2 ideas a parent can use this Halloween.

A lot of parents stress over allowing their kids to celebate Halloween. Below are a few ideas I stumbled upon that will help you infuse a Christian theme into what is otherwise a pagan celebration.

ENJOY!

Pumpkin Poem

I am a Jack O’ Lantern

My lights will shine so bright

For I’m a Christian pumpkin

My symbols tell what’s right

My nose is like the cross

On which our Savior died

To set us free from sin

We need no longer hide

My mouth is like a fish

The whole wide world to show

That Christians live in this house

And love their Savior so!

The story starts at Christmas

My eyes are like the star

That shone on Baby Jesus

And wise men saw from far

My color, it is orange

Just like the big bright sun

That rose on Easter Day

Along with God’s own Son

 

Gospel story: 

God picks you from the patch, brings you in, andwashes all of the dirt off.  Then, He cuts the top off and scoops out all of the yucky stuff.  He removes seeds of doubt, hate, greed, unforgiveness, etc.  Then, He carves a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see.  

Are you letting yourlight shine?  Shine for Jesus!

Satan has a plan for you. Here it is.

Satan called a worldwide convention of demons. In his opening address he said, "We can't keep Christians from going to church." "We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth." "We can't even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with their saviour." "Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken." 

"So let them go to their churches; let them have their covered dish dinners, BUT steal their time, so they don't have time to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ.." 

"This is what I want you to do," said the devil: "Distract them from gaining hold of their Saviour and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!" "How shall we do this?" his demons shouted. "Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds," he answered. "Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow." 

"Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles." "Keep them from spending time with their children." "As their families fragment, soon, their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work!" "Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice." 

"Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive." To keep the TV, VCR, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their home and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly." "This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ." "Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers." "Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day." "Invade their driving moments with billboards." "Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes.." 

"Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines and TV so their husbands will believe that outward beauty is what's important, and they'll become dissatisfied with their wives..." "Keep the wives too tired to love their husbands at night." "Give them headaches too! " "If they don't give their husbands the love they need, they may begin to look elsewhere." "That will fragment their families quickly!" "Give them Santa Claus to distract them from teaching their children the real meaning of Christmas." 

"Give them an Easter bunny so they won't talk about his resurrection and power over sin and death." "Even in their recreation, let them be excessive." "Have them return from their recreation exhausted." "Keep them too busy to go out in nature and reflect on God's creation. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, plays, concerts, and movies instead." "Keep them busy, busy, busy!" "And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences. " "Crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus." 

"Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause." "It will work!" "It will work!" It was quite a plan! The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busier and more rushed, going here and there. 

Having little time for their God or their families. 

Having no time to tell others about the power of Jesus to change lives. I guess the question is, has the devil been successful in his schemes? 

Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis.

You be the judge.

Does "BUSY" mean: 

B-eing U-nder S-atan's Y-oke?

Share it if you agree! 

The story of the 2 Evil brothers.

There were two evil brothers.
They were rich, and used their money to keep their sins from the public eye.
They even attended the same church, and appeared to be perfect Christians.

Then their pastor retired, and a new one was called. The new pastor could see right through the brothers’ deception. A fund raising campaign was started to build a new church hall. All of a sudden, one of the brothers died. The remaining brother sought out the new pastor the day before the funeral and handed him a check for the amount needed to finish paying for the new building.

“I have only one condition,” he said. 
“At his funeral, you must say my brother was a saint.”

The pastor gave his word, and deposited the check. The next day, at the funeral, the pastor did not hold back. “He was an evil man,” the pastor said. “He cheated people, told lies, and stole whenever he had the chance, and …”

After going on in this vein for a while, the pastor concluded with, “But compared to his brother, he was a saint.”

Which one of the two Travelers are You?

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Humane Education website at 

“What we see depends mainly on what we look for.” -John Lubbock

-The Two Travelers and the Farmer-

A traveler came upon an old farmer hoeing in his field beside the road. Eager to rest his feet, the wanderer hailed the countryman, who seemed happy enough to straighten his back and talk for a moment.

"What sort of people live in the next town?" asked the stranger.

"What were the people like where you've come from?" replied the farmer, answering the question with another question.

"They were a bad lot. Troublemakers all, and lazy too. The most selfish people in the world, and not a one of them to be trusted. I'm happy to be leaving the scoundrels."

