“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 15:57
It’s no wonder the devil tries to get glory for the very day God Himself has ordained “set-apart” for Himself. This day, October 31, is a day when the Lord chose a man by the name of Martin Luther to bring about a divine reformation in the church and the saving of countless lives by encountering the true gospel.
Today is not the devil’s day. Today is the anniversary of the rediscovery of the doctrine of justification by faith – that is, salvation by grace alone (Gal. 2:21) through faith alone in Christ alone.
And it was nothing other than Luther’s own personal hell (sin-consciousness and condemnation) that brought him to the end of himself (religion) and face to face with Jesus (Grace Himself) when he was given the revelation that it was not about what he did for God (his righteousness/works) but what Jesus did as and for him (Jesus’ righteousness/His Finished work on the cross) given to him as a gift through simply believing-faith.
“This gospel unveils a continual revelation of God’s righteousness—a perfect righteousness given to us when we believe. And it moves us from receiving life through faith, to the power of living by faith. This is what the Scripture means when it says: “We are right with God through life-giving faith!””
Romans 1:17 TPT
He nailed 95 convictions (theses) debating the religious hypocrisy of man-made rules on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517… to protect and defend the gospel truth of salvation through faith in Christ alone.
And when the church of his time wanted no one to have access to the Word of God and indeed fought for Luther’s death, the Lord used that as an open door for Luther to later release a radical new translation of the Bible leading to a radical gospel revolution.
So when I get asked why I don’t celebrate Halloween, I cannot keep quiet in proclaiming how my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ suffered incomprehensibly my death; the very death that gets glorified on this day.
I cannot keep quiet in declaring that the Lover of my soul, and yours, went through His own hell going into hell Himself to set me free from the chains of death to give me resurrection and eternal life!
October 31 is a day, NOT of gloom and terror, but another glorious day of Victory over shame and guilt, Light over darkness, Love over fear, Freedom over bondage and Life over death!
And on behalf of my Father and in the name of my Jesus, I take back this day as His reward for the kingdom of God where His radical love forever pursues you, His child, in the midst of your darkness!
By His resurrection Christ won the victory over law, sin, flesh, world, devil, death, hell, and every evil. And this His victory He donated unto us. These many tyrants and eneumies of ours may accuse and frighten us, but they dare not condemn us, for Christ, whom God the Father has raised from the dead is our righteousness and our victory.
-Martin Luther
Beloved, this is the day the Lord has made for you to live life abundant in His unconditional love and favor! So come as you are and receive the Victory and Intimacy He paid for you to live in!
Resting In His Love,
Annalee Reyes