Happy Reformation Day or Happy Halloween
 
by Dr. Ken Matto
(Rom 1:17 KJV) For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
 
The last day of October yields a double designation which are diametrically opposed to one another.  Of course I am speaking of October 31 which shrouds Reformation Day and opulently manifests Halloween. Is it the calendar’s fault? Of course not. Reformation day dates to October 31, 1517 and it is the day that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of his church in Wittenburg, Germany. It was the beginning of the liberation of the church from under the oppression of Rome. In reality, Luther never expected his writing to start such a furor. In the same manner when Jonathan Edwards delivered his famous sermon "Sinners in the hands of an Angry God" in 1738, he read it from a paper and spoke in a monotone voice, yet God used it to break the hearts of many and begin the Great Awakening in the USA. What is the principle here? (Zec 4:10 KJV) For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.
 
Romans 1:17 was the catapulting verse that stunned Luther when he read it. The key was living by faith and not by works and church dogma. Luther was now on a road that had no exits and the earthly end was either death as a heretic or recanting his whole thesis. Of course, Luther continued to study Scripture and discovered how erroneous the Roman Catholic Church was. Luther was eventually excommunicated from the church of Rome in 1521 but by that time the Reformation was gaining momentum. It was spreading so fast that the Pope of Rome was losing power in many governments across Europe and it worried him. In fact Papal power was waning rapidly that by 1534 Satan had to make a move to retain the power of his church. This is when Ignatius Loyola formed the Jesuit Order which was dedicated to the glory of the Pope and the re-strengthening of the Roman Church. What is the principle here? Satan fears the truth of God and he is so blinded to his own subservient position to God that he honestly thinks he can be victorious over the truth of God.
 
Yet all around us on October 31 people are decorating their house for this evil day. Halloween is the second most lucrative day for the stores. Christmas is the first and I am speaking in the area of decorations and preparations. Halloween antedates the time when the Lord Jesus came to earth. It is such an evil day because people were murdered by reason of superstition. Those who partake in Wicca (witchcraft) try to convince us that it is an innocent day. Here is one thing that the practitioners of Halloween did. On October 31, they would assemble at a huge bonfire and place a victim in a wicker basket and then lower that basket over the fire thus roasting and killing their victim. As the smoke rose from the burning victims the Druid priests would foretell the future. This is the meaning behind a bonfire. The word "bonfire" comes from an English 15th Century word meaning "Fire of Bones." Isn’t it interesting how many modern churches have bonfires? Bonfires represent the murder of innocent people and yet churches sponsor them and are indirectly worshipping Satan. If the Seminaries and Bible Colleges only taught spiritual warfare instead of spiritual capitulation, Satan would not receive the equal amount of glory from the churches as the world gives him. Christians should have absolutely nothing to do with this day. It is wrong to even hand out tracts with candy, tract passing can be done on other days. Even if you place a candy bar wrapped in a Bible tract you are falling prey to the belief that you must give something to the evil spirits to appease them. The essence of Halloween is the appeasement of the spirits that come back from the dead and trick-or-treating is the modern equivalent of that pacification.
 
I do not want to dwell on Halloween but wanted to pass along some little know facts about this day. Any Christian who partakes in the least manner on this day is being traitorous to the Kingdom of God. I want to return to the simple act that Martin Luther did. I want to emphasize that he thought he would only be challenging his congregation and maybe those who were passing by as to biblical truth, yet God used that one seemingly small act to send a spiritual tidal wave through Europe and eventually throughout the whole world. May I add in a very short time also. Just a personal note within the context of this theme. I have preached quite a number of times in various churches in New York and New Jersey and there were times that I thought I didn’t convey the biblical thoughts as clear as I could have. Then at the end of the service people would come up to me and say they really received a spiritual blessing from it. Go Figure! It brings to light the following verse. (2 Cor 12:10 KJV) Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
 
So let us see if there are some significant principles that we can glean from today’s devotional.
 
1) Never consider anything you do for the Lord as insignificant no matter how small the deed.
 
2) Realize that no matter what type of decision we make, whether big or small, will always have a ripple effect  in our life.
 
3) Realize your actions affect others, not only you. What effect did the 95 Theses have on Europe?
 
4) Christ is strategically involved in the small phases of your life as well as the large ones.(2 Ki 6:5-6 KJV)  But as one was felling a
     beam, the ax head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed. {6} And the man of God said, Where
    fell it? And he showed him the place. And he cut  down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.
 
5) Never downplay anything you do for the Lord because you do not know the plan the Lord will have for your activity.
 
6) Finally, obedience in small things elevates to obedience in large things. Christians learn obedience one step at a time. Progressive
    obedience in the Christian’s walk yields greater and greater blessings. The Christian’s walk is faith to faith, not faith to sight or sight to
    faith. We obey and do in faith and leave the results to God.    (10/29/00)

Luther's 95 Theses - www.scionofzion.com/95_theses.htm
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