Hello, I'm Shelley
Quinn and welcome again to
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Issues and Answers.
Today we're going to be talking
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about Christmas and Santa Claus
from a biblical perspective.
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Some of you may want to send
your small children out of the
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room. Now we want to give a very
balanced approach to this and I
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will say that many Christian
scholars believe that Jesus was
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born in October, some say
in April, but we do know that
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December 25 wasn't actually
his birth date. Today we will be
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looking at some things that have
to do with the story of Santa
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Claus. Now welcome back James
Rafferty. I'm so excited that
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you've returned with us. You
are the speaker and co-director
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for Light Bearers Ministry.
Tell us about this ministry.
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Good to be here Shelley always.
We have a ministry that focuses
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on publishing, printing
literature for the world field.
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We've been working through this
ministry for about 22 years.
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We've traveled the world to
various continents and countries
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teaching the word of God
and providing literature in the
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language of the people. A lot
of it is focused on prophecy,
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Daniel and Revelation, the
gospel, focusing on Christ in
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those prophecies. We've been
privileged to print about 500
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million pieces of literature in
the last 15-20 years in over 30
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different languages. I get
to travel all over the world and
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share the message of the gospel
of Jesus Christ with lay people,
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with pastors, with people who
are not believers, some who are
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believers and it's just been
a privilege to do this for the
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last 22 years. Well
you know, James, you and
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Ty Gibson, who is your partner
and co-director of Light Bearers
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Ministry, have a very popular
program on 3ABN called Lift Him
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Up. You know most people
talk about you as the experts in
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Daniel and Revelation because
you all focus a lot on that and
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we've certainly seen in the few
programs that we've just done
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here on Issues and Answers some
of the amazing insights the Lord
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has given you and your mastery
of Revelation and Daniel.
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But I always enjoy listening to
the two of you. As a matter of
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fact, I take a lot of notes when
you all talk and I really want
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to thank you for the programs
that we've recently done where
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we've been covering the
apocalypse and how that word
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that some seem to think is doom
and gloom the Bible talks about
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about it as being the
unveiling and the revelation of.
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We've been looking at
apocalyptic literature in Daniel
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and in Revelation and it brought
up this issue because we're
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talking about how Satan tries
to counterfeit so many things.
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So during one of our breaks
you had mentioned a couple of
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programs ago about a teaching
a question that came up when
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you were doing a campmeeting
in Botswana. Someone came and
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asked you about Christmas. Now
they had a very negative spin on
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Christmas. You were trying
to give them a balanced stand.
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Absolutely. We were there, we
were doing a youth congress in
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Botswana, about 800 kids
there, and the question that was
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brought up was well what about
Christmas. Now the reason it was
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brought up was because I was
there through Christmas. It was
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the dates of December 21st to
December 31st. So we went right
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over the Christmas holidays at
this meeting, at this congress,
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and the reason we did that was
because a lot of the kids don't
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have school during that time and
they wanted to do this. It was
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really neat, I thought. But some
of the young people there in
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Botswana... Christmas is not
a big deal over there. You know,
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they don't have trees and
decorations and a lot of it is
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negative. It's more just
drinking and celebrating.
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It's not really Christ focused
at all. Here in this country, in
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America, we use Christmas to
remember Christ's birth. I think
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that's a very positive thing.
We need to do that. I think that
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it's important to recognize and
take the opportunity to reach
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out to people and touch people's
lives during this time of the
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year whether it is or is not
historically connected with the
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date of his birth. However, I
also believe there is a lot of
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secularism, a lot of counterfeit
that comes in with Christmas.
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Part of that, I believe, has to
do with undermining the faith of
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people in Jesus Christ by
counterfeiting Christ in such a
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way that from early childhood
young people would lose their
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faith in their parents and
therefore in their heavenly
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Father through being told a
lie that causes them to mistrust
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adults, mistrust
anything they would tell them.
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Whoa ho! Have I got a story to
tell you! I remember when J.D.
