Allhallows Even Is Redeemable

(by Lorie Codispoti)

I hate, hate, hate halloween!

I take what 1John 1:5-6 says seriously: "God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth." There needs to be a stark difference between light & darkness in the life of a Christ follower.

We decided decades ago that we would not have anything to do with our culture's celebration of halloween. We were the house that turned off all the lights to keep anyone from knocking at our door. Our children did not dress up & beg for candy, & we would not engage with any church (or other) related alternatives. Part of our conviction came from the idea that there was nothing redeemable about halloween.

Christians are commanded to expose the deeds of darkness (Eph.5:11) in an effort to redirect people to the Light of Christ.

The glorification of this holiday has progressed exponentially over the years. I used to be able to shield my children & avoid the halloween aisles in stores, but you can’t do that anymore. The fascination with death & the exaltation of all things grotesque is everywhere this time of year. Our hatred for all things evil should remain steadfast, as it is an affront to our Holy God & everything He calls good.

A few years ago, for a variety of reasons, I began wondering if there actually might be a redeemable quality, beyond Reformation Day, All Saints Day, etc. (which we acknowledge). So I started digging into the topic & researching it from every angle.

The following are a few key questions that served as a springboard to my investigation.

~~ What kind of sources am I gleaning from?

The Bible talks about there being safety in a multitude of counselors (Prov.11:14). Safety from what? Safety from reading into something more than what is actually there, as well as not taking something serious enough.

One thing that investigative research has taught me is to vet my sources & consider each perspective in order to evaluate accurately. We need that multitude of counselors to protect us from error. For example, October 31st is most definitely a “high holy day” for the spiritual hosts of wickedness & their human affiliates. I have heard countless testimonies of people who were delivered from the evils of witchcraft, satanism, the occult, New Age, etc., & they all attest to the significance of this day for the realm of darkness.

When you hear about the experiences of those who have come out of this world it’s easy to see the dramatic difference between the darkness they came out of & the light they now walk in. But, there is almost always a hyper-sensitive component to their dire warning. While their cautions have merit & should be considered, I have noticed that they have a tendency to feel so strongly about their message that they can inadvertently exaggerate, or even falsify, the evidence to support their position. We need to be aware of this & proceed with caution.

If you want to gain a deeper understanding of something you have to collect, analyze, & discern the evidence from a variety of sources that represent multiple sides of an issue. Always, always consider the source & understand their perspective as you gather information & formulate your opinions.

~~What is the foundation of my conviction?

As we gain spiritual maturity it is always wise to revisit & reevaluate our convictions. We need to ask ourselves if we have built it on a foundation of faith or fear, & then take a careful look at the fruit it has produced. A conviction that is not from God will often manifest as condemnation that can cause even more confusion & draw us away from God. Whereas a conviction from God will draw us closer to Him with a heart of repentance that frees us from deceptions and false beliefs.

We all need to “be fully convinced in his own mind…” (Rms.14:5-6) when it comes to our personal convictions & how we apply the principles of Scripture to our lives. We must be willing to correct wrong thinking when presented with truth. It is critical for our convictions to be rooted in truth rather than a belief based on inaccurate information or the misapplication of Scripture. It’s a lazy person’s hermeneutic to proof-text Scripture to fit a specific confirmation bias.

“The Word of God informs our conscience and is a light to our path (Psa.119:105). Personal convictions should never be based solely on what we “feel” about a matter. …the Bible does not deal directly with every situation. Forming personal convictions on issues not specified in Scripture requires us to search out the guiding principles in the Word.” (GotQuestions)

~~Is an ungodly origin justification enough to ban the day?

One of the things I’ve discovered is that many of the origin stories that I based my original opinion on have been proven to be false.

The history & origin of something is an important thing to consider, but if those were deciding factors we’d need to 1) ban the celebration of birthdays with cakes & candles, 2) call our months & the days of the week by different names, & 3) reconsider bridesmaids due to the fact that they were instituted to trick evil spirits into going after them instead of the bride. And, what about baptism? Should we cease from baptizing believers because the Babylonians practiced this as a pagan ritual long before Christianity?

The origins of halloween are very obscure. The evidence shows a convergence of traditions that have evolved with time & cultures. For example, the origin of giving children treats in the U.S. can be traced to states almost banning the event altogether due to mischievous boys picking October 31st as a day to pull pranks, some of which were starting to become dangerous. In an effort to quell the mayhem there was an exchange of candy for their cooperation to cease their troublesome behavior.

