Halloween is a season when many people love to decorate and dress up in costumes and masks of ghosts and goblins. Many view the day as just good fun and as a spoof on spooks. But some people are plugged into the dark side of evil. For them casting spells, Satan, and works of darkness are very real. In some cultures people live in fear of evil spirits. Some people believe that ghosts are real and haunt certain places.

We could say that evil comes from two sources. One is the evil within man. The Word of God teaches that all mankind inherited a sin nature from Adam.

Jonah was a powerful prophet of God. One day God commissioned him to preach to the great and wicked city of Nineveh. God saw their violence and perversion and was determined to send terrible judgment upon them.

God’s prophet despised and abhorred the heathen Ninevites. So much so that he booked passage on a ship that would take him as far away from them as possible. He knew if he told them what God had said they might repent and be spared. He wanted God to punish the ruthless Ninevites – not pardon them. So Jonah ran away.

Jesus urged us to “work while it is day, for night comes when no man can work” (John 9:4). Eternal souls are at stake. Multitudes are slipping into a Christ-less eternity because no one reached out to them with the redeeming gospel. Jesus invited us to follow him and he would make us fishers of men. (Matthew 4:19) But you cannot follow God in neutral. God created you to do something. James, the half-brother of Jesus, concluded that if you know what is right to do and you do not do it – it is sin.

How many opportunities and divine moments for ministry pass us by? A secret to seizing the day is – you must take the initiative. We must be “Johnny of the spot” when God brings opportunities for doing good our way.

Glorious things have happened on Mt Hermon in Israel. In the gospel of Mark chapter 9 we find the brief but far reaching account of Jesus taking three of his disciples to the top of Mt Hermon. There, before the disciples, Jesus’ appearance was radically changed. He was “transfigured” and his clothes became gleaming white – whiter than any earthly process could ever make them. (Mark 9:2-12 NLT) Then something extraordinary happened – Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. What did Moses and Elijah talk about? They talked about how the scriptures foretold of the suffering and death of Jesus on the cross. (Mark 9:12-13)

How you greet life many times reveals what is in your heart. I once greeted someone with the expression, “Good day.” He replied, “What’s good about it?” When another gentleman is asked, “How are you?” he always responds, “Marvelous!”

Many people do not feel their life is so wonderful. They feel cheated, disillusioned, and disappointed in life. This Christmas season I’ll probably once again watch the movie, “It’s A Wonderful Life.” It’s the story of a young man who was disappointed in the way his life turned out. George Bailey was a dreamer.

Business savvy people keep their eyes and ears open for inside information. Investors may value certain information that could give them leverage or a leg up in making a good profit with a timely investment or business deal.

A few years ago I had a friend who had a friend who had a cousin who had a nephew who worked for a large grocery chain. His friend’s cousin had some inside information that the price of coffee was going to increase dramatically because of the weather and weevils in the coffee bean crop of Brazil.

All true believers want their faith to increase. “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6). We cannot receive anything from God without faith. The benefits of the cross come to us only by faith in Christ. The power of the resurrection can only be appropriated by faith. (Philippians 3:10)

One of the apostles of faith was Smith Wigglesworth. In his classic book Ever Increasing Faith it is quite evident that a key to Wigglesworth’s radical faith and miraculous works was his radical obedience to God. Faith increases as we are obedient.

Larry King was recently interviewed on “The Today Show” concerning his recently published book Remember Me When I’m Gone. The world famous radio and television personality asked the talented, the beautiful, the wise, and the rich a question all of us have pondered to some degree, “How would you like to be remembered after you die?”

The contributions range from one-liners by Yogi Berra – “It’s over.”; Kato Kaelin – “I guess my 15 minutes are up!”; Jack Lemmon- “In.”; Calvin Klein – “By eternity.”; Gene Shalit – “I won’t be back after this message.”;

As a child, no one had difficulty picking Roger Loomis out of his family’s photos. He was the one with the big head. From infancy, through adolescence, his head grew disproportionately with the rest of his body.