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and I got married. I told him if
we have children or when we have
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children, I don't want to teach
them about Santa Claus. He was
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appalled at the idea at first
and I explained why. I remember
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when my sister was 6 or 7 years
old and she had put a little
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step ladder on to of a chair
and she got up to the top of the
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closet and found the Christmas
presents that she had asked
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Santa Claus for. She came to
my mother and she said just in a
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hysterical fit, she said
you lied to me, you lied to me.
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You're Santa Claus. There is no
Santa Claus. And when my mother
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explained it to her she was
so devastated. Now you might say
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well everyone gets upset when
they learn about Santa Claus.
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But I watched my sister
as a teen when she went into
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a rebellious age and she looked
my mother in the face and she
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said why should I believe
you about Jesus, about God, when
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you lied to me
about Santa Claus.
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This is the very reason, Shelley
why we're doing this program.
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I believe that Satan is
trying to undermine the faith of
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people in childhood concerning
Christ by teaching something
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that will cause them to doubt
and be less likely to receive
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the truth about Jesus later on
in life. He's doing that through
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this idea or this teaching
about Santa Claus and I think we
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really need to take a
close look at that today.
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Oh, I'd love to. Matthew 18 says
unless you become like a little
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child who is so trusting and
receiving you cannot enter the
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kingdom of God. So how has Satan
tried to destroy or counterfeit?
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Let's look at first how
did he try to destroy Jesus?
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Well we know he began, and
everyone knows this that knows
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anything about the Bible;
he began by trying to destroy
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Christ through Herod. Herod was
the king in Jerusalem at that
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time. Basically he was the king
of the Jews but he was set up
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by pagan Rome. He was a
puppet leader there. He was very
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jealous for his status there. He
wasn't sure. He didn't want any
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rival kings. He heard about this
king being born, this king of
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the Jews, the true heir to the
throne and he was afraid it was
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going to be some kind of
temporal kingdom that was going
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to replace him. So when the
three magi who came through and
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told him about this Messiah
being born didn't return he sent
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his army out to Bethlehem where
he had heard that the child was
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going to be born to destroy all
of the children there that were
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two years old and younger.
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You know, this is something
that's very interesting is that
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when the Magi came he had his
people, his scribes if you will,
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study this out and they
knew that it was the time, the
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fulfillment of this 70 week
prophecy. It was getting close
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so they knew yes the Messiah
is supposed to come right now.
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So he figured this is the new
and rightful king so he tried to
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destroy him.
Absolutely! And he did more than
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that. Before Christ was even
born he tried to destroy the
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Jewish nation. He did? Satan?
Yes. The prophecy as we read
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it there in Daniel 9 predicted
that Christ would come forth in
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the allotted time given to
the Jews. So if he could destroy
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that nation, if he could take
that nation off the face of the
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earth, then where would the
Messiah be born? He also tried
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to destroy Christ in the
relationship between Joseph and
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Mary. When Mary became pregnant
of the Holy Spirit, Joseph was
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in doubt of her purity and was
going to put her away until an
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angel came to him and told
him no Joseph don't do that.
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Again, just before Christ was
born there was no place for him
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to be born. They had to go to a
stable. Satan did everything he
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could to make it hard, difficult
or impossible for the Messiah
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to be brought forth to destroy
our Savior Jesus Christ. And he
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has carried on or is carrying on
that work in seeking to destroy
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the faith of God's people in
him, the faith of anyone in him,
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by attacking children first and
foremost. Why? Because Matthew
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18 tells us that the kingdom
of heaven is like a little child
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children who are so susceptible
so willing to believe what they
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are told and so open-minded
about what they are told. If he
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can set up a counterfeit system
and bring into their belief
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system something that later
one decimates that belief system
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causes them to have doubts and
unbelief about it, then he can
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conquer and cause that same
unbelief to be pointed toward or
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directed toward the Bible
and the gospel of salvation.
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You know, I was just thinking.