As christians, we need to steer clear of bolstering presuppositions based on some kind of fake-lore or pseudo history. We are called to a higher standard & the origin argument is simply too weak for it to be the deciding factor.

~~ Have I fallen into the trap of legalism?

Sometimes, in our well-intentioned efforts to “contend for the faith,” (Jude 3) we can be snagged by legalism. The enemy knows that we are all susceptible to a surprise attack & we need to be cognizant of his sneaky ways. While a discussion is merited, a disagreement about halloween should never be elevated to gospel proportions when it’s more of a matter of conscience. This is not a contest to be won, & when a disagreement shifts from being a civil debate to a quarrelsome attack (Rms.14:1) we need to either agree to disagree or shut it down & be willing to walk away. It’s pharisaical to imply that man-made ideas are commands from God & that one person’s conviction supersedes all others.

~~ What is my view moving forward?

I still hate halloween. That hasn't changed. However, I’ve come to a few conclusions that I hope will be helpful to you as you prayerfully navigate this tricky subject.

~ Every day belongs to the God who created them. (Psa.118:24)

Satan does not get to own a single day, so let’s not give him one. This is a spiritual battle designed to win back the territory that has been stolen. We may not be able to prevent the attention that Satan & his minions receive, but we can flip the agenda to one that focuses on God & celebrates life rather than death, witchcraft, violence, & horror. Halloween presents itself as the victor, but in Colossians 2:15 we’re informed that Christ, through His death & resurrection, disarmed the principalities & powers of darkness, making a public spectacle of them & triumphing over them. Christ is the Victor!

~ Throughout history, christians have always lived among cultures where sinful acts were practiced & false gods worshipped.

They had to decide what kind of approach they would take with the evil they encountered. To darken our homes & hide is no different than what the Israelites did when they retreated to the mountains when God commanded them to engage the ungodly in order to make Him known. In Matthew 10:16 Jesus said that He was sending His disciples out as sheep among wolves. They were to remain innocent & use wisdom as they purposely engaged the ungodly.

~ There’s a difference between celebrating & participating.

To celebrate an event is to embrace & engage in what has already been established. It promotes the good or bad in it. However, it is possible to participate in the same event, but as an active agent whose purpose is to promote an alternative to the the dark arts.

I conclude by saying that I no longer believe that halloween cannot be redeemed. Believers are commanded to act wisely & redeem the time (Col.4:5). We are also told to live wisely, “making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil” (Eph.5:15-16). How we go about fleshing that out may look different from one culture & time to another, but the objective remains.

We’ve been commissioned to dispatch good news...

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” (1Jn.1:5)

May we overpower the darkness that is so pervasive on October 31st. For me, that means turning on all the lights & asking God to give me opportunities to share the Light of Christ with those who live in darkness.

GloryUsGate.blogspot.com

Nationalism

(by Lorie Codispoti)

Over the years my husband has had many requests to sing This Little Child by Scott Wesley Brown. It’s an oldie, but the words still ring true. One line stands out to me as I ponder the angst I see among our nation’s citizenry … “every nation that has fallen has fallen from within.”

We continue to hear the label “christian nationalist” thrown around by a contingent known as the “left.” It's meant to be derogatory as they accuse another group known as the “right.”

Two questions: 1) Is there a definitive explanation of what christian nationalism is, because it’s apparent that we are not all working from the same definition? And, 2) Who decided that everyone should be pigeonholed into the left or right?

1. Christian nationalism is put simply by the consensus of Natasha Crain’s research (When Culture Hates You). Generally speaking to be a christian nationalist means you are advocating for public policy according to biblical values. (This does not include the problematic, fringe, extremist groups who claim to be christians & would define the term differently.)

What’s so scary about that? There’s nothing dangerous about advocating for the government to take care of its people by promoting “what is good & restrain what is evil.” (N.C.) That is not only the biblical mandate for government, but it’s what the Founding Fathers established with our Democratic Republic.

2. The symbolic labels of left wing vs. right wing originate from a political divide that started in 1789 France. Members of the French National Assembly were at odds with one another over how much authority the king should have. Their opposing political ideologies dictated their seating arrangements, with the liberal faction seating themselves on the left & the conservatives on the right.

I can’t help but remember how children would separate themselves on the playground based on whether or not you were an officer’s kid or a measly enlisted serviceman’s child. Can’t we all simply play nice together?

