Another day! It is beautiful in my little part of the world. I am so grateful to our Elohim for all that he does for me! He is so good..His love and mercy endures for ever!
So today is Kislev 6, 5773. It is the third day and it is called Yom Shlisshi.....Yom Shlee' Shee.
There are only two days till Thanksgiving now. If you read my blog yesterday I needed to get he refrigerator and pantry cleaned out...I did. I threw out a lot of stuff BUT I also found a lot of ingredients for our dinner.
Being Messianic...believing in the Hebrew roots of our faith as opposed to the Christian faith has meant giving up the holidays of the church. Some feel that Thanksgiving should be given up too. I am not there yet....Although I do feel that Sukkot is our thanksgiving and celebrating time and I would make one day of it our official thanksgiving day if my family would! I do NOT believe our national thanksgiving day is pagan though. I believe the Pilgrims gave thanks and celebrated it as a type of Sukkot or Feast of Tabernacles.
Here is an article that argues that Thanksgiving is NOT Pagan.
http://www.triumphpro.com/thanksgiving-day-is-it-pagan.pdf
Here is another expressing that the first Thanksgiving might be associated with Sukkot...as I believe.
http://heartofwisdom.com/biblicalholidays/2012/11/15/was-the-feast-of-tabernacles-the-first-thanksgiving/
Just to be fair, here is a site that is convinced Thanksgiving day is Pagan
http://www.seedofabraham.net/thnksgiv.html
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Monday, November 19, 2012
HELLO! Today is Kislev 5, 5773. It is a beautiful day in my little world. I am amazed at how time flies. Thanksgiving is just three days away. I have so much to do! Fridge and pantry both need to be cleaned out...dishes and pots and pans to be readied for the cooking and such! Plus I need to get the turkeys out of the freezer and into the fridge so they can thaw! I know what's going thru your mind.... I am wondering too...why am I in here on the computer?!
I haven't written here on this blog for quite sometime. I did not keep my promise about doing it. Things and family tend to get in my way! It has not been easy the past couple of years...my back decided to give me a lot of problems and I found out I have five ruptured discs. I did have a series of shots which helped but It did not do enough. I have just kind of stuck it out...active when my pain is not so bad and then just shutting down when it seems impossible to cope with it. I was doing much better and feeling more of my old self...then I went out to get the paper and fell on the driveway. Nothing broken but I was laid up awhile. Had to have a brace on my right leg and had to get a walker. This was not to my liking! I am now on my own though and contemplating going to a chiropractor. I have been told by many that this is a sensible thing to do. But enough about all of this and onto things more important!
Granddaughter Arrin is now in the third grade and nine years old. We had quite a time during the Halloween season. It is hard for her to be the only child in her class...and practically the only one...if not THE only one in the whole school who does not celebrate it. It finally came down to she and I having a talk about it. But let me go back a little further...being a public school, there is always a Christ mass play of some sort each year. This year it is the third and fourth grades who are to perform. Her music teacher sent home the scripts to be practiced BEFORE sending a notice home about the play. Arrin was excited. She wanted to be in the play! Her mother said yes...but Arrin worried about what I would say. I read the small script, it was not necessarily about Christ Mass but about getting along no matter what color you are. It was filled with the characters of the holiday though...Santa, Mrs. Claus, elves, trees, candy canes. I said ok but was not happy about it.
Arrin wanted to be a tree...it was a Southern pine and she had just the southern accent for it! In fact she and Grandpa worked on her accent and the delivery of her lines for a few nights. He kept telling her that she is a Southern Bell because she was born at Ft. Campbell, Ky. (She was actually born in Tennessee, though, because the Fort hospital was over the state line!) Arrin was anticipating her try out for the part and was very excited. She wanted the part so badly!
Then came Halloween! As I said, Arrin and I talked about it. I did not want her to have anything to do with it but we finally came down to the decision that she could go out for candy. She did not remember going 'trick or treating' since she had only gone out when she was a baby before we came into the truth about the pagan holidays. We decided she would go as a zombie and could not say 'trick or treat' but instead say "Treat me please". The night came and she looked very good. I did her make up. Her Mom, Maria, went too and it was a good thing because Arrin had no idea what to do. I wish I could say it went well but I can't. Arrin got some candy but the whole thing was just not as I remembered it nor as Maria remembered it. So much rudeness and cars driving way too fast on the streets filled with kids. BUT the real blow to it all came when Arrin went to one house and said "treat me please". The woman said.."Why aren't you saying 'trick or treat?" Arrin replied.."We don't celebrate Halloween." The woman said very gruffly, "Well you are now!" Arrin was so upset but the woman was right...no matter what Arrin said...no matter if we just told ourselves she was just going to get candy..it was still 'trick or treating' and still participating in Halloween.
