Notice that those who celebrate Christmas are focusing on Christ being born and being a baby, which any human being does when they come into this world.
Christ came through birth to die for mankind and rise from the dead, proving He is God.
Satan always knows how to take the focus off of God's Word by adding some of it to paganism, making it look sweet and lovable when in reality it spits in the face of God.
The only celebration God gave believers was the Lord's Supper, when we remember Him the way He commanded us.
Over my many years of attending various churches and learning doctrines, I have seen how many, if not most, "Christians" take much scripture out of context to fit their culture. They do not seek God's Word to obey Him; they seek it to find what fits with their favorite doctrine and appeals to their emotions.
And most of all, they want to be accepted by the rest of the culture. They are willing to fight against the truth to maintain what is comfortable and pleasurable.
The narrow way God speaks of in His Word is one that will be flowing in the opposite direction of the rest of cultural Christianity. Those who walk this narrow path will not fit into mainstream society.
Matthew 10:21-22 "…21 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by everyone because of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved. "
All born-again believers who have been transformed by Christ will endure to the end. Those who are pretenders doing their Christianity their own way will not endure to the end; they will drift little by little into the flow of the rest of the culture while despising those who do not go their way.
Do not be dismayed by this rejection; praise God for it because it is human nature to follow those who praise one another. Be excited that you do not fit in and that you are free to be what God intended you to be, without the culture pressuring you to be like them.
Luke 21:17-19 "And you will be hated by everyone because of My name. / Yet not even a hair of your head will perish. / By your patient endurance, you will gain your souls."
Christ gives us the endurance, the perseverance and the joy needed to remain free from cultural mandates.
James 1:2-4 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials... because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything".
Romans 5:3-4 "Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope".
Galatians 6:9 "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up".
We may not see the rewards of our perseverance in this life, but we will protect our own character and receive our reward when we leave this life.
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