Trick Or Treat
Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? Luke 11:37-52 As a child I remember Halloween as a fun night. Growing up in a small town it wasn’t unusual to be out late but on Halloween we actually had something to do; walk the entire town and get as much candy as possible. Needless to say we had a lot of candy, some of which never got eaten. It never dawned on me then that how much candy we ended up with was determined by two factors; the number of doorbells we rang and how the host distributed the goods. Some people held out a big bucket of candy and allowed us to take what we wanted. This gave us the opportunity to pick and choose. Others would keep the bucket close and rationed out the pieces. Hopefully we got something we liked to eat. Today I wonder what determines whether we allow the trick or treaters to take what they want or whether we control what they receive? No doubt, if we allow trick treaters to take what they want some will take far more than what they need and perhaps the host will run out before the night is over. If however the host chooses to ration the goods she may end up with far more candy left over than she intended to have. What I do understand is that as the receiver, giving should not be taken advantage of and as the giver; giving isn’t so much about who controls the output of goods. Having been in both positions, what’s more important is the experience within me during the exchange.
So give for alms those things that are within; and see, everything will be clean for you.‘But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practised, without neglecting the others. Luke 11:37-52
crustybread 
I made a personal decision this year to not celebrate Halloween because of the occult roots and origin of the “holiday”. My birthday is the day before halloween and I used to have parties and take part in it not even realizing what I was celebrating. Gods word clearly warns about such things in this scripture.
Deuteronomy 18:9-14
**Occult Practices
9 When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD; because of these same detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before the LORD your God.
I don’t judge others for what they do but it is also written in Joshua
Joshua 24:15
But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
Halloween has roots in celtic and druid rituals and is not Christian by any means, so if I have offended anyone I’m not sorry.
Ephesians 5:11-12
11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.
God bless,
Your brother in Christ.
Thank you so much for your comment. You certainly have not offended me. I myself do not celebrate halloween as a holiday because it isn’t one. Additionally, I’ve never been to a “halloween/costume” party. As a child it was merely one day out of a year that we were allowed to get free candy. We didn’t even bother to get dressed up. I also understand the root of halloween which has both pagan and Christian influences. Today however for me, it is merely an opportunity to give away candy. I certainly don’t decorate my house inside or out. When given the opportunity to preach or teach about it I do. Otherwise, I see October 31st as another day to celebrate the saints of God in the practice of giving and receiving. Always a treat, never a trick.
As always Peace and Blessings in Christ.
Romans 14:5-9
Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. Those who observe the day, observe it in honour of the Lord.
We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
1 Corinthians 10:30-31
If I partake with thankfulness, why should I be denounced because of that for which I give thanks?
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.
I agree that whatever we do we should do for the glory of God, and I think all saints day was a catholic holiday not a Christian celebration. The more I learn the more I am aware of the influence the pagan mysteries have subtly moved their way into our society and have been accepted to decieve Gods people, and it feels like we are constantly bombarded by the enemy to a point that it is very difficult for most people to even discern the truth from a lie these days. I know this world is not my home and it is important to let Gods love be demonstrated through my actions and not just what I say I believe. I must be identified by the way I live and love those around me.
I guess it has been laid on my heart to expose the lies of the enemy with truth and love and to lift up the name of Jesus above all things, and I realize I will be persicuted and labled a fanatic but if one person comes to know the Lord because of it then that is what matters most. The spiritual warfare that is taking place right now is massive and I know I’m not the only one that feels it.
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Philippians 4:8
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Thank you for repling “Iron sharpens iron”
God bless
Amen, and again thank you for your thoughts. I do appreciate the opportunity to hear from fellow journey persons in Christ. Yes, we are constantly fighting the enemy, which is always looking for an opportunity to take advantage of our weaknesses. Fortunately, the strength of the Word of God is our shield of protection, but we must continue to use it in our everyday living both physically and spiritually. I hope that you have not stopped celebrating your birthday, perhaps to continue to share God’s truth and love with family, friends and those around you. Life is a gift, treat it with God’s Love.
Peace and Blessings to you.
Luke 4:13
When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
Ephesians 6:13-17
Therefore take up the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Philippians 3:12-14
Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Amen sister,
I still celebrate birthdays and Christmas I know that each day belongs to God and I try to treat life as such. I am still vigilantly watching as our world continues to accelerate toward destruction by denying God. Wars rumors of war, natural disasters, genetic engineering, canniblism, homosexual “marriage”, huge corporations oppressing the masses, corrupt leaders, fake Christians, false prophets, legal abortion (murder), occult (new age) satanic practices and people don’t think God exists and is going to judge the nations for out sins. I will continue to put on the armor of God and pray for those around me to wake up before it is too late, and that I will not ride the fence and choose Gods ways over mans.
Matthew 24:36-38
36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[a] but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;
Just wondering, have you ever read the book of Enoch? I read it for the first time last week and it answered some of my questions between Genesis and Exodus. If you have read it what do you think of it?