Getting a Hollow Feeling from Halloween

Halloween has its tame, fun side, as with festive pumpkins, and
silly characters, but also a more sinister side.

Halloween is an interesting holiday of many faces – literally. On one hand, it’s a time for little kids to don silly costumes, go door to door visiting neighbors and collect a stash of candies and other treats. We see everything from fuzzy animals to cartoon characters to celebrities to the traditional ghosts and witches. Adults sometimes get into the act, attending their own grown-up, Halloween-themed costume parties.

It’s a time when we can revisit Washington Irving’s classic, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” with its “headless horseman.” (Spoiler alert: He wasn’t a very cerebral thinker.) Or watch Charlie Brown conduct his annual search for the Great Pumpkin.

Then there’s the other side of Halloween, featuring elements of the occult and macabre. Popular TV shows devote episodes to things that go bump in the night, replete with ghosts, goblins, and even darker aspects of the supernatural. Theaters often schedule releases of the latest, most gruesome movies for this frightful season. There was even a series of “Halloween” horror films – not to be confused with non-Halloween horror films.

As an avid reader growing up, I became well-acquainted with scary stories. Fittingly, since I grew up on Poe Avenue, I loved reading Edgar Allan Poe’s work, including tales like “The Pit and the Pendulum” and “The Telltale Heart.” Even into my early adult years, I maintained a great affinity for novels in the horror and occult genre. I embraced authors like H.P. Lovecraft, Ray Bradbury, and Stephen King. Imagine converting blood and gore into multimillion-dollar incomes.

Then in the late ‘70s my fascination with the occult was challenged. My pastor gave a message on the subject, explaining how even dabbling with the so-called paranormal could result in bad spiritual consequences.

Convicted about that, I met with him soon after to explain my interest was solely for entertainment. He didn’t preach to me, but left me with a simple observation: “When you read those books, are they pointing you toward the Lord – or away from Him?”

I didn’t have to think deeply about the question, because I knew the answer. They certainly weren’t serving to enhance my spiritual growth, and I realized that even though I was reading fiction, I had already learned far more about the occult and its practices than anyone needed to know.

That moment I resolved to put aside my “fun” reading and slam the door on influences, some very subtle, that could draw me away from my faith, still in its infancy. In Romans 12:2 we’re told, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Even though the surrounding culture was telling me – and still proclaims today – that there’s nothing wrong with a little scare now and then, I knew it could be an obstacle to the transforming work God wanted to do in my life.

Another passage elaborates: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things” (Philippians 4:8). It’s been decades since I gave up reading a scary book or viewed any horror movies that Hollywood is so fond of pumping out. But I still remember they contained little, if anything that was true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy.

So, let me suggest: This Halloween, if you plan to take part in any festivities, I hope you’ll be doing as some of my children or grandchildren have done – dress as a banana, or a monkey, or even as a pancake syrup bottle. That way, you’ll have no ghostly idea how more sinister elements of the day could affect you.

Knowing the Bible vs. Knowing the God of the Bible

Recently I read a commentary about a prominent, nationally known individual who, according to a very close friend, “knows the Bible.” An interesting observation about anyone, especially for someone in the public eye.

However, I’ve encountered people over the years who also claimed to know the Bible, yet there was little if any evidence of the presence and power of God in their lives. It’s not my job to judge, of course, but I think a better question is, “Does this person know the God of the Bible?”

Let me offer an analogy: Years ago, I was an avid reader of horror novels. One of my favorite authors was Stephen King. I had read a number of his books, including The Stand, Carrie, The Shining, and The Dark Tower series, which was recently made into a theatrical film. I knew these books very well – in fact, I had twice read the voluminous epic, The Stand, spanning more than 1,000 pages in both its first and second versions.

During my days as a newspaper editor in suburban Houston, Texas, I had an opportunity to meet and interview Mr. King when he was speaking in our area. I leaped at the chance. So, I had read some of his books, met him face to face, and interviewed him for an article in our newspaper. But even after the personal interview, I didn’t really know Stephen King, not as an author and especially not as a person. I gained certain impressions about him, but didn’t know him. He was just one of many famous people with whom I crossed paths during my career.

The same applied for me concerning the Bible and God for many years. As a senior in high school, for whatever reason I set out to read the Bible cover to cover. And that’s what I did, “religiously” reading five chapters a night, starting with Genesis and ending with Revelation. It took about nine months, but I reached my goal.

At the end of that time I “knew” the Bible. I’d read it in its entirety, and had garnered quite a bit of information from it. However, I didn’t know the God of the Bible. I’d grown familiar with the book, but had no personal relationship with its Author.

