Monday; October 31

I have a like/hate relationship with Halloween. I like the candy, but get frustrated with the hijinks associated with the day. I like the social aspect of neighbors visiting with neighbors but am wary of some of the costumes that seem to depict the darker side of our existence. However, I am most concerned by a nonchalant acknowledgment of the spirit world. When we view satan, spirits and evil influences almost as cartoon characters I wonder if we are missing the point. Now, please don’t misunderstand me – I am not saying that we shouldn’t participate in Halloween, what I am saying is that we should be careful what we portray in jest and remember that we are in the middle of a battle between forces of darkness and light.

We often give credence to a belief in evil influences, but we need to make sure we understand that we are in a constant battle for the soul of our world. Periodically, we will mention that we are in tug-of-war with the morality and focus of our nation, but this extends beyond that. Not only is there a very real human influence at work in swaying societies morals there is an out-and-out battle being waged by satan to overwhelm all nations. I am not exactly certain how satan came to be, but I do know that he is alive and well today!

I hope you get a lot of candy tonight, but I want to leave you with a couple of cautions. First, don’t eat it all at once. However, an even greater challenge is to use today as a reminder of an often-unseen evil influence that is trying to derail goodness and truth. Let’s reflect on the warning Jude gave the First Century church, “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” (Jude 4)

Think About It!

Popular posts from this blog

Thursday; May 3

I have a fish tank that allows my three Bettas (Larry, Darrell and Darrell) to live in the same structure, but remain hidden from each other – well sort of.   When I go to feed the fish, I believe that one of the Darrell’s can sort of see that the other Darrell is getting fed and he will linger over on that side of the tank even after I put his food in his tank.   I have to tap on the side of the tank where his food is floating to help him refocus and eat.   I get the impression that he is so interested in what is going on in the other Darrell’s tank that he can’t enjoy his own food. I have been told that the brain of a fish is pretty small – which explains their inability to process “blessings”, but are we guilty of the same malady as Darrell?   Are we so worried (or consumed) by what happens to the people around us that we fail to realize what is going on with us?   Are we envious of the blessings that others are receiving and end up missing out on what we have been given?   Are w
Read more

Thursday; February 14

         While most of us are familiar with today being Valentine’s Day, there are some who actually refer to February 14 th as “St. Valentine’s Day”.  This title is often affixed to a criminally historic event known as “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” on February 14, 1929 in Chicago, but that is another story for another time.  Not knowing much about the history of “Saint Valentine” I did a little research and found out he was a Roman religious leader who was martyred in 269 AD.  According to my limited research Valentine was killed because of his encouragement of Roman men (especially soldiers) to marry which was in violation of Claudias’ edict that prohibited marriage to keep their minds singularly focused on their task of defending the Empire.  Somehow, from this beginning – and possibly embellished by Chaucer – St. Valentine became intertwined with the concept of romantic love.           I am not really sure how February 14 th became connected with love, but inspired by thi
Read more

Wednesday; December 6

What does it mean to be a leader? I subscribe to the belief that a leader is someone who seeks the best for others and works with them to achieve their potential. There are others; however, who define leadership as the ability to have a vision and the tenacity to get their own way. Leaders who are this way are often portrayed as having developed the maturity to manipulate people to do things their way. However, is the ability to drive people in our direction mature or is it childish? The Christians of the 1st Century came from a lot of different backgrounds and had to work hard to work together. As the Apostle Paul challenged Christians in the city of Ephesus he challenged them to accept individual differences, “… until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. “ (Ephesians 4:13). Bossiness was not to be viewed as a sign of maturity, a willingness to wo
Read more