Happy Halloween?

Good Monday morning! I feel like singing 'It's not My Job Anymore'! Someone may have used that for a song title at some point in history, but I don't recall hearing it. My song may never make the Billboard Top 6,000 list and my caterwauling may not put the X in the X-Factor, but I feel like singing it anyway. Monday morning and more cold is on the way. November is on the way too, so I suppose that kind of fits with the cold. Happy Halloween! "Gasp! How dare you put that in a Christian devotional!" I know. This is one of those things that some Christians have a problem with, even to the point of denying the little spooks and spectres their candy treat. What are you putting into the day? I am not celebrating the creatures of the night and I have no problem giving out candy to children; after all they might as well have the opportunity to get fat like me. I did replace my door chime this year to get rid of that nasty clanking the old one had. The cats appreciate it. Do I accuse those brothers and sisters who have a problem with Halloween? Nope, t'aint my place to do that anymore. Besides, why miss the opportunity that Halloween provides? Little kids at your door with bags open, slip a real treat into the bag. One of those little New Testaments, some tracts (an idea I heard last week at Life Group), along with the candy treat perhaps? The kids may not realize the real treat isn't the candy one, but one day one of those seeds may blossom.

In Christ we have gained freedom from the penalty of the Law and from the slavery of sin. We still have our animal desires and our diabolical nature from before, but we are no longer in chains. From that I can think of a few things that are no longer in my job description. A being already bears the title, accuser of the brethren (and sistren), so we don't have to run to God in our prayers with accusations against our brothers and sisters in Christ. You have never done that? Never spoken a prayer something like, "Please Lord convict old so-and-so because I saw him going into that place and you know what goes on in there..."? Hmm? Never been caught praying something like that? Good for you; I have, and while I may have known what went on in that place when I was with old so-and-so, I don't know for sure what he did in there after I became a child of God and stopped going with him. My attempt at disguising the accusation might not smell so sweet to the Lord.

What else is no longer in our job description? Vengeance! We see it in our culture and in our media. "You have to stand up for yourself; you must get even. If you don't take care of this, he/she/they will just come do it again!" We are to defend what the Lord has given us, but that does not speak of feuds and wars and the vengeance the world loves so much. God gave the command, "Vengeance is mine saith the Lord. I will repay those who deserve it!" As new creations in Christ our Lord, we no longer have to follow and carry out that desire for vengeance we feel. It isn't in our job description now.

We should not feel the need to compete in our new job. Paul used several sports metaphors in his epistles, but we are not competing against our brothers and sisters in Christ. In straining to reach the prize like the Philippians we don't reach over and snip the drawstring of our brother's girdle of truth. "Whoops there, brother! I have to win that prize!" Not so! We are in this race together with Jesus our Lord. We do our utmost to help each other through prayer and supplication, service and sharpening, and above all, love. That cutthroat competition the world loves so much is no longer in our job description.

You can think of many other things the world cherishes that no longer fit the job description of Christ-one. We are new creatures in Christ. Live like it!

Bucky