Halloween

As the temperatures begin to drop and the colors of the leaves begin to change, our minds begin to shift into the mode of the approaching holiday seasons. By mid August we see the stores have already stocked their shelves with candy, costumes and decorations for Halloween; a night full of ancient traditions and superstitions. 

But what is Halloween really? Is it a night of harmless fun or a day for the devil to come out and play? As a Christian, how should one approach this holiday (if one should call it a holy day at all)?

Believe it or not, most of the of the traditions of Halloween date back long before the time of Christ. Many current themes of Halloween owe their origins to ancient pagan Druid religious festivals.

Today's ghosts, witches, demons, and spirits, are modern tributes to pagan worship. In-fact many of the ancient customs of Gaelic festivals are practiced much in the fashions they began thousands of years ago. Some of these rituals include summoning the dead for insight on the future, sacrifices of animals and humans, invoking the help of demons and even the devil himself.

Yet many Christians seem to believe in a harmless nature of today's themes of Halloween, hosting parties, dressing up in costumes, trick or treating and such. The Bible offers strict warning to God's children to have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness and pagan traditions. It's actually one of the most consistent themes discouraged among God's people; called to be set apart from the world and it's vast practices of evil.

If this blog has caught your attention, I'd like to encourage you to do some research yourself on the origins and themes of Halloween. You may be surprised at what you discover. For starters you might want to check out "The Facts on Halloween" by John Ankerberg, John Weldon & Dillon Burroughs. 

The Evidence of Holiness

In today's world, as well as throughout history, the Church often finds itself divided on a number of different issues; holiness is one of them. After all, when the Lord commands, "be holy as I am holy," how are we to understand and apply this imperative?

Paul likens the members of the Church to the human body (1 Corinthians 12:12-26); intimately connected and subordinate to the head who is Christ. In this discourse we find that we all experience the pains and pleasures associated with the entirety of the Church; our sufferings and victories, our joys and our shames. We are unified by the blood and benevolence of Christ.

That being said, God's standards are often drawn into question, debate and conflict among Church members, not to mention the world. Jesus, Peter, Paul, John and other apostles often fought through this reality among fallen humanity. Heresy has been at war with orthodoxy since the very beginning (Gen 3) and will continue to stand opposed to the Truth until the consummation of all things. 

How should the world come to know the Truth of God from a lie (Romans 1:25)? How should it know the misdeeds of darkness without the Light of God? How can the fellowship of God's people be sharpened by the Spirit of God without the sword o His Holy Word?

There is but One Truth in the midst of a world-wide network of lies. Many claim to know the truth of God and yet are decieved by the prince of lies because deception is often 99.99% truth. Paul tells us to "not conform to the patterns of this world, but rather be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will." In other words, we must resist the worlds philosophies of morality no matter how good they may sound and rather allow the Holy Spirit to transform and renew us according to God's absolute standard of truth. Otherwise, as James says in his first chapter, if we doubt God's Word and rather succumb to doubt, we are tossed by the wind and waves of every kind of teaching; a double-minded man who is unstable in all his ways.

Holiness is simply this: that we recognize God is Holy, and that our obedience to His Word will ensure a life full of reward. Truth is often debated, but it is not divided. Interpretation and application of His Truth is either properly done or improperly done. This is why the body of Christ must be divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit. We cannot live in two kingdoms, we are either united with Christ, or united with the world.

In the end, Jesus tells us that God will gather all nations before Him and separate them as a shepherd separates sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:31-46). It is critical that we pursue Truth at all costs, because in the end we may find ourselves surprised by God's judgment. Life is too short and eternity is too permanent to assume God will not be just concerning His people and their responsibility to holiness. 

First Impressions

Today as I was surfing through Facebook profiles, it occurred to me that there is an image impression tied to everyone's personality. This is no news flash - I know. Everyone has their likes and dislikes, preferences, talents, passions, sports team, job/occupation and traditions that make up their unique identity.

What occurred to me that was so striking is that the first impression is often what people identify us by. He loves football, she loves to shop, our neighbors love to travel, my doctor is a golfer, my boss is a fisherman... etc.

Sometimes our first impressions are negative: this one is lazy, that one has a serious weight problem, he has anger issues, she is a gossip, my neighbor is vulgar and abusive, my brother is an absent father, my sister is a spoiled brat...etc. 

Whether positive or negative our first impressions are of people, we should consider the value of our own impression to the world. What will I be identified by? What will be my legacy? Will I be known for my loyalty to my favorite sports team? My possessions? My special skill or occupation? My swag?

Will I be know for my carelessness? My obesity? My arrogance? My poor stewardship or abusive treatment toward family, friends and neighbors?

When considering leaving a legacy in the perspective of eternity, might I be known as a faithful witness for Jesus Christ? Will I stand before God and hear Him commend me for my collection of movies and digital content? My commitment to physical exercise or even feeding the hungry? Or will He say "well done my good and faithful servant! You not only told others about me, you showed me to them through your actions."

If the greatest commandment God gave us was to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength" then shouldn't our first impression to the world reflect our loving devotion and infatuation with Jesus Christ (our Savior, Master, Redeemer, King of Kings and Lord of Lords).

Too often, I believe we let peripheral things interfere with our true identity in Christ. People will identify us by our skin color, our occupation, our sports teams, our clothing brand... However, if our love for Christ is foremost visible in our everyday lives, we can walk with the assurance that others will likely be drawn to Him simply through our first (lasting) impressions.