Harmless Halloween Fun? Paranormal and Persecution Ponderings - Purity 875

To see today's photo, go to mt4christ.org or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter. Good morning. Today's photo of a multicolored October sky comes to us from Rocco Saya, the man behind Celestial Blue Photography, who shared this scene from Oswego, New York back on October 23rd, reporting that he hadn't picked up his camera in 2 weeks due to his massive preparations for Halloween, but that he took a break for the sunset and was rewarded with a perfect way to end the day in fall. Rocco truly has pulled out all the stops in decorating his home for Halloween, and if you are in Oswego and, um, in the evening hours, you can stop by 157 East 9th Street to see it for the next week. But he suggests stopping by on Halloween night because he will be synchronizing music with the light show as his way of saying Happy Halloween! If you aren't on the— on the— well, if you aren't near the shores of Lake Ontario and want to see a preview of what Rocco has done, there is a link to a post on the Celestial Blue Photography page on the blog today that provides a video of Mr. Seiya's Halloween decorating triumph. Well, it is Saturday of Halloween weekend, and it is my prayer that we all have a good and safe weekend. I know that Halloween is not until Monday, but I am sure that won't stop many a Halloween costume party from happening between now and then. And I know from my past that mischievous youth may take to the streets tonight or tomorrow to wreak havoc in their communities with acts of destruction or vandalism. I also know that the bars will be profiting off of and encouraging its patrons to lose their inhibitions and to drink deep and to make some wicked connections with the safety of masked anonymity. As much as Halloween can be considered to be just harmless fun for our youth with costumes and trick-or-treating, this celebration of all things spooky really is revealed as a dark holiday by its rebellious, destructive, and licentious spirit. That condones mischievous pranks, tricks, fantasy, and overindulgences in the sins of the flesh. But beyond these evidences that can easily be seen, there are the spiritual forces of darkness that are unseen but remain very real, that delight in our society turning toward the darkness in the name of fun, and which actively seek to steal, kill, and destroy. As my attempt to share the truth that the Bible declares about the paranormal aspects of life. I'm sharing an excerpt from Freedom in Christ Ministries blog from this week called Halloween: The Paranormal. The link's on the blog today. Um, FICM's USA board member Dr. Jonathan Karl continues his second, second installment regarding Halloween by writing So what is the paranormal? Should I be scared? Is it real, or is it all fake and pretend? Some paranormal occurrences are nothing but fraudulent hoaxes, yet some paranormal activities are very real and spiritually significant. 1 John 4:1 says, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God." And he presents the question: Are ghosts real? Can my dead relatives come back to talk to me? What about familiar spirits and spirit guides? Can a place be haunted? Is it wrong to talk to or hunt ghosts? Is it wrong to go to haunted houses? And he responds: Any real ghost sightings or hauntings are actually disguised demons trying to gain your attention and affection. They either want you to: 1. Be afraid of their powers. 2. 2) Be self-confident in your abilities, or 3) Be distracted from God by being absorbed into whatever experience they are presenting. Avoid the temptations of these experiences and flee from their evil, Dr. Carl warns. Uh, he then presents 2 Corinthians 11:14 that says, even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Then he presents the question What's the one surefire thing I can do to survive formal paranormal attacks? And he responds, real paranormal activities and beings are clearly demonic when they fail to accurately point to Jesus and his biblical truth, love, and righteousness. The only way to survive such paranormal attacks is by repenting of sin and being born again with saving faith in Jesus Christ. Christians, if you ever come under paranormal or demonic attack, there is only one strategy for success. Don't try to fight these spiritual battles in your own power. Seek Jesus and his truth. Repent from sin, walk in righteousness, renew your mind with his truth, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. Carl Lynch, Dr. Carl Lynch shares James 4:7-8 that says, submit yourself therefore to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. And then he shares a quote from William Gurnall that says, study Satan's tricks and acquaint yourself with his tactics. Dr. Carl then presents the question: What is evil? What is good? How can I know what is true and what is false? Which is the best hook— uh, book on this topic? Who is the best person to talk to on this topic? Carl answers the question by saying there is a spiritual battle raging around us between the followers of Christ against the unseen spiritual forces of evil. Although many authors and books seek to describe this warfare, the best place to start and finish is in the Bible. If you are a Christian, the Bible is your weapon. As a sword of the Spirit who is within you, so, uh, do— don't go unarmed into battle. Cite the scripture with your lips and with your life. Then shares Ephesians 6:16 and 17 that says, in all circumstances