Christmas vs Hanukkah

We are actually going to celebrate Hanukkah this year. I am not sure how much we are going to do with Christmas. Christmas was a pagan holiday around the winter solstice. I think Constantine created the Christian version of the holiday so that we could have something to celebrate rather than the solstice. Unfortunately there are many pagan things about the holiday, including the Christmas tree. In this case, being the shortest day of light during the year, they would bring in trees (evergreen) to their homes and basically worship nature, requesting that the spring come again. It was a specific chance for them to worship the dieties that ruled over the seasons. We have adopted many of those traditions without really knowing why we do what we do. Sure there are many things about Christmas that are good. We focus on the time that Messiah was born into the world, and we have a renewed sense of our hope in Him. If you count it back, interestingly enough, Messiah was probably born sometime around September. Quite possibly during the Jewish feast of Tabernacles. Note that John 1 says that he came and tabernacled with us (interesting choice of words in that light).


I dont have a problem with Christmas per se, but the way we allow pagan rituals to invade Christianity does give me a bit to worry about. Easter is even worse than Christmas in this regard. We should be unabashed in our pursuit of the Messiah. We have coupled our celebrations with that of unbelievers so that we can all have a reason to celebrate. When we do that, we often lose the ability to show the world what we really stand for, because often enough we forget ourselves.

Hanukkah is known as the feast of dedication. It is actually a celebration that Jesus celebrated (John 10). It is a celebration of the re-dedication of the temple. The temple had been desecrated by Antiochus IV. A Jewish family called the Maccabees led a rebellion against Antiochus IV and won. They re-dedicated the temple in an eight day celebration. For us and our congregation, it is a time of reflection and re-dedication.

In general, Christmas for our family is not something that I care to celebrate much. It tends to become a time where we feel obligated to give someone something in order that we can get something ourselves. Often times, we have to make a list of things we might want, just to satisfy someone else. I honestly dont expect anything from anyone, and would frankly prefer if the money that would be spent on me would go to a missions organization or to feed the needy or help the widows or orphans.

Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus

Well, I am reading through Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg's book entitled Sitting At The Feet of Rabbi Jesus.  I will probably be posting thoughts shortly.  So far, it has been an interesting read.

Idols - Sometimes Where You Least Expect

As I mentioned before, I have been blessed with a wonderful congregation that my wife and I attend.  Once a month they hold a "brotherhood" meeting for the men to get together and have some fellowship time. One of the men leads a short devotional and we discuss.  The past meeting, we discussed 1 Samuel 4. 
The ark of the covenant is not something I would typically consider as an "idol."  In this case, the Israelites had been defeated by the Philistines and had lost 4,000 men.  Verse 3 notes that the Israelites were trying to figure out why God had handed them over to the Philistines.  Rather than seeking God or searching out their wrongdoing and confessing it, they turned to the power of the ark of the covenant.  1 Samuel 4:3b says "Let us take to ourselves from Shiloh the ark of the covenant of the Lord, that it may come among us and deliver us from the power of our enemies." (NASB, emphasis mine).  Note that they were looking to the ark itself for salvation from the Philistines.  They were searching for a formula to save them, rather than relying on their God who had brought them out of Egypt.  They turned to the created rather than the creator.

What idols do we have in our lives?  From this passage, I have realized that I need to take a close look at my life and make sure that my trust and hope is in God rather than created things. In the brotherhood small group we discussed things that could take the place of God in our lives.  Good things that we sometimes put in his place.  Sometimes we do this knowingly and other times without thought.  Can the Bible become an idol to us? What about your congregation or teacher?  How often do we spend time being as the Bereans were, searching the scriptures to know that what our teacher tells us is true.  Do we rely on others to feed us and not check the veracity of what is being taught?  When we have problems, do we go to God or do we turn to something else for hope or an answer.

Thoughts?

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Messianic Ramblings

Hello,

My name is Daniel Coulter.  I am a believer in Yeshua (or Jesus) the Messiah.  I wanted to start a blog to keep and store musings, thoughts, interesting ideas, verses, theology, and questions as I continue to walk in the footsteps of my Messiah, Yeshua.  I am interested in your thoughts as you read these posts.  I will try to answer or respond to any comments I may receive.  May HaShem bless you. 

Please note that I myself am not Jewish.  My wife and I attend Hope Of Israel Congregation (HOI) in Charlotte, North Carolina.  I would consider myself a: Reformed Baptist - Torah Submissive - Messianic - Gentile. 

We re-discovered the beauty of the Gospel when we began attending Hope of Israel.  As one who has been grafted-in (Eph 2), or adopted in to the family, we have found it quite the blessing to spend time with His biological kids, as it were. 

Please note that I do not ascribe to "Replacement Theology."  We have been grafted in to the tree.  We as gentile believers do not replace Israel or the Jewish people.  Please note that it is possible to be Jewish and to believe that Yeshua is the Messiah that the Jewish people have been waiting for.  (If you don't belive me, please take a look at what Rav Shaul [the Apostle Paul] notes in Acts 21 and 22.  He is a Jew from Tarsus.  He believed that Yeshua was the Messiah, and he retained his Jewishness.)  I am sure that there will be more discussion on this later.

Thanks for reading, and welcome to my Blog!