Rebuking Salvation Foundation on Christmas Instead of Christ

[creationliberty]

RICHARD FROM IDAHO - He added my email address to one of his mailing lists in his address book, and therefore, I received his "Christmas Update" for 2018. He writes:
Merry Christmas! Here's our 2018 Update...
Lot's been going on: a lot of waiting, running, working & playing. Joshua turned one at the start of 2018, going from crawling to playing every ball sport imaginable. Audrey can't wait for Abigail to get out of her, and we can't wait to experience a family of four. Rich has been raising support both for his ministry of Bible translation to provide open software & content to the churches across the world, as well as for India where both work and his church have outreaches. Below we tell a bit more.    Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!
"Abigail is coming, the mom is getting fat...err..tall....
...won't you please tell Joshua it's not a ball."
So yeah, any day now as I write this Abigail could be born. Will be a wonderful Christmas with God blessing us with a 2nd child, and the 1st (grand)daughter /niece in our family.
Joshua is very active every day, playing every type of ball game he can find. His wai-po (Audrey's mom, grandma in Chinese) is back in Boise helping us prepare for the birth of Abigail and giving Joshua lots of attention. Praise God!
52.4 Miles of Love...
Thank you all for your support!
I (Rich) managed to complete the 4 half marathons in October to raise money to build an orphanage in India for children with HIV/AIDs. I couldn't have raised the $1249 I contributed to the $100k needed without you!
I was able to break my half marathon record at 2 hrs 12 mins this time. My other goal was to get 26 supporters or raise $1362, in which if reached I would run a marathon. While I didn't reach that goal, I may try a marathon in 2019!
Thanks again for all who supported us through giving and praying!
Rich's Ministry Work Update
Two newsworthy items in my work with Bible translation around the world:
1) From WA to DSM to now just unfoldingWord
For those of you who have been following my work on the unfoldingWord project through Wycliffe Associates (2015-2017) and then Distant Shores Media (2017-2018), we realized the latter name didn't quite capture what we did, making software and content so any church could reliability take authority over their language's translation. Thus we are now just called unfoldingWord with our new logo shown above. For those who support my work financially, please be aware of this name change for tax and payment purposes. See distantshores.org for more info on what's happening (new website with name change coming soon) and how you can help support our ministry.
Image result for bible icon   Image result for bible icon
2) translationCore v1.0 released!
The pictures above show translationCore (tC) v1.0 being used in the field. After working on tC for over a year wit five other developers, we released v1.0 last September! Its main use is that after a translation is complete for a book of the Bible with translationStudio, the translators use tC to verify that all proper terms, meanings and names were translated. This allows publishers of the new Bible to be assured it was translated accurately. Go to translationCore.com to download tC & for more information. Continuing to work full time in ministry and on tC v1.1, due Q1 of 2019.
Thank you to all who supported my runs and work in 2018!!
Onward to 2019!!!
Hi Rich. The celebration of Christmas is pagan witchcraft from start to finish, and I hope that the Living God will bring you to conviction of the truth of His Word, so you can sanctify yourself from the wickedness of the world. On top of the witchcraft, there are many lies and deceptions taught during the Christmas season by church buildings and churchgoers, and so I hope you still have a love of the truth of the Word of God that I remember you having when you and I used to talk, and perhaps you'll be willing to look at this to find that truth:
Christmas: The Rejection of Jesus
I will be unsubscribing from that address book because this is our ministry email address for questions and discussion on Biblical topics, and I've requested that everyone not send mass emails to this address to keep it clear so we can more efficiently help others in need. Thanks.
My salvation, being born-again, exactly 20 years ago this month came because of Christmas...great way to hear about Jesus, the truth of the Gospel and our sin. Thank God our country celebrates it and hears about Jesus this way. For unto us a child is born...
You might fool other people with that, but there was NOTHING in your mass email that testified of the doctrine of Christ. It was all about your worldly achievements and accomplishments.
Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
-Jeremiah 10:2-4
If what you said is true, then you did not come to the Lord Jesus Christ as the Bible teaches, that is, through repentance (i.e. grief and godly sorrow of wrongdoing) and faith by the hearing of the law.
Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
-Gal 3:24
I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
-Luke 13:3
It means you are not yet justified by faith because your faith is in a new-age, false, ecumenical Jesus, or rather, you're putting your faith on the paganism and witchcraft of Christmas, not on the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, even the devils believe and tremble:
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
-James 2:19
The Lord God does not give grace to anyone who simply speaks the name of Jesus. It is only those who have come to the humility of repentance who He gives His grace.
But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
-James 4:6
There are MANY churchgoers who say the name "Jesus," and call him Lord, just as you do, but have not called (i.e. cried out, bawled, in tears of grief and sorrow) upon the name of the Lord because they do not have a foundation of repentance (Heb 6:1) in their hearts.
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
-Mat 7:21-23
I have a desire to go over John 8 with you, where Jesus addressed a whole crowd of people who believed on him (v31), but then He told them they were of the devil and not of God (v44-47), but based on your response, you seem to have closed ears. I just don't see a reason to waste time with someone who won't hear the truth or even be willing to investigate it or discuss it; who will remain in willful ignorance. You may use those excuses to justify yourself in front of men, but God knows the wickedness of your heart Rich, and you will not escape Him.
And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
-Lukle 16:15
I'll show you the way to Christ, but I can already tell you won't listen to it. I can't make anybody hear anything; my only responsibility is to give them access to it, and everything else is up to them, but this will show you the path to Christ if He is who you are truly seeking:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEI_H3QUb7Q&index=2&list=PLbY08k2vP8_
nXQtC1izDN_p7lutKuX9OI&t=0s%22
What you do from there is up to you. Also, I hope you'll make effort not to add my email to your mailing lists in the future (because you didn't respond to that), but are welcome to write and talk with me about Bible doctrine if you wish. Thanks, and have a great day.
NOTE: He did not respond, and I expected as much. I have had this conversation with him before, a long time ago, and I tried to explain to him that men are not saved by a Christmas pageant (i.e. he claims to have been saved because of the pageant he was attending), but rather, they are saved by the hearing of the law, through repentance and faith on Christ, and so to say that a Christmas presentation is "good" would not only be wrong because it associates witchcraft with the message of Christ, which is an abomination, but also it subtracts necessary doctrine from the Gospel of Christ, and attributes salvation to something worldly. (i.e. Christmas pageants are unnecessary for people to hear the doctrine of Christ and be saved, otherwise, almost no one over the past 2000 years would have been saved.) His attachment to Christmas is worldly, and has nothing to do with Christ, but he clings to it anyway, and will not hear any sound doctrine otherwise; meaning that, as far as I can tell, he is still lost to the world, and has not come to repentance (i.e. grief and godly sorrow).
Oh, and the organization he's working with is translating new-age bible versions into the Indian language. The "distant shores" ministry he is working with is 501c3.

