Friday, December 25, 2009

CHRISTMAS: Meaning + Date

Question: "What is the true meaning of Christmas?"

Answer: The true meaning of Christmas is love. John 3:16-17 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." The true meaning of Christmas is the celebration of this incredible act of love.

The real Christmas story is the story of God's becoming a human being in the Person of Jesus Christ. Why did God do such a thing? Because He loves us! Why was Christmas necessary? Because we needed a Savior! Why does God love us so much? Because He is love itself (1 John 4:8). Why do we celebrate Christmas each year? Out of gratitude for what God did for us, we remember His birth by giving each other gifts, worshiping Him, and being especially conscious of the poor and less fortunate.

The true meaning of Christmas is love. God loved His own and provided a way—the only Way—for us to spend eternity with Him. He gave His only Son to take our punishment for our sins. He paid the price in full, and we are free from condemnation when we accept that free gift of love. "But God demonstrated His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

Question: "Was Jesus born on December 25?"

Answer: Speculation as to the time of Jesus’ birth dates back to the 3rd century, when Hyppolytus (ca. 170-236) claimed that Jesus was born on December 25. The earliest mention of some sort of observance on that date is in the Philoclian Calendar, representing Roman practice, of the year 336. Later, John Chrysostom favored the same date of birth. Cyril of Jerusalem (348-386) had access to the original Roman birth census, which also documented that Jesus was born on the 25th of December. The date eventually became the officially recognized date for Christmas in part because it coincided with the pagan festivals celebrating Saturnalia and the winter solstice. The church thereby offered people a Christian alternative to the pagan festivities and eventually reinterpreted many of their symbols and actions in ways acceptable to Christian faith and practice.

December 25 has become more and more acceptable as the birth date of Jesus. However, some argue that the birth occurred in some other season, such as in the fall. Followers of this theory claim that the Judean winters were too cold for shepherds to be watching their flocks by night. History proves otherwise, however, and we have historical evidence that unblemished lambs for the Temple sacrifice were in fact kept in the fields near Bethlehem during the winter months.

The truth is we simply don’t know the exact date of our Savior’s birth. In fact, we don’t even know for sure the year in which He was born. Scholars believe it was somewhere between 6 B.C. and 4 B.C. One thing is clear: if God felt it was important for us to know the exact date of the Savior’s birth, He certainly would have told us in His Word. The Gospel of Luke gives very specific details about the event, even down to what the baby was wearing – “swaddling clothes”—and where he slept—“in a manger” (Luke 2:12). These details are important because they speak of His nature and character, meek and lowly. But the exact date of His birth has no significance whatsoever, which may be why God chose not to mention it.

The fact is that He was born, that He came into the world to atone for our sins, that He was resurrected to eternal life, and that He’s alive today. This is what we should celebrate, as we are told in the Old Testament in such passages as Zechariah 2:10: “'Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,' declares the LORD.” Further, the angel that announced the birth to the shepherds brought “good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10). Surely here is the cause for celebration every day, not just once a year.

A quick Timeline on Chris Treborn

Born and raised in the SF Bay Area I grew up in diversity. After moving away from the gang violence I found new friends and found new ways to express myself. I became an artist (from tagging to drawing up comic books), as well as a story teller, and then a poet.

Me and my friend from across the street wrote our first rap song called Rocket Rap to the beat with the same title from a Sega Genesis game Toe-Jam & Earl.

I created 2 comic books on my own when I was 10. I forget the name but my Dad still has them. When I was 12 I wrote a short story called The Knight of Darkness.

Me and my neighborhood friends used to re-write songs and record our versions on a Karaoke Machine that I had. We were mainly inspired by groups in the early 90s like Kris Kross, Boyz II Men, etc.

When my baby sister died in 1996 (at 87 days old) I was inspired to write songs with morals. After I got saved in 1998 we formed a Christian Rap Group featuring my friends U-Niq and DJ Craz, as well as me; T.E.A.R.Z. which stands for The Endless And Relentless Zephyr.

In 2000 - I preached diversity once I moved to The Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I wrote a 500 word essay based on the Dr. Suess story about The Sneetches and won first place. My essay was exactly 500 words and was all in poetry format. It was published in the Mining Journal - a local newspaper on Dr Suess’ birthday.

From 1999-2001 I recorded a 17 track demo on CD using a 4-track. I recorded my first Studio Song in 2002 called The Zephyr’s Endeavor which is based on my essay. At this time, I was still known as T.E.A.R.Z.