I recently heard former CIA agent, Andrew Bustamante summarize this whole thing in a way that made perfect sense.

“ Whether you are old or young, we're all nationalistic. We all love our country. But the thing that's driving so much of our nationalism is this fear of the other side. Not a fear of the collapse of our society, not the fear of some rising power across the ocean. But for some reason, we're more afraid of our neighbor than we are afraid of the real threats that are out there. For whatever reason, we get so distracted and so confused with our own infighting, that we don't realize that infighting is exactly what helps our adversaries. As we become more and more tribal, then we will become fed upon by our adversaries.”

In my opinion, the best example of Christian Nationalism looks a lot like it did for our founding fathers. While the left & right wings were all presently divided & dutifully accounted for, they were also able to come together to discuss their differences & yet find enough common ground to formulate the Declaration of Independence & Constitution that would serve & protect its citizens. They risked both their lives & livelihood for the good of a fledgling nation that needed to be unified if it was going to survive the onslaught of its enemies.

Jesus noted that, “every kingdom divided against itself is doomed to destruction" (Luke 11:17).

An older friend pointed out to me last week, as he reminisced about the political environment of his youth, that he can’t remember a time when the people of this nation were so divided. He lamented over the fact that he is even estranged from one sibling & barely has much of a relationship left with the other due to political divides.

Am I concerned about Christian Nationalism? Not in the way it’s defined above. What concerns me is the unwillingness to respectfully come together & dialogue enough to conclude that while we may have differing opinions, we-the-people want to see our democratic republic thrive as we advocate for “what is good” for our people.

I’m not naive enough to think that there is an easy fix to the problem of division in this nation. And, while I wish I could, I can’t say with confidence that our nation will survive this divide. But what I can say (& sing) with confidence, however, comes from another line in the song I mentioned … “Yet in the midst of this darkness, there is a hope, a light that burns. This little Child, the King of Kings, someday will return.”

And in His kingdom, all His children enjoy playing together on the playground.

GloryUsGate.blogspot.com

Watch The Body Grow

(by Lorie Codispoti)

One of the things I’ve been thinking about in recent days is this familiar idiom: “Cut the head off the snake & the body dies.”

Here’s the thing though; that idea doesn't apply to the kingdom of God. History confirms that when you cut the head off a christian leader, whose ministry is effectively producing fruit, the body of Christ is strengthened & christians multiply.

It was the early christian theologian, Tertullian, who said that it’s the blood of the martyrs that is the seed of the church.

The sacrifice of one christian who dies for his faith will serve as fertilizer for the soil that was prepared for a harvest of new believers. We see this example recorded in the book of Acts with the stoning of Steven, which resulted in the conversion of Paul. (We know this to be true with the deaths of many of the apostles as well.)

Church history is replete with the stories of many who were persecuted & murdered for their unwavering faith. Some of the ones whose stories we might be familiar with are John Wycliffe, John Huss, & William Tyndale. A few well known, modern day martyrs include Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Jim Elliott & his four colleagues. Two of the women that stand out are Dorothy Stang & Nagham Nawzat.

It is estimated that over 900,000 christians have been murdered for their faith between 2011 - 2020. These are ordinary people serving as missionaries & advocates in hostile environments. We’ll never know their names, but God does, & their reward is great.

While peace can also contribute to growth, persecution serves to sharpen our focus as believers. Christian advocacy groups report that in most cases it is a catalyst for growth. Some have reasoned that persecution fosters solidarity as it drives believers to deepen their personal & corporate reliance on God. As we reflect on our own convictions in the wake of recent persecutions, may we be strengthened & inspired to share our faith with boldness.

Do you remember what God told the snake in Genesis 3:15? “I will put enmity between you & the woman, & between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, & you shall bruise His heel.” Not only did Christ step on our enemy’s head & crush it when He died & rose again, but He is going to return & chop satan’s head completely off. And when that happens his minions will scatter & be destroyed along with him.

Psalm 74:14 says of God… You broke the heads of leviathan in pieces, & gave him as food to the people inhabiting the wilderness.

Mount up the offense & don your armor, Church!

We have been commissioned to pursue the enemy, rescue the captives, & reclaim the territory that was stolen. Running away is not an option; there is no armor for our back. One day we will remove the battle armor forever, but this is not that day.

Cut the heads off believers & watch the body grow!

GloryUsGate.blogspot.com