This Seemingly Innocent Tradition Is Diabolically The Ultimate Trick
Since their pastor, who does not believe that women are called to preach, was out of town last October, I could be gracious and accommodating to my hosts in South Carolina and join them at their mid-week service without feeling intimidated. I did not hesitate to accept the invitation. Little did I know that by the end of the evening I would come very close to being thrown out on my ear.
I had every intention of minding my Pīs and Qīs but as I entered the church I walked into the midst of a Halloween party. People were dressed in costumes and carving pumpkins right in the sanctuary.
I looked so totally shocked and alarmed that a woman came up and said, "I hope we havenīt scared you too badly." With my mouth hanging open I prayed silently, "Lord, have mercy on them, they know not what they do." Another woman approached me and said, "I saw you on TV 36 last night and I wanted to crawl under a pew when you walked into this church. The Holy Spirit convicted me on the way over here." I then started questioning her and others on why they would be celebrating Satanīs holiday and participating in something that exemplifies all that is evil and is so totally in direct opposition to God and His Word. I repeated what I had taught on the program the night before, stressing that since both children and animals are literally sacrificed to Satan on this night all over the world, we should be on our knees praying against Halloween not participating in it. Most said they were doing it for the children. I then asked if their six year olds wanted to drive the car, would they let them. I was determined to not leave until I found somebody in that church who would concur and hopefully repeal any future participation. We were supposed to be the role models and pillars of the church, differentiating between the holy and profane.
As many came and left my little circle, a man who I later learned was the associate pastor motioned to each one and inquired about our conversation. He glared at me red-faced and furious.
The very next evening the host on TV 36 kidded me about attending a Halloween party. I did not mention the name of the church but we exhorted people and steered the entire program around the topic once more.
I can not comprehend and am totally astonished at how much maneuvering the Lord had to do on the following day to arrange for my husband and I to be seated exactly where we were in a very large restaurant at the exact moment an angry male voice would be bellowing, "She was on TV 36 last night saying we were having a Halloween party." The associate pastor of that church was having a meeting with the senior pastor about me, and God had me show up at their meeting. We were 45 minutes from where we were staying and they were a good 45 minutes from their church which was in the opposite direction. He had prepared a letter which he was sending to each member of the congregation and also to the TV station trying to discredit me. In it he justified their actions by stating that the faces on the pumpkins were happy faces and the costumes were not scary. Such an anointing came over me that I could not stop talking for almost three hours. I interjected scripture after scripture and vetoed each and every objection of the associate pastorīs as we debated back and forth. The other man was quiet the entire time and never uttered a sound. Then finally he spoke, "May I make a comment here since I am the senior pastor of this church?" I thought, "Oh boy, I can pack my bags and git outta town because Iīve overstepped my bounds." His eyes were very intense as he asked, "Would you do me the honor of speaking at my church one Sunday morning?"
The devil meant it for harm. He wanted my name smeared and my character assassinated but the Lord turned it around for good. Pastor Eddie West honored me a few weeks later from his pulpit when he stated that he had been to the annual Baptist Pastorīs convention where he had quoted from one of my books. He expressed how he was greatly convicted that day in the restaurant. He realized there were things he needed to change in his own life and told those at the meeting and in his congregation that there were things that they needed to change in their churches if we are to be the salt of the earth and a light in the darkness. So, īcome out from among them and be ye separateī and letīs behave like the people of God!
Copyright Donna Martonfi www.psalm40ministries.com
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