Crosswalk.com--The Devotional

[Judy Harder]

October 15, 2010
Where Are the Haters?
John UpChurch, Editor, Jesus.org

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12, ESV)

As far as I know, no one hates me, and I'm not so sure that's a good thing. I can claim to having caused mild irritation, since I've had my share of blogger attacks. One, in fact, compared me to an unidentified member of the Three Stooges (I vote for Moe). But I wouldn't call their responses hate—more like what one feels for a shirt collar that won't stay down.

But when I look at the life of Christ, there's one thing I definitely don't see: tepid responses. You don't read about how the Pharisees were mildly annoyed with Jesus as He journeyed through Judea. You don't see how the crowd got together and rolled their eyes at Jesus. You don't hear the story of Jesus being the focus of a slightly mocking lampoon during the Passover celebration.

No, a funny thing happened on the way to the truth. People got mad—really mad. Jesus sometimes directly attacked the Pharisees for their hypocrisy and flipped over tables and delivered woes, but most of the animosity He generated came from teaching about God and healing people. He'd make a crippled hand whole or forgive somebody or tell people who He was, and crowds wanted Him dead.

When was the last time someone hated you for speaking the truth? I can't recall any time that someone tried to stop me because they detested God, the same God they saw in my life and heard in my words.

I'm not advocating that Christians go out and pick fights or flame Internet message boards or any other sort of confrontational action. There's no need. If we're telling the truth, some people will hate it and hate us. When the Word is preached, the rancor is sure to follow. It's inevitable: Preach the word; get the haters.

But where are mine? As an American Christian, I'm more likely to boycott and petition and rail against perceived injustices than see a single personal threat. I get riled up by thinking there's a "they" out there trying to take away my freedom—even if I have no clear idea who those "they" are.

It's not that I want people to persecute me. The thought scares me, to be honest. But if Jesus said we're blessed when others revile us, when they persecute us and say false things about us because of our witness, then I wonder how effective my witness really is when the most I can say is that I've irked an atheist or two. Can I rejoice and be glad because of a single, vague epithet?

Intersecting Faith & Life: 

When we live for Christ, the world should know, not because of our bios on social media sites, but because they can't miss Him when the look at us. If they hate us for it, at least they're not ignoring the message.

[Judy Harder]

October 18, 2010 

Casting Down Our Golden Crowns

Laura MacCorkle, Crosswalk.com Senior Editor

"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

Revelation 4:11, NIV

The older we get, it seems we are paying more attention to the words we're singing at church. At least, that's been the case for me.


For example, just this past week I was clued in to what I had really been singing all of these years in the second verse of "Holy, Holy, Holy" ...


Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Who was, and is, and evermore shall be.

Thankfully, someone in my Bible study group mentioned this lyric while we were studying in the book of Revelation. She, too, had never thought about what these words meant until having a light-bulb moment after reading in Revelation 4:9-11 ...

Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: "You are worthy our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

I did a little further study to see who these elders might be and what their crowns could represent. Some commentators and theologians think they could be a heavenly governing council. Others offer that they might represent redeemed saints of the twelve tribes in the Old Testament and the twelve apostles in the New Testament who rule in God's kingdom. I say, whoever they are, they are ascribing all glory to God as their sovereign ruler. 

But why are they wearing crowns? Well, they most likely signify victory—like those given to victors in Greek games—as opposed to those of kings which denote supreme authority. They can also be seen as rewards after judgment of their lives lived on earth. And by laying their crowns before the throne, the elders offer what God has given them right back to him. It's all his. And they show that he is worthy of our total worship and praise. 

In Colossians 1:16-17, we read: 

For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

But what does it mean to worship God like this down here on earth? How do we wear the blessings he has given us as our golden crowns? Are we prepared to give them up—to cast these things down at his feet—as we worship him? 

Let's remember today that to him alone should we give all glory. May he help us all to loosen our grips and live lives that give back to him all that he has given to us. 

