Daily Devotional for Thursday October 29, 2020

Halloween - Part 1 of 2

(Romans 12:1-2; Titus 2:12)

***DAILY PERSONAL PRAYER FOR YOU: Father, I know this is an evil and sin-filled world I live in. Please, protect me, but don't let me be afraid. Let me be bold in declaring Your Truth to this lost world and not be afraid to speak up. Now more than ever I need Your strength to be the servant You have called me to be. Help me, strengthen me, and guide me to do thy will. In the name of Jesus I pray...AMEN!

***THE DAILY LIVEPRAYER TV NUGGET: VIOLENCE is all that is left. When people disagree with each other, the first step is to debate their ideas with one another to try and get them to see your viewpoint. The next step after debating what each side believes, is for one side to simply try to silence the other side to insure their beliefs are the only one people hear. After debate and silence, there is really only one avenue left...VIOLENCE! Currently in our nation, we no longer debate political differences. Those days are sadly over. We are currently in a period of silencing those we disagree with. Both sides of the political isle are equally engaged in this attempt to silence the other side and thus both equally culpable. We started down this road during the 8 years of the Obama Presidency when half the nation rejected what they felt were anti-US policies enacted by that administration. It became even more intense the morning after Donald Trump was elected to be the 45th President back by those in the nation who decided even before he took office that they would take whatever measures necessary to damage his Presidency with the goal of overturning the will over 63 million people by removing him from office. I don’t say this lightly, but the only place left to go is civil unrest and VIOLENCE in the streets. In 2020, this is how many of the nations in our world today settle their differences. Sadly, a nation that has rejected God only uses worldly means to advance their cause, and since the beginning of human civilization 6,000 years ago that has usually been accomplished through VIOLENCE!!!

*Don’t miss the Liveprayer TV program, airing “LIVE” every Monday thru Friday from 11pm EDT to Midnight! For details on viewing options for the Liveprayer TV program, “LIVE” or “On Demand,” go to: https://liveprayer.com/liveprayer-show-about.cfm

***Action steps: 1) Pray for the nation to turn back to the Lord every morning for at least 5 min. 2) Share the Gospel every day with at least 1 person you know is no saved. 3) Every day share something Biblical with everyone you know via email. 4) Every day encourage at least ONE PERSON you know about the responsibility we have to VOTE in November. 5) GET ONE PERSON YOU KNOW TO DO ACTION STEPS 1-4!!!

Halloween - Part 1 of 2

Should Christians celebrate Halloween? No! What the world will celebrate on October 31 is not anything that a Christian should be part of. The origin of what we know of as Halloween began in 5th century B.C., Celtic Ireland as a holiday marking the end of summer on October 31 known as Samhein (sow-en).

The pagan Celts believed on that day, the disembodied spirits of all those who had died throughout the preceding year would come back in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. It was believed to be their only hope for the afterlife. The Celts believed all laws of space and time were suspended during this time, allowing the spirit world to intermingle with the living.

Naturally, the still living did not want to be possessed. So on the night of October 31, villagers would extinguish the fires in their homes, to make them cold and undesirable. They would then dress up in all manner of ghoulish costumes and noisily paraded around the neighborhood, being as destructive as possible in order to frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess.

The Romans adopted the Celtic practices as their own. But in the first century A.D., Samhain was assimilated into celebrations of some of the other Roman traditions that took place in October, such as their day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple, which might explain the origin of our modern tradition of bobbing for apples on Halloween. The thrust of the practices also changed over time to become more ritualized. As belief in spirit possession waned, the practice of dressing up like hobgoblins, ghosts, and witches took on a more ceremonial role.

The custom of Halloween was brought to America in the 1840's by Irish immigrants fleeing their country's potato famine. At that time, the favorite pranks in New England included tipping over outhouses and unhinging fence gates.

Since the eighth century, the Catholic Church has celebrated All Saints' Day on November 1 to celebrate the known and unknown Saints whom the Church has canonized. The night before the celebration of All Saint's Day is known as All Hallow's Eve ("Hallows" mean "saints" both mean "holy ones" as in "Hallowed be thy name"). So, Halloween means "the evening before All Saint's Day."

You can see from the pagan roots of Halloween why this has become the most important day to those who worship satan or choose to live in rebellion to God and the TRUTH of His Word. There is NOTHING about this day that honors God, remembers God, or has anything to do at all with God. It is, quite honestly, a celebration of those who oppose God and all that He stands for. THIS is why it's a day Christians should NOT celebrate nor be part of in any way.

I love you and care about you so much. Tomorrow, Part Two of this series is titled, "A Christian's Response to Halloween." Do we hide in our homes with the lights off? Do we all go to church and hide in the basement so the devil doesn't get us? What exactly should a Christian be doing on Halloween? I will give you a hint. It will be a bold call to action. I can think of no better night to see souls won for Christ than on Halloween.

DO NOT MISS PART TWO TOMORROW AS WE CELEBRATE A NEW HOLIDAY ON OCTOBER 31ST THAT WILL HONOR JESUS CHRIST, THE KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS!!!

In His love and service,

Your friend and brother in Christ,

Bill Keller