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December 15, 2006
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Steve
Shultz: "Why I Believe God is Speaking to the Whole World through the
CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY"
"The miracle celebrated at Hanukkah speaks of the Light of the World
HIMSELF, Jesus, the Christ Child, the Messiah--the reason for Christmas."
I believe with all that
is within me, that it was God's intention in these last days to use the
Christmas Holiday to speak to the world.
"Why is that?" you may ask.
Oddly, for two full years, the Lord has had me listening to Christmas music
almost every day; and yes, both "secular" and "Sacred" Christmas music.
How strange!
But I've gotten more out of the true meaning of Christmas in the last two years
than in my entire life.
Now, I more fully grasp the Bethlehem days, the birth of the Christ Child, the
winter season, and the incomprehensible plan of God sending His only Son to be
born in a stable.
In 1990, a paradigm shift for me came from the Seer prophet, Bob Jones,
concerning Santa Claus: "God has a lot more concerns on His mind than a fat man
in a red suit," Bob said.
The Signs of Christmas
"God, in His Sovereign foreknowledge, chose that there would be many unifying
factors among various beliefs, only brought together in the last days Christmas
celebrations."
The "sign" that the angels gave the shepherds is that they would find Him, the
Christ, wrapped in swaddling clothes (in those days, all loving Jewish mothers
wrapped their children in strips of cloth as a sign of loving care) and lying in
a manger (an animal feeding trough).
That's as if the angels told the shepherds, "You'll find the Child in a dump or
an old barn, but He'll be lovingly dressed in nice baby clothes; cared for by
His parents."
God, in His Sovereign foreknowledge, chose that there would be many unifying
factors among various beliefs, only brought together in the last days Christmas
celebrations; that Christians would believe in the virgin birth, as do
Muslims--and that the virgin would be of the seed of Abraham.
Few Christians know that Islam teaches their followers that Jesus was not only
just a great prophet (not the Christ, of course), but they also teach that Jesus
was born of a virgin birth. The Jewish people on the other hand, teach that the
Messiah would come from among the Jews (which He did), but not that He would be
born of a virgin or that He would be the Son of God.
Between the three monotheistic religions representing most of the earth's
population, we all three have beliefs that Christ was to be born of the seed of Abraham,
and two of the three believe a great "PROPHET" (and Christians believe "THE"
PROPHET) was born of a virgin through the seed of Abraham.
As Christians, we believe that one must accept Christ, of course, as the Messiah,
and as one born among the Jews. But the very belief systems of these three
religious groups make the Christmas story all the more likely to lead one to
Christ Himself.
Growing Up With Christmas
Admittedly, I was raised with those "magical feelings" about Christmas seemingly
reserved for little children--and sometimes us big kids, too.
I was raised in a very poor family. Yet my earliest memories do include the
wonderful moments of receiving inexpensive gifts for Christmas, loving the
colorful lights my father hung on the tree, listening to Christmas music,
playing in the snow, and even seeing Santa Claus.
But as I grew, I noticed an interesting change begin to take place within me.
Even as I enjoyed each Christmas, my feelings toward Jesus also grew more
intense with each passing year!
What the World Hates Causes Me to Wonder
"I've asked myself, 'What is the great fear of Christmas?'"
During the last twenty years or so, it seems there's been a targeted effort by
the media or from atheists to expunge Christmas from all forms of government,
public schools, and even the public square.
I've asked myself, "What is the great fear of Christmas?" If the world is afraid of
Christmas, maybe they're afraid of what God wants to speak through Christmas,
including many of its symbols, both "secular" and "Sacred."
History records that even wars have paused just to honor Christmas. Also, stories such
as Charles Dickens', The Christmas Carol, (where Scrooge refuses to take care of
the poor during Christmas), became famous. The classic Jimmy Stewart movie, It's
a Wonderful Life, became a popular Christmas story demonstrating our need to
appreciate life, family, and yes, Christmas. While these stories do not speak of
Christ per se, they speak, I believe, of such things the Lord wants to emphasize
during the Christmas season.
God doesn't just act in mysterious ways. He speaks in mysterious ways--using
"secular" books, movies, and even the character we call "Santa Claus." (More on
that later.)
It's interesting to watch the world's efforts at taking Christ out of Christmas.
Christ, after all, is the first part of the word "Christmas," so that makes it
tough to separate Christ from Christmas, doesn't it?