In Revelation 22, going back to
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me saying that I wouldn't want
my children to grow up believing
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in Santa Claus, it seems
so innocuous and so much fun.
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I just confess to you that had
before a whole little collection
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of the Santa Claus, St. Nick,
statues and different things
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that people had given to me
over the years because I love to
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decorate at Christmas.
But there is this scripture in
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Revelation 22 that talks about
the ones who are going to be
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outside the gate and it talks
about anyone who loves and deals
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in falsehood, who is
perpetuating a lie. So this is
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something that we want to
talk about very delicately and
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sensitively today but we
do want to show that if we are
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perpetuating a lie, a
counterfeit of Satan, we could
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be doing damage to our children.
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And as you expressed with the
experience of your sister, we
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are doing damage to our children
and that damage is reaching over
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to belief in Jesus Christ. Now
I still remember the day that I
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found out there was no Santa
Claus and I was devastated.
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Where was the focus of my
devastation? Where was my anger,
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what was my anger directed
toward? My mother, my mother.
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I had seen her as someone that
I could trust, someone that I
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could believe in. Now she raised
me to believe in God. She raised
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me to go to church and now
my faith in her, my trust in her
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was undermined just a little
bit. I believe that all over
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this planet in the lives and
hearts of millions of children
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who are very open to believe
and accept the gospel of Jesus
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Christ, you have Satan seeking
to undermine the principles of
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the kingdom of God, the
receptiveness, the openness that
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we are to have toward the
kingdom of God by replacing
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the principles of God's kingdom
with this counterfeit system
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that eventually, one way
or another, these children are
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going to find is not true;
it's a lie, it's a falsehood.
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And it's amazing how much Santa
Claus and this fable really do
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parallel with the
characteristics of Christ.
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One thing that troubled me so
much is that we're taught that
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Santa Claus knows who's naughty
or nice, he's keeping this
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record, right? You
know, what's really
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interesting when you look at a
lot of these principles of Santa
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Claus you find them in the
book of Revelation. Oh yes.
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Revelation is full of them.
Revelation 2:2 for example:
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Jesus here is talking to the
church in Ephesus and he says
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in verse 2: I know they works
and they labor and thy patience
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and how you cannot bear those
which are evil and you've tried
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them which say they are apostles
and are not and have found them
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liars. Jesus knows everything
about us. He knows who's been
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naughty or nice. See? So the
counterfeit comes in. What's the
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counterfeit? Santa. By the way.
Take the word Santa, S-A-N-T-A;
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take the N out and put
it at the end S-A-T-A-N.
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That's interesting. It is. And
what you find here with Santa
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is you find one counterfeit
after another. This first one
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that you mentioned, knowing
who's naughty and nice. So you
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have this make believe person
who knows who's naughty and nice
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and we teach our kids to believe
in this person, to believe he's
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the one that's going to do what?
Bring them rewards, bring them
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presents. Well let's look at
that one. Doesn't the book of
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Revelation tell us that there's
someone who's going to bring
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rewards and gifts. He's going to
bring his reward with him. Okay
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Revelation 22. Again, I believe
that a lot of these counterfeits
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are found in the book of
Revelation. Revelation 22:12:
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And behold I come quickly
and my reward is with me to give
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every man according as his
work shall be. So here are two
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principles that are being
counterfeited by this fabricated
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person, Satan? Santa and he
knows who's naughty and nice,
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and he's going to bring rewards
with him. Why is he going to
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bring rewards with him? Because
we've written our list, we've
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checked it twice. We've brought
our requests to Santa. Now is
00:14:00.54\00:14:03.84
that another counterfeit of
Jesus Christ. Yes, absolutely.
00:14:03.87\00:14:07.10
Okay. In Matthew 7:7 we are told
there: Ask and it shall be given
00:14:07.14\00:14:11.31
you, seek and ye shall find,
knock and you will have the door
00:14:11.35\00:14:16.36
opened unto you. So we have the
gifts that we're supposed to ask
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Jesus for in Matthew 7:7.
