Today’s Devotional – December 16th (How To Celebrate Christmas)

By admin On February 8th, 2021

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Today’s Devotional – December 16th

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How To Celebrate Christmas

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The world has its holidays, and they really know how to celebrate!

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And the premier holiday in the western world is, of course, Christmas.

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All the colored lights, and decorations and the traditions and music, and all these with snow, hopefully.

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It’s a dazzling combination!

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And then when the big day arrives, there are the many presents to open, and the grand feast afterward!

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What could be better than that!?

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Harbour City front entrance stairs Christmas trees wikimedia share-alike lic.

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PAGAN ROOTS

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Now, having said all this, most realize that this holiday (was actually spelled “holy day” in past times), has its roots in paganism.

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**And many of us are familiar with Hislop’s much-maligned book, “The Two Babylons”, in which he did an amazing job of documenting the origins of the major Christian holidays.**

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Now most churchgoers celebrate Christmas with great enthusiasm, and so, today’s devotional is not so much for them.

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But there are many others, who are earnestly striving to be faithful to God’s Word and are confused about how to handle this non-biblical holiday.

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The Two Babylons – Alexander Hislop – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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DIFFERENT SITUATIONS

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For those who do not have families, they may wish to entirely abstain from this holiday, altogether.

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That would certainly not be wrong.

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And for those with families, and a spouse in total agreement…

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…that consecrated family may wish to turn this holiday into an opportunity to hand out Bible tracts and take a basket of food to families in need or visit those in nursing homes.

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Johansen Viggo – Radosne Boże Narodzenie (Joyful Christmas) – wikimedia – US public domain.

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“OVERSIGHT, NOT BY CONSTRAINT”

1st Peter 5:2

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For those parents who are not so much in agreement about how to celebrate this holiday, the Christian will undoubtedly be the one to make most of the concessions.

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Listen… “Love does not insist on its own rights

or its own way!”

1st Corinthians 13:5 (Amplified Version).

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But isn’t this what the Christian life is all about, anyway?

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**In so many of life’s situations, a Christian must keep silent, so as to, “not rain on other people’s parade” as they say.**

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And prayerful silence is usually the best course to take when in the many questionable situations of life in a world of unbelievers.

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Bringing Home A Christmas Tree – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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JESUS: THE HEART OF THE ISSUE

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As we behold Jesus, we see that Jesus did not “nit-pick” about the many wrong things which His professed people did.

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But instead, He always went to the heart of the issue.

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His main concern was the purposes of the heart.

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Jesus realized that when the heart is made right, then the many outward manifestations of sin and questionable side-issues would also go away.

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And so, Jesus tried to redirect His conversations with people, to the core issue…the motives of the heart.

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“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit…and I will take away the stony heart…”

Ezekiel 36:26 (Condensed)

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And thus, it is with Christmas. It is not unbiblical traditions which are the crux of the problem.

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To attempt to correct others on these side-issues, is like trying to remove warts, instead of finding the deep-seated root-cause.

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It is “a new heart” that we all need!

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Wart Removal – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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***“FIRST CAST OUT THE BEAM* *OUT OF THINE OWN EYE”***

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And the Christian, instead of picking on his spouse or children for their sins, should instead strive with all his (or her) might, to overcome the flesh; to overcome the world.

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Because it is “my heart”, which God is concerned about, as far as my Christianity is concerned.

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And the battle for the souls of my spouse and my children should be fought in my “prayer closet”, and not in the presence of my family.

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And instead of following Christian psychologists, and other well-meaning advisers, the Christian should seek after personal victory over the sin which enslaves him (or her).

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For we have a promise…

…”Blessed is every one that fears the LORD;

that walks in His ways.

For you shall eat the labor of your hands: happy shall you be…

Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house:

thy children like olive plants round about thy table.”

Psalm 128:1-3

Yes, by seeking an ever-closer relationship with God, the Believer may see his or her family receive God’s spiritual blessings!

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***A GENTLE BREEZE!* *NOT A GALE-FORCE WIND!***

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And in the meanwhile, we may strive to make, not only the holidays, but every other day of the year a true joy for others to celebrate with us.

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Yes, to make life as pleasant, and breezy, and comfortable as possible for each and every other household member, should be the motto of every Christian who lives in a family setting!

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And then, in the privacy of our own heart, we can freely pursue that deeper measure of love and holiness to our God.

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Family eating meal – Wikipedia – Public Domain

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24/7/365 CELEBRATION…”Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice”

Philippians 4:4

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But here’s the most amazing truth of all!

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You see, it’s so sad that the world only gets to celebrate Jesus one day of the year.

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But here’s the wonderful thing: we Believers get to celebrate Him, 24-hours-per-day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year!

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If only the world knew what they were missing!

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USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Help me to become Christ-like in the area of my tongue. Help me to use restraint in what I say. “Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.” Psalm 141:3

Prayer – Anna Blunden – For Only One Short Hour – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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THE END

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TODAY’S HEAVENLY SIGN

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Tilt your head to the left

Do you see a man’s face?

It’s that proverbial “Man in the Moon”.

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We’ve always taken it for granted.

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**But now we’re learning that God is responsible for creating this Nocturnal Watchman.**

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You see, God has etched Signs in the Moon, long ago.

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A story? Yes.

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And just now He is revealing those Signs.

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Just now He is telling that story.

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Listen to what Scripture says as God promised that His covenant with David (who represented Christ) “shall be established for ever as the Moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.” Psalm 89

Moon At Shoshone California – cropped, brightened, tinted & highlighted photo – Wikimedia – by Murray Foubister – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license

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TOMORROW:

“December 17th (The Little Evergreen Tree)”

Abies nephrolepis (Evergreen Tree Wikimedia share-alike license

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20+ MINUTE AUDIO JEREMIAH STUDY

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ALL‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.

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THIS IS STUDY #348 PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…

Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.com – Public Domain

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Signs Of Heaven