2 Corinthians 6:14-17 NIV
Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. “
Halloween The Devil’s Birthday celebration
As God calls me to start this journey of being a voice in a world that seems comfortable with the spirit of compromise, I notice we often engage in things that I believe according to scriptures Jesus would never engage in and there is no evidence in the Bible he has engaged in. If there were such evidence of him and the Apostles engaging in celebration of a holiday that worshiped spiritual demonic gods, they would have compromised the very essence of Jesus’ ministry as the son of God. Jesus warned us in Revelation 20:18-20, anyone who adds or takes away from his words will be dealt with. I for one, would prefer to pray for the world and stay quiet because ministering to the world is a heavy task. It is heavy because Satan is very clever in spewing a distorted version of God’s commands into our ears. This is one of the reasons we need to be more in fellowship with our creator like Jesus was in Matthew 4: 1-11, who fought against Satan’s scheme during his weakest time. God often reminds me, Jesus did not save me from the devil to become a grateful sinner and to stay quiet, which I would prefer to do. In Revelation 15: 1-4, John was able to see a glimpse of the end of Satan’s defeat, verse 4 exclaimed “Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.” Apostle Paul asked a question that should always be in every Disciple/Christian’s mind who claim they have died and have risen to a new life with Christ (Galatian 2:20-21), “For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common?” Satan’s nature is to scheme, to deceive and to confuse.
Satan used those three main characteristics to lead Adam and Eve into disobeying God’s instruction to allow the birth of sin to enter the world (Genesis 3:1-7). It causes me enormous grief as God allowed me to experience and observe Satan’s scheme to lead many to engage in the celebration of Halloween for the sake of fun and to feel connected to the rest of society. The notion that some pastors and teachers are teaching that if you do not believe in the origin of Halloween, it’s okay to engage in the practice is a lie from Satan to lead you astray from disobeying God’s commands. Do not engage or have nothing to do with unfruitful deeds of evil (1 Timothy 4:1-2, 1 John 2:15, John 4:23-24, Romans 12:2, Galatians 4:8-11, Deuteronomy 12: 29-32, 18:9-4, Jeremiah 18:9-10, etc.). Just as Satan did in the garden of Eden when he convinced the woman that God lied and was holding truth, power, and pleasure from her, he is using the day of Halloween to have many celebrate his existence (Genesis 3:6-7). Let it be clear! Apostle Paul in Romans Chapter 14-15 by no means, broadened his teaching about passing judgement in relation to the types of food, conviction and weak faith as an encouragement to not warn Christian who believe in engaging in celebration that encourage devil worshiping. Halloween is not a matter of a sacred day; it is plainly sacred only to Satan and his demons. Paul’s message in Romans 14:5 was not to encourage the disciples that the day of the dead and worshipping of Satan is a sacred day. As a matter of fact, in Romans 14:6 he clarified his point, “Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord.” Everything that we do or engage in must be for the glory of God if we live under his Lordship. If Apostle Paul was to encourage the disciples to engage in paganism celebration, he would be in complete contradiction of God’s commands and his own teaching (2 Corinthians 6:14-15, 7:1, Ephesians 5:8-14, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, etc.).
Yes, Christmas is connected to wickedness in history. In my opinion, if anyone chooses not to celebrate Christmas, I commend their conviction. However, as a Christian who engages in the celebration of the Christmas Holiday, I ask myself a simple question. What connection does this Holiday have with the mission that Jesus gave me to go make disciples in all nations and teach them to obey his commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Let us draw a contrast between the celebration of Christmas and Halloween.
Christmas: Origin was a celebration of an ancient Romans festival call Saturnalia where they honor their gods of agriculture Saturn. Later, Christmas was re-invented to celebrate the birth of Jesus by Christians. My thought is wow! I can use something that was intended for evil to tell everyone about Jesus, the Messiah who came to the world to save us from the bondage of Satan. Christmas for Christians should not be about the gifts and the decorations. Although, the entire premise of the lights, decorations and gift giving should be centered around Jesus Christ the greatest light and gift that God has given to humanity. Yes, I will use any vehicle I can to tell everyone about Jesus including a Holiday that was meant for pagan gods. As long as the Gospel of Jesus is being preached. In contrast, how can anyone who professes Jesus is Lord justify Halloween as a Holiday to bring souls to God. Let’s be clear! Joining the world in demonic worship day does not justify the excuse that we are reaching out to people. It should be the other way around; the world needs to join us. Jesus says “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14). Jesus further called us, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). What good deeds are you demonstrating when you participate in a day that is Sacred to Satan and his fallen angels? Let’s stop pretending and denying the existence of Satan and his demons amongst us and using our ignorance to defend our pagan actions and lead people astray. I would warn the teachers of the law in this age to heed Jesus’ warning in Matthew 23:15-39.
Don’t miss the end of this devotional in next week’s weekly reflection