We have the fact that he knows
00:14:21.41\00:14:25.80
who's naughty and nice,
Revelation 2:2, we have the
00:14:25.83\00:14:29.50
fact that he's going to bring
rewards with him Revelation
00:14:29.54\00:14:32.08
22 verse 12. What else
do we have counterfeited?
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Well he comes late, I mean his
coming is late, it's at midnight
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It's like the midnight cry.
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Yes. We find that in the
Bible in relation to Christ.
00:14:40.71\00:14:43.88
He's going to come at midnight.
He's going to come as a thief
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in the night. He's going to come
when we don't know, he's going
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to come when we're asleep and
we're not supposed to be asleep
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and the same with Santa. You
know, you leave him the cookies
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and milk and he comes down
the chimney late at night when
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everyone's sleeping. See.
Same counterfeit there. Another
00:14:58.30\00:15:02.02
counterfeit; what does Santa
wear? Red and White. He wears
00:15:02.06\00:15:05.34
red and white. What about
Christ? Revelation chapter 19
00:15:05.37\00:15:08.58
describes Christ as he returns
to the earth the second time.
00:15:08.62\00:15:12.68
In Revelation chapter 19
and look at verses 13 and 14.
00:15:12.71\00:15:16.94
It says here: And he was clothed
in a vesture dipped in blood and
00:15:16.98\00:15:21.25
his name is called the Word of
God. And the armies which were
00:15:21.29\00:15:25.33
in heaven followed upon white
horses clothed in fine linen
00:15:25.36\00:15:29.14
white and clean. Christ comes
with these armies of heaven
00:15:29.18\00:15:32.89
clothed in white, his vesture is
dipped in blood which represents
00:15:32.93\00:15:36.86
of course his sacrifice for us.
Satan also counterfeiting Christ
00:15:36.89\00:15:40.77
Santa, counterfeit, has the red
and the white. What about the
00:15:40.80\00:15:44.65
appearance? Well
Santa Claus has got white
00:15:44.68\00:15:48.16
hair and white beard, down
to his shoulders kind of curly,
00:15:48.20\00:15:51.75
the white beard. Look
in Revelation chapter 1.
00:15:51.78\00:15:55.64
Revelation chapter 1 is one of
the only places you find a post
00:15:55.68\00:16:00.72
resurrection description of
Christ. It is symbolic to some
00:16:00.76\00:16:05.71
degree, but it's also, I think,
more of a picture of him as a
00:16:05.75\00:16:10.10
glorified being whereas on this
earth he was looking more like
00:16:10.13\00:16:15.28
a man. Now Revelation 1:14,
by the way context, Son of Man:
00:16:15.32\00:16:20.78
verse 13: His head and his hair
were white like wool, as white
00:16:20.82\00:16:25.85
as snow. So there you have that
counterfeit of Christ again by
00:16:25.88\00:16:30.25
Satan. He knows who's naughty
and nice, he comes as a thief,
00:16:30.29\00:16:33.78
he's bringing his rewards with
him, he wears red and white,
00:16:33.81\00:16:38.24
he's got long white hair.
We bring our children to him.
00:16:38.27\00:16:41.92
Oooh! Like in Mark 10 where
Jesus said suffer the little
00:16:41.95\00:16:45.57
children to come to me.
So people were bringing the
00:16:45.60\00:16:49.47
children to Jesus and his
disciples tried to interrupt
00:16:49.50\00:16:53.30
that and he said no bring them
to me. So in our society we take
00:16:53.34\00:16:57.09
our children to Santa Claus to
stand in line and to sit one his
00:16:57.13\00:17:00.85
lap and to tell him what I want.
00:17:00.88\00:17:03.37
What's so powerful about this,
Shelley, what's so important
00:17:03.41\00:17:05.61
is that many times we see Santa
Claus as more receptive to us or
00:17:05.65\00:17:10.87
to our children then Jesus is.