In 2003 I performed for the first time in front of an audience. I met a Bishop of a Southern Baptist Church in Sacramento, and he invited me to rap for his congregation. At the time I didn’t know what I was really doing. I was overwhelmed by the 100 people watching me on stage in front of the Choir. It was filmed and broadcast on Local TV. My song was called; My Love, My Faith, My Trust - a love poem about God and inspired by Revelation 3:20.

In 2004 I wrote an anthem inspired by my then job - In-N-Out Burger. A co-worker and I spend 3 hours creating the music for it. It became super popular with my store and I made copies for other stores. I gave the song to corporate and they asked me to perform it at their company picnic. The performance was filmed and they created a music video out of it.

In 2005 I met a lot of Christian Rappers that wanted to connect and make music with me. A group of us formed a ministry/fellowship and called ourselves T.K.O. - which stands for The Kingdom’s Ours! (Matthew 5:10). We toured the central valley of California as well as the Tri-Valley/East Bay.

In 2006 my life changed and I prepared for a new start. Inspired by 2 Corinthians 5:17 - I became a new creature and moved to Salem after a failed attempt to move to Portland. Since then I’ve had more time to focus on my music.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Why does God bless the Rich & Famous?

I said earlier; "There is a difference between being Tested by God & being Punished by God. Can you tell the difference between the two?" Well, as most Christians know by now, if you walk with Jesus you will be crucified like Jesus. The gift of salvation might be free, but it will cost you your life. That's the call a disciple gets daily. To live for Christ, you must die to yourself. You can no longer be a slave to sin, instead you have to be a slave to righteousness.

With that being said, I'd like to reflect upon the opposite side of things... the LOST. You can call them what you want; non-believers, heathens, atheists, agnostics, hedonists, self-righteous, etc. Either way, Christ-followers have a calling to reach-out to the lost. We are in the world but not of it. Therefore, we can be in it, we just can be of it. Make sense?

Moving on...
We often ask why the Sinners are so blessed in the flesh. Well, that can be a long discussion. But I will explain how I feel on the topic.

First off, God has given all of us Free Will to do as we please. This means he lovingly allows us to sin, disobey, and disappoint him as a parent would a child. Sad! People live their whole life meeting the standards of the world. Shame! So, by pursuing the American Dream, to achieve fame and riches, we achieve as much as our heart desires. Why would God allow us to become so distant from him?

Does a parent keep you from accomplishing your goals in life? From College to Career to Family. As we journey to college we leave the nest. Do we celebrate our freedom from our parents? How often does the average student call their mother or father? As they succeed, they obtain a career. This means full time work, including countless hours. If all you do is work, when do you have time for family, friends, fun? Its a crazy endless and relentless cycle.

After you become an individual, you meet someone else that is self-efficient, and you create a family. The entire cycle recycles and repeats its cycle. Is that the purpose of life? Of course all of our lives take different paths. But look at the people that succeed and make a name for themselves. They not only get the fame and attention each human desires deep down inside, but they often get hand-outs left and right.

Where is the joy in having everything handed to you? You no longer earn a thing. Now, that is the blessed life, right? Ask anyone that has been 'blessed' with success, fame, and riches... and they will tell you how lonely and unfulfilled they are. They can buy anything they want. But can they buy friendship, or a true relationship? Probably not. They can buy FAKE friends. People that will use them and leave them. WOW. I wonder if they realize that is how God feels more than often.

No to be in a place where they feel like God, that is a divine blessing. If only we weren't blinded by the illusion of this world. It's straight Matrix status. Blue pill, red pill. The world will consider you crazy to leave this endless dream, and go further down the rabbit hole to chase what? Something not of this world. No, not a religion, it is a relationship.

Who feels empty? Do you have a lot of stuff? Nothing keeps your attention. Nothing keeps you happy. Where do you find your delight? Is less truly more? Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Perhaps you have to experience both extremes - Everything + Nothing to truly appreciate that concept.

If a person is to experience one of those two extremes (or both) I pray they can feel God's presence. God gets glory. We will all bow to down to Christ the King. All praise is due. Once we stop worshiping false idols, fake gods and creation, we can finally pay attention to our Creator & worship only HIM. Because it's all or nothing. Don't be lukewarm and serve two masters, otherwise you will be chewed up and spit out, then devoured by the fiery pits of hell.

Now that's intelligent design!