Matthew 8:18--"When Jesus saw large crowds around Him, He gave the order to go to the other side of the sea. 19 A •scribe approached Him and said, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go!” 20 Jesus told him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”
This has traditionally been a difficult passage. Some have proposed that this statement is saying that Jesus was homeless and poor. In one sense this is true but in another not.
Jesus was homeless by choice not by tragic circumstances.
Other translations use "teachers of the law".
There was something in this culture that I believe adds to this passage. Famous Rabbis or teachers would attract disciples that would sit under their teaching. The more followers, the more prestige and their followers would defend the betterness of their teacher they were sitting under. So it was an honor for this man to come to Jesus to ask to be His disciple, but it was also a boost to the man's own reputation to say he sat under the popular teacher Jesus.
But in order to join or be accepted by a teacher, the candidate typically brought money to buy their way in. A popular teacher could make a good living. In order to gain more followers, these teachers would want to be easily found and work from a base of operations to spread their influence. It could become a cushy life.
It made me think that this man was likely not empty handed in approaching Jesus. Jesus wasn't just turning down the man, he was turning down his money. Jesus was turning down the culturally expected life of an established teacher.
If the man was himself a scribe or teacher of the law, he may have been expecting that pattern to continue under Jesus. I also suspect that the man was wealthy and used to his own cushy life.
That's when Jesus hits him with a simple truth. “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head."
In other words, following Me will not lead to the cushy life with a big house and comfortable bed. He's not setting up a base of operations--He is going to the Cross. If you want to follow Jesus, He will sometimes lead you through the valley of the shadow of death--but He will bring you through to the other side in Victory.
To me, this statement flies in the face of the health & wealth gospel, aka name it & claim it, blab it & grab it, covet & love it.
This man was handing Jesus a "check" full of money. Jesus didn't want a Rolls Royce or a private plane, another mansion or a Hawaii vacation. He turned the man away in much the same way that Peter turned away Simon the Sorcerer's offer of money in Acts 8:18-23.
The Gospel has never been about money or the promise of riches. Faith is not a means to greater wealth and Jesus is not delaying the Second Coming because "you don't got your money" as I heard Jesse Duplantis claim back in the 1990's at a church in Austin, TX (that was the last straw and my family and I finally walked out).
Faith is about a willingness to give up your own wants and comforts in order to live for the Kingdom. It may mean turning down more money in order to be where God wants you to be.
Are you the man or woman willing to give up the money and creature comforts to follow Jesus or are you the one who walks away from Him for not providing it?
Money don't buy you love... nor salvation.
The Pursuit Life
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Friday, October 05, 2012
Christians, Churches & Halloween-- Sending Mixed Signals
I found this article from The Christian Post regarding the popularity of Vampires, Werewolves & other such stuff. Worth reading and considering.
This was originally a sermon from a few years ago. I've updated a few stats and a couple other things.
Mixed Signals
I am going to make a few proposals to change some of the famous public service ad campaigns you’ve seen in the last decades and I want to ask how many of you think these sound like good ideas? What kind of message do you think they send?
Noting a shift in the youth mindset and America’s value systems, many of the old government, public service announcements have been retooled. Gone are the outdated “Just Say No”, “Don’t Drink & Drive”, “Don’t Play with Matches” campaigns. Maybe you’ve seen some of the new ones.
">Smokey the Bear<"—longtime spokesman for the National Park Service has come out with a new commercial series concerning playing with fire—“Only You can prevent forest fires, but if you really want to start a fire or play with matches—be sure and only start small fires at home.”
On a similar note—the Illinois Department of Transportation is coming out with a new ad campaign, getting rid of the “Designated Driver” idea, instead, they could offer special training classes for the frequent drinker. The new slogan is—“Protect the Streets—Drink and Drive successfully by Practicing Often.” Or better yet, parents, take away the need for driving by providing the beer and alcohol for your underage kids.
“Just Say NO” and other warnings against gateway drugs like alcohol and marijuana have been replaced. Local elementary, middle and high schools can offer after school training and free samples to students so they can find out which drugs they prefer and how to take them correctly. After all, they’re going to do it anyway. “Just say ‘Once’”.
What kind of message do these ads send? Mixed Signals. Mixed Signals in this sense are things that are confusing to our kids. We parents say one thing, then at some point, contradict ourselves and the kids cannot be sure which one they should follow, which one they should believe?
