I gave you a bag of garbage, how would you feel? You don’t want it??? But I put your name on the bag……

Any who, let’s talk about what God’s Word say about all of this.

What The Bible Says

God gave us the 10 Commandments along with the other laws to follow (Exodus 20 1-21). These commandments are:

               1. You shall have no other gods before Me.

               2. You shall not make idols.

               3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.

               4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

               5. Honor your father and your mother.

               6. You shall not murder.

               7. You shall not commit adultery.

               8. You shall not steal.

               9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

               10. You shall not covet.

The very first one says to not have other gods for the Lord your God! You can take that to mean other gods coming first AND other gods in His presence! Why would God be okay with us worshipping AND other gods??? 1 Corinthians 10:20-22 says, “No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?” We cannot serve God AND these demons. It has to be one or the other. If you partake in the pagan’s practices, you are offering up to demons, not God. God never told you to do that stuff. (And why is it that we can accept that Halloween has demons, but cupid and that leprechaun and santa aren’t demons???? I don’t know about you all, but the stuff they do is pretty creepy!)

Ephesians 5:6-7 (please read the entire chapter) says, “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them.” Just because someone tells you something that sounds good doesn’t mean it is truth. Seek for yourself in the Word. Remember, the Word is God. To add on to Ephesians, Colossians 2:8 says, “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” You can’t be doing stuff just because it’s human tradition, just because it’s been done for so many years, just because you are told some reasons that can’t even be backed up by the Word! If someone is telling me I should put up a Christmas tree in my house, I want them to show me in the bible where it says I need to do that! Where in God’s Word does it even say that tree has anything to do with Christ??? Deuteronomy 16:21 talks about not planting a tree and setting up pillars that the Lord HATES! (Asherah-a Canaanite pagan god) Yes, He didn’t want them beside the altar of the Lord, but for those of you that are married, would you want you want your spouse cheating on you right in your face??? Let alone you don’t want them cheating at all, but in your face??? God is a jealous god!!! He doesn’t want us worshipping or even partaking in any kind of worship to other gods!! Not to mention right there in His altar that is supposed to be just for Him. Ladies, you wouldn’t like it if your husband took you out to dinner (like you wanted), but brought another woman along because he likes how she looks so he want her to come too, but say it’s all for you, but he’s staring at her all evening. You wouldn’t react very pleasantly, which is proof we are made in God’s image. He wouldn’t react very pleasantly either. He wants us to worship Him! He made us!!! That’s like me giving birth to children and do everything for them and protect them and they call someone else mommy, like I’m not the one taking care of them and LOVING them! Do you all realize how many times He wanted to wipe out the children of Israel for this same foolishness? Not to mention the nations He did wipe out!

Matthew 15: 1-9 and Mark 7:3-9 talks about choosing human traditions over God and making His word void. We rather choose Easter over Passover. How do I know? We have easter egg hunts at church, but when someone mentions Passover then it’s, “Oh, we’re not under that anymore! We’re not under the law anymore and the laws for observing the feasts!” Or “that doesn’t apply to us!” What?? But we’re quick to dress our children up for their Easter pictures with the Easter bunny, which has nothing to do with Christ or His Word. It’s not even in the bible to do that, but we do it with no questions, with no hesitation. But disregard what the actual Word says.

Deuteronomy also tells us in chapter 12 verse 32 that, “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.” We can’t take Christ’s birth and add all of this paganism to it. We can’t take Christ’s death and add all of this paganism to it. We can follow some commandments and say the others don’t count anymore. We can’t do these things and still call ourselves righteous. We can’t do these things and say we are not sinning. The Word tells us that sin is lawlessness (1 John 3: 4-10) and the law tells us how not to partake in idol worship. He even told us in Jeremiah not to even LEARN these traditions! (Jeremiah 10: 1-4)

We are so quick to celebrate these pagan feasts and God already gave us feasts to observe. We have seven Feasts of the Lord to observe what all the Lord has done for us, but we rather celebrate Saturnalia and offer worship to pagan gods and put Christ’s name on it to “Christianize” it and call it Christmas and New Years. Why go through all of that??? Let go! Let it all go!!! We have feasts that we can make new memories with our families with and still honor God. Teach our children that it’s all about honoring the Lord our God!!! It’s all about remembering what all Christ did for us!!! Teaching our children why Jesus died for them and what it means. We focus on celebrating Christmas because of the looks on our children’s faces, but what about celebrating Passover to remember that Jesus died to save THEM. The Lord had you in mind AND your babies in mind. Jesus died for them, but we rather tell them to be good for the next couple of weeks for Santa???

In my next post, we will look at the feast that were given to us by God Himself. These feasts include:

               1. Passover

               2. The Feast of Unleavened Bread

               3. The Feast of Firstfruits

               4. The Feast of Weeks (Pentacost)

               5. The Feast of Trumpets

               6. The Day of Atonement

               7. The Feast of Booths (Tabernacles)

The true holy days! 

I hope this post has been a blessing to you and an eye opener. I hope you continue the research and continue to seek the Word and learn more in practicing righteousness and what pleases God, not what pleases false gods or what pleases you. Like we tell our children, I brought you in this world, I can take you out. Well, God can do that to all of us, so let’s honor Him and ONLY Him so He won’t have to take us out!

 

Amy M.

Time to Let Go

For those of you that lived a life of sin and became saved, did you find that it was hard to let go of the things that you once loved or once did? Did becoming saved make you feel nervous and scared? Did you feel like if you stopped doing the things you once did that you would have nothing you could do for fun? Did you feel like being saved meant that you would have to be locked in the house reading the bible and fun just isn’t allowed?

Well, part of that is not understanding and the other part is the wrong perception.

How many of you that are not saved want to be saved but you haven’t gotten saved yet because you still want to party and go clubbing?  How many of you that are saved want to live a godly life but some of the stuff you have gotten yourself attached to, you don’t want to stop. For example, you still want to listen to your Beyonce CDs. Y’all (yes, I’m country), it’s time to let go.

Understanding

There is a line between godly and worldly. There is a difference between the two. As saved Christians, we are to be the light of the world. People should just see us and know that there is something different, something holy, something godly. They should see Christ when they look at us. If you truly love Christ, especially for what He did for you, you would choose those godly things over the worldly without a problem. It’s disappointing sometimes, like when I found out about what’s really behind the music we listen to or eating certain things that’s not okay in the dietary laws. I was like, “aww man!” because some of the things included in that stuff were some of my favorite things. But the choice came easy to me by asking myself this question: live ungodly so I can feel good now or live godly so I can feel good for eternity? In other words, this foolishness or my soul? The decision is easy then. Hosea 4:6 says, “My people perish for a lack of knowledge because they have rejected knowledge…” When I learn something that I didn’t know before and it is to help me be closer to God and live a more godly life, I listen and make those adjustments. I don’t want to perish because I didn’t want to listen or didn’t want people to tell me anything or receive what people were telling me because I want to stay in my comfort zone. I rather be uncomfortable now and comfortable for eternity instead of comfortable now and extremely uncomfortable for eternity! As Christians, we should want to do right. We should want to be righteous. We should want to be holy, not trying to look and sound like the world. That’s just bringing glory to ourselves. God doesn’t want your worldly stuff.

How would you like it if someone you loved gave you a gift just because, and it was specially packed for you with your name on it and when you opened it, there was rotting garbage inside? Seriously, how would feel? This is what we do to God when we offer Him up this worldly stuff. We are just humans, so imagine how He feels about you every time you say, “Turn up for Jesus!” WHAT?!?!

Understand why certain things are done the way they are. Understand what stuff REALLY mean! Especially before you offer it to God.

Perception

Okay, so we think being saved means being bored. Really? My husband and I have so much fun all the time. And we don’t have to go to the clubs, get drunk, or sleep around to have fun! There’s movies, there’s restaurants, there’s bowling allies, there’s fun parks, there’s museums, there’s miniature golf, and for my shoppers, there’s malls! This is just to name a few! Grab a GOOD friend and take a trip! Watch your favorite movie, have a movie night with friends. If you have kids, whoop their tails in some Monopoly or The Game of Life! (LOL) Now, your idea of fun may be different from my idea of fun, but if you really want to be saved and live a godly life then you need to look into what fits into that.

Also, I get so much joy from reading the bible. What always worked for me was whenever I was dealing with something, I would refer to the bible. I would find what God said about it and make my choices based on The Word. I wanted to live right, so I needed to know what “right” was. And the bible is the manual for a godly life. For example, as a teenager, I was always so angry at certain people. They would make me soooo mad and just the thought of them made me mad. I got tired of being so angry and wanted to know how to deal with it, so I opened my bible. I found James 1:19-20 “Know this my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God”, and Ecclesiastes 7:9, “Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the bosom of fools” and I stopped being angry right there! It’s all about the choices we make.