Intersecting Faith & Life:  How would you look at the blessings in your life (your friends and family, your possessions, the intangibles) if they each had a "Property of God: If Found Please Return" type of tag on them? Would it make a difference?

Further Reading

Psalm 100:3, NIV
John 1:3, NIV
Acts 17:28, NIV

[Judy Harder]

October 18, 2010 

Casting Down Our Golden Crowns

Laura MacCorkle, Crosswalk.com Senior Editor

"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

Revelation 4:11, NIV

The older we get, it seems we are paying more attention to the words we're singing at church. At least, that's been the case for me.

For example, just this past week I was clued in to what I had really been singing all of these years in the second verse of "Holy, Holy, Holy" ...

Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Who was, and is, and evermore shall be.

Thankfully, someone in my Bible study group mentioned this lyric while we were studying in the book of Revelation. She, too, had never thought about what these words meant until having a light-bulb moment after reading in Revelation 4:9-11 ...

Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: "You are worthy our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

I did a little further study to see who these elders might be and what their crowns could represent. Some commentators and theologians think they could be a heavenly governing council. Others offer that they might represent redeemed saints of the twelve tribes in the Old Testament and the twelve apostles in the New Testament who rule in God's kingdom. I say, whoever they are, they are ascribing all glory to God as their sovereign ruler. 

But why are they wearing crowns? Well, they most likely signify victory—like those given to victors in Greek games—as opposed to those of kings which denote supreme authority. They can also be seen as rewards after judgment of their lives lived on earth. And by laying their crowns before the throne, the elders offer what God has given them right back to him. It's all his. And they show that he is worthy of our total worship and praise. 

In Colossians 1:16-17, we read: 

For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

But what does it mean to worship God like this down here on earth? How do we wear the blessings he has given us as our golden crowns? Are we prepared to give them up—to cast these things down at his feet—as we worship him? 

Let's remember today that to him alone should we give all glory. May he help us all to loosen our grips and live lives that give back to him all that he has given to us. 

Intersecting Faith & Life:  How would you look at the blessings in your life (your friends and family, your possessions, the intangibles) if they each had a "Property of God: If Found Please Return" type of tag on them? Would it make a difference?

Further Reading

Psalm 100:3, NIV
John 1:3, NIV
Acts 17:28, NIV

[Judy Harder]

October 20, 2010 

How Could a Loving God Let This Happen?
Sarah Jennings, Crosswalk.com Family Editor

Jesus wept. (John 11: 35)


Today my mind is flooded with thoughts of my friend John*. We've known each other for about a decade. At first we bonded over the struggles of being Christian, single, and searching. But in 2009, John faced bigger challenges than finding a date: He was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia.

After a year of very difficult treatment, the cancer finally gave John a break, and he began making long-term plans again. Part of his planning included proposing to the love of his life. Everyone was so happy for him. Last week John married his love. I want to be happy but I know why the wedding was pushed to last week instead of happening when it was originally planned: John's cancer is threatening his life again. John and his new wife are spending their honeymoon in the hospital.

Mental images of John and his wife in a sterile hospital room make one thing obvious: this isn't the way it's supposed to be. This is one of those times when life is not fair. When life is tragic. 

I can only imagine what it must be like to be a newlywed fearing for the life of your husband. Or to be a husband wanting so badly to take care of your new wife but instead needing her to take care of you.

It's times like this that only the Cross brings comfort. At least for me. I cannot begin to imagine what it must be like for them.

But I see a suffering God who doesn't love tragedy -- who loves life. He loves John. He loves John's wife. He loves each one of us so much He was willing to undergo excruciating pain and death to give us life to the fullest. He is not some God who sits in the clouds watching us suffer. He has been through it too and has wept bitterly at the tragedy of it all.

Christ's suffering ultimately led to the resurrection. God has a way of doing that. Taking the worst and making it better than we could ever have imagined.