We all agreed that very night to NEVER do this again! And Arrin and I talked about the school play. She had tried out for the part she wanted but decide she wanted nothing to do with it. She asked me if I would talk to her music teacher so she would not have to go to the practices for it. Which I did and Arrin will be doing other things while the kids are in music class.
Our Elohim is so good. He sets the way for us to go and sometimes we do not go His Way but He allows us to get instruction from it..if we choose to 'see'. That is what happened to Arrin. She 'saw' the truth!
Now I think I must end this and make my way into the kitchen and begin what I should have begun several hours ago! Hahhahaha!
I haven't written here on this blog for quite sometime. I did not keep my promise about doing it. Things and family tend to get in my way! It has not been easy the past couple of years...my back decided to give me a lot of problems and I found out I have five ruptured discs. I did have a series of shots which helped but It did not do enough. I have just kind of stuck it out...active when my pain is not so bad and then just shutting down when it seems impossible to cope with it. I was doing much better and feeling more of my old self...then I went out to get the paper and fell on the driveway. Nothing broken but I was laid up awhile. Had to have a brace on my right leg and had to get a walker. This was not to my liking! I am now on my own though and contemplating going to a chiropractor. I have been told by many that this is a sensible thing to do. But enough about all of this and onto things more important!
Granddaughter Arrin is now in the third grade and nine years old. We had quite a time during the Halloween season. It is hard for her to be the only child in her class...and practically the only one...if not THE only one in the whole school who does not celebrate it. It finally came down to she and I having a talk about it. But let me go back a little further...being a public school, there is always a Christ mass play of some sort each year. This year it is the third and fourth grades who are to perform. Her music teacher sent home the scripts to be practiced BEFORE sending a notice home about the play. Arrin was excited. She wanted to be in the play! Her mother said yes...but Arrin worried about what I would say. I read the small script, it was not necessarily about Christ Mass but about getting along no matter what color you are. It was filled with the characters of the holiday though...Santa, Mrs. Claus, elves, trees, candy canes. I said ok but was not happy about it.
Arrin wanted to be a tree...it was a Southern pine and she had just the southern accent for it! In fact she and Grandpa worked on her accent and the delivery of her lines for a few nights. He kept telling her that she is a Southern Bell because she was born at Ft. Campbell, Ky. (She was actually born in Tennessee, though, because the Fort hospital was over the state line!) Arrin was anticipating her try out for the part and was very excited. She wanted the part so badly!
Then came Halloween! As I said, Arrin and I talked about it. I did not want her to have anything to do with it but we finally came down to the decision that she could go out for candy. She did not remember going 'trick or treating' since she had only gone out when she was a baby before we came into the truth about the pagan holidays. We decided she would go as a zombie and could not say 'trick or treat' but instead say "Treat me please". The night came and she looked very good. I did her make up. Her Mom, Maria, went too and it was a good thing because Arrin had no idea what to do. I wish I could say it went well but I can't. Arrin got some candy but the whole thing was just not as I remembered it nor as Maria remembered it. So much rudeness and cars driving way too fast on the streets filled with kids. BUT the real blow to it all came when Arrin went to one house and said "treat me please". The woman said.."Why aren't you saying 'trick or treat?" Arrin replied.."We don't celebrate Halloween." The woman said very gruffly, "Well you are now!" Arrin was so upset but the woman was right...no matter what Arrin said...no matter if we just told ourselves she was just going to get candy..it was still 'trick or treating' and still participating in Halloween.
We all agreed that very night to NEVER do this again! And Arrin and I talked about the school play. She had tried out for the part she wanted but decide she wanted nothing to do with it. She asked me if I would talk to her music teacher so she would not have to go to the practices for it. Which I did and Arrin will be doing other things while the kids are in music class.
Our Elohim is so good. He sets the way for us to go and sometimes we do not go His Way but He allows us to get instruction from it..if we choose to 'see'. That is what happened to Arrin. She 'saw' the truth!
Now I think I must end this and make my way into the kitchen and begin what I should have begun several hours ago! Hahhahaha!
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
TRUTH AS GIVEN
SHALOM! Today is Iyyar 3, 6772...the fourth day--Yom Revee'ee.
It has been a beautiful day here in my little part of the world, although it is unseasonably hot today, up in the 90s. But I have weathered through it..no air conditioner yet! I even did some errands and no air on in the truck either! Daughter Maria and I had to go get a mood ring and a feather boa for eight year old Arrin. Her school in having 'spirit week' and tomorrow is 'dress as a favorite storybook character'. Arrin is going as Judy Moody. We are going to spray her hair red and she will be dressed just as Judy would be....'as if she got dressed in the dark' but with pizazz as she will have her red feather boa and mood ring and sun glasses on.
