"Oh, Yeah, Who Says?"

TITLE:”Oh,  Yeah, Who Says?”
DATE: January 6, 2019
TEXT:  Matthew 10: 32-33 – ESV - So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven  but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

The passage above states, Christianity is a public and not a private religion. In Scripture we have many cases where God’s people are moved by the Holy Spirit to make a public witness. On the other hand, you have to search long and hard to find any example of the Lord telling people to be silent about what they believe. Which takes us to….

…Providence Place a small, Catholic-owned, assisted living complex in Chehalis, Washington.  

As is the case for many such Senior-Citizen complexes, Providence Place receives government assistance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Normally that is not a problem, BUT…

…THIS YEAR the lady managing the building, Katrina Newman told them that HUD’s-implementation of the Fair Housing Act prohibits the celebration of Christmas. In explanation, She got pretty specific:.

• First, those living there weren’t supposed to say, “Merry Christmas” to each other.
• Second, they weren’t to decorate their units with religious ornaments.
• Third, they were to avoid singing any Christmas Carols which might make reference to Jesus as Savior.

As you know, nowadays there are a lot of bad-guys coming down hard on Christ and Christianity. On the global scale, nations, governments and other global religions take their shots at the Savior and His followers. In our own country, the papers are filled to overflowing with reports of legal battles which Christians seem to lose.

As a result, rather than learning the facts, many folks are deciding it is best to avoid any and all forms of public displays of their faith. In the rumor mills and the internet social media, fiction quickly becomes fact, and next thing you know the report goes out that HUD is shutting down religion.

According to the Alliance Defending Freedom, the truth of the matter is…

• Americans don’t lose their constitutionally protected freedom to say ‘Merry Christmas’ or otherwise express their faith just because they live in a facility which accepts government funds.”
• No HUD rule requires senior living centers that accept federal resources to deny their residents the ability to celebrate Christmas with religious songs and symbols” and
• A 2007 press release from HUD says, “The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development continues to strongly support and respect the display of all religious symbols on properties receiving HUD assistance. We discourage anyone from interfering in the free exercise of religion and prohibiting residents from celebrating the joys of the season.”

All of which means that we who follow the Lord’s Truth should also keep one eye watching the social media’s version of truth so we can distinguish truth from fiction; truth from propaganda; and truth from the devil’s wishful thinking.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, grant that I may always be able to acknowledge the Savior before the world  May I proclaim the love of the Savior Who has taken away my sins..This I ask in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Today’s devotion was inspired by various articles, amongst which is the one written by  Michael Foust for ChristianHeadlines.com on, December 19, 2018. Those who wish may check out this link which was, at the time of writing, fully active: https://www.christianheadlines.com/contributors/michael-foust/apartment-bans-senior-citizens-from-saying-merry-christmas.html

music which introduces and concludes our devotions was written by Guy Baumann, one of my long-ago confirmands. He is singing with three brothers. This song comes from the album: The Baumann Brothers which may be ordered here: http://thebaumannbrothers.com/index.html