But I don't want to act like the resurrection makes suffering easier. It's not easy believing in God during tough times. I recently ran across a fierce debate among those struggling with infertility. Many expressed agony over it. Many asked the same questions that have been asked throughout history like, "How can a loving God allow me to suffer so much?"

This is a fair question. I've asked it myself when faced with my own struggles. How could He? If He is powerful enough to stop suffering, than why doesn't He? If He loves me, why would He let me hurt?


We can't tackle this problem or all the questions in one devotional entry. My reflection today isn't about giving all the answers but simply letting people know that if they are suffering, they are not alone. I encourage anyone going through a tough time to reach out to those you trust. To read the wisdom of those who have "been there," including the Gospels.



Don't leave the questions rattling around in your head or try to push through it alone. Suffering has a way of helping us grow - in character, in our relationship with God and others - but it also tempts us to make poor decisions. We need the support of the Body of Christ, especially those who know suffering and have found truth, peace, hope, faith and love on the journey.

*Name changed

Intersecting Faith & Life:  Are you experiencing a period of suffering in your life? Pick up the phone, join a Bible study, make connections. God often works through His Church to comfort those who mourn.

Further Reading


Should We Fire God? A Virginia Tech Pastor on Faith after Crisis by Sarah Jennings
The Story of a Soul by St. Therese of Lisieux

 

[Judy Harder]

October 21, 2010
Is Suffering Inevitable? 
Shawn McEvoy

For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.
1 Peter 3:17, NAS

Suffering. It's not standard daily devotional fare, because let's face it, usually we want to begin or end our day being uplifted, or even better, lifting up God, rather than focusing on our pains and problems.

But there's the rub... we all have pains and problems. Christian and non-Christian. Lifelong disciple and baby believer. Red and yellow, black and white. Everyone, from the moment he or she was born, has struggled, tried, failed, hurt, sinned, misunderstood, and reacted. Humanity shares a true brotherhood over suffering, one that we might understand a lot better if suffering weren't also so relative. By which I mean, one person's issues may sound simple, easy-to-solve, even petty to another. "That's nothing compared to what I've had to endure!"

But the fact is, your sorrows and difficulties are real to you. It's one reason why I'm no fan of when people say a certain place or time in their lives isn't "the real world," as if the spot they are currently tucked away at is immune from any degree of difficulty.

Suffering is very real, and there's certainly no reason any Christian would expect life to be otherwise. We purport to follow a "Suffering Savior." His stripes have healed us, and wow do we seem to feel them sometimes, which is as it should be, as we deserved them instead of Him. If we agree that no person but one - no matter where they lived or how easy or hard they had it - has escaped sin's corruption, then how much more must we agree that truly NO person has escaped suffering?

Look at what Peter suggests in today's verse: you can suffer for doing good, or you can suffer for doing bad. By extension, some of the problems in your life may be a result of your own rebellion, while other hurts may naturally result from walking so closely with Christ that you ache at the injustice and hardship around you, with the world despising and persecuting you.

In the classic allegory Hinds' Feet on High Places, Much-Afraid journeys with companions named Sorrow and Suffering, and these two assist her in her climb up the Injury Precipice, which is a part of her transformation into "Grace and Glory."

The same is true for you. Your sufferings have informed you, educated you, helped you along in your journey. You may despise them, but they are yours. And they will be with you whether you are doing right, or not. Of course, the nature of them will be quite different.

There may be one way, though, to avoid suffering. There's a third option, left out here by Peter, but not left out by John in the Revelation. It's the lukewarm response to life, the do-nothing approach. This is the approach that cocoons itself off from life and all of its pain. And make no mistake, "Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something," says that famous theologian the Man in Black in The Princess Bride.

You may not feel anything from inside a cocoon; in fact, it may be an abundance of pain and suffering that forced you in there. But remember, no creature that cocoons itself is intended to stay locked up forever. The point is to be rested, healed, matured, transformed. To become more beautiful, useful. Even the emerging process itself carries a degree of struggle, but one that, if the insect did not go through itself, would leave it too weak to fly.

