In less than three weeks it will be Christmas again, the biggest tradition of all. Soon after that 2007 will go into the history books. But back before Halloween, the "World" started gearing up to turn on the pressure of the "Christmas Season" (aka Winter Break) to convince us to spend as much money as possible in the "spirit of giving" so that we go into the New Year with additional debt. Most non-believers will again fall for this idea and many of God's people will as well. In fact, Believers will also make a special effort to go to all the TRADITIONAL church productions and services even as they busily carry out all their shopping. Both groups will again take on massive new debt.

Does it seem contradictory to you that God's people so easily embrace indebtedness as an integral part of celebrating the birth of Jesus? The truth is there's no requirement in the Bible that compels us to celebrate a birth date. Neither can we find there a clear basis for a day during the year to give gifts to one another. But the Word DOES tell us that it's okay to celebrate a particular day or occasion if we "observe it for the Lord" and if we're "convinced in our own minds" that we should celebrate it (Romans 14:5-6). Also, the Word DOES repeatedly discourage indebtedness as a basic principle for Christian life. And, the three Wise Men DID give gifts but they gave them TO the young Jesus (Matthew 2:11), not to each other and indebtedness was not an issue for them.

The question that Romans 14 raises for us today is this: how can Believers truly "observe a day for the Lord" while in that same process they knowingly violate His wisdom and instruction? The truth is many of us feel compelled BY the tradition to disregard God's counsel and use our credit cards to purchase Christmas gifts. In doing that we also make the presumption that God will go against His own instruction and provide all the money we'll need for our future monthly payments including interest. The sad results are that almost half of all new unsecured consumer indebtedness occurs during the Christmas Season and the average family needs at least 18- 24 months to repay it all, longer if they're only making the minimum monthly payments. This means that when next Christmas comes and they feel the pressure to go into debt again, they will NOT have finished paying off their previous Christmas. And the reality is this picture is almost the same for Believers as it is for non-believers.

Friend, Christmas should be a wonderful time of year for those who are convinced in their own minds to remember the birth of the One who made it possible for us to receive in Him the promise of the Spirit through faith (Galatians 3.14). Instead of allowing the World and man-made tradition to pressure us into their trap of materialism and additional indebtedness, we need to take a stand for the Word of God and purpose to observe or not observe Christmas for the right reasons and in the right manner. Even with good intentions, God is NOT glorified if we try to observe a day for the Lord by increasing our indebtedness.

Unfortunately, the Christmas season serves to illustrate more than any other time that indebtedness has become an entrenched aspect of life in the Body of Christ. In fact, Believers are reluctant to come to grips with what the Word of God actually says about it because just like the World we think we must have credit to survive. The truth is many of us have become so addicted to credit we just ignore or set aside what God has said about it and go right on celebrating things the way we want to. Following then are a few of the key scriptures we should carefully consider at this time of year before bowing again to all those Christmas traditions.

1. Romans 13:8

"Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law."

This scripture directs us not to owe anything to anyone. Instead of being in debt we're to love one another. Therefore, if we are in debt, it follows that we won't be able to love one another in the fullness that God wants. If we are not able to love others, the Laws of Biblical Prosperity won't work for us as fully as they otherwise could and should (Matthew 22:40).

2. Proverbs 22:7

"the borrower is servant to the lender."

This scripture declares that when we go into debt, we become bondservants to the ones we have borrowed from. That is, we have chosen to put ourselves in bondage to a secular master. Many Believers are choosing to ignore this warning but either the Word is true or it isn't. If it's true, indebtedness creates a relationship of servitude with our lenders, which means that on a spiritual level we have given up our freedom and enslaved ourselves to the World. If we have so closely connected ourselves to the World, we should expect that as a consequence the Laws of Biblical Prosperity will not be fully effective for us.

3. Matthew 6:24

"No man can serve two masters. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."

As Believers we're called to serve God and be bondservants to Christ. But since indebtedness makes us bondservants to our lenders, we compromise our servitude by trying to serve two masters simultaneously. Since the scripture says we cannot serve two masters, our bondage to creditors will ALWAYS be in conflict with our call to serve God. Therefore, the Laws of Biblical Prosperity won't be able to work in our lives to their full effectiveness because we are in part strongly bound to the World.

