engine trouble and christmas studies

Ok.

So I thought I'd write a blog, share some thoughts. Earlier this week I was driving to work and my car started to violently shake, and wouldn't stop. I ended up taking it to my mechanic and it turns out that my car had low compression because it was only driving on 3 cylinders instead of the four. So needless to stay my engine is bad, and a new one will cost between 700-1900 dollars excluding labor. So right now, I am driving sparingly, (still shaking) and I am simply waiting to see what the Father would have me do. I have never had a new car, and this is the first time I am seriously considering under taking the endeavors to get a new one. I am praying and seeing what the Father will show.

on another note; recently I have taken a renewed interest into the origins of Christmas. I grew up celebrating it, and stopped about ten or so years ago when I came into the faith. I did so primarily because of my conviction that the celebration was pagan, and therefore dishonoring to God. It was around that same time in my life also that I began keeping the biblical celebrations of the scriptures, Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles; etc.

Recently I started up studying about Christmas, here are some of the things I found in my net searches.

Winter Celebrations during the time of the Romans were attributed to the Saturnalia and the birth of the Sun God Mithras.

the Roman Catholic Church has alot of dates and info on how the observance of Christmas came to be...it can be found here


in the 5th Century Pope Leo 1 preached a sermon where he made a distinction between the celebration of Christ's birth with that of the worship of the Sun God. Here is what he said.

Having therefore so confident a hope, dearly beloved, abide firm in the Faith in which you are built: lest that same tempter whose tyranny over you Christ has already destroyed, win you back again with any of his wiles, and mar even the joys of the present festival by his deceitful art, misleading simpler souls with the pestilential notion of some to whom this our solemn feast day seems to derive its honour, not so much from the nativity of Christ as, according to them, from the rising of the new sun . Such men’s hearts are wrapped in total darkness, and have no growing perception of the true Light: for they are still drawn away by the foolish errors of heathendom, and because they cannot lift the eyes of their mind above that which their carnal sight beholds, they pay divine honour to the luminaries that minister to the world.


just a quick side note...when I read the scriptures I don't see where Christ's followers observed his birth, even when reading the apostolic scriptures I don't see this observance; what I do see however is a continued observance of the sabbath and other biblical celebrations that were of old. I remember talking to a friend of mines recently and he mentioned how the only celebrations in the scriptures other than the biblical feasts was the celebrations in heaven that takes place when someone repents from sin and returns to God. (Luke 15:7); and the future marriage supper of the lamb. (Revelations 19:9)


I remember when I first stopped celebrating Christmas, I would always refer to these scriptures in being mindful.



Jeremiah 10:1-7

1Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:
2Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.3For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.4They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.5They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.6Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might.7Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.




Matthew 15:1-6

1Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,2Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.3But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?4For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.5But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;6And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.


Psalms 96:5
5For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

Exodus 20:3
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.


1 Corinthians 10:14-33


14Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.15I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say.
16The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

17For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.
18Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar?
19What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?
20But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.

21Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.
22Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?
23All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.
24Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth.
25Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question for conscience sake:
26For the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof.
27If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake.
28But if any man say unto you, this is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that shewed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof:
29Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience?
30For if I by grace be a partaker, why am I evil spoken of for that for which I give thanks?
31Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
32Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:
33Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.


One thing that has been on my heart lately since taking up this study on Christmas again is the brothers and sisters I know in the faith who do keep this day, and honor it with a clear conscience; and in that regard I do not judge them.

It also made me reevaluate why I had stopped celebrating it so long ago. I know when I saw other believers celebrating it, it had my mind clicking, and I thought about how on a subconscious level I wanted to celebrate my Saviors birth also; rather on that "day" in good conscience, or some other time altogether. But then the deeper reality of the reasons for long held convictions and possibly being an offense and or stumbling block came into play. So for now I write this blog with such thoughts deep down within me.

