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The Christmas Story by John MacArthur

Is it allowable to use candles in connection with prayer?​

ANSWER

There is no biblical reason why we can’t light candles while we pray or while we do anything else, for that matter. Candles are inanimate objects. They have no power, no strength, and no mystical or supernatural abilities. They are nothing more than wax and a piece of string with maybe some scent added in.

Candles—and other lights such as Christmas decorations—can remind us that Jesus is the Light of the World. Candles can remind us to put our “trust in the Light so that [we] may become sons of Light” (John 12:36). Having a candle burning while we pray might serve to focus our prayers and thoughts on Jesus as the Light of the world.

What candles cannot do, however, is accompany our prayers to heaven, make our prayers more powerful or effective, add anything to our prayers, or pray for us in any way. Candles burning in a Roman Catholic church, for example, are thought to continue the pray-er’s petition long after he/she has left the church. This is unbiblical. Prayer is a conversation with our heavenly Father—a dialogue between two live, conscious, responsive beings who share the same Spirit. No candle can enter into such a relationship.

Candles are used in various types of worship rituals. Witches and shamans, Catholics, new-agers, some Protestants, Jews, Buddhists, and Hindus all use candles in their worship services. Lighting votive candles is also consistent with the emerging worship trends that embrace mystery, mysticism, and entering into reality through experience.

In the end, the use of candles in prayer is innocent in itself. The danger is in ascribing to them a power they simply don’t possess.

FOR FURTHER STUDY​

The Prayer That Turns the World Upside Down: The Lord’s Prayer as a Manifesto for Revolution by R. Albert Mohler Jr.

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What is adoration in the Bible?​

ANSWER

Adoration is the deep love and respect paid to someone we revere, especially as it pertains to a divine being. In the Bible, adoration is required of any and all who profess to know God. Adoration is akin to worship or paying homage.

Most versions of the New Testament do not use the word adoration in reference to our worship of God, but translate the Greek word proskuneó as “worship.” Proskuneó means “to bow before or to revere”; the root word means “to kiss,” so the idea of proskuneó is “to kiss the ground in reverence before someone.”

When the wise men arrived in Jerusalem and inquired as to the whereabouts of the newborn King, they said to Herod, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him” (Matthew 2:2). The word translated “worship” is the word proskuneó, which communicates an adoration and reverence for the Son of God.

The refrain of the Christmas hymn “O Come, All Ye Faithful” enjoins us to follow the example of the wise men with a threefold iteration:
“O come, let us adore Him;
O come, let us adore Him;
O come, let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord!”

The word in the Old Testament that most often refers to adoration is the Hebrew word shachah, which is also translated “worship.” Such adoration is forbidden to offer to idols (Psalm 97:7; Leviticus 26:1). God is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5; Deuteronomy 4:24), as a loving husband is jealous of his bride’s affections toward other men. The Lord made us for Himself and desires that all our worshipful adoration be saved for Him alone. Jesus said that the Father is looking for those who will adore Him as we were designed to do. Jesus said that “true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23–24). The word for “worship” in those verses can also be translated “adore.”

Adoration differs from praise, although the two are related. Adoration, or worship, should be reserved for God alone (Luke 4:8). Praise can be a part of adoration, but adoration goes beyond praise. Adoration gets to the heart of who we are. To truly worship God, we must let go of our self-worship. We must be willing to humble ourselves before God, surrender every part of our lives to His control, and adore Him for who He is, not just what He has done. Hebrews 12:28–29 reminds us of Deuteronomy 4:24: “Let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire.’” That consuming fire strips us of pride and self-consciousness. To truly worship means we lose ourselves in the adoration of another. Our only thought is the majesty and glory of the One we adore.

When we adore the Lord, our daily activities become acts of worship. Only when our deepest adoration is reserved for our Savior will all other loves take their proper place. We are able to love our families and friends better when our worshipful adoration belongs only to the Lord.

