Celebrations That Displease God

“Keep on making sure of what is acceptable to the Lord.”—EPHESIANS 5:10.

“THE true worshippers,” said Jesus, “will worship the Father with spirit and truth, for indeed, the Father is looking for ones like these to worship him.” (John 4:23) When Jehovah finds such individuals—as he found you—he draws them to himself and to his Son. (John 6:44) What an honor that is! Lovers of Bible truth, however, must “keep on making sure of what is acceptable to the Lord,” for Satan is a master of deception.—Ephesians 5:10; Revelation 12:9.
2 Consider what occurred near Mount Sinai when the Israelites asked Aaron to make them a god. Aaron acquiesced and made a golden calf but implied that it represented Jehovah. “There is a festival to Jehovah tomorrow,” he said. Was Jehovah indifferent to this fusion of true religion with false? No. He had about 3,000 idolaters put to death. (Exodus 32:1-6, 10, 28) The lesson? If we want to keep ourselves in God’s love, we must “touch nothing unclean” and jealously guard the truth against any form of corruption.—Isaiah 52:11; Ezekiel 44:23; Galatians 5:9.
3 Sadly, after the death of the apostles, who acted as a restraint against apostasy, so-called Christians who had no love of truth began to adopt pagan customs, celebrations, and “holy” days, which they dubbed Christian. (2 Thessalonians 2:7, 10) As you consider some of these celebrations, note how they reflect, not the spirit of God, but that of the world. Generally speaking, worldly celebrations have a common theme: They appeal to fleshly desires, and they promote false religious beliefs and spiritism—the hallmarks of “Babylon the Great.”* (Revelation 18:2-4, 23) Keep in mind, too, that Jehovah observed firsthand the disgusting pagan religious practices from which many popular customs originated. No doubt he finds such celebrations just as offensive today. Should not his view be what matters most to us?—2 John 6, 7.
4 As true Christians, we know that certain celebrations are not pleasing to Jehovah. But we need to be firmly determined in our heart to have absolutely nothing to do with them. A review of why Jehovah is displeased with such celebrations will strengthen our resolve to avoid anything that might hinder us from remaining in God’s love.

Hey men when did that happen.......

. In ancient Israel, tithing was commanded under the Mosaic Law in order to support God’s temple workers, the Levites and the priests. (Numbers 18:21, 24-29) These had no tribal lands other than certain cities, so they needed this special support. In addition, faithful Israelites were free to give voluntary contributions for special projects, such as the construction of the tabernacle and, later, the temple.—Exodus 25:1-8; 1 Chronicles 29:3-7.
However, when Jesus died, the Bible says that “he abolished the . . . Law of commandments consisting in decrees.” (Ephesians 2:15; Colossians 2:13, 14) In other words, in God’s eyes the Law was no longer binding on either Jews or Christians. Hence, along with other features of the Law, such as regular sacrifices at the temple, tithing was no longer required of the faithful.
Among Christians, giving is motivated by love, not law. The apostle Paul explained the principle when organizing a collection for needy Christians in Judea. He said: “Let each one do just as he has resolved in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7) This Scriptural method of voluntary giving is practiced by Jehovah’s Wi

thats show we live in the time of the end.....according to daniel 2 : 44