Special Days - Stone The Preacher

Christmas Vs. ChristMYTHS

Dec 22, 2020Steve Sanchez1 CommentPastor's P.O.V., Special DaysChrist, Christmas, mistletoe, nativity, tradition

THE BABY JESUS WAS NOT BORN ON DECEMBER 25.

What? Are you kidding me? Nope.

The Christmas season brings with it a lot of great and wonderful traditions, but have you ever thought how these customs came about? You may be surprised! Let’s start with that Christmas date.

The early church in the first few centuries did not celebrate the birth of Jesus arguing against celebrating all birthdays of saints and martyrs. The early church fathers suggested that saints should be honored on the day they died for Jesus.

Previous dates for His birth were January, March, April, May and November. It’s not exactly clear why the church settled on December 25th, but the first recorded reference to it was in the 3rd century.

The date we now celebrate was probably to replace the pagan holiday, “The Birthday of the Unconquered Sun,” which honored the sun god on what they thought was the first day of the Winter Solstice. It’s fitting that the “Sun of Righteousness,” Jesus, “will rise with healing in his wings” on the darkest day of the year as the Light of the World.

Here are some other Christmas tradition origins: Kissing under the mistletoe may have come from a Druid tradition where enemies would meet underneath it and would stop fighting to declare a truce.

Pearl Harbor Survivor Forgives After Japanese Lead Bomber Speaks

Dec 7, 2020Steve Sanchez1 CommentSpecial Days

Here’s a touching excerpt about how Pearl Harbor survivor Joe Morgan forgave the Japanese after the naval commander, Mitsuo Fuchida, who led the attack on Pearl Harbor, spoke on the island of Maui ten years after the war:

Shortly after the attack, Joe was transferred to another unit on Maui while his previous unit was sent to the South Pacific where it suffered heavy casualties. Joe felt God had a reason for protecting him, and the only wound he carried from the war was his hatred turned animosity for the Japanese.

He never hated Japanese Americans who abound in Hawaii, just those from Japan. Two years into his Wailuku pastorate, Joe heard that Mitsuo Fuchida, the Japanese naval commander who led the attack on Pearl Harbor, was speaking on Maui.

“He was flying high above my head that day, giving orders to his pilots over the radio,” Joe recalls in his written account.

Fuchida, however, had become a Christian after meeting a former prisoner of war who had returned to post-war Japan as a missionary. Joe felt the animosity resurface and didn’t know “whether to shake Fuchida’s hand or shoot him” if they ever met.

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30 Years a Slave

Dec 2, 2020Steve Sanchez1 CommentABOUT ME & MY BLOG, Special Days, Steve Sanchez' Testimonyborn again, steve testimony

This old photo from my “other life” circa 1980, reminds me of my “stupid 20’s,” when I had no sense, lived for myself and cared not a whit about anybody else.

I was at a bar called Hussong’s Cantina in Ensenada, Mexico and decided it would be a good idea to dance on top of a table. Suddenly, two Federales grabbed my shoulders and escorted me to the shadows. Thankfully, a Mexican local, whom I did not know, followed us into the “torture room” and negotiated my release. (I’m the smug, shirtless guy standing next to one of the arresting officiales.)

Today, December 2nd, not only marks the day that shiftless guy died in 1990, but also marks my 30th anniversary as a Christian, a bond-slave of Jesus Christ, an unworthy servant, worm, wretch, completely dependent on my Master for life and breath and everything I have.

That picture, which shows up every year in my Facebook “Memories,” is a great reminder of what the Lord has done in my life…and in the lives of so many others.

Thoughtfully Thankful

Nov 26, 2020Steve SanchezSpecial Days

Psalm 100 is subtitled “A Psalm of Thanksgiving,” and gives us four reminders on how to be thoughtfully thankful to God this Thanksgiving so we won’t get confused and thank a turkey for its giblets.

1st Reminder: SHOUT!

“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!” (Psalm 100:1)

Too many Christians are staid, formal, stiff and boring. Our God is none of those. When we shout to the Lord it shows excitement. But why shout? When you are excited about your favorite football team what do you do? Why should the excitement end when you’re in church?

Remember who you are shouting about: God, the Maker of Heaven and earth and you and me. Here’s a suggested shout: “Thank you, Lord!”

Thank the Universe and an Aspargus

Nov 26, 2020Steve Sanchez2 CommentsPastor's P.O.V., Special Daysrobert ingersoll, secular grace, thankfulness, thanks

THE WORST THANKSGIVING SERVICE I ever saw advertised was from a church in Dripping Springs that had a special “Thanking the Earth” ceremony. And the silliest bumper sticker ever stuck to a Hyundai said this: “Did you thank a green plant today?” How far away from God these people are to thank the creation and not the Creator.

The Babylon Bee reported that “local atheist Hal Woodring is preparing his heart to humbly show gratitude to the cold, mechanical processes that randomly led to mankind’s existence and his own fleeting life this Thanksgiving, sources confirmed Friday. Woodring plans to bow his head silently before partaking in his family’s extravagant Thanksgiving feast Thursday evening to give thanks to the meaningless, cold, inconsequential universe for preserving him and allowing him to partake in its bounty. His family members report that he does this every Thanksgiving, pausing to thank the meaningless, vast, and ancient universe that doesn’t care at all whether they live or die.”

That was satire, but it wasn’t far from the truth.

Religion News Service reports that atheists and the non-religious have a Thanksgiving called “secular grace” which invokes no deity and has no spirituality, yet it still fulfills a need.