Prince of Peace

"Peace on earth good will toward men." This popular phrase is often found in songs this time of year or read on Christmas cards. It is used to bring hope and encouragement to the minds of people worldwide. Yet, there seems to be little peace around the world or time for millions of people who choose to rush from place to place, spending more money on gifts for people who possibly have too much already. Most retail businesses and the entertainment world hopes to capitalize on the hearts of people during this season of giving and self-indulgence.
All the different religions of the world seem to find a reason to celebrate during this season of the year also, including the Jewish people with their Hanukkah. However, December 25th was originally the festival of Winter Solstice, a pagan holiday celebrating their gods and the beginning of the winter season. But Christianity decided to make it the birthday of Jesus, needing a reason to celebrate along with the pagans. Then Santa Claus arrived with his eight reindeer to bring gifts to all the children of the world to compete with Baby Jesus. Later three wise men showed up, a little late as usual. Then Ms. Claus and the elves got jealous along with Frosty the Snowman, who came bopping onto the scene. While everyone was dreaming of a White Christmas, and children were counting the presents under the decorated Christmas tree; the homeless people just hoped for a warm meal and a warm place to sleep.

Every year Christmas just keeps growing like the proverbial snowball rolling down a gigantic hill, collecting input from the cosmos and every religion of the world as it continues rolling through December. Faster and faster, bigger and better—when and where it stops, God only knows. But we must understand that He never started it in the first place; man did. Somehow God's Holy Days have been forgotten by most people and replaced by man's holidays. But that will change in due time; God is no fool.

I didn't always feel this way about Christmas. As a child growing up in California, I used to love all the decorations and the presents. I enjoyed all the songs and the spirit of joy people seemed to express. Most people seem to forget their cares and enjoy just being with each other. When I became a Christian, I focused more on the Christian view, and left Santa looking for his way back to the North Pole. After getting married and having a daughter, my focus changed again. I had someone to share memories with; seeing the joy on my daughter's face was our delight. 

After I built my dream house, I started decorating it with Christmas lights, more and more each year, and the neighbors loved it and I enjoyed it too. But something was changing. I found myself trying to make myself happy, instead of being happy. There was no peace inside me. I appeared to have everything and yet I wasn't really happy. My marriage and my faith had gone south for the winter, and stayed. Everything from then on became a show or a pretense, like the snowman we made in the front yard by the decorated trees.

By the time I was almost 40 I was miserable; I could have played the role of Scrooge. I was determined to be happy, doing things I never thought I would do. It didn't help either, it only made me feel worse. Finally one night, when I was indulging in my selfish behavior, an old friend came knocking on my heart's door. It was the Prince of Peace, and he said to me, "It's now or never!" I knew what he meant and I immediately got up and left with my Prince—Jesus Christ.

Things have not been the same since then. Everything began to change, even my thoughts about Christmas. That year we took the money we would normally spend on ourselves and on family members, and purchased gifts of food and warm clothes to give to the homeless people is downtown Seattle. It was the best experience we ever had, seeing the expression of joy and thankfulness on the faces of people who had nothing; yet they were God's children too. Then God stripped away many of my possessions, including my dream house. He then taught me how to really trust him for everything and be grateful.

A few years later, God gave us a new home in the foothills (wilderness) of the mountains. As I spent more time with Him, He taught me things I never realized. He also gave me a special friend, Sheldon David, who also greatly helped me in my walk of faith. A couple years later I realized why I wasn't happy anymore at Christmas time. It was because Jesus wasn't there. 

God never intended for us to celebrate Jesus' birthday. It was just another religious concept for many Christians to celebrate along with the world. This revelation did not go well with the rest of my family. Even though they understood the facts (previously stated), they saw no harm in celebrating it; besides many popular ministers and ministries continued to believe it's OK. Not to mention, a whole lot of emotions that are tied to the sweet nativity scenes, the memorable songs, and the beautiful decorations, all of which are just too much for most Christians to give up—but others have, and even more will as they fall in love with Jesus (and no longer with the holiday). I believe it is God's desire that we love all people, spend less on ourselves, and give to the needy all year around, and to celebrate life with Jesus everyday. (Jer. 10:2-4) God also hates our religious festivals/holidays. (Amos 5:21 NLB). Jesus taught us that narrow is the gate to life and broad is the path that leads to destruction.

