1 John 2:1-2 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
An Australian friend of mine brought this statistic to my attention recently. Americans are expected to spend $8,000,000,000 on Halloween this year. Yes. That says 8 Billion dollars. Think: enough money to put a big dent in involuntary homelessness if it were donated appropriately.
I also found this:
Percentage of Americans who plan to decorate their homes for Halloween: 53%.
Those who plan to dress up (in spite of Covid limitations): 46%.
Are you getting a picture here? There is no remorse or repentance going on due to the COVID19 drama this year. Based on those numbers, I would guess that very few of the Christians who celebrate Halloween have even bothered to re-evaluate their behavior and make changes that honor Christ. This despite all the calls for us to follow 2 Chronicles 7:14 (If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.)
Do you know what true repentance looks like? It looks like turning from wicked ways. It looks like renouncing evil deeds and discarding the works of darkness.
Acts 19:17-20 And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.
Just to be clear, fifty thousand pieces of silver in that ancient economy was a tremendous amount of money, each piece of silver representing a day's wage. Based on an average day's wage today of $247 that comes to about $12,350,000. Definitely not pocket change. Yet they willingly burned those things for the glory of God. They cleared themselves from their previous involvement in Satanic arts and practices. 2 Corinthians 7:11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
By the way, this is the New Testament church equivalent of the 2 Chronicles passage, but the two are not exactly the same thing. 2 Chronicles was written to the Jewish nation. We, the church, don't seek to heal our land. We strive now to show ourselves approved unto God. It isn't the same thing.
But, I digress.
For years and years now there have been people crying out against the Satanic history of Halloween. My own parents were confronted with it when I was a child and made the choice to leave it behind. Many of their generation would not make that choice.
Yet here we stand, in 2020, with nation in decay and Christians of various persuasions calling for America to turn back to God and become a "righteous nation," but so few who are willing to give up the works of darkness and lead the way by example.
And it isn't just Halloween. I poke around the web. I see and hear things. People often tell you a lot more about themselves than they probably wanted you to know.
For example, there are professing Christians who claim they are not bothered by the violent sex scenes in shows like "Game of Thrones." Really? That makes me wonder what sort of stuff they watch that has anesthetized them to such vile filth. I guarantee you that it isn't the Holy Spirit doing this, who guides us into all truth (Jn. 16:13-14) and glorifies Jesus Christ. Jesus is not making them comfortable with scenes of rape and sex that are so disturbing even one of the actresses is reported to have been bothered by it. No, I've never watched it. I don't have to. There is plenty to read about it without filling one's mind with the visual depravity of it. And, may I just say? I'm not really that keen on having men (or women) like that being "on my team" in allegedly bringing the U.S. to a righteous place. In fact, to be blunt: it isn't possible for people with those proclivities to bring anything or anyone to the righteousness of God because they don't understand it themselves.
Many Christians have embraced the adventures and wizardry of Harry Potter and justify it as good reading for kids because "good wins out over evil in the end." But it isn't God's good winning over Satan's evil, no, it's Satan's good wining over Satan's evil. Much as in the Star Wars movies.
Oops. Did I just say that? Yes, at the risk of being told I'm no fun and too picky. It is definitely not popular to say this among today's Christians, and yet it's still true. The golden calf of Star Wars is a shrine at which many bow. But have you ever considered that the "the Force" can be used for both good and evil? That both good and evil are supposed to be different sides of the same entity? That isn't God. That is Satan. That is the basic principle of so-called "white" and "black" magic or witchcraft. It all goes back to the same "source," and that is the devil. So, yeah, Harry Potter and Star Wars are Satanic at the most basic level. How can I say that?
How can I not?
1 John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
Psalm 5:4 For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
Any entity or power that has "two sides" - both dark and light - isn't God. Never has been. Never will be.
And while I'm on this little jaunt, may I bring up the subject of Superheroes? Especially Thor? Oh, yeah. The heathen god of thunder from Germanic mythology who has become a Marvel superhero. And, to be clear, all of the superheroes portray god/goddess-like attributes that remind one of the idols of various religions - counterfeits of the one true God and Jesus Christ, His Son. Isaiah 42:8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
Now I understand that it can be easy to pick up something not realizing the origins or connections it may have. I have learned the hard way to check the other books of authors that are new to me to see what other types of books they may be writing. Sometimes we may accept something that seems innocent only to find out later that it has evil connections.
But how hard is it so figure out that Harry Potter is about witchcraft and is essentially dark in its origins? How hard is it to realize that Thor is a heathen god? Or to figure out that Game of Thrones is a vile show? Or that Halloween is a festival of death and darkness? Not that hard, really.
Ok, I'm done venting. But, just let me finish with this. I find it very strange to hear and see Christians talking about turning the U.S. around for God and making it a God-fearing nation again, a righteous nation, when they aren't willing to give up the patently evil things in their very own lives. Halloween is just one of many.
Hosea 10:12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
Ephesians 5:8-11 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
God walks in my garden
In the early dawn,
But when I rise to greet
Him He is always gone,
Though I can trace His footprints
In beds of violet,
And in a lily's perfume
His presence lingers yet.
Hush, my soul, be patient
For yet a little space --
Some day you will see Him,
Will meet Him face to face;
Some day, earth forgotten,
You will fare abroad,
And in heaven's gardens
You will walk with God.
Martha Snell Nicholson
Hebrews 10:37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
Revelation 3:4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
Mark 16:15-16 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Romans 10:13-15 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
I have no control over ads.
It's a curious thing, but Romans 8:28 gets taken out of context a lot and used by itself. This isn't necessarily bad, but I think sometimes we fail to appreciate its context in the passage. As we are living through such a strange time right now, it might be a good idea to consider how and why God might be using the coronavirus and the disruptions of life for good to His children.
Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
We often don't know what to pray for as we should. We don't always know what God would have for us. But, His Spirit does. This is a very comforting thought if we remember that He's working for our good. It can be quite frightening when we start to question if God's intentions are good, or if we are afraid that what He thinks is good for us is something we don't want to experience. (Ouch.)
