What makes a "Saint"?

With the upcoming Halloween traditions about to get into full swing, I thought it would be helpful to examine that day's origins. The word "Halloween" comes from the name "All Hallows Eve". "All Hallows Eve" is the day before "All Hallows", or as it's known today, "All Saints' Day". "All Saints' Day" is a celebration that was instituted by one of many state religions, known as Catholicism, about 100 years after that religion was established in the 3rd century. The purpose of this celebration was to honor martyrs, those who had been put to death for their faith in Christ.

While we're examining origins here, let's take a moment to talk about that word "martyr". Our English word "martyr" comes from the Greek word "mártys", which simply means "witness". Technically, then, Catholics observe a celebration of all witnesses for Christ. How does one become a witness for Christ?

Step 1 is to believe and receive; believe that Jesus Christ died and rose again to take the punishment for your sins, and receive Him as your savior. That instantly makes you one of the elect - a born-again, adopted son of God.

"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." - John 1:12-13

Another word that the Bible uses for "the elect" is "saints". That's right - if you have received Christ as your savior, you have become a saint. Pretty cool, eh? Step 2 is to fulfill the great commission. Tell others about Christ!

"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." - Mark 16:15

It's fascinating to me to think about how one of the world's major religions honors ME, as well as all my brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world, once each year without even realizing it. What's scary about this concept is that this is a celebration in honor of MEN. Do you see the problem yet? GOD is the only one worthy of all honor, glory, and praise, right? As men created in His image, our purpose on the earth is solely to honor and glorify HIM, not ourselves! Even if we take the meaning of "All Saints' Day" and "martyr" as the Catholics intend, there's still a major problem; it's the worship of the DEAD, not God. No wonder "Halloween" grew over time out of this Catholic concept!

Ever since Adam's day of sin in the garden, there have been saints; that is, those who believed in the Messiah's atonement for our sin. Before Christ came, men were saved by faith in the COMING Messiah. They expressed their faith through sacrifice. They spilled a spotless lamb's blood, just as Jesus' sinless blood would some day be spilled for us all.

There are still saints today. Today, men are still saved by faith in the Messiah's atonement for our sin. The only difference is that the expression of faith has changed, because Jesus' work on our behalf has been COMPLETED. Our baptism pictures Christ's death (going down), burial (being underwater), and resurrection (coming up), and symbolizes the washing away of sin. We eat unleavened bread, signifying His broken body, and we drink the fruit of the vine, signifying His blood spilled on our behalf.

I'll be spending this year's Halloween day in worship of God with other saints, celebrating Jesus' finished work on the cross for my sin. Would you like to join us?

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" - Romans 3:23
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." - Romans 6:23
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." - Romans 10:9-10

"For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:" - 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

Faithful Men Have Gone Before Us

Have you ever been in a place where over 300 male voices were all lifted in song to the Lord at once? It happened to me for the first time last Saturday, and it had to be one of the most powerful and awe-inspiring moments of my life. I could go as far as to say that it put the tour I took of the Grand Canyon to shame, but I would rather not try to contrast the beauty of God's creation with the works of men. That could lead me down the wrong road.

This past weekend was the Master's Men Conference at Faith Baptist Church in Davison. Pastor and I traveled up there for a day of worship and learning from God's Word. Oh, and did I mention the FOOD? My mouth still waters as I remember how wonderful all that food was! It's a very good thing that we were scheduled to eat during the last dinner shift of the evening, or I might have fallen asleep during one of the sessions I attended.

Anyway, since I have been having more and more problems with parenting as of late, I decided to attend the two sessions on fatherhood. It didn't take long for the Holy Spirit to convince me of this one simple truth about my performance as a father thus far - I've only been doing about HALF of what I'm supposed to be doing...OUCH! Once again, I'm reminded of how much I don't know. I'm sensing a pattern here. Maybe that's a life theme of mine, always learning about how much I haven't learned yet.

One of the things I have been praying about in recent months is finding a way to send my sons to a good Christian school. The more I see them being shuffled through the system like cattle in public school, the more concerned (and even alarmed) I become. As I sat in those classrooms at Faith on Saturday, I looked around and saw helpful, character-building statements posted on each wall. You HARDLY EVER see anything like that in public schools these days.

Public schools have become solely about filling kids' heads with as much "knowledge" as possible, while letting them develop their own character. (Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, - Romans 1:22) Without a proper model to go by, most kids turn to whatever is most appealing to them, which would be what the greedy advertisers of our society have to offer. Now, if THAT doesn't set off some alarm bells in your head, as it did mine, I'd say you have bigger problems on the horizon!

The simple truth is that I have been such a poor steward of God's gifts to me for most of my life, that I simply do not have the means to enroll my boys in a Christian school. What's that mean in English, you ask? I've wasted so much time and money over the years that it's my own stupid fault, and I have no one to blame for this predicament but myself. There, I said it.

I don't often say this, and perhaps it's a pride thing, or perhaps I just don't want to give the impression that I think my concerns are more important than yours (which they aren't), but... Would you please pray for me? Pray that God will make me the father I need to be for these boys. Would you pray for them? Pray that they will heed God's Word and recognize what society offers for what it is - a lie.

