What Does God Say About Witches and the Occult? Pet Owners Should Read This List Of Halloween Safety Tips!

 

On this Halloween:

 

What Does God Say About Witches and the Occult?

Deuteronomy 18:10-12

“There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you.”

"God outlawed witchcraft and other pagan practices that appealed to the evil spirit realm for their power. To God, it was an abomination for His people to seek help from Satan and his demons. Still, the Israelites were enticed by these practices again and again.

This was not just an Old Testament concern. The new converts to Christianity also took the subject of magic seriously ( Acts 19:19 ). The apostle John also warns that those who practice witchcraft must repent or they will end up in the lake of fire—the second death ( Revelation 9:21 ; 21:8 ).

How did Western, so-called Christian nations get caught up in a holiday like Halloween that dabbles in the darkness of evil spirits, witchcraft and the occult? See our article “Halloween: Should Christians Celebrate It?”

From: http://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/what-does-god-say-about-witches-and-the-occult/

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Considering Halloween: The Unfruitful Works of Darkness

Ephesians 5:11

And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.

"God’s way is symbolized in the Bible as light, and darkness symbolizes sin and evil. Many times the apostle Paul encouraged faithful Christians to avoid the darkness of Satan’s lawless thinking and evil influences. For example, he wrote, “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” (Ephesians 6:12).

He also wrote to the Corinthians: “For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-15).

The custom of Halloween, derived from popular pagan festivities to appease evil spirits, is definitely a time of darkness.

Paul continues by quoting from Isaiah 52:11 , “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you” (2 Corinthians 6:17).

God’s people are to live no longer as the ungodly do in lewdness and greed ( Ephesians 4:17-19 ). How better to describe the risqué adult costume parties and the demands for treats of the younger crowd but as lewdness and greed?

God calls on us to draw near to Him and to resist the devil ( James 4:7-8 ). Should we not resist a holiday of darkness that celebrates evil?" From: http://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/considering-halloween-the-unfruitful-works-of-darkness/

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Every Pet Owner Should Read This List Of Halloween Safety Tips!

Wouldn't it be awful if he was scared, got out, and ran away!

"It’s almost the spookiest night of the year! While Halloween is a fun and festive time for families, it can be a stressful and dangerous night for many pets. We have put together a list of 9 Halloween safety tips that you can follow to ensure that both you and your pets can stay safe and happy this holiday!"

Read more at: http://blog.theanimalrescuesite.com/halloweensafetytips/

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Friday is "Preparation Day" (getting ready for the Sabbath), and as I have my food prepared for the potluck and my clothes ready, we are going to more flooring companies to look at linoleum for the guest house today.

What would you do for 10 million dollars? Halloween: Should Christians Celebrate It? Proud And Haughty. Update.

 

For "Scripture Sunday": even though today is Monday!!

The Inward Part

An Amazing Fact: "In a recent poll, many Americans showed extreme greed in response to the question: “What would you do for 10 million dollars?” About 25 percent would abandon their family or their church, 16 percent would walk away from their marriage, and 13 percent would allow their children to be put up for adoption.

The Pharisees were quick to criticize Jesus and His disciples for not observing their man-made rules. One of the points of disagreement was ceremonial washing. The Pharisees were ready to condemn people who disregarded their washing traditions; they thought it was a terrible sin.
Jesus responded, “Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness” (Luke 11:39).

Appearance was everything to the Pharisees. As long as they “looked good” they were pleased with themselves. But Jesus pointed out that what is inside a person is the most important thing. The Pharisees, who made such a show of washing in a particular way, had neglected to clean their hearts. Jesus saw right through them, as He always does. He saw the greed and sin, and He knew what they really needed: generous, giving hearts."
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat. And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner. And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also? But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you. Luke 11:37-41

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Halloween: Should Christians Celebrate It?

Where did Halloween and its dark and demonic themes come from? What is its relationship to All Saints’ Day, and should Christians celebrate Halloween?

Origin of Halloween

“The Celtic festival of Samhain is probably the source of the present-day Halloween celebration. The Celts lived more than 2,000 years ago in what is now Great Britain, Ireland, and northern France. Their new year began on November 1. A festival that began the previous evening honored Samhain, the Celtic lord of death. The celebration marked the beginning of the season of cold, darkness, and decay. It naturally became associated with human death. The Celts believed that Samhain allowed the souls of the dead to return to their earthly homes for this evening” (The World Book Encyclopedia, 1990, article “Halloween”).

“Many of the customs of the Celts survived even after the people became Christians. During the 800’s, the church established All Saints’ Day on November 1. … The people made the old pagan customs part of this Christian holy day” (ibid.).

Halloween: A celebration of evil

In spite of its marketing as innocent entertainment for children, Halloween remains a celebration of evil, not a fitting holiday for Christians to celebrate."

