"Ho Ho Ho!" The Choice - Part 3

     We have reached the end of this series of posts. The knowledge isn't wasted on me that it is going up on the Internet on December 24th. Let me assure you that it wasn't my intention to wait until Christmas Eve. This final post has been a work in progress this entire week but the responsibilities of life have kept me from finishing it until now.
     As I sit before the computer many of you are beginning to gather with family and friends and when you read this post, probably sometime after December 25th, you will remember what I wrote at the end of "Ho Ho Ho!" The Beginning - Part 1, "What does any of this have to do with me?! I don't see it that way!"

     Neither did I.

     Like many of you, I grew up in a middle class home in north America. The celebrations surrounding Christmas are as revered as mom and apple pie. Christmas is viewed as a time for children and their families to gather together to share their love and to make happy memories. It was no different in the life of our family. In fact, 2012 was the first time that our home was not decorated in a modern Victorian style for the holidays. In previous years, the Christmas gatherings within our home included the women in my Bible study who were invited to share in a pot luck luncheon and gift exchange complete with Christmas music playing in the background, a birthday cake for Jesus, and stories of Christmases past. So in case any of you out there wonder if I am just pretending to be the Grinch who stole Christmas, let it be known that I totally understand how this time of year is so beloved and guarded against anyone who would dare to mess with it.
 
     So ...having shared my regard for Christmases past, let me explain why it changed.

     It all began with that group of YouTube videos that I wrote about in part one of this series. From them I learned the Pagan origins of the holidays that we embrace, like Valentine's Day, Easter, and Christmas. I sat literally stunned in front of my computer! I had known for a few years that the two most celebrated holidays in Christendom had Pagan roots, but I thought it was really cool that the Christians took them away from the Pagans and made them into something holy. However I was naive and had no idea concerning the details, so at first I was just shocked by the truth! Then through the study of His word, it began to grieve me deeply to realize that I was unknowingly trying to mix holy with unholy; an impossible endeavor where I could not end up with something that was pleasing to the One who I claimed to love more than anything else in the world.

     Since I believed with all of my heart that the Elohim I serve never changes, I had to know how my worship at Christmas made Him feel. I knew what it meant to me, I needed to know what it meant to Him.

     The process, it turns out, was really quite easy. Remember how Yeshua warned the apostles to not hinder the little children but to let them come to Him?  He told them that the kingdom of heaven is composed of people who have a simple faith like theirs. For example, when children are told by their parents that something they are doing is wrong, they trust in what their parents say. They might not want (or choose) to obey, but they believe what they are told. Well something happens to that child-like trust as we age. We become set in our ways, determined to do things on our own and skeptical of anything that goes against stuff as we see it. If we are not very careful, we will lose our ability to believe, trust, and obey as a child. Especially when the voices all around us are telling us something different than the truths that good parents impart to us.

     This kind of thing has happened to Israel too many times for me to even begin to speculate. Not only were they prone to be like everyone around them, but in so doing they became ensnared to follow them to the extent of even trying to worship Elohim in the ways that the Pagans worshipped their gods. In fact, He warned them of it so many times. The first six verses in Exodus 20 gives a clear warning. "1 And God spake all these words, saying, 2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 2 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me: 6 And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments." Exodus 20:1-6
I learned that He is very serious about the way in which He is worshipped and it is not the manner in which Pagans worship their gods.

     Let's turn to Deuteronomy 12. As the children of Israel were getting ready to enter into the land promised to them, Yahuah warned them not to worship Him in some other way than the ways in which He had commanded them. The ESV renders it this way, "28 Be careful to obey all these words that I command you, that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God. 29 When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, 30 take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods? - that I may do the same?' 31 You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. 32 Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add or take from it." Deuteronomy 12:28-32

     I sat frozen when I read this passage! It all came together! From childhood I thought that Christmas was all about Jesus: the decorated tree, the gifts, the evergreen bows, the caroling, etc., but it has nothing to do with Him. It has everything to do with their worship of their gods and it is an abomination to mine! I was sick! Here I thought that I was pleasing Him, and from His perspective, he remembered each screaming child thrown into the fire of a demonic deity. My Christmas traditions had represented those gods, not mine!

