Pages

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Self-sacrifice

Esther 4:16 "...I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish."

I was reading through the book of Esther lately and it suddenly hit me how much Esther put her life out on the line. It got me thinking. I need to have the same self-sacrificing attitude for the furthering of God's kingdom! I need to witness freely to God's people! Esther was up against death. If I witness to someone in this country and they reject me, the only thing that I suffer is knowing that they aren't going to Heaven. I can repeatedly tell them about Christ's love, unlike Esther who only had one chance!

Halloween

I just wanted to share with you some information about Halloween:

Taken from History.com:

Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas.

Taken from klove.com:

As Christians, what do we do? Remember the name of the holiday is the only thing that has changed; Halloween still carries some of its pagan significance and there is no Christian significance to be found in Halloween. Jesus Christ is conspicuously absent! Wise parents are replacing Halloween with family night activities. Others are having “Hallelujah nights” or "Glory Gatherings" where all references to Halloween are removed and wholesome games are played, Christian songs are sung and Christian videos are shown. Others are using Halloween as a night to pass out Gospel literature.

Selected scriptures on this subject:

"Satan, the god of this evil world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe, so they are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News that is shining upon them..." 2 Cor. 4:4

"Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, rebuke and expose them." Ephesians 5:11

"Don't let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good." Romans 12:21

"Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, rebuke and expose them. " Ephes. 5:11

"Keep away from every kind of evil." 1 Thes. 5:22