If I woke up in the middle of the night when I was a little girl and had to go to the "little girl's room", I certainly did NOT want to get up and go in the middle of the night through that dark (DARK!) house by myself, so I would call my daddy and ask him to get me some water (...clever, huh?!). ...and he always would! And, when he went for water, I darted to the bathroom and with great timing would be back in bed all comfy and cozy by the time he brought me my water (such a good Daddy he was! ...IS, in fact!). But on this particular night - and it did seem to be a nightly routine - I woke up and called out to him, "Daddy?.....", and I heard a voice say, "Whhaaatttt?" - but it was NOT his voice. So, I tried again - "Daddy?.......", and that stranger eerily said, "Whhaaatttt?" Not to be thwarted (or seeming to be afraid - yeah right!) I again, though with a little more panic this time and my voice on the rise, decided to call out to my mother - "Mama?......." - "Whhaaatttt?" Well, that was it! "DADDY! ...... MAMA!" - I was terrified and I was screaming, and it got their attention because in they both came running asking, with their OWN voices, "WHAT is it?" I explained that I had been calling and calling and that something kept saying "Whhaaattt?", and that I thought Daddy was maybe even playing a joke on me (NOT FUNNY!), but he said NO that he wasn't (...this time....), and they sat down on my bed trying to calm me down, when - all of a sudden there it was again!...... "Whhaaatttt?" - "See", I said "that was it!" We listened again - "Whhaaatttt?" It was coming from outside my window! And those ghostly, ghastly sounds were, in fact, coming from a ......... CAT! (can you believe it?!!!) - and that cat was apparently outside getting ready for a fight. But, man, did it ever sound like someONE saying "Whhaaatttt?". Made a scaredy cat out of me!! And although we have laughed about that night ever since, it still gives me the creeps and a shiver up my spine! ...NOT FUNNY, indeed!
Anyway, since Halloween is right around the corner, I wish you a Happy Halloween and all that scary stuff. And I am again reminded of all the creepy, scary, icky and spooky things that we seem to love and adore. We love scary movies; we adore thriller books; we are obsessed with the unknown; we thrive on the supernatural. The scariest thing though is that IT IS Halloween to some people every single day. It isn't just for fun - it is a lifestyle! OK....I'm going deep here, but not in the direction you think!
Let's do talk SPIRIT things, but and however, let's make them "spiritual" things this time around. You know, that person from the Trinity, the Godhead, the 3-in-1, called the Holy Spirit - or from my Baptist roots...the Holy Ghost! We are told - no, we are guaranteed - of a great power we are graciously given at the point of our Salvation (2 Corinthians 1:21-22 and Ephesians 1:13-14), and that great power comes from the indwelling work of the Holy Spirit poured forth in and through us. You may ask, "What do you mean 'indwelling'?". Yep, you got it.....we have God the Holy Spirit living in us.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 tells us: "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price (the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ); therefore, glorify God in your body."
Today's Acrostic: (Note our "holiday" words....)
G - GRUESOME. That's what our fears are, and we are a fearful people for the most part, whether it's brought on by others, or by situations or circumstances, or simply self-induced. But the fact is that the only fear that is truly warranted and justified is the true reverent fear of God Almighty.
Ecclesiastes 12:13 "The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person."
But look what this FEAR of God provides us:
Proverbs 1:7 - the "beginning of knowledge";
Proverbs 9:10 - the "beginning of wisdom";
Proverbs 10:27 - it "prolongs life";
Proverbs 14:26 - it gives "strong confidence"
So we can see that this fear is not without benefit - it is for our very own benefit! This fear provides God's very protection of us.
Proverbs 29:25 "The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted." (...note the word SNARE. I read a good definition recently of this word - "something deceptively attractive"... ponder that!).
Psalm 27:1 "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread."
Psalm 118:6 "The Lord is for me; I will not fear; what can man do to me?" So, as the saying goes, "Don't worry .... be happy!" ...'cause God is on our side!
