Halloween before the face of God?

Every time this season rolls around I kinda cringe. The halloween season is upon us. What is a Christian to do. There are three main ways that I think Christians respond.

1. Abandon the holiday all together
2. Don't participate personally but use the opportunity to hand out tracts or give the gospel message to people that knock on their door
3. Embrace it and participate
4. (There is a fourth option that I will discuss in a later blog)

I think that any discussion about halloween needs to consider where it comes from and thus what it represents. There are a multitude of sites that claim to trace its history. Here is one as an example http://www.halloween-website.com/history.htm. 

The problem for the Christian is that to embrace this is to embrace a pagan holiday that is focused on evil. Now I know that some of you might say that its just clean fun. Some people play with Ouija boards and claim that it is just fun as well. I don't think most Christians have any confusion about Ouija boards. But what if the maker of Ouija boards gave you chocolate every time you played? Would we suddenly want to Christianize it. I think that the main reason most Christians get involved is that they don't want their kids to miss out on all of the fun and the candy. Yet is fun and candy a reason to get involved with something that is ostensibly a descent into things that are dark and fearful?

If Jesus stood before you and asked you to teach your children to think about things that are good and beautiful (Philippians 4:8) would you respond with halloween as an example of that? It seems like quite often the reasons that we engage in an activity are directed more out of a desire for fun than out of a serious consideration of how this impacts our life before Christ. What at first blush may seem innocuous has a seriously corrupt core. This day is centered on celebrating things that are a result of sin. Would we have any of the things that halloween celebrates if there were no sin in the world? If the answer is no then we must ask, "Should we join in such a celebration?"

Just look at the decorations that people put up if you have any questions about what the holiday is focused on. In the midst of such base things there is real opportunity. That opportunity is found in the people that come to your door. Here are kids that may need the gospel. They might want candy but a gospel tract or a simple gospel presentation might be exactly what those kids need to hear. We are called to be in the world but we are also called to not be of the world (1 John 2:15-16). This season of the year is an incredible opportunity to share the gospel and to teach our children to focus on God and all the great and glorious things that He has created.

Why followers of God know peace

In Philippians 4:11-13 Paul bears witness to the fact that God has given him the grace to be content in any situation. What is the key to that contentment? A clear focus and dependence upon God. Paul faced times of plenty and abundance and realized that they were a gift to him from God. Paul faced hunger and need and realized that these too were a gift from God. How can hunger and need be a gift from God? Hunger and need are a gift to the believer who like Paul has a clear focus and dependence on God. Hunger and need are blessed reminders of how much we truly need God to sustain us. By thrusting us into the barren desert of need God helps us to let go of our dependence on things of this earth. We are put in a place where we truly must depend on God. When Paul says, "that he can do all things through Christ who strengthens him" he is talking about being able to walk through adversity as well as plenty.

Paul's admonition earlier in the same chapter rings with greater force when we understand his personal heartbeat that follows it (Philippians 4:4-7). Paul started that earlier section with a call to rejoice in the Lord always. The only way you can rejoice ALWAYS is if you see everything that is coming to you as a gift. These are all gifts given to us by God for our own benefit. Paul continues with a call to be gentle with everyone. Even those who are not good to us? In a word yes! Why? Because the Lord is at hand.

He tells us not to worry. What should we do with the things that come our way? We communicate everything to God by prayer and supplication with one unusual thing thrown in - Thanksgiving. Paul wants us to make our request but in the midst of making them to be thankful for these same things because they are truly a gift from God. When your heart is tuned to being thankful and rejoicing in all the things that come our way we will gain something that is astounding. Peace! Not just any peace but the peace of God that surpasses all understanding.

1. Rejoice always - because you see everything coming to you as a gift
2. Be gentle with everyone - because the Lord is at hand and He will make things right
3. Don't worry - take everything to God by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving

Do these things and rivet your eyes on the Lord Jesus and an amazing peace from God that passes understanding will fill our hearts. Not only that but He will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. As we rejoice in Him He will secure our hearts so that they can continue to rejoice in Him. This is why the true followers of Jesus in the midst of persecution and a life devoid of external peace will exhibit a heart filled with supernatural peace that cannot be taken away. Join me as I try to follow Paul's plan for living a life completely focused on God.

