"SHOULD CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS?"

In these days when the Lord Himself is praying for unity in the body of Christ throughout the world, we find ourselves faced with answering these kinds of questions. Patricia King has a good answer, reminding us of Apostle Paul who said, To the pure all things are pure. (TITUS 1:15) Let us embrace and bless our brothers and sisters in Christ, encouraging one another and praying for one another- for the days are evil.
Love in Messiah, Ruth

From Patricia King, posted on the Elijah List Ministries www.elijahlist.com

"When you remember His extravagant gift, how can you not reach out to bless others?"

The other day, I visited a museum in the Old City of Jerusalem. This museum featured some artifacts and remains of a priest's home that was burned in the fire of the second tabernacle--approximately 70 years after Jesus died. Inscribed on the wall of the museum were the words of a Jewish Historian:

"The first tabernacle was destroyed because of idolatry, illicit relationships, and bloodshed. The second was destroyed because of pure hatred."

The Jews were divided in their perspectives at that time, and these differences in beliefs ended up in severe political and religious tensions. The factions became so volatile, that each group literally despised the other. In the midst of their quarrelling and divisive actions, the Romans came through the gates and burned the temple, killing men, women, and children. There were few survivors. Their houses were left desolate. The temple was burned to the ground. They were so focused on their differences that they failed to see the bigger battle.

Factions in the Church Today

I think of the church today with all our factions (divisions). One group stands against another due to differences in doctrinal and theological interpretations. We sometimes refuse to have anything to do with another due to differences of beliefs, and yet, we all believe that Jesus is Lord. We judge and condemn each other refusing to fellowship or labor together. Let's beware--a house divided against itself will fall.

December is the month where the Christian world celebrates the birth of Christ. The traditional belief of the date of Christ's conception was March 25 (around the spring equinox), and December 25th was nine months later. It is this date that we celebrate as the birth of Christ. Many have refuted this date as being accurate, and it is possible and even probable that it is not. Should this make a difference in our heart's focus though?

Wars are arising in the Church even concerning the celebration of Christmas. Some challenge the celebration saying that it has pagan roots. They challenge the accuracy of the date, they claim that Christmas trees are evil because they were an object of pagan worship, and they say that caroling also has its foundation in paganism.

Some say, we should honor the Jewish feasts (Bible feasts) instead. Others in the body believe that to do so would be an expression of legalism and religion, and so the factions begin--the war rages.

Purity of the Heart is Important

"Man looks to the outward appearance but God looks to the heart."

Let us be careful not to get our focus off of what is important. Man looks to the outward appearance but God looks to the heart. If our desire is to celebrate the birth of Jesus at this time of the year, then let that be done according to the purity of the heart and with integrity of conviction before Him. The attention of the whole world is called to acknowledge the birth of the Savior at this time of year, even if they don't believe.

Let's pray during this time that the revelation of Christ will fill the earth. Would this not be a better way to spend our time, rather than being at war with each other over how we celebrate Him?

The Jewish Celebration of Hanukkah

Hanukkah is an eight-day Jewish festival that is celebrated in the month of December. This year, it is celebrated from sundown on December 15 through sundown December 23. Hanukkah means "dedication," and so this celebration has great significance.

History of Hanukkah

The holiday commemorates the rededication of the holy Temple in Jerusalem after the Jews 165 B.C. victory over the Hellenist Syrians. Antiochus, the Greek King of Syria, outlawed Jewish rituals and ordered the Jews to worship Greek gods.

In 168 B.C., the Jews holy Temple was seized and dedicated to the worship of Zeus. Some Jews were afraid of the Greek soldiers and obeyed them, but most Jews were angry and decided to fight back.

The fighting began in Modiin, a village not far from Jerusalem. A Greek officer and soldiers assembled the villagers, asking them to bow to an idol and eat the flesh of a pig, which are activities forbidden to Jews.

The Greek officer asked Mattathias, a Jewish High Priest, to take part in the ceremony. He refused, and another villager stepped forward and offered to do it instead. Mattathias became outraged, took out his sword, and killed this villager, then killed the officer. His five sons and the other villagers then attacked and killed the soldiers. Mattathias' family went into hiding in the nearby mountains, where many other Jews who wanted to fight the Greeks joined them. They attacked the Greek soldiers whenever possible.

Judah Maccabee (the second leader of the Judean revolt against the Greek-Syrians), and his soldiers went to the Holy Temple, and were saddened that many things were missing or broken, including the golden menorah. They cleaned and repaired the Temple, and when they were finished, they decided to have a big dedication ceremony.

For the celebration, the Maccabees wanted to light the menorah. They looked everywhere for oil, and found a small flask that contained only enough oil to light the menorah for one day. Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days. This gave them enough time to obtain new oil to keep the menorah lit.

Today, Jews celebrate Hanukkah for eight days by lighting candles in a menorah every night, thus commemorating the eight-day miracle.

What a wonderful celebration! At this time, we can remember to worship God as a God of Miracles. At this time, we can remember Jesus, who is the true Light of the world.

