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--February 22 2017--

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Trick or Treat? Yes? No?




So, what’s the big excitement about Christians having nothing to do with Halloween? After all it is really All Hallows Eve and November 1st is All Saints Day. I mean when you look at it Christmas and Easter are pagan holidays and yet Christians celebrate these too. Yes, the focus is not the pagan celebration but on Jesus, His birth and His death and resurrection. But, what is the focus on Halloween? It is nothing more than a Pagan holiday and there is nothing Christ centered about it.
What does God say about Christians celebrating pagan holidays? Let’s see.

Deuteronomy 12:29-32 ESV
“When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’ You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.

Colossians 2:8 ESV
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

Matthew 15:3 ESV
He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?"

1 Corinthians 10:21 ESV
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.

Ephesians 5:11 ESV
Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

2 Corinthians 6:14-18 ESV
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”

Romans 12:2 ESV
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Ephesians 5:6-12 ESV
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. ...

There are a lot more verses that are against worldly ways but I don't want to bog you down, I think you get the idea by what I have shared. So is it wrong for a Christian to take part of the fun? Well, there is a lot more to Halloween then meets the eye. It is a strong hold for satanists and there are a lot of sacrifices going on but really Halloween is not the most powerful time for these people. They rely more on full moons and solstice. But even with that our God is bigger and He demolishes strongholds in the heavens. With the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ those who trust and believe in Him are free. 

I do believe that even give us the freedom to take part of Halloween.

There is more though.

What does God want from us? He wants us to love Him and put Him first. He wants us to love our neighbour. He wants obedience from us. To love Him means we obey Him and He detests all things that are evil and Halloween has nothing to do with God but all to do with the world.

Consider this...

How much do you really love God?


Joshua 24:15 ESV
And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”


Blessings,
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14 comments:

  1. You make a great case… Ouch! Got me thinking...

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    1. Hi Floyd,
      I'm glad I got you thinking about this. I desire to obey God and have Him hear my prayers and one of the things I asked Him years and years ago was to break my heart for what breaks His. And I tell you, when you ask God something He sure does answer. :) The more He breaks my heart for what concerns His, the more He reveals to me the fullness of His Word. He loves us deeply and desires for us, just like a parent for their child, to love, listen to and obey Him.
      Denying the flesh is hard and is harder still when the pull of the world becomes stronger.

      Thank you for visiting brother,
      <><

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  2. This is a very reasoned post, backed up by scripture. Not over the top but presenting a case for why Christians should politely abstain from this festival. In one sense, the trick or treat may be fun, but even there I feel that going around people's houses for sweets and such things is not really appropriate anyway for many reasons. I keep away from the Occult simply because when I was a young teen I loved witches and ghosts and all kinds of stuff like that and I did read lots of quite heavy and more involving stuff that began to disturb me, not seriously but enough to say that it was taking me away from God. It's a question of balance and definitely a question of discernment. I personally still like atmospheric ghost stories which are well written and enjoyable to read but I see that like reading Sherlock Holmes or LOTR or anything which is fantasy or fiction. I enjoy it but it does not hinder my walk with God. That is perhaps the most important criteria we should reflect on. So, in short, if it is a problem for us and we think it may hinder our walk with God, perhaps best we cut it out. Equally, is it a serious problem for God? Some people can drink 2 or 3 beers, others don't know when to stop. We could apply the same thing here. Great post.

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    1. Hi Tim,
      Thanks for sharing. :)
      I don't believe there is anything wrong with fiction books and even some scary ones as long as they lead the way to Christ. Like LOTR and even Frank Peretti, (which can be very scary as it deals with satanists and such) but that is just what spiritual warfare is. God is bigger and we are not to be afraid of that which He has squashed. Through Him we have the authority to commands demons out and deal with those who are in the occult.
      God has said it is okay to have a drink in moderation but He has told us very clearly to stay away from pagan practices because these He detests. So if God says it then I will do it. :)

      Blessings brother,
      <><

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  3. Very good and very clear, and straight from the Word of God.
    Since my kids are all grown, I feel like I should not tell other people what to do concerning the celebration of Halloween, because it is easy for us not to participate...I will be honest, we went back and forth on the issue during the years our girls were growing up. Now looking back in hindsight, I regret not remaining more consistent in our convictions about Halloween. Now, my granddaughter's other grandma is a wiccan/witch, and that influence is strong in their lives.( this has me on my knees spiritually before the throne of God on their behalf daily!) My daughter does not have a strong and steady faith any longer either, and it is not a long-stretch to blame it ( at least partly) on our inconsistency in the area of Halloween as well as other worldly pursuits that do not honor God, but are widely accepted by the world, and many Christians as well...sadly.

