Hoildays

EASTER

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EASTER

As we approach the time of the year where we celebrate the holiday called Easter, do we as Christians really know what we are celebrating?  The term ‘Easter’ is not of Christian origin. The word ‘Easter’ is not found in any translation of the Bible except once in the the King James Version and it is a mistranslation of the Greek word ‘pascha.’. This is only found in Acts: 12:4. The correct translation should have been ‘Passover’.

So where did the term Easter come from? It originated from European traditions. The name Easter comes from a pagan figure called Eastre or Eostre who was celebrated as the goddess of spring. The festival called Eastre was held in the spring by those that honored her.

A majority of the modern day population celebrate Easter out of context with how it is actually related to the story of the Passover. The feast includes an Easter Ham in place of roasted lamb, decorated eggs, colored chickens and stories about the Easter Bunny or chocolate rabbits. Some churches even put on Easter egg hunts.

I ask, are we worshipping our Holy God in vain with all the mixed representation of Christian Holidays that we are faced with today? Are Christians expected to be teaching the ‘truth’? Is the Church falling away from what God expects? Let us briefly look at what Easter is meant to be.

Easter should actually refer to the Passover. The Passover is the first of God’s seven annual festivals. The Passover in the Holy Land is a reminder of how God saved His people from death in Egypt. God spared His people from death by the blood of the sacrificial lamb on the door frames of their home. The complete story is found in Exodus Chapter 12. Jesus always observed the Passover while here on earth.

The blood of the Passover lamb foreshadowed the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The blood of Jesus passes over the sins of those who repent and receive Jesus Christ as their Savior. It is very clear in the New Testament that Jesus Christ is our true Passover lamb, who spared us from eternal death.

Matthew: 26: 26-28, Jesus observed His last Passover with His disciples where the symbols of bread and water represent His body and blood with what we refer to as communion. With this symbol Jesus offered us forgiveness (or passing over) our sins and the penalty of death. Have you received this free gift?

The death of Jesus actually took place during the daylight hours that followed the Passover evening. Christ was crucified on the day of the Feast of the Passover. He was declared dead that same afternoon and was buried just before sundown.

We need to read and study the Scriptures. John: 8:32 NIV: Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. 1Thessalonians 5:21 KJV: Prove all things; hold fast that which good.

Thank you Jesus for passing over my sins.

SHOULD CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE THE NEW YEAR?

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SHOULD CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE THE NEW YEAR?

As we approach the coming of 2015, a new year, should Christians and even Non-Christians be looking forward to celebrating? Many people and organizations are preparing for gala events. The sad part of this, is that on December 31st and January 1st will be the last day for some. Loved ones, friends, and acquaintances will be gone from this life and enter into their eternal destination.

Millions of people will celebrate New Year’s without knowing why or how it came into being. Many do not see anything wrong with celebrating. I ask you to look at how people celebrate New Year’s Eve. Can you imagine the number of people that get drunk, have sexual affairs, get into arguments and even kill someone because of their anger? Many innocent people will lose their life because of domestic abuse or accidents caused by a drunken driver. There are many other reasons too numerous to mention. I ask you, why do you believe and practice this kind of celebration? Do not get the idea I am a prude. I enjoy having good clean fun as much as anyone. One day God got my attention and showed me that His way is the way to go.

I don’t believe that true Christians get caught up in the “eat-drink-and-be-merry-for-tomorrow-we-may-die” attitude. I do know that there are professing Christians that see nothing wrong with that same attitude nor do they care.

I pray you do not get caught up in the secular excitement of a New Year celebration. What does God’s Word say regarding how we should look at something new? It is not about a new year, it is about a new you.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV) You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;  to be made new in the attitude of your minds;  and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

1 Peter 1:3 (NIV) Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Revelation 21:5 (NIV) He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

James 4:13-16 (KJV) 13 Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. 16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

Philippians 3:12-15 (NKJV) 12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 15All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.

What about you? What calling and goal are you going to follow? The Israelites thought they knew better than God and decided to do things their own way. God decided to wake them up and get them back on track. For some reason, people tend to let go of all inhibition and many times self-respect and simply go wild on New Year’s. Many throw away common sense in order to have a good time before the night is over. Let us remember what God’s Word says in 1 Corinthians 14:40: Let all things be done decently and in order.