Unfortunately, many don't see it that way when they're on the broad path—choosing to ignore scriptures and warning signs (some just don't care). I'm not saying that anyone will go to hell for believing in Christmas or by celebrating it. However, Jesus did say that he only did and said what he saw the Father doing. (He never told anyone to celebrate His birthday.) It is also my desire; to serve God the best I know how by following Jesus' example. 

The one thing I have now that I never had before is PEACE. True peace of mind. Not as the world gives, but only as Jesus can give. Now I also don't have to rush around in traffic, looking for a parking space, trying to find the right gift in crowded stores; when I have the best gift—the Prince of Peace to share with others.

My prayer for you is that you will consider what I've said. Or maybe you too will want to know Jesus as your Savior and your Prince of Peace. It's never to late to start to know Him.

Note: I wrote this article a year ago, and had the most hits on my blog sight that day. But after they read the article, most no longer felt like reading further articles of mine, it only proved how strongly people feel about Christmas, one of their golden calves. The truth is many Christians and ministries still chose to believe in celebrating Christmas despite the facts and the truth. Old habits and man-made traditions are hard to break and very few are willing to break away from the crowd and the emotions tied to the Christmas spirit.

In the Old Testament some kings of Israel tried to restore true worship  by tearing down false gods and idol during their reign that people had made or brought in from other nations. But, the one area most of them failed to accomplish, was the removing of the "high places." Those places had become "sacred cow" to the people even though they greatly displeased God. People wanted to decide how and where they would worship God, instead of the other way around, and so the man-made traditions continued. 

Today, most Christians still think and act the same way. They want to celebrate, the "high places" of religious traditions and where they worship. Only a few are willing to walk away from them and follow God as maturing sons. Yet, God continues to give grace to all of His children. 

I will continue to speak the truth and encourage other to follow Christ alone without all the religious stuff. I love all of God's children, I was one, once myself. When I was young I thought like a child, acted like a child, now that I'm older I put away childish things. (1 Cor. 11:13)

* Enjoy the colorful lights if you want—God made them. He is the Light of the World. And if this season helps someone find or focus more on Christ, I am thankful. If you disagree with me about Christmas that's fine too. I still love you, and I will have many other things to share that are far more important than Christmas.

The Bible

The Holy Bible is the most incredible book ever written. It has been read by more people and translated into more languages than any other book. Yet, it is also the most controversial and neglected book. It has been praised, cherished, and also hated. It has also been burned, banned and smuggled down throughout the ages. Why is that? Probably because of its unique author—God.

The Bible is the inspiration of God in a compilation of 66 books, written by over 40 different persons from many different backgrounds, written in three languages over a period of 1500 years. More fascinating facts can be found by going online, but this is not what this article is really about.

From its conception, the Bible is a divine romance. From cover to cover (Genesis to The Revelation) it portrays the love of God for his creation (his family). It also shows the ups and downs of the relationship between God and man, and the emotions of both parties involved. But most of all the Bible is about forgiveness.

The Bible is about communication. It was and is one of God's most basic ways to relay his heart, his ways and his desires to those who choose to love and follow him. It also shows the consequences for those who choose not to. God is not forcing anyone to obey him; He's just stating the facts—life without Him will be meaningless and harmful because of the corruption and selfish behavior of humanity. It's better for people to talk and listen to him, than to ignore him. It's the only book that contains the whole Truth, showing that God is faithful to his promises. We will also be judged by this book.

The Bible is the book of Faith. On the surface it can be read just like any other book. But if you take a step of faith—which the author requires of you—you can enter into another dimension, the spiritual one in which Almighty God lives, the one we are meant to live in. From that realm we are able to see things from a different perspective than the carnal realm, and we can have access to His power. By his Spirit, which lives in us, we can hear and operate through the mind of God as to fulfill his plans for us, and also to help others. There is so much more that can be learned from this level of faith. No other book can or will offer such power to the reader, and it is available to everyone who believes in it.

The Bible also tells us about heaven and the Kingdom where God dwells. It also reveals the dimension in which we will live after we die, one in which we share eternity without time and space and without pain and suffering; a place of eternal peace and joy. In this realm we see the angelic beings that God created to serve Him and help mankind. The beauty of this realm is beyond description.

