Scripture: Matthew 3 v 1 - 3: "In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."
John the Baptist had a strong prophetic anointing on his life. In Matthew 11 v 13 - 15: "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.
15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."
Jesus said that John the Baptist was Elijah for those who were able to receive this revelation, which made John a powerful prophet. He knew that the Messiah was about to arrive on the scene, that the Kingdom of Heaven was close to manifesting on Earth, and that people should repent of their sins.
He echoed Isaiah in saying, Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. And now we are come full circle to the knowledge that Jesus is on His way back and we need to repent and prepare for His arrival.
Jesus said that when He returned He wondered if He would find faith on Earth. The apostasy or falling away from the faith is well advanced, but those who are steadfast remain faithful.
Jesus said that many would be deceived. That is the absolute truth but we need to secure ourselves by removing blockages to obedience to the Word of God. Jesus said that by our traditions we make the Word of none effect. Our traditions are based on major deceptions, but we would rather cling to them than conform to the Word.
It's uncomfortable to go against what has been traditional and people have no idea what the consequences might be. I, for one, have made up my mind to not give the enemy opportunities to blindside me. As a Watchman I must convey any dangers to the possible victims whether you hear, receive and obey it, or not!
Personally, discovering what pleases God, and doing it, has been such a blessing that breaking with traditions that displease Him has been much easier than I thought.
Long years ago I read Jeremiah 10 v 1 - 4: "Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:
2 Thus 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.
3 For 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.
4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not."
Although the Lord was telling this to the House of Israel, it still applies equally to all of God's people. He says its a heathen practice to cut a tree out of a forest, bring it home and decorate it with silver and gold......yet Christians all over the world do this every year, stick a pretty angel on top and are thrilled to bits. It became a handy place to stack the presents for the delight of Christmas morning.
It's Jesus' birthday so like the Wise Men gave Him gifts at His birth, we give each other gifts on His day. We send greeting cards and its a holiday, family event with great food with all the trimmings.
Well, there is no indication in the Bible of the date of His birth. The most unlikely time for the Jews to be travelling to pay their taxes is in mid-winter. Definitely no shepherds would be out all night in the open with their sheep. Yet we sing...While shepherds watched their flocks by night......
Th real problem is that the Roman Catholic Church mingled Christianity with other religions, the main one being the Babylonian format. This was set up by the witch Semiramis, with a celibate priesthood and a flock of vestal virgins, called Nuns today.
She had a son called Nimrod a conqueror of many nations, whom she elevated to the God Baal. Then she married him so she could be a goddess. Nimrod was born on 25th December!
Back in the day when all this paganism was being added to make the Roman Catholic religion more fun no-one expected computers, internet, search engines and Mr. A. Hislop to write a book called The Two Babylons. All these new additions have exposed some uncomfortable deceptions.
They have become accepted traditions by most of the world. The time around 25th December was known as Saturnalia, a time of partying, drunkenness and wild orgies. Right now in South Africa the second wave of the pandemic has been accelerated by the youth in their Rages, partying at super-spreader events in mainly coastal towns. The mind boggles.
However, Xmas is now declared by me to be a pagan event. Was happy to write it off about forty years ago. Santa Claus or Satan's Claws were removed from my families lives. None of us ever regretted it and God has blessed us in many ways for honouring His Son by abstaining from celebrating Nimrod the enemy in His place.
If you have a sworn enemy, and Nimrod was a type of Antichrist, and for nearly 2000 years you had to endure this enemy's birthday as falsely yours, how would you feel? It makes Satan mad that I reject his feeble substitution, but it makes Jesus happy and that's what counts.
Does this tradition make the Word of God of none effect? Firstly, we bring up our children to believe a lie. Christmas has become an idol, meaningless to God, but many people pour their whole lives into having a great Christmas. You need to decide if its really honouring God.
When Oliver Cromwell ruled Britain between the reigns of Charles 1 and Charles 2 in the mid 1600's, Christmas was cancelled for 8 years. The Puritans, of which Cromwell was one, disliked Christmas for its extravagance, drunkenness, impurity and immorality.
And in the mid 1500's, in Scotland, Christmas was banned for 400 years.
"Around 1560, Scotland officially split from the Papacy and Catholic Church, a period known as the Scottish Reformation, when new beliefs and practices were adopted.
As the country adopted more Calvinist traditions the Church of Scotland associated Christmas with the extravagant celebrations of the Catholic Church, something they thought didn't reflect their interpretation of scripture." From Google.
People in Scotland only started celebrating Christmas again in 1950.
If we must make His paths straight, and we must, this is a good place to begin. I think Jesus was born at the time of Rosh Hashanah in mid September. It's a Jewish Feast and means "When the heavens are opened!" That seems more appropriate plus warmer weather for sheep and shepherds. We can celebrate His birth every day by being obedient and showing love to the less fortunate through caring and sharing.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us to sift out pagan traditions with the lies and deception from our lives so we can please You with our obedience. We want Your favour upon us Lord and it takes hard decisions to make changes. I pray that those who read this understand what it means to You, Lord God, to show this love to Your Son. In Jesus' name. Amen.