Today many Christians will attend some type of midday service
in remembrance of the Crucifixion and death of our Messiah, and then on Sunday we
will let our children partake in an Easter Egg Hunt on the church grounds.
On December 25th, we supposedly celebrate the
birth of the Messiah. And we do that by shopping for gifts and toys, and are often
the first to take our kids to see Santa Clause so we have pictures to post on
Facebook. And let’s not forget that instead of staying with family on Thanksgiving Day,
we must rush to the evening sales and or go to bed early only to awake at 3am for
the Black Friday Special. And the worst part of all of this is…if the 25th
doesn’t fall on a Sunday, you have to search to find a church that is open and
holding services. Yet, we are celebrating our Savior.
And though many have gotten to the point and will not
celebrate Halloween, we have made up the Hallelujah Festival so that the kids
can dress up as Bible characters and attend a party at church.
Proverbs 22: 6 tells us to, “Train up a
child in the way he should go [teaching him to seek God’s wisdom and will for
his abilities and talents], Even when he is old he will
not depart from it.” (AMP)
But that can be very difficult when we
throw Easter Egg Hunts, Santa Clause and counterfeit Halloween parties in the
mix. It muddies up the gospel. And the saddest part of all—we don’t even know
why we do this. How many of you have researched to find out where this egg thing
originated? Well, you should. Because you will find its roots are pagan. And if
we put just a little thought into Santa Clause, you will see he is made to be omnipresent
and all knowing. Really! And though most know the origin and root of Halloween
and it is considered the high holy day for satan worshipers…we still can’t seem
to take a stand and have nothing to do with it.
Have you noticed lately the horrible things
that are happening to our young people? I have.
Jesus himself tells us, “The thief (satan)
does not come except to steal,
and to kill, and to destroy.”
And he has upped his game lately and he is
killing, destroying and stealing everything he can from our youth. And why is
he able to do this? For one, we haven’t taught our kids how to stand and what
to stand for. We haven’t taught them the "b" part of the verse, “I have come
that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10 (NKJ)
Now some might say, “But it is so hard if everyone else is
doing it?” It might be challenging, but it is what we are supposed to do for
our kids—teach them to not go along with the crowd—even if the crowd is in a
church building.
Lately I have seen a rise in our youth converting to Islam.
And why is that? How can this be when you have been raised in a home of Christians? It’s easy when you were
never taught the truth about the Cross and didn't see a life serving Christ lived
daily in your home. Or, you were just dictated to as to what you do and don’t do.
When I was in full time missions, our main church had a heart
for supporting missionaries. They were kind, generous and loving to me and my youngest daughter. But! Every Easter Sunday without fail—they held an Easter Egg Hunt.
Did I attend and take my daughter? No. Was I questioned why I did not attend
and help out? Yes. And since I knew the Bible I could answer in a way that could not be disputed.
See sisters, we never have to be part of anything that goes
against God’s Word, or water downs the deity of Christ. Never!
We can learn many things from our Jewish roots if we would
only take a minute. For one, ask yourself why is Good Friday on a Friday every
year? Is Christmas on the same day as it was the year before? Is your birthday
on the same day it was the year before? No. And Passover is never on the same
day it was the year before. We make it a Friday because down the line (research
it out) someone thought Christ was crucified on a Friday; well He was crucified
on a Thursday, because it had to be done before the Sabbath, which starts
Friday sunset. Read your Bibles. God made the day from sunset to sunset. And it
was during Passover, because He became the Passover lamb for us. So, whenever
Passover is celebrated that is when we should be celebrating the Finished work
of the Cross.
Truth is, we are so steeped in tradition (which Jesus warned
us about), that too many of us don’t really know as much as we should. And if
you don’t know something, it is impossible to teach it to someone else. That's the bad news, but the good news is...you can change that around today!
It is time to rise up and teach our children to stand on the
Rock!
If your congregation is having an Easter Egg Hunt this
Sunday—go to a sunrise service somewhere else.
Your congregation has some type of festival or party to offset
Halloween. Don’t let your children attend and be able to tell them why. They
want candy, take them to the store the day after and buy as much as you want 50
to 75% off. Don’t try to appease your children for feeling left out of the
world’s foolishness. In fact—teach them to be able to stand against it. Their school has dress up day on Halloween, keep them home.
And for the Christmas holidays, if you are going to
celebrate the 25th as the birth of Christ (which I hope you all know
is not so and nowhere near it), then make it about Him.
“35 for I was hungry
and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and
you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me;
I was in prison and you came to Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.” Matthew 25: 35-40 (NKJ)
Our Messiah paid a hefty price for the “Finished” work at the Cross. And God’s great love for us required Him to do so. Therefore, as you meditate today on the crucifixion and all that our Savior experienced so we may have eternal life and life more abundantly on this earth, also think about getting that message into the hearts of your children. Because their lives do depend on it.
Jesus' death on the Cross is so serious, how dare we water it down with Easter baskets full of junk and Easter Egg Hunts.
Until next week...
No comments:
Post a Comment