Philippians 4:8 

I have written in a previous post that we cannot control what thoughts come into our minds but we can control what we do with them once they are. All of us are tempted and those temptations always start out as thoughts.  We all have had thoughts come into our head that we did not like.

While we cannot control what thoughts come in to our minds we can impact the frequency and severity of both positive and negative thoughts coming into our minds.   The material we read, the programs and things we watch on TV and the internet, the conversations we participate in all will increase the frequency of thoughts similar to them entering our heads.  This can work both positive and negative.  

From the negative side of things we will also have more difficulty dealing with and ridding our minds of such thoughts.  They have found a resting place and a playground.  They are on familiar turf and are far more difficult to convince to leave.

On the positive side of things we can apply the lesson that Philippians 4:8 teaches us.  Paul is not only telling us to not think about bad or negative things, but rather he is much more telling us to think about good or positive things. 

This passage of scripture admonishes us to be proactive in this type of thinking.  We aren’t just being encouraged to think about good things when we find ourselves struggling under the force of temptation.  We should think about the good, the holy, the noble, the pure things at all times, training our minds in this form of thinking.  This mental exercise is a part of the “renewing of our minds”.  

A proactive approach to this will help reduce the frequency of bad and negative thoughts coming in to our minds.  It will reduce the severity of their impact and it will prepare us to deal with them more effectively.

From Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Worry and stress can lead to an unguarded heart. Likewise, rejoicing in the Lord helps guard your heart. Paul tells us to rejoice in the Lord in all things. We are to rejoice and know that the Lord is near.   He is not distant or unknowing of your needs at anytime. With God near, what do we have to worry about? Who is greater than God?

Instead, we should confidently be thankful to God in everything,  both what seem good and bad.  Present your requests to God who is standing right next to you.  Present them in a spirit of thanksgiving.  Why would you be thankful if God was not going to take care of your request for you?  Oh, but He is going to take care of it. 

Living this way allows you to experience the transcending peace of God.  This protects and guards our hearts from temptation, fear, and disobedience.  Certainly as we live in this world we need our hearts to be guarded.

Eliab, leader of the people of Zebulun; Elizur, leader of the people of Reuben; Abidan, leader of the people of Benjamin; Abiezer, leader of the people of Dan.  Do you know any of these people.  Are these names you recognize?

These individuals were leaders of their tribes – a significant position.  This was a position of responsibility and honor.   Yet I doubt very many know about them or recognize their names. 

Our real significance in life comes from our position in relation to God, not in relation to people.  We may hold a position of power, responsibility, and power in this life, but what lasts is the position we hold in our relationship with God.  That which will be remembered through eternity is where we stand with God.

There are two pillars to build a belief in God upon; both involve nature. One is the law of nature, specifically human nature. The other is the physical nature, creation around us. These two pillars form the basis upon which we can build our case for the logic surrounding belief in God.

Physical nature, all that we see around us tells us much about the existence and even the character of God. We must be careful relying solely on creation to build our belief and understanding of God. While creation is magnificent, amazing and powerful, all of which display characteristics of God, it can also be harsh and chaotic, certainly not attributes that should be ascribed to God.

The old-timers understood the Law of Nature differently than we do today. They thought of the Law of Nature in regard to mankind. We today more often think of the term in regard to laws such as gravity. Is it really a law that a rock falls to the ground when released from your hand? Does the rock have a choice in the matter? On the other hand we decide whether we are going to obey the law that tells us not to steal.

All humans are selfish and sinful by nature.  Our human nature was corrupted in Adam and Eve when they sinned and it has been passed down to each and every one of us.  Now, don’t go laying a bunch of guilt on Adam and Eve for your condition until you realize that God has provided a deliverance for you through Jesus Christ.

Because of this we struggle with temptation and sin.  Paul understood this when he wrote Romans 7:15-24. Here is a part of that passage.
“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. …I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing.

So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?”

Unfortunately, pride keeps us from experiencing the victory that God has for us.  We try to overcome sin on our own.  By doing so, we are in eeffect saying, I can take care of this myself.”  We set ourselves up as our own god. 

Psalm 10:4 says, “The wicked in his proud countenance foes not seek God…”.  Why not?  Becasue in his mind he does not need God.  Conversely, Proverbs 11:2 tells us, “When pride comes, then comes shame; but with the humble is wisdom.

God wants to exalt us or lift us up as He states in I Peter 5:6,7.  God’s willingness to ‘exalt us’ is connected to our willingness to be humble.   As we humble ourselves by accepting and confessing our inability to handle our problems, temptations, and sins and in turn give them over to God Then He lifts us up.

It is in our weakness that His strength is made perfect.   When we are the most humble, the Holy Spirit is the strongest in our lives.  He produces fruit in our lives.  Galations 5:22-23 tells us about this fruit.  One of them listed is self control.  Wouldn’t you like a little more of that when dealing with temptation and sin?

