Pagan Roots

     Halloween is a growing holiday in the United States. Adults and children put on all manner of costumes and go either door-to-door "trick-or-treating" or to parties with lots of scary decorations and sugary sweet food. I remember as a child trying to figure out who or what I wanted to be for Halloween. I loved sitting on the floor after going out trick-or-treating and sifting through all my candy. (By the way, Christians generally to not celebrate Halloween as it has pagan roots. At our church, they offer an alternative event called a Fall Festival where kids can dress up, but there are no witches, ghosts or monsters for decorations.)
     I find it amusing that grown adults will dress up as fools, parade around in silly hats and corny makeup, but be embarrassed to be seen carrying around a Bible. They'll celebrate with decorations of skulls, demons, and bloody looking plastic body parts, but will feel uncomfortable putting a cross up in their home. They will drink, eat and be merry while playing games that are crude and often uncouth, but they will be ashamed to pray in public and offer God thanks for their meal.
     I'm not judging anyone, because before I became a Christian, I did all these things and unfortunately much much more. Satan is a deceiver. He can make us think that worshipping evil is a holiday and that worshipping God is a phony obligation.
     Forgive us Lord as we have lost our way. We no longer know good from bad or right from wrong. I pray for us Lord and our country, bring us back to You. Please heal our nation if not for us, for our children and grandchildren and generations to come. Amen.

Children love to play make believe and dress up in hero and animal costumes.

^{I Corinthians 15:29} Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? ³⁰ And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? ³¹ I die every day—I mean that, brothers—just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. ³² If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,

“Let us eat and drink,
    for tomorrow we die.”^[d]

³³ Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” ³⁴ Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.