16/11/11

Why do you celebrate festivals or follow traditions?

Deuteronomy 6:22 - And the LORD shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:


People of the world associate Christianity with its festivals very strongly. The first thing that comes to their mind about being Christian is Christmas.

Most people think by celebrating this festivals they are promoting Christ and the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. If they really find out what they are really celebrating even they themselves will be in for a shock.

If we look at the New Testament, the book of Acts or any of the letters or even historical documents of the early Church there are no records of celebration of Christmas (do not tell me we love Christ more than those of the early Church where they saw the glory of God on them and the people personally anointed and taught by the Lord were with them). The only record of celebration documented in the book of Acts is the Passover of our Lord Jesus Christ (includes Resurrection Sunday).

If we ask where this celebration came from since scripture clearly show it was not winter when Jesus was born (shepherds were gazing their sheep) and the finger points to the Roman Catholic Church in the early years of its origin. If one finds the reasons of this celebrations and they show as nothing to do with God or Jesus Christ but to do with the foolish wisdom of man.

God does say in scriptures we need to celebrate certain festivals and if one checks these, the festivals instructed to celebrate through Moses were shadows of things connected to Jesus Christ and also fell on the very same day. All that the Lord told the Israelites to celebrate were just shadows of things connected to Jesus Christ.

All the celebrations or traditions instructed by the Lord had only one purpose and that was to testify to the little ones (not only in age but more little in spirit) about what the Lord did and will do, if we are not doing this then the celebrations are just gratification of the flesh or mocking things precious to the Lord. The celebrations required the believers to involve their neighbours, especially the children and explain them the purpose of the celebration.

Soon people so called Christians will be celebrating Christmas. Little do they know that it is not the day Jesus is born but the day when the wise men visited Jesus, who by then was a grown child. The origin of this celebration was the RC church's plan to counter a pagan festival concerning the sun god celebrated by the Romans on that day.

These days are not days of testifying Christ but days of gratification of the flesh and days when the wrath of God falls on the people (if one records many disasters occur during this season). People would say we share love with the family and sing carols but I ask them why they need a pagan day to do all this. Why cannot they do it on the day as defined in the Bible?

Just because the festival has the word 'Christ' in it does not make the wrong into right. We need to ask ourselves, this season how much are we going to bring our God to anger and how much of His patience are we going to test?

We are supposed to be people led by the Spirit of God not by the traditions of men. Let all things that we do have understanding and purpose.


[ Prayer Starter ]
Lord, your people have been deceived and made to bring You to wrath. The deceiver wants them to be consumed in your wrath. Lord, You warned the evil one will come as an angel of light and we can only know him when we discern all what he says or does with the scriptures. Lord, open the eyes of your people and do not harden their hearts, may your mercy be abundant on them...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.


[ Reference Scriptures ]
Deuteronomy 6:20-25
20 And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you?
21 Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand:
22 And the LORD shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:
23 And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.
24 And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.
25 And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.

Exodus 12:24-27
24 And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. 25 And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.
26 And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?
27 That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD'S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.

Exodus 23:14-16
14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.

Leviticus 23:34,41-42
34 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD.
41 And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month.
42 Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths:

Colossians 2:8 - Take heed lest there shall be any one that maketh spoil of you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ:

Mark 7:7-8a
7 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'
8 "For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men...

The Word of God was given free to us, therefore we should also share it freely with others. (All rights are with God)