FOR FURTHER STUDY​

How to Worship Jesus Christ: Experiencing His Manifest Presence by Joseph Carroll

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What happened to Mary?​


ANSWER

Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ, is one of the most famous women who have ever lived. Although her name is easily recognized, little is actually known about the woman herself, her upbringing, or her life after her Son, Jesus, returned to His heavenly Father (John 16:28; Acts 1:9–11). So what did happen to Mary after the gospel accounts?

What we know for sure is that Mary was an unmarried virgin girl when God sent the angel Gabriel to give her a message (Luke 1:26–27). She was engaged to a man named Joseph, but they had not had sexual relations (Luke 1:34; Matthew 1:18, 25). She became pregnant as a virgin through the power of the Holy Spirit, so that the Child she carried had no earthly father (Matthew 1:20; Luke 1:35). An angel also visited Joseph and told him to go ahead and take Mary as his wife, so they married and Joseph became known as the father of Jesus, even though he was not (Matthew 1:21–24; 13:55). The rest of the Christmas story found in Luke 2 gives us glimpses of Mary as she gives birth to the Savior (verse 6), is visited by the shepherds (verse 16), and is eventually found by the wise men from the East (Matthew 2:7–12).

After Jesus’ birth, as they were commanded to do under Jewish law (Exodus 13:2; Leviticus 12:6–8), Mary and Joseph brought baby Jesus to the temple to present Him to the Lord and offer the proper sacrifice. They met two prophets there who immediately recognized the Promised One of Israel. An aged woman, Anna, blessed the Child, and elderly Simon prophesied over Him, giving Mary a glimpse of the sorrow that would one day pierce her heart when her Son would suffer for the sins of the world (Luke 2:34–35).

The next time we see Mary is in Luke 2:41–52, when Jesus was twelve years old and attending Passover at the temple for the first time, as was Jewish custom. Jesus, becoming aware of His true identity, spent His time in the temple with the priests and teachers, amazing them with His wisdom. Mary and Joseph started home without Him, thinking He was with others in their caravan. They went a day’s journey before they realized He was not with them. They returned to Jerusalem and spent another three days searching for Him. Mary expressed a normal mother’s frustration when they found Him and scolded Him a bit for scaring them that way (verse 48).

Mary is not mentioned again until the beginning of Jesus’ three-year ministry. He had been invited to a wedding in the Galilean town of Cana (John 2:1–10). When the host ran out of wine, it was Mary who came to Jesus and told Him about it. Jesus then quietly performed His first miracle, turning about 150 gallons of water into fine wine (verses 6–10). After the wedding Jesus went with “his mother and his brothers and his disciples to Capernaum to stay for a few days” (verse 12). The fact that only Mary is mentioned, not Joseph, seems to indicate that her husband had died at some point during Jesus’ growing-up years.

Despite the miraculous events surrounding His birth, Mary still did not fully grasp her firstborn Son’s true purpose. Matthew 12:46–48, the next mention of Mary after the wedding in Cana, recounts an incident when she and Jesus’ brothers summoned Him as He was preaching. His response to their interruption indicates that He understood that even those closest to Him did not yet understand or believe in Him as Israel’s Messiah. In John 7:2–5, Jesus’ brothers tried again to dissuade Him from what God had sent Him to do. This may also indicate that Mary continued to be confused about His role in coming to earth.

We see Mary again at the crucifixion in John 19:25–27. She watched her holy Son be tortured and crucified. From the cross Jesus turned to His disciple John and asked him to take care of His mother from then on. So we know that John took Mary into his own home. Jesus’ choice of John to care for Mary may have been due to the fact that Jesus knew His own brothers were not yet believers and He wanted His mother to be with someone who believed in Him.

Acts 1:14 finds Mary among the disciples in the upper room after Jesus’ ascension into heaven. She was among the one hundred twenty (Acts 1:15) who were baptized in the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1–4). It may have been only after her Son’s resurrection that Mary truly believed, as did some of her other children (Galatians 1:19). Her presence at Pentecost is the Bible’s last reference to Mary.