Is it wise for us to say 364 days of the year that something is bad, something is to be avoided, something is dangerous, and 1 day of the year, give them permission to participate in what we’ve been saying is bad all the other days.
This is a month in which many believers will send mixed signals to their kids, their neighbors and friends. Some of it won’t be by design or decision, but by the decision of others. Some may be because you may not have noticed or given it a second thought in some time.
Let me ask you, how many of you, your friends, or your kids have seen more about death, about witchcraft, about evil and murderous and demonic forces lately?
If you haven’t yet, drive by the front of Wal-Mart, watch TV this month, ask the video store what type of videos are most rented this month.
I am concerned how we adults and parents tend to tolerate, even send mixed messages about death, the occult, witchcraft or the demonic during the month of October as we get ready for Halloween.
These messages are inconsistent with our faith the remaining part of the year and typically, we would steer our kids away from such things. But this month adults and parents seem to be leading the mixed signals. We don’t even question our participation anymore.
Here’s some stats from the last couple of years.
This year, the average person plans to spend $66.54 on the holiday, up from $64.82 one year ago. Total Halloween spending for 2008 is estimated to reach $5.77 billion.*
This year, consumers will spend an average of $24.17 on Halloween costumes (including costumes for adults, children, and pets). People will also be buying candy ($20.39 on average), decorations ($18.25) and greeting cards ($3.73).
Kids: Adults:
1. Princess Witch
2. Spider-Man Vampire
3. Witch Pirate
4. Pirate Nurse
5. Disney Princess Wench/Tart/Vixen
6. Action/Super Hero Cat
7. Ghost Zombie
8. Pumpkin/Vampire (tie) Fairy
9. Batman Athlete/Batman (tie)
10. Star Wars Character Dracula
It’s hard to say how these mixed signals are contributing to the spiritual climate in our country. But let me share this with you.
According to Information collected from 1990 to 2001, The fastest growing religion (in terms of percentage) is Wicca -- a Neopagan religion that is sometimes referred to as Witchcraft. Their numbers of adherents are doubling about every 30 months.
14.1% do not follow any organized religion. This is an unusually rapid increase -- almost a doubling -- from only 8% in 1990.
These beliefs, once largely ignored or dismissed in America are increasing in our population and becoming more and more accepted; real to the point that now the military is required to have wiccan chaplains and burial rites. I'm not saying we have Wicca in America because of Halloween, but many factors contribute to the growing interest and acceptance of it and Halloween is a contributing influence.
When the Israelites began entering the Promised Land, they were given several warnings regarding the religious practices of the surrounding peoples and how they were not to be like them. For them such beliefs were a reality, a competing belief system that was a lure to be unfaithful to God.
Deuteronomy 18:10-14--10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells [notice good/bad, white/black isn’t mentioned], or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD. 13 You must be blameless before the LORD your God. 14 The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so.
Isaiah 8:19-20—“When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.
I believe God knew what He was talking about when he called His people to stay away from those things because they are dangerous to us spiritually.
The other nations practiced these things so they could gain control over or knowledge of the future, they would worship the created thing, rather than the Creator—ultimately these beliefs and practices keep people from an authentic faith in God based on worship in spirit and truth—so these are deceptions intended to prevent us from truly knowing God—so they function as lies and are demonic in their origin.
While many of us dismiss the occult or demonic, I and others can speak from experience—see my testimonies here
I hope you believe the Bible when it talks about the dangers of the demonic and the occult.
I hope you believe that Jesus had very real confrontations with the demonic, as did Peter, Paul, the other Apostles and the church—and you don’t write those accounts off as psychological conditions or some other medical phenomenon.
I hope you are not telling your kids that the occult is wrong, it’s dangerous, and totally opposed to God while at the same time saying, “we’re going to let you dabble with it for a little while, just once a year.
We tell ourselves… “It’s Harmless Fun” – maybe it is most of the time, but are you sure? Are you sure that putting your kid in those circumstances cannot affect them?
We’re going to buy dark, occultic decorations for our house, we’re going to encourage playing with witchcraft by putting the black pot in the lawn, we’re going to trivialize death and the demonic with cute cartoon figures and costumes that desensitize you to the real thing.”
That’s like saying:
Playing with matches is bad and dangerous, but let me show you the right way to strike them, let me give you a few things to burn.
You shouldn’t drink kids, but let me buy you a six pack for your birthday and let you drink it at home.
Hey Kids, there is a real spiritual evil out there trying to corrupt your soul and keep you from God, you must Resist the devil—but let me buy you a 10 horned demon mask, a witch or serial killer costume.