So be lifted up in your suffering today.

It is a companion.

It is designed to transform you.

It gives you a share in the inheritance of Christ and the brotherhood of humanity.

And it gives you empathy, which gives you every excuse for ministry.

Intersecting Faith & Life: 

Make it your goal to partake, as much as possible, only of the brand of suffering that comes from doing what is right according to God's Word. 

Further Reading

God's Undeserved Gift to the World: Christian Sufferers
Trusting God in the Darkness

[Judy Harder]

October 22, 2010

Are You Reciting the Gospel by Yourself?
Alex Crain
Editor, Christianity.com

"...with Him... Moses and Elijah, who, appearing in glory, were speaking
of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem."
Luke 9:30-31 NASB   

It's good to see that the idea of 'preaching the gospel to yourself everyday' is becoming more popular. At least that's how it seems to me. Things that point to the gospel are popping up in all kinds of places and ways, not only in big and new movements but in short videos, articles and Twitter messages ("Gospel Tweets"). A caution in the way we think about the gospel was brought to my attention recently in chapter two of True Spirituality. If you're not following along in our weekly journey through this important and helpful work by Francis Schaeffer, I invite you to join us.   

In chapter two, Schaeffer mentions our Scripture passage today (above) where we see Moses and Elijah speaking with Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration about His impending departure—His death.

It's subtle, but notice that they're not just making a passing mention of the fact. Rather, they were actively and continuously speaking about it. They were dwelling on the gospel; at least the substitutionary atonement part of it. And with the Object of their redemption (Christ) standing right there, no doubt there must have been more than just theological accuracy in their conversation. Probably more like amazement and deep gratitude. As they thought of all that Christ was about to endure for their sin, I'm sure they had correct thoughts about the gospel. But Christ's own presence energized their orthodox theology.   

At times, there can a detached, tearless way that we think about the gospel. When I have well-articulated and familiar facts about Christ's life/death/resurrection/ascension, and they are just empty echoes down the icy corridors of my thoughts, the diagnosis is simple: I have broken fellowship with Christ. It's evidence of unconfessed sin. 

Schaeffer reminds us that when we rehearse the gospel, we must do so in the presence of the Living Christ; in humble worship of Him. He is not a distant figment of man's imagination. He is the God Who is there. Just as Moses and Elijah were "with Him"... in His presence, so we too must continuously rehearse the gospel while recognizing that we are in the presence of the God Who is there. The Christian life flows from the constant spring of dwelling on the gospel with the Redeemer Himself.   

Intersecting Faith & Life:     

Remember this paraphrase of John Piper: the gospel is like blood, it's supposed to course through your veins not be carried in a bucket. 

John Owen, (a 1600s Puritan) often prayed, "Lord, may I commune with You in the doctrines I espouse." Make this your prayer and experience today.   

Further Reading

John 15

The Gospel in Six Minutes (John Piper, video)

"While all that borrows life from Thee is ever in Thy care;
And everywhere that man can be, Thou, God art present there."
From the hymn, "I Sing the Mighty Power of God" by Isaac Watts

[Judy Harder]

October 25, 2010 

Completely Improbable, Imminently Possible

John UpChurch, Editor, Jesus.org


And he said to [the angel of the LORD], "Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house." (Judges 6:15, ESV)

The Old Testament judge Gideon asked an angel of the Lord how he could possibly take on the mighty Midianites, being a wimp as he was, and God answered every request the man put forth—almost to the point of being ridiculous. On the other hand, Zechariah, a faithful Levite serving the Lord and John the Baptist's father, asked only once how he could possibly have a son in his old age, and an angel told him he'd be unable to speak until it came to pass.

That hardly seems fair—harsh even. Why would God punish one and let the other get away with so much? We might think there's a discrepancy in the treatment—until we examine the differences between the two men's responses.