     There's more. Jeremiah is talking about a future day; this day that we are living in, when he prophesied from YHVH saying, "17 For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes. 18 And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things. 19 O Lord, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit." Jeremiah 16:17-19
With all of the evidence before me it was indeed time that I admitted to myself and to Yahuah that I inherited lies. I have gone a step further and looked at the meaning of, "...my land" in verse 18. It is Hebrew #776 and indeed means the whole earth, not just Israel.     

     Let's look at the book of Exodus. Several months ago a friend of mine told me that when Aaron made the golden calf in chapter 32, that he was trying to worship YHVH. My first thought was, "Nooo ...I don't think that's right because HE got really mad at them and wanted to destroy them." If Moses had not stepped in between Him and the children of Israel in verses 11-13, He said that He would have consumed them. However, curiosity got the better of me so I looked for myself. In chapter 32 we see that the people wanted Aaron to make them gods because they didn't know what happened to Moses and they needed someone to lead them. They had come from a place of Pagan deities, they were accustomed to giving lip service to Yahuah while their hearts embraced other gods. But note in verse five that after making the golden calf, it reads, "5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an alter before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, Tomorrow is a feast day to the Lord." I looked up the word Lord in the Hebrew to see exactly which "Lord" Aaron was referring to because even satanists call Lucifer, Lord. Lord is a title, not a name. And sure enough, the Hebrew #3068 for Lord in this passage means Yehovah. To appease the people, Aaron tried to worship the true Elohim in the way the Egyptians honored their gods. But ...his intentions were good, right? Well, let's look at what Yahuah thought of it, starting in verse six."6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. 7 And the Lord said to Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 9 And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiffnecked people: 10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them; and I will make of thee a great nation." Exodus 32:6-10
     Aaron's intentions to worship Yahuah while standing in front of the golden calf, didn't matter to Him. To Yahuah it was spiritual adultery. We see that confirmed in the renewed covenant in the book of Acts chapter 7, during the powerful, Holy Spirit-filled, speech that Stephan made before he was stoned. The whole chapter is more than worth your time, but I will begin in verse forty one. "41 And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. 42 Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness? 43 Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: " Acts 7:41-43a
     They wouldn't sacrifice to YHVH, but they would set up a tabernacle of Molech and the star of Remphan. Again, no matter what Aaron intentioned, it was spiritual adultery to Yahuah. It is interesting that Molech was a metal god with the head of a bovine. Was it merely coincidence that the god Aaron fashioned for the people was a golden calf? Based on v43, I don't think it was a coincidence. (See Amos 5:25-27)

     In 1 Corinthians 10, we see another admonition against idolatry where the passage in Exodus 32 is referred to once again. Only this time we see that their abomination, in truth, was even against Christ. " 1 MOREOVER BRETHREN, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud; and all passed through the sea; 2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play ...11 Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." 1 Corinthians 10:1-7, 11-12  What happened to the children in the desert when Aaron set up the calf and all that happened as a result, was recorded for those of us in the end times so that we would be admonished not to repeat their folly and sin against Messiah Himself!

     In conclusion, the celebration of Saturnalia/winter solstice is the worship of the rebirth of the sun and its gods. Christmas was made to coincide with that Pagan festival. It grieved my heart deeply to realize that it has absolutely nothing to do with my Lord and Savior, Yeshua Ha 'Machiach, and that the traditions surrounding it were those used to celebrate false gods that are nothing more than demons in disguise. When Messiah spoke about man's traditions in Mark 7:6b-8a, He said, "This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men: 8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, ..."  
     The apostle Paul tells us in Acts 17 that the time has come for people to stop worshipping the true Elohim in the way that the heathens worship their false gods. He said, "30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent. 31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." Acts 17:30-31

     I will include one more warning from the book of Revelation that speaks directly to us in this time. "4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou has left thy first love. 5 Remember therefore from whense thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. 6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicholaitans, which I also hate. 7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." Revelation 2:4-7 

Who were the Nicholatians that so offended YHVH? The Nicholaitans were the spiritual descendants of Nicholas, a proselyte of Antioch. He was ordained as a deacon in Acts 6:5. He had no problem melding pagan practices into the early church and encouraging others to do so.
(I encourage you to learn more by referring to the article below.)

     To those of you who have read through every post in this series, I want to Thank You! It has been a painful process for me. It was rough to realize all of this and repent of it. It hurts that some of our family and friends do not understand. It has grieved me to visit the passages again and lay them out before you. But all of that is nothing compared to the thought of the accuser of the brethren mocking the One True Elohim, saying in effect, "Look at them! They say that they are Yours and that they love and worship only You, yet they surround themselves with the things used to worship me! They clothe themselves in the worship of my gods and say they are Your children!"


