HALLOWEEN AND CHRISTIANITY-SUMMARY
In this series of nuggets we have tried to give the History of Halloween, discuss the origins of some of the activities and objects of Halloween, share what the Bible has to say about witchcraft and the deeds of darkness, and offer alternatives to celebrating Halloween in the traditional manner. It is not our goal to be judgmental of those who disagree with this synopsis or to judge their heart-that is in the hands of God. So we ask those of you who agree with our synopsis to be gracious to your Christian and non-Christian friends who see nothing wrong with Halloween. One of the ways you can reach them with truth is to provide alternatives and invite them to join you. Do something that is fun but at the time brings them closer to Jesus.
I want to close by saying my greatest desire is to see the light of Jesus dispel the darkness of Halloween and the kingdom of the devil. We will never be able to turn Halloween into a godly holiday, but we can counteract the darkness of the enemy. And we must remember that we are in a spiritual, not a physical battle. And the only effective means of battling in the spiritual war is prayer. So, I would encourage each of you to spend time in prayer on October 31.
Here is an idea of what one small group is doing for Halloween. I would challenge any of you who have small groups to consider doing a "Celebration of Light". It is not too late. Or just do it as a family.
"Celebration of Light."
Since there are so many celebrations of darkness we decided this was needed! We
are going to sing songs about God's
light such as "Shine, Jesus, Shine" and also the hymn "A Mighty
Fortress" by Martin Luther as Oct. 31 is the anniversary of the day in
1517 that he nailed his 95 theses on the church door at Wittenburg
and the light of God began to shine again in a church that had languished in
spiritual darkness for a very long time. Our devotional will be on light, I'll
read a poem I wrote on Jesus as Light, and Donna is planning a ceremony of
light with candles and everyone sharing their favorite Scripture verse on
light. Even our prayer time will be thanking God for His light and asking that
it shine brighter in the church universal and local, in our families, and for
our relatives and friends who need to be delivered from darkness and brought
into His light! I am really excited about it, and Donna says she has a sense
that God is going to do something special that night!
Amen, and amen!
God bless all of you who decide to redeem the night of October 31. May each of your families experience the very presence of God in your home as you redeem the hour.
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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations used are from the New American Standard Version (NASB).
Richard D’Andrea Dover
In His Steps
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