Each of us remember fondly the day we were baptized into Christ. There was a warm glow in our hearts, a feeling of security—salvation! Never before had we felt just that way. How wonderful it was! To please and obey Christ meant everything, so we resolved to give our lives to Him. Hopefully, we have faithfully kept this resolution. We now have another New Year before us; hopefully, these seven resolutions will help us remain faithful or rededicate our lives to keep our promised commitment to God. Please open your Bibles and read each Scripture. First, I resolve to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness first. He will then help me take care of my material needs (Matthew 6:33-34). Second, I shall continue to strive to lay up my treasures in Heaven and not upon earth. I want my most prized possessions beyond rust, moth and thieves. These cannot reach my treasures in Heaven. I hope also to put and keep my heart more in Heaven than upon this earth (Matthew 6:19-21). Third, since I was once buried with my Lord in baptism and died to past sins, I shall strive hard to keep my affections on things above. I know that Jesus sits on the throne and knows how well I am doing. I want to stay dead to sin and alive to Christ (Romans 6:3-6; Colossians 3:1-2). Fourth, I want to rededicate my body as a living sacrifice to my God. I want to keep it pure and holy. To do

Christmas has long been a spiritual enigma, a veritable thorn in the side of those who respect Bible authority. Certainly, there is no biblical authority for celebrating Christmas as a religious holiday. Where the Bible is silent, we, too, must be silent if we are to be true to ourselves and to our God (1 Peter 4:11; Matthew 15:9). There is a growing tendency in the religious world today to bind upon Christians the traditions of men. When one refuses to accept those traditions, he is branded as peculiar, narrow-minded and legalistic. A case in point is the religious celebration of Christmas. Repeatedly we are barraged by the news media and religionists to “put Christ back in Christmas.” Frankly, Christ was never in Christmas! Some scholars admit that they do not know the exact date of Christ’s birth. The Catholic Encyclopedia, (Vol. 3, pg. 726) states, “concerning the date of Christ’s birth, the Gospels give no help.” The Encyclopedia Britannica (Vol. 5, pg. 642) records, “The exact day and year of Christ’s birth have never been satisfactorily settled.” The Encyclopedia Americana (Vol. 6, pg. 623) concurs, saying, “…no certain knowledge of the day of Christ’s birth existed.” The Everyman’s Encyclopedia (Vol. 3, pg. 641) agrees and notes, “It is, however, certain that the time now fixed (Dec. 25) could not by any possibility have been the period of Christ’s birth, as December is the rainy season in Judea.” The following statement is taken from Vol. 2, pg. 276 of McClintock & Strong’s Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological & Ecclesiastical Literature: “The observance