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.