take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. And then he shares a quote from Dr. William Gurnall again that says, don't— do not pretend you want to be led into the truth if you will not bother to study the whole Word of God. Finally, he shares another question which says, is it okay to watch paranormal movies and TV shows, read books and blogs, Is there any harm in zombies, Pokémon, cartoon witches, avatars, vampires, werewolves? Should Christians celebrate Halloween? And Dr. Carl's answer says, sometimes we face complicated decisions that are best left up to Christian— to Christian conscience. We should study God's Word, evaluate our motivations, consider the potential impact on our Christian obedience and witness, and prayerfully seek the Holy Spirit's guidance. If a Christian finds peace about participating in Halloween activities, they must use wisdom. Many faithful Christians have a clear conscience about participating in certain Halloween activities by taking, by taking with precautions about their destinations, costumes, and behaviors. Some believers see Halloween as a a wonderful witnessing opportunity in which their neighbors and strangers will visit their homes or communities outreach events. He then shares 1 Corinthians 10:23-24 that says, all things are lawful but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good but the good of his neighbor. And then, well, there's another question. What if What if I just— what if I am just a normal Christian, quote unquote? Does this subject really affect me? Am I safe from all this paranormal and demonic stuff? How can I prepare for future attacks, spiritual, mental, marriage, etc.? Question mark. How can I live with ongoing struggles and suffering? What if Satan doesn't leave me alone? And Dr. Carl answers that by saying the lessons of Halloween can carry over throughout the year. Every day we all face spiritual battles where we do not wrestle with flesh and blood. We must daily prepare as we go into spiritual battle. As we mature in our faith, our perspective and passions may change or grow regarding the details of Halloween. May we seek to use our Christian freedom in ways that honor Jesus and share his light with a dark and dying world. May we live with joy in our salvation and move forward with bold courage against Satan and his demons. And then this final verse he shares is Luke 10:17 that says, the 72 returned with joy saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to your name. And for more, uh, information about spiritual warfare in the early church, summaries of some of that Dr. Neil Anderson's most important books, or a Bible reading plan from— for 2023, Dr. Carl invites us to go to, um, www.spiritualwarfare.blog/freebooks for some of his free book— free ebooks and writings on the various subjects regarding our faith in spiritual warfare. So that's that, uh, you know, most of the blog entry basically today. I only didn't share just a small portion because I thought, you know, the Bible verses obviously are good, and Dr. Carl's advice regarding the paranormal aspects of Halloween are good advice. So tonight, as I will be volunteering at the last installment of Operation Adopt a Soldier's Harvest Festival and Haunted Hayride at Gavin Park in Wilton, New York, probably as a bouncer for the bouncy house, I will be sure to encourage everyone I encounter to be kind to one another and to be safe in their celebrations. And if I get the chance, I will remind them that the darkness, no matter how prominent it may seem around Halloween or in our culture, has been defeated in the person of Jesus Christ on the cross. And I will tell them that they can participate in that victory by putting their faith in him. And by continually walking and talking with God. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the New Living Translation Bible Promise Book for Men. This morning's meditation verse is 2 Corinthians 4:9, and it says, "We are hunted down but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed." Today's Bible verse reminds us that our Christian faith may not always be a bed of roses, and that we may be knocked down from time to time in our walk of faith, but it assures us that no matter whether we are hunted down, we are not abandoned by God, and even if we get knocked down, we are not destroyed. Hunted down? Yup! In the Bonhoeffer's Discipleship lesson I presented the other night, the German theologian warned of a time of coming persecution, And while we, we in the safe— in the relatively safe confines of the U.S. may say we don't see it, an article on Forbes.com that I'm sharing on the blog today states— I'm to the link I'm sharing on the blog today— states that according to the research, the persecution of Christians has reached the highest level since the World Watch List began nearly 30 years ago. Across 76 countries, more than 360 million Christians suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith, an increase of 20 million since last year. 312 million Christians live in the top 50 countries alone. One in every 7 Christians live under at least high levels of persecution or discrimination. For their faith, an increase of 20 million since last year. So although we in the U.S. are mostly only socially ostracized and encouraged to remain silent in our faith by our post-Christian culture, other Christians in the world aren't waiting for the persecution to come. It's already here, and it is apparently increasing at an alarming rate. At this And this is being reported by