Also, in Galatians 5: 19-21 (KJV) it outlines the works of the flesh. In verse 21 it mentions the word revellings. This very word is now connected to our New Year celebrations. The obvious meaning of the word is excessive and boisterous intemperance and lustful indulgence. I believe that this describes what happens on New Year’s Eve.

We need to remember that this is Satan’s World for now. The devil’s world will soon come to an end. Are you celebrating a pagan holiday?  God prefers that we make wise choices on our own so that He does not have to make them for us. I pray that God blesses you in the year 2015 and if you have not invited Jesus into your life that you do so. Celebrate with Jesus and a new you.

No Greater Love

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No Greater Love

John 15:13 (KJV) Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

What does it mean to lay down your life for others? Jesus defined love in terms of sacrificial actions rather than words or emotions.  As I have stated in previous blogs there are four different types of love. They are as follows:

EROS includes passion or infatuation as well as sexual or romantic love.

STORGE refers to the natural affection between a parent and child.

PHILEO refers to the intimacy that good friends share.

AGAPE is sacrificial love–a commitment that motivates us to deny ourselves on behalf of another. This is the type of love the Lord had in mind when He commanded His followers to love one another.

You can see that AGAPE love is a sacrificial love. This is the true love that flows from God and it is a command for those of us who say we are born again believers of Jesus Christ.

Our physical life is one of the most valuable asset we possess. There is only one greater and that is our spiritual life in Jesus Christ. There is not a greater expression of love than when a person is willing to lay down their life for another person or their country. It enhances the love of Jesus Christ. Jesus died for His enemies and those who hate Him and those who reject Him as the One who came and died for us sinners. What Jesus did for us shows the extent of His love that He has for us. There is no greater love than when He laid down His life for us.

Have you ever been in a situation where you had to possibly lay down your life for someone else? Have you ever thought about what you would do if the situation ever presented itself? I have and I had to make that choice in January, 1968. That was a transforming experience for me since I am still alive and I praise God that He granted me additional time here on earth. How about the many who have died for our freedom? How sad it is when people demonstrate and destroy because they say it is their right. How many have died so others may have that right? I often ask myself, would these demonstrators be willing to die for others? I know what I thought about before and after my experience of how close death was at my door and it was for a total stranger. I have no regrets and I praise and thank God for the privilege of serving Him.

As we enter into this Christmas Season, God may not ask you to lay down your life, but He may be asking you to share with someone you may know or don’t know, the Good News of Jesus Christ. Sacrifice a little by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. You will be blessed. Jesus sacrificed His position in Heaven to come to earth as a gift for us. Give Him thanks by sharing with others. May the Lord bless you this Christmas?

WILLIAMS MAIL

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I would like to share an email I received. I believe it would be an opportunity for the Christian Community to witness and show a young boy our love by sending him mail. May the Lord bless those who respond in His name. Thank you for your consideration.

Williams Mail

I have never done, or asked anything like this before, but I felt the need to. That need that comes from being a mom and wanting to do everything in your power to make your child happy. It seems like such a small thing but it is the few things that drive a mothers soul. The need to protect and the need to bring joy to your kids faces.

My son, William is 12 years old. He is an amazing kid. He rarely asks for much. He is full of love, joy and happiness. William is smart, funny and awesome. William also has Autism (severe) and is also non verbal. (he can not talk). During Christmas time (his absolute favorite time of the year) he always asks me for the things he wants, and they are always the same. He wants Mr.Sketch Markers, Copy Paper, Lays Regular Chips, and whatever Blu Ray is on his mind for his collection. (His “thing” is movies). He is the easiest and hardest to shop for. I am always looking for new things to add to the list but he usually is not interested and just wants what he wants.

This is where my request comes in. This year he asked for something new! I almost fell over when he added it to the box (his Christmas wish list box) and the new item is……….. MAIL! Mail. Mail. He LOVES getting mail. Half of our family lives in Northern Canada and the other half lives in Southern USA so he gets mail from family a couple times a year. I always knew he loved getting his mail but when he asked for it, I cried. I actually sat here and cried. Both happy and sad tears. Happy because he was expressing his wants and sad because of how I was going to figure out how to get him what he wants. He is such an amazing kid and he rarely wants for anything, I really want to make something special for him.