The other days were..Monday-crazy mix and match clothes day...Tuesday-wear favorite Kansas City Royals tee shirt....today-Western wear day..tomorrow-favorite storybook character day and Friday-Pirate day....the school district sports teams are Pirates.
It is very wonderful having my daughter Maria and her two girls living here with us. I get Arrin up each morning and ready for school. We are quite close. Aletha is in ninth grade...so she gets up earlier and is always at the door waiting for her bus when I am just sitting down for my first cup of coffee. But I always get to say good bye to her and pray that she has a good day.
All in all everything is wonderful but there are trying times and so much on my mind lately! Trying to get my head straight concerning all the things going on in my life and in the world! As the world turns so do our lives and unless we have a firm grip on it we will be just as the world is...out of control!
I have allowed certain things to happen...to come into my life and not only affect me but my family also. I guess we could call it an 'infection of disobedience'. My walk with Elohim was so tight and I really did my best to listen and obey but as is the case of so many, I half-listened to some things and somethings I just ignored and this is where all of our problems begin. Either we obey or we don't. And we should not second guess G-d! OH NOOOO!
So I truly believe that almost all of the things I am going trough now and some of the things my family is going through are because of my disobedience.
But He is always near. Our Elohim never moves, He never changes and all we have to do is call upon Him. He has all the answers and He is always willing to redeem us and help us get back on the path and to guide us.
But even through the darkest times I do see His light and I know there is joy in the morning! He is with me always.
Passover and Unleavened Bread were celebrated and the Counting of the Omer is continuing. I realized something this year....there should be great ANTICIPATION in counting the Omer. There was great anticipation in the very beginning..it went all through the camp. There was great anticipation when Yeshua and His followers counted and especially after He left and they 'knew' something wonderful was going to happen. They were ANTICIPATING GREAT THINGS! That is exactly how we should feel. Anticipation should be lingering all around us as we pray and study knowing that on the last day we will celebrate Shavuot. And what is said of Shavuot? At midnight, in a 'twinkling of an eye' Heaven opens up and all prayers are heard.
ANTICIPATE...BE EXPECTING A MIRACLE! BELIEVE!
It is such a shame that the Christian world does not accept the things of Elohim! Can we even imagine what a different world this would be if the great preachers and evangelists received the sight of truth and began to obey our Elohim? But it seems that they are so bogged down in the pagan traditions that have kept the 'church' going all of these years! And to become observant would mean changing their lifestyle and they would have to bring their flocks into this truth. Where would their income come from if they could not preach as they had? And how may would follow them if they preached anything other than their pagan religion? Most do not want to follow the Hebrew Roots of Yeshua...they think they are living in freedom in their New Testament religion where in reality it is bondage to the gods and goddesses of darkness.
There are so many in this world who are good people..people we have always called 'G-d fearing' and there are those leaders who we have all known that we have called 'men of G-d' or 'women of G-d'. All good people...doing the best
they can....doing what is right in the 'way' they have been taught. I was thinking about this because I listened to a very prominent christian talking about a certain well known 'prophetess' and I thought...."What is going to happen to all of these who are living their lives as they have been taught, who do study the Bible but of course it is according to the doctrines and teachings of the 'church'. Who preach, evangelize and pray....and go about doing what they consider the work of the Lord."?
IF they do not come to the revelation knowledge of Torah...if they do not become obedient to Him..I truly believe that it will be as Yeshua said...."Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, only those who do what my Father in heaven wants. On that Day, many will say to me, `Lord, Lord! Didn't we prophesy in your name? Didn't we expel demons in your name? Didn't we perform many miracles in your name?' Then I will tell them to their faces, `I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness!' (Matthew 7:21-23...Complete Jewish Bible)
I BELIEVE in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking/praying in tongues. I BELIEVE that our Elohim heals. I BELIEVE that we can pray and receive all of this and blessings BUT I know now that THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO BE OBEDIENT TO HIM....TO HIS TORAH. Yeshua our Messiah is Torah in the flesh. He did not change ANYTHING. He did NOT create a NEW RELIGION as the 'church' would have all to believe.
I BELIEVE THAT WHEN HE GAVE US HIS TEN COMMANDS OR INSTRUCTIONS, THEY WERE FOR ALL TIME. SO WHEN HE SAID THAT THE SEVENTH DAY IS THE SABBATH I BELIEVE HE MEANT IT FOR ALL TIME. AND WHEN HE SET FORTH HIS FEASTS AND FESTIVALS HE MEANT THEM FOR ALL TIME.
