God provides a way

I have been away from this for several weeks now and I apologize for the absence. I have had quite a few contracting production jobs that I really needed in the last couple of weeks. These jobs on top of my job search has made blogging take a back seat. Rest assured I really enjoy bringing the gospel to bear on the day to day of life and will be blogging as often as I can for the sake of directing my heart and others to the great glory of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.

The last time I blogged I promised to talk about a fourth thing to consider when it comes to Halloween. Many would call this an alternative or a substitute but I believe that God in His great grace and mercy ordained that there be a great thing for Christians to celebrate on this day. October 31st is reformation day. It is considered the beginning of the protestant break from Roman Catholicism. Every single church that exist apart from the Orthodox, Anglicans and the Roman Catholics owes its existence to the break that began on this day. It was this moment in history when Martin Luther pounded the 95 Thesis on the door of the church in Wittenberg. It was this action that began the separation that became protestantism and ultimately has birthed evangelicalism. For modern Christianity this is perhaps one of the most important days on our calendar. Why? Well we need to remember the things that caused this separation.
We need to keep before us the points that many of these reformers gave their lives to make. Because without these basic things kept before us we are prone to repeat the errors, that led to the problems, that caused a need for reformation. These are the sort of things that can help to fortify our children's hearts and faith. Reformation day is a really great time to celebrate the lives and the issues that birthed the vibrant rich Bible saturated churches that we have today. We need to remember these things lest we lose them.

I am all for remembering the birth the death and the resurrection of Jesus. But keep in mind we would not have the opportunity to know and enter into an unmediated relationship with Jesus were it not for the reformation. I am not really arguing for an alternative to halloween I am advocating that we embrace something that God in His grace ordained to happen on this very same day. I believe God gave us this so that we could be engaged in something that was God glorifying. Something that could completely crowd out the worldly pagan celebration that we call halloween. I hope that this gives you food for thought as you consider what you do in the future so that you and your families might live a more God focused life.

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.

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.