More at: http://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/plan-of-salvation/holy-days-vs-holidays/halloween/

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The Day of the Lord Comes on the Proud

Isaiah 2:12

For the day of the LORD of hosts shall come upon everything proud and lofty, upon everything lifted up—and it shall be brought low. …

The Day of the Lord is the “great day of His wrath” (Revelation 6:17). Unlike human anger, God’s anger is never out of control or vindictive. But why is He angry? Because of sin—the breaking of His good and beneficial commandments. And one of the major sins, which is also a root of many other sins, is pride. The archangel Lucifer rose up in pride and rebelled against his Creator (Isaiah 14:13-14), and his attitude has permeated human society as well.

Consider from God’s perspective the audacity of His weak and ignorant human creation thinking we know better than God! The apostle Paul described God’s anger at men who thought themselves to be wise: “Although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:21-22).

Paul also listed the attributes of humanity under Satan’s influence in these perilous last days: “For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy” (2 Timothy 3:2).

A proud and haughty person cannot be taught and does not recognize the evil results of his or her way. Arrogance prevents us from learning the way that would truly bring peace and happiness. So God’s anger is for the purpose of bringing humanity to its senses, so that finally we will see clearly that His way is the best way after all and repent."

For more about pride, see “First Commandment: You Shall Have No Other Gods” and “The Pharisee and the Tax Collector.”

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Update:

Until last weekend, Jay was still working elsewhere, so progress on the guest house was slow.  There are others in the neighborhood who I could hire to help me, but they just don't want to get up in the morning and go to work!

This has given me time to advertise items that I have for sale, and hopefully help pay for all these repairs having to be done because of the damage done to the guest house.

We did get the new back door installed though.  It leads into the laundry room.  It's not finished yet, but at least it is more secure than the old one.

Jay was working on Saturday, the 18th., so I went to church by myself.  There was quite a crowd. Some folks who hadn't been for a while.

I took a red potato salad that had apple, celery and eggs in it.  The pastor's wife also made a mustard potato salad, "Great minds think alike… or fools seldom differ?" Gary brought a big crockpot of lamb, and it was delicious.

The Bible readings were Gen. 6:9-11:32, Isa. 54:1-55, Luke 17:20-37, and the message was about 'The 7 Signs of the Times' and how many Jews are beginning to believe in the Messiah, and how Israel is so important that it is mentioned in the news nearly every day.

We all had a great time fellowshipping in the dining hall, and then we all went to the house of a family in the congregation and our pastor baptized their 13 year old daughter in a small pool.  I wish that I had a picture of her face afterwards.  I took some while she was being submerged, like everyone else did, but the best shot of all was when she got out of the pool beaming from ear to ear, but we had all put our cameras away.

Then Jay finally was through with working elsewhere, and so we have really ramped up our work on my guest house.  We are working more hours a day on it.  As the existing bedroom is now going to be a front kitchen with a bathroom behind it, we had to cut some new doorways in existing walls.  One from the old kitchen into the walk-in closet, and another from the old kitchen into the new bathroom.  Then we will build a wall between the new kitchen and new bathroom. These new doorways meant re-routing existing wiring over the top of them, but a few junction boxes later, we are all electrified again.

The fiberglass shower stall with glass door out of the guest house sold on Craigslist, and so I bought a bathtub and surround from Habitat for Humanity's Restore.  The new bathroom will be larger so there is room for a tub/shower. 

Friday was another great day, I had lunch with RVing friends Arlene, Lynette and Greg at Los Pericos (The Parrot) Mexican restaurant in Willis.  We all enjoyed our food and the service there.

Last Saturday, Jay had to stay home with his sick mother so I went to church by myself again.  This time I took an egg, celery, apple, cucumber salad, which quickly disappeared.

The Bible readings were Psa. 98,99,100, Gen. 12:1-17:27, Isa.40:27-41:16 and Gal 3:15-18. The message was about 'False Doctrines and Sound Doctrines'.  We should not be deceived and really study the Bible to check up on what we are being taught. 

Another great time in the dining hall, but we were all watching the stormy weather, and even cancelled another baptism.  It was going to be held at a Jacuzzi in Montgomery, TX, but the rain stopped that for that day.

10 Commandments Hillbilly. Prophesied War in the Middle East. “The most destructive force in our culture." Update.

 

For "Scripture Sunday":

10 Commandments Hillbilly or Cowboy.

(1) One God's all you need.

(2) Honor yer Ma & Pa.

(3) No telling tales or gossipin'.

(4) Git yourself to church.

(​5) Put nothin' before God.

(6) No foolin' around with another fellow's gal.

(7) No killin' (unless you ain't got no choice).

(8) Watch yer mouth.

(9) Don't take what ain't yer's.

(10) Don't be hankerin' fer yer buddy's stuff.

