The Commercialization Of The Holidays?

Or Something Sinister? 

Happy Halloween, wait, Merry Christmas??

Don't you hate it? I know I do. You just figure out what your little kiddie wants to be for Halloween, and as you are buying you goodies for those that may knock on your door, you see out of the corner of your eye, Christmas displays being put together.

Oh yeah, tis the Season. Going to the store to get the Bird, and listen to Jingle Bells playing on the Muzak System. Whatever happened to Thanksgiving? This year, more and more Stores have opened on Thanksgiving for their special Black Friday deals.This means more and more people were FORCED to work on Thanksgiving and not spend time with their Families.

The thing that is even more sad, is this. What is Halloween? What is Thanksgiving all about? What is the meaning of Christmas? What about Easter? Forget the other "Jewish" Holidays. Unless you are a practicing Jew, you most likely have no idea what the Passover, Rosh Hashanah, or Yom Kippur even are, or when they are.

So why is this? Why is it Thanksgiving is a lost Holiday? Why is it that most people cannot even tell you the true meaning of the Holidays. Halloween is dressing up and getting candy from strangers. Christmas is about a Fat Guy in a Red Suit, and about getting stuff. Easter has colored eggs, more candy, and a Bunny hoping down the Bunny Trail.

BILLIONS are made on the Holidays. BILLIONS of Dollars. Halloween over $6.0 billion, Father's Day $10.2 billion , Easter $14.02 billion, Mother's Day $14.88 billion, Valentines Day $17.60 billion, Thanksgiving $30.5 billion, Christmas $135.16 billion.

In all this spending, and all this receiving, there is no wonder why the Holidays are so important to business. But wait? If Thanksgiving is the number two Holiday in Billions spent, then why is it NOT the number two Holiday marketed in all the Stores?

See, if you are like me, you would have thought, OK, All that Candy, Costumes, Decorations, I get Halloween. Easter? Again, all that Candy, Decorations, ETC. Christmas? Well, that pretty much goes without saying. I mean seriously? All the Food, Decorations, and all those Gifts. What do we have to do for Thanksgiving? Buy a Turkey? So it is all about Marketing and Profit Margins. But that's NOT it.

No, it is even more Sinister than that. Did you know God is in all the Holidays? Or at least He should be? Did you know He was? Let's look at the Holidays.

Halloween?

"Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God." {Leviticus 19:31}

Also warning us, God says this..

"As for the person who turns to mediums and to spiritists, to play the harlot after them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people." {Leviticus 20:6}

What is Halloween all about? Dressing up, and worse, dressing up our Kids, as Ghosts and Gobblings, Evil Spirits and Zombies, and then we send them out into the darkness to be scared and knock on Stranger's Doors, begging them for Candy?

King Manasseh did all kinds of evil. One of which was this..

"He made his son pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and used divination, and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD provoking Him to anger." {2 Kings 21:6}

Halloween is all about Darkness and Evil. It is a celebration of such. As a Child of God, you are suppose to be fighting against such things, not celebrating them.

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." {Ephesians 6:12}

So why is it so popular? It goes against God.

What about Mother's and Father's Day? How is God in these? Well, what are these all about? Yup. Honoring your Mother and Father. Right?

"Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." {Exodus 20:12}

So it doesn't matter what you do the rest of the year, as long as on this day, you better get your Mom some Candy and Flowers, and your Dad, uh, Socks. Right? All is OK. All you have to do is Honor them this day and all is well? Wait..

"For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition." {Matthew 15:4-6}

Valentine's Day? The day we should be Honoring those we love. Right? Honor and Love our Wives and Husbands?

"Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;" {Ephesians 5:25}

And

"Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband." {Ephesians 5:33}

Yet, Valentine's Day has turned into giving of gifts, Flowers, Candies, ETC. To those we lust after, as well as those we actually Love. Marriage is irrelevant. Even our Children give Cards and Candies out in our Schools. It is all about that fat little Cherubim shooting arrows into those who fall in Love.

Now let's talk about one that you may not even think has anything to do with God. July 4th. Yup. Independence Day. Don't worry, we will get to the two most obvious in a second. But what does God have to do with Independence Day?

Did you know that there are five references to God in the Declaration of Independence? This Country was founded on Judaeo / Christian beliefs. You can find God, and Biblical quotes in all the Founding Documents. The Anti-Federalist Papers, The Articles of Association of 1774, The Articles of Confederation, The Constitution of the United States, The Declaration of Independence, Original Draft of the Declaration of Independence – Thomas Jefferson, The Federalist Papers by Hamilton, Madison and Jay, The Kentucky Resolutions of 1798, The Treaty of Paris of 1783. It is clear, that not only in these all but forgotten Founding Documents, but also in Private Communications between the Founding Fathers, that this IS a Christian Nation. Even our Laws are based on the Ten Commandments.

The whole reason this country even exists is for Freedom to worship God anytime and anywhere we chose. There is no Wall of Separation. There is no "unless someone become offended." We should be celebrating this RIGHT to Worship God and Jesus as Lord of all, every July 4th. Not eating Hot Dogs and drinking beer, while we blow stuff up. But the TRUE Freedom we all have as Americans, and the fact that God made this country the Greatest Country on the Planet because of it.

Now for the most obvious examples. The two Holidays that have nothing to do, with anything but, Jesus Himself. Easter is all about His ultimate gift to us. His laying down His life for us. Yet rather His Resurrection from the Grave.