Some dear friends of ours, David and Stephanie Herzog introduced us to the Hanukkah celebration. The Herzogs and their children, celebrate Hanukkah in a wonderful way. They light the menorah every night and have gifts for the children to open each day. They celebrate by opening their home to family and friends, as they serve special meals, and enjoy times of visiting, prayer, worship, and showing hospitality. We as a family, were so touched last year through the Herzog's family celebration, that this year, we are going to celebrate Hanukkah. I love it.

What About Christmas?

"Christmas to us is a wonderful celebration and remembrance of the birth of our Savior."

Do we need to abandon our tradition of celebrating Christmas in exchange for Hanukkah? What if December 25th is not really the actual birthday of Jesus? What if the origin of the Christmas tree is a pagan practice?

As a family, we celebrate Christmas. The Bible says, "to the pure all things are pure." Christmas to us is a wonderful celebration and remembrance of the birth of our Savior. I love reflecting on the extravagant gift of our Heavenly Father's wonderful love at this time, even though we are called to remember Him at all times, not just in this season.

Our tradition is to give gifts to others at this time in the same way, our Father has blessed us. It is a holiday filled with love, kindness, joy, and blessing. As a ministry, we are busy preparing boxes of gifts and turkey dinners, complete with all the trimmings to give to the poor. We have special projects to care for single parents and orphans.

When you remember His extravagant gift, how can you not reach out to bless others? Caring for the poor blesses His heart, and so this is our gift back to Him. We do this all throughout the year, but during this season, we have special added touches that we really enjoy.

In our tradition, we do have a tree. I have never thought of this as a pagan ritual. For us, it has a different meaning. An evergreen tree to me is a symbol of life. Jesus is the Tree of Life and as we abide in Him, we have life. If we mediate on His Word day and night, we will be like a tree planted by rivers of water. Isaiah says that we are like trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord that He might be glorified. The lights on the tree remind us that He is the Light of the World and that we reflect His light and beauty in the earth.

Our tradition includes filling our home with family and friends. We host special meals and celebrations with our team and those we love. We light the fire, burn specially scented candles, bake cookies, and decorate our home and center with beautiful reminders of His love, joy, and peace.

A Special Season to Be Enjoyed

"Let us not walk with judgment towards each other as to how we are going to celebrate the season."

December is a special time of year. For some, it is a celebration of Hanukkah remembering Christ, the miracle working God and the Light of the world. To some, it is a celebration of Christmas remembering that Christ came into the world to save sinners. And to some, like ourselves, it is a celebration of both. To me, it all sounds wonderful. It is all about Him. Let's celebrate in as many ways as we can with a heart full of passion. He is worthy!

Let us not walk with judgment towards each other as to how we are going to celebrate the season. Let us simply walk in our own convictions, and then, go love everyone with extravagant love!!! Enjoy and embrace your conviction to the fullest, but don't judge another.

So don't let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain Holy days, or new moon ceremonies, or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ Himself is that reality. Colossians 2:16-17

In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable. Those who worship the Lord on a special day, do so to honor Him. For we don't live for ourselves or die for ourselves. If we live, it's to honor the Lord. And if we die, it's to honor the Lord.

So why do we condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.

Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God. So let's stop condemning each other. Romans 14:5, 6a, 7, 8, 10, 12

Have a wonderful time this season, enjoying reflections of His goodness and expressing it to others. May your home be filled with the essence of His glorious presence.

Happy Holidays

--Love Him and love each other.
--Make the season special!

Joy to the world, the Lord is come.
Let earth receive her King!
Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth Peace and
Good Will towards men.

Be Blessed!

Patricia King

www.extremeprophetic.com
patricia@extremeprophetic.com

Victoria Boyson: "THE POWER OF BLESSING--WILL PUT OUT THE FIRES OF HELL"

(This was received through the Elijah List on Nov. 1- It is the best I have encountered written on the subject of the power of the tongue to bless or curse.)

"A part of giving birth to your destiny is bringing life to the destiny of others."

"A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver" (Proverbs 25:11).

A Story of the Power of Our Tongues

I once knew a young girl who seemed to have much going for her, but consistently failed in many areas of her life. I could not understand why--she seemed to choose failure over a successful, happy life. She was beautiful, talented, and intelligent, but it was obvious that she did not esteem herself. And she continually made bad choices.

For years, I could not understand why she did not see her true value as a person--until I met her mother. Her mother saw her as the biggest failure ever born and told her so. She would vomit out her many objections about her daughter to anyone who would listen to her. With her daughter present, she would declare to a roomful of people what a failure she was. It did not take great discernment to see why the girl struggled so. Why should she like herself when the woman who gave birth to her did not see any good in her?

As soon as she was old enough, this young girl ran away from her mother and began living with an older man. Unfortunately, her life was poisoned by the many seeds of destruction and self-hatred her mother had been planting in her since birth.

I believe this is what Proverbs 14:1 is talking about when it says, "The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down." The physical house of the girl's mother was in excellent condition, but the heritage she passed down to her child was devastating and led to her daughter living a very destructive lifestyle.