Depictions of the god Molech.

Part one and two of Sunburned can be found at: www.YouTube.com

http://www.lightsource.com/ministry/refuel-with-rick/articles/who-were-the-nicholaitans-and-what-was-their-doctrine-and-deeds-14510.html

This last video made me smile. You will see why. :)

      

    

    
    

"Ho Ho Ho!" The Impostor - Part 2

According to Mirriam-Webster, the full definition of Impostor is: One that assumes false identity or title for the purpose of deception.

     If asked, most people would probably say that Santa Claus is an adaptation of Saint Nicholas but the truth of the matter is that the legend of Santa Claus goes back much farther than that to a Scandinavian Norse god called Odin/Woden. As the reach of Baal worship extended, the Scandinavians worshipped sun gods as well and Odin was one of them. He was known as "the god of intoxicating drink, ecstasy, as well as the god of death." As one can imagine, given the debauchery that took place during winter solstice, he was the most honored god of Saturnalia. He rode at night on a white horse with eight legs, which later was adapted to eight reindeer. He carried a crosier, and had long, white hair and a beard.

     Later in the 1500's, the Odin legend adapted to Sinter Klaas. This character was from Holland and took on more of the appearance of the modern day Santa Claus. He wore long, white hair and a beard, his cloak was red, and he rode through the night skies on a white horse that landed on house tops. Sinter Klass would then leave presents under his sacred fir trees that were adorned within the homes. History supports that all of the Klaas/Klaus figures have dark helpers with them called Krampus. The Klaas/Klaus figure would have the Krampus go down the chimneys and based on the observations of a child's behavior throughout the year, would leave presents for the good children or beat the bad children, use switches on them, or in some cases, enjoy dragging them off to hell. Even the fact that the Krampus came down through the chimneys into the fire of the fireplace comes from the Norse legend where the goddess Hertha appeared in the fireplace bringing good luck to the home. In fact, the name Hertha is where the word hearth comes from.

     During the plays of the 1600's, according to The History of a Hobglobin by Allen W. Wright, a man by the name of Robin Goodfellow appeared in many of the plays as the devil. Before he would walk onstage, he would announce himself with the laugh, "Ho Ho Ho!" Later, Santa Claus was given the phrase.

     It wasn't until the 1930's that Santa Claus in the form in which we know him today, became popular. This happened as a result of the Coca Cola company looking for a way to promote more sales of their product during the winter season. It was at this point that the legend took on the appearance of the character we know today as Santa Claus; complete with eight reindeer and toy making elves replacing the dark helpers or Krampus.

     Barna Group uses statistical analysis where the margin of error is less than 5%. In their publication Third Millennium Teens, they reported their findings about children coming to know the Savior. "If they are not saved by age 13, they probably never will be. The data shows clearly that the prime evangelistic years are those before a person becomes a teenager." (Barna Research, pg 65) The most formative time in a child's life is believed to occur by the age of five. What a strategic plan of the enemy to manufacture the image of a fictitious, kindly old man who, incredibly enough, has some of the following characteristics of the Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, Yeshua Ha 'Mashiach!

Santa Claus:

* Has an eternal spirit
* Has no beginning or end
* Loves children
* Knows when they are good and bad, asleep and awake (Omnipresent)
* Writes their names in a book
* Has white hair and beard (Revelation 1:14)

     Regardless of the fact that this character seems harmless enough, so did the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Eve wouldn't have listened to him, otherwise. It is beyond me to think that she would have considered the bait, much less bitten into it, if she had seen him for who he truly was and knew the plan he had behind the lie he was telling her.

     Santa Claus is an impostor carefully packaged by the enemy to lure impressionable children away from the One who came and died to give them eternal life. By the time that the children find out the truth, mistrust of anyone unseen has already been well established. During this research, I have read that some of the people who encourage the belief in Santa teasingly call it the "Santa Game." The salvation of our children and grandchildren and their trust in the One who created them is not a game.

"Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God."
Mark 10:14b


Reference materials and additional sites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Christian_Alpine_traditions

http://www.av1611.org/othpubls/santa.html

The goddess Hertha (World Book Encyclopedia)

https://www.thetrumpet.com/literature/read/10163.6.0.1/the-truth-about-christmas

http://www.boldoutlaw.com/puckrobin/puckages.html

"Ho Ho Ho!" The Beginning - Part 1

    Snow is falling as I begin this piece of the assignment that has been a near constant part of my thoughts for the past two weeks. The stillness surrounding the snow covered landscape is a picture of the peace that is within my heart as I write. I knew when I began this blog in September that this day would come. What I didn't expect was that the emotions surrounding it would bring about such sorrow. Even at this point in the praying, research, and writing process, tears are gathering in my eyes. Once again I've found that peace and pain are quite comfortable as companions and can reside side by side.
     You probably noticed that this is the first time that a post has come in more than one part and included an introduction. I felt that one was needed because the burden of this message is great and the hearts of the readers needed to be prepared. I read the Barna Group's findings for the first time early yesterday morning. It was a perfect introduction and I am grateful that Yahuah brought it to me.
     It is interesting to point out that I did not choose the title for the post. One night as I knelt before Him in prayer, I asked what the next one should be about and that if He wanted to point me in the right direction by telling me His choice of a title, that I would be cool with that. However, that openness to His will immediately changed to anxiety when He clearly and unexpectedly spoke to my spirit, "Ho Ho Ho!" My thought was, "Oh, no!"
     Why did I feel that way? Not for the reasons you might expect. Oddly enough, it wasn't fear of man that prompted the thought, it was the fear of not being able to communicate it in such a way that would honor Him in the way that He should be honored. He is the only One who matters.

     How did this post come about? Yahuah had begun a work in me through the words of a friend to whom I am forever grateful, who inquired of me, "If the Word of God is supposed to be taken literally and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, then why don't we do everything it says to do?" I stared at her e mail and the only honest answer (something that didn't end in some man-made ism like dispensationalism) that I could come up with was, "I don't know." That question gnawed at me and formed an earnest prayer within me asking Him to, "Show me all of the Truth!", and so He is.
    This process that began with that prayer, includes digging deeper into the Bible for answers I have wondered about but didn't have the confidence to search out on my own, all the while asking Him to please give me greater wisdom and more revelation than I have ever had before. In our world, those in spiritual authority from clergy, to professors, to authors tell us what to think and how to interpret the Scriptures. I don't think most of us even consider questioning them. For me, it went back to something I referred to in, Pulling Weeds and Pruning Branches. When I would question something in my childhood pertaining to the Catholic religion, I was quickly informed that I had no right to do so and to let it drop. Well, I was fifty years old when questions came that refused to go away. It was time to let go of the intimidation factor.
     A few months into this process, during a morning brunch with another friend, the topic of a YouTube channel came up in our conversation. She asked me if I had ever heard of The Fuel Project - Know Your Enemy series of videos? I had not. After her brief description, I knew that I wanted to watch them. I must confess to not having made my way through each video, but what I have learned made me much more aware and also sickened by the demonic tangle of Paganism that has wrapped it's web of deceit around every aspect of our world's culture and belief systems. I am not exaggerating. The prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2) has made sure that the world is beneath a flood of it! Which brings me to the central point of this message.

     After the great flood, Yahuah told those on board the ark to go out into the world to, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth." (Genesis 9:1) In time, Noah started a vineyard and one day drank too much of the fermented fruit. Ham was one of three sons of Noah. He came into his father's tent, saw that he was uncovered and told his brothers. His brothers discretely backed into the tent and covered their father. When Noah found out what had happened, he cursed Ham, the father of Canaan, and told him that he would be a servant to Shem and Japheth. (Genesis 9:20-27) It is astonishing to me that after all that this family had encountered that once again, within such a short amount of time, the heart of rebellion rose up against Yahuah. The curse that was placed upon Ham undoubtedly caused him to have bad feelings toward his father, Shem and Japheth, and most importantly toward the true Elohim that they served.

      In Genesis 10, we see that Ham had a son named Cush. Cush married an evil woman named Samiramus (her god-name was Ishtar - in English it is pronounced Easter). Together they had a son named Nimrod who was the first to be called Baal, who is also known as Tammuz, (Ezekiel 8:14)  and in Canaan he was called Molech (Leviticus 18:21, 20:2-8, 1 Kings 11:7-11, Jeremiah 32:33-35). Under the faithful, demonic tutelage of his mother, he grew up evil; embracing witchcraft and the worship of astrology. He was also mighty in battle and as a hunter, intimidating people with his power. As he grew, so did his fearsome reputation. When his father died, he and his mother married and their incestuous relationship formed an alliance that was an affront to the one true Elohim. This affront became Baal worship; the first organized, one world, false religion; the tentacles of which reach into every religion to this very day.