Let's look at what's the same first. Both of them were dedicated to God—Gideon seems to have been seeking God as he beat out the wheat and he later tore down an altar to Baal, while Zechariah served faithfully in the temple. In fact, you could say that Zechariah had the greater claim to being godly. Both men received shocking, seemingly impossible news from an angel. Both asked very similar questions.

God, however, didn't just look at the questions. He looked at the reason for asking. Obviously, we don't know what Gideon or Zechariah was thinking, but God did. Notice, for example, that Gideon's fleecing of God reads much like Abraham's petition for Sodom. Just as Gideon asks God not to be angry with him as he asks for more proof, Abraham asked God not to be angry as he begged for the lives in Sodom (see Genesis 18).

On the other hand, Zechariah simply doubts. And that's why the angel zings the old priest. He's not asking God for proof. He's not begging for evidence. He's not amazed that something like this could really happen (as Mary was). He just doesn't believe it can happen.


Gideon believed God could do what He said He would do. And that's the key—he believed God to perform something amazing. What the man wasn't sure about was his own ability and his calling. He believed God for the outcome; he questioned the agent, the catalyst. God graciously proved the calling by many unimpeachable signs.

Intersecting Faith & Life: 

I'm certainly not suggesting we test God's patience—or test God at all. But God knows humans. He knows our doubts and our fears and our feelings of inadequacy. He's been there and done that—all without sin.

Gideon doubted himself, and God patiently showed the seeming wimp that he was, in fact, a mighty man of valor. If God has given you a calling that seems improbable because of your failings, remember that what God purposes to do is imminently possible. In other words, He doesn't pick the wrong person or give the wrong vision.

Whatever you do, don't doubt the power of God to do whatever it is He's given you. That's where we get into trouble.

[Judy Harder]

October 26, 2010 

Maybe God's Waiting on You
Laura MacCorkle, Crosswalk.com Senior Editor

Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commandments. Deuteronomy 8:2, NIV

"Sometimes I wait on God to change a situation only to realize he was waiting on me." 

A friend of mine said that recently, and that thought has stayed with me ever since. I'm so quick to point to outside circumstances for why God is not changing a particular situation in my life. I question, I complain. And in essence, I Israelitize! That's right. I'm just like a cranky Israelite who's wandering in the wilderness and wondering if I'll ever reach the Promised Land. 

As I refreshed my memory about the plight of the Israelites after they had been delivered from Egypt and what happened during their 40-year wilderness experience, I was reminded that they did have a earlier opportunity to enter the Promised Land—two years into their ordeal. 

During those two years, the Israelites had been trained and instructed in how to fight battles (it was not if but when they would occur). They were also given laws (The Ten Commandments) and instructed how to worship (detailed plans and guidelines for the Tabernacle, offerings, priests, etc.). So this time period was not for naught. It was to prepare the people, to test them to see if they would trust in God, worship him and submit to him as a unified body. 

But they still didn't get it. And in the face of great blessing, they chose not to trust the Lord and disobeyed him.

In Numbers 13:1, we read:

The LORD said to Moses, "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving the Israelites." 

There it is, plain as day. God was going to give the Promised Land to the Israelites, and they knew this. But when the twelve spies came back with their report, ten of the twelve prevailed and offered their own plan:

"We went into the land to which you sent us," they said. "And it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. ... We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are" (Numbers 13:27-28, 31).

The Israelites were scared and they were "sold," so they began grumbling and weeping aloud. Moses and Aaron quickly tried to reason with the people ("Do not rebel against the LORD"), but it was no use. The Israelites were going to do what they were going to do.

And then the Lord spoke: 

For forty years—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you (Numbers 14:34).

The Israelites could have experienced tremendous blessing so much sooner. But because of their disobedience, they suffered for 38 more years in the wilderness. They brought it upon themselves! And therefore, they had to wait.

It's a story that shouldn't feel too distant from you and me today—despite the time gap. Think about it. How often have you brought upon yourself the various wilderness experiences in your own life? Times when you're uncomfortable or you don't like your circumstances or you don't understand what is happening and where you're going?

