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Dec 20, 2002 For many people Christmas has come to symbolize a time for joyous festivities, eating, drinking, Santa Claus, little green elves, reindeer, presents, artificial evergreen trees covered with tinsel and decorations of every description. Whether saint or sinner everyone seems to get caught up in the season of joyous fun, singing and wild carefree spending to access. Let us take a moment from our busy lives as we prepare for the holidays and ask ourselves a question. What is the true meaning of Christmas? Why do we have a secular, commercialized, materialistic view of Christmas while ignoring the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ? Many of you believe in the commercialized vision of a jolly, potbellied, fat, old man with a long, white, beard, in red underwear and a stupid looking hat, with a sleigh full of presents pulled by a bunch of overworked, under- nourished, reindeer who couldn't fly if their lives depended on it. You have been taught that lie since you were a child now you continue to deceive your children and grandchildren with the same fairy tale. That fable is about as ridicul- ous as believing that your house is made from pure gold. Apparently you have never been told the real truth of Christmas which has nothing to do with an overweight, guy named Santa Claus or a herd of reindeer, which was invented by a Chicago advertising agency in the early 1900's. The only reason that you even celebrate Christmas at all is because of the God Eternal sending his son to the earth in the form of a baby boy born to a Jewish couple called Joseph and Mary. This same baby who was born in a manger, in the city of Bethlehem was no ordinary child, but came from the house and lineage of King David and Abraham as was foretold by the prophets of the Old Testament. According to Isaiah 7:14 it states "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." In the New Testament it states in Luke 1:26, 27, 30, 31 the following "And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. Yet this same Jesus had a purpose to fulfill for through him salvation would come forth not as a child but as a man who would be a light to the Gentiles and the glory of the people of Israel. This same Jesus would live for 33 years, feeding the hungry, healing the sick, casting out demons, raising the dead and preaching the gospel. Despite all of this the people of Israel rejected him and had him punished and executed by Roman crucifixion on a wooden cross. Some had thought that this was the end of him but it was only the beginning for he went down to hell itself conquering death and defeating Satan, a fallen angel, his arch rival. This same Jesus then rose from the dead and freely gave us eternal life through salvation because he died on the cross in our place. Today the majority of the world's population continue to reject this same Jesus who lives in the hearts and lives of only born again believers, who have made him their personal Savior and Lord. The secular world may appear to have a form of godliness but vehemently deny that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation so that they can continue to live as they choose in an orgy of capitalistic greed, lying, stealing, illicit sex, drugs, homosexuality and a multitude of debauchery, sin and brutality. Many of these same people take offense at the mere mention of the Name of Jesus Christ, whether in a children's Christmas program sharing the true meaning of Christ or in a prayer. When Franklin Graham, son of well known evangelist Billy Graham prayed over the inauguration of President-elect George W. Bush, on Saturday, January 21, 2001 not everyone was pleased. Several days later after returning home to North Carolina, from the inauguration, Franklin Graham read an opinion article in the Los Angeles Times written by a deeply committed Jew, Alan Dershowitz, a professor at Harvard Law School and an attorney. The article stated that it was not acceptable for a presidential inauguration to exclude millions of American citizens who are Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Shintoists, Unitarians, agnostics and atheists from the blessing. Franklin Graham is a Christian, not a Muslim, Jew or athesist. As he stated he is a believer in the greatest man that has ever lived - Jesus Christ, who is a Jew. People like Mr. Dershowitz and his kind need to study their history and except the fact that America is a nation built on Christian values and principles that allow all religions, freedom to worship as they choose. Such is not the case in countries such as Iraq or other middle eastern countries. Perhaps Alan Dershowitz and other American, value hating, liberals need to realize how blessed they truly are. In fact because America has guaranteed the freedom of speech then who has the right to say what and where we should pray? No one was forced or coerced to agree with Franklin Graham's blessing. Any non-Christian does not have to agree with any Christian prayer. As a society our Christian principles are slowly being stolen from us. First it was taking prayer out of school, then removing Christmas manger scenes from malls, now we are not being allowed to pray for our leaders in a national public forum, using the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Next we will not be allowed to pray in church using the Name of Jesus. If people like Hugh Hefner and his playboy bunnies can appear on television, if pornographic dating advertisements showing naked body parts, are acceptable on cable television and if homosexual pride parades are considered normal and politicially correct then how long before the authorities start jailing us because we are born again believers? It is time for Christian believers this holiday season to stand strong and determined in the face of all trials and circumstances that deny our Christian values. We have the God ordained covenant right to use the Name of Jesus Christ in prayer and intercession whenever we choose. By standing up for Christ we are not only upholding righteous living but showing unbelievers the way to salvation through the precious blood of Jesus Christ. We are the militant church and now is the time to bring down the forces of secularism through divine warfare and action. As for Santa Claus he is a lie of Satan and has no power over the truth! ------------ Stephen Winter resides in Halton Hills, Ontario in Canada. He specializes in nonfiction writing. Email Stephen: wordking@email.com ------------ |
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