Classmates would sneak up from behind, hit him on the back of his head and yell, “Fathead!” He laughed on the outside, but inside the nickname cut like a knife.

Years of ridicule and abuse could have set Roger off in a rage, sending him on a shooting spree, taking his anger out on whoever happened to cross his path. Perhaps he could have simply withdrawn from society, or dropped out of life through suicide or drugs or alcohol.

I sat in the courtroom on a wooden pew surrounded by rich wood paneled walls. As I looked toward the judge’s bench at the front of the courtroom, the bailiff commanded all to rise and announced the entrance of the Honorable Judge Slater, as court was called into session.

I felt admiration and respect for the judge as he was referred to as “your honor” when addressed. Did “his honor” have respect because of his title, family name, money, or social/class standing? Probably not. “His honor” had been a classmate of mine and, on occasion, we had even driven livestock into the showering of his grandfather’s sale barn. While being a man of good moral character, “his honor” was shown respect, even by his enemies, because he represented the law of the land.

Have you felt like giving up lately? Here’s hope for you – our great and mighty God loves you and has a way out. Hang on! Don’t give up hope.

We live in a world of trouble, terror, and trials. Since the sin and fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the serpent of old has engendered strife and stress, fear and failure, depression and destruction. Jesus told us, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they might have life and might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

It was the most painful and stressful period in my adult life. It was a wilderness experience, “the dark night of the soul”.

The story is told of a man who fell over a cliff. As he plunged downward he was fortunate enough to grab hold of a protruding tree limb. He held on for dear life but was quickly losing his strength. “Help me! Is anybody up there?” he called out. After what seemed to be an eternity a voice called down, “Just let go of the branch. You’ll be saved.” “Help me!” the man cried. Unbeknownst to the man, the tree limb was only a few feet above a ledge with a path that would lead him to safety. “Trust me, just let go and you’ll be okay,” the voice called back. The man hesitated, “Is anybody else up there?”

It’s been said that music is the language of soul. Music is definitely the language of heaven. Some have told of hearing heavenly music on their deathbed, even though those around them do not hear anything. I believe God welcomes His children home with heavenly music. “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones” (Psalm 116:15 NASB).

Our creator is a God of music and we were made in His image, so it stands to reason that man has been given music to express what’s in his soul.

“RSVP”, the letter said. After 35 years, I wondered how many would be at my high school reunion. Already many of my former classmates have died or moved far away from our old hometown. Even though the scheduled date is not a convenient time for me, it would be interesting to go just to see whom I would recognize and remember. But I just couldn’t show up on a whim, I have to make a reservation.

Many wedding invitations include RSVP. One would be foolish and very disappointed if he simply showed up at an airline and expect to buy a ticket and immediately board an airplane.

I love holidays and holy days. We need both to help us keep life exciting and in perspective. Times of sacred inspiration and of hilarious celebration give needed contrast to life. A few days ago I took a look at our wall calendar in anticipation of our next holiday. Guess what it is? Your right – it’s February 2nd – Groundhog Day.

We can learn some lessons from Groundhog Day. Someone once asked me “Does God have a sense of humor?” “Well look around you,” I replied, “Look at all of God’s creatures both great and small.” Some are so comical that only the grinch could refrain from laughing.

Have you ever considered some of the varied and peculiar greetings that people give? How are you supposed to answer some of them? Have you ever been greeted with some of these salutations? “Whaz up?” “Whaz up, dog?” How’s ya do’n?” “What’s new?” Whatever happened to plain old “Hello”? Granted “Hello” could have a dozen different meanings, depending on the rising and falling of the intonation pattern and the prolongation of the first or last vowel. I guess that’s why some of my ancestors were exiled from England when they gave the wrong “Hello” to the king and queen.

