Why We Chose Halloween Hot Spots

Christians get kinda weird when it comes to days like Halloween. All over social media I have noticed strong opinions; some condemning others who are participating or are dressing up. I have noticed many scriptures flying around and passionate statements being made regarding churches and their hypocrisy.  Some think we should ignore the day altogether and hide out and pretend that no one is home. Others want to have a "Fall Fest" at the local church and dress up like Noah's Ark characters and have games such as a Jonah and the Whale fishing game. Others think we should be praying and interceding for the evil going on around us. While there is nothing particularly wrong with any of those things we have to remember that people have different convictions based on many different things. Some have come from the occult and want to stay as far away from anything related to it. Others try to balance it all out and participate but on a more wholesome level. Then there are the group that have no problems dressing up as Dracula, ghosts and serial killers.

Who is right and what is the stand that the church should take on this holiday that originated as evil? Well there isn't one answer. We all have to live according to what we feel is the right thing to do for our families. We just cannot condemn others who do not look at it the way that we do.

 MercyGate Church decided their stance by looking at their vision statement. We are a church where we want lives changed, relationships restored and destinies discovered. In order to do that we have to get out of our four walls and go into our neighborhoods and make relationships and connections with people. What better day than to use Halloween as a networking time?

 MercyGate Halloween Hot Spots are like neighborhood block parties. We gave each neighborhood representative from our church money to purchase inflatables, food, candy & signs. Each of these locations represent our church.  They invite all their neighbors and multiple families from our church show up to help run it. The environment is one that isn't "come and go" but "come and sit for a while" while your kids play games. This gives us a unique opportunity to actually have a conversation with people we normally would NEVER talk to all the while their children are having a great time and getting candy and snacks!

^14-16 “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven."        Matthew 5:14-16The Message (MSG)

We are to be a light to this world and are called to love our neighbors...so what is better than inviting all your neighbors to your house?  Think about it....What other day in the year do complete strangers come to your door, ring the bell and wait for you to come and answer! What an amazing opportunity to get to know people when they are out having a great time smiling and enjoying the evening.

We as Christian have got to start being strategic. What we have done in the past has not worked and will not work for the next generation. So if you aren't part of one of the Halloween Hot Spots then you need to go get some candy and get prepared to greet and bless people as they come to your house. We cannot and will not let the enemy take over this day....even if you have a little kid dressed as Freddie Krueger at your door saying "trick or treat". We claim every person and every soul for the Kingdom. That is what Jesus called us to do.

Adjust That Crown

Jonna

 

No longer a Slave to Fear

"For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God," Romans 8:15-16

Have you ever been paralyzed in fear? The feeling of not knowing what the future holds and even how to respond can be one of the worst feelings. All of the sudden all kinds of scenarios of what might happen or what could happen are flying in your head and it is just scary. You feel like you have no control and no matter what you do it could be the wrong decision.

Well as you can tell I have been there too. While a little bit of fear is normal and can be healthy; ongoing continued anxiety and stress isn't. Living fearful is a horrible slave master because everything is filtered through the "worst case scenario" concept. I don't know about you but having those nightmares and dreams makes for many restless and sleepless nights.

God is the miracle worker and He can work out things that our little minds couldn't even imagine!
All we have to do is call on Him and He will be there for us. No situation is so bad that God wont walk it out with us.  In fact He will be the one inspiring us and giving us all the reasons to rejoice. and move forward. Our deepest fear becomes NOTHING in the light of His presence. He is the perfect Father of all fathers. We are "fearfully and wonderfully made". Psalm 139:14

Our fears may creep up and try to torment us, but if we focus on God's beautiful hope they will fade into something insignificant. God will never forsake us, reject us or stop loving us. We will never be destitute. We will never be unloved. We will never be shrouded in loneliness. Fear is no longer our master. We can have true freedom from fear because we have someone greater living within us than anything in this world and all we have to do is call out Abba Father!

Adjust That Crown!

Jonna 

*Come Out Ready

Prayer is so very important in our lives but I am going to say that watching is as well. In fact, Jesus about this subject to His disciples in Matthew 26:41, when He said, "Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation... " He said this immediately after getting onto them earlier in the same chapter for not 'keeping watch' with Him while he was agonizing in prayer in the garden of Gethsemane.

I would like to stop right here and ask why are we often willing to pray but often unwilling be the one on watch? I don't know about you but anytime I have watched a movie where someone has to take watch while the others sleep...I have always wondered if I could stay awake. Haha. I am not a night owl. Keeping watch can seem boring and lonely. Also I wonder if you think that "what is one person watching going to do?" There is a big forest out there and surely I will miss something. Also...we have an omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent God who is able to do all things. He will protect us and keep us safe, right? After having a little talk with Jesus we can just sit back and relax, go to sleep and He will handle it all for us!