That changed years later through a series of circumstances. Looking back, I still marvel at the difference it makes knowing the God who inspired the Bible, discovering it’s not a random collection of ancient writings. Instead, I’ve learned it’s the Word of God that clearly and profoundly reveals the heart and character of the One who through His Spirit inspired and directed the human writers who penned its 66 Old and New Testament books.

As 2 Peter 1:20-21 tells us, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

I’ve read about teachers in theological seminaries, as well as professors of religious studies in large universities, who have diligently read the Bible and claim to “know” it. Yet their conclusions about it demonstrate a pronounced skepticism about its veracity, validity and value.

They would cast doubt on 2 Timothy 3:16-17, which asserts, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Over the past 40 years or so, I’ve had the privilege of learning about God, Jesus Christ, the Scriptures and their truth from many of the leading Bible teachers and preachers in the U.S.A. and the world, as well as devoted “lay people.” But more than that, I’ve had the joy and humble privilege of getting to know – more and more each day – the God of the Bible.

I’ve concluded the Bible is far more than just a compendium of spiritual knowledge and information. It’s the revealed, eternal, unchanging truth of the living God. Through it, and many experiences in my journey with Him through the years, I’ve also come to know Him. And I’m still striving to know Him even better.

The apostle Paul wrote, as presented in the Amplified Translation of the Bible, “[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him – that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding [the wonder of His Person] more strongly and more clearly…” (Philippians 3:10).

This has become my personal mission statement, desiring that as a writer, editor, mentor, husband, father, grandfather and friend, I’ll be used as an instrument for helping others in their own quest to do the same.

Next time you hear someone comment about another person “knowing the Bible,” I hope they mean that individual also knows the God of the Bible. There’s a difference – a profound one.

The Books We Read and the People We Meet

Motivational speaker Charlie “Tremendous” Jones often commented, “Five years from now, you’ll be the same except for the books you read and the people you meet.”

Obviously, other factors can influence our lives, but there’s a lot of truth to Jones’s statement. Being an avid reader, I’ve been dramatically affected by many books I’ve read and the authors who wrote them. If you’ve seen many of my posts, you know the Bible has been the single most influential book in my life. But there have been many others as well.

Books can take us to new worlds
and transport us to different times.

I remember reading classic books like Treasure Island, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Hans Brinker and A Tale of Two Cities that whisked me to other lands and other times. As an adult I spent some time experiencing the horrifying worlds of Stephen King, and novels by John Grisham made life with lawyers and judges seem exciting. Uplifting works by the likes of Philip Yancey, Walter Wangerin, Oswald Chambers, C.S. Lewis, Charles Swindoll and others informed and challenged my understanding of God and true spirituality.

It’s sad that reading has become a second-rate pastime for many people, because every book I’ve read gave me something to think about and in one way or another, made me a bit richer person.

The people I’ve met have had an even more profound impact on my life. I’ve already written about teachers and college professors. But employers, work colleagues, friends and family members have had an impact on me no words could ever fully express.

People we encounter from day
to day enrich our lives.

As a journalist it’s been my privilege to interview numerous well-known people, many worth knowing – and some that weren’t. Hours I spent with individuals like Jesse Owens, U.S. Senate Chaplain Richard Halverson, Charles Colson, Archie Griffin and others left strong, positive impressions. I’ll never forget the words of Joni Eareckson Tada – a speaker, author, artist and singer who became incredibly accomplished despite becoming a quadriplegic as a teenager. She told me, “I shudder to think what my life would have been like if I had not become paralyzed.” Wow!

But it’s the “everyday people” who’ve come into my life, sometimes just briefly, that have had the greatest impact of all. A kind word here, a wise rebuke there, a casual comment that echoed long after they had departed. Voices of experience and insight, counsel from people who’ve “been there, done that” to help me in working through various problems and decisions.

The apostle Paul apparently also understood the importance of books we read and people we meet. Writing to his disciple, Timothy, he said, “When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments (the equivalent of books at the time)” (2 Timothy 4:13).

Earlier in the same book, Paul vividly described the multi-generational impact people can have: “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will be qualified to teach others” (2 Timothy 2:2). When Jesus instructed His followers, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19), He was already envisioning the countless millions through the centuries that one day would commit their lives to Him by faith.

So I ask you: What are the challenging, thought-provoking books you’re reading? And who are the people you’re encountering from day to day, individuals that are having a meaningful impact on your life? Five years from now, as Charlie Jones said, you’ll be a different person because of them. Especially if one of those books is the Bible.