Thank You, Father, for your Word. Thank You for your Holy Spirit which dwells within me, to guide me into all truth. Thank You for the men who show me from Your Word the type of father You would have me to be. Please continue to mold and shape me into Your image, that I might raise up Godly men for Your service. Glorify Yourself through our lives, I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. - Proverbs 22:6

Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. - Ephesians 6:1

A Change of Approach

Some time ago, I was listening to a radio message about honesty in prayer. The preacher talked about how tossing God one platitude after another does nothing to please Him. If anything, doing so has the opposite effect. Platitudes were equated to reruns on television - the ones that we just breeze past with our remote controls because we've seen them before. Would it not stand to reason that the Lord would "turn us off" or "flip to another channel" if we just kept giving Him the same meaningless words?

It's an interesting analogy, equating repetitive or overly pious prayer to a boring TV channel, but here's another comparison. We all have people whom we come in contact with on a daily or weekly basis. Over time, we get used to their favorite sayings, stories, and complaints. We begin to have times when we say to ourselves,"Here he goes again..." What happens then? We act polite and attentive, not wishing to cause offense, but inwardly we usually tune them out. Why? Because we don't want to hear the same old stuff we've heard over and over again!

One nice addition to AWANA this year is group prayer time, which takes place a half hour before the program starts for the evening. We as leaders use the time to clear our minds of worldly concerns by giving them over to God. We pray for specific clubbers and for ourselves. The good news is that it can be a time of great cleansing and empowerment. The bad news is that there is always a potential danger in any group prayer setting. You may ask,"What possible danger could there be in that?"

We, as sinful human beings, each harbor some degree of pride. We have a sinfully instinctive desire to outdo one another and call attention to ourselves. This can unconsciously come out in the form of an overly pious prayer. Don't get me wrong; our Heavenly Father loves adoration in prayer...IF given with the proper motive, which is solely to glorify Him. We should never attempt to glorify ourselves through prayer. Prayer is meant to be the means by which we expose ourselves openly before God and admit our faults, in order to restore fellowship with Him.

After having experienced a couple of frustrating weeks as an AWANA leader, I consciously decided yesterday evening to change my approach to the throne during group prayer time. I openly admitted that I lead a busy life, and that there are times when I don't want to be there working in AWANA. It was then that I recalled a phrase I had heard during a different message,"I am not willing, but I am willing to be MADE willing." I asked the Lord change my direction and make me responsive to His lead.

The freedom I felt after that short time was great. I was amazed at how much smoothly the night went after having said that prayer. I took joy in seeing how God answered the prayers of others who were in that room during the course of the evening.

Remember, Jesus Himself taught us honesty in prayer with His words in Gethsemane. "Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." - Matthew 26:38-39

Take the advice of someone who has to learn most things the hard way. Be honest in prayer. Hold nothing back. The Almighty knows you better than you know yourself. He knows what you're thinking right now. There is nothing you can hide from him. You can't fool Him. Any trusting relationship must have a foundation of openness and honesty. Our relationship with our Creator is no different.

"But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking." - Matthew 6:7

By Unconventional Means

Lately, God has been repetitively teaching me a valuable lesson. One would think I would have "gotten it" by now, if one failed to consider just how bull-headed I am. The lesson is simple. God DOES answer prayer, but the answer will rarely, if ever, come in the way we're expecting it to come.

There are times when I have to remind myself that God has four possible answers to prayer: "Yes", "No", "Not yet", and "I have a better idea". What's interesting is that all too often He employs the "I have a better idea" answer. As with all good parents, of which there is none better than my Heavenly Father, His response is to give us not what we want but rather what we need. This is the mark not only of a good parent but also of a good master/teacher.

Late last summer, we got word that my dad would be paying us a visit and taking us on a weekend getaway. This would be only the second time he has made the trip to see us in ten years, and that is mostly due to how far apart we live. Shortly after I received this news, the Holy Spirit began to convict me of how poorly I had treated my dad in the past. I won't go into the details of everything that took place; suffice it to say that I openly held a grudge against my dad for a number of years.

The grudge had long since been dropped, but I had only recently come to realize that I had never let go of my pride and admitted my wrong to him. I was guilty of not honoring my earthly father, as God's Word commands. I began praying that God would give me the opportunity to reconcile with him during this visit.

THEN...About a week before he was due to show up, the kids started getting sick. One at a time, the older two came down with a 24-hour stomach bug. A few days passed, and we thought we had dodged the bullet with our youngest...until the day Dad arrived. That prevented us from going out and doing anything together as a group, and it threatened to spoil the entire weekend. We spent the first day around the house, just going out in small groups, so that someone was always there to look after the little one.

This ended up being an answer to my prayer. Around the middle of the day, my dad and I were by ourselves in the house while our youngest slept. God used this illness to provide the opportunity I needed. The most amazing thing about this situation was that, shortly after the issue was settled, the little one woke up and was FINE! We all enjoyed a great weekend together after that.

God is so amazing! Not only will He provide all you need (that's need, not want) if you ask, but He will surprise you at every turn with His infinite creativity in doing so. Glory to His name!

"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen." - Philippians 4:19-20