All Hallows Eve

I have thought long and hard before deciding to write tonight's blog. Please remember, this is my blog and my opinion. I don't judge anyone else for what they believe or celebrate. I have come to my standards because of the studying I have done in God's Word.

Today is Halloween or Beggar's night as I heard it called as I was growing up. If you look into the history of Halloween you find a long and varied history with many different countries involved.

Some say that it started as a "christian" holiday. November 1 is celebrated as All Saints' Day and that was a time where people could pray for the souls of departed saints until that day. They wandered the earth and could take revenge until that day. According to God's word, absent from the body means present with the Lord if you are a Christian. You don't wander the earth until you 'cross over'. You can read about how all of the 'traditions' now practiced started many years ago-including dressing up in costumes and trick-or-treating.

There are different aspects of Halloween. Some think it is harmless because they can dress up in fun or cute costumes and get candy. But there are others that enjoy the 'scary' aspects of Halloween-the ghosts and goblins along with the scarier the better attitude. Growing up my parents made the choice as a family that we would not celebrate any part of Halloween. I didn't dress up or get candy and we didn't pass out candy. We got to eat dinner and then peek behind the curtains from a darkened room. I never felt that I was missing out on anything and yet I knew that I could be different and stand apart from the world and be o.k. Halloween may be harmless on most levels but the evil can go much deeper. It is a holiday that is dedicated to Satan. I don't know of any Halloween movies that are happy and have good moral story lines where a family with young children could sit and watch together. (except maybe Charlie Brown-and then you have to explain that the Great Pumpkin isn't real-just like Santa Claus.) Why would I want my children to think Halloween is harmless and a fun holiday? Satan is powerful-he will use whatever means possible to get his foot in the door. He wore the first costume when he entered the garden as a snake to talk to Eve.

Genesis 3:1-5

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

I need to walk as far from evil as possible.

Proverbs 4:27

"Do not turn to the right or the left;

Remove your foot from evil."

Light and darkness are opposites. Christ is the true light and that is who we are to resemble as we live one day at a time. What we see through our eyes we put into our minds and that will come out in our lives. When we have the light it extinguishes the darkness. We can't be in both. We must make a choice. I choose to walk in the light. I don't want to dabble in anything that has to do with the darkness. If it means I won't trick or treat, or go to Halloween parties or dress in a witch costume on Halloween-so be it. A lot of the aspects of Halloween can seem oppressive-how depressing-I would much rather dwell on more uplifting events in life. If I want to wear a costume for fun on another day than so be it but to do so on Halloween is, as a friend wrote earlier today, would be to conform to the world's patterns and I want to conform to the image of Christ.

Romans 12:2

"And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed, by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and perfect and acceptable will of God."

1 John 1:5-7

" This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."

Like I said-I won't judge you for what you celebrate but take the time to know why you are celebrating something and be willing to stand up for it. Be positive.