IF NOT, THEN WHEN SOMEONE SAYS TO YOU, "I REALLY DON'T BELIEVE THAT STEALING IS WRONG SO I AM CHANGING THE 8TH COMMANDMENT."
IF YOU DO NOT KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS AS SPOKEN, WHAT CAN YOU SAY?
It has been a beautiful day here in my little part of the world, although it is unseasonably hot today, up in the 90s. But I have weathered through it..no air conditioner yet! I even did some errands and no air on in the truck either! Daughter Maria and I had to go get a mood ring and a feather boa for eight year old Arrin. Her school in having 'spirit week' and tomorrow is 'dress as a favorite storybook character'. Arrin is going as Judy Moody. We are going to spray her hair red and she will be dressed just as Judy would be....'as if she got dressed in the dark' but with pizazz as she will have her red feather boa and mood ring and sun glasses on.
The other days were..Monday-crazy mix and match clothes day...Tuesday-wear favorite Kansas City Royals tee shirt....today-Western wear day..tomorrow-favorite storybook character day and Friday-Pirate day....the school district sports teams are Pirates.
It is very wonderful having my daughter Maria and her two girls living here with us. I get Arrin up each morning and ready for school. We are quite close. Aletha is in ninth grade...so she gets up earlier and is always at the door waiting for her bus when I am just sitting down for my first cup of coffee. But I always get to say good bye to her and pray that she has a good day.
All in all everything is wonderful but there are trying times and so much on my mind lately! Trying to get my head straight concerning all the things going on in my life and in the world! As the world turns so do our lives and unless we have a firm grip on it we will be just as the world is...out of control!
I have allowed certain things to happen...to come into my life and not only affect me but my family also. I guess we could call it an 'infection of disobedience'. My walk with Elohim was so tight and I really did my best to listen and obey but as is the case of so many, I half-listened to some things and somethings I just ignored and this is where all of our problems begin. Either we obey or we don't. And we should not second guess G-d! OH NOOOO!
So I truly believe that almost all of the things I am going trough now and some of the things my family is going through are because of my disobedience.
But He is always near. Our Elohim never moves, He never changes and all we have to do is call upon Him. He has all the answers and He is always willing to redeem us and help us get back on the path and to guide us.
But even through the darkest times I do see His light and I know there is joy in the morning! He is with me always.
Passover and Unleavened Bread were celebrated and the Counting of the Omer is continuing. I realized something this year....there should be great ANTICIPATION in counting the Omer. There was great anticipation in the very beginning..it went all through the camp. There was great anticipation when Yeshua and His followers counted and especially after He left and they 'knew' something wonderful was going to happen. They were ANTICIPATING GREAT THINGS! That is exactly how we should feel. Anticipation should be lingering all around us as we pray and study knowing that on the last day we will celebrate Shavuot. And what is said of Shavuot? At midnight, in a 'twinkling of an eye' Heaven opens up and all prayers are heard.
ANTICIPATE...BE EXPECTING A MIRACLE! BELIEVE!
It is such a shame that the Christian world does not accept the things of Elohim! Can we even imagine what a different world this would be if the great preachers and evangelists received the sight of truth and began to obey our Elohim? But it seems that they are so bogged down in the pagan traditions that have kept the 'church' going all of these years! And to become observant would mean changing their lifestyle and they would have to bring their flocks into this truth. Where would their income come from if they could not preach as they had? And how may would follow them if they preached anything other than their pagan religion? Most do not want to follow the Hebrew Roots of Yeshua...they think they are living in freedom in their New Testament religion where in reality it is bondage to the gods and goddesses of darkness.
There are so many in this world who are good people..people we have always called 'G-d fearing' and there are those leaders who we have all known that we have called 'men of G-d' or 'women of G-d'. All good people...doing the best
they can....doing what is right in the 'way' they have been taught. I was thinking about this because I listened to a very prominent christian talking about a certain well known 'prophetess' and I thought...."What is going to happen to all of these who are living their lives as they have been taught, who do study the Bible but of course it is according to the doctrines and teachings of the 'church'. Who preach, evangelize and pray....and go about doing what they consider the work of the Lord."?
