So the seemingly ubiquitous idolatry of X-Mass is here. I usually don’t even make 2 entries per week, much less in the same day. However, I’m prompted to do so because I need to declare something:

X-Mass is a HUGE inconvenience.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for family gatherings, eating good food, and even getting gifts. But I am adamantly against the invocation of X-Mass a some kind of Christian holy day, etc. To me, it’s just like having a birthday (and NOT for Jesus, cuz he’s always been around, folks), the Fourth of July, etc.

KEEP IT OUT OF THE CHURCH. KEEP IT OUT OF FAMILY WORSHIP. DO NOT CONSECRATE IT, SANCTIFY IT, or KEEP IT HOLY. Now understand this, I didn’t say keep the truth of the incarnation out of the church. I didn’t say keep the truth of the incarnation out of family worship. That would be foolish.

Those truths are Biblical. But WHY o WHY must His birth be over emphasized at the cost of His death, life, and resurrection? They all go together? And WHY o WHY must it be especially emphasized at a certain point in the year when said time is not warranted by Scripture? Why not recognize, acknowledge, and celebrate it EVERY Lord’s Day, a Day that has been set apart by God (and the only one) specifically for His corporate Worship?

Why is it that on any number (i.e. ALL) of Lord’s Days I am able, if I so desired, to profane it by going to Wal-Mart, yet, on December 25th it’s closed? Why is that people lament having to work on Christmas? They think it a most horrible injustice for an employer to expect his employees to…GASP….work on this day. On top of this, they think it ought to be a PAID day off. Yet working the Lord’s Day is no big deal. It’s just another day.

On top of all this, this making a commandment of a tradition of men further degenerates into superstition of terrible consequences. Consider all the commercials and ads we see about “underprivileged” children and families who “don’t get anything” for X-mass. Well, HELLO, don’t ya think the expectations of getting something of X-Mass is brought up from some false notion that people are, by default, supposed to get something?

Why is it that it is primarily during this season that people are in more pitiable spirits towards widows, orphans, and the poor, but NOT THE REST OF THE YEAR? The last time I checked, Scripture didn’t put a time frame on when we should be particularly concerned with charity. Rather, we are to be mindful of the needs of the poor year around. Notice my emphasis on needs, not X-Boxes, etc. And when I say poor, I mean those who are unable to do for themselves, not those who refuse to do so.

A local bank/credit union is advertising loans for up to $2,000 just fo X-Mass! $2,000!!!! What?! Misunderstand me not, I’m all for giving gifts. And I give them to people throughout the year. But this mass incurring of debt, even and particularly by professing Christians, is a terrible example of salt and light. Have we become so unprincipled that we amass ourselves in long run debt, for the purposes of gratifying a temporary (i.e. X-mass) want of things? 

Oh, the depths of our idolatrous hearts. May God grant His Church repentance from her Will-Worshipping Idolatries. Okay, my X-Mass rants, at least in the form of a blog entry, are done for this year.

BAH HUMBUG

If only the visible Church would remove their misplaced devotion to X-mass as some Biblical “holy” day, and would put the same effort toward keeping the Sabbath holy, according to Scripture! Every Lord’s Day, close shop! Every Lord’s Day, sit under the ministry of the Word. Every Lord’s Day, have fellowship with other Christians. Every Lord’s Day, GASP, have family worship and thank God for His incarnation…but not SEPARATED from his life, death, and resurrection!

So, Friends, Happy Festivus and BAH HUMBUG.

Well, in case you haven’t noticed (and by you, I mean all 3 of my readers), I’ve been a bit absent lately from blogging. I’ve started back to school, and have pretty much been busy. Hopefully, I can soon avail myself to some more time, so that I will be able to write something here, there, now, and again.

In Other News…

My blog critique of the Power Team is being linked to by a man who’s concerned about public schools promoting religion. GASP! Hey, Sir, public schools promote a religion everyday. This religion goes by several different names. Humanism. Evolution. Multiculturalism. Do-What-Feels-Good-ism. Tolerance (unless it’s Christianity, and that must be snuffed out-so say the fools).

So, while I’m glad that my blog’s getting a smidge more traffic than usual, Sir, you’ll be hard-pressed to find me identifying with your concerns. I say we shut down all the public education and give all the tax dollars back that has supposedly gone toward it. Thanks for linkin’ to my blog, though! Nonetheless, take a look around at my blog, cuz it’s promoting the the True religion: that is, Biblical Christianity.

By the way, I know that Christianity, in its purest form (i.e. that found in Scripture, not found in these Power-Team-hiring “churches”) is not too palatable. At least, not at first introduction. The Object of our faith, Jesus Christ, is a stumbling blok, or a rock of offense, to many. But that’s good. “Why?,” you might ask. Because, sometimes when we stumble, fall, and hit our heads we come to our senses. So, may the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ be so brazenly offensive to you that you find yourself at the bottom of the pit, with no where else to turn but to the One Who alone can help. The Lord Jesus. EDIT: Unless of course, that’s something you’ve already done, and you’re simply objecting to the Power Team’s tactics because of its embarrassment to Christianity. EDIT 2: For what it’s worth, I’m glad that the Power Team assemblies got cancelled.

