Thursday Evening Blog with Pastor Williams (December)
Posted on December 1st, 2006 by TADCCBLOG
Pastor Williams will be active on this blog site THURSDAY from 8:30 to 9:30pm. Please suggest topics or questions for discussion.
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15 Responses to “Thursday Evening Blog with Pastor Williams (December)”
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This is the time of year that all believers in Christ Jesus should show the world their belief in Christ Jesus. I am not talking about Christmas trees and mangers scenes. I am talking about giving.
John 3:16 is as much a part of the Christmas story as any other verse in the Bible. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son. It was through this gift from God that we celebrate Christmas. Indeed Christmas is based on giving.
However we have become very selfish this time of the year. We want someone to give to us rather than us taking the initiative to give to others. There are plenty of homeless and less fortunate people who need a helping hand. Let us at this time of the year replicate what God did in giving us His Son and let us give.
Give something precious and that will mean something to someone who does not deserve it. This is what God did for us and we should do likewise for others.
Pastor Williams,
On tonight’s evening news program, there was an announcement of the opening of China’s first Toys-R-Us with the quotations “Just in time for Christmas.” China is not a Christian nation, as neither are the majority of Middle Eastern, African and Asian countries. Do these countries celebrate Christmas? How can they celebrate Christmas while persecuting Christians in their own country?
Pastor,
Thank you for your message above. I definitely needed a reminder that it is the season for giving. I have so many blessings, as does my son, that I had nearly forgotten that there are so many mothers out there who are unable to provide even the basic necessities for their children. I had not planned to give to a specific charity this year, but have decided that I need to do more to help others as a result of your message.
KB,
Christmas for many many nations is a commercial holiday – not a religious holiday.
Unknowingly there are things that even “Christian” nations do that have no basis in the Word of God and therefore is not Christian.
The Bible does not say that three wise men appeared at the birth of Christ Jesus. The Bible does not give a number, it only says that wise men from the East came to see Him.
Jeremiah 10:2-5 refers to what some would consider a Christmas tree. It is a cut tree that is decked with silver and gold. This tree was dedicated to idol gods.
December 17th through the 23rd was the pagan worship of Saturnalia. It was doing this time they celebrated the shortest day of the year by ligting bonfires and exchanging gifts. Mistletoe, yule logs, berries are associated with this pagan festival.
One symbol that has been misinterpreted is X-mas. Many think that Christ is taken out of Christmas. The letter “X” is actually the letter “Chi” in the Greek alphabet. Chi is the first letter for the Greek word Christ/Christo. It is similar the sign of the fish we see on the back of cars. The sign of the fish is actually an acronmy using the the first Greek letters for the title, “Jesus Christ Son of God Saviour”. Using the first Greek letters it spells ICTHUS (Iota Chi Theta Upsilon Sigma) which is the Greek word for fish.
There are passages in the Bible that place Christ Jesus birth during the fall of the year. Christ Jesus is six months younger that John the Baptist. John the Baptist father was of the Levitical priesthood that served during the course of Abia at a specific time each year in the Temple. It was doing the time of serving that His was wife conceived John. If we look at the course of Abia in I Chronicles 27 and 28:1 we can deduce the time Christ was born.
This leads us to the fall of the year. The fall of the year fits with there being no room in the inn. The Feast of Tabernacles was one of the Feast that all men were required to come to the Temple in Jerusalem. This feast occured in the fall of the year. This would also be the reason why there was no room in the inn.
The shepards abiding in the fields by night would not happen doing the dead of winter. It would have been too cold. Therefore another hint that the weather was mild and not the dead of winter as we celebrate now.
Another clue is in the Gospel of John where it said that Christ Jesus dwelt or tabernacled among us. The Feast at the time of His Birth was the Feast of Tabernacle of which the Gospel of John makes an allussion to.
Whenever we focus more on receiving gifts rather that promoting the Gospel of Christ Jesus, we promote Satunalia. It is only when the Gospel of Christ Jesus is involved that we truly celebrate the Birth of Christ Jesus our Lord.
Shayala,
Thanks. That is the true celebration of Christmas.
My brothers and sisters in CHRIST,
I’ve seen several Nativity displays in my community, and each one has three wise men worshiping the baby JESUS wrapped in swaddling clothes and laying in a manger. Matthew 2:11 ” And when they had come into the house, they saw the Child with Mary, His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” The wise men were not in Bethlehem the night CHRIST was born. CHRIST was around two yrs old when the wise men visited Him. Regardless of the time of year we celebrate CHRIST’s birthday, we should be so very thankful to FATHER GOD for loving us so much that He gave to us His most precious gift,CHRIST JESUS our LORD. Because of the wickedness of man, GOD regreted that He had created us. We were in serious need of redemption. The Only One who could redeem us, atone for us, once and forever was JESUS CHRIST. But in order to do that, He had to become a man; GOD in the flesh. The sin nature of man is passed on through the seed of man, and our REDEEMER, our SAVIOR had to be sinless. Luke 1:34-35 “Then Mary said to the angel, How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her,”The HOLY SPIRIT will come upon you, and the power of the HIGHEST will overshadow you; therefore, also, that HOLY ONE who is to be born will be called the SON of GOD.” CHRIST took on the form of man and dwelt among us. Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name IMMANUEL, which is translated GOD with us.” GOD gave to us the very best He had to give when He gave us CHRIST JESUS. We did not deserve His Gift, but because of His mercy, grace and love; He looked beyond our faults and saw our need. CHRIST stepped out of Glory to become our SAVIOR. HE is our Only way back to FATHER GOD. The joy, peace, and reassurance I have today is because of CHRIST JESUS my SAVIOR and LORD. HE truly is the reason for the season. As Pastor Williams has said, give a gift to someone who is undeserving this holiday, and mean it sincerely. By doing so, we share the love and forgiveness of GOD with others. Don’t become so caught up in the commercialism of the holiday that you forget the true meaning of Christmas. I feel GOD’s presence so strongly while writing this response, I just have to shout “HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH! GLORY TO GOD in the highest!!! I love YOU, LORD JESUS, with all my heart. HALLELUJAH!! AMEN!!!!!!
AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME KB!!!! AMEN!!!
I thank God that there are believers that know the real meaning of Christmas and are sharing this truth with others. To those of you who do not know Him this is the time to allow Jesus Christ to be born in your hearts. God bless all of you.
Exalter,
Thank you for your exaltation.
As we approach the New Year African Americans should consider this a significant event. Below is an excerpt showing the signifcance for African Americans.
Many of the Watch Night Services in Black communities that we celebrate today can be traced back to gatherings on December 31, 1862, also known as “Freedom’s Eve.” On that night, Americans of African descent came together in churches, gathering places and private homes throughout the nation, anxiously awaiting news that the Emancipation Proclamation had become law. Then, at the stroke of midnight, it was January 1, 1863, and according to Lincoln’s promise, all slaves in the Confederate States were legally free. People remained in churches and other gathering places, eagerly awaiting word that Emancipation had been declared. When the actual news of freedom was received later that day, there were prayers, shouts and songs of joy as people fell to their knees and thanked God.
But even before 1962 and the possibility of a Presidential Emancipation, African people had gathered on New Year’s Eve on plantations across the South. That is because many owners of enslaved Africans tallied up their business accounts on the first day of each new year. Human property was sold along with land and furnishings to satisfy debts. Families and friends were separated. Often they never saw each other again in this earthly world. Thus coming together on December 31 might be the last time for enslaved and free Africans to be together with loved ones.
So, Black folks in North America have gathered annually on New Year’s Eve since the earliest days, praising God for bringing us safely through another year and praying for the future. Certainly, those traditional gatherings were made even more poignant by the events of 1863 which brought freedom to the slaves and the Year of Jubilee. Many generations have passed since and most of us were never taught the African American history of Watch Night. Yet our traditions and our faith still bring us together at the end of every year to celebrate once again “how we got over.”
Written by Charyn D. Sutton © 2004
Happy New Year
Pastor Williams,
Oftentimes in the past I’ve heard the expressions that we, as African Americans, worship the white man’s God. That once upon a time (during slavery), we were considered as non-human, that the white man brought about civilized behavior to a savage group of inferior beings, and that is how we “learned” of their God. There are some people, to this very day, who still hold fast to the belief that we ,as a race of people, are an inferior/sub-human species. In fact, one of the objections of the Klu Klux Klan is that African Americans have tried to “take” the white man’s God for our own. This supposedly, is the reason behind cross burnings, that they were doing this in the name of God. What a ridiculous thought! Though most paintings and sculptures portray Father God and Christ Jesus as Anglo, Christ was Jewish and a man of color when He walked the earth.
Last night on National Geographics Channel, I watched a program about “The Genetic Adam. ” An anthropologist and a geneticist did a chromosome study of two thousand men from all parts of the world, of all racial and ethnic backgrounds. All subjects’ “Y” chromosomes were traced back to one man. The man was of African descent, a black man. This study proved from a scientific viewpoint that modern day man (ALL men) descended from a black man. The sheer irony is that this study was conducted by two white men, both noted and highly regarded scientists in the fields of genetics and anthropology.
We have much to be grateful and thankful to Father God. Though Satan meant for the Black race to be confined or destroyed through slavery, genocide, famine, pestilences and diseases; God has placed His hedge of protection around us. Unfortunately, many of us in the U.S., give credit to ourselves with having survived Satan’s attacks against our race instead of giving God the praise for sustaining us.
Thank you for educating so many of us about the origin of Watch Night. God has been so good to us all, regardless of race or nationality. Christ came and gave His life’s blood as a”living sacrifice” for ALL mankind; not a select few.
Very well written. Thank you for allowing God to use you.
I heard one husband refer to his wife as “a thorn in his side” as a means of keeping him humble.
It acutally sparked a debate between my wife and I. I asked her what was the purpose of the thorn and her response was “to stick you.” I think that is a common misconception for the thorn. Indeed a thorn does stick but it sticks one who seeks to pick, clip, or remove the plant.
So in essence, the thorn becomes the protector of the plant so that it is not improperly picked. Now I could run on with the spousal implications but my wife was not convinced by that argument.
What do you think???
Happy New Year Believers in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I heard one husband refer to his wife as “a thorn in his side” as a means of keeping him humble.
It acutally sparked a debate between my wife and I. I asked her what was the purpose of the thorn and her response was “to stick you.” I think that is a common misconception for the thorn. Indeed a thorn does stick but it sticks one who seeks to pick, clip, or remove the plant.
So in essence, the thorn becomes the protector of the plant so that it is not improperly picked. Now I could run on with the spousal implications but my wife was not convinced by that argument.
What do you think???
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