     Nimrod/Baal and Ishtar/Asherah/Easter began the organized worship of the sun. With her son/husband now taking center stage, he became the sadistic ruler of the then known world and started new cities which began with Babel, complete with its tower and attempt at a one world government and religion, and in time included Ninevah as well as others, (Genesis 10:10-11). He was seen as a god among the people and his mother/wife, Ishtar/Asherah/Easter, as the "Queen of Babylon" as well as the "Queen of Heaven". (Jeremiah 7:18, Jeremiah 44:17-25) She was known as the gentler of the two, the goddess of sex and fertility. She claimed that her spirit came from the moon and upon her death it would reside there. What a clever plan of Satan. The two most visible lights in the heavens were used as gods against the people!

     Where does Christmas come into the picture? Nimrod's/Baal's birthday was celebrated on December 25th along with lesser sun gods and it was so for approximately two thousand years before Jesus the Christ (Yeshua the Messiah) was born.

     How did they celebrate the birth of the sun of the god Baal? As the days grew shorter during the winter equinox, the people feared that the sun with its warmth and ability to bring forth food from the earth would not return, so Baal priests worshiped around trees that were evergreen and the people brought them into their homes as well as bows, holly, and berries to appease the sun gods in the hopes of having their warm months return. As the winter days began to lengthen at the time of Nimrod's birthday, the people saw it as a sign that their infant/child sacrifices in the fires of their Baal god Molech at Halloween, had been accepted and he was therefore honoring them with the return of the sun rising higher on the horizon and longer days. They celebrated the twelve days of winter solstice (where the twelve days of Christmas originates) with lots of food, alcohol, music, singing, the yule log, roasted chestnuts, (what would later become known as Christmas) ham, and kissing under the mistletoe (which led to unspeakable debauchery). Virtually every tradition we have surrounding December 25th has it's origins in demonic cultism and Pagan idolatry. Even the giving of gifts originated with their gifts of mainly candles and wax dolls that were in memory of the remainder of their infant/child sacrifices of Halloween to the Baal god Molech. http://www.newpatriotsblog.com/news/the-real-halloween/

     The fact that Yeshua the Messiah was not born in winter is common knowledge. Shepherds are not in their fields in December. (Luke 2:8) So how did it come to be that believers and unbelievers around the world celebrate His birth on December 25th? At the beginning of Christianity, they didn't. Not the apostles, not the first century Christians. It came about through the agreement made by Roman Emperor Constantine and Pope Julius. To cut down on the persecution of believers and to give the Pagans a diversion, these men thought it a good idea to blend Paganism with Christianity and so that date was set in 349 AD. Pagans were in essence told that they didn't have to forsake their worship or their festivals - even the dates of their celebrations would remain the same, they just altered some of the behavior and changed the names to make them "holy" for the Christians. Just two examples of the changes that took place during this time in history were the Sabbath day that Yahuah set into place and told us to keep holy (Genesis 2:2-3, Exodus 20:8-10, Leviticus 23:2-3, Mark 2:27-28, just to list a few) became Sunday rather than from sunset Friday to sunset on Saturday as HE commanded, and another is where Ishtar/Queen of Heaven and Baal/sun of god were called Mary/Queen of Heaven and Jesus/Son of God. Have you ever wondered where the golden halos and disks behind the heads of saints in paintings and statues came from? They're suns! Perhaps the intentions of the emperor and the pope were good, but their decision was driven by an unseen enemy who knew that the blending of the two would be an abomination to Yahuah and it would pollute the followers of The Way, The Truth, and The Life.
"20 Woe to them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!" Isaiah 5:20-21

     If you have read this far you are probably thinking something along the line of, "What does any of this have to do with me?! I don't see it that way!" Neither did I. So what convinced me that my worship at Christmas was an abomination to The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Part 2 to come.

(As an aside, please read all of the Scripture passages that I have put in parentheses above. His Word is alive and speaks for itself. It is our sword and our witness.)
    