For years I have heard cynics and skeptics talk about the traditions of Christmas being nothing more than borrowed or stolen customs of pagan religions.   People will claim that most traditions surrounding Christmas come from ancient pagan feasts. This is a popular myth that has been put forth for the last 20 years or so in an effort to discount Christmas. Many traditions of Christmas may have components similar to pagan feasts and even a few are adaptions from pagan events, the specific application to Christmas is Christian in origin.

A popular argument is the date Christmas is celebrated. Some cynics will point to this simply as Christianity choosing a date to appease the pagan’s celebration of the winter solstice. Even worse some will connect it to the Egyption god Horus (when actually it should be Osiris, the father of Horus – but more on that in a minute) in an effort to cast dispersion on the person of Christ by pointing out supposed parallels between the life of Christ and the “life” of Horus.

Certainly people were celebrating the winter solstice prior to Christmas and the Christian Christmas does take place at the time of the winter solstice. Christmas is not a celebration of the winter solstice. Again, reference the name which means the Mass of Christ, which could be translated as the worship of Christ. The winter solstice is not a celebration. It is the day of the year when the night is the longest and the daytime is the shortest. It occurs on or about Dec. 21st. It is neither pagan or Christian either one. It is simply a measurement. People’s of all cultures and religions have long celebrated natural events in various ways. The pagans do not own a monopoly on this. The earlier church certainly recognized and possibly even celebrated the winter solstice as well. Additionally, the idea that the selection of Dec. 25th was some strategic decision by the church to get members is both ludicrous and not backed up by any facts.

Was Jesus actually born on Dec. 25? No one knows the date of Jesus birth. It was not celebrated by the early church as the celebration of one’s birth was a particularly pagan custom in that day that the church wanted to avoid. The date is not significant. The celebration of the birth of Christ at one time or another occurred on various days by various groups and through the typical development of traditions over time became most popularly celebrated on Dec. 25th.

Those who try and connect it to the story of the Egyptian god Horus, claim he too (at least by the story) was born on the 25th of Dec…..5000 years ago. There are some historical problems with this at the very least. Horus was not born on Dec. 25th 5000 years ago. There was no Dec. 25th 5000 years ago. Actually they should be referring to Osiris, the father of Horus, who is claimed to have been born on Dec. 25th. Similar to how Christianity selected the date to celebrate the birth of Christ, the Romans, thousands of years later, assigned this date to the birth of the Egyption god Osiris.

When talking of this with one individual they told me that Horus was born on the 10th day of Mechir on the ancient Egyptian calendar of 5000 years ago, which is the same as Dec. 25th on our calendar. This is laugahable as we do not have the ability to compare dates from the ancient Egyptian ‘calendar’ to the Roman calendar and to our Gregorian calendar accurately.

Isn’t it odd that no one worships Horus, yet hundreds of millions worship Jesus some 2000 years after His arrival? I’ve always been told you can judge the value of something in part by how it stands the test of time.

How about our beloved Christmas tree? Did they really have a decorated pine tree (or any kind of evergreen) in that manger in Bethlehem? For that matter, do pine trees grow in that part of the world?

Yes, they grow in that part of the world.
Most traditions for holidays and celebrations are developed over time and are meant to be symbolic. Did they really light off firecrackers and over eat grilled hamburgers and hot dogs after they signed the declaration of independence? The Christmas tree, like many other Christmas traditions is symbolic. Yes, it is probably incorporated from other cultures’ celebrations. The modern popularity of the Christmas tree started with Martin Luther (one of those religious scholars) who brought it back to his home and chose to let it symbolize the everlasting life given by Christ.

What about Santa Clause? Some will point the finger and say this is basically an idol (false god) that we teach our children to love and adore (worship)?

Santa is an english derivitive of Saint. He is also known as Saint Nicholas and has a long and storied tradition that certainly has morphed over the years but definitely has its origins in Christianity. We hear so mush abot Christianity borrowing from other beliefs in its traditions, but ironically enough, this is a great example of the unbelievers borrowing a Christian tradition for their own use.

An idol or false god? I don’t know of anyone in the church who believes Santa Claus is a god. Maybe those who are of the world rather than of the church believe this, but the church does not. Certainly you can love and adore someone without worshipping them. I love and adore my wife but I do not believe she is God and do not worship her as such.

The history channel recently promoted the idea that most religious scholars agree that Christianity took parts of pagan beliefs and rituals and incorporated them in to Christmas in order to make it easier for the pagans to join the Christian faith and abandon their false gods.

That is a bold and inaccurate statement. Certainly there are religious scholars who believe this but the statement, “Most religious sholars…” is not accurate. None of my colleagues teach this. As I have stated, Christianity certainly did adapt certain customs and teachings into its traditions, but they did not do so in any secretive or seductive manner. They did so openly and adapted them to symbolize things that were meaningful in the Christian belief.

The on-going effort to belittle Christianity and to minimize its significance by casting it as just one more religion that has borrowed and pilfered from other cultures, specifically paganism rings hollow. Christmas trees, Santa Clauss, the date of Dec. 25th – these things are all traditions, not theologies. They do not define Christianity, but rather help us reflect on that which does define us.