Hi Trent,

Whe I read all of Jeremiah 10 I am struck that if we are to use this as a reason not to have a tree or Christmas as it is then I also have to read Jeremiah 10: 9
9Silver beaten into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman and of the hands of the founder. Blue and purple is their clothing; they are all the work of skillful men.

Would this not also say that blue and purple clothing is not ok?

What I tend to understand about Jeremiah 10 is, what we do to attempt to make us sit apart because we want ot be seen as above another with our gold, silver, blue and purple clothes instead of being under God with no need for vanity ......

What am I missing?
If one is direct then so must the other be yes?
or no?

you are loved brother

It's been a while since I've visited. But when I do, boy do I get a helping. I haven't celebrated X-Mas in a long time and it was because (what I thought was) the true meaning was being lost in the shopping, decorating,and commercialism. The first time I decorated a tree after I officially stopped celebrating (my mother asked me to do it, grr), I just didn't feel right about it. Now that I have read through some of the links I realize that my feelings are valid.

I've struggled the past couple of years with my spiritual walk. I'm just now regaining strength and faith and I realize that I'm not walking circumspect at all. We goggle up anything the media tells us,politians, our friends and traditions tell us without finding the true meaning before we decided to jump on the bandwagon. I've even struggled with Thanksgiving and Easter.

Man,I've got a long way to go.

Mrs. Zeke,

Greetings in the name of Yeshua! I, too, have thought about this same thing many times, and after many troublesome battles, I think I have a tad more understanding than when I first began. It is my conviction that one should be wise (with the Lord's wisdom) when making a decision on what to take literally. It is with conviction of the heart that Trent and Timothy post these things about Christmas. It is not just based solely upon one verse of the Bible, but rather upon a whole concept of mixing falseness (LIES) with Truth (Jesus).
I explained it to my husband this way: It's like you have a large glass of soda...it looks so cold and appetizing. If I were to come over to your whole glass of soda and drop 1/8th of a teaspoon of bleach into it, would not the whole glass then be contaminated? Yes, you bet it would! (Nor would I want to drink one sip of that Dr. Pepper...) :)

So, in that, this holiday has more than 1/8 tsp of filth, it was based upon and originates from pagan rituals. And then...after that....you have the verse Trent mentioned above. The Lord wants NO part of pagan rituals or holidays--of this I am sure of! (see the Old Testamnt)
Your sister in Yeshua (Jesus),
Emily

So, in that, this holiday has more than 1/8 tsp of filth, it was based upon and originates from pagan rituals. And then...after that....you have the verse Trent mentioned above. The Lord wants NO part of pagan rituals or holidays--of this I am sure of! (see the Old Testamnt)

I think in response to this I would refer anyone interested to 1 Cor 8. It contains teaching that I think would be helpful for believers in dealing with this subject.

Peace.

Mrs. Zeke, we are not talking about stumbling blocks because of eating this or that or that sacrificed to idols, we are talking about the Lord and His clear command to have nothing to do with that which is an ABOMINATION to the Lord.
In no way am I angry here, but I must be firm as the Lord leads me, because you are trying to rationalize and justify what the Lord hates.

Heed the Lord's correction.

I did not post my "evidence" blogs to convince anyone... only to help them understand why the Lord calls man's "holidays" abomination and desecration.

His Word stands alone and should be obeyed and followed just as His Word in the Bible should be followed and obeyed. There really is no debate. Only obedience or disobedience... hearing or forbearing.

Thus has the Lord spoken regarding man's holidays:

"Repent, and return to My Sabbaths, and forsake all of man’s holidays and false worshipping, and I may yet have mercy on you, and hide you from the great and terrible day of God’s wrath that shall come upon the whole world! " ~ God

"Those who love anything in this world, more than Me, are not worthy of Me. To be a friend of the world is enmity with God. Stop stifling the Spirit I have given you. To celebrate and worship Me, in any way not as it is written, is a desecration of My name! To mix anything I have given, with that which is of satan, is abomination!
Little children, come out of her. The harlot has deceived you, and you willingly commit adultery with her, reveling in all her fornications." ~ Jesus

"I shall speak plainly, so those slow to understanding may hear, though their ears are dull and their eyes are dim.
These modern holidays, Christmas, Easter and Halloween, are abomination in the eyes of the Lord God Almighty. I shall destroy them and wipe them from the face of the whole earth. No more shall you break My commands, and revel in sin, in the Son’s name. My countenance is turned against you! says the Lord of Hosts. You shall not blaspheme the name of Christ!...You and your detestable idols, your false worship, your misuse of My name and the Christ’s, your vanities, your greed, your envy, your lusts, your drunkenness, your gluttonous appetites, your fornications, your false witness and lying to your children, your covetousness, your thefts, your murders causing those to destroy themselves...all you do is adultery against your Lord.
I have given you many days to honor My Son...you forget them all, especially the one I have given you every seventh day. What do all these things have to do with Me? Why do you do them in the Son’s name? Give the gift of His name...by His name are you saved, no other. Stop these vain babblings! You speak things in ignorance of the Truth. Shut your mouths, stop your blaspheming. Be silent before your Lord, and speak to Me in spirit. You have all become as the pagan and the heathen, by which all your holidays have their origins. Abomination! The harlot has led you into temptation by her false witness." ~ God

Mrs. Zeke, once you have knowledge of the Truth you must now walk in its ways. To do otherwise is sin and a denial of His Word, placing the commandments of men over God.