IF they do not come to the revelation knowledge of Torah...if they do not become obedient to Him..I truly believe that it will be as Yeshua said...."Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, only those who do what my Father in heaven wants. On that Day, many will say to me, `Lord, Lord! Didn't we prophesy in your name? Didn't we expel demons in your name? Didn't we perform many miracles in your name?' Then I will tell them to their faces, `I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness!' (Matthew 7:21-23...Complete Jewish Bible)
I BELIEVE in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking/praying in tongues. I BELIEVE that our Elohim heals. I BELIEVE that we can pray and receive all of this and blessings BUT I know now that THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO BE OBEDIENT TO HIM....TO HIS TORAH. Yeshua our Messiah is Torah in the flesh. He did not change ANYTHING. He did NOT create a NEW RELIGION as the 'church' would have all to believe.
I BELIEVE THAT WHEN HE GAVE US HIS TEN COMMANDS OR INSTRUCTIONS, THEY WERE FOR ALL TIME. SO WHEN HE SAID THAT THE SEVENTH DAY IS THE SABBATH I BELIEVE HE MEANT IT FOR ALL TIME. AND WHEN HE SET FORTH HIS FEASTS AND FESTIVALS HE MEANT THEM FOR ALL TIME.
IF NOT, THEN WHEN SOMEONE SAYS TO YOU, "I REALLY DON'T BELIEVE THAT STEALING IS WRONG SO I AM CHANGING THE 8TH COMMANDMENT."
IF YOU DO NOT KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS AS SPOKEN, WHAT CAN YOU SAY?
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
FAT TUESDAY, MARDI GRAS, LENT? GIVE ME A BREAK! THESE ARE NOT OF YHVH! YESHUA NEVER CELEBRATED THEM AND NEITHER SHOULD WE!
TODAY IS THIRD DAY....SHEVAT 28...YOM SHLEE' SHEE
The world under the authority of the Catholic church..The church of Constantine, says that today is February 21st AND that is is Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras.
Do we as Believers believe this?
ABSOLUTELY NOT!
IT IS AN ABOMINATION TO OUR ELOHIM FOR US TO HOLD THE PAGAN HOLIDAYS IN HIGH ESTEEM AND TO CELEBRATE THEM. IT IS A SIN AGAINST HIM TO WORSHIP THE GODS AND GODDESS OF THESE RANCHES HOLIDAYS!
Catholic Roots of Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras, literally "Fat Tuesday," has grown in popularity in recent years as a raucous, sometimes hedonistic event. But its roots lie in the Christian calendar, as the "last hurrah" before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. That's why the enormous party in New Orleans, for example, ends abruptly at midnight on Tuesday, with battalions of streetsweepers pushing the crowds out of the French Quarter towards home.
What is less known about Mardi Gras is its relation to the Christmas season, through the ordinary-time interlude known in many Catholic cultures as Carnival. (Ordinary time, in the Christian calendar, refers to the normal "ordering" of time outside of the Advent/Christmas or Lent/Easter seasons. There is a fine Scripture From Scratch article on that topic if you want to learn more.)
Carnival comes from the Latin words carne vale, meaning "farewell to the flesh." Like many Catholic holidays and seasonal celebrations, it likely has its roots in pre-Christian traditions based on the seasons. Some believe the festival represented the few days added to the lunar calendar to make it coincide with the solar calendar; since these days were outside the calendar, rules and customs were not obeyed. Others see it as a late-winter celebration designed to welcome the coming spring. As early as the middle of the second century, the Romans observed a Fast of 40 Days, which was preceded by a brief season of feasting, costumes and merrymaking.
The Carnival season kicks off with the Epiphany, also known as Twelfth Night, Three Kings' Day and, in the Eastern churches, Theophany. Epiphany, which falls on January 6, 12 days after Christmas, celebrates the visit of the Wise Men bearing gifts for the infant Jesus. In cultures that celebrate Carnival, Epiphany kicks off a series of parties leading up to Mardi Gras.
Epiphany is also traditionally when celebrants serve King's Cake, a custom that began in France in the 12th century. Legend has it that the cakes were made in a circle to represent the circular routes that the Wise Men took to find Jesus, in order to confuse King Herod and foil his plans of killing the Christ Child. In the early days, a coin or bean was hidden inside the cake, and whoever found the item was said to have good luck in the coming year. In Louisiana, bakers now put a small baby, representing the Christ Child, in the cake; the recipient is then expected to host the next King Cake party.
There are well-known season-long Carnival celebrations in Europe and Latin America, including Nice, France; Cologne, Germany; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The best-known celebration in the U.S. is in New Orleans and the French-Catholic communities of the Gulf Coast. Mardi Gras came to the New World in 1699, when a French explorer arrived at the Mississippi River, about 60 miles south of present day New Orleans. He named the spot Point du Mardi Gras because he knew the holiday was being celebrated in his native country that day.
