If you've read this blog for the last few months, you'll know I'm a strong supporter of God's festivals -- you know, the one's God told us to celebrate in Scripture: Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Pentacost, Shofars, Atonement, Tabernacles. These honor God and are awesome prophetic pictures of Messiah: things he accomplished when he first arrived and things he will accomplish when he returns.
One cannot love God without subtracting from love of the world. Messiah put it this way,
Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.And again he told us,
Likewise, we cannot embrace the things of God without discarding the things of the world.
If anyone comes after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the angels.
It's a simple equation: you + God = you - world
Enter Halloween.
Halloween is a rather unique man-made holiday in that no one really hides or denies the pagan, satanic, witchcraft from which it sprouted. (Contrast this with Easter or Christmas, both which have similar backgrounds, but is often denied by some Christians.)
When I married my wife, she had already been celebrating Halloween, so I've followed along. This year, however, I've come to the conclusion and have been convicted that it does mean something to God. It doesn't honor God, even though we have, for the masses, thoroughly sanitized the holiday of any tangible evil. Doesn't matter though, it doesn't honor God, it's from the evil one, and I am now convicted it has no place in the life of a proud Messiah follower who is unashamed of God and the awesome things God does on our behalf.
This year I'm not going to take part in the Halloween celebrations; not as some holier-than-thou thing, after all, I've had my share of lying, cheating, and all kinds of immoral behavior, but I can nonetheless strive to live for God, despite my failures. Gotta dig myself out of this worldly culture that has otherwise consumed me.
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Now playing: Lamb - Ode To Bethlehem
via FoxyTunes
Judah,
ReplyDeleteThere are many Christians, even those who don't celebrate the biblical feasts, who have the same feelings you do about Halloween and some of the other holidays. I know people who refuse to call Easter, Easter; opting for "Resurrection Day," instead. Like you say, Halloween may have had pagan origins, but has become something that, in my view, is pretty much sterile. Sterile in the sense that they aren't actively worshipping some false God.
You say that it doesn't honor God and I would agree. But where do you draw the line? The same statement can be made about the Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day, etc. Do you feel the same way about those? How about birthday parties?
The last thing I want is to come over here and stir things up. I am tired of the way we have been "debating." I am also not arguing in favor of Halloween, but I am genuinely curious about where you draw the line and why?
In Christ,
Gary
Isquez, I assume you meant to post your comment to the John Hagee thread. Please post it again there, and I'll delete the comment here.
ReplyDeleteGary, you asked me where do I draw the line.
My answer is, there isn't a clear, absolute line right now. God's been drawing me out of the world more and more over my life, and now it's time for this sacred cow of the secular world to go, even though my family is now upset at me over this. I guess you could say God's been moving the line closer to him and further from worldly things.
I think God has been drawing others, Messianics and Christians, out of secular culture for years now, and right now I'm feeling that same draw.
Judah,
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to hear that your family is upset with you. That is the hard thing about having convictions, not everyone agrees with them. But they are yours before the Lord. If they come from Him, then trust that He will reinforce them in your heart. If they are not from Him, then have faith that He will change your heart concerning them.
I know that you already know this, but you are the head of your household. That doesn't mean that you should be high handed. You should always seek and listen to your wife's opinions and advice, but in the end it is your responsibility for the decision.
I think that they will respect you more for standing on your convictions than giving in to pressure.
In Christ,
Gary
Judah,
ReplyDeleteI agree with Gary, there are many things that we celebrate like 4th of July which do not, on face value, honor God.
But, we are told in word or deed to do all in the name of the Lord. That even refers to secular things. You can brush your teeth so you can stay healthy for the Lord. You can be more productive at work for the Lord. And you can celebrate or commemorate for the Lord.
I took the kids trick or treating because they love candy, not because they like to cause mischief (that comes in the teen age years I am told). We only went to the grandparents' and we stayed to visit at each one and said thank you when we left. No devil worship or scaring them in anyway.
But it is up to you. You will have to convince your family that it is better not to do it. Maybe an alternative activity would be good. I here toilet paper and soap is cheaper in bulk. ;-)
Judah, I think you have done the right thing by not participating in halloween. It has nothing to do with G-d and its origins are pagan. Some say, where do we draw the line? I for one draw the line if it has anything to do with paganism in its current form or in its origins. I find that the more I focus on the appointed times G-d has already given and commanded us to do, the other man-made holidays (Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day, etc.) really just don't matter to me. G-d has already told once before about our holidays etc.
ReplyDeleteIs. 1:14 Everything in me hates your New Moons and your festivals; they are a burden to me — I’m tired of putting up with them!
Continue to be bold Judah.
hey Judah, I was going to ask the same question as Gary, but I see he beat me to it.
ReplyDeleteJake and I like to cosplay for Halloween each year. It's sort of been a tradition since we met a few years ago, and so I look forward to Halloween each year because it provides a bonding experience for us. But even though I still celebrate the "holiday", I always respect your opinions and admire your ability to stand up for what you believe. So basically this post has no point except for that last part.
Hey Michelle,
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting, it's always good to hear from you. I appreciate the kind comments. I've never heard of cosplay before, just looked it up on Wikipedia -- you guys must have a blast! :-) Regarding my take on Halloween, I hope this post wasn't a "oooh, bad bad shame on you guys for celebrating Halloween!" -- I don't want it to be that. It's just where I believe God is leading me.
Rick, thanks for the encouragement. I do believe God hates humanity's invented festivals, especially the ones that are rooted in evil and replace God's appointed times. Humanity is so pompous and self-important today, we've discarded God's feasts in exchange for humanity's foolishness. We're too important to be bothered with God's feasts, and many are too culturally tied to the secular world to ever consider dropping the pagan celebrations of Halloween, Christmas, Easter, Lent.
H-Dog, thanks again for visiting. Hadn't heard from you in a while, glad you took the time to comment. Last year my wife and I took our son trick or treating, then we handed out candy wrapped in Bible verses. In retrospect, while it was done with good intentions, ultimately it is mixing holy and profane. There's deep history of such mixing, beyond the scope of this comment. I'd like to write a post on the mixing of holy and profane and get your feedback; maybe that will happen in the next week.
Gary, thanks for the encouragement. We opted instead to go see a kids movie, and they both enjoyed it and all is well. I got home after the movie, pulled out my guitar, and just sang songs to the Lord -- new songs from the heart, as well as some old favorites -- for over 2 hours. It was awesome. I could just feel the Lord was pleased in praising him and glorifying him in the midst of this secular holiday where most of the world is out doing the world's thing. The last song I sang was just
Holy holy holy
Lord God Almighty
Holy holy holy
Lord God of Hosts
Halleluyah halleluyahweh hallelu
Halleluyah halleluyahweh hallelu
Halleluyah halleluyahweh hallelu
Your are Lord God of Hosts
Your are Lord God of Hosts
Your are Lord God of Hosts
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I was just in this awesome presence of God for 2 some hours. This morning I've felt so rejuvenated with the Spirit of the Lord; I'm entirely convinced God lead this, convicted me of this, and brought me to a new plane. I'm happy he did it. It's one of those times you wanna just start shouting Psalm 150 out loud. :-)