Let me tell you why I was sad. William has never had people come to his birthdays or has he been invited to any. No one asks William to come over for playdates or sleep overs. There are a small handful of kids in his class with needs of their own so I understand why. It is not anyone’s fault, it just is what it is. My family lives 1000 miles in one direction and my kids other family (fathers side) lives 1000 miles in the other so there is no family here for us. My teenage daughter is always out, socializing, hanging with friends and sometimes it just breaks my heart. I wish William had that too, but life has other plans for this amazing kid.

Many people assume since he can not talk that he does not understand. Well, let me tell you, this kid understands. He understands a lot. He understands too much. He just can not communicate the way we do, but he is sharp as a tack. He feels love and affection and I think he finds mail from others as affection. He carries around the last box that was sent to him. He covets the post cards. He wants me to read mail to him (even though he is an excellent reader) he wants to send mail. He LOVES mail and asks me for it now (the past couple weeks) multiple times a day. He writes MAIL on his drawings, he brings me the key to check the mail. I think he truly appreciate mail.

Now to my request. I have been racking my brains for a couple weeks. I want to make this year special for this most special boy. He has nothing but love in him and I want him to feel the love from others. If you want to help a kind soul this year, I am asking for strangers to send him mail. I want him to know the world loves and values him in a way that he understands and feels. I have been buying stamps and have been “creating” mail for Christmas. I have enlisted my small family (there is only a handful) to send mail to him for Christmas. I was hoping someone out there would want to sit down and send mail to William. He deserves to feel the love from the world like the rest of us do because he makes this world a better place. He deserves all the mail in the world according to me , but I am his mommy so I am bias.

I know, it may seem strange to ask strangers for mail but this is the only way I can think of to fulfill my sons Christmas wish. I am starting a page, and if people write letters to him on it, I will print the letters off and turn them into mail. If you feel inclined to send this amazing kid a piece of mail, I will save it until Christmas morning and when he wakes up, he will wake up to his beloved mail.

He loves his mail so much that his weekly treat is to visit the Post Office so he can get a Mail Box (a priority mail box) and when we get home he wants me to put Mail in it (usually just one of his BluRays) and he gets so happy to open it. He also carries around this Christmas USPS flier thingy they sent out a while ago with their Christmas stamps.

Please take the time to consider my request. It would mean the world to a very special young boy whose only real wish this year is to open MAIL It would mean the world to this Momma , William and his big sister Victoria too, we just want to make it a very special Christmas for a very special boy

https://www.facebook.com/pag…/Williams-Mail/1575623412666921

If you would like to learn more about what to write or what William likes to talk about please read this link. https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1576474325915163&id=1575623412666921

Twitter @mail4william

‪#‎mail4william

Williams Mail

PMB# 175

816 Peace Portal Dr.

Blaine, Washington 98230

USA

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HOLIDAY CHANGES

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HOLIDAY CHANGES

As we enter into the Holiday Seasons, there seems to be a change taking place that saddens me. What I was raised with and have enjoyed for many years were the greetings of HAPPY THANKSGIVING and MERRY CHRISTMAS. Now it appears that these greetings are changing to Happy Harvest or Happy Holiday. I ask, why? I believe that a great deal of the change has to do with the Christian connection that is represented in these two holidays. It seems in our present age, any reference to a Christian ideology is taboo among our society. What is even sadder is that the voices of our Christian churches are not speaking up or taking opposition to these changes. Again, I ask, why? There seems to be a lull of apathy for not standing up for what is right in our country today. Has Satan gotten us so full of fear that we are afraid to challenge those who are taking away our rights as citizens of this great country? I ask, what happened to God’s promise in Romans 8:31(NKJV) 31 what then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

As we enter into the last holidays of 2014 I pray that you remember all the blessings you have been given by a great and loving God. I realize that there are those who are hurting, depressed and down and out. If God has blessed you, give to others as you are capable of giving even if it is just telling someone that you love them. Then give thanks and praise to God as stated in Psalms 100:4, (NIV) Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.

As we enter into the Christmas season, remember to keep Christ in Christmas. After all, that is what Christmas is all about. Don’t “X” Him out! The Christmas story can be found in the Gospel of Matthew 1: beginning with vs. 18 and in the Gospel of Luke 2: beginning in vs.1. God sent His Son Jesus Christ to be with us and eventually give Himself as sacrifice. What a gift! Even if you think you have nothing, you have the most wonderful gift that anyone could ask for. This gift keeps giving and giving from generation to generation and what is so wonderful, all you have to do is receive it. It is free.

I pray that you all have a Happy Thanksgiving and a very Merry Christmas. Love to all.