If y'all didn't git all that -- just read 'em agin!

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Prophesied War in the Middle East

Daniel 11:40

“At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through.”

Bible prophecy describes a key end-time conflict between a “king of the South” and a “king of the North” that is part of a chain of events leading to the second coming of Jesus Christ. Here is some of the background to this verse from our “News and Prophecy” post “End-Time Prophecy Jigsaw: The Pieces Are Falling Into Place!”

“The book of Daniel tells us that in the last days there will be an influential person ruling in the south, that is, in the Mediterranean area and generally south of Jerusalem (Daniel 11).

“Historically, this king of the South was the dynastic leader of the Ptolemies, or the Egyptian branch of the Greek Empire. The king of the South battled it out for over a century, as the Egypt-based Ptolemies struggled for supremacy against the Syria-based Seleucids, another branch of the Greek Empire. This took place in the third and second centuries B.C., after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. (Daniel 11:3-4).

“Yet this same prophecy suddenly takes a huge leap to ‘the time of the end,’ when we find a latter-day king of the South provoking and fighting against the king of the North (Daniel 11:40). …

“Daniel’s prophecy tells us that once this end-time king of the South has provoked the king of the North, the latter will swoop down on him with massive military force, and invade and conquer much of the Middle East (Daniel 11:40-43).

“Elsewhere in Bible prophecy, the king of the North is referred to as ‘the beast,’ the name assigned him by the apostle John in the book of Revelation (Revelation 13:1-10; 17:3-17). We know from history that the heart of this massive end-time power will be in central Europe. In fact, much of the history of the Middle Ages reflects the struggle for dominance between Catholic Europe and the Muslim world, a struggle destined to reappear just before the second coming of Christ.”

For more details about this prophecy, see the articles “The King of the South” and “The King of the North.”

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A Purity Plea

An Amazing Fact: The word “porn” is the fourth-highest ranked search term by children under seven years old, and the average age when a person first views porn is only 11 years old. About 40 million adults visit pornographic websites daily. It shouldn’t be a surprise that nearly half of all divorces list porn as a contributing factor.

The statistics on what some call “the most destructive force in our culture” are staggering. More than 11 million Americans have a sexual addiction. Child porn generates about $3 billion annually. At least 25 percent of all employees who use the Internet look at porn do so at work. It truly is a road to hell with broken people lying all over the place. Our society continues to wave the “freedom” banner while millions walk into slavery, looking for love in all the wrong places.

The apostle Paul does not turn a blind eye to the problem of sexual addiction. He makes a plea for purity. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter” (1 Thessalonians 4:3–6).

The Roman culture to which Paul wrote was sexually permissive. His challenge to instill the notion of purity in their culture would be even more relevant today.

If you struggle with sexual addiction, you need to face this ugly sin with a passion of someone going to war to conquer an enemy. Consider these three steps: Admit you have a problem, get help with accountability, and remove all impurity from your life. Make a clean break and begin filling your mind with the pure things of God. You cannot find victory on your own. Your battle is really an obsession with self. Growing in Christ is learning to live for others, not your feelings. Your choices do not affect only you, they negatively impact those around you. So choose purity and experience real freedom.
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: Colossians 3:5"

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Update:

Nothing much has been done to the guest house all week. On Sunday, Jay and I ripped out the carpet and padding in what was the bedroom, so that it can now be a kitchen and bathroom.  The kitchen will be entered from the living room at the front of the house.  It will be so much easier to redo the plumbing that way. The bathroom will be entered from the new bedroom which was the kitchen and bathroom at the back of the house.  There will be 15-light doors in between to give the place a feeling of space so you can see all the way through to the back windows.  The doors will have blinds for privacy.

Except I did go to Habitat for Humanity in Conroe and bought some windows, a mirrored medicine cabinet, and some narrow wooden blinds for the new windows on each side of the new front door.

Jay has been working elsewhere all week.  Then my computer has been acting up ever since I got it back from the repair shop.  I have been on the phone and online to several techs all week.  It doesn't help that I am running the old XP in my computer.

The mechanic down the street picked up my van to fix the driver's side window, it wouldn't go up or down.  If I had known how much it was going to be to fix it, I might have just left it alone for now.  The parts alone were nearly $100!!  Talk about boats being a hole in the water to sink money into, this van is the same!  But now that nearly everything is working, it is a great van.  Just what I needed, a van that can haul full 4'x8' sheets of plywood, easy to drive and easy on the gas, too.  The remote power lift-gate is a boon for me, as it used to hurt me where my chest was sawn in two for the heart bypasses, when I manually closed the other van's lift-gate.

There were a lot people that we haven't seen for a while at church this Sabbath.  Maybe the cooler weather is bringing people back to the fold.  More the merrier.

