Happy All Hallowa’ Eve

Some of you may ask what is All Hallowa’ Eve? It is All Saints Eve which is celebrated on October 31st.

As a family, we do not celebrate Halloween. We don’t care for the customs, candy, or connection to evil spirits. I, Claudia, grew up in the United Methodist church. All Saints Day is celebrated and revolves around “giving God solemn thanks for the lives and deaths of his saints, including those who are famous or obscure.”

Who are Saints?

In the New Testament, the word saint or saints is used 60 times. Saints are all who believe God and have placed their trust in Him. So, if you are a follower of Jesus than you are a saint whether you are famous or obscure. Hebrews 11 has a list of some of those who by faith believed and followed: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets. Then unnamed persons who “conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.” Then those who were tortured, suffered mocking and flogging, chains, imprisonment, stoned, sawn in two, killed with the sword, destitute, afflicted, mistreated, and wandering about in the deserts and mountains.

The last few weeks I have been looking at the saints that God sent into the wilderness for a time.

• Abram descendants 400 years in Egypt as slaves Genesis 15:13
• Joseph cast off by his brothers and 24 years passed before being reunited with his father Genesis 37-45
• Moses tending sheep in wilderness of Midian 40 years Exodus 2-4
• People of Israel wander in the wilderness 40 years Book of Exodus
• David flees into the wilderness from King Saul 5 years 1 Samuel 24-27
• Israelites exiled to Babylon for 70 years Jeremiah 29:10
• Job personal testing for months probably less than a year Job 7:3 & Job 29:2
• John the Baptist desert dweller his adulthood life Luke 3
• Jesus in the wilderness 40 days Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13
• Paul in Arabia 3 years Galatians 1:15-21, Galatians 4:25

The last 10 months has been a wilderness for us. As I looked over this list, I noticed that most of them were in their wilderness for years. Only Jesus was in the wilderness for days. Only Job was in his wilderness for months. Each wilderness experience served a purpose in God’s eyes.

God allows us all to go through valleys, deserts, wildernesses in our lives. It is by faith that we chose to continue to follow when the road gets hard. All of you who have been following our faith journey and praying for us are SAINTS in our book. We have not overlooked you and want to thank you!!!

Hebrews 6:10 says, “For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.”

Happy All Saints Day!!!