Grandma’s light bread would melt in your mouth. In the 1950’s, rural electric had not yet reached our part of the countryside. As kerosene lamps gave a golden glow in the kitchen, I’d watch grandma mix and kneed the bread dough, put it in pans, and then set them aside to rise overnight. At daybreak she would fire up the wood cook stove and bake the bread until the top crust was shining and golden. I could hardly wait for a couple of slices of grandma’s light bread spread with home churned butter and, perhaps, a spoon of wild comb honey or a dollop of blackberry jelly. Those were the days when bread was bread.

A few years ago a compelling but complex motion picture was nominated for nine Academy Awards – winning Oscars for Robin Williams and “hot newcomers” Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Good Will Hunting portrayed a triumphant story about Will Hunting, the most brilliant mind at America’s top university who was a janitor – not a student. Will Hunting was a headstrong, working-class genius. When he was “discovered”, Will was offered the opportunity of a lifetime, but he didn’t want to leave his friends nor deal with the issues of his past. He finally realized that he had been gifted and given opportunities that many only dreamed of. It would be a shame to waste his giftedness when he could make a contribution to life.

I had forgotten the thrill of catching a fish. My grandson reminded me of the thrill as he reeled in his first catch, with assistance from his dad. I recalled my youth when I went fishing with my dad, brothers, grandmother, or anyone else that would go with me. But for some reason, in middle age, I had forgotten how to fish. I had forgotten how to have fun and just relax.

It seems many kids grow up today without trying their hand at fishing. Many stay indoors playing video and computer games. There’s nothing like getting outdoors and away from it all for awhile.

The Hamm twins have come a long way from swinging from the rafters in their Waukesha, WI barn to going for a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Paul Hamm became the first American in Olympic history to win the Men’s All-Around Gymnastics gold medal. I must confess that I thought that his medal hopes were surely over when he took a tragic fall on his vault landing. But Paul Hamm went on to perform two of the most spectacular and flawless routines of his career to win an Olympic gold medal by the closest margin in Olympic history.

The exhilaration of floating free from earth’s confines in a hot air balloon is almost indescribable. Equally rewarding to me has been serving on a ground crew and balloon chase team with my wife and friends. I look forward to the next BalloonFest.

Some people enjoy the excitement of chasing their dreams; others chase tornadoes, foxes, and some (though illegal and dangerous) chase fire engines. And some enjoy being on a balloon chase crew. But after the initial thrill of ascending in a hot air balloon, I’m content to serve on the ground crew and help others experience the joy of hot air ballooning.

It’s much more than an American patriotic hymn. From grade school on, each time I hear or sing “The Battle Hymn Of The Republic,” my heart is stirred within me. Julia W. Howe directs us from the first verse on to see the glory of the Lord. “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; …His truth is marching on. Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!” Who’s glory is the hymn referring to? The glory of God is the focus that inspires praise of our sovereign Lord and moves us to justice and action.

Have you ever wondered where you fit in society? Where you fit in amongst your peers? Perhaps you have felt like a round peg being forced into a square hole. Culture tends to categorize individuals into homogenized groups. Do you identify with any of the following groups?

GAMERS: I recently read a news article concerning a popular young person who described himself as a “gamer”. I’m not quite sure, but possibly a gamer is someone who is an avid video game player.

A sage once said that those who have two or three good friends are fortunate. He or she who has one true, close friend is fortunate indeed.

Since moving into a new neighborhood a little over a year ago, we have only seen our neighbor lady a couple of times. An upward mobile executive, she leaves her home before sun-up for her commute to work and returns home late in the evening. My wife happened to meet her at a neighbor’s moving sale one Saturday. Our neighbor sadly remarked that even though she had a good job and had lived in the neighborhood for about 10 years, she had no friends. That sentiment is a commentary on life in our society today.

A vast audience tunes in weekly to the hit television comedy “Friends”. Many were sad to see the series come to an end after ten successful seasons. I am not a fan of sitcoms and seldom watch them. But I am intrigued as to why so many people tune in every week to watch “Friends”. Many people have told me that it was funny, creative, with surprising twists, and involved characters who stuck together as friends despite their imperfections.

All people need and desire to have such friends. Aristotle wrote, “Without friendships no one would choose to live, even if they had all other good things in life.”