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    1. Hi Lisa,
      Thank you. God is speaking to me pretty clearly on this one.
      Thanks for sharing hon. I too, when my kids were really little, took them out once but was very soon convicted that it was very wrong. My daughter was 7 and my son 4 and there was a haunted house and my daughter said to me, 'mommy, this makes God really mad and I don't want to do this anymore.' I was blown away but how clearly she heard from God. We never did it again and as I have become closer to Father I see just how this sort of thing really saddens Him, that His children would split themselves from Him to have fun with the world.
      That influence in your granddaughters life can totally be covered in the blood of Christ and I will stand in agreement with you for her and for your daughters in laws. You can be the grandma that instills the Truth into your grandchildren. It is a mighty powerful role and will definitely way in favour for their salvation.

      Blessings hon,
      <><

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    2. Thanks...standing in agreement and pleading the blood of Jesus over them~ Greater is He who is within us, than he who is in the world! ~In Jesus~ Amen

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  4. Hi child of God,
    I don't suppose I really celebrate any particular days of the year. When I was a child I used to like the nativity scene and the Christmas carols, but I think it was mainly because my father was Christian so Jesus was spoken about in the house. To me every day is more or less the same and the issue is about having God in my life and having my mind renewed in Christ. I like it if children are encouraged in any way at all with Jesus in the scene, but Halloween seems to be all about witches and nothing nice. and the real story is far more sinister.

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    1. Hi Brenda,
      There is nothing about God in Halloween and I believe that taking part of this celebration only opens doors in our heart to the demonic. The war that is going on around us is very sinister and many people are dabbling in stuff they really have no clue about. God doesn't warn us about staying away from evil because He is a control freak, no way. He warns us to stay away because He knows the harm it does to us and He loves us so much that He wants to protect us from that harm.

      Blessings sister,
      <><

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  5. Hi Child of God,

    I love this post! Thank you so much for your thoughts on Halloween! I agree with you wholeheartedly! We have freedom in Christ, however, we need to be wise and use discretion. The Holy Spirit warns us when we are about to enter into regions that would be better for us to not enter, just like He did for your daughter (what a blessing!!!) and we would be wise to listen, or else over time we cannot hear His promptings anymore. God isn't a "killjoy" as many think Him to be. He is a loving Father who doesn't want to see us getting hurt. Sin in this world already inflicts so much damage, why would we want to inflict ourselves with even more suffering? The devil can make his ways seem harmless, fun even. He knows how to sugar-coat his poisonous "treats". We have the Holy Spirit to guide us and teach us to abstain from things that will hinder our walk with Him. Why would we want to use our freedom to hinder our walk with Him if we truly love Him?

    Also, the notion about wanting children to "have fun" and not have them become abnormal from protecting them from "normal" childhood fun and traditions is not something that I can find supported in the scriptures. In fact, Jesus has some sound arguments against those wanting to follow traditions over what the word of God says. Again, it isn't so that we can punish children to keep them from having fun. I think we have a skewed idea of what fun is if the only way we think they can have fun is by continuing in worldly traditions which promote devils and witchcraft.

    Great read! Thank you and bless you for posting it. <3

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    1. Hi Susan,
      Thank you. :)
      The freedom we have in Jesus Christ should not be abused. He wants us to be meek servants who wait on Him. And the meaning of wait, I believe, is waiting as in serving and waiting as in just that, waiting for His timing. God does not want us to be fooled by Satan and his tricks but to know him and how he fights and he sure does love to attack our senses. The flesh is easily lead into the addiction of our emotions be that the thrill from a horror, the sensual pleasure of a husband and wife by means of fornication and such, gluttony, etc... I agree with you that sometimes our views are skewed and the traditions we are teaching our children are doing nothing more than making a mess out of them.

      I'm glad you liked this post, it is all Father led.He is always so faithful to me in providing what is needed at just the right time.

      Blessings sister,
      <><

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  6. I'm just curious, what about Christmas and Easter? Both not only have origins in ancient European religions, but many of the customs still celebrated today on those holidays have origins in those faiths. For instance, trees, eggs and rabbits were are symbols of life and of figurative death and rebirth, the changing of the seasons.

    Do you celebrate Christmas and Easter? Do you feel Christians should celebrate them?

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    1. Hi Sheldon,
      Yes, Christmas and Easter are pagan holidays but Christians adopted these holidays to celebrate the birth and resurrection of Jesus Christ, so they are Christ centered. Halloween however has nothing at all to do with Jesus but is a pagan holiday to honour the dead.

      I do not celebrate Christmas or Easter but I do celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on December 25, even though that is not His birthday and I do celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the Easter holiday even though He did not die and resurrect during the appointed Easter celebration.

      Thanks for your visit and your questions.

      Blessings,
      <><

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