“Happy Halloween?”

Please be advised that the opinions stated in this article are my own and may not be held by my church, Bread of Life Christian Fellowship, any of its staff or other members.

Thanks! Leigh

It is almost that time of year again when those around us will begin wearing costumes and spouting the acceptible phrases of the season ... Yes, that's right it is the beginning of  the holiday season and Halloween is almost here; and  I feel it is time to share this article with you all once again.

Why is it that people are afraid to use the words, “Merry Christmas” on the phone or in public, but these very same people have no problem uttering the phrase; “Happy Halloween”? It seems to me that it should be just as “un-pc” to utter this religious holiday rhetoric as it is for a Christian holiday. But I guess it’s all in the name of the God or god served.


Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas, and Happy Easter are all meant to honor the true and living God. But they are all considered ‘politically incorrect’ to voice in any type of public forum or arena. But if you want to utter any type of greeting in honor of the “holy” days of any other god or deity, it is totally OK.


It is just as offensive to me, and many other Christians, to have people, customers and others, end their conversation with “Happy Halloween” as it is for those who oppose our spouting any type of Christian greeting. Both greetings are “religious” in their origins and scope.


True, many people have no concept that Halloween is actually a religious holiday; and many of those who do know, do not care. They feel we who are offended by the phrase “Happy Halloween” are being ‘nit picky’ or ‘overly sensitive’ on this issue. But I think if we are to be tolerant of their fights to religious freedom and practices, they should have to be just as tolerant and considerate of ours, as well.


Each time I mention that I don’t celebrate Halloween I get the weirdest looks and comments. I try to keep any explanation short – usually just mention that we have Creation Celebration instead; to give our children a Christian Alternative to this very Pagan, and some feel satanic, holiday. Those who hold the opinion that this holiday is satanic may very well be correct in the broader scope of things. As anything that doesn’t give honor and glory to Jesus as “King of King’s” and “Lord of Lord’s” is in essence giving that honor to something or someone else – namely Satan.

In Mark 9:39-40, NIV it says; "Teacher," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us."

“Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “No one who does a miracle in My name can in the next moment say anything bad about Me, for whoever is not against us is for us …”


So It stands to reason that the reverse is also true – if a person is not for Christ, he is against Him, or for HIS adversary, the devil. (If a+b=c; then c-b=a, both ARE true.)


Satan comes like an ‘angel of light’ as we find in II Cor 11:13-15; “For such [are] false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore [it is] no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.”


And this ‘minister’ in ‘angel’ garb “as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour …” as Peter states in I Pet 5:9.  So it is very important that we weigh all things against the word of God before we start spouting “seemingly innocent” greetings, or participating in any so called ‘harmless’ activities offered by those around us who may not be as well informed as they should be.

Please prayerfully consider what I have written before adopting it as your own or sharing it with others.

Thanks for allowing me to voice my opinion in this manner!

Leigh

Loving Your Wife As Christ loves The Church

While walking through the halls of my job earlier this week I had a chance to stop and speak to another Christian Sister and to share with her a prayer request or two.  She in turn shared her heart with me.  She spoke of how her daughter and son-in-law had recently been struggling to hold their marriage together and of the words of wisdom she was able to speak into their marriage to them both; but mostly to her son-in-law.  And thus began the Lord’s gentle leading for this new area of life He wanted me to look into.  So that I might share my lessons learned, and the wisdom of others, with those who need what we can glean from them – the Husbands and Fathers among us who are striving to do as Jesus commanded us in the scripture and to teach these lessons to their sons so that they may be passed down to the generations yet to come.  The lessons of which I speak will be related to the message Paul shared long ago when he penned the verse; ‘Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;’ Ephesians 5:25.


And so today I would like to begin a conversation on the practical applications of how this would look in our modern world.  And to remind us that our world really hasn’t changed as much down through the ages as we have been led to believe – or should I say as we have been ‘brain washed’ into thinking is fact and is actually a work of pure fiction.  This conversation is not just for the men in the family of God, it is open to all who would participate with, and learn from, what is shared.


Even with all of the lies out there telling women they can do anything a man can and do it, and that we can do so as well or better than he and telling men that they need to show their 'femine-side', there remains a ring of truth to the phrase that was once common amongst our men.  That being the women were [are] the fairer sex, the gentle half of the whole that is needed if a marriage, Christian or non-Christian, is to work well and last for a lifetime.  For very few marriages, both in the church and outside, last for more than a few years before they start to go down hill and eventually to disintegrate into the divorce courts.


As I have said this is to be the start of a conversation.  With that said, I will be sharing in this forum the insights of those around us who have ‘loved for a lifetime’ and are willing to share bits of their wisdom with us as we tackle this area of life.  I will be providing biblical tidbits throughout this conversation so that we can keep our message centered on Jesus, as He is to be the rock on which our whole life is to be grounded - He is our 'firm foundation.'


So today we will continue where we started, in Ephesians.  The passage I want to share is 4:17-5:33, for in this passage Paul is addressing believers with a plan for living Godly lives centered in Christ’s teaching.  And I believe this to be where He would have us begin our conversation.  Here I have quoted  that selection from the NIV:


So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.  They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.  Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.  You, however, did not come to know Christ that way.  Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.  You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.  Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.  "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.  He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.  Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.  Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.  But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people.  Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.  For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.  Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient.  Therefore do not be partners with them.  For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.  Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.  Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.  For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.  But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible.  This is why it is said: "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."  Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.  Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.  Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.  Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.  Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.  For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.  Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing] her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.  In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies.  He who loves his wife loves himself.  After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body.  "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.  However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.


