Halloween

What Makes You Go Boo!

          It was a dark and stormy night and fire burned from the carved eyes and mouths of the Jack-O-Lanterns that were strategically placed along the path of moldy gravestones.  A skeleton hung in the doorway that was partially blocked by a huge spider’s web, occupied by a black spider with furry gray legs.  A big black cat with yellow eyes perched on the window sill.  Rumor has it that the cat used to be a witch named Agatha who changed herself one too many times.  As the old legend goes, the Jack-O-Lanterns are used to ward off the evil spirits.   Jack-O-Lantern refers to an old Irish miser named Drunken Jack who made a deal with the devil to pay his pub tab.  He tricked the devil and ended up being banned from heaven and hell and is destined to walk the earth with a lantern until judgment.

This time of year makes me think of Stephen King and I often wonder if this time of year is a good writing month for him.  Halloween or All Hallows Day celebrates the death of the old year with rejoicing in the supply of fruits and other foods stored up for the coming winter. It is the season that the most candy is sold (part of that secular commercialization), more so than Valentine’s Day and Easter combined.  Halloween is the biggest holiday for parties and some houses are more decked out with creepy crawlers than Christmas lights at Christmastime. 

I saw on the news today an outside Halloween decoration that is getting quite a bit of attention.  It is a riding lawn mower over a bloody body.  Some people laughed while others are outraged; one person called 911 to report it because it looked so real.  You know what really scares me; the celebration of Halloween.   People turn death into a commercialized fun and games kind of thing.

Consider this:  Hell is a real place.  It is not a place where people go to hang out with their friends.   Unquenchable thirst, fire, grief, pain, everlasting destruction, tormented with  fire and brimstone, gnashing of teeth, burning coals, darkness, no sleep, no rest, not even a quiet moment; these are all references to hell quoted from the Bible.  You might be thinking, “Oh, I don’t believe that.”  It doesn’t matter whether you believe it or not… it is real, it is true.

Demons are real.  Demons are here on earth.  Satan, the thief, does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy.  Anytime is a good time for him to catch a person off guard, but now is especially crucial because people let their guard down.  People tend to listen to ludicrous ideas and rituals.  It is easy to get enveloped in a trend and follow a path that is already laid.  The Bibles says “wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it”.   This is the perfect time for cults to be created, alternative beliefs to be practiced.  Do not let your guard down.  We must continue to stay focused on God and His word, His way, His statutes.

I looked at the picture of the lawn mower and perhaps it is distasteful and somehow inconsiderate of the squeamish.  But we live in a distasteful world.  Most people are concerned only for themselves and bringing glory to themselves even if it is in a repugnant manner.  God created a perfect world for us and we destroyed it and now we get to exist with the consequences of living in a sin cursed world.  

I find that people get bent out of shape over the most insignificant things.  Just listening to the news will educate a person enough to know that our world is very misguided.  Here are a few good examples of why not to believe everything on the news: one news reporter suggested that working nine hours a day for four days a week equals a 40 hour work week, while another reporter believes there are 52 states in the US and yet another highly educated person thinks Washington DC is a state.  We never should revere anyone except God and His word.  Believe the Bible and stay on the narrow yet difficult path.

© Crackerberries 2011