Either we wait for God's perfect plan in our lives and for him to unfold events exactly when and how he wants them to be, or we will wait to get out of what we have planned for ourselves. So what are you waiting on God to do today? And what is God waiting on you to do or to learn or to repent of and confess to him?

The next time you are even thinking about turning away from God's Word and rejecting his plan for your life, remember the Israelites and get on your knees. Remember God's kindness. Remember his mercy. And remember to wait on your faithful Father whose hand has provided everything an unfaithful people will ever need.

Intersecting Faith & Life: 

What are you grumbling about today? What's going on in your current wilderness? Is it a relationship? A work situation? Your spiritual life? What got you there? And what is God asking you to do in the meantime while you wait? If God's waiting on you, then it's time to pay attention and start following his plan for your life. 

Further Reading

Isaiah 30:18, NIV
Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV

[Judy Harder]

October 27, 2010

Slippery Humility
Katherine Britton, Crosswalk.com News & Culture Editor

"He mocks the proud but gives grace to the humble." - Proverbs 3:34


Pride possesses an uncanny ability to find loopholes in our attitudes. As soon as we recognize the disease in one area of our life, it crops up in another area. Those familiar with the southern terror of kudzu, the unstoppable plant that takes over acres of other foliage no matter what measures are taken to keep it at bay, understand pride's infuriating habit of creeping back into one's life. The ultimate irony is when we think we've temporarily conquered the monster, only to find that we're giving ourselves credit for the job. And suddenly, the monster is reincarnated.

C. J. Mahaney, in his book about humility, found this dilemma ever present. "If I met someone presuming to have something to say about humility," he wrote, "automatically I'd think him unqualified to speak on the subject." How many humble attitudes have died as soon as they were recognized?

Webster defines humility as "lowliness of mind; a modest estimate of one's own worth; a sense of one's own unworthiness through imperfection and sinfulness; self-abasement; humbleness." But I think that definition is faulty. Many with low self-esteem nonetheless cling to shreds of pride, displayed in their self-consciousness and self-focus.

Mahaney's definition shows another component of humility: a relational focus. He writes, "Humility is honestly assessing ourselves in light of God's holiness and our sinfulness." More than a "modest estimate of one's own worth," isn't it? The end result of pride is self-consciousness; the end result of humility is consciousness of holiness, something totally outside ourselves.

What a countercultural concept.

In these days of Twitter, Facebook, reality TV, consumer marketing and the like, we become so bogged down in our own world - our own sin - that we fail to see the possibility/need for grace. Self-focused creatures that we are, our jobs, our families, and our recreation become excuses to capitalize on our strengths to earn accolades. Or they become shields to hide our weaknesses. In either case, our inward attitude blinds us to the greater picture. In walks sin - the attitude that puts the focus on ourselves before our focus on God's glory.

"When we have much of God's providential mercies," the great preacher Charles Spurgeon wrote, "it often happens that we have but little of God's grace, and little gratitude for the bounties we have received. We are full and we forget God: satisfied with earth, we are content to do without heaven. Rest assured it is harder to know how to be full than it is to know how to be hungry - so desperate is the tendency of human nature to pride and forgetfulness of God."

Amid all our blessings, has our vision become so short-sighted that we can't see beyond them? That we can't recognize sin? That we can't recognize how far short we fall of holiness? Pride is slippery, and the heart is deceitful when we compare ourselves to, well, ourselves. Let's renew our comparisons where they matter. 

Intersecting Faith & Life: Manahey writes, "The warnings from Scripture about pride could not be more serious and sobering. But they're an expression of God's mercy, intended for our good. Don't you think God is merciful to warn us in this way?" Wrapped up in our self-consciousness, we don't see the gaping holes that lie ahead. Grab a concordance and read a few of the references under "pride" and "proud" (you'll find quite a few). Pride has no room to creep back in when we leave ourselves behind, so let's refocus our hearts on true holiness.

