HOLIDAY WARS - PART TWO

(For many of you, the holidays are not like war zones.  If so, be thankful)
Many of my readers attend what they refer to as  "Bible Believing" churches (follow the Bible and do what is says)  So...then dear church attending, Bible believing wives...I HAVE A HOLIDAY ASSIGNMENT FOR YOU -  Find me the verse in the Bible which instructs us to have a huge celebration surrounding the birth of Jesus.  Go ahead.  Get your Bible.  OK.  I'll wait. Find it yet? No?  OK.  Still waiting.  Waiting.  Find it yet?  No?  That's because it isn't there.  True.. there was a huge celebration with thousands of angels when Jesus was born... but.. there STILL isn't a mandate to do it every December. Is there? No there isn't. It's a human tradition. 

I'm not saying you SHOULDN'T celebrate Christmas... I LOVE CHRISTMAS. I'm just saying it's a human tradition.. not a Biblical MANDATE. It's a wonderful tradition. Families together. Love. Giving. BUT.... it didn't have it's beginning in anything related to GOD'S WORD. HOWEVER -  any time the whole word can hear the name of Jesus... can hear the story of God becoming a man... I applaud and welcome it.  There's nothing wrong with celebrating Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, The Fourth Of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Grandparents Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day....etc.  But they are not Biblical instructions, they are human traditions.

You may be assuming I am going to say there is something WRONG with having traditions.. but I'm not going to say that AT ALL.

Jesus followed TRADITION.  The Bible tells us he went to synagogue every week.  He did many things that TRADITION required.  HOWEVER.. JESUS  drew a line in the sand when people made HUMAN TRADITION more important than the Word of God.  (Read Matthew 15, Mark 7 for example)So then... if Jesus were alive today (AND HE IS)

And if He were at your home during the holidays (AND HE IS) He might say something like:

• "Why are you more concerned about your daughter-in-law not eating Christmas dinner at YOUR HOME than you are about the fact that you are ignoring God's Word which commands you to LOVE HER?"
• "Why do you think it's acceptable to have a power struggle over which grandparents get to see the grandkids on Christmas Day when God's Word admonishes you to PREFER others above yourself?" 
• "Why do you think you can gossip about your son-in-law when God's Word calls it sin?" 
• "Why do you notice what others did not give you, when you are instructed to give expecting NOTHING IN RETURN?"
• "Why do you  gossip about your mother-in-law and consider her your enemy? Even if she is,you are told to love and pray for YOUR ENEMIES? Do you pray for your mother-in-law (daughter-in-law; son-in-law; sister-in-law) as much as you gossip about her?"

Our next blog will include some practical ideas from readers about how they have solved some holiday war issues.  But nothing you do OUTWARDLY will really matter if YOUR HEART is STILL hurt, offended and hard.  God knows you hurt inside.  Bring these heartbreaks to the LORD. He cares. I leave you with the same verse I left last time:

"Find out what pleases the Lord" - Ephesians 5:10

AND THEN:

BY HIS STRENGTH and IN HIS POWER YOU CAN DO IT.

If you want to DO what pleases the Lord after you find out what it is, then you will always have PEACE ON EARTH.

Remember to leave your comments below.  You can post anonymously if you choose to.
LOVE YOU,
Mrs. Older