Simple Church Minute 305--holidays

When I started this blog, it was to post transcripts of various little commentaries I had written which I entitled, “Simple Church Minute”, focusing on various truths of following Jesus that have gotten to some degree lost over the centuries because they run contrary to operating church as a corporation with buildings, budgets, salaried and titled leaders, etc.  That was basically done in 2010, in a time frame that would fit a two minutes, with the thought being that they were written for Christian radio.   There is only so many ideas that fit that grouping.  From the book I reviewed last week, the author(s?) brought up an idea that I have, in my mind, considered before, but he/she/they developed the thought better than I or anyone else I have read or heard had.  Therefore, this week, I have a new transcript. 

            Just for note, I believe that in recent weeks, actually getting some of these on radio may be coming closer.

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305—holidays

            My name is Tom; this is Simple Church Minute.

            Recently, I ran across something about following Jesus that I hadn’t considered before.  I imagine most of us have heard the stand up comic one-liner that goes, “I tried being an atheist, but I gave it up. No holidays.”

            Much of what tradition and our society celebrate is not connected with our faith in Jesus, although much of it has had a nominal Christian sugar coating.  In the Old Testament, part of what was established in the Law were the four festivals, but Acts 15 verses 23 to 29 indicate that they, along with most of the Old Covenant law, doesn’t carry over for we, the New Covenant chosen people.

            In our society in the U.S., holidays like Flag Day, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, and Patriot’s Day have a political or social origin.  Christmas came from the Roman pagan holidays of Saturnalia, from December 17 to 24, celebrated with revelry and buying of large amounts of gifts, and December 25, the pagan birthday of the sun.  Easter came from an ancient fertility rite, hence eggs and bunnies as symbols of reproductivity.  Halloween comes from the Druid Day of the Dead.

            Is there a truly Christian holiday?  Yes, there is, but we have been taught by omission to not notice it, and a person who only wishes to be seen by others as a believer, but doesn’t actually want Jesus to be their Lord isn’t going to consider this much to celebrate.  In First Corinthians chapter 5 verses 6 to 8, Paul wrote, Your glorying is not good.  Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore, purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you are truly unleavened.  For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.  Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

That holiday is today; we celebrate this day by living, by the power of the Holy Spirit, a life of truth.  For the person who has come to follow Jesus, from the moment of receiving Jesus’ salvation, we have entered a spiritual Sabbath rest.  We no longer have to be striving and seeking truth.  As such, we can celebrate each day of this new life by desiring to live to honor Him each and every moment, in honor of the gift He gave us.   

            You can contact me at 757-735-3639 or at simplechurchminute@yahoo.com. I have additional information on this subject on my blog, tevyebird.blogspot.com at the posting of June 25, 2012.

This idea was derived from pages 43-45 and 89-96 of www.heavenreigns.com, Right Here Right Now” (this book is available online, at the website mentioned, for free).  Other scripture references that, as a group, back up that this is a proper interpretation of the scripture quoted are Mt. 6:11, 25, 33-34, Lk. 3:23-24, and Gal. 4:9-11.  Also, while not mentioned by the author I am quoting, I would say Heb. 3:13 also bouilds the case for this concept, that every day a believer lives is a true holiday for celebrating what Jesus gave us.

Book review: Right Here, Right Now by www.heavenreigns.com

Book review: “Right Here, Right Now: Living the Anointed Life with Jesus and Each Other” by www.heavenreigns.com

            A couple of days ago, I was at a meeting of persons involved in simple church in my metro area, and one of the persons there had some copies of this book to give away.  At the front and end of the book, the anonymous writer(s) make it clear that this book, which is available in paper and online forms, is free, and permission is granted to reproduce it so long as one doesn’t change it.  The online version is available to read at the website above.  I fully well understand the motivation to hide the names of the writers; I considered the same when starting this blog.  There are negatives to both giving and not giving one’s name, particularly in communicating about living for Jesus, as it is Jesus who is important, and who did everything necessary to make any true communication about Him possible.  Whether an individual or a group of writers, at least one person has a background in history, and has used that experience to explain, my means of story, how some details of history that unbelievers did, and doesn't necessarily make sense to us now, did to them at that time.  Also, at the end of the book in the reference list, the authors did something some of us take for granted, which is explain at the beginning of the reference list that some of the works cited are by non-Christian writers who used methods of expression that we who are believers would not consider morally proper, and are cited for the historical contribution, and not overall agreement of their point of view.

The first chapter, titled “Paradise Lost: Life Without God” is written in a style that, if for some reason one hadn’t looked at the cover to know it was about following Jesus, it wouldn’t be clear from the chapter, in that it avoids use of all traditional clichés, much like Richie Furay did in his first Christian musical work, “I’ve Got a Reason”, back in the mid-1970’s (and I really cannot think of any other comparison in my lifetime).

Whereas many writings within non-humanly organized faith in Jesus attempt to walk a line of neutrality in advocating the basic principles of following Jesus, picturing believers reading the work who still may to a degree like the status quo way of faith in the western world (buildings, paid leaders, worship services), this book, implies within the sentences that the status quo way is not what God intended.  From chapter 2 on, once the introduction is done, it is written in a way that is clearly as writers who follow Jesus, giving a story-like travel through God’s work with man and our response, but still in a manner quite different from Frank Viola’s “Story of the New Testament Church”, in that Viola, in that book, attempted to stick closely to exactly what the Bible told us, and here, the parts that are commented in the line of where some persons responded correctly, and where they didn’t.  Chapter 2 deals with the Old Covenant, and how man, and particularly the chosen people, didn’t follow God’s plan.   Chapter 3 follows how Jesus reintroduced God and man walking together, like Adam and Eve did previous to the fall, to the disciples and a group of everyday people.

  Chapter 4 is about how the apostles guided the early church to follow the same principles that Jesus taught them, and warned them about going another route, with comparisons to paganism over the ages.  Chapter 5 deals with the church beginning to wander backwards from ekklesia life towards religion, with a title comparison to how gravity pulls physical objects back to earth. 

 Chapter 6 goes into how the Roman Empire pulled the church into a twist of the forms of paganism.  Chapter 7 deals with some modern, western distortions, particularly megachurches and the pagan basis for supposed Christian holidays, and the holy day Jesus instituted (I’ll let you read it to find out what it is).  Chapter 8 deals with believers today desiring to again follow the practices the apostles taught with rejecting the syncretism of the previous fifteen or so centuries.

Clearly, a running theme of this book is that what God showed in part via the temple, and what Jesus taught is what gives believers life, and everything else is just a twist on human religion/paganism.  I have no question that this makes some of my fellow believers uncomfortable, and those who collect a salary on account of their faith even more uncomfortable.  It is a tone that is necessary for someone to express.

Since this is free, I’ve already given you a copy, above.  The people behind the book realize that there are instances in which giving a physical copy works as a matter of witness or spiritual growth better, so physical copies are available.  From the website, there is the implication that the person or persons involved in the production of this writing are from the Indianapolis area, but that it is the content, not the authors that are what is relevant, particularly in this age where we have companies with marketing plans that produce Christian stars and personalities.