I am going to warn you...It is our responsibility to watch as well as pray because our adversary is sneaky like lion, seeking, hunting and planning for his next victim to devour. No matter how we look at it; we are in a fight and most of the time we are the object of the hunt. The worse type of fight to be involved in is one where you didn't even realize you were in. It is called spiritual warfare and we can't just let the "heavenlies" take care of it all. Our "guardian angel" isn't going to protect you from all the fiery darts either. Lethargy, complacency and exhaustion will find us as easy targets for things that we never thought we would be involved in. In boxing, it NOT the punch that you see that causes you the most damage...it is the punch you don't see that usually knocks you out.

I will not claim to know a whole lot about boxing but what I do know is that once that bell rings you are supposed to come out with your hands up ready to fight. Your opponent is not obligated to wait until you are absolutely, positively, one hundred percent sure you are ready to fight. They aren't going to wait for you to tie your shoe or adjust something and just hang back with courtesy until you get it all together. The same is true concerning the devil. He specializes in waiting for an opportunity to attack you when you are most vulnerable, especially when you are not paying attention.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God and pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people."                                                                       Ephesians 6:10-18

The full armour of God isn't just a great topic for a sunday school class for children...it is the way that we were meant to live every single day of our lives. Every morning we wake and put on every tool that God has given us so that we can be prepared and ready. It isn't just an "object lesson" for us to say is cutesy and cool...it is full on warfare! You may be saying, wow...being a Christian and being in this "fight" doesn't sound like a lot of fun. Well being in the world and being in that misery sounds much worse. We are fighting for our freedom in Christ, our purity, our minds, our families, our destinies, our purposes in life...our joy. It is so worth it to take a little bit of time out of our day to prepare and be ready for what the day brings. Getting our minds and spirit right and ready to hear from God so that we can advance His kingdom is a powerful and life-giving thing.

Athletes do not gear up just to hang around and watch tv and chill with friends. When they take the time to tape those knuckles, get that heart rate up, put on those boxing gloves....they are ready for action. Start your day today ready so that you will be prepared and mindful of anything that comes your way...and you will overcome it with God on your side.

Adjust that Crown!

Jonna

*Dreams

There is nothing more wonderful than seeing your dreams or the dreams of others fulfilled. Recently I went on a trip with my oldest son Trey. He had always dreamed of going to Scotland and Ireland and I had the amazing opportunity to experience it with him! He had worked so hard to save up his money and we planned for months for the perfect trip for his 25th birthday. Trey told me, "Mom. I don't want wait until I am older to see the world or do the things I dreamed about. Why not do it now?"

I loved the look on his face as he experienced the history, the architecture and the scenery of the place that was only but a dream before. It thrilled me as a parent to see the excitement and even the tears that he encountered at times on our trip; and it brought such joy to my heart.

As I stood on the edge of a cliff and looked out into the ocean and took in the most overwhelming of views; I couldn't help but think that what I was experiencing with Trey is what God wants for me. God wants to sit back and see the dreams and destinies of my life fulfilled even more than I even want to see them myself! He longs to see the potential in me to surface. He wants me to live out the calling He has destined for my life.

Yet I get those dreams and visions and even promises that I know that I have and put them on a shelf the for another time, another season, or another year. I have other things to do or focus on. I tell myself that maybe next year or maybe it wasn't even meant to be? I love the attitude of Trey..."Why wait? Why do when I am older what I can do now." I remember him also saying to me, "I don't want to grow up and have regrets."

 What about you? What do you have that you are putting aside that you can actually start to set in motion even today? You can take one small step today towards something that is near and dear to your heart. Revive those dreams and make it happen...anything is possible!

You are Graciously Adorned!

❤ Jonna 

Husbands Crown

Proverbs 12:4 “A wife of noble character is her husband's crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.”

Who wears a crown? Someone of royalty or great stature—likely a prince or a king. Yet, how do you know that he has that high position? By the crown he wears on his head. Without the shiny, gem-studded crown, he would just be seen as an ordinary man. But it is the crown that shows off his true position, the truth about who he is.

I saw in that simple picture how a wife has the opportunity to show the world the truth about who her husband is. By her behavior, she can showcase whether he is just an ordinary man or whether he is one who stands above the rest and is worthy of respect. In this way, our actions as wives affect more than just ourselves; they directly reflect our husbands, as well, even if they had nothing to do with the action in question.

And when we choose to wield it wisely—conducting ourselves with “noble character”—a wife becomes a crown that her husband can wear proudly. It is not a plastic toy that a child would wear, but a real treasure that makes him walk taller.

It’s a truth that is really quite powerful. It can be something of great opportunity—to shine for the sake of our spouse, or it can be one that begets misery, bestowing instead disgrace. The difference depends completely on how we treasure this truth.

Recently, I was recalling this mental image and I realized that it doesn’t just end there, between a wife and her husband. The Bible is rich with the allusion that an earthly marriage is merely a reflection or a preparation for the eternal union that will bring us together with Jesus. He constantly touts himself as bridegroom and us as his bride.

So just as we can be a crown for our earthly husbands through our actions, so can we be a crown for our eternal husband, too, in the way we act. Our behaviors—especially that of serving—should showcase the greatness of the husbands we so dearly love, both the one we share a name with now but also the One who awaits us in the life to come.

This article re-posted via iBelieve, written  December 26, 2012.

Adjust that Crown!
Jonna