As I close today, I ask each of you to take time to read through this passage multiple times.  Try reading it daily as you begin your day, or perhaps as you end it – maybe you need to do both.  Think on the meaning of each verse so that you will be prepared to join in our conversation; for this is the reason I think Blogs were created – to be a jumping off point for conversation.  And as I too study this passage, I will add what I learn from our Lord here so that we can discuss it and share together in the ‘message’ Paul was teaching to believers so long ago, and to us today.


Until next time!

Getting Out Alive!

I read a quote while I was out this morning [May 12,2010]. It said; ‘Never take life seriously, no one ever gets out alive anyway.’ This really bugged me. I started thinking don’t they know Jesus? They have never experienced ‘true life’ if they believe this. My mind would not let me rest, or eat breakfast, until I thought this through, or wrote it through anyway. So here goes.



I once believed much like the person who created today’s topic. So I lived entirely for and in the moment. I followed the high in drugs to manage the day and get things done. Then looked for the low in other drugs and alcohol in order to find sleep – never true rest, just sleep so that today would end and perhaps tomorrow would be better; but it never was … at least not until I had hit absolute bottom and the only direction there was was up. And that pit was very deep and very, very dark!


My bottom was in a cell with 20+ other women in the Butte County Jail in 1984. I had made my first real decision in my adult life in the moment that I chose to be there. Yes I said chose, for I did indeed choose to be incarcerated on an outstanding warrant I had known about for months. I know it seems pretty sad when jail time looks to be better than the home life, and I use that term very loosely, that I had. But it was the lesser of two evils at that particular moment in my life. But that discussion is for another day and another article. I had never taken my life, or my responsibilities, seriously – ever! But from the very first moment that I stepped into that cell I knew I had to start, right then and there. I knew if I didn’t that this was going to be just a pit stop for me on my way to eternity in hell and death. And that thought scared me more than the impending hearing and sentencing for my crimes against the state of California and the County of Butte. I was through hiding from life.


So I started looking for answers. Boy am I glad that I was raised in a Christian home and knew where they could be found. I looked for, and found, the ONLY Bible in the Women’s Detention Center of that jail. And I started reading it. I don’t know what I read, and it really doesn’t matter. I knew it was ALL God’s truth and I could believe EVERY word. What did matter was that I started to pray and really believe that God did hear my prayers and would answer them.


I didn’t pray to be released from my prison, I knew that I deserved to be there and so much worse. No my prayers were to find peace for my children for all that and all the pain I had caused them; and to find a real, true relationship with Jesus. I knew in my heart of hearts that without this real relationship I wouldn’t get out of this life, and possibly not this cell, alive. I knew I was on a collision course with death; not just physical death, but spiritual, eternal DEATH. And now I truly wanted to live.
So how do you find life when you have chased death and her companions for so long? You search for the source of life; you find Jesus. I knew from my youth that Jesus could be found in the pages of His Holy Word and in earnest prayer. So I sought Him in these places while I lived in the balance between life and death.


While I was in jail a ministry group from Honeyrock Christian Discipleship Ranch came in on Sunday evening and preformed a play in the gym. Both the men and the women were allowed to go at the same time into the gym to see what this group had to offer. For both groups to be allowed in the gym together was rare, but as this ministry group was well known to the jail staff, they knew all would be fine while the team was in charge. That Sunday afternoon in a darkened gym in the Butte County Jail I found Real Life. How, you ask? It was like this:

The ministry group presented a play about Sally and the effects the divorce of her parents had on her life from the age of three through to her adult life. It broke my heart, for there on that stage I saw the lives of my children and how my actions had shaped and formed them and their choices.
Now I was sobbing openly for the first time in many years, and not for myself! I was sobbing because Sally was my daughter, was my son. Their lives were exactly what this little girl on stage had lived and felt and believed about herself. And I was truly repentant for having caused my children to live the life that Sally had also lived there on the stage for all to see. God had shown me my nakedness for all the world to see but mostly for me to see. Looking back I know that there was between 100 and 150 men and women in that gym, but in that moment there was only Jesus and me. And I was on my knees with my face to the floor, but looking straight into the face of my God for the very first time of my life seeking to be forgiven for all that I had caused my children to experience in their short lives.
I don’t remember going back into the cell, but I do remember the ladies from the4e ministry team coming in and having Bible study with us there. They were not afraid to be in with women who were considered dangerous for they knew their safety was held secure in the arms of Jesus.
I don’t remember what was read from God’s Word that night, but I do remember giving my life to Jesus there in that cell with those beautiful ladies from Honeyrock. I also remember asking them what was a Honeyrock and how did one get to go there. One of those ladies, Vivian Myers, gave me their card with a phone number on it and told me to call when I was released from jail.  I did just that two days later.


How does all of this come from that which I quoted at the beginning of this story? It was that Sunday night, April 29,1984, that I knew for a fact that I had passed from searching for death unto seeking life – for sure and for always. I KNOW that when this life is over, I will not leave it in death, which is eternal separation from God. I have found life, and that more abundantly, In Jesus! For He said in John 10:9-10; ‘I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’  I will LIVE forever in His presence and for His Holy and Eternal purposes.

I still try not to take life too seriously, and to enjoy it fully. But I know even if I die, yet shall I live.

‘Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?’ John 11:25So the quote that started my thinking process is false and proved so by the very words of Jesus. Believe and see that He is GOOD. Follow Him and LIVE Forever!