I have told you the Truth as heard from the Lord; and according to the Truth in the Bible; and of the history, this, you know already.

May the Lord grant you understanding, trust and the strength to walk according to His Word,
Timothy

The following verses in the Bible give reference to God’s anger regarding those who would worship idols and even His people who would adopt the pagan rituals of the lands they went into.

But when you have driven them out and settled in their land, and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying “How do these nations serves their gods?” We will do the same. You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods. See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it. ~ Deuteronomy 12:30-32 NIV

Do not learn the ways of the Gentiles... ~ Jeremiah 10:2 NIV (Gentiles were pagan)

...because they forsook Him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. In His anger against Israel the Lord handed them over to raiders who plundered them. He sold them to their enemies all around, who they were no longer able to resist. ~ Judges 2:13-14 NIV

He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done. On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. He did the same for his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods. The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. Although He had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command. So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept My covenant and My decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. ~ 1 Kings 11:5-11 NIV

Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, and I saw women sitting there mourning Tammuz. He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You will see things that are even more detestable than this.” He then brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord, and there at the entrance to the temple, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men. With their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, they were bowing down to the sun in the east. He said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial matter for the house of Judah to do the detestable things they are doing here? Must they also fill the land with violence and continually provoke Me to anger? Look at them putting the branch to their nose! Therefore, I will deal with them in anger... ~ Ezekiel 8:14-18 NIV

The Bible gives specific instructions on what was to be done regarding those who did these detestable pagan rituals:

Abstain from every form of evil. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:22 NIV

Also read: Deuteronomy 18:9-12, Ephesians 5:11-12, Leviticus 19:31, Deuteronomy 18:10-12
Leviticus 20:27, 1 Chronicles 10:13


Once again, God does not approve of us having festivals and celebrations or holidays that are rooted in paganism. Paganism is based on worshiping false gods and idols. Doing these things is detestable to the Lord.

...for they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They committed adultery with their idols; they even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to Me, as food for them. They have also done this to Me: At that same time they defiled My sanctuary and desecrated My Sabbaths. On the very day they sacrificed their children to their idols, they entered My sanctuary and desecrated it. That is what they did in My house. ~ Ezekiel 23:37-39 NIV

...No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too. You cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. ~ 1 Corinthians 10:20, 21 NIV

We know that the instruction and examples given in the Bible were recorded for our spiritual instruction and benefit (Romans 15:4). From the verses listed in this study and the Letters from God and His Christ, we see that God abhors His people following the customs of the pagan cultures. We also know that He finds idol-worshiping and false gods detestable. To honor any of these pagan rituals, symbols or characteristics in our own life, would be to dishonor the Lord. Once we know the truth about how God feels about these practices, we must remove them from our lives.

God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. ~ John 4:24 NIV
(We cannot worship God in truth and spirit with false practices adopted from the worship of nonexistent gods, originating from those who reveled in sins of the flesh, acting in the manner of demons.)

This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. ~ Mark 7:6-7 NIV

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. ~ Colossians 2:8 NIV

Other verses regarding walking in the truth of the Lord:
2 Timothy 3:16; Matthew 15:6-9; 2 Corinthians 6:14-17; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Mark 7:13; 1 Peter 2:9, 1 Corinthians 13:11, 1 John 2:6; 1 Corinthians 11:1

From God the Father, given to Timothy:
He who has received of the Truth, and accepted, must walk in its ways. For he shall be judged by the way he has taken and walked...this is the narrow path. For those, who know the path and stray far from it, shall be condemned... this is the wide path that leads to destruction.

Hi Trent,

This is a favorite verse of my youngest son, the one hurt by paganism. It truly shows us what an ancient pagan practice it is to drag a tree into your house and decorate it. Paganism is on the rise and its gods are being commonly worshiped today and those ancient customs are being revived. Pagans laugh at Christians who in ignorance or disregard to God's Word also practice these ancient pagan traditions. Because of this, we Christians can't claim ignorance and cling to those traditions otherwise, we fail in showing the world how Jesus Christ differs from religion. Once the pagan meaning behind Christmas trees was all but lost but in our present time, it is revived and quickly becoming common knowlege. These are ever darkening days that require a sharper witness from those of us in Christ.

Pam