Christmas of the Heart
CHRISTMAS OF THE HEART!
As years gone by and learning daily from the Holy Spirit that dwells in me. Another Christmas is drawing nearer December 25. We are told that this was the day that Jesus was born. Though no mention in the bible his true birth date. You hear those stories flying around that he was born in the fall or in the spring and that December 25 is a pagan holiday. You hear others say that we should not have any Christmas trees in our home
they claim is based on fact in the bible. Jeremiah 10; 1-16, is misunderstood.
I hear the Holy Spirit telling me, “what does it matter what men say or do, or when I was born, Christmas is in the Heart of every believer who worship me everyday. They believe I was conceived from a virgin birth and was born to die on the cross so that by my blood they can have eternity in Heaven with the Father and the Son.”
They don’t lie to their children that Christmas is about Santa Clause and toys. The world today is out to deceive the little ones to buy the lies of Christmas that man made up. Its all about selling and making money off of Christmas. True believers don’t deck out their homes to impress the neighbors, they do it to honor Christ who was born. They don’t idle the tree and go in debt to impress their loved ones. For they Honor Christ in Spirit and in Truth. It is the Christmas of the Heart each and every day of the year they worship him. To have this one day of the year for all true believers to come together and honor my birthday in Spirit and in Truth is bringing families together in the homes of those believers. Is sharing the miracle of my birth that brings others to received me into their heart. So they too can honor my birthday each and every day. Christmas is in the heart of the believers who do not fellow after traditions of man! They fellow after Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit who lives within them that leads them in to all the truths! They give to those in need 365 days of the year and they worship the Lord all year long not just on one day!
"But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." (John 4:23-24)
Christmas is Worshiping God in Spirit and in Truth!
CHRISTMAS OF THE HEART IS GIVING ALL YEAR LONG
“Copyright 2009”
Jacqueline L. Greek
November 19, 2009
I had change this poem from the harsh one I wrote last year. God had been dealing with me on this matter. Christmas time is the time for love ones to gather together in the Name of Jesus to worship Christ's birth. It don't matter when Christ was Born. What matters is that those who believe who Christ is worship him and honor him in spirit and in truth everyday!
What matters is that we do not follow after the tradations of men, with lying to our children on Santa Clause. Its all about Jesus not Santa.
"God had just given this to me December 9th 2008"
Please understand I am not telling you what you should do or not do! Allowing the Holy spirit to show you the truth through prayer! And do your own research on Christmas to decided what you must do for your life. Follow your heart to Jesus and he will show you what you need to do for your self!
Another life's lesson learn here for my self!
He would not let me sleep until I had this written down.
Bringing up my daughter I never lied to her about Santa Claus! I could not do that to my little one. Yes I had the tree all decked out in my home, I just never knew what the bible had to say on this matter.
I mean the churches celebrated Christmas and so it must be ok. I grew up with believing in Santa Claus and was crushed when I learn the truth, it was wonderful to wake up and see all the goodies under that tree! But I just could not do that to my daughter!
I had fruit garland around the tree and taught her the fruit of the spirit with it. The white bulbs I told her were Jesus as pure as snow, with out sin. The red bulbs was sin in the world and the blue bulbs were for peace. I did not have anything with Santa in my house. Later through the years, I got rid of the garland and decorated the tree with angles and bears.
I did not go broke over Christmas I bought her with what I had left over after paying the bills and God would all ways come through with the gifts for her. Several times after church I would go out to my car and it was loaded with gifts from the people in the church!
God had all ways provided for us and still does.
Now my daughter who has pulled away from Christ because she feels like I had pushed something on her that she don't believe in. I told her if she has no business celebrating Christmas if she did not believe in Jesus birthday!
She did surprised me by telling me that she will not have her son believing a lie on Santa! I was happy to hear about that! At least he won't be deceived. I am praying for her and asking God to put Christians all around her. I know that he did that for me that drew me back to him this summer he can do that for her as well. The bible does tells us to be careful we hang around least we become like them. Well If she was around Christians she too would become like them. That is not a bad thing at all.
I had really been doing some soul searching.
For my household, we had never ever lived the lie as Santa Claus, That went out the door when my child was 2 years old.
This is for my life between me and God! No one can judge me for what I am going to say what is in my heart. I believe God was showing me for me, that for my family to be together on the holidays in worship of Jesus birth and that he died on the cross to save us from death! This time of year does brings family's together for even that one special day to honor Jesus, I look at my tree, I see the tree of life, that Christ gave his life for me on a cross which is made from wood and wood comes from a tree! Yes I can see Jesus nail to that tree! I can worship him with or with out the tree, all that matters is that I worship Jesus in my own way is personal to me.