[Kenneth Winslow]

I am sick to death of these people that live like the world, talk like the world, spend their lives going after worldly things and, oh, by-the-way, there are "Christian".

Chris, I thank God that you have that patience and inclination to spend the time trying to help these people. I certainly don't unless I'm on the street preaching.

[TheChickenWhisperer]

I got this letter from Rich too.    I didn't read it.  I just deleted it.  I pray he will accept rebuke.

[Timothy]

My salvation, being born-again, exactly 20 years ago this month came because of Christmas...great way to hear about Jesus, the truth of the Gospel and our sin.

I din't grow up going to church so I may have just had a different experience, but I cannot recall a ever during this time of year of hearing the truth of the gospel explained to me nor that I was a sinner in need of a Saviour. The most 'religious' thing I was ever told was the "gift of giving". If people honestly think that this time of year is a good time to give the gospel, then give it to them and teach them to do away with the materialistic things of the world (christmas presents) and put their affections on things above that are not corruptible doing works that are meet for repentance. I mean seriously. How is getting or giving a new xbox or TV or some toy teaching anyone the gospel!?

Even the giving of presents is out of obligation and not charity. Every year I hear people sigh and say "I don't know what to give so-and-so for christmas." The reason they say that is because it's out of obligation of the traditions of men, not of Christ's doctrine.

[Masha]

Just want to encourage Chris, great job of rebuking, may the Lord open this guy' s eyes...

[Suelong88]

Timothy you are so right.  All I ever hear about this time of year is how Jesus came to earth as a baby.  Newsflash...he's not a baby anymore.  He's glorified and sitting at the right hand of God the Father.  Stop putting him back in the manger....stop hanging him up on the cross...stop putting him in the tomb.  He is not in any of those places anymore. 

[Masha]

Amen! Sue , AMEN!

[Laura]

Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
-Jeremiah 10:2-4

I used to be confused by the usage of Jeremiah 10 in context to Christmas, but after listening to the third part of the Idolatry teaching it makes more sense to me now. While the passage is talking specifically about carving statues (idols), the Christmas application is referring to idol worship in general. I was focusing on it's literal application. Although it has a literal similarity (i.e. cutting down a tree and decking it with silver and gold), they are not cutting down the trees with the intent to carve statues; however, regardless of the final product, both are serving as idols. This has been hard for me to explain so I'm not sure if anyone will follow.

Anyway, I find it interesting when people become defensive towards their traditions, suggesting that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus and that it is a good way to share God's Word. Many say that, but how many of them are sharing or talking about Christ? (And even if they are, celebrating Christmas is not Christian). Discussions floating about are typically this: "Do you have your tree up?", "Are you 'ready' for Christmas?", "Do you have all your shopping done, presents wrapped, etc.?". If people honestly examine their hearts, they will see that Christmas has nothing to do with Christ but all the pagan traditions. Most people are not practicing what they preach (I used to be one of them). I think most people have good intentions, but so desperately need to know the truth! Their good intentions will not save them.

[creationliberty]

Yeah, last year I remember hearing some leavened Nazarene church building preacher start off his sermon by saying to everyone that he hopes they all got their Christmas shopping done early. Ya know... for Jesus.