Preparing for Battle

The month of October has brought with it many different things – colorful fall leaves, crisp cold nights, caramel apples, pumpkins, and of course we can expect Halloween.  On October 31 the ancient Celts in Britain celebrated Samhain, summer’s end, with a feast and a number of occult practices.  They believed that the spirits of the dead roamed the earth on this night and druid priests sought appeasement through a variety of practices, including animal, and even human, sacrifices.  It is from these and succeeding traditions that the Halloween symbols of witches, goblins, skeletons, black cats, devils, and jack-o-lanterns came into being.  In later years, October 31 has come to be a high holy day for Satan worshipers.

The Bible has some clear instruction which advises us to avoid cultic and spiritist practices.  It says, “Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.  Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you.  You must be blameless before the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).

There are many people who participate in Halloween activities at this time of the year.  And as you can imagine, some people would rather that their children not be involved in these kinds of activities because of the tie they have to the spirit world.  I am also reminded that the Apostle Paul told the people at Ephesus “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 4:12).  He went on to remind them what they should do in order to win the battle against these spiritual forces.  His instruction was to: “Put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand” (Ephesians 6:13).

My prayer is that you will thoroughly enjoy this wonderful fall season and that instead of focusing on the spiritual forces of evil you will prepare for battle by focusing on God and His Word which contains the positive message of faith and trust.  And don’t forget to put on the full armor of God as you live daily for Him.  You will need the extra protection of that full armor so you can stand against the spiritual forces of this world.

Routine

Most of us get tired of thinking about and doing things that need to be done routinely.  Every day we open our eyes, wash our face, comb our hair, brush our teeth, put on makeup or shave our face.  We may even go outside for some exercise, take the dog for a walk, call someone on the telephone or respond to email messages.  The list could go on and on.  Although we may tire of these routine activities, just think of what would happen if we were not able to open our eyes, take care of our personal needs, eat meals, go to work, or talk with someone.  We’d be in big trouble.

What about the things that happen routinely that we do not usually even think about like breathing, the pumping of our heart, and the blood pushed through every part of our body?  I’m so glad these things get taken care of routinely by God.  We would be in bad shape if any of these routine activities would stop functioning. Acts 17:24-25 says, “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth … and he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.”

We should not be afraid of routine nor should we think of routine actions as something that is an inconvenience.  God is not only God of the unusual but God of the routine.  He made the earth that routinely rotates on its axis.  He made the day and the night that routinely alternate.  He made the seasons through which we routinely move.  He is the giver of life and we routinely breathe the air He created.

The Apostle Paul reminds us that it is “…God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” (I Timothy 6:17).  The Apostle James affirms that “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17).

As we continue into this fall season, we will once again be confronted with the beauty of the changing color of the leaves.  This is routine; it happened last year, and it will happen again this year.  But let’s rejoice in the wonderful provision that God has made for us—even with the routine “stuff.”