Halloween and the Christian’s Response
Next Wednesday, October 31, is Halloween. It leaves many Christians, not sure how to respond. There are some Christians who call it the Devil’s day and will have absolutely nothing to do with it. There are others who will say that it is a harmless day and a lot of good fun.
So how is the Christian to respond? I prepared an article called “Can Christians Celebrate Halloween?” Check it out on my blog at: http://pastorpr.blogspot.com/2007/09/can-christians-celebrate-halloween.html
Stay Consistent in the Reading and Studying of God’s Word
Why is it that bad habits are so hard to break? Take for example smoking, too much television, over eating. Once we get started with these, they are so difficult to stop.
Opposite the bad habits are the good habits. We never have any trouble breaking these. Take for example exercising, healthy eating, and daily reading and studying God’s Word. We stumble once with these good habits and it seems we end up rolling off the edge of the cliff never to return.
I have discovered that when developing good habits consistency is so important. When you break your routine you need to force yourself back into it. And don’t let it fall off for too long because the longer you fall off, the harder it is to get back into it. This is true for many spiritual disciplines such as worship attendance, prayer, and the reading and studying of God’s Word.
I miss one day, being in God’s Word, it is easy to catch up. I miss two days and it becomes more difficult. I miss three days and it becomes most difficult. I miss four days, and I am done.
The key here is being consistent. Make it your priority and not just another item on your to do list. If you miss a day, don’t let yourself miss two days. Do whatever it takes.
When I played golf in college my coach told me that when playing at a high level, that the difference between a good golfer and a bad golfer is one thing. He said every golfer is going to make bad shots, even Tiger Woods. But a good golfer will not make the same mistake twice. In other words, if you miss a shot, don’t miss the second one.
Stay consistent in the reading and studying of God’s Word. Make it more than just a habit but make it a lifestyle.
Next week I will talk more about some practical ways of how to do just that. How do you stay consistent and make it a lifestyle?
I pray you will join me in God’s Word on a daily basis. During 2008, I want to invite you to commit with me reading through either the entire Bible or just the New Testament. I plan to use a reading plan called the One-Year-Bible. You can check it out at www.oneyearbibleonline.com. Here you can print out a reading plan. We will also plan to print this reading plan in this email, the weekly bulletin, and the monthly newsletter at LOL. I pray we are a church that is firmly grounded in the Word.
A Couple of Annoucements
There are a couple items I want to mention about things coming up in the near future at Lord of Life. The first is the Hallelujah Fest. This is a Halloween alternative on Wednesday, October 31 from 6:30-8:00pm. There will be games, hayrides, costume contests, and more. Please note that there are to be no costumes that are “scary, fearful, or evil in nature.” For more information visit www.lolchurch.net. Please note that this event is for the entire family and that we will need people to bring candy and to decorate the trunks of their cars for “Trunk or Treat” at the end of the evening.
The second announcement is for the Men of Lord of Life. We are in the beginning stages of planning the next Men’s Retreat on February 29-March 2. Please consider joining me on this weekend adventure and mark your calendars now to reserve the date.
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