That is not a consistent message. It gives parental permission for something we normally wouldn’t want them playing with.
John tells us that he wrote the book of 1 John to warn us “about those who are trying to lead you astray”—1 John 2:26. John warns us in 4:1 to “not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God”.
It is my conviction that many Bible believing Christians have stopped “testing the spirits” when it comes to how we participate in Halloween.
I’m not saying that that a real Christian will not participate in Halloween. I'm not questioning your salvation.
I’m afraid that we no longer question it or even care whether what we do, or whether how we celebrate is “from God” or not, that we no longer consider the spiritual impact of HOW we participate.
We have already accepted the idea and we’re no longer asking—is this wrong—we have made that decision—we not looking to Scripture to give us guidance.
When challenged, many believers react defensively even with anger regarding Halloween. It’s a very emotional reaction.
I believe people react that way because on some level, people are uncomfortable with Halloween but they talk themselves or justify themselves into doing it anyway—for the sake of the children or some other reason.
To me, that is extremely dangerous for the People of God.
We can reason and justify anything. And I find it inconsistent to “do it for the children” when they are the ones most at risk and dependent on adults to make the Spiritually discerning decision.
The demonic packaged up as “harmless fun” is still demonic and in reality that makes it more dangerous and deceptive.
2 Corinthians 11:14 warns us that, “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light”. In other words—he puts on a costume trying to convince everyone he is a cute, harmless, misunderstood guy. He wears a costume to hide who he really is and hopes that you’ll invite him in for a visit.
1. Playing with the Occult is Dangerous—Saul in 1 Samuel 28:4- was so afraid of the Philistines, that after trying to ask God what to do about it and getting nothing—more likely b/c his heart wasn’t faithful and his attempts were more insulting to God than inspiring.
He then sought out a “medium” (the title of a recent TV series, BTW) to consult the dead prophet Samuel. He wore a costume to do it— vs. 8 lets us know that he wore a disguise to meet with this woman. And while most biblical scholars disagree on exactly what happened when the spirit of Samuel appeared, was it really him, was it a delusion or a demonic deception, they all agree that something happened. Saul had to take her word for it because he apparently could not see the vision for himself—vs. 14.
Saul is playing with fire—he is doing something God commanded not to do, something he knows is wrong & tried to get rid of at one point by expelling the mediums earlier in his career.
He is dabbling, thinking he is exempt, thinking that it won’t hurt him, thinking that it’s not really a big deal, but he’s about to find out it is a big deal that there are consequences.
2. Playing with the Occult has Consequences—
1 Chron. 10:13-14—“Saul died because he was unfaithful to the LORD; he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance, 14 and did not inquire of the LORD. So the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.
a. Even non-Christians are beginning to recognize Halloween related consequences for children.
b. A study conducted of six- and seven-year-olds by Penn State psychologist Cindy Dell Clark found that most parents underestimate just how terrifying the holiday can be for young kids.
c. “Halloween is a holiday when adults assist children in behaviors taboo and out of bounds," Clark writes in the anthropological journal Ethos. "It is striking that on Halloween, death-related themes are intended as entertainment for the very children whom adults routinely protect."
3. Dabbling In The Occult is not Compatible with Biblical Faith
a. Acts 19:13-16—The demonic is real and dangerous. You and I must not dismiss it because there is a very real spiritual battle going on; a real demonic power. While most of what we see in America today, like the astrology, the wicca, the psychic hotlines, is fake—it is not always fake. And the Believer should know better than to try and live in both worlds.
b. Acts 19:17-20—Believers Got rid of their old way of life. Some of them had practiced sorcery in their previous way of life—but Jesus changed all of that. They may not have felt convicted to get rid of it in their lives, but they eventually saw the need, no matter how valuable the items were. Sorcery, witchcraft, the occult, idolizing death are not compatible in the lives of those who love God.
Whether you celebrate or participate in Halloween activities is a decision between you and God.
I’m not questioning your salvation if you have a pumpkin at your house or if you give out candy.
What I do want you to do is question how or why you participate—don’t decide as a parent today, based on the pleasant memories you had as a child.
Examine everything by your faith.
1. Test the Spirits to see whether they are from God.
a. Test the things your kids are exposed to—
Halloween is now more than just one day—many kids are looking forward to it all month just like they do Christmas—it’s hard to walk into Wal-Mart with all the decorations all over the stores.
Books, TV shows & movies, cute cartoonish characters try to convince your kids that witchcraft, magic, monsters and death is all harmless fun—
Through stories they try to teach that we should and that God sees a difference between a bad witch and a good witch, between black magic and white magic—and there is none.
b. Test the costumes they want to wear—
kids, let your faith guide your decision.
Adults, make the decision whether something is appropriate for your kids—offer alternatives because it’s not too late.
c. Test the decorations of your house—
kids open your eyes to what you see at home and ask what message it sends to your friends of your faith.
Parents, re-examine your plans—make your home a place of light and hope that does not glorify dabbling in darkness.
d. Test the decorations of houses as you walk around—don’t go to those houses that glorify the occult
e. Remember that Kids can’t always distinguish between the Real and Unreal.
They don’t think like adults logically, emotionally—as the study I mentioned found—the scary, death, occult themes affect them more than we realize. Make a commitment to Protect them and not Confuse them or send conflicting messages
f. Reclaim the day—don’t let this day be controlled by the dead in your house.
Try to promote life by handing out tracts with your candy, by carving Christian images in your pumpkins, by inviting all you know and recognize to church, or by reminding your house and your guests that Oct. 31st is the day Martin Luther hammered his 95 Theses on the door of the Cathedral back in 1517 that started the Reformation. On Oct. 31st, he began a revolution of faith that we are living in today.
g. Embrace Philippians 4:8—“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.”
This was originally a sermon from a few years ago. I've updated a few stats and a couple other things.
Mixed Signals
I am going to make a few proposals to change some of the famous public service ad campaigns you’ve seen in the last decades and I want to ask how many of you think these sound like good ideas? What kind of message do you think they send?
Noting a shift in the youth mindset and America’s value systems, many of the old government, public service announcements have been retooled. Gone are the outdated “Just Say No”, “Don’t Drink & Drive”, “Don’t Play with Matches” campaigns. Maybe you’ve seen some of the new ones.
">Smokey the Bear<"—longtime spokesman for the National Park Service has come out with a new commercial series concerning playing with fire—“Only You can prevent forest fires, but if you really want to start a fire or play with matches—be sure and only start small fires at home.”
On a similar note—the Illinois Department of Transportation is coming out with a new ad campaign, getting rid of the “Designated Driver” idea, instead, they could offer special training classes for the frequent drinker. The new slogan is—“Protect the Streets—Drink and Drive successfully by Practicing Often.” Or better yet, parents, take away the need for driving by providing the beer and alcohol for your underage kids.
“Just Say NO” and other warnings against gateway drugs like alcohol and marijuana have been replaced. Local elementary, middle and high schools can offer after school training and free samples to students so they can find out which drugs they prefer and how to take them correctly. After all, they’re going to do it anyway. “Just say ‘Once’”.
What kind of message do these ads send? Mixed Signals. Mixed Signals in this sense are things that are confusing to our kids. We parents say one thing, then at some point, contradict ourselves and the kids cannot be sure which one they should follow, which one they should believe?
Is it wise for us to say 364 days of the year that something is bad, something is to be avoided, something is dangerous, and 1 day of the year, give them permission to participate in what we’ve been saying is bad all the other days.
This is a month in which many believers will send mixed signals to their kids, their neighbors and friends. Some of it won’t be by design or decision, but by the decision of others. Some may be because you may not have noticed or given it a second thought in some time.
Let me ask you, how many of you, your friends, or your kids have seen more about death, about witchcraft, about evil and murderous and demonic forces lately?
If you haven’t yet, drive by the front of Wal-Mart, watch TV this month, ask the video store what type of videos are most rented this month.
I am concerned how we adults and parents tend to tolerate, even send mixed messages about death, the occult, witchcraft or the demonic during the month of October as we get ready for Halloween.
These messages are inconsistent with our faith the remaining part of the year and typically, we would steer our kids away from such things. But this month adults and parents seem to be leading the mixed signals. We don’t even question our participation anymore.
Here’s some stats from the last couple of years.
This year, the average person plans to spend $66.54 on the holiday, up from $64.82 one year ago. Total Halloween spending for 2008 is estimated to reach $5.77 billion.*
This year, consumers will spend an average of $24.17 on Halloween costumes (including costumes for adults, children, and pets). People will also be buying candy ($20.39 on average), decorations ($18.25) and greeting cards ($3.73).