    

    
    
    

"Ho Ho Ho!" An Introduction

The following excerpts are taken from the Barna Research Group's 2009 Year-In-Review Perspective.

Theme 1: Increasingly, Americans are more interested in faith and spirituality than in Christianity.

     "The purpose of faith, for most Americans, is not so much to discover truth or to relate to a loving, praiseworthy deity as it is to become happy, successful, comfortable and secure. For a growing percentage of citizens, their sense of spirituality, more than Christianity, facilitates those outcomes."

Theme 2: Faith in the American context is now individual and customized. Americans are comfortable with an altered spiritual experience as long as they can participate in the shaping of that faith experience.

     "Now that we are comfortable with the idea of being spiritual as opposed to devoutly Christian," Barna pointed out, "Americans typically draw from a broad treasury of moral, spiritual and ethical sources of thought to concoct a uniquely personal brand of faith. Feeling freed from the boundaries established by the Christian faith, and immersed in a post modern society which revels in participation, personal expression, satisfying relationships, and authentic experiences, we become our own unchallenged spiritual authorities, defining truth and reality as we see fit.

     "Consequently, more and more people are engaged in hybrid faiths, mixing elements from different historical eras and divergent theological perspectives," Barna stated, "In some ways, we are creating the ultimate ecumenical movement, where nothing is deemed right or wrong, and all ideas, beliefs and practices are assigned equal validity. Everyone is invited to join in the dialogue, enjoy the ride, and feel connected to a far-reaching community of believers. Screening or critiquing what the community believes is deemed rude and inappropriate. Pragmatism and relativism, rather than any sort of absolutism, has gained momentum."

Theme 3: Biblical literacy is neither a current reality nor a goal in the U.S.

Barna's findings related to Bible knowledge and application indicate that little progress, if any, is being made toward assisting people to become more biblically literate.

"Bible reading has become the religious equivalent of sound-bite journalism. When people read from the Bible they typically open it, read a brief passage without much regard for the content, and consider the primary thought or feeling that the passage provided. If they are comfortable with it, they accept it; otherwise, they deem it interesting but irrelevant to their life, and move on. There is shockingly little growth evident in people's understanding of the fundamental themes of the scriptures and amazingly little interest in deepening their knowledge and application of biblical principles.

Barna noted that some of the critical assumptions of many preachers and Bible teachers is inaccurate. "The problem facing the Christian church is not that people lack a complete set of beliefs; the problem is that they have a full slate of beliefs in mind, which they think are consistent with biblical teachings, and they are neither open to being proven wrong nor to learning new insights."

Theme 4: Effective and periodic measurement of spirituality - conducted personally or through a church - is not common at this time and is not likely to become common in the near future.

"There are two levels on which evaluation of where we stand spiritually can take place," noted the California-based author. "There can be external measurement, such as that conducted by pastors, teachers, coaches or peers, and there can be self-evaluation. At the moment, we're seeing very little of either form of review related to a person's spiritual condition.

"Our studies this year among pastors showed that almost nine out of ten senior pastors of Protestant churches asserted that spiritual immaturity is one of the most serious problems facing the Church. Yet relatively few of those pastors believe that such immaturity is reflected in their church. ... Overall, less than one out of every ten pastors said they were completely satisfied with how they assess the spiritual condition of their congregation.

"The situation is similar among Christian individuals. Americans have an almost insatiable curiosity about themselves and how they stack up against others. Yet, in the spiritual realm, that same level of curiosity is much less apparent. Perhaps it is because of the lack of tools for such measurement or even the absence of motivation to grow or to deepen their relationship with God.

"It may well be that spiritual evaluation is so uncommon because people fear that the results might suggest the need for different growth strategies or for more aggressive engagement in the growth process. No matter what the underlying reason is, the bottom line among both the clergy and the laity was indifference toward their acknowledged lack of evaluation."

https://www.barna.org/barna-update/faith-spirituality/325-barna-studies-the-research-offers-a-year-in-review-perspective#.UqxF7Rpuk5t

Our insistent preoccupation with self and mixing the holy with unholy is not only hurting the God we claim to love with all our hearts, but we are increasingly ineffective in making disciples and unwittingly putting ourselves and our children in harm's way. What will it take to wake us up? No matter how much we try to justify ourselves, we serve a God who is not indifferent. Neither is He amused.

"6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing that thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
7 As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame." Hosea 4:6-7