(The door of All Saints’ Church, Wittenberg)
Happy Halloween –Happy Reformation Day!
I know. October 31st is known for witches, goblins, pumpkins, and trick or treat.
It is amazing to me how in the last 20 years or so Halloween has gone from a one night ‘celebration’ to become an entire ‘holiday’ season of it’s own with parties and decorations that span nearly an entire month. Plus it has become an excuse for every TV station to flood the air with the worst horror movies of all time. Not a genre that I am particularly fond of.
However, this is also the anniversary of a real earth shaking -game changing- historical event that altered the face of Europe and forever changed the Christian Church. 506 years ago on this day- October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany starting The Reformation.
The enemy (Satan) likes to use this day for propagating his dark agenda but on this day a genuine move of God was initiated that still continues. The beginning of a revival right in the face of the enemy on his own day.
For years the church tried to redeem this day calling it- All Hallows’ Eve, or All Saints’ Eve with church services looking forward to midnight which began the traditional Christian celebration of ‘All Saints Day.’ However in our present culture the historical Christian observance of this day has been largely forgotten.
Let us redeem this dark day and pray for God to continue to reform and revive his church. Let’s also in remembrance of the original Reformation pray today for a new awakening to begin in America. May a new door of renewal and revival open in America that no man can shut. In Jesus name, Amen