4. Hebrews 11:6

(paraphrased) he who is cursed will be a borrower and not a lender and will be the tail and not the head.

From a study of Deuteronomy, Chapter 28 we find in verse 44 that one of the curses that comes from disobeying God is to become a borrower. Clearly then God considers indebtedness itself to be a curse that comes as a consequence of disobedience and sin. Therefore, when we take on indebtedness, do we not put ourselves back under the Curse that Jesus took on Himself for us at the Cross of Calvary (Galatians 3:13)? The truth is by voluntarily taking on indebtedness, we DO subject ourselves to the Curse again and in the process we erect a monumental roadblock in God's plan for the full release of biblical prosperity in our lives. We also demonstrate a lack of respect and gratitude for the gift of Christ's redemption that set us free.

It should be clear from just these few scriptures that the Word of God discourages indebtedness. The essence of it is that God's people are supposed to be debt free so we can live by faith (Romans 1:17) and please Him. We've been set free from the Curse so we can come to abound in prosperity (Deuteronomy 28:11) and abundance (John 10:10 and 2 Corinthians 9:8). Indebtedness is not God's best for us. He has a better way but to experience it we have to trust Him and then release Him to function as our sole Provider. He will NEVER do things our way; He will only do them His way. Neither will He impose His way on us; we must discover it for ourselves and then submit to it cheerfully as an act of our free will.

Therefore if we truly want God's best in our lives, at some point in our Christian development Believers must eventually make the decision to live in agreement with the Word, in submission to His ways of doing things. Until we do that we'll continue to experience tribulation, disappointment and an absence of peace in our lives. If the Word cautions us against indebtedness, should we not make every effort to avoid it? And, faced with a choice between man-made tradition and the Word of God, should we not choose the Word of God? Friend, the Lord wants you to choose the Word and experience the total victory of Christ in your life. But your enemy the devil wants you to choose indebtedness and man-made traditions so you continue in bondage and defeat.

When Christmas time is on the horizon we must be vigilant to RESIST THE EMEMY who ALWAYS comes to steal our victory in Christ. True resistance requires that we start out by examining our own hearts to find out where we REALLY stand in the face of this strong man-made tradition.

As you examine your heart you may find a lot of stuff you didn't realize was in there. Following then are some of the signs that you may be approaching the tradition of Christmas with the WRONG attitude:

• You feel a strong "obligation" to give gifts.
• You feel a loss of peace that seems to emanate from having to buy gifts.
• You feel you must give gifts to perform and keep up with others.
• You are concerned about what others will think regarding your gift giving.
• You must give gifts in response to the expected gift giving of others.
• Your children will be deprived if they don't receive a certain level of gifts.
• Your children will suffer if they don't receive the gifts they have asked for.
• Your children will be disappointed if their friends receive better gifts.
• You fear being different if you feel God leading you in a non-traditional direction.
• You are willing to go into debt to give Christmas gifts.

The Bible tells us to judge ourselves rightly (1 Corinthians 11:31). This means we're to evaluate our own attitudes and motivations verses the Word of God; and whenever we find we're going in the wrong direction, we're to repent and go back to the right direction. If the Word discourages indebtedness, we should avoid debt. If the Word tells us that the traditions of men make the Word of God of no effect (Mark 7:6-13), we must re-evaluate those traditions and resist the parts that would lead us off in the wrong direction.

Friend, if you're not willing to objectively judge your motivations about a man-made tradition, you need to take that as a "wrong" sign and override your flesh by whatever means is necessary so you can proceed with your self judgment. The traditions of men are strong but we can learn to resist them so they absolutely CANNOT dictate to us how we live our lives. It's not wrong to celebrate Christmas but it IS wrong to celebrate it as a servant to man-made tradition. The World is in bondage to their traditions but Believers are NOT supposed to be.

The signs of RIGHT motivation include your willingness to make a total and complete separation from the pressures of tradition. You are happy to consult God and you gladly implement what He tells you to do without regard for what others will think. You feel no "obligation" to buy and give gifts because you're free from tradition. But you may give gifts if God wants you to and you would do so to glorify Him out of love for both Him and for the ones who will receive your precious gifts. You have discussed your ideas with your spouse and children who receive and endorse what you have decided to do. You're willing to go in a non-traditional direction if the Holy Spirit leads you that way. And above all you have decided and purposed not to go into debt in any way or form in connection with this coming Christmas.