Once I learned directly from The Word what was good and was not, I begin to learn more on how others actually dealt with things by starting from the beginning. I began reading the bible from Genesis chapter 1. I am still in the process of that and it is amazing how reading through Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers how the people of Israel also could not let go of Egypt. They cried out to God of Abraham, of Isaac, and  Jacob to be free from Egypt, but once they were free, they could let go of the practices of Egypt. Remember the golden calf? They had been set free from Egypt, walked across the Red Sea on dry land and still wanted to worship other gods like in Egypt (Exodus 32). But even when they came up to the Red Sea, the people of Israel was ready to go back to Egypt that fast (Exodus 14: 12). They cried again in the wilderness about being hungry (Exodus 16: 2-3) and how they had food in Egypt. In Exodus 17:3, they cried about being taken from Egypt to die of thirst. Moses had gotten fed up by the time he came back with the tablets that had the Ten Commandments on them and he saw the people had built that golden calf and was worshipping it. He threw the tablets down, breaking them because he was so upset with them. God was angry with the people of Israel so much, He was going to wipe them out several times, but because of Moses praying and interceding on their behalf, he spared them. However, God did wipe out a generation of Israel instead of all of them.

But do you realize the wrong perception here? You know the saying the grass is always greener on the other side? Do you know what that means? It means that no matter where you are in your life, you are the type of person that sees everything else as better. You leave one thing because the grass looks greener on the other side, but once you get to the other side, the side you left now looks greener and you want to go back! The people of Israel saw freedom from Egypt as the greener grass, but when they were free and had to deal with this new stuff, Egypt looked greener. No matter what side, the other side always looks greener. But my advice is, stop looking at the other side!!!

The children of Israel were too busy comparing their life in Egypt with their life of freedom that they didn’t even see what God was doing for them! He got them out of Egypt (which is what they wanted), He got them across the Red Sea by parting the waters until they ALL crossed, He fed them from nothing, He quenched their thirst from a rock! He protected them in the wilderness, He protected them in battles. He did all of that just for them! And they couldn’t see it because they were too busy looking at what they thought was greener grass.

We do the same thing! We get saved and look at the sinners and think they are having so much more fun and don’t even realize the God is protecting YOU from that shooting that’s going to happen at that club that you think you want to go to so bad. Let it go! You think you’re missing out on the latest music, but God is protecting you from the sin that the music makes you want to commit. Let it go!

A lot of times, just like the children of Israel, we are just afraid of what’s to come. Salvation may be unfamiliar territory to you and you are scared. This is where your faith has to kick in. You have to believe that God is who He says He is and that He will do what He says He will do and just go for it. If you feel a desire to pull out your bible and read, do it. If you feel a need to distance yourself from certain people in order to work on your righteousness, do it. Don’t worry. God’s  got you! And being saved doesn’t mean everything will be smiles and sunshine. We are taught that becoming saved means that everything will now be alright. Yes, it is, but things are going to be hard. But it can go smoothly if you just let go and let God handle it. Let go of the anger. Let go of the hurt. Let go of the sin. Let go of the world.

I am reminded of a scene in “Finding Nemo” (yes, I like cartoons!) where Marlin doesn’t want to let go of the whale’s tongue out of fear because he’s unsure of the outcome. Dori convinces him to let go. This is how we are sometimes. We rather stay in the whale’s mouth crying to get out but then won’t let go of the whale TO get out!

                                                           (Finding Nemo: “Time To Let Go”)

Why are we confessing God, but living a worldly life? The world didn’t die and wouldn’t die for your sins, so why would you choose it over Jesus?

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age” Titus 2: 11-23

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your  bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12: 1-2
 

May God Bless You,

Amy M.

What it Really Means to Repent

Have you ever done something that you were truly sorry for? Something that went wrong or something that hurt someone you love? You felt bad and ashamed and wished you could redo what happened. You felt so sorry that you wanted to make sure that thing didn’t happened again. This is a part of true repentance unto God for your sins. When you repent, you are truly sorry for your specific sins and you ask God to forgive you and you work to make sure you don’t commit that sin again. Why would you do something again, on purpose, knowingly aware that it does not make God happy if you were truly sorry?

Some of us get so caught up in what makes us feel good that we get to the point where we are asking for forgiveness KNOWING we are going to do that sin again. Or better yet, some of us commit sin with the intention to ask for forgiveness afterwards. My question is, what if you don’t make it to that point? What if you drop dead right there in the middle of that sin? So why do it? And if you are truly saved and truly trying to live a Christ-like life, why would you WANT to commit those sins???

The purpose of this post is to remind you that repenting and asking for forgiveness is not something to take lightly and to do just because you can. There is meaning behind it. If you truly want to live a righteous life, then once you repent, you need to continue to be in the Word and seek God in order to avoid those sins and be strong when faced with the temptations. It’s not always easy, but THAT IS NOT AN EXCUSE! Don’t you dare use Jesus dying on that cross for you as an excuse to keep doing foolishness! If you want to live right, you work at it. If you mess up, you repent because you messed up and feel terrible about it because you have disappointed God. Not because you think that if you say, “Lord I have sinned, please forgive me” (and go right back to foolishness), that you will have eternal life.

