Chris' Christian Blog

December 17, 2018

"December 17, 2018" 

"Prompt: Write about a birthday. It can be anyone's birthday. Just tell us why that particular birthday is special."

The only birthday that is really special to me is the birthday of our Messiah. I can guarantee you though that His birthday was not on December 25, like it is usually celebrated. His birthday was more than likely June 17, 4BC since that was the first time the star of Bethlehem appeared in the sky. The Bible predicted this star and today's astronomers can chart the positions of the stars so closely that they can tell us exactly when the Star of Bethlehem appeared. They date its first appearance to June 17, 4 BC and say it occurred again in August of 2BC, which coincides with the travel time and visit of the magi from Persia. So December 25 is not the day of Jesus birth. We celebrate Jesus' birth in December for the same reason we celebrate Halloween and Easter. Halloween is the fall solstice, Christmas is the winter solstice, and Easter coincides with the celebration of the spring solstice. I know that we have given Christian meanings to the celebrations but that does not eliminate their pagan roots. Yes we are to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus but not just on Easter. We are to celebrate it every first day of the week at regular worship service. There will be some who say that Easter has its roots in the Jewish Passover because we normally celebrate it around the same time. Maybe so but Jesus was crucified during the Passover celebration so His resurrection coincides with Passover. Today's celebration of Easter has more to do with the spring solstice as the church was losing Gentile Christians who had converted from paganism. The Christians wanted to maintain their solstice feasts and who doesn't like to eat and celebrate? To keep from losing these members the church adopted Christmas, Halloween, and Easter. In fact most of our religious holidays are adaptations of some pagan celebration made as compromises with Christian pagan converts. The question we must ask ourselves is if we honestly think God is pleased with these holidays or for that matter if we believe the "saints" some of them are named for would be pleased to know we adopted a pagan celebration and named it after them?

"Prompt: The meaning of life for some people can be the privilege of existence or to feel one’s worth or to own a dog or a myriad of other things. What is the meaning of life for you or, if you don't want to talk about yourself, someone you know or a character you’ve created?"

The meaning of life for me is that Jesus Christ lives and reigns supreme. Many do not believe in Christ to their own shame. For their sake I pray they are right and I'm wrong. If they are right then I really have nothing to lose. Being a Christian gives me a hope that few have. It gives me a role model (Jesus) who is like no other. I have peace of mind today and joy that I never had before. I tell people all the time that Jesus will willingly refund their misery if they ever grow tired of being Christians. I know I will never grow tired of it. Yes there are days when my faith is severely tested. There are times I question why I want to be a Christian or why I continue along the Way. However when I do I consider that Jesus loves me. He loves me enough that He willingly left the glory of heaven to become a human being and die in my place. Being a Christian can be difficult at times. I have been called "Bible thumper", cast aside by friends and ignored by family due to my faith. Some of my Christian brothers and sisters are tortured and killed for their faith. So yes, there are times when being a Christian can be extremely hard. However I would not trade my worst day as a Christian for my best day in the world. In the world is nothing but darkness. There is no hope. As a Christian I have the hope of eternal life. The world offers only death. Yes someday I will die a physical death if Jesus does not return first. However death will not hold me captive. I will rise again and then I will be with Jesus forever. Sinners will also rise from the dead but they will face eternal separation from Jesus. I want to be with Him. He gives my life meaning!

This is a new blog forum that I am trying. It will be advertised in the newsfeed, here, and in Shameless Plugs. Anybody can post here and you do not need to join anything. The only rule is that it is a Christian blog so keep it tame.

Prompt: "What does John 3: 16 mean to you?"

I thought I would start this new forum using scripture prompts and the most appropriate prompt seemed to be John 3: 16 since it is the most well known Bible verse on Earth. The verse is a wonderful declaration of God's love for mankind. In it he sets the bar for love the highest it can possibly be set. He tells us that He not only loves the world but that He is putting His love into action. Love is useless if there is nothing to prove that love. One can say "I love you" until their breath is gone but if they do nothing to show your love then your words are empty. God showed His love for mankind by sending Jesus Christ, who was God incarnate, to suffer and die for us. In doing so He epitomized love.