Daily Devotionals by Thoughts about God

by John Grant
Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney
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“I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.“Â Acts 26:17-18

The cashier handed me back my credit card and gave me a receipt, while saying â€œHappy Holidays.â€? Holidays? Isnâ€™t it a little early for Thanksgiving and Christmas. â€œNo,â€? she saidâ€¦â€¦ â€œthis is Halloween.â€? Maybe it is my imagination, but it seems that Halloween has been ratcheted up a notch or two this year.

The stores are full of Halloween merchandise and it seems that there are neighborhood decorations like I have never seen before. Houses in my neighborhood are all decked out with orange lights and all kinds of grotesque characters adorn front lawns.Â One house down the street have even erected a cemetery on the front lawn complete with tombstones and an iron fence over which a witch hangs from a tree.

It is as if the Devil himself is celebrating and bragging that he now has this country in his firm grip and wants to beef up his holiday. Historically, it was a Christian holiday, known as â€œAll Hallows Eve,â€? since the day following was â€œAll Saints Day,â€? an official day of worship and celebration in the Catholic Church. Later, it became a day of â€œharvest Festival,â€? noting the completion of gathering in the crops before the winds and cold of winter set in.

But, slowly and meticulously Satan moved in to take over and declare it his day. It is a holiday that generally glorifies the dark things of this world, rather than the light of Jesus Christ, The Truth. Have you noticed how costumes and masks are getting generally more bloody, gory, and depraved each year? Unfortunately, the gruesome and grotesque and the occult are increasingly glorified in American society, not only on Halloween, but throughout the year in horror movies and in television programs.

Halloween has become a Satanic holiday and Christians have no place to be involved in it. Satan loves Halloween because it glamorizes the powers of darkness, drawing little kids into his realm. And it is paying off. Witchcraft is exploding among teens today. SO, I encourage you to pass this year on celebrating Halloween and find a good Christian Halloween alternative.
(a thought on life from John Grant )

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“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
2 Corinthians 9:7

In this mega world of big box stores and shopping malls, somehow we have lost a lot of the small business establishments that have for years been the economic backbone of our communities.

The one perhaps missed most is the neighborhood drug store. But I am very fortunate to still have one right around the corner. My druggist knows me by name and I have his home phone number. I suspect that if I needed something in the middle of the night, he would bring it to me.

Last week I went in to pick up several prescriptions, but as I paid the bill, I noticed that I had not been charged for two of them, so I brought it to the attention of the cashier, who promptly, with appreciation, corrected the bill.

As I walked to my car, I thought about how many people would have taken advantage of the situation thinking that the drugstore could take the loss and never miss it. But that’s not the point. Stealing is stealing.

The Book of Malachi talks about shortchanging God, as people were not honoring their duty to tithe and were bringing the refuse of their animals for sacrifice. Imagine that, giving God the worst, not the best.

The country’s largest card company has for years had the slogan, “When you care enough to send the very best” God sent His very best, His Son, that we might have life eternal. Should we do anything less?

Should we be foolish enough to think that God would not miss it when we shortchange him or fail to give him our very best? The issue is not that He needs to receive it. The issue is that we need to give it.

God calls us to be generous givers and to leave a legacy. So take inventory of what you are giving â€“ time, talents and treasure â€“ to God and if it is not your very best, then ask yourself why not.

by John Grant
used by permission (a thought on life from John Grant )