Thus the "re-naming" game of Christmas begins.
"Let's just call it the 'Holiday' season," they say. But Holiday is a shortened
word that means "HOLY DAY." Holy in what way? It's a Holy day because it
concerns Christ, who is Holy.
The next attempt is to just say "Season's Greetings!" But what season? Well, the
Holiday season of course--but that doesn't work either because the Holiday
season, again, is the "Holy-Day season," and that means Christmas--"Christ-Mass"
(the masses gathering to celebrate Christ).
These days, many include Hanukkah (Chanukah) in the season to be more inclusive.
That's good because God has that covered in the Scripture (I'll demonstrate in a
minute). Many Christians are uninformed of the origin of Hanukkah.
Yes, Christmas may contain some questionable origins--but you should try to name
a holiday satan hasn't tried to pervert. Each and every day of the year--all 365
of them--belong to God. Not even one day belongs to satan, though he tries to
claim some of them.
"This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm
118:24
Our question should be, "What is God saying about the day that we NOW celebrate
as Christmas?"
An interesting side note: We have our words for Saturday and Sunday, each named
with pagan origins--yet we think nothing of calling a church meeting on one of
those days.
Sunday--The name comes from the Latin "dies solis," meaning "sun's day"--the name
of a Roman pagan holiday. Saturday--This day was called "dies Saturni," meaning "Saturn's
Day," by the ancient Romans in honor of Saturn, the Roman god of culture.
Does the church then not call meetings on Saturday or Sunday simply because days
were named after false gods? No, of course not. We just say, "I'll see you on
Saturday!" Today, those days don't hold pagan meanings for us. They are just
names of the days of the week.
Since the 80's, one of my favorite statuettes that we display in our home every
Christmas shows Santa Claus, with his red cap removed, kneeling over the manger where
the Christ child is laying. He is worshipping Jesus. How picturesque and how
prophetically symbolic is that?
All His saints at Christmas, ourselves included, should "kneel" at the thought
of the incarnation of our Savior, who was once with the Father, but chose to
come to this earth, take on human flesh and blood, and be born through Mary--His
earthly mother.
The Virgin Mary so Many Christians Hesitate to Honor
Sadly, by the way, the Church is actually much too afraid to call Mary
"blessed." Yet even as the Spirit of prophecy fell upon pregnant Mary, the
mother of Jesus, she prophesied to all generations.
Did you remember what Mary prophesied? Here it is:
"From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done
great things for me." Luke 1:48-49
We are actually disobedient to God--as a generation of Kings and Priests, a
generation of Saints--if we do not call the mother of Jesus "blessed." And I'm
not even a Catholic!
Sometimes I practice helping fulfill Mary's prophetic word by decreeing,
according to revealed prophetic Scripture, "Lord, I bless Your mother, Mary. I
and my generation rise up and call her "blessed," according to Your PROPHETIC
Word.
The "Magic" of Christmas
"What? Magic?"
Some Christians, often acting overly "religious," are afraid to even speak of
the magic of Christmas. Yet, who hasn't stood at a window watching the snow fall
in the winter, with lights in the distance on a building or tree--and felt or
expressed the magic of it all?
"What? Magic?" you protest. "Magic is not of God!" Of course the practice of
magic does not come from God. In fact, it's prohibited. However, miracles are
from God and on the first "Christmas" we see many great miracles!
The MAGI (from
which we get the word magic) came from the east, traveling up to two years to
arrive in Bethlehem just in time to give the original Christmas gifts to Jesus.
They came, just in the nick of time, by God's prophetic and supernatural
direction. The light they followed, that we translate as a "star," was a light
that stopped over the exact place where the Christ Child was. Clearly that was
no ordinary star! But it was a miraculous light from God.
The Magi were Chaldeans from the east--a land we now know as modern day
Iraq--the very land where the Garden of Eden was located. These were of the same
people, the Chaldeans, for whom the prophet Daniel served. Magicians, if you
will.
They might have been early New-Agers for all we know, yet these were men who
heard God telling them something like, "Go to Bethlehem of Judea, for there you
will be led to The Christ, King of the Jews--whom you must worship."
We don't really know if these MAGI were Believers or not when they arrived in
Bethlehem. Yet, by the time they worshipped the King of the Jews, they certainly
were--because no one worships a Savior unless they put their faith in HIM.
