All Hallows Eve

Halloween is quickly approaching...and as a Christian I ask where do u stand? For myself I was raised in a Christian home and I participated in trick-or-treating until the age of 5. It was then my mom came back to the Lord and we started attending our churches Harvest night. But it wasn't until I was 20 years old that I truly understood the real meaning behind Halloween and it was then I decided I wouldn't take part in this holiday. So at the age of 20, I had to re-take a public speaking class and one of the topics was a controversial topic. And so, I chose Halloween since it was fall semester anyway. So thus began my research on the ancient holiday and tradition of our American Culture. Basically after learning about the true meaning of most of the traditional symbols of Halloween I was convinced that this holiday was one that not only didn't glorify our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ but also promoted behaviors that any other day would be termed "unacceptable." With simple traditions such as trick-or-treating or carving the Jack-o-lantern being symbolic of death and demonic beings it made me question why our public schools and other venues who reach out to children promote this holiday over any other one in our Society. The actual holiday Halloween was taken from an the ancient celtic new year Samhain (sow-en). It is said that on that very day disembodied spirits of all those who had died throughout the preceding year would come back in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. It was believed to be their only hope for the afterlife. The Celts believed all laws of space and time were suspended during this time, allowing the spirit world to intermingle with the living. Naturally, the still-living did not want to be possessed. So on the night of October 31, villagers would extinguish the fires in their homes, to make them cold and undesirable. They would then dress up in all manner of ghoulish costumes and noisily paraded around the neighborhood, being as destructive as possible in order to frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess.(Info from www.wilstar.com/holidays/hallown.htm) Having a lit jack-o-lantern in your homes was said to of been a way of letting the spirits know you were sympathetic to them in part, making your home less likely to be tormented by spirits. And we can easily throw off these customs and say that its just a holiday created by the candy industry but we must remember that we are called to walk in wisdom and be aware of what is going on in our world. God did not call us to hide in our homes on this night or to join in but He has called us to not to be ignorant of the devices of the enemy and to use all oppurtunities as a way to draw others to His kingdom. Halloween use to be innocent in years past, simply trick-or-treating maybe a haunted house or two but now in our day and age there is no line between what is or is not acceptable or appropriate for children. The horror films are more horrific than ever, I close my eyes even at some of the commercials for new movies and even cartoons have skewed the lines of what is considered gruesome or not. We may say, "well I am only taking my child trick-or-treating" or it's just this one time at Knott's Scary Farm, but I ask you is what you're doing pleasing to God? Ephesians 5:11 states, "Take no part in the worthless deed of evil and darkness; instead, expose them." Then later in Ephesians 5:15-17 Paul encourages us, "Be careful how you live. Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do." Remember this "holiday" may be simply fun and games for you but there is a group of people who celebrate this as a high holy day and these same people pray destruction on our very souls. We should not in any way support, encourage or participate in anything that promotes anti-Christ mentality. 1 Peter 5:8-9 "Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him and be strong in your faith..." Be strong my brothers and sisters, look at your sphere of influence, those the Lord as given you as people in your lives to share His love with, how can you be an example and witness on this night? Places not only celebrate but also glorify the works of darkness are not appropriate places for us as men and women of God. We have been SET APART for HIS GLORY ALONE! How can we participate in activities that are glorifying not only death, murder, paganism, and the occult but demonic activity as well and still want to stand as a witness for Jesus Christ. Remember in the old testiment the Lord said put to death those who practiced witch craft. We may want to participate for the "fun" of being SCARED, but the bible says 1 Timothy 1:7 "God has not given us the SPIRIT of FEAR but of power and of love and of a sound mind." As a believer what should you be doing on this night? I suggest PRAYING, pray for those whose lives will be sacrificed over to the enemy that night. Pray for the children who will be abducted that night, pray for the innocent animals who will be slaughtered at an alter, pray for the Lord to intervene. Pray that many would come to the many churches across the world who stand as lights on this dark day and that these lost would come to know JESUS CHRIST as their Lord and savior. You may not take me seriously but that is okay, I must be obedient and share what knowledge and wisdom the Lord has given me on this topic and now you are accountable with what you know. What are you going to do? For more information watch the video by Pastor Chuck Smith "Trick-or-Treat" In Christ, Angelia