Week #1 Our society is obsessed with the supernatural but doesn t include God in that focus. How many weeks before Halloween were decorations and candy put on displays in stores? What will be the theme of your school s fall party? It seems like a pretty American holiday, doesn t it? You buy a fun costume, spend a few hours doing crazy hair and make-up to help you fit the part, Genesis 3:1-7; and then you run around the neighborhood collecting candy door-to-door. 2 Corinthians 11:14 Well ironically, this holiday was brought to us by the same people who brought us St. Patrick s Day. The Irish. There is also some influence from the Romans and the Catholics. Ancient Celtics believed that on one day during the year ghosts would roam the earth, so they would wear costumes and make a bonfire to scare them away. They also practiced magic on that night. Halloween came to America with the boom in immigration and eventually took the form of going door-to-door asking for food or money, which evolved into today s trick-or-treating. While Halloween has made a cultural shift away from witchcraft to being more about a sense of community, there are still those who take advantage of the holiday to practice different forms of magic. Satan is just as real today as he was in the book of Genesis when he appeared to Eve as a serpent and tempted her, but he isn t just a pitch fork-wielding masked figure who is overtly out to do evil. He is deceptive and can disguise himself as anything in order to distract people from following Jesus. As followers of Christ, our job is to love the things that He loves and guard ourselves from the things that He hates. Our actions and attitudes should always reflect that, no matter what time of year it is. Buy the digital download of the Adventures in Odyssey episode What Are We Gonna Do About Halloween for $1.99 by visiting whitsend.org or Duplicate the fall word find included with this month s devotions and spend some time as a family searching for words. Dear Lord, help us to never forget that while Satan is real, You are much bigger and much more powerful. Thank You for being Lord over everything and for living in our hearts. Amen.
Week #2 Ghosts and hauntings are not real. What are some television shows or movies that have popularized ghosts? What do you think about ghosts? Scripture tells us that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. It happens instantly and it s permanent. When a person dies his soul either goes to heaven or to hell. It does not linger on earth like you see on television shows and in movies. The Bible also tells us that each person dies one time and that after that he will face judgment. For those who have given control of their life to Jesus, that means heaven, but for those who haven t, that means hell. 2 Corinthians 5:8; Matthew 25:46 Ghosts aren t real, but demons definitely are. Satan is a liar. His whole existence is based on deceiving people. Satan even presents himself as an angel of light and his demons masquerade themselves as servants of righteousness. This shows that they are most certainly capable of giving eager ghost hunters exactly what they want to find. Satan and his demonic followers would love nothing more than to draw in people who are fascinated with their world and to further blind people from the truth of God. But let s be honest we can all make something seem very scary with our imaginations. That s why it s so important to watch what we feed ourselves. A steady diet of scary movies, ghost hunting shows or books, and supernatural stories will do a number on your nerves after a while! Watch Veggie Tales, Where s God When I m S-Scared DVD by checking it out from the library or buying it at a Christian bookstore or as a digital download online or Dear Jesus, thank You that because we know You,Your love takes away fear and helps us understand what is real and what is not. Help us also to guard our thoughts and to let the things that we watch, read, and talk about be pleasing to You. Amen.
Week #3 Miracles are powered by God, but magic is powered by Satan the deceiver. What are some of your favorite movies or TV shows? Talk about the main characters. What are some of the most popular moves right now? Do the main characters believe in miracles or magic? Miracles are incredible interventions by God in challenging situations, but the power for those comes from God. And Christians who are a part of miracles are calling on the name of the Lord in prayer when Deuteronomy 18:10-12; those miracles occur. Matthew 10:1 But, anyone who casts spells and practices magic, whether for good or bad, is never deriving their power from God. Their power is coming from Satan. You might remember the scene in The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy first encounters Glinda and asks if she is a good witch or a bad witch after her terrifying encounters with the Wicked Witch of the West. Glinda was a good witch. What Dorothy meant by that question, was that some witches practice black magic, and other witches consider themselves to be good witches because their intent is not to harm people. As we see in the Scripture passage for this week, God is not a fan of magic, whether the person s intentions are good or bad. In a society whose entertainment is filled with vampires, wizards, and witches, we as children of God are faced with some big decisions as we strive to honor Him by loving the things that He loves and turning away from the things that He doesn t love. On a large sheet of paper, make a list of miracles your family has experienced or is aware of. Remember that salvation (becoming a new creature) is perhaps the greatest miracle ever. Dear Jesus, thank You for miracles. Thank You that You are powerful enough to do amazing things in our lives and that Your name alone brings fear to Satan and his followers. Help us to make wise choices in the entertainment we take in during the week. Amen.
Week #4 When you have Jesus living in your heart, there s no need to be afraid. What do you get afraid of around Halloween? Why does it frighten you? If you ve given your life to God and are pursuing a relationship with Him, then you do not need to be afraid of the supernatural. When you become a Romans 8:9 Christian and accept Jesus into your life, the Holy Spirit comes to live in you. The Holy Spirit provides direction, boldness, and insight into different circumstances you come across. Satan and his demonic forces have no interest in living in the same space as God s Spirit! But this doesn t mean it s okay for us to have a steady diet of ghost stories, horror movies, and supernatural books. Satan looks for any opportunity any weakness that he can turn against us, so why open ourselves up to being weak by exploring the supernatural? There are plenty of Scripture verses that tell us as Christians to resist Satan, to keep our minds on God, and to flee evil. Simply put, if you have God s Spirit living in you, you don t need to be afraid of Satan having power over you. While it is possible for Satan try to and throw as much at us as he can to trip us and discourage us, he can t lay a finger on us (so to speak)! Make a list of ways you can enjoy the season without participating in darkness. Create fun fall decorations out of play dough or other craft supplies. Dear Jesus, thank You that I don t have to be afraid of anything. Help us to continue to have hearts that desire to learn more about You. Fill me with more of You and use me to share Your love with those around me. Amen.
Week #5 I can guard myself from evil by loving what God loves. List off a few food products you love and describe the packaging that protects it from being damaged or spoiled. It s important as Christians to guard our hearts and our minds from things that aren t pleasing to God. As we see in the book of Proverbs, the things we let Proverbs 4:23; into our lives will be the things that start shaping a lot about the way 1 John 4:4 we live. We need to love what is good and hate what is evil. If you guard your heart and your mind and you focus on the things that God loves, you send a very strong message to Satan and his buddies that you are a child of God and he has no business snooping around your home. In contrast to that, when we let our curious minds entertain thoughts of ghosts (which, as discussed in week two, do not exist) or any other part of the supernatural, we open ourselves up to evil. We might not experience an actual attack from Satan from watching too many scary movies, but the things we expose ourselves to could definitely let Satan know we re curious about his world. The things we expose ourselves to might even start affecting our mood, our energy level, and or even our quality of sleep at night. This week s Scripture in 1 John is a great reminder that God, the one who lives in you, is bigger than those in the world. And who is in the world? Satan. Evil. Darkness. Demonic forces. The God that lives in you is bigger than all of that. Isn t that good to know?! In 30 seconds, have each family member write down as many words as they can that remind them of the word guard. Compare answers at the end. Delete duplicate answers and count up the number of unique responses each person has. The one with the most wins! Talk about ways you as a family can better guard your home against evil. Dear Jesus, thank You for the protection and comfort that comes from living for You. Help us to be more aware of the things that You love and help us be able to say no to things that You hate. Continue to protect us as we live our lives for You. Amen. THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. ngm.ag.org