Ah, the joys of the season – the holiday celebrating the living dead – the ghosts that go bump in the night – the fear filled movies that are intended to scare you to an early grave – the spirits of darkness. All of these things are not something to be happy about, but . . .

Halloween has become a million-dollar industry.  We live in the Halloween Capital of the World (not sure if that’s been disputed) in Anoka, Minnesota.  Homes are decorated to the hilt. There will be numerous parties. parades and candy distributed- encouraging children to destroy their teeth, but I digress. There’s a very dark side to this holiday.  Demonic possession, witches, goblins, zombies and death permeate the darkness and, in days of old, were fended off by setting carved pumpkins outside the houses.  As years pass, the ability to shock the masses is getting harder and harder to achieve. We’ve almost become numb to the ugliness of the dark side.

October 31st is not only a day for spooks and demons.  On October 31, 1517, a lowly monk, named Martin Luther took on the Roman Catholic Church and listed 95 statements pertaining to false teachings that had spread throughout that regime.  Those 95 theses were the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.  This firestorm raged through Europe and the power of the newly invented printing press fueled its flames. The church of today has suffered attack in recent years. People question its validity. They don’t like to hear about sin, but without knowing about it, there is no need for a Savior – and, oh how we need a Savior!

Martin Luther loved music and used it as a preaching tool in his church. He penned these words to remind us that the devil still exists and has been allowed to prowl around for those he can capture and destroy. His minions appear in many places all over the world. “A Mighty Fortress is our God,” is one of Luther’s famous hymns. In the following verse we see exactly who provides a fortress against him.

Though devils all the world should fill,
All eager to devour us.
We tremble not, we fear no ill,
They shall not overpower us.
This world’s prince may still
Scowl fierce as he will,
He can harm us none,
He’s judged; the deed is done;
One little word can fell him.

Devils will continue to walk this earth until Christ returns to judge the world.  Not one of us will escape His judgment.  Yet those of us who have complete faith in God’s Word, can be confident that God promises that we will inherit eternal life when we die. Luther was a common man, a sinner just like you and me, but He diligently searched the scriptures and found controversial differences in what the Bible said and what the church was teaching. 

So, what do Halloween and the Reformation have in common?  Halloween is full of darkness, evil and horrid creatures that seek to defeat us.  The Reformation occurred so that the world would once more see the Light and return to God’s Word for the truth. May we continue to shine our light in a dark world and show that God has already defeated the evil one.