Eventually the French in New Orleans celebrated Mardi Gras with masked balls and parties, until the Spanish government took over in the mid-1700s and banned the celebrations. The ban continued even after the U.S. government acquired the land but the celebrations resumed in 1827. The official colors of Mardi Gras, with their roots in Catholicism, were chosen 10 years later: purple, a symbol of justice; green, representing faith; and gold, to signify power.
Mardi Gras literally means "Fat Tuesday" in French. The name comes from the tradition of slaughtering and feasting upon a fattened calf on the last day of Carnival. The day is also known as Shrove Tuesday (from "to shrive," or hear confessions), Pancake Tuesday and fetter Dienstag. The custom of making pancakes comes from the need to use up fat, eggs and dairy before the fasting and abstinence of Lent begins.
TRUTH......Mardi Gras represents a blend of religion and immorality, steeped in ancient pagan fertility rites. Many of the parades celebrate and honor false gods such as Bacchus and Venus; others promote fornication and drunkenness—conduct that ends marriages, breaks up families and destroys lives! Professing Christians should take heed: Drunkenness, fornication and such reveling are among the kinds of conduct that exclude one from inheriting the kingdom of God (I Cor. 6:9-10).
It is hypocritical for anyone who claims to seek or serve the true God to participate in a festival that originates from paganism and promotes immoral behavior. Not only should Christians not participate in evil, God commands them to avoid even the appearance of evil (I Thes. 5:22). This certainly applies to Mardi Gras.
What about Lent? As noted earlier, the Catholic Church incorporated the 40-day fast that the pagans had been observing and renamed it Lent. This, too, is an unscriptural custom, and should be avoided by anyone striving to obey God.
Any festival or religious observance of pagan origin is unacceptable to God, the “Lord” of the Old Testament (Deut. 12:29-32)—the same Being who later became Jesus Christ (I Cor. 10:1-4).
http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Evils%20in%20America/mardi_gras.htm
WHAT ABOUT LENT??
The True Meaning of Lent
The smell of baked haddock wafts through a parish as local families attend a church-sponsored Friday night dinner together. Heaps of coleslaw, macaroni salad and mashed potatoes fill diners’ plates, yet no trace of meat products such as beef are to be found.
The Lenten season has begun.
Unlike New Year’s, Christmas, Halloween, St. Valentine’s Day and other pagan holidays that are celebrated by the secular, non-religious world, Lent is observed by dedicated religious believers.
For more than 1 billion Catholics and many Protestants across the world, the start of Lent signals the beginning of 40 days of prayer, self-denial and confession that culminates on Easter.
During the Lenten period, lasting from Ash Wednesday to Easter, observers abstain from certain foods or physical pleasures. Some vow to give up bad habits such as smoking or nail biting while others abstain from chocolate or a certain kind of ice cream. Others promise to help “heal the environment” by walking to work for 40 days instead of driving or use Lent as a time to give to others without being recognized for their good works.
Abstaining from physical pleasures or modern conveniences supposedly imitates Jesus Christ’s 40-day fast in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1-2), helps the believer understand the suffering of Christ, and better prepares him or her for Easter.
Given that this practice appears well-intentioned and those who practice it seem sincere, Lent must be a practice that God approves.
Or does He?
Examining Lent’s Purpose
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, “the real aim of Lent is, above all else, to prepare men for the celebration of the death and Resurrection of Christ…the better the preparation the more effective the celebration will be. One can effectively relive the mystery only with purified mind and heart. The purpose of Lent is to provide that purification by weaning men from sin and selfishness through self-denial and prayer, by creating in them the desire to do God’s will and to make His kingdom come by making it come first of all in their hearts.”
On the surface, this belief sounds sincere, yet it does not agree with the Bible, God’s Word, the only source of true spiritual knowledge and understanding (John 17:17).
God, through the apostle Paul, commands Christians to “continue you in the things which you have learned and have been assured of, knowing of whom you have learned them; and that from a child you have known the holy scriptures, which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (II Tim. 3:14-17).
Understand that the “celebration of the death and Resurrection of Christ,” referred to earlier, has in mind so-called Good Friday, but also Easter Sunday—a holiday deeply rooted in ancient paganism. They were instituted by mainstream Christianity to counterfeit and replace the Passover season. Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread were observed by Christ, the original apostles and the New Testament Church—including Gentiles. God commands His people to observe them today (I Cor. 5:7-8).
So where did Lent originate? How did it come to be so widely observed by mainstream Christianity?