That’s what this is all about! Your soul! Jesus died so you could have a chance to live in eternity with him and you take it for granted? Some people think that because they believe Jesus died for their sins that they can carry on with foolishness and they’re still okay because they believe. Honey, let me tell you there’s more to it than that!

Reaching True Salvation

 First, in order to reach salvation, there are some steps. The very first step is to hear the gospel.  Most of us have. The next step would be to believe the gospel. Most of us do. Then, here’s where we stop. The next thing that should be done is that you repent (be sorry for your sins). This is where you tell you God of the wrong you have done and tell Him how sorry you are. Ask Him to help you get things right. Tell Him you need Him and that you want to do right. Job confessed his sins and repented, despising himself. (Job 42: 1-6) He was not happy with himself. That’s how sorry we should be. Unhappy with ourselves because we know that we let God down and that He sees us in our good and even the worst of the bad. Some stuff we wouldn’t even want our mama’s to see us doing, so why are we okay with God watching our foolishness?

The next step after repenting of your sins is to then tell others of the goodness of God and how Jesus has died for our sins so that we may live a Godly life and not face the harsh consequences that would have been upon us had He not died. Spread the word so others may be saved also! (Romans 10:9-10, Matthew 10:32) Don’t be ashamed to tell about Jesus! At my very first full-time job, things were hard and it wasn’t the most pleasant place to work. The employees were very miserable, but one of them noticed how I was always so cheery. She came and asked me how I stayed so happy. My response, “Jesus.”  Ever since I was a little girl, I was a firm believer of Hebrews 13:6 “So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”” and that’s how I made it through that time in my life. I believed that my better was coming and I just needed to be faithful in that area first.

Next is baptism (Acts 2:38) which symbolizes your old self dying and you rising as the saved and sanctified you! Then there’s living Godly (Titus 2:11-12). It’s hard to stay saved when you’re living the life of a sinner…

Staying Saved

Basically, one of the hardest things about being saved is staying saved. A lot of people think that once you know that Jesus died on the cross and you believe it, that’s it…your saved. A lot of people KNOW this, but they are still sinners. They haven’t given their life over to Christ by repentance, baptism and living a life that exemplifies Christ. Once you are truly saved, your task is then to continue to live a Godly life. When you mess up, you repent. And you WILL mess up. Things will be really hard. And God still needs to know that you trust Him in it all. My post titled “Time to Let Go” talks more about staying saved.

Remember that repenting means to be truly sorry for your sins so much that you truly don’t want to do them again and you really want God’s forgiveness because you realize how imperfect you are without Him. It is needing God to help us because we are a mess without Him.

http://www.churchofgodofchicago.com/newsletter/10stepstostayingsaved.pdf
  

Why Do You Want To Get Married?

Are you wanting to get married because you want a big wedding and be the center of everyone’s attention? Are you wanting to get married because all of your friends around you are getting married? Or are you wanting to get married because you just don’t want to be by yourself, so you want to marry some person you know isn’t right, but you don’t want to chance being alone??

I have to ask this question because some of our reasons for getting married are not truly preparing us for what marriage really is. First you need to know what marriage means. In the beginning in Genesis chapter 2, God created Adam. God saw that it was not good that man be alone so He set to make a helper for Adam. God made every beast and bird and brought them to Adam. Adam named each animal, but he did not find a helper that was fit for him. God put him to sleep and created woman, taking a rib from Adam. God brought the woman to Adam. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24)

Okay, so here is the foundation of marriage. God created man and gave him a job (work the ground/garden). But God didn’t like him alone and man needed help. Thus, the woman was formed. Our original purpose is to help the man. It is so easy for us to walk around talking about how we don’t need a man, but the man needs US.

Ephesians 5:22 tells us that wives are to submit to their own husbands as to the Lord, meaning you submit to God by submitting to your husband. Verse 23 tells us that “the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church” and this is why we submit to our husbands. Now, this doesn’t mean that you bow at his every word. It means that you follow him while HE LEADS. If he says don’t do something, then don’t do it. Not because he is your bossy boss, but because it is meant to PROTECT you! Think of it this way, it’s storming outside and you’re poking holes in the umbrella! When you submit, you stay within the covering of the umbrella because it protects you from getting wet and messing up your hair! The umbrella takes the hits and the damage so you don’t have to. That’s why God said what he said (through Paul) in verses 25 and 26, “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word…” A wonderful act of love.