Looking for love in all the wrong places

A headline on CNN this week read, "18 killed amid panic at Germany's 'Love Parade'". The Love Parade started in Germany in 1989 a few months before the fall of the Berlin Wall. It has been held every year since. It was created to be a political statement. They were calling for international understanding and peace. The creators thought they could do this through love and music. So this big music festival that attracts hundreds of thousands of people has continued until this year when 21 people died at the festival in a crowded underpass. People came looking for peace and love and found death. Things like this exult in man's ability to solve his own problems. Seeking peace in man whose biggest problem is sin is a futile enterprise. There will never be peace as long as there is sin. Jesus was the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). He told the disciples that He was leaving them a peace that was different from the world. He said that He was leaving His peace with them (John 14:27). The world's peace is an empty promise that it never delivers on. God's peace is available to anyone who repents of their sinful ways and trusts Jesus as their Lord. The peace that we receive from the Holy Spirit is one that the world cannot understand (John 14:16-17). Why does the world not understand it? Because they have not received the Holy Spirit and they are not interested in keeping God's commandments. I am not talking about developing a legalistic righteousness. But Jesus Himself said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15). Was Jesus calling us to be legalist? No! If you love someone don't you do things that will please them. If God has placed a love in your heart for Jesus and His kingdom you will find yourself longing to keep His commandments. This is not to make you more righteous but this is simply to take you to the feet of Jesus. Those who desire to live a God focused life will find their hearts embracing and seeking after God's law as a means of knowing Him better.

Meeting anticipation

We had relatives come for a visit today. They had not yet had a chance to meet our twin girls that joined us about 5 and 1/2 weeks ago. While we anticipated their visit and looked forward to it I was struck by the joy and obvious anticipation they had in meeting our new additions. As I reflected on this I realized that this type of anticipation is the same as what we will experience as we cross into eternity and have the chance to finally meet our Lord Jesus and our Heavenly Father. Only the anticipation and joy in meeting Him should exceed anything that we long for here. Why? Because it is only in Him that all things that we experience even exist. It is only in Jesus that we have any hope of eternity at all. It is only in Jesus that we will be made sons and daughters of God. It is a grand and glorious desire. To see Him and to be able to know Him is truly more magnificent than we can comprehend. It exceeds our wildest dreams or expectations. It is the grandest hope of all hopes. If your heart does not burn with a longing for Him, then seek Him. Ask Him to instill in your heart a greater desire. We are in a battle against the flesh (Romans 8:13). It is truly a battle to set our hearts and minds on God (Romans 13:14). So take on the battle. Become engaged in the fray. Turn your heart and mind to a focus on our Lord Jesus. It is only in Him that we will gain an anticipation and longing that will drive us toward eternal life and health and peace.

What meaning does Palm Sunday hold for you?

Rev. Bill Shuler wrote an article on the FOX news site titled, "10 Things We Must Not Forget At Easter." It is an interesting piece to find on a major news outlet site. He makes some interesting points and I would say its worth the read. What strikes me though about all the headlines is I did not find a single feature article on Palm Sunday. That would be this Sunday. In two days we will be remembering the day that Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey. The Prince of Peace had come and was being hailed as the one who had come in the name of the Lord. Palm Sunday invokes for me the reality that God in the person of Jesus entered into that final week as the one who had conquered sin in His own living and existence. He had been tempted in every way that we are and yet for 33 or so years he had resisted that temptation and was without sin. He was the spotless lamb of God. His entry into Jerusalem was cause for celebration. Jesus had come to the final steps of His lifelong journey to redeem for Himself a people that would serve him freely and joyfully for all eternity (Psalm 110:3). Creation was about to be changed. The final sacrifice for sins was entering into Jerusalem. The means of repentance and reconciliation to God was right around the corner. The creator was going to make fallen condemned mortals, immortal. God had become the Son of Man so that man might become a son of God. It is a breathtaking journey that we witness. May Palm Sunday stir within your soul the wonder of the glorious Lord Jesus, and join me as I resolve to live a life in passionate pursuit of the blessed one that came in the name of the Lord.