Approved by Official State Religion
As surprising as it may seem, Lent was never observed by Christ or His apostles. He commanded His disciples to “Go you therefore, and teach all nations…to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19-20). Jesus never commanded them to observe Lent or Easter. He did, however, command the keeping of Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. In fact, during His last Passover on Earth, Christ gave detailed instructions on how to observe the Passover service. He also instituted new Passover symbols (John 13:1-17; Luke 22:19-20).
Notice what Alexander Hislop wrote in his book The Two Babylons: “The festival, of which we read in Church history, under the name of Easter, in the third or fourth centuries, was quite a different festival from that now observed in the Romish Church, and at that time was not known by any such name as Easter…That festival [Passover] was not idolatrous, and it was preceded by no Lent. ‘It ought to be known,’ said Cassianus, the monk of Marseilles, writing in the fifth century, and contrasting the primitive [New Testament] Church with the Church in his day, ‘that the observance of the forty days had no existence, so long as the perfection of that primitive Church remained inviolate.’”
Lent was not observed by the first century Church! It was first addressed by the church at Rome during the Council of Nicea in AD 325, when Emperor Constantine officially recognized that church as the Roman Empire’s state religion. Any other form of Christianity that held to doctrines contrary to the Roman church was considered an enemy of the state. (To learn more about the history of the true Church, read our book Where Is the True Church? – and Its Incredible History!) In AD 360, the Council of Laodicea officially commanded Lent to be observed.
It became a 40-day period of fasting or abstaining from certain foods. “The emphasis was not so much on the fasting as on the spiritual renewal that the preparation for Easter demanded. It was simply a period marked by fasting, but not necessarily one in which the faithful fasted every day. However, as time went on, more and more emphasis was laid upon fasting…During the early centuries (from the fifth century on especially) the observance of the fast was very strict. Only one meal a day, toward evening, was allowed” (Catholic Encyclopedia).
From the ninth century onward, Lent’s strict rules were relaxed. Greater emphasis was given to performing “penitential works” than to fasting and abstinence. According to the apostolic constitution Poenitemini of Pope Paul IV (Feb. 17, 1966), “abstinence is to be observed on Ash Wednesday and on all Fridays of the year that do not fall on holy days of obligation, and fasting as well as abstinence is to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday” (Catholic Encyclopedia).
Today, Lent is used for “fasting from sin and from vice…forsaking sin and sinful ways.” It is a season “for penance, which means sorrow for sin and conversion to God.” This tradition teaches that fasting and employing self-discipline during Lent will give a worshipper the “control over himself that he needs to purify his heart and renew his life” (ibid.).
However, the Bible clearly shows that self-control—temperance—comes from having God’s Holy Spirit working in the life of a converted mind (Gal. 5:16-17, 22-23). Fasting—of and by itself—cannot produce godly self-control.
Paul warned against using self-denial as a tool to rely on your own will. He called it “will worship.” “Wherefore if you be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are you subject to ordinances, (touch not; taste not; handle not; which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body: not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh” (Col. 2:20-23).
God did not design fasting as a tool for penance, “beating yourself up” or developing will power: “Is it such a fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to deal your bread to the hungry, and that you bring the poor that are cast out to your house? When you see the naked, that you cover him; and that you hide not yourself from your own flesh?” (Isa. 58:5-7).
God’s people humble themselves through fasting in order to draw closer to Him—so that they can learn to think and act like Him—so that they can live His way of life in all things (Jer. 9:23-24). Fasting (and prayer) helps Christians draw closer to God.
Lent’s Ancient Roots
Coming from the Anglo-Saxon Lencten, meaning “spring,” Lent originated in the ancient Babylonian mystery religion. “The forty days abstinence of Lent was directly borrowed from the worshippers of the Babylonian goddess…Among the Pagans this Lent seems to have been an indispensable preliminary to the great annual festival in commemoration of the death and resurrection of Tammuz…” (The Two Babylons).
Tammuz was the false Messiah of the Babylonians—a satanic counterfeit of Jesus Christ!
The Feast of Tammuz was usually celebrated in June (also called the “month of the festival of Tammuz”). Lent was held 40 days before the feast, “celebrated by alternate weeping and rejoicing” (ibid.). This is why Lent means “spring”; it took place from spring to early summer.
The Bible records ancient Judah worshipping this false Messiah: “Then He brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord’s house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz” (Ezek. 8:14). This was a great abomination in God’s eyes!
But why did the church at Rome institute such a pagan holiday?
“To conciliate the Pagans to nominal Christianity, Rome, pursuing its usual policy, took measures to get the Christian and Pagan festivals amalgamated, and, by a complicated but skillful adjustment of the calendar, it was found no difficult matter, in general, to get Paganism and Christianity—now far sunk in idolatry—in this as in so many other things, to shake hands” (The Two Babylons).
