Celebrate!

For Tuesday, October 31, 2023:

Exodus 34:22 NLT, God speaking: “You must celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the first crop of the wheat harvest, and celebrate the Festival of the Final Harvest at the end of the harvest season.”

God is good to us. Each year crops grow and we get to reap the harvest. We then have provision for the winter. With gratitude, we should celebrate God’s goodness. Throw a party! It’s called Pentecost, the festival of weeks, 50 days after Easter Sunday.

Most countries have some sort of autumn harvest festival. In the US, Halloween serves that purpose, followed on Nov. 1 by All Saints’ Day when we honor believers who have gone before us. We should leave out the ghosts, goblins and witches, pagan beliefs that somehow crept into our festival.

In Mexico, they celebrate Day of the Dead, or Día de los Muertos. It’s a celebration, a fun festival honoring the dead without the spooky parts. Pan de muerto, a sweet bread and tamales are on the menu. I’m “IN!”

Should Christians celebrate Halloween? Maybe, emphasis on the ‘good’ parts: God and the saints who have gone before us.

Don’t let Satan hijack our holiday!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship