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Trick or Treat
Happy Halloween!!! I wanted to start the column off this week by inviting everyone to come out to our annual “Harvest Fest” tonight at Victory Outreach Houston. The church did it a little different this year. Saturday and Sunday nights we had the “Faces of Hell” maze and tonight, October 31, we’re having our “Harvest Fest”. So if you’re in the Houston area, stop by and bring your kids for some free food, games, lots of candy and live music.
Sunday night I dragged my sister out of the house to go with me to the “Faces of Hell”. For those who have never been, it’s kind of like a maze where you walk through hell. It’s a good witnessing tool because it shows what hell is going to be like and at the end they have counselors telling people about Jesus. I have to say that this year was one of the best ones ever. My sister was really freaked out, ha. At one point she stopped and said, “I CAN’T GO ON ANYMORE GENO. IT’S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE SO REAL.” I couldn’t help but laugh because my sister gets overdramatic sometimes, ha, but honestly it had me a little scared too. I was telling my brother Gabe that walking through hell once a year is more than enough for me. I’m glad I’m saved and won’t have to go there for eternity.
Halloween is a holiday that is known for being evil. Not everything is evil about the holiday. At our church we have the alternative known as “Harvest Fest” and I know there are many other churches that do the same thing. But as a Christian I know that there are also real spirits and real principalities that come out during this day. We were talking last night and my sister was saying that on Halloween she can feel the evil in the air. It’s important that we stay prayed up and ready to battle the enemy on days like these.
Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
The devil claims this day to be his own, but we do not have to be afraid. Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4). As Christians we have nothing to fear. Our God is bigger than any demon. Our God has everything under control. I was telling my sister when we were going through the maze, “It’s not real Celina. We’re inside the church. No one is going to harm you.”
I’m not trying to scare you with this column, just trying to make you aware that we do need to be alert to the works of the enemy. Halloween is one of those days where evil is out in the open. Literally you can see ghosts and witches and ghouls and goblins wherever you go, but that doesn’t mean the powers of darkness aren’t at work the other 364 days of the year as well.
1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
I just want to challenge you on this Halloween to be that light in the midst of darkness. This may be one of the most sinister nights, but light always pierces through the dark. We have nothing to fear because our God is always with us. Just like I was telling my sister, we don’t have to be afraid because we are in the church, covered by the blood of Jesus, and nothing can harm us.
2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
w/muchluv,
geno
Don’t forget “Harvest Fest” tonight. Victory Outreach Houston is located at 18 ½ Veenstra off Airline and Tidwell. For directions or more information you can call the church at 713-742-9000.
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