Some of my "tens" of readers may be offended by the title that I have chosen for this edition of my blog, but this is the slogan for a church being planted in Pittsburgh, Pa. right now. The more that I heard, the more that I thought. . .AMEN!
Then there's tonight. I go to church to hear about the joys of killing Santa? Don't we have anything better to talk about? If you are doing your job in leading your family to know and worship Christ throughout the year, a cultural acknowledgment of Santa is not going to threaten that! Then we romanticize how the Catholics really know how to celebrate Christmas. While they may have the forms and some liturgy, they lack a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as their Savior. Any cursory study of Catholicism will reveal such. I am proud of my baptist faith and have found ways to celebrate the birth of my Savior without falling into the dead religion of times past.
This is another time in which my missionary experience has ruined me! You see when I served in Mexico, I watched Christians refuse to have nativity scenes in their homes because they were pagan. This experience convinced me that culture plays a central role in our knowledge of God and worship of Him. Most of us are so immersed in it that we cannot see it for ourselves. It took our living in a Catholic country to make me realize how much I have been influenced by my culture.
I say all of this to say as the church in Pa. has said: More Jesus. . .Less Crap! That is what we need to work toward. Stop chasing the shadows of sin and deal with your sin. Stop turning your back on the widows, orphans, and poor. Stop clinging to your religion so much that Jesus and the Bible has little to do with your life. Santa Claus is the least of our worries. Who did Jesus rebuke most when he was on earth? The Pharisees. Those who clung to the outward religion so much that they lost sight of what life was all about. Take time to read Colossians 2 some time.
May we all find a little more Jesus in our lives! (and a lot less of that other stuff)
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2 comments:
Yes, I'm equally perplexed. I guess what makes me so sad is when people get super spiritual about "killing Santa" and are condesending about it....
Like, "Well, I know your wrestling with this, but I decided to put God first."
Point being, if you struggled with putting Santa first, then I'm glad you came to a place where you can understand. But, that doesn't mean that Santa threatens the existence of mankind.
I just don't like the self-righteousness that most of the discussion takes.....
Good post....I like it when you haul off on something! :)
Thanks Mark. That was kind of what I was hinting about in a "non-confrontational" way about the Pharisees! I know where these guys are as I have walked in their shoes. I just choose to walk in others now.
WWJD
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