The Lord
blessed us with an amazing Wednesday gathering. The fellowship was sweet and
and time of study was a great blessing. To my friends around outside the
America the beautiful, tomorrow the 31st of October is Halloween. In the Church
calender it is All Saints Eve and also Reformation day. The name "Halloween"
comes from the All Saints Day celebration of the early Christian Church, a day
set aside for the solemn remembrance of the martyrs. All Hallows Eve, the
evening before All Saints Day, began the time of remembrance. "All Hallows Eve"
was eventually contracted to "Hallow-e'en," which became "Halloween." I came to
the States on the 5th of September 1974. I attended my first ever Halloween
party in Princeton, NJ on the 31st of October, 1974. I remember to this day
that one of the men in the gathering shared how the the people with out Christ
distorted the Lord's prayer, "Hallowed be Thy Name" into
"Halloween".
Without Christ any culture becomes chaotic and demonic. People without Christ
are hoodwinked and drawn to the demonic influence of witches, witchcraft,
ghosts, and ghoulish spirits. People without Christ focus on on death, occultism, divination, and the thought of
spirits returning to haunt the living. Into that dark, superstitious, pagan
world, God mercifully shined the light of the gospel. Jesus shines in to the
world of darkness, in to the world of evil spirits. I came to know Jesus at an
early age. I believed that Jesus Christ has power over demonic spirits, over
ghosts and goblins. For
God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound
mind. 2 Tim 1:7
In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C. S. Lewis
introduces us to four children who find their way into a wondrous land through
the back of a wardrobe closet in an uncle's house. The children, two boys and
two girls, entered a magical land called Narnia, with its rolling hills,
towering mountains, and rich, deep forests populated by the most remarkable
beasts—all of whom can speak. However, they found the land covered with snow,
cursed by perpetual winter.
We're also
introduced to a wicked queen, a usurper to the throne. She is also a witch who
is empowered with extraordinary gifts. She is the one who holds Narnia under
her spell for this curse of perpetual winter. Lastly we're introduced to a
lion. He's a mysterious, wondrous beast who comes from beyond Narnia and from
beyond time. He's spoken of in hushed, reverent terms. In fact, when one of
the girls asked a beaver, "Is this lion safe?" the beaver responded, "Safe? Oh
my, no. But he's good."
This lion,
throughout the Chronicles of Narnia, is Christ. This lion lays down his life
for Narnia, dies on a stone table, and then rises from the dead more glorious
and majestic than ever. In his majestic risen state he proceeds to reverse the
effects of the curse upon Narnia. Wherever he goes or leads his troops, the
effects of the curse are reversed. You need not see him physically to know he
is near. You know he is near because the trees begin to thaw and the crocuses
bud and bloom, and the flowers begin to break through the surface of the
snow.
Toward the end
of the story, Aslan, this lion, leads a troop of liberators into the castle of
the wicked queen and finds the courtyard strewn with stone statues. These
statues were creatures that had been turned to stone by the curse of the wicked
witch. One wonders, as Aslan strides into this castle, how he is going to free
those who have been turned to stone. We find out immediately because the great
beast strides to the first of these statues, lowers his regal head near it, and
breathes upon it. As the breath of the lion touches the stone, the stone
ripples into flesh. As his breath fills the lungs of those who were once stone,
they awaken and begin to sing and dance and shout the glories of the one who
freed them: Aslan, the great and mighty one. Indeed He is in the world.. alive
and well. Satan is alsoo in the world today but he is fatally wonded and not
very well. Once Jesus alive and He is well. Because of Him all is
well.
In
Christ,
Brown
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