H - HAUNTED. We are haunted by many things, all of which always involve our past, our present or our future. But about these things we are told:
The PAST:
Isaiah 43:18 "Do not call to mind the former things or ponder things of the past" because Verse 25 of that same chapter tells us that God says, "I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins." So if God doesn't remember them, neither should we...definitely! In fact, that should be a total relief to us!
The PRESENT:
Colossians 3:17 "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.", and on down to Verses 23-24 - "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men; knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve." I love how Charles Swindoll (noted author/speaker/pastor) puts it - "Today is unique! It has never occurred before, and it will never be repeated. At midnight it will end, quietly, suddenly, totally. Forever. But the hours between now and then are opportunities with eternal possibilities." To which I say, absolutely!
To the FUTURE:
Matthew 6:34 - "Therefore, do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself." (See also James 4:14 and Proverbs 27:1). Amen? Amen!
So, in any event and during any circumstance and at any time, we should turn to God immediately because it is God "to the rescue" anytime we ask:
Psalm 91:14 (God speaks...) "Because he (us) has loved Me (God), therefore, I (God) will deliver him (us); I (God) will set him (us) securely on high, because he (us) has known My (God's) name, he (us) will call upon Me (God), and I (God) will answer him (us); I (God) will be with him (us) in trouble; I (God) will rescue him (us), and (not only that, but...) honor him (us)." Wow!!!
O - OGRE. (Webster's - "fictitious MONSTER") ..... just to name one of all those "masks" we can (and do) put on. And, just where, you might wonder, does it all start? Well, I can tell you not with your face or even your attitude because they - your face, your attitude, etc. - get it from your HEART! It is the thing that sends off the signal and starts it all!
Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick. Who can understand it?" But, my friend, we will not get away with anything because God says He will "search the heart" (Jeremiah 17:10) (...and remember that God is faithful, so, if He says He'll search our heart, you can be guaranteed that He will!), and He knows our "secrets" (Psalm 44:21). So, let's take off those MASKS and humbly LOVE others (Mark 12:31), PRAY for others (Matthew 5:44) and DO GOOD to others (Luke 6:27-28); and while we are at it, let's go on and pray for a "clean heart" from God (Psalm 51:10) because Proverbs 17:22 tells us, "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones." ...and all I know is that I need all the good medicine I can get for these old bones!
S - SATAN. Yes, him again!...and we will probably be seeing lots of little devils running around on Halloween night trick-or-treating, or maybe even day-to-day for that matter, but can't we just act so like the very devil himself many times! We will be tempted by that devil, but God promises an "escape plan":
1 Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it."
Even Jesus was tempted by the devil (see Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13); but Hebrews 4:15-16 tells us that we have a Savior who has "been there, done that" and can so totally relate to us. How did Jesus thwart off temptation? He used the Word of God, and, my dear friend, we have that precious Scripture to thwart off any temptation that ever comes along in our lifetime (Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 6:17). And, I want to remind you that in the end anyway we will look at Satan and ... "Those who see you will gaze at you, they will ponder over you, saying, 'Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms....' " (Isaiah 14:16). Satan loses - GOD WINS! Thus, WE WIN!
T - TREATS! There is NO trick! From the point of our Salvation on into Eternity, we have the very security of knowing our future is sealed. We are blessed here on Earth, and man, will we be blessed in Heaven. I mean, He's up there preparing a place for us right now.
John 14:2 Jesus, "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you."
What a promise!...and I'm claiming it! Who in this world would want to risk it?! But in the meantime here on this Earth, we have been provided with the very power that created this very earth, and sometimes we need that very power just to function every day. But when we are filled with that power daily, just look what happens...
Galatians 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
Now, that would be a treat not only to very our own self but to the many others surrounding us. What impact we could have!
GHOST! ... Holy, that is....'cause there's a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place - just like that old precious Hymn says. Do I believe in ghosts? Yeah, I believe in a Ghost, and I don't have to see Him to believe Him. I pray that you don't either!
Happy Halloween! - but don't be scared! We have the POWER through our Spirit, and I pray:
May the SPIRIT get you through and through
Not to scare the life out of you, but INTO you!
Blessings!
Amen and Amen!
Kelli