We are putting someone in his
00:17:10.90\00:17:15.85
place because maybe Jesus isn't
as approachable. The disciples
00:17:15.88\00:17:20.67
of Christ are alive and well
today in spirit. The ones that
00:17:20.70\00:17:24.20
are telling people that Christ
doesn't have time for you, that
00:17:24.24\00:17:27.71
he doesn't want to listen
to you, that he's got more
00:17:27.74\00:17:29.20
important things to do, that
maybe you can go to Santa and
00:17:29.24\00:17:32.77
he'll help you but not
Jesus. We need to recognize that
00:17:32.80\00:17:36.26
Jesus wants us to come to him.
He was very displeased with the
00:17:36.30\00:17:40.51
disciples when they tried
to usher the children and the
00:17:40.54\00:17:43.41
mothers away from him. We don't
need someone else between us and
00:17:43.45\00:17:47.33
God. We have one mediator and
that mediator is Jesus Christ.
00:17:47.36\00:17:50.98
Amen. Those little children that
they're bringing have to ask
00:17:51.02\00:17:55.24
Santa for gifts. James 1:17 says
that God is the giver of every
00:17:55.27\00:17:59.46
good and perfect gift. So
this is something that Jesus is
00:17:59.49\00:18:04.29
saying come to me, ask, seek,
knock and it will be given to
00:18:04.32\00:18:09.09
you. So there's
another parallel.
00:18:09.12\00:18:12.16
Another parallel. And here
are a couple more. We know that
00:18:12.20\00:18:15.79
Santa is all about good cheer.
Christmas time is all about good
00:18:15.83\00:18:20.00
cheer. Well Jesus is the one
who has promised us good cheer.
00:18:20.04\00:18:23.40
He is the source of good cheer.
He is the source of everything
00:18:23.43\00:18:26.89
that is good. Also we know Santa
has his helpers and we've been
00:18:26.92\00:18:31.15
told in Hebrews that Jesus is
the one from whom we get help.
00:18:31.19\00:18:35.01
He is the one that can give
us the help that we really need.
00:18:35.05\00:18:38.87
Finally we know that Santa flies
through the air. Acts chapter 1
00:18:38.91\00:18:42.53
Jesus, of course, was lifted up
from his disciples when he left
00:18:42.57\00:18:46.69
in the air and he will return in
the air. You know when you look
00:18:46.73\00:18:50.82
at the whole picture, it's
amazing. You've got at least 10
00:18:50.85\00:18:54.09
or so points of counterfeit
here. North Pole for example;
00:18:54.12\00:18:57.29
Santa lives in the North Pole.
The Bible teaches us that Jesus
00:18:57.33\00:19:00.67
is the real king of the north
and it's Satan, Isaiah 14:12,
00:19:00.71\00:19:04.43
has wanted to sit in Christ's
place in the sides of the north.
00:19:04.46\00:19:08.15
So Satan sets up this
counterfeit, he gets us all
00:19:08.18\00:19:11.30
focused on that. Those of us who
believe in that and then realize
00:19:11.34\00:19:16.28
it's not true have our faith
undermined to believe in our
00:19:16.31\00:19:19.02
parents and whatever else they
tell us, possibly about Christ.
00:19:19.06\00:19:22.44
Those of us who do believe and
continue to believe continue to
00:19:22.48\00:19:25.83
believe lies and fables rather
that going directly to Christ.
00:19:25.87\00:19:28.68
You know I told you the story
about my sister and you said
00:19:28.72\00:19:31.85
that you could remember exactly
when you learned about Santa.