Remember Genesis 2:24 says that a man shall hold fast to his wife and they become ONE flesh. In 1 Corinthians 7:39, “A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives.” You know how everyone like tossing that word divorce around like it’s a salad you eat everyday? Well, the actual purpose of divorce was for when a man married a woman and found that after consummating the marriage, she was not pure (a virgin) and he could then divorce her because she had committed fornication (not adultery).  Everything else, you are supposed to work through that honey! And you knew it wasn’t going to be easy when you said, “for better or for worse.” Let’s talk about the marriage vows, shall we?

During marriages, we say these vows:

“I, (name), take you (name), to be my (wife/husband), to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part”

According to Webster’s Dictionary, a vow is promising something important. So, marriage shouldn’t be taken lightly as if promising to do the laundry or share half of your piece of cake. It is a promise to something IMPORTANT. It is a big deal, not a show to entertain others. In the marriage vows, you promise to have and hold this person from that day forward. It doesn’t say until you get tired or aggravated or until 2, 5, or 10 years. It doesn’t even say until!! From this day forward.

For better or for worse…That’s your good moments, your happy moments, your relaxed moments, your exciting moments AND your annoyed moments, your angry moments, hurt moments, your sad moments. The good and the bad! That means you work through the good, and you work through the bad. You know how some people are quick to give thanks to God when everything in their life is going so well, but as soon as bad times come, they forget to give thanks. We may be down and needs God help and strength even more, but we can’t forget to continue to give thanks for what we do have! Hebrews 13:5-6 says, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”” We should praise Him all through the storm, too. In marriage, we have to work out even through the storms. And there will be storms!

For richer, for poorer…the previous verses can also apply. The love of money messes up marriages. 1 Timothy 6:10 says, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” In marriage, let’s go back to Hebrews 13:5-5, be content with what you have and The Lord is my helper!

In sickness and in health…It’s easy to deal with some people when they are in good health, but what about when they are sick? How are you going to handle them while they are not well? It could be physically ill or mentally ill. Are you going to continue to lead them toward God or leave them because you feel it’s too much to handle or you just don’t want to deal? As women, we have to be the nurturer that our husbands need. And let’s face it, as women we can come down with the flu and a stomach virus all at the same time and STILL work, clean the house, grocery shop, and cook for the family while men can get the sniffles and they’re in bed for a week! LOL Now, I’m joking of course, but in marriage, we have to be ready take on the sickness along with the health. We have to help KEEP each other in good health.

To love and to cherish…The definition of love is well explained in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. In verse 8, it says that love never ends. All of these other things come to an end, but not love. I talked about what love is in “Not Just A Lady, But God’s Lady Pt. 3”. Basically, love is all of these things: it is patient, it is kind, it does not envy or boast, it is not arrogant or rude, it does not insist in its own way, it is not irritable or resentful, it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, it rejoices with the truth, love bears all things, it believes all things, hopes all things, it endures all things, it never ends. It ENDURES! The storm, the sunshine, the rain, the wind…ALL! Cherish means to hold or treat tenderly or to keep in mind. In marriage, we are supposed to do these things from that day forward. And this is where we reach the “until”…

Until death do us part…Is just what it says, until DEATH do us part. I have heard SEVERAL people say that “till death do us part” means the death of the relationship. Your feelings may change (which they shouldn’t have in the first place which goes right back to why are you wanting to get married in the first place), but marriage is forever. Until one of you die. 1 Corinthians 7:39 says, “A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.” In marriage, the man and woman become one flesh. One. This brings to mind how after the marriage ceremony (that many people get married for), then comes the consummation (or completion) by way of sex (which is why it is meant for marriage, not for single people, so how many people are you married to???). The two become ONE. You are bound or tied together. Man and wife. Leader and helper. Reaching a single goal as ONE.

So why are you wanting to get married? Is it because of the thrill of the wedding ceremonies? Is to show off in front of others? Is it to look a certain way? Is it to prove something? Is it to keep from being lonely?

Can I talk about being lonely before I end this post? If God will never leave or forsake you, why are you lonely??? Before my husband showed up at my front door specially delivered by God Himself, I spent time alone…with God! I would read and study the Word, talk with Him, pray and just thank Him! I was okay with whatever His will was because who are we to say our own will is better than God’s?? He knows best, so all we have to do is trust Him. If you’re waiting on God to bring you that special person into your life, don’t you think you need to build you relationship with Him first?

Remember, “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” Hebrew 13:4

Marriage is honorable, treat it as such!

Amy M.