Forbes, not exactly some right-wing reporting agency trying to disseminate Christian propaganda. So as we move forward, we need to really know who we are in Christ and know the truth of today's verse. We may be hunted down someday because we are Christians. We may be knocked down because of our faith in Christ, but we will never be abandoned by God. And we will never be destroyed. But that only applies to those in Christ. Jesus said in Matthew 10:28-33, 'And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul, but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are, are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin, and not one of them falls to the ground apart from my Father's will?' but the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. Therefore, whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. So take courage and comfort if you have made Christ your Lord and Savior, because In Him we are safe, we are never abandoned, and we are never destroyed. But don't just rest in your safety. Let those you know who aren't Christians learn the truth that they need Jesus and encourage them to seek the safety, acceptance, security, and significance that is found in Christ alone. As always, I invite all to go to M.t. Clark.org where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. Today we continue sharing from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Discipleship, also known as The Cost of Discipleship. Um, and right now that we're in the section on the Sermon on the Mount, uh, from under Matthew 5, Bonhoeffer's commentary on the portion, um, basically from Matthew 5:43-48, um, which is all about, um, loving your enemies and, uh, the section, the chapter, uh, that relates to this is called The Enemy and the Extraordinary. So if you want to check that resource out, go to mtforchrist.org and you'll see it at the end of today's blog post. Also at the end of today's blog post, you'll see a bunch of links, one for our podcast, another for the YouTube channel, and you'll also see encouragements to you know, join our Victory Over the Darkness, the Bondage Breaker, Freedom in Christ series of discipleship classes via the M.t. for Christ 24/7 podcast. And I also, you know, basically if you participate sort of as a remote study, you can contact me at M.t. for Christ 247@gmail.com to receive the printed materials for those classes. So free of charge via email. Um, because I just want to share the news, the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the truth of how we can actually enjoy us, um, you know, the fruits of the Spirit of peace, love, and joy, and our freedom in Christ when we know who we are in Christ and live, uh, according to our faith. And, uh, you know, walk along that path of Christian discipleship. As we follow Christ. So that's what I've discovered after living a lifestyle of sin and, you know, basically, you know, very nominal to non-existent faith and to, you know, running into false religions. After all of that and a life of addiction, after all of that The Lord, the Lord saved me through a radio gospel message and encouraged me to follow him and to repent of my sin. And amazingly, the Holy Spirit was faithful. Well, that's not amazing that the Holy Spirit was faithful, but amazingly I followed and discovered the freedom and victory that Christ has for us and the abundant life that he talks about in his word. So we encourage that because of the great love we've experienced, and that, you know, I think people need to know the experiential aspects of our faith that, you know, that you can know experientially, you know, that we can know these things, you know, for real in the real world. Um, when we follow Christ, change our worldview, and deny the enemy and his lies and what the world system tells us about what happiness means. Um, so that's the message for today. Today is Saturday, and today I have a freedom appointment with one of the participants of the Freedom in Christ group. So if you hear this before 9 AM, we, we covet your prayers for that for that process. And, um, we just pray for the Holy Spirit to, uh, to guide us, uh, to, to give this man resolution in some of the areas of his spiritual and personal conflicts. And we just pray for, um, we pray for everybody today. So let's do that. Lord God Heavenly Pro— Lord God Heavenly Father, uh, we thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, we've just prayed for our safety today as we travel, um, to our River House for the, uh, Freedom appointment that we have today. And Lord, we just pray for all our friends and family and the people listening today to be safe this weekend as there will be lots of Halloween celebrations and things that, you know, people will be led astray and tempted. And, uh, you know, there can be danger— dangerous situations out there this weekend. And so we pray for the safety of everyone listening today. Um, and Lord, we pray of course for you to come alongside each and every one of us, um, to, uh, guide us in the way we should go. We pray for your grace and for your help, uh, as you come alongside other prayer requests, uh, that are asking for healing and guidance and power and strength. Um, Lord, so, uh, as always, we pray for you to go before us to to open our eyes, uh, to the things you want us to see and to lead us in the things you would have us do to best represent your kingdom on earth today. Uh, Lord, we thank you, we praise you, and we love you. And we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.