An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about idolatrous worship. This follows this post about marijuana use. For a free magazine subscription or to get the books recommended for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886- 8632.
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God Condemns Idolatry and Greed

article by William (Skip) Miller

Many people do not realize that popular holidays are negative influences in their lives

Source: Clipart.com

Out of all of the prophets, Jeremiah is the one who most leads me to believe that God condemns idolatry and greed. Idolatry can be seen in Christmas, Easter Sunday and Halloween, all of which work against God and God’s way of life.
First, Christmas is about getting not giving. Many say it is a holiday for children, and it is! It teaches a child to want to get, and then later we wonder why many children are so materialistic (Jeremiah:8:10Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.). And its pagan origins are apparent by doing a little research within and outside the Bible. It is clear how God feels about mixing pagan practices with His truth (Jeremiah:10:2-5 [2] Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
[3] For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
[4] They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
[5] They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.).
Next, Easter Sunday, originating in worship for the ancient Babylonian goddess Astarte's family, is confusing (Jeremiah:7:18The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.…Jeremiah here uses another of Astarte’s names; “queen of heaven”).Instead of recognizing that Jesus died to save us, the world unwittingly rejoices in the resurrection of Astarte's mythical son Tammuz. God wants us to recognize the sacrifice of His Son the most (Jeremiah:2:11-13 [11] Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.
[12] Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.
[13] For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.). People watch the sunrise on Easter Sunday and rejoice, not realizing they are diminishing Christ's sacrifice and perpetuating sun worship.
Finally, Halloween (or as I choose to call it -- “Hollow Evening”) is a night to masquerade as anything but truth. Again, we say it is a holiday for children, but it is a night to teach the very young the most abominable tactic: trick or treat! Again, it's about get, and this time it is get or else there may be negative consequences. Why don’t we admit what we have embraced by observing these days? These three major holidays of the Western world all teach children to grasp, grab, and want more. Is it any wonder that many grow up with greed and a sense of entitlement as their principal attitudes?
Jeremiah hated idolatry, but he also hated how his people had become so forgetful of the Eternal, the Provider of the benefits they enjoyed. They ceased to be concerned for the poor, the maimed and the widows. The social network had been so unraveled that those slipping through it were abandoned and unnoticed (Jeremiah:5:26-29 [26] For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.
[27] As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich.
[28] They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.
[29] Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?).
God showed Jeremiah that idolatry and selfishness go together. When we fail to acknowledge God as the giver of every good gift, we tend to think of ourselves as the originator and sustainer of all the benefits we enjoy, and our attitudes proclaim, “Look what my hands have made!” (Jeremiah:17:5Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD., 9; 9:23-24; 23:17). God told Jeremiah to cry out without ceasing and to show the people these two detestable sins. Should we do anything less?
To understand many of the truths behind the world’s most popular holidays, please request our free Bible study aid booklet Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Observe?

Do you believe that Jesus Christ was born of the virgin Mary?

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about the mother of Jesus. This follows this post about the Greatness of God! For a free magazine subscription or to get the book shown for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886-8632.

Do you believe that Jesus Christ was born of the virgin Mary?

Was Mary a virgin when she conceived and bore Christ?



Answer:



The United Church of God certainly believes and teaches that Jesus was born to Mary, a virgin at the time of His conception and birth. Isaiah 7:14Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.



See All... foretold this momentous event in history. The angel who spoke to Joseph declared: "Do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 1:20But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.



See All...).



Earlier the narrative tells us that "before they [Mary and Joseph] came together [prior to any intimate marital relations], she was found with child of the Holy Spirit" (verse 18). God was Jesus' Father through the agency of the Holy Spirit. Jesus "was the only begotten of the Father" (John 1:14And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.



See All...).



Prior to these events, when an angelic messenger revealed to Mary that she would conceive and have a Son named Jesus, her immediate question was: "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" (Luke 1:34Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?



See All..., New Revised Standard Version).



Then the angel explained to Mary, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest [God the Father] will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God" (verse 35).



Clearly Mary was a virgin (verse 27) and did not have normal marital relations until after the time that Jesus was born. Joseph "did not know her [intimately] till she had brought forth her firstborn Son" (Matthew 1:25And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.



See All...).



Some believe, however, that Mary remained a virgin for the rest of her life. This idea is disproved by the Bible.



The word "firstborn" in Matthew 1:25And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.



See All... clearly implies that Mary bore other children later. We find four brothers named and other "sisters" (plural) mentioned in Mark 6:3Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.



See All.... Thus Joseph and Mary had at least six other children born to them who were Jesus' half brothers and half sisters.



The apostle John reveals yet another part of the story. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us . . ." (John 1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.



See All..., 14). Jesus was God in the flesh as well as a human being. He existed for past eternity with the Father and was the one through whom God created all things including mankind (verse 3). To understand more about Jesus Christ, please request our free booklet Jesus Christ: The Real Story .