"Is that so?" replied the old farmer. "Well, I'm afraid that you'll find the same sort in the next town.

Disappointed, the traveler trudged on his way, and the farmer returned to his work.

Some time later another stranger, coming from the same direction, hailed the farmer, and they stopped to talk. "What sort of people live in the next town?" he asked.

"What were the people like where you've come from?" replied the farmer once again.

"They were the best people in the world. Hard working, honest, and friendly. I'm sorry to be leaving them."

"Fear not," said the farmer. "You'll find the same sort in the next town."

Which of the 2 travelers are you?

When God gives you a Bloody Nose.

By:  Jean de La Fontaine 

Once there was a country bumpkin

Who observed a great big pumpkin

To a slender stem attached;

While upon an oak tree nourished,

Little acorns grew and flourished.

"Bah!" said he. "That's badly matched."

"If, despite my humble station,

I'd a hand in this Creation,

Pumpkins on the oaks would be;

And the acorn, light and little,

On this pumpkin stem so brittle

Would be placed by clever Me."

Then, fatigued with so much thought, he

Rest beneath the oak tree sought. He

Soon in slumber found repose

But, alas! An acorn, falling

On the spot where he lay sprawling,

Hit him--plump!--Upon the nose.

Up he jumped--a wiser bumpkin.

"Gosh!" he said. "Suppose a pumpkin

Came a-fallin' on my face!

After all, if I had made things,

I'll allow that I'm afraid things

Might be some what out of place.

The meaning of the acorn and the pumpkin?

God knows better than we do. Before the man took a nap under the acorn tree, he mocked God's creation.  He stated that a tree as giant as an acorn tree surely would have been better fit for something large, like pumpkins, to grow on.

However, he later found that he was mistaken when an acorn fell on his nose, causing it to bleed, making him realize that had it been a pumpkin, he would not have been as fortunate.

That is why at the end of the poem he says,"God knows His business after all, no question!" He realized he does not know more than God, and he should learn to trust Him.

"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!"

-Romans 11:33-

My Fathers Eyes

I heard a song in church yesterday titled, “Father’s Eyes.”
Below are some of the lyrics ... 

“I may not be every mother's dream for her little girl
And my face may not grace the mind of everyone in the world
But that's all right as long as I can have one wish I pray
When people look inside my life, I want to hear them say
She's got her Father's eyes, her Father's eyes
Eyes that find the good in things
When good is not around
Eyes that find the source of help
When help just can't be found
Eyes full of compassion, seeing every pain
Knowin' what you're going through, and feeling it the same
Just like my Father's eyes ... “

As I listened I thought to myself how this could be every Christian’s first prayer of the day. 
Before you and I ever walk out the front door to whatever beholds us we can pray to see the world through our Father’s eyes. Imagine how you would see things differently for a moment:
-That annoying kid that keeps cutting through your yard turns into a lonely young man that needs a mentor.
-The group of trashy gals dressed inappropriately morphs into young women that need a proper identity. 
-Your frazzled co-worker transforms into a tired mother that needs a hug.

In the New Testament book of Ephesians, Paul is writing the church in Ephesus and tells them that, “I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.” This may not strike you at first, but I want to you re-read the passage with an eye on 4 simple words: GIFT OF GOD’S GRACE. There it is. The ultimate perspective change. Before Paul was the Apostle Paul, he was Saul the persecutor (See book of Acts, chapter 7 & 8). Paul met Jesus on the Damascus road and had a radical worldview shift. He met the risen Christ and immediately started seeing through his Father’s eyes. Paul could never be the same thereafter, his life was totally devoted to knowing Christ and helping others discover a new set of eyes. 

What about you? Whose eyes do you see through? Do you have your Father’s eyes? 
If this is something that interests you I’d like to take a second and invite you to a bible study on Thursday Night’s where you will meet at diverse group that seeks to accomplish this very task. We meet at Northminster Presbyterian Church, (the church in Neshannock next to McDonalds) 6:30 p.m. I know this sounds like a shameless plug and it really is; though I feel it necessary to extend an invitation for those that want to see the world differently ... Those that choose to pray every day:

“When people look inside my life, I want to hear them say
She's got her Father's eyes, her Father's eyes
Eyes that find the good in things
When good is not around
Eyes that find the source of help
When help just can't be found
Eyes full of compassion, seeing every pain
Knowin' what you're going through, and feeling it the same
Just like my Father's eyes ... “

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