The Feast of Dedication in the Bible, the Festival of Lights, and Hanukkah
All of these names refer to the same thing: the Feast of Dedication, the
Festival of Lights, and Hanukkah (Chanukah). Three different names--but it was a
day held in winter, and always held on the 25th of the lunar calendar--all
pointing toward the miraculous provision of God for Israel and mankind. Thus,
when Israel celebrates Hanukkah, they are celebrating something quite close to
our Christmas, in Winter, and on the 25th of their month.
The Feast of Dedication, also known as Hanukkah or the Festival of Lights, is
mentioned only once in the Bible (see
John 10:22). It developed in the era of
the Maccabees and celebrated the cleansing of the Temple after its desecration
by Antiochus Epiphanes. The Feast of Dedication (Festival of LIGHTS) is observed
on the 25th day of the ninth (lunar) month and is in the Winter.
Many scholars believe
John 9
and
10
are connected. In
John 9, Jesus, at the time
of the Festival of Lights (Hanukkah) refers to Himself, saying,
"I am the LIGHT
of the world."
In John 10
it says, "Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was
winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon's Colonnade. The
Jews gathered around Him, saying, 'How long will you keep us in suspense? If You
are the Christ, tell us plainly.'"
Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in My
Father's name speak for Me!" John 10:22-25
(emphasis added)
Thus the miracle celebrated at Hanukkah speaks of the Light of the World
HIMSELF, Jesus, the Christ Child, the Messiah--the reason for Christmas.
All other symbolism, whether on purpose or "accidentally," speaks of the miracle
of the light that would not go out.
Think about the "Light" of the World Hanging on a Tree
"He hung, as that light, on
a tree."
Just as God used the serpent on a pole in the desert to heal the people who
gazed at it, His purpose was to use it as a symbol that Christ would become
Salvation for us (by first becoming sin for us--typified by the serpent). Even
so, I believe God intentionally allows the world, even Hollywood, to use symbols
to point to Jesus, one "baby" step at a time.
Jesus is, by HIS own Word--spoken of during the Festival of Lights (Hanukkah).
He is "THE LIGHT of the World." He hung, as that light, on a tree. And His
greatest gift ever given to us was His blood shed on the tree of the wooden
cross.
His blood flowed from the cross to the base of the tree as His most splendid
"presence" to mankind. He then rose from the dead, unwrapped His Glory, ascended
to Heaven, and gave gifts to men.
The Santa "Clause"; the Saints Movement
Now we are the Body of Christ Himself.
We are in Him. He is in us.
And we are partnering with Him. We are the Saints who help to impart gifts or
show the gifts of Jesus to mankind.
In our prophetic "giftings," we sometimes even know prophetically if someone is
"naughty or nice."
My point is, whether on purpose or accidentally, Christmas continually speaks to
the world and draws men and women to the Christ Child, Jesus the Messiah.
Maybe it's just me, but for me, this can be the only explanation why so many
want Christ removed from the public every Christmas.
Steve Shultz
The Elijah List & The Voice of the Prophetic magazine
www.elijahlist.com
Prophetic.tv
www.prophetic.tv
"The daily prophetic words that are sent to our nearly 132,000 subscribers are made possible by the purchase of products like those featured in this email. You may purchase them directly from this email, or visit our online store at www.elijahshopper.com."
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The Annual Elijah List Conference, "What is God Saying for 2007?" not only met all expectations--it was over the top!
"May I introduce psalmist, Grace Williams. Grace graduated in June 2003 from 'The Call School.' Grace is an anointed ordained psalmist, and at my invitation,
she ministered extensively to the Call School students as well as 'The Call Dallas' and 'The Call Los Angeles.' A mother
in the faith, Cindy Jacobs, has prophetically spoken that God would use Grace to sing
over the nations expressing His heart. Presently, 'The Healing Rooms' and their affiliates play Grace's Worship CD's in their 'war rooms' as weapons of healing and deliverance."
Justice House of Prayer
"When
I started this project, I began by asking the Lord what His heart was for this
CD. It was then that I heard Him say, 'I want to know your heart for this CD.'
And with that revelation, I was set free. These songs are my heart. Most were
recorded live and spontaneously, with no musical preparation beforehand.
Intercession and prophetic song are woven into each one. 
NEWSLETTER
