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“As a former pagan, I can tell you that Halloween is that candy and costumes. It is a high holiday night for rituals. Christian participation in Halloween is unbelievable as you never see occultists coming to churches on Good Friday. Yet, so called Christians are glad to celebrate Halloween with customs rooted in the occult and paganism.”

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Anonymous (sent in the Scripture in Pictures ask box)

Thank you for sharing your insight on Halloween. As a solo parent to a young man, we’ve both decided to not participate in celebrations that do have a number of connections to strong rebellious practices. But I have been reminded along the way that I cannot assume anyone’s Spiritual state and loyalty to God through the lens of Halloween participation. 

Believers come from all sorts of background, with the LORD Jesus’ work uniquely transforming each one at His own pace (maturity in the walk, culture to learn or unlearn, and other factors) plus with a community that also needs to see Christ-likeness around. Something we can choose to do with our firm, available, and kind witness. When kids come knocking at our gate for Trick or Treat, I don’t hand out candy but I do give kiddie Gospel tracts (if I have any) and I try to see them to say, “Sorry, no candies but God bless you!” I no longer categorize a believer as “so-called” when I see them give candy or compliment cute costumes. I am learning to be slow to speak when it comes to concerns of preference esp. if my heart tends to put people in a box instead of lovingly walking with them through times that need enlightenment.

I see and understand some Christians go as far as dressing up with lustful intent and vanity as their drive but, surely, God deals with them wisely! I would be there to warm them, yes, but with the a careful set of words to help them better understand. Not compromising truth but also not leaving out love. This part is not easy but it doesn’t need to be a start of an intentional divide. 

Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. (Philippians 4:5-8)

Tough moments with fellow believers call for firm and yet humble brothers and sisters. May God bless each of us with wisdom on how to respond and testify throughout this Halloween season.

Here’s a good read on this topic:

Take Halloween Captive from DesiringGod.org 

REBLOG in case this helps others with the same thoughts.

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“Fear can overwhelm your senses. It can distort your thinking. It can kidnap your desires. It can capture your meditation so that you spend more time worrying about what could be than considering the God who is. Fear can cause you to make bad decisions in the short term and fail to make good decisions in the long run. Fear can cause you to forget what you know and to lose sight of who you are. Fear can make you wish for control you will never have. It can cause you to distrust people you have reason to trust. It can cause you to be demanding rather than serving. It can cause you to run when you should stay and to stay when you really should run. Fear can make God look small and your circumstance loom large. Fear can make you seek from people what you will only get from the Lord. Fear can be the soil of your deepest questions and your biggest doubts. Your heart was wired to fear, because you were designed for life shaped by fear of God. But horizontal fear cannot be allowed to rule your heart, because if it does, it will destroy you and your ministry.”

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Paul David Tripp

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“Envy is acquisitive, resentful, and selfish; it is always bad. It wants what others have simply because they have it, bears grudges against those who have what it doesn’t, and accuses God of being unfair.”

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Carol Ruvolo

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“…the church has not only stopped talking about sin, it stopped talking about eternal life. Everything is about fix me here. The gospel doesn’t promise to fix you here. You may have a bad marriage till you die, you may have bad kids till you die. You may have cancer and die before you thought you’d die. You may lose all your money in the stock market. Your house might burn down. Jesus doesn’t promise to fix that. Contrary to what you hear from health, wealth and prosperity preachers, the only people who seem to get wealthy off that are the people who take your money. The gospel doesn’t promise that. But, it does promise eternal life.”

— John MacArthur (via alistairradley)

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“Adam did not succeed in hiding from God. Neither will you succeed. No man ever succeeded in hiding from God.”

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R.A. Torrey

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“God is nowhere more hidden, than in most churches!”

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Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

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“…at the end of your life one of three things will happen to your heart: it will grow hard, it will be broken, or it will be tender. Nobody escapes. Your heart will become coarse and desensitized, be crushed under the weight of disappointment, or be made tender by that which makes the heart of God tender as well. God’s heart is a caring heart. As the writer of the letter to the Hebrews reminds us, our infirmities deeply touch God (see Hebrews 2:14-18; 4:14-5:3)…God the Grand Weaver seeks those with tender hearts so that he can put his imprint on them.”

— The Grand Weaver - Ravi Zacharias

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Our idea of goodness and justice does not always align with God’s. Why? Because His ways and thoughts are higher than our own. Where our understanding is limited, His is limitless. Where our judgement is often clouded by emotions, opinions, and preferences, His judgement is perfect and balanced. He may not always do what feels right to us, but He will never—under any circumstances—do something morally wrong. And if we don’t understand His actions, then we need to learn to trust His character instead.