October 21, 2021 – Thursday
Yesterday morning, the children were questioning me on what black cats, bats, owls, and spider webs have to do with Halloween. I have always taught them the beauty of nature, and have never labeled these creatures of the night as scary or creepy. Their foundation was truth, and this new information wasn’t inline what they knew. They were checking the facts.
The simple answer to their question is absolutely nothing. God’s beautiful creation has nothing to do with Halloween. But there is more to it than that. As I answered their questions, fresh manna fell down from heaven for me to collect. The more I taught, the more wisdom I seemed to receive.
It is an age old story that dates back to the beginning of time. The enemy of this world, the devil, has always longed to be exalted above God and to be worshipped; it is what caused his fall from heaven to begin with (gotquestions.org). He wanted what God had and was willing to do anything to get it. He is up to his same old tricks today, attempting to steal what the Lord has and turn our eyes away from God. “The enemy may be invisible but he is not fictional. He is very real, and very persistent, waging war against us constantly (Priscilla Shirer, Armor of God Study).”
Who told us that black cats, spiders, owls, and bats are creepy creatures of Halloween? God created each of these amazing nocturnal creatures. It was the devil who stole them from God, attached a new label, and directed our attention away from God and towards himself. The enemy is running rampant under the cover of these lies. Just as he always has, the enemy still longs for adoration and will stop at nothing to get it. He wins anytime we believe his lies.
“Who told you that?”
We must become fact checkers and lie detectors. The simplest way to check our facts is with one simple question – “who told you that?” It is one of the first questions in the Bible. In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve are caught hiding in the garden after eating the forbidden fruit. Adam tells the Lord “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” God’s response is timeless. “Who told you that?
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” (Gen 3:10-11, NIV)
There are so many lies we believe that we are unaware of. Deception is just that… it is deceptive. We must learn to check our facts, because most of the time we are unaware of the lies we believe. The enemy stays in a place of safety as long as we don’t recognize him as the source. Little children naturally ask questions? Let us learn by their example by simply asking WHY?! Why do we do what we do?!
We are a chosen generation – called to proclaim the goodness of God. We have been called out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Pet 2:9). God encourages us to turn away our eyes from worthless things (Ps 119: 37), and think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy (Phil 4:8). Let us redirect our focus and become fact checkers!
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a [special] people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies [the wonderful deeds and virtues and perfections] of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. (1 Pet 2:9, AMP)
Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word. (Ps 119:37)
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Phil 4:8, NIV)