00:19:31.89\00:19:36.01
I can't because I remember for a
couple of years as a child till
00:19:36.05\00:19:40.14
she learned, I was four years
older, until she learned the
00:19:40.17\00:19:44.03
truth I would pretend that I
believed in Santa Claus because
00:19:44.06\00:19:47.99
I was afraid I wouldn't get any
gifts. But it was just as much
00:19:48.02\00:19:51.87
fun knowing. I mean we're not
trying to take the fun out of
00:19:51.90\00:19:55.87
pretending things or fables, but
we do want to show that there
00:19:55.90\00:19:59.84
can be a danger in this
particular fable. It was just as
00:19:59.87\00:20:03.68
much fun for me. It's confusing
to children anyway when you see
00:20:03.72\00:20:07.80
a Santa on every block and
you're taught that there's only
00:20:07.83\00:20:11.61
one Santa Claus and then we
see all these counterfeit Santas
00:20:11.64\00:20:15.39
around. So, you have two
beautiful children. How have
00:20:15.42\00:20:19.53
you reared your children?
00:20:19.56\00:20:21.02
Basically we have taught them
about Christmas from the context
00:20:21.06\00:20:24.15
of the gospel of Jesus
Christ. We've taught them that
00:20:24.18\00:20:26.98
Christmas is a time for gift
giving, giving as the wise men
00:20:27.02\00:20:30.41
gave to Jesus. They brought
their gifts to him. He was needy
00:20:30.45\00:20:33.77
We can bring our gifts to Jesus.
We can bring our gifts to people
00:20:33.81\00:20:36.69
who are in need. Matthew 25 says
if you've done it unto the least
00:20:36.72\00:20:39.65
of these you've done it unto me.
We can give them to each other
00:20:39.69\00:20:42.86
as a reminder of our love for
them. So it's definitely a time
00:20:42.90\00:20:45.53
of gift giving, it's definitely
a time to remember Christ in the
00:20:45.57\00:20:48.37
person of those who are poor and
suffering and our loved ones.
00:20:48.40\00:20:51.17
We have taught them that
Santa is nothing that we want to
00:20:51.20\00:20:54.54
believe in, nothing that we want
to get focused on. Why? Because
00:20:54.58\00:20:58.50
Santa represents everything that
Jesus has to offer us. Why put
00:20:58.53\00:21:02.42
something counterfeit in
there when Jesus is the one that
00:21:02.45\00:21:04.82
offers us all of those
things that we need, all of the
00:21:04.85\00:21:07.39
principles. See really the
reason why the world gets so
00:21:07.42\00:21:09.89
involved in Santa Claus and even
children do is because he is
00:21:09.93\00:21:14.22
offering the very thing that we
need. We need those qualities.
00:21:14.26\00:21:18.52
We need someone who brings
rewards, who offers us good
00:21:18.55\00:21:21.74
cheer, who answers our requests,
who is aware of our needs, and
00:21:21.78\00:21:27.64
comes to us and delivers his
promises. We need someone like
00:21:27.68\00:21:32.74
Santa Claus and that person is
Jesus. So what we've taught our
00:21:32.77\00:21:37.02
children is to look to Christ,
to focus the whole event on
00:21:37.06\00:21:40.95
Jesus and don't even think...
You know Santa Claus obviously
00:21:40.98\00:21:44.43
to many kids can't be real.
There's Santa, there's Santa
00:21:44.46\00:21:47.44
how can he be in all those
places but to some kids it's
00:21:47.47\00:21:50.38
devastating. I'm not even going
to believe in Jesus because he's
00:21:50.42\00:21:53.82
so close to Santa and you lied
to me about Santa and obviously
00:21:53.86\00:21:57.23
you're probably lying
to me about Jesus too.
00:21:57.26\00:21:59.03
So they think
he's just a myth. Yes.
00:21:59.06\00:22:01.26
You know there are also so many
children who are so disappointed
00:22:01.30\00:22:06.70
at Christmas who do believe
in Santa Claus because they get
00:22:06.73\00:22:10.19
nothing and they wonder, I tried
to be as good as I could all
00:22:10.23\00:22:13.66
yearlong and Santa Claus
just couldn't find my house.
