If Jesus were to send us an invitation to one of the winter holiday celebrations (Christmas or Hanukkah), which one do you think He would invite us to attend?
Would it be the one claiming to be His birthday, even though most theologians agree that He was not born on Dec. 25? This is the same winter celebrations where families go out into the woods, cut down a tree, set it up in their home, decorate it with gold and silver baubles and place gifts under it, even though the Bible specifically tells us not to do this (Deut. 12:2; Jer. 10:1-4; Jer. 3:13; Jer. 2:20).
This is the party where they use all the customs and rituals that God tells His people not to use in His celebrations, because they are used in pagan celebrations (Deut. 12:1-5, 29-31). This is the birthday party that neither Jesus nor anyone else in the New Testament Church ever celebrated on Dec. 25.
Since Jesus never observed any of these feasts and the Bible commands us specifically not to celebrate them, I don’t think Jesus would invited us to this winter holiday celebration.
Or would Jesus invite us to the winter Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah) that celebrates religious freedom and the rededication of the temple after it was defiled by the Antiochus Epiphanies (Daniel 8 and 9; 1 Maccabees 4:52-59). This a celebration that Jesus Himself celebrated in the Temple, during which He first revealed that He was the Messiah (John 10:22-30).
Jesus also said events surrounding this holiday would repeat themselves in the future and would be a sign that His return was drawing near.
This winter celebration lasts for eight days in the same manner as the Feast of Sukkot (2 Maccabees 10:6-7). Sukkot, or the Fest of Tabernacles, is one of God’s high holy days that Jesus also celebrated (John 7:37-39). In fact, Jesus celebrated all seven of the Lord’s Feasts recorded in Leviticus 23, of which, He fulfilled four of them at His first coming. The Apostles and the New Testament Church also observed the Feasts of the Lord rather than the non-biblical secular holidays containing pagan customs and ritual (Acts 2:1-4; Acts 20:16; 1 Cor. 5:7-8; 1 Cor. 16:8).
What winter holiday celebration do I think Jesus would invite us to? I believe it would be the one that He actually celebrated. I also believe He would invited us to all the other biblical Feasts of the Lord that celebrate His life, death and resurrection, and not the counterfeits that come in His name. The truth is, He has already sent us an invitation to all His Feasts ... It’s called the Bible.
Ron Clark
Cumberland
Letters
The December dilemma
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Freedom isn’t exactly what he thinks it is
In the June 2 Times-News, R. Steele Selby (“Just how free are we?) defines freedom as “the capacity to do whatever he or she wants to do” and asserts that this definition is “most likely nearly universal.”
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What Maryland calls the Fair Share Act isn’t fair at all
The Fair Share Act was passed in 2009. This law allowed for service fees to be part of the collective bargaining process.
The law does not mandate that service fees be negotiated, it simply provides that they can be. -
We have lots to show for our education dollars
I would like to take this opportunity to respond to Judith Weller’s latest anti-education diatribe, “The money they already have isn’t being spent wisely,” (June 3).
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Western Md. Veterans continues its mission
My name is Dan Brashear, I am the founder and director of Western Maryland Veterans.
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Maybe the cyclists and casino workers should be armed
Again, unfortunately I have to remind Don Carns Jr. of Beans Cove, Pa., on his latest repeatedly inaccurate letter published June 10 in the Cumberland Times-News (“Township is nothing like either Pittsburgh or Philadelphia”).
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Let’s all kick in $1 to help save Frostburg’s Palace Theatre
As a former resident, I have many fond memories of the Palace Theatre (“Theater wall crumbles: Palace exterior collapses, unfit for entry: officials,” June 6 Times-News, Page 1A).
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Develop the waterway
Since the debate over removing the dam started about four years ago, I have been concerned about the effect the dam removal would have on the area’s welfare.
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Living center marks national nursing assistants week
Golden Living Center will join in the celebrations honoring the hundreds of thousands of nursing assistants across the country during National Nursing Assistants Week, June 13-20.
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West Virginia, Johnny Cash, coal miners honored on stamps
While this most likely won’t fall under the category of the most earth-shattering letter to the editor you will read today, it is still big doings for those of us here at the U.S. Postal Service.
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If you build a whitewater play spot, they will come
Regarding “River Project Prospects: Experts reveal benefits, challenges at Allegany Museum” (June 7 Times-News, Page 1A):
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Freedom isn’t exactly what he thinks it is
