Christmas and Hanukkah

From the Nov-Dec issue of Gates of Eden - a bimonthly publication by Daniel Botkin in writing about a study of the Book of Maccabees:

"The Hannukkah story is found in the Book of Maccabees. The Jews, to whom 'were committed the oracles of God' (Rom. 3.2), never considered Maccabees to be Divinel-inspired, authoritative Holy Scripture. Nonetheless, Maccabees is an important book in Jewish history...not inspired, but it is inspir...
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.God's people were pressured to celebrate a king's birthday on the 25th day of a winter month
.The celebration included wreaths of ivy
.There was revelry and feasting on swine's flesh
.Those who ignored these winter festivities, and instead celebrated Yahweh's festivals of Leviticus 23, were viewed as the weird ones
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There is a sad irony in the fact that Christmas and Hanukkah both fall on the 25th day of a winter month. On the 25th of Kislev, Jews celebrate their victory over the Hellenists' attempts to force them to mingle heathen customs with the worship of God. On the 25th of December, Christians mingle heathen customs with the worship of God. The Maccabees refused to honor the real birthday of a temporal king on the 25th day of Kislev. On the 25th day of December, Christians celebrate the imaginary birthday of the real eternal King of kings.

Money

Artist Tom Sachs, quoted in The Wall Street Journal:

"If you worship money, you'll always feel poor."

1 Timothy 6:
6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

The Door Will Open - It's up to you

"You are what you learn. If all you know is how to be a gang member, that's what you'll be, at least until you learn something else. If you go to law school, you'll see the world as a competition. If you study engineering, you'll start to see the world as a complicated machine that needs tweaking. A person changes at a fundamental level as he or she merges with a particular field of knowledge. If you don't like who you are, you have the option of learning until you become someone else. There's almost nothing you can't learn your way out of. Life is like a jail with an unlocked, heavy door. You're free the minute you realize the door will open if you simply lean on it." - Scott Adams in Dilbert.com

Matthew 7:
7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8 "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Revelation 3:
20 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
21 "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.