A sister told me once that she just simply wants to honor her Saviors birth, and to her I responded that we honor his birth in the life of faith that we live unto Him, everyday. Indeed we honor his birth,life,death, and resurrection by our lives of faith given to Him.


I will end this blog with another blog...lol...I read it during my net searches regarding Christmas, the title caught my attention because it asked simply how the Messianic Community celebrated Christmas...I hope you enjoy and are edified in this blog as much as I was...Shalom to whomever reads this...

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How Does the Messianic Community Celebrate Christmas?
By Rabbi Scott Sekulow

When I was asked to write about how a Jewish believer in Messiah celebrates Christmas, I thought about the different expressions of celebration. They range from those who put up trees, decorations to those that don’t because of the pagan influences. There are also different days to celebrate Yeshua’s (Jesus’ Hebrew name) birth. Do we follow the decree by Pope Julius I in the fourth century of December 25th or the Greek Orthodox Church which celebrates two weeks later?

So how does the Messianic Community celebrate the birth of Messiah? First, we take our clues from the Biblical Feasts. We believe Yeshua was born on Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) based on scripture, historical events and Jewish culture. More importantly, it is consistent with God using His Feasts as prophetic foreshadowing’s of upcoming events.

To date Messiah’s birth, we first turn to the birth of John the Baptist. We know Zacharias was ministering in the Temple when he receives the announcement of the birth of his son. Zacharias was a priest in the division of Abijah, ministering in the Temple during Sivan 12 to 18. Calculating a normal pregnancy at 40 weeks, John the Baptist’s birth was at Passover.

“…Elizabeth conceived, and she remained five months in seclusion…In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God … to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph” Luke 1:24,26

Mary visited Elizabeth when she was 6 month’s pregnant, putting Messiah’s conception at the time of Hanukkah (December). Calculating a normal pregnancy at 40 weeks, Messiah’s birth was at Sukkot (September/October).

It has been taught that Mary and Joseph were required to go to Bethlehem to register for their taxes, and due to this there were not any accommodations. While it’s a beautiful story, but is it the whole story?

First of all, when the decree was issued, citizens were given a full year during which to register. There was no reason thousands of Bethlehemites would come to their hometown all at once register. So why would Joseph bring his wife Mary all the way from Nazareth to Bethlehem to register when her pregnancy was so far along?
There were three great feasts each year when the Jewish people were expected to make every effort to go to Jerusalem: Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot (Exodus 23:14).

During these feasts, the population of Jerusalem would swell from about a hundred twenty thousand to something over two million people.

During Sukkot, every family was expected to live at least part of each day in their booth, called a sukkah, a temporary dwelling usually made out of palm and/or bamboo branches. These sukkot were available for overnight lodging and the homeowners would stock them with food. The food was placed on a food-tray attached to the inside wall of the Sukkah to keep it up off the ground. It was not a shelter for animals
Bethlehem was a small village just about four miles south of Jerusalem. Mary and Joseph had apparently decided to register with the census-takers when they came up to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. Evidently they intended to spend the night in Bethlehem, register in the morning, and then proceed to Jerusalem for the Feast. Since there were no vacancies, the innkeeper offered them shelter in his Sukkah. When the Baby was born, they laid Him on the food shelf to keep Him up off the damp ground. It is interesting to note that the origins of the word “manager” refer to “sukkot”

Another clue that December is wrong timing for the birth is given by the Shepherds. Luke 2:8 tells us: “There were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock.” By December in Israel it is quite cold, and the sheep would have been brought into the fold for the winter.
Since we have shown Yeshua was six months younger than John, it is easy to establish the time of His birth as September/October. The only reason Bethlehem would possibly be crowded at this time would be for Sukkot.

At Congregation Beth Adonai, we celebrate Messiah’s birth in conjunction with the Feast of Sukkot because we know Messiah dwelt (tabernacled) among us. Remember Yeshua is the reason for all the season.





Final Reflection Scripture for this Blog**

1 Corinthians Chapter 8