Further Reading

The Perils of Pride
Isaiah 66:2
James 4:6

[Judy Harder]

October 28, 2010 

Fear Not
Sarah Jennings, Crosswalk.com Family Editor

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.
1 John 3: 1

You certainly don't need me to remind you that this is the time of year when our culture makes light of heavy subjects such as death, demons, witchcraft, and evil. Even if we want to avoid it, most of us can't. I learned this the hard way.

Last weekend I visited a local amusement park with friends. We planned this outing because we had free tickets and were in the mood to relive our carefree, roller coaster-riding days of childhood. It wasn't until we passed through the front gates of the park that we saw the Halloween set-up.

During the day, the pumpkin-and-haystack theme looked charming and festive. But as night fell, the park took on an entirely different appearance. Fog machines filled the air with mist while off-key carnival music began to play. As we wandered through the park, clowns of all shapes and sizes appeared.

Suddenly, the first screams rang out as a cackling clown chased a teenage girl through the crowd. As the pair raced past us, we got an up-close-and-personal view of the clown's gory make-up. These were not the friendly sort you meet at the circus.

My friends and I spent the remainder of the evening huddled together, moving slowly through the shadowy landscape designed to obscure demented carnival creatures. The only things the darkness couldn't conceal, of course, were the screams of terror.

After we'd made it safely to our cars (and the adrenalin stopped pumping through my body), it occurred to me that while I wouldn't go back inside even if you paid me, our experience might have actually held some real spiritual merit. Don't misread me - I'm not advocating the glorification of darkness or evil. But here are some thoughts I took away from that evening:

1. Life can be scary, but with God we need not fear. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.... Psalms 23: 4

God tells us to "fear not" countless times in Scripture. His frequent command indicates two things: (1) God anticipates that we will face scary situations, but (2) He is bigger and more powerful than any scary situation. We can find great comfort by taking God at His word.

2. Death is part of life. "For the wages of sin is death...." (Romans 6: 23)

My friends and I saw images of death and decay everywhere we turned. Skeletons hung on lamp posts, and well...I'll leave the rest to your imagination. As we wandered among the "living dead" I couldn't help but realize how different this experience would be if my friends and I didn't have hope in Christ. After all, every skeleton statue proclaimed our destiny. Yet, my friends and I knew we weren't staring at the end of the story. Paul's words come to mind here, "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" (1 Corinthians 15: 55). 

3. Evil can be attractive.

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it." (Matthew 7: 13)

As my friends and I dug our nails into each other while attempting to avoid hoards of terrorizing clowns, the fact that this horrible set-up had been created to give people a night of fun did not escape me. And judging by the massive crowds who paid big bucks in admissions fees, the goal was accomplished. But outside the realm of silly Halloween festivities, how often do we see our fellow human beings attracted to that which is scary, dark, or evil? And how often do we see "wrong" masquerade as beautiful, attractive, or right? It is only through the light of Christ that we can discern clearly that which is truly good and that which only appears good.

4. Spiritual warfare exists.

For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6: 12)

Not long ago I wrote a little bit about the nature of angels. My experience at the park gave me a glimpse into the nature of demons. It's easy to get lost in the everyday worries of life, and forget the greater spiritual reality. The trip to "Fear Fest" was a tangible reminder for me of our need to put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6: 13 - 18), and persevere in the faith.

Which brings us to the good and holy side of Halloween: All Saint's Day. I can't think of a more encouraging way to spend my Halloween than reflecting on the lives of fellow Christians who have fought the good fight, faced death, and now enjoy victory with Christ. Their witnesses inspire me to keep going even when the darkness closes in, when death threatens, or when evil looks like the better option.

Intersecting Faith & Life: 

I can't count the times reading the biography or writings of a Christian hero has deepened my understanding of what it means to live as a Christian in the world. Get out that list of books you've been meaning to pick up "someday" and read one of the greats of Christian literature. Need Suggestions? Try 131 Christians Everyone Should Know by Mark Galli and Ted Olson (Broadman & Holman, 2000).