Berean-like Believer
The past week has seen me going back to the beginning and relearning the creation. I found myself muddling up certain days and just guessing on occasions, what happened on day three, or what happened on day four? I wanted to be more sure of myself…So I went back to the scriptures. When we want to develop, we have to put in the necessary effort, to receive the necessary results.
I started to go through the first verses of the Bible and it started to become refreshed. On top of this refreshing, I was opened up to new truths. New things God had opened my understanding to.
The reason I can learn more from things studied previously, is because God rewards people who are diligent towards him. Those who desire to search for the Gold, find the gold. Jesus said in Matthew six, we should search for the kingdom and all the righteousness that it entails, this would conclude with all other things being added to us that we need. Hebrews six concurring, God rewards those who seek him diligently. When the believer decides to search for His presence and desires relations, God is moved…God is moved by our faith.
Paul noted the Berean’s as a people who were more noble than those in Thessalonica because they received the word, studied the word and then made there conclusions. We should know that we owe a duty to God, not be deceived so easily, this scripture shows that we should owe an obligation to ourselves also. You owe it to yourself to be better and learned in the scripture. If you feel this is beyond you, ask for help and God will grant you. Jesus said ask! 
Last year I did some writing on the birth of Jesus and surrounding stories. It was a chance for me to share some of the insights I had from God. I once thought to myself, “let me take the story of Christmas, and biblicize it. I want to take the story and find where everything came from in the Bible.” The 25th, the presents, the tree (decked in jewellery), the three wise men and many other things we follow today. As I delved into my study, it started to become apparent that many of the stereotypical things Christmas brought about were not biblical. This may be a shock for you if you have never come across this, this may be another of the many times you’ve heard this, whatever the case, analyse the text.
Firstly, the scripture never tells us that there were three wise men, the scripture talks of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh but never says three men came. Go to Matthew 2 and read down as I make these claims, and remember don’t take my word for it or believe what I say alone, pick up the Bible and see for yourself. If I came to your house with two friends, brought two gifts and you relayed the story to someone else, the hearers who went on to state two gifts were given from your visitors, would be a misjudgement for those to then say two friends came. The point I am making is simple, if we do not have facts we cant make assumption fact. However many wise men were present that is unknown, what we do know is that gifts were exchanged.
The next thing I want to assess is the concept of giving gifts on the 25th December, these men did not see Jesus on the day of the Lord’s birth. Let me ask you a simple question, where was Jesus born? In a manger right? When you read Matthew 2 (verse 11), what is the first word that starts with h? This is not a manger. Adding to this point, by this verse Jesus had been described as a young child. As you keep on through the scripture, many references to young child occurs. Search what that phrase means in the Greek. Go to Luke 2, read the information given to us about the shepherds (verse 12), they were to find him in the manger. These men saw Jesus on his birth but the wise men did not.
To have a meeting with a king, then to travel to another city in the space of a few hours doesn’t make much sense. Reading Luke 2 and Matthew 2 simultaneously gives us good insight into what happened on Jesus’ birth. Finishing off this article, I want to close with the truth that no where mentions December 25th as the day the Lord was made flesh. This date when studied, highlights dates of false gods and other things like that but study for yourself.
Pick up your Bible and search out the scriptures daily!
Scriptures of interest: Matthew 2 – Wise men Luke 2 – Shepherds Jeremiah 10 – Tree decked in gold Acts 17 – The Berean.
Israel,
Thanks for the post. It takes work to diligently search scriptures, great reminder of the benefits of that work.
much appreciated
Interesting post. You’re right on when you say that many of our Christmas traditions have nothing to do with the Bible. Matter fo fact, many of them come from Charles Dickens! People have seen so many Christmas cards with the shepherds and the Wise Men (three, of course) together that they assume it really happened that way. Pacea and Blessings
I didn’t know they came from Charles Dickens. Very interesting.
Good post, Israel. The simple fact is, we don’t know what time of year Christ was born, and I think God meant it to be that way. The important thing isn’t the date it happened, but that it happened. As for the rest, many of our iconic Christmas symbols come from artistic and literary traditions. What matters most is that we know and accept the Biblical story of Christ’s birth; the rest is just decorative fluff.
No-one really disputes whether Jesus was born, the problem for unbelievers is the fact that Jesus was the Son of God. The problem is though, when you tell people that the 25th is factual, it turns into deception and lies.
A very informative post. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
When I taught Sunday school I had a sheet of 10 to 20 questions about the Christmas story for my students to answer whether they were true or false or in the Bible. So much we take from traditional hymns and songs as fact are just the embellishments of the lyricist.
Where do these hymns and songs come from though, in regards to making these things up?
Wonderful post Israel! I agree that most of the things that most people believe about Christ’s birth is un-scriptural. I followed many of the “traditions” until I studied the Word of God. It became clear that our traditions did not line up. That being said, I am thrilled at how many cultures celebrate the birth of the Savior- One day set aside to honor the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, even if the traditions are not based in truth. Jesus came… the Light of the World. He is the only way, the only truth and the only life. Hallelujah!!! Glory to the Son of God!!!
I think most people today take the 25th as a day off work, and time to spend money on presents. God is not interested in people’s worship if it is not genuine (Isaiah 1:10-15).
Very true. If you have a relationship with God, it is necessary for yourself to read the scripture and learn all you can about His word. It reminds me of that song from MercyMe ‘God Of Word Speak’. Thanks for sharing.
There can be no greater joy than to meet the God of all creation in His living Word! He wants a deep, intimate, personal relationship with each of us, and we can only find that when we stop the rush and hurrry and simply sit at His feet, steeped in Scripture, cloaked in prayer. It’s easy to accept the traditions and someone else’s version of who God is and never seek Him for ourselves, but it’s kind of like eating crumbs when the banquet awaits. Excellent post, Israel! Merry Christmas to you!
Thanks for posting this, Israel.
I just recently told my husband (regarding reading the Bible), “It’s like going on a treasure hunt.”
And it is. I can read the same passage 99 times. When I read the same passage again for the 100th time, though, a light shines forth, revealing the truth beneath. Hence, a treasure hunt. There are nuggets of gold everywhere.
I dealt with some of the supplementary “traditions” concerning the wise men in my own post for the month. I thought about addressing the fact that they also weren’t present for Jesus’ birth, but I was running long on the word count as it was (and I figured I’d picked on the story enough already). But you’ve got it right. The first sentence in Matthew 2 says the wise men didn’t even talk to Herod until AFTER Jesus had been born. They visited the newly-born Savior in a “house” (2:11), so Mary and Joseph had, by that time, moved into better accommodations than the stable had offered.
It’s not all that big a deal, really, but it’s also best if we’re aware of what scripture says vs. what more recent traditions tell us. I think one of the most ironic things I’ve heard this year is the objections some folks have to the “Christian symbol” of the Christmas tree being excluded from some public places. But of course, the tree isn’t Christian at all–it’s a pagan addition to the holiday season!
Great post, Israel. Good food for thought.
So glad for grace 🙂