The Bible contains the words of Life, it is the revelation of Jesus Christ, the Truth and the Promise of God. The Word, Jesus himself, became flesh and blood, and he dwelt with us and died for us. Jesus Christ (Yahweh) is the underlying theme, connection and foundation of the Bible—from Genesis to Revelation. He is the Alpha and the Omega. Without him it is impossible to know or understand the Heavenly Father or His Word.

The Bible is about life, wisdom and the information needed for living the life God intends for everyone and for every generation. It's not just a history book, but is relevant for the future too. The names and the acts of every man and woman are recorded within the multi-leveled and spiritual dimensions of the Word of God, and will extend for a thousand generations. Along with every mathematical and science equation to create, heal and destroy. We will continue to find more information in it that is relevant for thousands of years to come. 

Many great men in the past have believed that there were hidden secrets waiting to be revealed in the Bible. More of these of those secrets have and will become known with the help of computers. More of this is written about in two books: The Bible Code, by Michael Drosnin, and The Original Bible Code, by Dr. Rips. However—more importantly—God prefers to revel himself to those who diligently seek him with all the heart. The Bible says, if any one lacks wisdom let him ask of Me, anyone who searches for me as hidden treasure. We need to be honest and sincere in our efforts, for God is no fool. Even the best of Bible scholars have just begun to scratch the surface of the Knowledge of God.

If you don't know God, you can. This can happen by either praying and/or reading the Bible. Begin reading by starting with The New Testament and continue on until you have found Him. He's just a step and a breath away; He's waiting for you.

Commitment

Many people start something then never finish it. In the past, I too was that way. As an artist I painted many pictures, but there were some that just never got finished. I ended up giving them to inmates in a local state prison where I taught an art class once a week. The prisoners could finish the painting or just paint over what I had done. That was a simple solution for me. Then there were projects and some houses I built or remodeled that I never got completely finished.

Seldom do things go as expected or planed. Many times people get started on a project or a relationship, but lose interest along the way. There are many reasons or excuses they could give, such as running out of money, taking too long, being more difficult than they thought, or just lost interest. Some people stay with a job or a marriage only as long as it meets their needs. But, when things get rough or maybe something or someone comes along that looks better, they're off in another direction, bouncing from one circumstance or relationship to another. (Like a pinball; only slower.)

Unfortunately, many people are that way with God. Often they take the initial steps, but when things don't go as expected or they don't get what they want when they wanted it, they're off looking for help somewhere else. And God gets the short end of the stick. Some people try to fit God into their schedule. Some others think they know enough about God—so I'll "take it from here" mindset. After reading the Bible a little and doing some weekly religious activities, many people think they can just coast the rest of the way. But God is no fool. And after a while, when something bad happens they're back asking God for help again.

If you really believe God made the universe and he is your savior, I'm sure he can find enough things for you to do if you're really interested in a commitment. Besides that, loving and serving God has to do with passion—a relentless zeal to serve and worship Him, even when things don't go the way expected or desired. Life is not about us, its about Jesus, the Kingdom of God, and God's desire to see us mature into his sons and daughters. He's the Potter and we are the clay. He's also the Gardner and if He decides to prune off a few branches to help us bear more fruit, so be it.

Let's make a commitment: to strip ourselves of everything that would hinder our race and not give up before we reach the finish line and the prize—Jesus. He is worth all the effort and all the sacrifices we will ever need to make. In a commitment to Jesus, you can't call him "Lord" and say "No" at the same time. Neither can you say, "I can't!" He will give us all the strength, all the patience, all the abilities and all the necessities needed to fulfill the purpose and mission he gives us on the earth. We are his workmanship, and he has plans for each and every one of us. And He will work with us from the beginning of the race to the end. Don't be a quitter. Remember, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."(Phil. 4:13). That scripture should be one of our declarations of faith. There are also times when the walk of faith may seem dry or hard, but that's where God desires to see if we really love Him (true commitment is when we press through dark valleys). Other times may seem dull but rarely boring. But, the payoff is worth it if we're patient, because God is committed to seeing us make it.

Do you believe Jesus Christ is worth living for? He is, and Jesus is also the only thing and only one worth dying for. It's time we start thinking and moving into a true commitment with Jesus; and everything else will find its proper place.

"So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded, YOU NEED TO PERSEVERE so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised." (Hebrews 10:35-36)