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In Brief...World News Review Vatican Releases Text of Fatima Vision

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about the Vatican release of the third Fatima mystery. This follows this post about student drug use. For a free magazine subscription or to get the book shown for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886-8632.

In Brief...World News Review Vatican Releases Text of Fatima Vision

article by Cecil Maranville, Darris McNeely





The Vatican has released the text and commentary on the famous third vision of Fatima.



The Vatican has released the text and commentary on the famous third vision of Fatima. This comes one month after the pope beatified two of the Portuguese children to whom the Virgin Mary supposedly appeared in a series of visions in 1917. Long held a secret in the Vatican archives, the third vision was thought to contain apocalyptic visions foretelling the end of the world.



A reading of the text seems to portray a bishop dressed in white who is killed amidst the bodies of other saints and martyrs. The vision is being interpreted as foretelling the attempted assassination of John Paul II on May 13, 1981. The pope has credited the Virgin Mary for sparing his life. It is interesting that the first of the Fatima visions occurred on May 13, 1917.



While the visions do not reveal any dramatic future events, the Vatican affirms the "personal revelatory" nature of the visions, thus giving credence to the role of visions to the church's faithful. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, writing in a comment upon the visions said, "'the events to which the third part of the "secret" of Fatima refers now seem part of the past.' Insofar as individual events are described, they belong to the past. Those who expected exciting apocalyptic revelations about the end of the world or the future course of history are bound to be disappointed."



The first two secrets have been known for some time. They deal with the outbreak of World War II, divine punishment for human sin and Russian Communism's attempt to eradicate religion. All three visions are officially relegated to past events.



In the long-term, those within the Catholic Church, the present Pope included, who represent the cult of Mary worship will likely gain the most. (BBC News.)





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Did God take Enoch and Elijah to heaven?

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about Enoch and Elijah. This follows this post about Syria in the Bible.  For a free magazine subscription or to get this book for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886-8632.

Did God take Enoch and Elijah to heaven?


The Bible talks of Enoch being "translated" and Elijah being taken up in a chariot of fire. What do these passages mean?



Answer:



Hebrews 11:5By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.



See All... tells us, "Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death." The verse continues with a quotation from Genesis 5, saying that he "was not found." The wording implies that someone was looking for him to cause him harm, and that God protected him by removing him to a safe place. Some assumed that God took him to heaven, but the verse does not say that. "Taken away" ("translated" in the King James Version) is from the Greek word metatithemi and it means "to transfer to another place" ( Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words , 1985).



What of Elijah—did God take him to heaven? Without reading the full account of the history of Judah and Israel, one might easily assume that 2 Kings 2:11And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.



See All... reports the death of Elijah and his subsequent removal from earth to heaven. Actually, the prophet did not die, as is borne out by the astonishing record of a letter that he wrote some years later! You can read this letter in 2 Chronicles 21:12-15 [12] And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of David thy father, Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah,

[13] But hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go a whoring, like to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab, and also hast slain thy brethren of thy father's house, which were better than thyself:

[14] Behold, with a great plague will the LORD smite thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy goods:

[15] And thou shalt have great sickness by disease of thy bowels, until thy bowels fall out by reason of the sickness day by day.





See All....



What was the "heaven" to which Elijah was taken? Scriptures speak of three heavens:



•The first, the atmosphere that envelops the earth (Genesis 1:8And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.



See All...).

•The second, what we call "space" (Genesis 15:5And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.



See All...).

•The third, the location of God's throne (2 Corinthians 12:2I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.



See All...).





The prophet was supernaturally transported to a different location—through the "heaven" of earth's atmosphere—allowing his associate, Elisha to step into the office of the chief prophet to Israel.



The Bible teaches that "no one has ascended to heaven" (John 3:13And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.



See All...). What we find in Acts 2:29Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.



See All... and 34 clearly illustrates this fact. It says that righteous King David was still in his grave about 1,000 years after his death! Remember Jesus' comment in John 10:35If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;



See All..., "the Scripture cannot be broken." That is, its teachings are consistent throughout. The biblical teaching is that heaven is not the reward or the destiny of the saved.



A more complete explanation of all that the Bible teaches about the afterlife is available in our booklets Heaven and Hell: What Does the Bible Really Teach? and What Happens After Death?

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Did Jesus Christ have brothers or sisters?

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/  about Jesus Christ. This follows this post about France's malaise.  For a free magazine subscription or to get this book for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886-8632.



Did Jesus Christ have brothers or sisters?


What does the Bible say about Mary being a perpetual virgin? How many siblings did Christ have?



Answer:



Yes, the Bible says Jesus Christ had brothers and sisters. When the Jews of Jesus' hometown heard Him speak, they were indignant. Matthew records their contempt for Him, born of familiarity: "Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?" (Matthew 13:55-56 [55] Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?

[56] And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?





See All...).



Jesus' neighbors knew His family intimately. From their comments, we know that Mary had four other sons and at least two daughters (because the Bible says "sisters" instead of "sister," we know there were at least two). This also shows that Mary was not a "perpetual virgin."

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