Greetings,

Each year on Halloween, children will do something that would otherwise be extremely uncomfortable for most of us--walk around the neighborhood, knock on people's doors, and engage in conversations with strangers. One of the reasons this seems so foreign to us during the rest of the year is that, as a society, we rarely visit with our neighbors. Halloween is one of those few opportunities where neighbors will eagerly knock on our door! 

Some people have a real problem with Halloween and I understand that. But the history of All Hallows Eve is not all dark and stormy. It began as the evening before all hallows day or all saints day, which was a Christian celebration to remember the martyred and the departed saints or hallows (the archaic term for saints).

Martyrs are not a thing of the past. In fact there have been 900,000 people across the globe killed for their Christian faith in the last 10 years. There have been continued attacks on believers in Nigeria in a small town call Jos. Islamic militants have been knocking on doors and pulling people from their homes in order to kill them. On Sept 27th of this year the Fulani Islamic militants killed 20 people in their homes. 

It could be a beautiful thing if the church brought back this custom of remembering martyrs again during this day, and celebrating those that were faithful even to death. You could start by taking some time to honor that in your home. Meanwhile, let's shine our lights brightly among our neighbors and make the most of this opportunity. Become the house in the neighborhood that gives out the best candy and let the kids in the neighborhood know who you are. You could say, “Happy All Hallows Eve!” Or you could educate them by telling the kids that more than 90,000 people in the last year have died because of their faith in Jesus, that’s one person about every 6 seconds… er, maybe don’t say that. Maybe just give them some good candy and mention how cute they look and watch for divine opportunities to show God's love to your neighbors. 

Matthew 5:16 tell us, "Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

Love ya,
Chris