"The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie," {John20:1-6}

You know the rest of the story. Jesus was risen from the Grave and appeared onto the Disciples. However, although there is a Peter in the current Easter Story, it is not the same Peter. No, our new Peter has a fluffy white tail. He is a giant Bunny, hopping down the Bunny Trail, bring colored eggs and Chocolate to all the kiddies.

But this is not the true meaning of Easter. It is all about Jesus. The greatest gift you will ever receive. The gift of forgiveness and Salvation. The gift of eternal life. He did all these things, and suffered all things, so that you can enter into Heaven. So that you will not die, but have everlasting life. He paid the ultimate price so you do not have to. The greatest and final sacrifice, ever.

Yet? We turned Him into a Bunny. Just like the next and most obvious example, Christmas, Easter has another more sinister component to it..

Ah, Christmas. Tis the season. The Birth of our Lord and Savor. Is it not? Jingle Bells, White Christmas, Rudolf. Don't forget Frosty. "Daddy? Daddy? Dad? Daddy? Mommy? Mom? Mommy? Can I have this {This year's must have} for Christmas? I really want it. I need it. All my friends have it. Please? Please? Pretty please? I love you. Can I? Can I? Mommy? Daddy? PLEASE?!?!?"

So what do you do? You save up some money. You go out on Black Friday and stand in line at 3 am. You fight the crowds. You go through all this and turn the corner. Then there is this Ahhh Moment. There it is. Glowing brighter than anything. The gift. The thing your child wants more than anything in the world. The gift that will change their lives. The gift that will make you the Hero. It is done.

We tell our kids that if they are really good, Santa, that big fat guy in a red suit, who fly around in a sled pulled by flying Reindeer, will come into their home while they sleep, and leave presents under the tree. You put out cookies and milk. You may even go outside and leave tracks in the snow, and sled marks. You lose sleep bring in the Gifts from their hiding spots when the kiddies go to sleep.

Now think about this. You LIE to your Children. You LIE to them during their most formidable years. About 90 percent of a Child's Brain develops in the time from birth to age 5. According to studies, 85 percent of a Child's Intellect, Personality, and even Social Skills, are developed by that age. What are you doing? LYING to them.

You tell them that a big fat guy in a red suit, who watches them all year, writes down all the good and bad they do. Then, one day a year, if they are good, he goes all around the world and delivers their heart's desire. That he and a bunch of magic Elves make all the toys they could ever dream up. You tell them this every year. They have evidence that this is all real. The bitten Cookie. The drank Milk. The fact every store they go into Santa is right there. He is even on the Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Then, for some that want their kids to learn the true meaning of Christmas, they take them to Church one or two days a year. The Pastor or Preacher, tells them about Jesus. Now think about this. From a a Child's mind. They know their name. They know 2+2=4. They know their colors, numbers, they know things that Mommy and Daddy tell them is absolute truth. They also "know" Santa, the Easter Bunny, and even the Tooth Fairy are real. So they hear about a guy, who came to earth 2000 years ago and did things they can not comprehend yet, and think, that's nice. But I really hope Santa brings me that new thing.

To my surprise, it really is not the Commercialization of the Holidays that is to blame for Thanksgiving being all but forgotten. Since Thanksgiving is the second most profitable Holiday, it does not make since. So what is the reason?

They have not found a way to corrupt it. Think about that. Christmas, Santa. Easter, the Bunny. Thanksgiving? Who are we giving thanks to? God. Who can replace God? No one. We come together with family and friends, break bread, and give thanks to?? God. No Turkey in a red suit. No Turkey hoping down the Turkey Trail. No Turkey shooting arrows. There is no reason to Honor a Turkey. So how do you corrupt a Holiday that has nothing to do with nothing BUT Giving Thanks? Try to get as many people as possible to simply stop participating. Just go from the Darkness Holiday, directly to the fat guy in the red suit.

There really is a far more sinister reason the Holidays are the way they are. All though all that money DOES Play a part, that is not the reason. No Children of God, it is the removing of God from everything. Everything from the Holidays to Daily Life. Once they find a way to corrupt Thanksgiving, they will do that too.

Never forget Child of God, try as hard as they may, they really cannot remove God. For God is in everything. Yes, that includes the Holidays. Make sure that you remember that. Look at the Holidays in a God perspective, and you will find the true meaning..

Do you know Jesus as your Savior? Have you been adopted into the Family of God? If not, say this Prayer. Right now. Wherever you may be. Say it in your own words, and do not doubt in your heart. God will hear you. He will send the Spirit of Life to you. Let us Pray..

"Oh heavenly Father, Lord God. I am a sinner. I know this. I know there is nothing I can do to change that. But I know you can. I accept Jesus's sacrifice for me. I repent my sins. Please send the Spirit of Adoption into my life. Help me to get to know the real you. Save me. Please. In the name of Jesus, Amen!"

That's it. It really is that simple. Now go tell someone what you have just done. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." {Romans 10:9} You need to find a Church that God leads you to, and be Baptized the way Jesus said to be. You are now a Child of God. A new Creature. You "have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him." {Colossians 3:10}

If you want to tell me, or comment, question, give testimonials, or just say "Hi," the Email is opntalk@gmail.com

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. {2 Corinthians 13}

Until next time, be Blessed, be a Blessing, and Jesus IS Lord..