00:22:13.69\00:22:18.33
It's almost like
they're performing for Santa's
00:22:18.37\00:22:22.89
acceptance and then they cannot
get that because the family is
00:22:22.92\00:22:26.90
too poor I've heard people
who've said my mother used to
00:22:26.94\00:22:31.10
tell me well Santa couldn't
find us this year or we moved or
00:22:31.13\00:22:35.49
something happened and they were
devastated. It's almost like you
00:22:35.52\00:22:39.81
can build in that performance
mentality because Jesus doesn't
00:22:39.85\00:22:45.01
just say he knows our
works. He says I also know, in
00:22:45.04\00:22:49.83
Jeremiah 13:23, he says I know
you can't change yourself any
00:22:49.87\00:22:53.07
more than and Ethiopian can
change his skin or a leopard can
00:22:53.10\00:22:56.31
change his spots, but if you'll
come to me I'll do the work in
00:22:56.34\00:23:00.49
you. I will recreate you, God
says, in the image of my Son.
00:23:00.53\00:23:04.65
This is your destiny, to
be conformed to his image.
00:23:04.68\00:23:07.88
I'll do this work in you, you
don't have to try to perform for
00:23:07.92\00:23:11.41
me under your own power.
All I ask is that you surrender
00:23:11.44\00:23:14.31
control of your life to me. I'll
work in you to will and to act
00:23:14.35\00:23:17.89
according to my good pleasure.
00:23:17.92\00:23:19.66
Amen, Shelley. You know, you
think about that in this context
00:23:19.70\00:23:24.23
when you see Jesus Christ as
the one and the ultimate being
00:23:24.26\00:23:28.29
counterfeited here by Satan,
you recognize that if Satan can
00:23:28.33\00:23:32.74
get us to lose confidence in
someone who's so like Jesus in
00:23:32.77\00:23:36.44
so many ways, he can get us
to lose confidence in Jesus.
00:23:36.48\00:23:40.36
If Santa can't find our home,
can Jesus find it? If Santa
00:23:40.39\00:23:44.23
can't answer our requests,
can Jesus answer them? If Santa
00:23:44.26\00:23:47.14
isn't there for us, is
Jesus going to be there for us?
00:23:47.17\00:23:49.98
If Santa is a myth and a fable,
is Jesus a myth and a fable?
00:23:50.02\00:23:54.05
Now how many times have we heard
the idea from atheists, from
00:23:54.09\00:23:57.57
people who are unbelievers that
the Bible is just full of myth
00:23:57.61\00:24:00.93
and fable. Where do they even
get that idea? Well it begins in
00:24:00.96\00:24:04.25
early childhood. It
begins at the very inception of
00:24:04.28\00:24:07.38
understanding and trust that
every child has, has to have in
00:24:07.42\00:24:09.82
order to survive. A trust that
is given to the earthly parents
00:24:09.85\00:24:14.14
to those who are supposed to
be older and wiser that if Satan
00:24:14.17\00:24:18.43
can get in there and break and
sever and destroy and undermine
00:24:18.46\00:24:22.46
then he has prepared the
way for them to distrust Christ
00:24:22.49\00:24:25.33
to distrust everything Christ
has to offer and everything he
00:24:25.36\00:24:28.17
represents to us.
00:24:28.20\00:24:29.24
When you think about this
elaborate lie that parents, and
00:24:29.28\00:24:32.95
they have good intentions
because they have maybe fond
00:24:32.99\00:24:36.59
memories of Christmas, but when
you think about perpetuating
00:24:36.63\00:24:41.16
this lie and teaching your child
for 6, 8, sometimes 10 years of
00:24:41.20\00:24:45.70
their childhood and you
continually... You know I mean
00:24:45.73\00:24:49.53
I can remember when we took
our little niece because she did
00:24:49.57\00:24:53.36
believe in Santa Claus. We were
given the assignment one night
00:24:53.40\00:24:56.89
on Christmas eve to take her
around and to watch the skies
00:24:56.92\00:25:02.99
for his chariot, his sleigh.
So we were going around looking
00:25:03.03\00:25:09.03
at the sky. Well then her father
came and he put all the presents
00:25:09.07\00:25:13.06
out so that she thinks Santa
Claus came while we were gone.
