Kingdom Citizens & Holiday Traditions...

As we enter into another holiday season of Thanksgiving and Christmas, I want to bring to your attention what our Father says to his kingdom citizens, concerning these holiday traditions that we so cherish. We understand that this is an area that is steeped deeply into family tradition, yet Jesus himself warned of this in Mark 7:13, "Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which you have delivered: and many such like things do ye." It also states in Colossians 2:8, to "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." So it's safe to say that if we are followers of Jesus Christ and citizen's of his Kingdom, then we should open our ears and allow our hearts to be washed by the truth of his Word, to avoid adopting practices that takes the focus off of him and places it on the keeping up with the traditions of men.

My family has always celebrated the holidays, with Christmas being our personal favorite time of the year, until about 6 years ago when we found ourselves in one of the most difficult times of our lives. It was during the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. We were homeless. We had NO money and we were just trying to keep our sanity, in order to continue moving, doing and believing, what the spirit of God had promised us would surely come to pass!

During that time, family gatherings and Christmas gifts were the last thing on our minds. We were in a very dark place and at many moments we just felt like throwing in the towel and calling it quits. Not having a home to put up a Christmas tree or the means to give our children the things they were use to receiving at Christmas was devastating to us to say the least. Having to look at their faces on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, waking up in our car or in a shelter full of drug addicts and prostitutes made us feel that God had forsaken us. All we knew how to do was to SEEK him like never before. We began to reason with him for answers on why our life seemed to be going in reverse at the time. As we continued to seek our King and his will for our lives through those very difficult moments, he began to share some things with us and the Word of God began to totally reform our lives and ways of thinking. He told us that the fiery trials was to “break us free from the traditions of men and to teach us how to fully trust in his word and his plan for our lives”.

So, we have to ask ourselves do we do things because it's a commandment of God, to uplift his name and enlarge his Kingdom or is it out of man's tradition? There is nothing wrong with celebrating and spending time with family, but it becomes a problem when we are financially burdened and we make special arrangements to host elaborate events and spend money on gifts that we don't have. All in the name of tradition! The Word of God says that we should have dominion and that we are to be the “head and not the tail” according to (Deuteronomy 28:13). However during this time of the year, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas many of us put ourselves in a tail position financially, spiritually, and emotionally in order to hold to these man centered traditions.

We will leave you with this message to ponder and our prayer is that it will begin to reform your thinking in regards to the celebration of the holiday's.

"It is important to recognize that most of the symbols and observances we are all so familiar with have been promoted by the card and candy industries over the last century to such an extent that the original meaning has been forgotten. The toy and entertainment aspect of holidays are within themselves even more alarming in their potential for fostering lifestyles contrary to biblical truth. In the case of "Christian Holidays," much of modern tradition, is rooted in pagan rites. The adoption of such customs associated with the worship of false gods may have been politically or socially expedient in the early years A.D., but the 20th century church is inundated with media; printed, filmed, taped, and pumped; designed to place emphasis on materialism and humanism and less emphasis on spiritual life through Jesus Christ (Our King). That in itself should cause us to shun these holiday traditions and not allow it to become our custom nor practice as Kingdom citizens".

Galatians 4:9-10

But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!