The Real Deal With Halloween

People get crazy around Halloween. Christians are the worst.

I remember church people that were freaked out by Halloween - “Satan’s holiday” they called it. They preached about the costumes, demons, razors in candy, and devil-worshiping wackos they seemed to believe were given free reign on this night. As a result they hid in a back room, lights out, praying for the night to pass. They missed the greatest “love your neighbor” outreach opportunity of the year. Satan must hate Halloween outreach.

Halloween is like the greatest opportunity ever. When else can you dress up, drop in on your neighbor, and be in an immediate conversation? It’s a night of neighborhood community. Here are some suggestions…

• DON’T hide in your closet. Put on some silly clothes and hang out with your neighbors. On this night families care about safety, costumes and candy. Don’t give Satan a holiday – he doesn’t deserve it.


• DO worship on Halloween morning. At Cottonwood we’ll learn about the history of Halloween, The Day of the Dead, and All Saints Day – and worship through communion. Just don’t go back to church Sunday night.


• DON’T do the Halloween alternative with Bible character costumes. First, it’s lame. And second, someone may come as one of the seven naked sons of Skeva! Instead take church out of the box and into your neighborhood.


• DO have fun. Make Halloween the beginning of a connection. Start some conversations, make some friends. Invest in your neighbors now and maybe you will get to invite them later.


• DON’T go weird the other way and enjoy the night too much – in ways that are inappropriate for followers of Christ.


• DO overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). Have some cheap flashlights ready for those who may need them, give some hot cocoa to the parents, scare some kids by jumping out from behind a bush, give the best candy on the block. In short – love your neighbors. Satan will hate it.

Dan

Restored

Years ago I was given an ’83 Toyota pickup from my dad. It was my favorite car, which I acquired just a few years before my dad passed away. I drove it for maybe 5 years in Tucson, and then rebuilt the engine while we were living in Winnipeg. The body started to rust, so I ground down all the rust I could find, put on some fancy rust treatment, and had it repainted. We even had the bottom undercoated for the wicked Winnipeg winters.

After 7 years in Winnipeg, we moved to New Mexico where I put on a 2” body lift and some larger tires. It looked great, but was getting tired. Now approaching 200k miles and needing it’s second timing chain and engine rebuild, shocks, brakes, and every rubber component made, it was a bit worse for wear. The rust was starting to come back around the bed. Under the floor mats you could drop a football through the floor to the ground below.

The truck was too far gone to sell, too expensive to repair, and too sentimental to send to the wrecking yard – (otherwise known as auto hell). My wife knew how I felt, and left it to me to wrestle my emotions against reality. Like so many others who don’t know what to do with their left-over junk, I gave it to a mission in Mexico.

It would have been expensive to restore the old truck, in time and money and common sense, but I sometimes wish I’d thrown reality out instead of the truck. Restoration is always costly.

Numbers 6:26 says, “May the LORD show you his favor and give you his peace.” Showing you his favor means to look you in the eye – right down into your soul. He wants to see the rust and worn out timing chain. To be at peace means to be set at one again, to be healed. God is in the restoration business, and the cost is no object.

Dan

Reflection

Numbers 6:25 says God wants to bless us by making His face reflect in ours. But – what does that look like?

Is He old, or forever young? Does he dress more like a policeman, or Santa? What superhero does He remind you of – Superman? Underdog? The Incredibles? Is he all bright and glowing, or can you look at Him? Does He come to you with a hug or a spanking?

Imagine a combination of the above, an old, bent over Underdog glowing under a Santa suit walking toward you with a paddle. Or Superboy dressed like a cop wanting a hug. Maybe you have a better idea?

What does it mean to have the face of God reflect in yours?　
　
Dan
　
"May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you." Numbers 6:25 nlt

The Lord Protect You

We’ve gone from being safety conscious to paranoid. I remember the good old days, riding in the back of the Studebaker Lark station wagon without air-bags or seat-belts. (Yes, that's our car on a family road trip - remember those water window cooler things? Are we the only ones who had one?) We used sticks as swords, hiked without a GPS, and drove on recap tires. We felt safe without a cell phone and drinking from the faucet. But now, to be safe, we somehow need low IQ warnings:

1. "Warning: has been found to cause cancer in laboratory mice." This was printed on a box of rat poison. Guess it works.

2. "This product is not to be used in bathrooms." Printed on a bathroom heater.

3. On Children’s Cough Medicine: "Do not drive a car or operate machinery after taking this medication.” We wouldn’t want any 3-year-olds with a head cold driving a tractor while on meds.
4. On packaging for a clothes iron:"Do not iron clothes on body." Darn – no free tan.
5. On hairdryer: "Do not use while sleeping." It’s hard to dry the hair stuck on the pillow anyway.
6. On a package of Foaming Face Wash – "Caution: May contain foam."
7. ON a package of Pine Mountain Fire Logs - "Caution: Risk of fire."
8. More on Sunday…

“The Lord protect you” flys in contrast to our lable-obsessed, sue-obsessed culture. Paranoid to a fault, we filter our water, have more airbags than cup-holders, and print, "Caution, contents may be hot" lables on cups of... hot coffee. I’m not saying trying to be safe is a bad thing – just that the extremes we go to are proof of our paranoia. We’re afraid of pain, of death, of giving up control, of change. However, the only ones who are truly safe in this world – the only ones who truly live - are the ones who have given up control.

Only God can mold you into all that He designed you to be, and only God can protect you in that process. Maybe it’s time we gave Him control.

Dan