I had those years of having my dad come to my home for dinner in Jesus Name! Not in Santa name, we did not worship the tree, it just brings us closer on the holidays!
I will not have my dad with me this year for Christmas but I have his memory's to carry with me in my heart!
My Daughter who does not believe in God or Jesus is at my home every Christmas day to have dinner with me with her family. I can be a witness to them as I share with them of Christ birth it don't matter to me if he was born in the fall or in the spring. What matters he was born in the flesh and died for me to save me from death! That is a witness my daughter will carry on in her memory's and someday will be taught to her children.
It is wrong to go out and buy this gift to impress anyone! Or go in debt over it. I will not do that I have never done that, God has always shown me what to make or brings in that right gift to that special someone in my life. That I don't have to buy, God provides.
That is another witness I have that My Jesus is real!
If God provides all those gifts to me for those in my life, then for me I see no reason to stop what I am doing, for I know in my heart my God knows the heart.
But you can only do what God has shown you to do, what is right for your life. No one can tell you not to put up a tree, but consider why are you putting up that tree? So Santa can come in and put all those gifts you went in debt to buy, That those children have bought your lies? That is what is wrong!
I will honor God. Father the Son and the Holy Spirit 365 days a year and give all year long. For Christmas will be in my Heart to give! Not to drag a tree in your home real or fake, it means nothing to GOD! Yes that is right is means nothing to God, it is not good or evil, I do not worship the tree.
I will still keep on giving thought out the year as I have always down. My aunt and uncle gives me clothes and things several times a month, I take out what I need and give to those that are in need it as well.
I will not buy Christmas gifts that is something I really never did in the first place. Even my daughter gifts I did not buy it my aunt made it for her. And several other items that had been given to me as well I put back for her.
I am not following after the tradition of men, I am following after Jesus Christ and honoring and worshiping him everyday of the year and Dec. 25 is a day I look forward to in spending my time with my family. And watching them open up the gifts that I did not buy but God providing me with to give out of love for him! Then sharing with my family how God loves us so much that he gave his son to die for our sins. How you put your trust in Jesus and how everything you have need of he provides for you, we are not to worry about how we are to eat, dress and such, If God takes care of the birds in the air and the animals, how much more that he loves us so much that he takes care of our every need!
That is how I witness to my family on Christmas day!
Even through my own fathers death I learn so much, what the true meaning of Christmas is. It is in our hearts to share with our love ones on the birth of Christ and why he was born to give us salvation! I think what matters is how we share that day with our love ones. It is a national holiday, even it is tradition of men. God wants us to be a witness for him!
We can turn the bad around to which that day is a pagan holiday, to use that day for good to witness to others on the birth and life of Jesus Christ! But also what God has done for you that year to share with your family! Not many family's see each other now a days, but Christmas brings them together for a reason that is to share what God has done in your life!
Please Please Go to God and pray that he open up your eyes to see the truth an real meaning of this holiday is for you and what your do to. Some he might tell you forget the tree, it means nothing to him. Seek God out in your life and do what you know what God wants you to do for him! Perhaps next year God will tell me to forget the tree, then I will. At least the guilt will be gone when I don't put it up. It is just a decoration that just makes your home look pretty and place to put the gifts that you did not buy or go in debt over!
That is between you and God!
July 7, 2009
There as so many different views of Christmas, just pray and ask the Holy Spirit to show the the way the right way. Please read below what the Bible has to say on got a question as well.
There are so many different views on Christmas here is what got a question had to say!
http://www.gotquestions.org/December-25.html
http://www.gotquestions.org/Christmas-tree.html
Question: "Was Jesus born on December 25?"
Answer: Speculation as to the time of Jesus’ birth dates back to the 3rd century, when Hyppolytus (ca. 170-236) claimed that Jesus was born on December 25. The earliest mention of some sort of observance on that date is in the Philoclian Calendar, representing Roman practice, of the year 336. Later, John Chrysostom favored the same date of birth. Cyril of Jerusalem (348-386) had access to the original Roman birth census, which also documented that Jesus was born on the 25th of December. The date eventually became the officially recognized date for Christmas in part because it coincided with the pagan festivals celebrating Saturnalia and the winter solstice. The church thereby offered people a Christian alternative to the pagan festivities and eventually reinterpreted many of their symbols and actions in ways acceptable to Christian faith and practice.
December 25 has become more and more acceptable as the birth date of Jesus. However, some argue that the birth occurred in some other season, such as in the fall. Followers of this theory claim that the Judean winters were too cold for shepherds to be watching their flocks by night. History proves otherwise, however, and we have historical evidence that unblemished lambs for the Temple sacrifice were in fact kept in the fields near Bethlehem during the winter months.