00:25:13.09\00:25:18.58
It seems innocuous, it seems
like it's fun but what we can do
00:25:18.61\00:25:23.97
is set up our children to not
trust in their parents because
00:25:24.01\00:25:28.12
the parents have perpetuated
this lie for so long. Let me ask
00:25:28.15\00:25:32.23
you a question. A child
psychologist may be watching
00:25:32.26\00:25:35.09
us to day and they're saying
poor James' children, those poor
00:25:35.13\00:25:39.34
little babies, they don't get to
use their imagination and have
00:25:39.37\00:25:43.30
any fun. Have your children
been damaged by you telling them
00:25:43.33\00:25:47.23
the truth. You
know, my kids look forward
00:25:47.26\00:25:50.55
to Christmas a little bit more
than I would like. They do enjoy
00:25:50.59\00:25:55.16
it and in our home it's a
special occasion but it's one
00:25:55.19\00:26:00.26
that we really also try to
turn out toward giving, toward
00:26:00.30\00:26:05.34
helping, toward
focusing outwardly toward others
00:26:05.37\00:26:08.22
but have my kids been damaged
by it? No. Just like all other
00:26:08.26\00:26:11.73
kids, Christmas is a very
special time of the year for
00:26:11.77\00:26:14.61
them. They look forward to it,
they love it, not just because
00:26:14.65\00:26:17.40
necessarily they're going to
receive something in the form
00:26:17.44\00:26:20.46
of a present but because it's
a family time. I told you I was
00:26:20.50\00:26:23.33
in Botswana this Christmas and
it's the first time I've been
00:26:23.37\00:26:26.90
away from my family and kids in
17 years of marriage and I would
00:26:26.94\00:26:30.84
say 14 years of having kids.
My son's 14. So it was the first
00:26:30.88\00:26:34.61
time and it was difficult for
them and for me. I realized how
00:26:34.64\00:26:38.28
much of a family time Christmas
has come to be to us. Now the
00:26:38.32\00:26:41.54
grandparents were there and they
had a great time with family
00:26:41.57\00:26:45.13
and did all the things that
we normally do, but I think that
00:26:45.16\00:26:49.04
Christmas... we don't need some
of the other stuff. In fact, I
00:26:49.07\00:26:52.92
think Santa really does
add to the secular emphasis on
00:26:52.95\00:26:56.65
Christmas that really is
not necessary for us to really
00:26:56.68\00:27:00.63
enjoy it and focus on in the
way that God would have us do.
00:27:00.66\00:27:04.24
James, thank you so much
for sharing this with us today.
00:27:04.27\00:27:07.82
We have really
enjoyed having you here.
00:27:07.85\00:27:09.78
It's been good being here.
00:27:09.82\00:27:11.45
You know, for those of you at
home, if you have been teaching
00:27:11.49\00:27:14.51
your children about Santa Claus
we've given you a lot to chew on
00:27:14.55\00:27:18.35
today. But let me just say this.
Consider making some beautiful
00:27:18.39\00:27:22.16
Christmas traditions of your
own. Your children will look
00:27:22.19\00:27:25.16
forward to Christmas and they
will trust you if they know that
00:27:25.19\00:27:28.70
you're always telling them the
truth. For me Christmas is one
00:27:28.74\00:27:31.92
of my most special times of the
year. We love it at our home.
00:27:31.95\00:27:35.55
And we always make a bit to do
of it. So this is something for
00:27:35.58\00:27:39.01
you to consider and pray about.
I hope that you've been blessed
00:27:39.05\00:27:43.39
by today's program. Right now
my prayer for you is that the
00:27:43.43\00:27:47.31
love of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the grace of the Father and
00:27:47.34\00:27:50.96
the fellowship of the Holy
Spirit will be with you today
00:27:50.99\00:27:54.57
and throughout
the rest of the year.
00:27:54.60\00:27:59.69