Boo, I See You

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

All Hallows eve, “Halloween”, good, bad or don’t care?

As we come upon October 31st once again we must sit back and challenge the acceptance of Halloween for what it is and for where it came from. There is a long history associated with this particular day dating back thousands of years. As the shift from more daylight hours (during the summer months) went to more dark hours (during the winter months) the belief was that spirits roamed the earth in the transition. Originally, it became a festival of sorts in Celtic and Druid tradition on the eve of November 1st. This pagan tradition (originally called The Vigil of Saman) and festival was celebrated by people dancing and parading wearing the skins and heads of dead animals. Some would wear costumes of evil images to blend in with the evil spirits that may be out and about that night, so as not to come under attack. The name Halloween, stems from the original name “All Saints Day” which the Roman church moved from May 1st to November 1st in the 8th Century AD. This day was to honor all of the saints that did not have a specific date set aside for them. This later became known as “All Hallows Day” and therefore the night before became known as “All Hallows Eve”. Eventually this became known as Halloween in the mid 1500’s.

For years now the questions around Halloween as it relates to Christians has been debated. Let’s be very clear, there is no glorifying message or presence of Jesus Christ in the Halloween festivities and celebrations. You might take the secular side of the debate, celebrate with the kids and hold true to the harmlessness of the day, or you might take the other side, not support it and hold true to the celebration of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Whichever side of the debate you are on, it is important that you address it with your children. I know as a child growing up, it was viewed as such an exciting time because of all of the costumes, candy, bobbing for apples, trick or treating, pranks and pumpkin carving. Many of these traditions stem from the pagan festivities of old, albeit’ not celebrated as such in today’s day and age.

We learn from the scriptures that we are to avoid evil ways of the world and focus all of our attention on the righteousness and glory of the Lord.
In Ephesians 5:11 Paul tells us, ”Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, rebuke and expose them”
In 1 Corinthians 10:21 he states, “You cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons, too. You cannot eat at the Lord's Table and at the table of demons, too.”

Pray about how you are going to handle this with your family this year. You have to make the choice on how to celebrate with your family. Candy, costumes, carmel apples and the other traditions need have no significance in your celebrations, but family togetherness is always important. Use this time of year to draw close to one another and enjoy the fellowship of the Lord. Many churches and organizations are having fall celebrations or festivals, I suggest you seek these out and make that a part of your family traditions, rather than partaking in the celebration of evil spirits through costumes representing such and watering down the righteousness of God. Be safe, have fun and be careful.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
We come before you to lift you up in all that we do. We seek your wisdom and conviction in our lives to help us to remain focused on you in all of our activities. Help us to avoid the evil ways of Satan and the conforming to worldly views . Let your light shine through each of us in our choices and actions that all might see your righteousness and love. Help us to be an example to those that might have succumb to the world. In all of our days, we lift Your name in praise – Amen.

(c) Sondove Enterprises, 2010
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Speed of Dark

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” – Matthew 6:22-23

For those of you who have studied physics will know that the speed of light is a constant calculated to be 186,282 miles per second.  So if the sun is 150 million km (93.75 million miles) then it takes 503 seconds (8m 23s) for a portion of sunlight to reach the earth.  Numerous scientists, mathematicians and physicists have studied and studied the speed of light over the last two centuries to determine the exactness of the calculations.  So, now that we know this little bit of information – what is the speed of dark?

Hmmm…..the closest someone has ever come to putting a formula against the speed of dark is to state: 1/speed of light.  This indicates it is the inversion of the speed of light or the opposite of the speed of light.  As light diminishes, darkness grows.  Therefore, darkness is the absence of light and has no actual speed.  When light is introduced into darkness, the brighter the light (in lumens) the more dissipated the darkness becomes.  Walk into an absolutely dark room, close the door and you are enveloped in darkness.  Reach for the light switch on the wall, and by the time you have taken your hand away from the switch the room is suddenly enveloped in light (assuming the light bulb works).  Light when introduced eliminates the darkness.

Many will question that if God created all things, He must have created evil.  To this there is but one answer.  Evil happens in this world, to that point we can all agree.  Like light, cold exists only in the absence of heat and evil exists only in the absence of good.  God’s presence in this world is good and righteous.  The choice is given to man to accept this goodness and reflect that goodness back into the world.  Evil exists in the world where God’s love has been denied and it is reflected throughout.  The more we study God’s word, spend time in building that relationship and sharing His love; the stronger the presence of goodness is enjoyed.

What our eyes see is captured in our brain, analyzed, filtered and absorbed into our knowledge.  As we cast our eyes upon evil and unrighteousness, so will our mind, heart and soul absorb these things.  Focus your vision on those things which are good, wholesome and righteous, and let those things penetrate your mind, heart and soul.  For in doing so, God’s light becomes brighter and shines so that others might see Him in you.
Heavenly Father,
You are worthy of all glory and praise.  You have given all things holy and righteous that we might become stronger witnesses for You.  Help us to focus on these things and take our eyes, our mind and our vision away from evil in this world.  Help us to understand Your goodness Lord, that it pours out from within and lights the path in front of us.  We are wonderfully made to be a light to those around us, strengthen us to hold true to Your teaching and Your word.  In Jesus name we pray – Amen.
© Sondove Enterprises, 2011
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