Since Scripture is silent about what happened to Mary after Pentecost, we have only tradition and legend to tell us what became of her. Many scholars speculate that Mary lived out her years in John’s home, either in Jerusalem or in Ephesus. Some have suggested that, since it is believed that John oversaw many of the churches in Asia Minor, Mary moved to Ephesus with him and was part of the Ephesian church where young Timothy pastored (1 Timothy 1:3), but we cannot know for certain. What we do know is that, although Mary was chosen by God for a unique assignment, she had to receive salvation by faith in her Son just as we all do (Romans 3:23; Ephesians 2:8–9; Acts 4:12). Mary is now in heaven with all the believers who have died in Christ, not because she gave birth to Jesus but because she trusted in His shed blood as payment for her sin (1 Thessalonians 5:9–10; 2 Timothy 2:11).

FOR FURTHER STUDY​

40 Questions About Roman Catholicism by Gregg Allison

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What does the term Ebenezer mean in the Bible?​

ANSWER

Most of us are familiar with the name “Ebenezer” because of the character Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’s novella A Christmas Carol. Because of that story, the name “Ebenezer” has taken on the connotation of miserliness and a lack of charity—although, to be fair, Ebenezer Scrooge did become a changed man at the end of the story.

The name “Ebenezer” actually comes from the Bible. In 1 Samuel 7, during the end of the time of the judges, Israel experiences revival under the leadership of Samuel. The nation repents of their sin, destroys their idols, and begins to seek the Lord (1 Samuel 7:2–4). Samuel gathered the people at Mizpah where they confessed their sin, and Samuel offered a sacrifice on their behalf (verses 5–9).

It was during this time of repentance and renewal that the enemy attacked: “While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle” (1 Samuel 7:10). The Israelites went out to do battle against the invaders, and God sent them supernatural help: “That day the LORD thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites” (verse 10).

Israel’s victory over the Philistines was decisive. Several cities the Philistines had captured were restored to Israel, and it was a long time before the Philistines tried to invade Israel again (1 Samuel 7:13–14). To commemorate the divine victory, “Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the LORD has helped us’” (verse 12).

Ebenezer means “stone of help.” From then on, every time an Israelite saw the stone erected by Samuel, he would have a tangible reminder of the Lord’s power and protection. The “stone of help” marked the spot where the enemy had been routed and God’s promise to bless His repentant people had been honored. The Lord had helped them, all the way to Ebenezer.

FOR FURTHER STUDY​

The Quest Study Bible

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What are holy days?​

ANSWER

In the Bible, the word holy means “set apart.” God is holy. Christians are called to be holy. A holy day, then, is a day that is set apart to focus on the things of the Lord. There are holy days mentioned in the Bible, and, over the centuries, Christian churches have instituted other holy days by tradition.

The Bible mentions at least eight holy days (or groups of days), also known as feasts or festivals. They are Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Pentecost/Weeks, Trumpets, Tabernacles/Booths, Purim, and the Day of Atonement. Of those eight, seven are commanded in the Mosaic Law (Purim was a later development). These Jewish/Old Covenant holy days are not mandated for followers of Jesus Christ, but they can be observed as a remembrance of how Jesus perfectly fulfilled them.

Over the centuries, various Christian churches have instituted holy days (or groups of days). The two most common are Christmas and Easter. Other commonly observed Christian holy days include Lent, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Pentecost, and Advent.

The New Covenant does not advocate the observance of any Christian holy days, but neither does it forbid such observance. Romans 14:5 appears to be the guiding principle: “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” If a Christian is going to observe a holy day, he/she should be fully convinced that it does not violate God’s Word, that it can be done to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31), and that it would be spiritually beneficial (1 Corinthians 6:12; 10:23).

Ultimately, for the follower of Jesus Christ, every day should be a holy day. Every day of our lives should be set apart to worship God, obey His Word, and live a holy life. That is likely why the New Testament does not advocate specific holy days. Perhaps a good way to put it would be, “For the Christian, there are seven holy days: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.”

FOR FURTHER STUDY​

The Christian Holy Days by Larry Edwards

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