National Retail Federation
2010 Popular Costumes
Kids: Adults:
1. Princess Witch
2. Spider-Man Vampire
3. Witch Pirate
4. Pirate Nurse
5. Disney Princess Wench/Tart/Vixen
6. Action/Super Hero Cat
7. Ghost Zombie
8. Pumpkin/Vampire (tie) Fairy
9. Batman Athlete/Batman (tie)
10. Star Wars Character Dracula
It’s hard to say how these mixed signals are contributing to the spiritual climate in our country. But let me share this with you.
According to Information collected from 1990 to 2001, The fastest growing religion (in terms of percentage) is Wicca -- a Neopagan religion that is sometimes referred to as Witchcraft. Their numbers of adherents are doubling about every 30 months.
14.1% do not follow any organized religion. This is an unusually rapid increase -- almost a doubling -- from only 8% in 1990.
These beliefs, once largely ignored or dismissed in America are increasing in our population and becoming more and more accepted; real to the point that now the military is required to have wiccan chaplains and burial rites. I'm not saying we have Wicca in America because of Halloween, but many factors contribute to the growing interest and acceptance of it and Halloween is a contributing influence.
When the Israelites began entering the Promised Land, they were given several warnings regarding the religious practices of the surrounding peoples and how they were not to be like them. For them such beliefs were a reality, a competing belief system that was a lure to be unfaithful to God.
Deuteronomy 18:10-14--10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells [notice good/bad, white/black isn’t mentioned], or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD. 13 You must be blameless before the LORD your God. 14 The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so.
Isaiah 8:19-20—“When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.
I believe God knew what He was talking about when he called His people to stay away from those things because they are dangerous to us spiritually.
The other nations practiced these things so they could gain control over or knowledge of the future, they would worship the created thing, rather than the Creator—ultimately these beliefs and practices keep people from an authentic faith in God based on worship in spirit and truth—so these are deceptions intended to prevent us from truly knowing God—so they function as lies and are demonic in their origin.
While many of us dismiss the occult or demonic, I and others can speak from experience—see my testimonies here
I hope you believe the Bible when it talks about the dangers of the demonic and the occult.
I hope you believe that Jesus had very real confrontations with the demonic, as did Peter, Paul, the other Apostles and the church—and you don’t write those accounts off as psychological conditions or some other medical phenomenon.
I hope you are not telling your kids that the occult is wrong, it’s dangerous, and totally opposed to God while at the same time saying, “we’re going to let you dabble with it for a little while, just once a year.
We tell ourselves… “It’s Harmless Fun” – maybe it is most of the time, but are you sure? Are you sure that putting your kid in those circumstances cannot affect them?
We’re going to buy dark, occultic decorations for our house, we’re going to encourage playing with witchcraft by putting the black pot in the lawn, we’re going to trivialize death and the demonic with cute cartoon figures and costumes that desensitize you to the real thing.”
That’s like saying:
Playing with matches is bad and dangerous, but let me show you the right way to strike them, let me give you a few things to burn.
You shouldn’t drink kids, but let me buy you a six pack for your birthday and let you drink it at home.
Hey Kids, there is a real spiritual evil out there trying to corrupt your soul and keep you from God, you must Resist the devil—but let me buy you a 10 horned demon mask, a witch or serial killer costume.
That is not a consistent message. It gives parental permission for something we normally wouldn’t want them playing with.
John tells us that he wrote the book of 1 John to warn us “about those who are trying to lead you astray”—1 John 2:26. John warns us in 4:1 to “not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God”.
It is my conviction that many Bible believing Christians have stopped “testing the spirits” when it comes to how we participate in Halloween.
I’m not saying that that a real Christian will not participate in Halloween. I'm not questioning your salvation.
I’m afraid that we no longer question it or even care whether what we do, or whether how we celebrate is “from God” or not, that we no longer consider the spiritual impact of HOW we participate.
We have already accepted the idea and we’re no longer asking—is this wrong—we have made that decision—we not looking to Scripture to give us guidance.
When challenged, many believers react defensively even with anger regarding Halloween. It’s a very emotional reaction.
I believe people react that way because on some level, people are uncomfortable with Halloween but they talk themselves or justify themselves into doing it anyway—for the sake of the children or some other reason.
To me, that is extremely dangerous for the People of God.
We can reason and justify anything. And I find it inconsistent to “do it for the children” when they are the ones most at risk and dependent on adults to make the Spiritually discerning decision.
The demonic packaged up as “harmless fun” is still demonic and in reality that makes it more dangerous and deceptive.
