The Night He-Man Saved My Family

Suggested Reading: Luke 10:1-20

When I was a kid of about six years old, I had a dream about Halloween. My family and I had gone to some kind of Halloween event where there were carnival rides, and hay, and a bunch of random, odd things that you only find together in a dream. Suddenly, a bunch of ghouls came out of nowhere and abducted my family. Now, I could have been a normal, scared six year old and started screaming. Instead, because it was my dream, I held aloft my magic sword and said, "By the power of Grayskull! I have the power!" and I turned into He-Man, the most powerful man in the universe. Then I used my sword against all of the ghouls, saved my family, and turned back into my normal six-year old self before anyone could figure out that I was He-Man. It was a good dream, especially for a six year old boy who absolutely loved the He-Man cartoons. It was so vivid that I still remember some details of the dream 35 years later.

Sometimes, we like to think about the power we have through the Holy Spirit over the forces of darkness. We like to read passages like Luke 10:19 where Jesus told his disciples, "I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you" (NIV). The verse neatly sums up the experiences that many of the disciples had when Jesus sent them out in pairs to spread news of the Kingdom, giving them power to heal the sick and to cast out demons. Verses like that, for some reason, reassure us that, not only is God in control but that the Holy Spirit enables us to overcome Satanic forces when they are arrayed against us. But Jesus did not allow the disciples to bask in their victories. In fact, the very next thing Jesus said was, "However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20, NIV).

Jesus did not want the disciples to find their comfort in knowing that they could stand up to Satanic forces. After all, what would happen if they got caught on a weak day? What would happen if God's plan allowed for the enemy to triumph temporarily in order to demonstrate his grace and power even more? Instead, Jesus wanted the disciples - us - to be comforted by the fact that God has already won the war for us. And in a world that seems to celebrate the forces of evil, where people think it is harmless or even fun to embrace the demonic and the sadistic, and when the powers of darkness are romanticized, we find comfort not in the fact that the spirits are subject to us through the power of the Holy Spirit, but in knowing that God has already won the battle and soon everything will be made new.

Sharing the Gospel with the Gatekeeper and the Key Master

Suggested Reading: Ephesians 6:10-20

The Halloween season is replete with scary stories on TV. One recurring theme in these stories is a friend or family member being possessed by some unruly ghost, which then has to be defeated without harming the person being possessed. Perhaps one of the best examples of this kind of story is the original Ghostbusters movie. Bill Murray's character had been trying to get a date with a particular client who ends up being possessed by an ancient spirit called the "Gatekeeper" and Rick Moranis' goofy character is possessed by the "Key Master" and ends up turning into a demonic dog. The Ghostbusters' job is to somehow defeat the ghosts without harming their friends. The ghosts may have been acting through these possessed people, but the possessed people were never really the enemy.

Often, as Christians, I think we could learn a great deal from the Ghostbusters in how we relate to people of the world. Ephesians 6:12 tells us, For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens (HCSB). Now, while I can't pretend to know all of the things that are meant by things like world powers of this darkness and spiritual forces of evil in the heavens, I'm pretty confident what Paul means when he says that our battle is not against flesh and blood. Essentially, Paul is saying, "No person is our enemy."

Often, as we engage in the battle of daily life, we encounter resistance to the Gospel message or encounter hate and malice from the people around us. In spite of what we may feel, those people are not our enemies. Our enemies are the forces of evil and darkness which influence and teach people to behave in malicious, harmful ways. Our enemies are the forces of Hell as they possess, influence, tempt and seduce the world we live in and the people who live in it.

We are called to love the people around us. We are called to lay down our lives as Jesus did, to love those who act as our enemies and bless those who persecute us. We are called to this because our Heavenly Father loves those who have been raised in this sinful world and been taught by its systems and cultures just as much as He loves those of us who have already been rescued from it.

As we fight daily battles against evil and, sometimes, just for our survival. We must constantly remember that the people who seem to be opposing us are not our enemies. Our battle is not against flesh and blood and we will never reach the lost with the Gospel if we respond to them like enemies.

Hiding Under the Halloween Candy Bowl

Suggested Reading: Matthew 5:1-16

Halloween is an interesting time of year for Christians. Something about the holiday can make some of us a little nuts. Some of us find no conflict at all in celebrating Halloween, choosing to make it simply a time of dress-up and make believe and innocent fun. Some of us believe it to be irrevocably tainted with evil spirits and the forces of darkness, believing that any participation at all amounts to participating in worship of the Satanic. And some of us try to walk a fine line, not believing the celebrations to be Satanic but knowing others do, and avoiding costumes and decorations that touch on the darker side of the holiday. Some of us try to redeem the holiday and hold events at our churches where children will be safe and people might hear the gospel.

I'm not about to settle this argument between Christians if you were hoping for that. Paul left enough wiggle room with respect to eating meat sacrificed to idols that I am going to leave wiggle room here. But I do think there are a few verses that, for me, touch directly on this subject. In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus tells his disciples, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (NLT).

These verses don't tell us who is right about how to handle Halloween, but they can speak to us as individuals about how we handle the holiday. According to these verses our light is to shine out like a city on a hill that cannot be hidden and people are to see our deeds and give glory to God because of them. We must ask ourselves if the way we handle Halloween shines like a light in the darkness. In the middle of that dark night, are our lights shining for all to see? Or do we hide our light under a bowl? If we celebrate the holiday, is there anything to show the world that we are different, that we are children of a God who has conquered the darkness, or are we just like everybody else? If we abstain from the holiday, does our light shine out for the world to see or are we hiding in our homes with the curtains drawn and the lights off, hoping nobody knocks on our doors?

I can't tell you how the Holy Spirit should lead you with regard to this holiday. But I can say, whatever you decide, you must make certain your light is shining. There is no excuse not to shine your light on the darkest night of the year.