The truth is we simply don’t know the exact date of our Savior’s birth. In fact, we don’t even know for sure the year in which He was born. Scholars believe it was somewhere between 6 B.C. and 4 B.C. One thing is clear: if God felt it was important for us to know the exact date of the Savior’s birth, He certainly would have told us in His Word. The Gospel of Luke gives very specific details about the event, even down to what the baby was wearing – “swaddling clothes”—and where he slept—“in a manger” (Luke 2:12). These details are important because they speak of His nature and character, meek and lowly. But the exact date of His birth has no significance whatsoever, which may be why God chose not to mention it.
The fact is that He was born, that He came into the world to atone for our sins, that He was resurrected to eternal life, and that He’s alive today. This is what we should celebrate, as we are told in the Old Testament in such passages as Zechariah 2:10: “'Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,' declares the LORD.” Further, the angel that announced the birth to the shepherds brought “good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10). Surely here is the cause for celebration every day, not just once a year.
Question: "Should we have a Christmas Tree? Does the Christmas Tree have its origin in ancient pagan rituals?"
Answer: The modern custom of a Christmas tree does not come from any form of paganism. There is no evidence of any pagan religion decorating a special holiday tree for their mid-winter festivals, although the Romans celebrated the winter solstice with a festival called Saturnalia in honor of Saturnus, the god of agriculture. They decorated their houses with greens and lights and exchanged gifts. Late in the Middle Ages, Germans and Scandinavians placed evergreen trees inside their homes or just outside their doors to show their hope in the forthcoming spring. The first Christmas tree was decorated by Protestant Christians in 16th-century Germany. Our modern Christmas tree evolved from these early German traditions, and the custom most likely came to the United States with Hessian troops during the American Revolution, or with German immigrants to Pennsylvania and Ohio.
There is nothing in the Bible that either commands or prohibits Christmas trees. It has been falsely claimed by some that Jeremiah 10:1-16 prohibits the cutting down and decorating of trees in the same manner as we do at Christmas. However, even a cursory reading of the text makes it clear that the passage is one in which Jeremiah sets forth the prohibition against idols made of wood, plated with silver and gold, and worshipped. A similar idea appears in Isaiah 44, where Isaiah speaks of the silliness of the idol-worshippers who cut down a tree, burn part of it in the fire to warm themselves, and use the other part to fashion an idol, which they then bow down to. So unless we bow down before our Christmas tree, carve it into an idol, and pray to it, these passages cannot be applied to Christmas trees.
There is no spiritual significance to having or not having a Christmas tree. Whatever choice we make, the motive behind a believer’s decision about this, as in all matters of conscience, must be to please the Lord. Romans 14:5-6a sets out the principle in a passage about liberty: “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord.” The Lord is grieved when Christians look down upon one another for either celebrating or not celebrating Christmas. This is spiritual pride. When we feel that somehow we have achieved a higher plain of spirituality by doing or not doing something about which the Bible is silent, we misuse our freedom in Christ, create divisions within His body, and thereby dishonor the Lord. “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).
As for me, I am going to pray and allow the Holy Spirit to show me the truth and show me what Is right for me to do. That is all we can do.
Remember that Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6)
"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (I John 2:15).
"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." (Colossians 2:8)
Please don't forget to sign my Guest Book and tell me what God is doing in your life! It is at the bottom of this page!
Are you hearing God in your life?
And have you accepted Jesus into your heart?
If not all you need to do is ask God to forgive you of all your sins and say:
Jesus I know you are real and I believe that you died on the cross for me, you redeemed me by your Blood. I want to live for you! I confess all my sins known and unknown. I am sorry for them all. I Renounce them all I forgive all others, and I want you to forgive me. Forgive me now, and cleanse me with your blood. I thank you for the blood of Jesus Christ which cleanses me now forever from sin, I come to you now as my deliverer you know my special needs the thing that binds, that torments, that defiles, that evil spirit. That unclean spirit. I claim the promises of your word. "Who so ever that calleth on the Lord shall be delivered," I call upon you now in Jesus Christ name. Deliver me and set me free. Satan, I renounce you and all your works. I loose myself from your works. I loose myself from you now in Jesus name. I command you to leave me right now in Jesus name! I have a confession to make my ancestors and I have sought super natural experiences apart from you. We have disobeyed your word. I ask for you’re forgiveness. I renounce witch craft and magic both black & white. I renounce witch craft and all occult games etc. I renounce hypnoses. I break any hold placed on me. I command it right back where it came from in Jesus name. I thank you Lord for all your doing in through and for me right now! By the Blood of Jesus Christ amen.