The Bible readings were back to the beginning of Genesis 1:1-6:8, Isa.42:5-43:10, and John 1:1-18.  The Teaching was about Putting on The New Man, (Eph. 2:14-18.)

The potluck was great with plenty of people chattering in the dining hall.  Some were telling about their trips to different places to celebrate The Feast of Tabernacles.  I took a chicken, veggie and barley dish in a crockpot, that I had prepared the day before.  All I had to do was plug it in when I got there.  That is to obey God's rule about not working on the Sabbath.

The weather is getting cooler, and it was a doors-and-windows-open day today.

Why Should Christians Celebrate Day Of Atonement? What is the Feast of Tabernacles? Update.

 

for "Scripture Sunday":

"Dear Friends,
What if there was a room you could only go into once a year. And what if you were the only person in the world allowed to go there!
That’s what it was like for the high priest in Old Testament times. He alone was allowed into the Holy of Holies—the room where the Ark of the Covenant was, representing the very throne of God. And he was only allowed to go there once a year. That day was called Yom Kippur—the Day of Atonement. This year it falls on Sept. 23.

God included some deep lessons in the fascinating ceremonies performed on that day. But few people understand the real meaning of these rituals and what they foreshadowed. This week’s featured article explores this symbolism and shows what it means for your life today.
Bottom line: God will soon remove the source of evil in this world, and He will begin reconciling all people to Himself!
If you have comments or suggestions, feel free to let us know. I look forward to hearing from you.
With warm regards,
Mike Bennett
Editorial Content Manager

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Why should Christians celebrate the Day of Atonement (also known as Yom Kippur)?

" Long after Jesus Christ’s death, the Day of Atonement continued as an important Holy Day for the New Testament Church of God. What does the Day of Atonement mean for Christians today?

The Day of Atonement is the fifth of God’s annual Holy Days (Leviticus 23:26-32), following shortly after the Feast of Trumpets. Observed by fasting (verse 27; compare Isaiah 58:3), which means not eating or drinking (Esther 4:16), this day portrays the human race finally becoming at one with God.

At the return of Jesus Christ, Satan the devil, who now leads all of mankind astray (Ephesians 2:2; Revelation 12:9), will be bound (Revelation 20:1-3) so all humans of all nations can be reconciled to God.

In the New Testament Luke referred to this Holy Day as “the fast” in Acts 27:9.

When the meaning of the Day of Atonement is fulfilled in the future, it will set the stage for the sixth festival of God, the Feast of Tabernacles.

For more information, please read our booklet God’s Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope For All Mankind.

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Leviticus 16 and the Day of Atonement

Atonement—the day of reconciliation

"The Day of Atonement pictures reconciliation between God and man. After Christ returns, one of the first steps taken will be the binding of Satan for a thousand years (Revelation 20:1-3). Why is this action so important?

Throughout humanity’s generations, from Eden to the present, Satan the devil has deceived all people into following a way of life that is contrary to God. He is described as the one “who deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9). " 

Complete article at: http://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/plan-of-salvation/day-of-atonement/leviticus-16/

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What is the Feast of Tabernacles?

"God’s plan for mankind involves restoration. The Feast of Tabernacles symbolizes the restoration process.

Chronicling the activities of Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry, the book of John points out that when the “Feast of Tabernacles was at hand,” Jesus Himself “went up to the feast” and taught at the Temple in Jerusalem. This was done in observance of the final of three annual Festival seasons that are outlined in the Bible, particularly in the book of Leviticus.

These three seasons, the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Pentecost and the Fall Festival season, were all observed by Jesus and the first-century Church. The latter season is capped by the seven-day Festival of Tabernacles and the Eighth Day (Leviticus 23:33-36)."

Complete article at: http://www.ucg.org/what-is-the-feast-of-tabernacles

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Belated Update:

Things have been pretty busy around here the last two weeks with The Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, the Sabbath and then The Feast of Tabernacles, which isn't over yet.  Some calendars say the last day is Monday and others say Tuesday. It all depends on where you are when you see the new moon.  During the feasts we have been to churches in Willis, Conroe, Huntsville, and Cleveland, TX, and met some great folks.

Another new helper didn't work out, he wanted to work, then get high, then rest for a few days  So Jay and I are back to remodeling the guest house ourselves.  I can still do quite a lot, so I am the helper and 'gofer', and Jay does the hard work.   Jay can only work mornings, and that is enough for me too at my age.  We have pulled the carpet out of what used to be the bedroom, as it will now be a new kitchen and a new bathroom that will be accessible from the new bedroom, which used to be the kitchen and bathroom.  We also cut a hole in the wall for a pass through between the existing living/dining room and the new kitchen.  That really opened up the space and made it feel a lot larger. 

I could quote all the passages and Bible verses that we have been reading during this holiday time, but it would take up the whole page.

I hope that everyone has been enjoying the Feasts and that y'all have a great day.