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Showing posts with the label lyrics

Christmas Traditions vs. Truth

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Christmas has many traditions associated with it. Unfortunately, there are religious ideas about the holiday without Biblical foundations. One reason for that is certain Christmas carols. For example, “The Little Drummer Boy” sings “I am a poor boy, too.” Jesus temporarily gave up heavenly riches but that doesn’t mean He was born poor. His stepfather Joseph had the resources to travel to Bethlehem and would’ve spent money on lodging if there was room for them at the inn. Meanwhile, a group of wise men brought treasures to the Messiah. Speaking of which, most people assume there were three wise men as in the song “We Three Kings of Orient Are.” Matthew chapter 2 doesn’t mention the exact number of wise men but refers to three types of gifts they had: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Notice these gifts were presented to a “young Child”…not a baby. Verse 11 also mentions them coming “into the house”…not before a manger. Therefore, the wise men didn’t see Jesus at the same time as the...

Sing to the Lord…a Secular Song

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One of the biggest reasons I resisted Christianity during my youth was because of preachers crusading against secular rock music. I remember hearing one minister who recommended listening exclusively to Christian rock and gospel music. That led me to believe God only approved of songs that referred to Him. Later I learned there are two books in the Bible (Esther and Song of Solomon) that don’t mention God’s name at all. Certainly, we must be cautious of the words we allow to go into our ears. Jesus said in Mark 4:24,  “Take heed what you hear.”  Nowadays, I avoid listening to most of today’s hits because of the increasing profanity in the lyrics. There are currently two songs in Billboard’s Top 20 with the F-word in their title. One of them (by rapper Cee-Lo Green) is up for two major Grammy awards: Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Nevertheless, secular songs can be used by the Lord to minister to people. I attended services at Toronto Airport Christian Fellow...