THE WALKING DEAD-MADE ALIVE

 

 

 Ephesians 2:1-5 (Amplified) And you [He made ALIVE when you] were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of your transgressions and sins, ² in which you once walked. You were following the ways of this world [influenced by this present age], in accordance with the prince of the power of the air (Satan), the spirit who is now at work in the disobedient [the unbelieving, who fight against the purposes of God].

 

³ Among these [unbelievers] we all once lived in the passions of our flesh [our behavior governed by the sinful self], indulging the desires of human nature [without the Holy Spirit] and [the impulses] of the [sinful] mind. We were, by nature, children [under the sentence] of [God’s] wrath, just like the rest [of mankind]. (We had the animal impulses to desire more and more, and buy more and more, never satisfied, without contentment.)

 

⁴ But God, being [so very] rich in mercy, because of His great and wonderful love with which He loved us, 

 

⁵  Even when we were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of our sins, He made us [spiritually] alive together with Christ (for by His grace—His undeserved favor and mercy—you have been saved from God’s judgment). 

 

 

As the world celebrates a time of fun and festivities during Halloween, dressed in costumes that may reflect death and darkness, we celebrate a time of life and light because of the victory our Lord Jesus Christ secured for us in Himself. Originally, Halloween was a day set aside to celebrate the saints of old who served their Lord with a myriad of sacrifices. The day was called “Hallow’s Eve or Hallow’s Day.” The enemy of our soul is always counterfeiting anything and everything sacred and holy, then changing it to bring glory and honor to himself.

 

Secondly, the day of Halloween is to remind us of what death felt like before we gave our hearts to the Lord.

 

• Darkness is the absence of Light. Darkness is fear, worry, anxiety, hate, bigotry, lusting after everything our eyes want, having an appetite for stuff but never satisfied.
• It is having a deep hunger and thirst for something or someone but never filled.
• It is feeling lost, confused, having yearnings and longings, but don’t know how to change them.
• It is climbing the ladder of success but realizing there is no top and there is no end.
• It is stumbling around in life not knowing where you are going, and when you finally think things are good, the bottom falls out.
• It is having no HOPE; cut off from the GIVER OF LIFE.
• It is having questions but there are no lasting answers.
• It is sensing an emptiness deep inside and no matter what you do, you can’t seem to fill it.
• It is performing, doing, creating things to make us feel good enough, but never succeeding.
• Finally, it is a longing for LOVE, PURE UNCONDITIONAL LOVE!

 

Finally, Halloween can remind us how we searched high and low for relief, but the world of darkness couldn’t quench the hunger or thirst our soul longed for. Neither could it eliminate all the emotional stresses and pain the soul felt. Ephesians 2:5 reminded us, “While we were sinners, sinning, having fun for a season, Jesus, Our Lord died on the cross before we got here.”  WE WERE BORN DEAD! We were the WALKING DEAD! Now, that we are Born-again, WE HAVE BEEN MADE ALIVE IN CHRIST! Even though we live in this world and have some of the same experiences, the world has; we have hope and assurance In Christ, within us. He walks through the darkness with and IN us. We are NEVER ALONE IN OUR CIRCUMSTANCES! When we turn our eyes and hearts to Him, we experience His Life and His Light.

 

• Light is the absence of Darkness. Light is peace, rest, trust, love, contentment.
• It is experiencing fullness and completeness, no wants or needs.
• It is knowing we are found! The Father, the Lord, and the Holy Spirit have US, We are GOOD!
• It is no longer striving to BE, no longer striving to GET, no longer striving to BE KNOWN.
• It is KNOWING WHO WE ARE and WHOSE WE ARE FOREVER.
• It is UNION with LOVE and the GIVER of ALL LIFE.
• It is KNOWING HIM, the “All-Wise God, FULL of Wisdom and Purpose.”
• It is being completely FULL, no longer Longing for anything, all of our taste buds have been satisfied In Christ.
• It is resting and abiding daily in our Papa’s arms, KNOWING HE IS IN CONTROL OF ALL THINGS. Worry or fear can’t live in this place IN HIM.
• It is forever KNOWING YOU ARE LOVED AND HIS LOVE WILL NEVER CHANGE, NO MATTER WHAT!

 

This Halloween, don’t forget that we once were THE WALKING DEAD, but now we have been MADE ALIVE IN CHRIST! May His Light and Life shine forth in the darkness all around us.

 

Prayer: Thank you, Lord Jesus, for I once was darkness following the dictates of Satan as he rules the minds and passions of those who don’t know you, intimately. I choose daily, to allow you to rule my thoughts and plans for our life, because in the end… I can have everything the ‘flesh’ desires and wants now, but miss out on your life and purposes you had in mind for my life. In the end, I wasted your precious blood and life instead of allowing you to fulfill your purposes in me. AMEN