The Roman church replaced Passover with Easter, moving the pagan Feast of Tammuz to early spring, “Christianizing” it. Lent moved with it
“This change of the calendar in regard to Easter was attended with momentous consequences. It brought into the Church the grossest corruption and the rankest superstition in connection with the abstinence of Lent” (ibid.).
Before giving up personal sins and vices during Lent, the pagans held a wild, “anything goes” celebration to make sure that they got in their share of debaucheries and perversities—what the world celebrates as Mardi Gras today.
Abomination Masked as Christianity
God is not the author of confusion (I Cor. 14:33). He never instituted Lent, a pagan observance connecting debauchery to the supposed resurrection of a false Messiah.
God commands His people to follow Him—not the traditions of men. God’s ways are higher—better than man’s (Isa. 55:8-9). Men cannot determine for themselves right from wrong or how to properly worship God. Why? Because “The heart [mind] is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jer. 17:9), and “the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walks to direct his steps” (10:23). God designed us and gave us life. He teaches how we are supposed to worship Him.
To be a Christian and properly serve God, you must live “by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4), recognizing that His Holy Scriptures “cannot be broken” (John 10:35).
God commands Christians to flee from the pagan traditions and customs of this world (Rev. 18:2-4), currently led and deceived by Satan the devil (II Cor. 4:4; Rev. 12:9).
Lent may seem like a sincere, heartfelt religious observance. But it is deeply rooted in pagan ideas that counterfeit God’s Plan. God hates all pagan observances (Jer. 10:2-5; Lev. 18:3, 30; Deut. 7:1-5, 16). They cannot be “Christianized” or made clean by men. This includes Lent.
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Monday, January 30, 2012
Boker Tov! Today is Shevat 6, 5772...the second day of the week....Yom Shaynee.
We are having unseasonably mild weather in my little part of the world. The prediction for today's temperature is 68ยบ! This is really not what we should be having on a day which is January 30th according to the Gregorian calendar. Winter is supposed to be here! Arrin keeps asking "When are we going to get snow, Grandma?"
I cannot help but worry about the trees, plants, and animals. I have to believe this weather messes up their internal clocks. We will soon be celebrating Tu B'Shevat..the new year of trees on Shevat 15. Let us pray this weather does not trick them into budding and then possibly dying.
I can remember, as a child, that one of the predictions of the future time of the end of days was going to be the seasons becoming a combination of all seasons. We would cease to have the four seasons and the weather that went along with them. It seems to me that this is what is happening. This, along with the high consumption and high prices of meat along with the lessening of edible crops plus the owning of all seeds by Monsanto, will contribute to a great shortage of food, WORLD WIDE, in the very near future. We are being told to limit or give up eating the flesh of animals and go vegetarian or vegan and preferably organic but how will one even grow food if we cannot get good seeds? Seeds that have not been modified?
We are going to be at the mercy of the government...which will be of the anti-christ...and of course we know that this will not be a good thing. We can only prepare now and be aware of what is happening and beware of the days ahead. But the main thing is to BE IN PRAYER to our Elohim and TRUST IN HIM. HE WILL SEE US THROUGH THE DARK DAYS.
I love you and want only the best for you! His servant, gloria
We are having unseasonably mild weather in my little part of the world. The prediction for today's temperature is 68ยบ! This is really not what we should be having on a day which is January 30th according to the Gregorian calendar. Winter is supposed to be here! Arrin keeps asking "When are we going to get snow, Grandma?"
I cannot help but worry about the trees, plants, and animals. I have to believe this weather messes up their internal clocks. We will soon be celebrating Tu B'Shevat..the new year of trees on Shevat 15. Let us pray this weather does not trick them into budding and then possibly dying.
I can remember, as a child, that one of the predictions of the future time of the end of days was going to be the seasons becoming a combination of all seasons. We would cease to have the four seasons and the weather that went along with them. It seems to me that this is what is happening. This, along with the high consumption and high prices of meat along with the lessening of edible crops plus the owning of all seeds by Monsanto, will contribute to a great shortage of food, WORLD WIDE, in the very near future. We are being told to limit or give up eating the flesh of animals and go vegetarian or vegan and preferably organic but how will one even grow food if we cannot get good seeds? Seeds that have not been modified?
We are going to be at the mercy of the government...which will be of the anti-christ...and of course we know that this will not be a good thing. We can only prepare now and be aware of what is happening and beware of the days ahead. But the main thing is to BE IN PRAYER to our Elohim and TRUST IN HIM. HE WILL SEE US THROUGH THE DARK DAYS.
I love you and want only the best for you! His servant, gloria
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