Halloween: A Cheap Imitation

Imitations Always Follow Originals
We live in world of copies. Rolex watches have morphed into sidewalk knockoffs. McDonalds now serves specialty coffees that mimic Starbucks. Designer look-alikes are available at every department store. You can get non-fat, calorie free ice cream, beverages, and everything in between. We buy cheap imitations because we want the look, the taste, and the feel of the real thing, but aren’t willing to pay the price to get it. That can be a good thing if you’re trying to stay within a budget or lose a few pounds, but in the spiritual world it can be lethal.

God is the Only Original Designer
Satan can’t create anything new; all he can do is copy and distort what God has already made. He’s out to steal God’s customers, so he presents a product that impersonates what God offers. However, his goal is not customer satisfaction; Satan’s goal is to completely destroy mankind. One of his most effective weapons is to make us think we’re getting the real thing when we settle for his cheap imitations.

Our God Loves to Party
Contrary to what Satan would have you think God invented the whole party concept. He created us with a need for rest and fun. That’s why the Bible lists nine different feasts throughout the year that God wanted His people to celebrate.* On those holidays God said: take a day off, get together with friends, play music, dance, eat, and give to others in need. Be thankful for all the good things I provide for you. In America we celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Valentine’s Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, and other holidays with good and honorable themes, mostly faith based.

So what do you think about Christians celebrating Halloween? Halloween is the high holy day of the year for Satan worshipers. It glorifies death, fear, darkness, gluttony, and the occult, which are directly opposed to the message of Christianity.

Please consider.

Halloween is Not Just Harmless Fun
Look at the news during Halloween. The focus is on the newest thriller, witchcraft, and an increasing amount of occult related crime. Just recently, a friend of mine was walking on the beach with her daughter and they came across a coven of witches in black capes. They were in a circle around a crystal ball and stack of rocks. They were getting ready for a ceremony. My friend looked up the symbols she saw there where she got home and it all had to do with Satan worship and witchcraft. This is really going on in our communities today; it is not just fairy tale stuff. And they are actively praying against Christianity!

What do former Satanists say? They say Halloween lures us in with the fun of dressing in costume and eating candy, but behind that cover up is great evil. (check out the movie Halloween: Trick or Treat? from Jeremiah Films and the book, The Annals of a Satanist by Frank Alvarez III). Plus many other books and articles written by those saved out of the occult and living in the light of Christ.

Look at What Scripture Says About Halloween Themes:
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons. Are we trying to arouse the Lord's jealousy? Are we stronger than he? 1 Corinthians 10:21-23

The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Romans 13:11-12

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22

Be an Original
Instead of participating in a cheap imitation, let's use this season of the year to fight against evil and celebrate what is good. Are you willing to be different and follow God’s original design for party fun? Did you know that November 1 is the original Christian holiday? It's called All Saints Day and the early church fathers set it aside as a day to honor all those Christians who have died for the sake of Christ. Do you think it is any coincidence that very few Christians even know about this holiday?

Martyrdom is not just a thing of the past, either. More Christians are being persecuted around the world than ever before in history. Approximately 200 million Christians are currently being persecuted for their faith - they are burned to death, shot, stabbed, imprisoned, starved, and buried in mass graves.

Tomorrow we are having an All Saints Day party - with a potluck dinner, games and prizes - "Who am I?" in Christian history and "Who Said This?" (quotes from Christians throughout history), and watching a movie about a brain surgeon that God raised up from poverty and delivered from uncontrollable rage to peace in Christ. This is partying you can feel good about, that promotes God's message and feeds your soul with courage to do His will. What are you going to do?

Stay with what you heard from the beginning, the original message. Let it sink into your life. If what you heard from the beginning lives deeply in you, you will live deeply in both Son and Father. This is exactly what Christ promised: eternal life, real life! 1 John 2:24-25, Message

*The feast days in the Bible are: Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, Weeks (Pentecost, Harvest), Trumpets (Later called Rosh Hashanah – New Year’s Day), Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), Tabernacles (Booths, Ingathering), Sacred Assembly, and Purim.

If you are interested in learning more about what the Bible says, here's a few great verses to read on your own. May God lead you and your family to honor Him in all things.

Choose Life, Not Death
Psalm 16:11
Proverbs 8:35-36*
Isaiah 25:6-9
Ezekiel 18:32
John 10:7-10
1 Corinthians 15:55-57

Choose Faith, Not Fear
2 Kings 6:16
Psalm 23:4; 27:1; 34:4-5; 46:1-3; 91:1-6
Isaiah 41:10, 13
Jeremiah 10:1-6*
Luke 12:4-9

Choose Light, Not Darkness
Isaiah 5:20*
John 3:19-21
2 Corinthians 6:14-18
Ephesians 5:8-17*
1 Peter 2:9
1 John 1:5-7*

Choose Giving, Not Greed
Matthew 23:25-26
Luke 12:15
2 Corinthians 8:7; 9:6-15*
James 4:1-7

Choose God’s Power, Not Demonic Power
Deuteronomy 18:9-13*
1 Kings 18:25-39* (my favorite!)
2 Chronicles 33:1-6
Luke 9:1-2
Ephesians 3:16-21; 6:10-13*

#godlovesaparty #puttingGodfirst #beoriginal #halloweenandchristianity