Psalm 30:4-5

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. 
For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

Most of the time, this generation of American “Churches” want to de-emphasize certain concepts derived from Holy Scripture. It’s not that they do this in a vindictively active sense. It’s not that they want to actively hide certain aspects of God’s character. What is it? They can’t quite grasp some of the so-called “harsher” aspects of God’s character; thus, they skip over or avoid them altogether. The problem, though, is that it emasculates Scripture’s teaching on the wholeness of God’s character.

Countless times I’ve heard the second portion of Psalm 30:5 quoted at the expense of the first part! Let’s face it, we don’t like to think about God’s anger. If anyone has a legitimate claim to anger, then it’s the Almighty. It’s His law we’ve broken. It’s His law we’ve mocked. It’s His law we’ve spurned. In fact, only God may be righteously angry about sin…because he’s not guilty of it. And considering that, we know His anger is both justified and deadly. So, we don’t mind the second part of Psalm 30:5 where it talks about weeping and joy…but there’s just something uncomfortable about God’s anger.

You see, though, before joy can be fully experienced we must have the time of weeping! Before we understand the privilege and need of salvation, we must experience the debts to which are depravity has cast us! I tell you before we can truly rest in God’s favor, we must be sobered by and dreadful of God’s anger…His justified, righteous, and holy anger.

I remember a “Christian” bookstore from my youth that had a sign out side which read, “Try Jesus”, as if He were just a commodity to be tried. If ya like Him, keep Him. If not, return Him. But that’s just not how things work, folks. You don’t “try” Jesus. You beg for Him. You become aware of your absolute need of Him and you seek Him with everything that is within you. Having come to the end of yourself, you understand, know, and believe that He is your only hope. And such a truth of God’s eternal favor cannot be fathomed or understood, until you first consider His righteous and justified anger. Blessed is the man whose evil ways are made known unto him.

While typically spending my time doing a number of constructive things like running, reading, playing guitar, and as of late, singing Psalms, I did something different. GASP!!! I situated myself in front of the piece of electronic equipment known as the television. Other than the occasional movie, I’ve gone weeks at a time without turning the thing on. The few channels I have are simply included with my internet package. Anyway…

There was a show that I’ve seen a few times in passing called “Super Nanny”. In the over abounding presence of reality shows this one is actually an attempt to be constructive, though I believe, on the wrong foundation. The show takes a family composed of a husband and wife (GASP!!!) and kids. Typically, the parents have no backbone whatsoever, habitually fail to discipline their children, and constantly cater to themselves (with certain exceptions). I am in such disbelief watching these “parents” interact with their kids. The show then sends a Nanny…a Super Nanny to teach the parents how to deal with their kids with love, discipline, etc.

On this particular episode the family is composed of a Husband, Wife, and Three Kids. I would venture to say that the ages of the kids are 8 yr old boy, 7 yr old girl, then a 2 yr old boy. The 2 yr old steals all the attention of the mother, leaving the others no time at all with her. The father is, you guessed it, a passive, uninvolved, man who interacts little with the kids or the wife. Herein lies a major foundational problem, but is not for this particular blogpost.

Just a litte summary of the problems in this family. The youngest demands all the time of the mother. He is constantly attached to her. He owns her. He masters her. She lets him. She is attached to him. She didn’t go to bed until he went to bed. Neither of the parents were in control. The husband would immediately recline on his “throne” as soon as he got home. Meanwhile, the wife would be tending to the kids (as best as she could), cooking dinner, and taking care of household duties (with no help from the husband who “just didn’t feel like it”). When the youngest was told he’d have to do something, but he didn’t want to do it, he would latch on to one of the parents and commence to pinch them! And they did nothing. They would simply put him down. This kid was physically hurting them and they just took it! How incredulous this makes me!

While the Nanny introduces many somewhate effective methods, if you will, to train the children on a surface level, there’s a major problem from the biblical parent’s perspective. She does not employ physical discipline as the Bible commands. Instead, things like a naughty circle are used to replace this. If the child acts out they will be placed in this naughty circle, unable to play, or do anything of any redeeming value. While I do not have a problem with this, in and of itself, I disagree with replacement of physical discipline by anything. Now, mind you, I wasn’t surprised at the fact that she didn’t suggest spanking; however, I make mention of it because physical discipline seems to be rare even WITHIN the walls of the church, too.

 

 

 

 

Proverbs 13:24
Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.    

Proverbs 22:15
Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.

Proverbs 23:13-14
Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. 14 If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol.

Proverbs 29:15
The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.

 

 

 

 

Now obviously, these few passages are not the sum toto of the biblical teaching on discipline, but they do lay out the importance of physical discipline and the spiritual, practical advantages it yields. There is so much to be said about this, but one thing that is vital to the conversation is this fact. We are born depraved. Thus, our children are not innocent as we so often like to say. That being said, though, NO ONE is innocent. This means that our children’s depravity necessitates the reality of discipline in the training of children, especially for the children of believers. To withhold physical discipline from our children, the Bible says, is to hate them. That is clear. At the same time, notice the wording is not “punishment”, but “discipline”. I think that’s important to note. Anyway…just some practical food for thought.