2 Corinthians 11:14 warns us that, “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light”. In other words—he puts on a costume trying to convince everyone he is a cute, harmless, misunderstood guy. He wears a costume to hide who he really is and hopes that you’ll invite him in for a visit.
1. Playing with the Occult is Dangerous—Saul in 1 Samuel 28:4- was so afraid of the Philistines, that after trying to ask God what to do about it and getting nothing—more likely b/c his heart wasn’t faithful and his attempts were more insulting to God than inspiring.
He then sought out a “medium” (the title of a recent TV series, BTW) to consult the dead prophet Samuel. He wore a costume to do it— vs. 8 lets us know that he wore a disguise to meet with this woman. And while most biblical scholars disagree on exactly what happened when the spirit of Samuel appeared, was it really him, was it a delusion or a demonic deception, they all agree that something happened. Saul had to take her word for it because he apparently could not see the vision for himself—vs. 14.
Saul is playing with fire—he is doing something God commanded not to do, something he knows is wrong & tried to get rid of at one point by expelling the mediums earlier in his career.
He is dabbling, thinking he is exempt, thinking that it won’t hurt him, thinking that it’s not really a big deal, but he’s about to find out it is a big deal that there are consequences.
2. Playing with the Occult has Consequences—
1 Chron. 10:13-14—“Saul died because he was unfaithful to the LORD; he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance, 14 and did not inquire of the LORD. So the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.
a. Even non-Christians are beginning to recognize Halloween related consequences for children.
b. A study conducted of six- and seven-year-olds by Penn State psychologist Cindy Dell Clark found that most parents underestimate just how terrifying the holiday can be for young kids.
c. “Halloween is a holiday when adults assist children in behaviors taboo and out of bounds," Clark writes in the anthropological journal Ethos. "It is striking that on Halloween, death-related themes are intended as entertainment for the very children whom adults routinely protect."
3. Dabbling In The Occult is not Compatible with Biblical Faith
a. Acts 19:13-16—The demonic is real and dangerous. You and I must not dismiss it because there is a very real spiritual battle going on; a real demonic power. While most of what we see in America today, like the astrology, the wicca, the psychic hotlines, is fake—it is not always fake. And the Believer should know better than to try and live in both worlds.
b. Acts 19:17-20—Believers Got rid of their old way of life. Some of them had practiced sorcery in their previous way of life—but Jesus changed all of that. They may not have felt convicted to get rid of it in their lives, but they eventually saw the need, no matter how valuable the items were. Sorcery, witchcraft, the occult, idolizing death are not compatible in the lives of those who love God.
Whether you celebrate or participate in Halloween activities is a decision between you and God.
I’m not questioning your salvation if you have a pumpkin at your house or if you give out candy.
What I do want you to do is question how or why you participate—don’t decide as a parent today, based on the pleasant memories you had as a child.
Examine everything by your faith.
1. Test the Spirits to see whether they are from God.
a. Test the things your kids are exposed to—
Halloween is now more than just one day—many kids are looking forward to it all month just like they do Christmas—it’s hard to walk into Wal-Mart with all the decorations all over the stores.
Books, TV shows & movies, cute cartoonish characters try to convince your kids that witchcraft, magic, monsters and death is all harmless fun—
Through stories they try to teach that we should and that God sees a difference between a bad witch and a good witch, between black magic and white magic—and there is none.
b. Test the costumes they want to wear—
kids, let your faith guide your decision.
Adults, make the decision whether something is appropriate for your kids—offer alternatives because it’s not too late.
c. Test the decorations of your house—
kids open your eyes to what you see at home and ask what message it sends to your friends of your faith.
Parents, re-examine your plans—make your home a place of light and hope that does not glorify dabbling in darkness.
d. Test the decorations of houses as you walk around—don’t go to those houses that glorify the occult
e. Remember that Kids can’t always distinguish between the Real and Unreal.
They don’t think like adults logically, emotionally—as the study I mentioned found—the scary, death, occult themes affect them more than we realize. Make a commitment to Protect them and not Confuse them or send conflicting messages
f. Reclaim the day—don’t let this day be controlled by the dead in your house.
Try to promote life by handing out tracts with your candy, by carving Christian images in your pumpkins, by inviting all you know and recognize to church, or by reminding your house and your guests that Oct. 31st is the day Martin Luther hammered his 95 Theses on the door of the Cathedral back in 1517 that started the Reformation. On Oct. 31st, he began a revolution of faith that we are living in today.
g. Embrace Philippians 4:8—“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.”
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