I have counseled with many people over the years who have struggled with terrible feelings of self-hatred. Usually, in the course of speaking with them, I discover that these feelings began when they were a child, and many times originated with words spoken over them by a parent or other people in authority in their life.

The Tongue of the Wise

Years ago, my husband and I attended a church where the pastor thought he could help his people by continually telling them what was wrong with them. He found fault with us, and of course, found fault with his entire congregation. It was no surprise to anyone that membership dwindled down to just a few people, and eventually he had to close the doors of his church entirely.

When we left that church, we were left with an ominous, oppressive sense of failure. It felt like a dagger had pierced our hearts. We struggled through life for a few years afterward, enduring one failure after another. We felt as if we were living under a curse--and, indeed, we were. The words of that pastor sowed seeds of destruction that acted as a curse over our lives.

Words are very powerful, especially when they are spoken by someone in authority over you. They can either be words of praise that breathe life into your life, or words of criticism and judgment that erode away your sense of well being. "The tongue has the power of life and death...." (Proverbs 18:21).

Once we realized that the effect of this pastor's words over our lives was acting as a curse against us, we sought out ways to release ourselves from its grip. We prayed many prayers, but still this feeling of failure hung on.

It was only when we were led to another man of God who was a true shepherd that the curse was at last broken. Without knowing any of the words that had been spoken over us, he spoke the exact opposite of what had been said. He made us believe in our destiny again. He spoke life into our spirits. And through the anointing that he carried, he broke off the words of failure and planted seeds of life and destiny in their place.

The power of blessing brought life to our dreams, setting us free from the power of death and destruction. Satan could no longer keep us from our destiny in God. The power of blessing blasted the power of cursing.

"Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing" (Proverbs 12:18).

When We Choose to Curse

God has a strange way of working the curses of others to our advantage. He uses them to refine us and shape us, and then He heals us through the power of His blessing.

Many people in the Bible lived what some would consider cursed lives for a period of time. David, for instance, was chased by King Saul, Joseph lived for fifteen years in prison for something he did not do, and Moses was chased into the desert by Pharaoh after living a life of luxury and ease. These are only a few examples.

Actually, God used this destructive period in their lives to shape and refine them. He promised them great blessings, but allowed them to go through the process of refining to prepare them for their destiny.

In order for Christ to fulfill His destiny, He had to suffer betrayal and be given over into the hands of His enemies. But He said in Luke 22:22, "The Son of man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays Him." We may have to endure a period of cursing for a time, but woe to the people who curse us.

In Psalm 109, David speaks about the man who cursed his life. "He loved to pronounce a curse--may it come on him; he found no pleasure in blessing--may it be far from him. He wore cursing as his garment; it entered into his body like water, into his bones like oil" (verses 17-18).

When we choose to curse others and speak negatively of them, we are really only hurting ourselves. A part of birthing our own destiny is bringing life to the destiny of others. God wants to use us, but He wants to use us to bless others. Any jealousy we harbor towards the destiny of others will actually sabotage our own destiny in God.

Speaking Life

Our mouth is a very powerful weapon, and we can either use it to bring a blessing or a curse onto others. When we speak negative words about people, those words act as a curse over them. Even if people never actually hear the words we speak about them, our words still have power and can cause them to experience oppressive heaviness. However, words of blessing can lift them up spiritually.

One day I was feeling exceptionally low. All of a sudden I had this wonderful feeling shoot through me. I felt a tremendous surge of pleasure, and I knew everything would be all right. Later that day, a friend of mine called and said that she and her husband were talking about our family. She went on to tell me all the wonderful things they said about us. I asked her what time it was when they had this conversation and it coincided perfectly with the time I had experienced the surge of pleasure. That, my friends, is the power of blessing!

The Blessings of Heaven

One of our greatest weapons against the enemy is the words we speak. There is no question, then, as to why the enemy seeks to gain access to our words. He wants to use our mouths to destroy our own lives and the lives of others.

"The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell" (James 3:6). We can either use our mouths as a passageway for the fires of hell to gain access to earth, or use them to put out the fires of hell the enemy has lit in the hearts and minds of others.

You can be God's fire extinguisher. You can put out the flames of hell with the blessings of Heaven. And wherever you go, you will be like a fountain of blessing that brings healing and life to the nations.

Instead of giving hell's fires access to the earth, you will bring to earth the very river of life that flows from the throne of God. People will be drawn to you like magnets because of the great power of grace and mercy that radiates from your spirit. And with only a few words, you will destroy the curses of generations.

This is the power of blessing. This is your destiny in God.

Please pray this with me:

Dear Father,
"I repent of speaking negative words against others, and I ask You to stamp out those words and cause them to be ineffective. I receive Your forgiveness and mercy for my sin. Make me a fire extinguisher with power from Heaven to destroy the seeds of destruction in the lives of those You love. Help me to walk in my own destiny...by blessing the destiny of others."

Victoria Boyson

Speaking Life Ministrieswww.speakinglife.net

Email: victoria@boyson.org

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