In short, you desire to live out of God's will for your life, not what you want to do or based on what tradition dictates but according to what the Lord is leading you to do. You have considered Christmas and have decided to observe it or not observe it according to and in the manner in which God has instructed you. If God does tell you its okay to observe Christmas He will also provide the funds He wants you to spend and you are content with His provision. If you stick to this attitude you'll successfully overcome the TRADITIONS that have put you in debt in the past and blocked your access to biblical prosperity.

Does it not now seem unwise to you that God's people would go into debt as a part of celebrating the birth of Christ and in that same process cut off their own prosperity? If so, this Christmas you can do something about it.

The first thing one ought to do when Christmas (or any other spending temptation) is on the horizon is to get before God and find out what He wants you to do. Does He even want you to celebrate Christmas? It's your decision (Romans 14:5). If so, does He want you to give gifts and to whom should you give them? Why do you have to give a gift to everyone? If He says "no gifts this year," do you have the courage to do what He has told you to do in the face of man-made tradition and the criticism that will most surely come to you? The most important thing in life in any area is to know without any doubt what God wants you to do and then to obey.

The next thing to do is determine how much money God has provided for the purchase of any gifts He might have directed you to give. Part of the money that you ALREADY have on hand or that you are sure to receive soon is the amount He has provided for gifts and you have only that much to spend. You must decide not to use credit cards to supplement God's provision so you avoid spending more money for gifts than He has provided. And don't forget to include in or intentionally exclude from your budget provision for travel, food, entertainment, decorations and other types of traditional expenses.

Then you need to pray for creative ideas to give gifts that will be appreciated and that cost some amount that's within your budget. Often the most appreciated gifts are those that have been made by the hands of the person giving them. If the work of your hands is not appreciated, who cares? You will have done what the Lord directed you to do and His appreciation is far greater in value than the appreciation of any person. If you ask Him, God will gladly give you many ideas for inexpensive gifts that will bless others without putting your family into debt.

This Christmas you can avoid the trap. Make the decision to stay within your budget; ask God to help you and let the consequences fall where they may.

Friend, being in debt is one of the worst things we can do to our biblical prosperity. The basic Law that governs this principle can be stated like this: "if you want the full manifestation of biblical prosperity in your life, you must try diligently to avoid indebtedness." Debt is a curse and it acts like a curse. It binds us to the World and extracts wealth out of the Kingdom of God when prosperity wants to work for us the other way around. It robs us of our peace and steals away our joy. It causes marital strife and divorce, unhappiness and discontent and it never produces the fulfillment we had hoped for. Most importantly it impairs our ability to love and interferes in our relationship with God whom we're to serve instead of mammon.

In addition, we must accept the fact that man-made traditions can also cause big problems for our biblical prosperity because according to Jesus they have the ability to make the Word of NO EFFECT in our lives. If the Word of God has no effect, it has no power to produce fruit. Therefore, we must find a way to agree with the Word and to resist the control of those traditions. In essence we must pursue being Spirit-led instead of tradition- led; we must stop letting our TRADITIONS make the decisions for us so the Holy Spirit is free to lead us to God's best.

If you need help becoming debt free, please contact this ministry URGENTLY for a FREE consultation. In the meantime, thanks for reading Prosperous Life Newsletter today. Please feel free to forward it to a friend or ask them to advise us if they would like to be added to our rapidly growing mailing list. May God bless you and your family during this holiday season. Have a great holiday and we'll be looking for you again in three weeks on December 28.

If you have never invited Jesus to become the Lord of your life, you can do so today by saying the following simple prayer:

Jesus I believe in you. I believe that you are the Son of God and that He raised you from the dead. I receive you as my Lord and Savior. Please forgive me for my sins and come into my life today.

If you were sincere as you prayed, God has already come into your life and you are a new creation. Now ask the Lord to lead you to a good faith based bible teaching church where you can be developed to fulfill your potential in the Kingdom of God. If you're unable to find a church, give us a call and we'll help you find a good one.

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