DISCIPLE

  By that I mean, do you have an emotional attachment to Christmas trees, wreaths and such? Religious interest in trees is an ancient pagan tradition, but not a Christian one.      The Egyptians, Assyrians, the Babylonians, and the Sumerians all had holy trees that they decorated and venerated.   Egyptian  Throneroom of palace of Asurnasirpal II    Sacred tree venerated in a Babylonian seal Adorning and worshiping a holy tree   Sacred babylonian tree     Sacred tree in the palace of Nimrod (British Museum) Celtic Sacred Tree of Life      Pagans attribute divinity, mystical powers, healing and health to trees. In Wicca, trees are symbols of nature's power, representing the "tree of life" that supposedly connects the earthy, spiritual and divine realms. Various trees hold specific magical properties. None of these things are taught in Scripture.    The Christmas tree is an adaptation of those ancient...

Vatican Nativity Scene "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me."  Exodus 20.3-4   The second commandment includes making or using any religious icons, images, sculptures made of clay, stone, wood, metal, or other materials. Simply put, God strictly forbids it. The same prohibition is repeated in Deuteronomy 4.15-18. Scripture calls these images idols, and those who use them are called idolaters.  Yes, even in the New Testament! How serious is this matter? According to 1 Corinthians 5.11 no idolater should be admitted to a church, and according to Ephesians 5.5 no idolater has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and ...

  In Matthew 22:21, our Lord gave a very important instruction.   “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.” There is a clear division between Caesar –human government—and God. According to Romans 13, we indeed have a responsibility to the government. But it pales in comparison to our greater responsibility to God. When Christ spoke those words, they were a rebuke to Israel, which had abandoned its responsibility to God and as a result had become the tail, not the head, of the nations. The coin with Caesar’s inscription, in daily use in Israel, showed that they were under Rome, a Gentile government. Like the fourth beast of Daniel 7—the Roman Empire—Caesar ruled because God had established it that way. That coin with Caesar’s likeness, found in Jewish pockets, was itself a violation of the second commandment against the making of any image or likeness of anything (Ex. 20:4; Rom. 1.23).   In effect, the Lor...