By: Pastor Rick Smith

With Halloween taking place this week, I think I need to speak about a Christian’s participation in it.  Let us acknowledge that Halloween can in no way be considered a Christian holiday.  It is Celtic and pagan at its roots.  The Catholic church tried to sanitize it by moving All Saints Day and All Souls Day to the season of what we now call the Halloween celebration.  Just by happenstance Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the Wittenberg church in Germany on October 31, 1517 which the reformed churches now celebrate as Reformation Day.  Though I’m not reformed, there is justification for celebrating Reformation Day instead of the pagan day of Halloween.  Moses warned the children of Israel not to participate in the wicked practices of the people occupying the Promised Land. You can find this in Deuteronomy 18:9-13.  I believe it is a warning that we as Christians should heed.  We can take Moses’ instructions to them as guidelines for us today.  

First, we are not to follow the abominable practices of idolatry and paganism.  “When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations (Deuteronomy 18:9).”.  We all have a tendency to adopt cultural practices of those we come into contact with.  Not all of this is wrong, but we have to be careful, as children of God, to avoid that which is evil in the sight of God. When Halloween was brought to this country by immigrants from the British Isles it was the “trick or treat” that appealed to young men.  They would harass people for food and drink for their wild parties.  Thankfully, Christians were able to make it a children’s holiday where “trick or treat” came to mean nothing really, but candy for kids.   

Also, in Deuteronomy 18:10-11 the children of Israel, and we as Christians, were warned of those things we should avoid.  They were warned, “There shall not be found among you any one…”.  As a nation they weren’t to have anyone that practiced or participated in the following practices.  No one was to make their children “pass through the fire”, which meant human sacrifice.  We are not innocent of that, because we sacrifice our children on the altar of “my body, my choice” and make the murder of the innocent legal and acceptable.  Or a diviner, someone who tells fortunes.  You can find them in our cities, in the newspapers, call them up on the phone, and search for them on the internet.  Neither one who is an observer of times – astrologer.  No enchanters – one who discovers hidden things.  No witches, or sorcerers.  No charmers or those that have familiar spirits – demons.  No wizards – those that possess secret knowledge.  No necromancer – those that communicate with the dead – Ouija boards, seances.  The primary principle that we have here is that anything that draws you from dependence on God to the abomination of idolatry and paganism has to be resisted and rooted out.  We need to remember that “…we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places(Ephesians 6:12).”.  We destroy our enemies with the gospel and truth.

Why do we need to flee from these practices?  “For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD… (Deuteronomy 18:12).”  These are things that God hates and he brings judgment on the nations that practice them.  Because of these abominations, God determined their destruction and commanded Israel to do it.  Just as God hated the sin and abominations of the Canaanites and pronounced judgment on them, He pronounces judgment on our personal sins.  As a result we should put to death sin in our own lives and seek the salvation of others.  Jesus Christ came and died on the cross for vile sinners like you and me.  And Christians should seek the salvation of others.  But we should seek their salvation “…with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh (Jude 1:23).”

Finally, Moses says to us, “Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God (Deuteronomy 18:13).”. We must take care as we look to the needs of others and we fail to guard our own soul.  It is easy for any of us to be ensnared in temptation.  Therefore, put on the whole armor of God.  Fight the good fight of faith, but be aware that “…your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).”  And watch over them that are the most vulnerable – our children.  Most of the littlest of these cannot distinguish between play, fantasy, and reality.  They can be easily influenced by media and peer pressure to get involved in things that will turn them from God and the truth.  For some it may be for a time, but for others it may be forever.  Be an example and a witness to them even as we take them out “Trick or Treating”.   

If you have any questions, we invite you to visit with us this Sunday.   Worship at 10:50 A.M.  We are located at 711 West Washington Ave.  Check our sermon videos on Youtube @ricksmith2541.  Send comments and prayer requests to prayerlinecmbc@gmail.com.

Rick Smith is the Pastor at Calvary Missionary Baptist Church in Artesia.

By: Pastor David Grousnick

There is nothing that so takes the joy out of life like unconfessed sin on the conscience.

The late Dr. F.E. Marsh tells that on one occasion he was preaching on this question and urging upon his hearers the importance of confession of sin and wherever possible of restitution for wrong done to others.

At the close, a young man, a member of the church, came up to him with a troubled countenance. “Pastor,” he explained, “you have put me in a sad fix. I have wronged another, and I am ashamed to confess it or to try to put it right.”

“You see, I am a boat builder and the man I work for is an infidel. I have talked to him often about his need of Christ and urged him to come and hear you preach, but he scoffs and ridicules it all. Now, I have been guilty of something that, if I should acknowledge it to him, will ruin my testimony forever.”

He then went on to say that sometime ago he started to build a boat for himself in his own yard. In this work copper nails are used because they do not rust in the water. These nails are quite expensive, and the young man had been carrying home quantities of them to use on own boat.

He knew it was stealing, but he tried to salve his conscience be telling himself that the master had so many he would never miss them and besides he was not being paid all that he thought he deserved.

But this sermon had brought him to face the fact that he was just a common thief, for whose dishonest actions there was no excuse.

“But,” he said, “I cannot go to my boss and tell him what I have done or offer to pay for those I have used and return the rest. If I do, he will think I am just a hypocrite. And yet those copper nails are digging into my conscience, and I know I will not have peace until I put this matter right.”

For weeks the struggle went on. Then one night he came to Dr. Marsh and exclaimed, “Pastor, I’ve settled for the copper nails and my conscience is relieved at last.”

“What happened when you confessed to your employer what you had done?” asked the pastor.

“Oh,” he answered, “he looked queerly at me, then exclaimed, ‘George, I always did think you were just a hypocrite, but now I begin to feel there’s something in this Christianity after all. Any religion that would make a dishonest workman come back and confess that he had been stealing copper nails and offer to settle for them, must be worth having.'”

Dr. Marsh asked if he might use the story and was granted permission.

Sometime afterwards, he told it in another city. The next day a lady came up and said, “Doctor, I have had ‘copper nails’ on my conscience too.”

“Surely, you’re not a boat builder!”

“No, but I am a book lover, and I have stolen a number of books from a friend of mine who has far more books that I could ever afford. I decided last night I must get rid of the ‘copper nails,’ so I took them all back to her today and confessed my sin. I can’t tell you how relieved I am. She forgave me, and God has forgiven me. I am so thankful the ‘copper nails’ are not digging into my conscience anymore.”

Dr. Marsh told this story many times and almost invariably people came to him afterwards telling of “copper nails” in one form or another that they had to get rid of.

On one occasion, he told it at a High School chapel service. The next day the principal saw him and said, “As a result of that ‘copper nails’ story, ever so many stolen fountain pens and other things have been returned to their rightful owners.”

Reformation and restitution do not save. But where someone is truly repentant and has come to God in sincere confession, that person will want, to the best of their ability, to put things right with others.

Lesson: There are always two sides to every pancake.

“Two sides to every pancake” thinking challenges what we think MAY be happening in a certain situation. Or what MIGHT BE happening in a certain situation.

Can I justify my actions in life? Or am I just fooling myself with self-centered thinking?

It can be a quite a challenge to look at something from another point of view. And too often in life, people tend to go with their first impressions.

Have a great weekend!

David Grousnick, is the Pastor at the First Christian Church in Artesia