Even If It Is Halloween
As I write this, tomorrow is Halloween. There are a lot of scary decorations in yards and on houses as I drive through town. There are a lot of scary movies on TV. Kids will be dressing up in costumes and trick or treating. There will be scary sounds and scary things as they go from house to house.
As scary as this can be, most people will know that there’s no real danger with these decorations and sounds…but it’s nice to know there are others close by that have our backs.
As scary as Halloween is, there is something else that’s scarier.
In Matthew 10:28 we are told, “Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body but can’t kill the soul. Instead, be afraid of the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell.” We should be afraid of Satan. Matthew goes on in verse 31 and tells us, “Don’t be afraid…”
We have Christ’s protection available to us every day. If we acknowledge Jesus before people, He will acknowledge us before our Father in heaven. But if we deny Christ, He will also deny us before God. (Matthew 10:32-33)
As a parent you’ve probably had situations where your kids are hounding you about something. You tell them no. They keep asking and asking. You continue to tell them no.
Then comes the question…why?
And the answer…
Because I said so!
This is because you as the parents know more than them as the kids.
This is the same thing Jesus tells us. He knows more than we do.
As we’ve been going through Isaiah, we’ve heard him warning the people and telling them what to expect if they don’t quit doing the things they are doing. As scary as this is, they don’t seem to be taking it seriously.
He goes on to tell them the peace they can have if they believe and change.
It can be hard to believe if we don’t have proof. These people were being told to believe something and they didn’t have any proof…yet. We do.
In Isaiah 61:1-2, we see what Isaiah told the people they could expect from Christ. The Lord’s spirit is upon Him. He was sent “to bring good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim release for captives, and liberation for prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and a day of vindication for our God, to comfort all who mourn…”
In Luke 4:14-21, Jesus has returned to Nazareth, where He had grown up. One Sabbath when He was at the synagogue, He was given the book of Isaiah to read from. He unrolled the scroll and read:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me.
He has sent me to preach good news to the poor,
to proclaim release to the prisoners
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to liberate the oppressed,
and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
He sat down and everyone was looking at Him. He told them, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled just as you heard it.”
Like little kids we’re continually asking why. Why is this so hard? Why did this bad thing happen? Why…
And the answer…
Because Jesus said so.
The world can be a scary place. It doesn’t have to be. Jesus is our protector. We need to trust Him. He knows more than us.
