The celebration of Halloween creates a lot of division among Christians. Some believe we should completely boycott Halloween, whereas others view it as an outreach opportunity, whereas others want to dress up and hit the streets. This begs the question, “Can we, in good faith, redeem Halloween?”
Earlier this week, Dr. Ward spoke with my colleague, Shane Morris, about the inconsistencies of modern culture and the similar realities Lewis observed. They talked about the sorts of ideas the world is planting in the cultural soil and what the harvest now looks like. Here’s a segment of that conversation:
God sometimes calls his people headlong into the dangers of their day. He led the nation of Israel into Canaan despite the challenges they would face. However, earlier in his ministry, “when he heard that John had been arrested, Jesus withdrew into Galilee” (Matthew 4:12). Clearly, there are times God calls us to serve him in dangerous places and times he leads us from danger to safety. How can we know which is true for us?
Tomorrow, October 16, would have been Chuck Colson’s 90th birthday. His legacy continues, not only in the ongoing work of the Colson Center, but also the continuation of Prison Fellowship, especially the Angel Tree ministry.
Ours is a day of declining commitment to evangelism, fueled in part by a growing belief that sharing the gospel is wrong in a culture that elevates tolerance above all other values. But the “passive congeniality” that is unwilling to speak of Jesus in everyday conversation is not enough.
Practicing gratitude is extremely good for humans, even those who don’t believe in God. But for Christians, gratitude is no mere mental health strategy. It’s a profound way of telling the truth: to ourselves, to others, and to the whole world.
Yesterday we discussed Satan’s temptation strategies and the importance of seeking God’s power over our Enemy each day. Today, let’s focus on a very practical way to do so.
“Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature,” wrote Karl Marx, “…the opium of the people.” Decades of often painful historical experience has proven his observation both right and wrong. Believing in God does ease pain and suffering of faithful followers, but he was wrong in thinking that religion, especially Christianity, leaves them with nowhere else to go from there.
While God forgives all we confess and forgets all he forgives, Satan does not. You may think you erased your sins from your spiritual “hard drive,” but he keeps them until a time he can use them most effectively against us.
