This picture is rather creepy. Don’t you think? This is not a place that I want to visit, and my feelings won’t be hurt if I am never invited. It is the beginning of October, and the leaves are starting to change, and temperatures are dropping. It is also approaching Reformation Day for some, and for others, it is the season of Halloween. Halloween is that time of year when decorations of ghosts and goblins, orange-eyed black cats, witches, and skeletons are found in stores and in neighbors’ yards and homes. It is all about candy, cute or scary costumes, horror movies, and trick-or-treaters. It is probably one of the most paganistic days of the year.
Halloween is traced back to an old Celtic Festival that had more to do with politics and violence and the mark of the changing seasons. Somehow, an even darker side of this day took root when people believed that portals were opened that allowed lost souls to roam the earth. Hence, all of the black magic, evil, and sinister voodoo became attached to Halloween. As the years have passed, this day has become even darker.
Parks and recreational organizations sponsor parties to keep participants safe. Some churches celebrate the Protestant Reformation to remember the “ninety-five theses” that were tacked to the church door. This action was the start of the pivotal European movement for religious freedom. These two frames of thought are the menus in which we select what we welcome into our spirit.
Many people believe that watching horror movies or reading dark books has no impact on them. Practicing the reading of tarot cards, calling on the occult, and dabbling in witchcraft opens a darkening window to your soul. If you’re not careful, those dark forces overtake you, and you become desensitized. You may not notice it at first, but others will. They will notice a shift in your personality, a dark, lifeless look in your eyes, and an addiction to all things dark. You may change friend groups to those most like you: a little dark, and a little edgy.
It is this holiday that people participate more in the macabre, and social media promotes this darkness. It is disturbing how the number of stories about the bizarre are recreated with the sole purpose of creating fear and chaos. Believe it or not, there are those who delight in dragging the innocent into darkness. We must be careful about our associations as well as what we watch, practice, and listen.
If we are not careful, we will find that we have been brainwashed and gaslighted into untruths and practices. When this happens, we tend to present some outward struggles and inward demons that we battle. We have opened ourselves to receiving the darkness. These demons show up as struggling with paranoia, depression, insecurity, trauma, abandonment, manipulation, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, self-mutilating, self-doubt, lack of confidence, worthlessness, and addiction.
Be aware because the enemy is always looking and lurking for an entry to keep us from growing closer to Christ. He is looking to take away your light and hope and make you a soldier in the army of darkness. In this, he wins; you lose. This is why we must remain vigilant and cognizant, especially through the darkest of seasons like Halloween. We must develop a spirit of discernment about truth and entertainment. Remember to pray!
Dear Lord,
Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men;
preserve me from violent men,
who plan evil things in their heart
and stir up wars continually.
They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s,
and under their lips is the venom of asps.
Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
preserve me from violent men,
who have planned to trip up my feet.
The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
and with cords, they have spread a net;
beside the way they have set snares for me. Psalm 140:1-5
Amen
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