Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
Revelation 14:12 ESV

Growing up I always wondered why we celebrated such a scary holiday as Halloween and then it was followed by a religious holiday such as All Saint’s Day. The two are tied together because Halloween also known as All Hallows Eve or All Saints Eve.

It begins the time of Allhallowtide which is the time of the liturgical year to remember the dead, including saints, martyrs and all the departed.

It has turned into a time of partying and behaving like anything but saints for some. As I said yesterday, there is no problem with kids getting candy and dressing in cool costumes, but it gets a little twisted when you turn a holiday that marks the beginning of a religious holiday into something pagan.

Halloween is said to have pagan roots, but that will be another discussion for another day. Today I want to talk about the day that follows which is All Saints Day.

Some churches will be celebrating All Saints Day today. When we think of Saints (not the football team) we may think of those honored by the Catholic church. It’s important to keep in mind, however, that the term saints as used in the Bible is as our Scripture passage says. It is all those who keep the commandments of God and their faith Jesus Christ.

There are numerous other Scripture passages that speak of the saints and the prayers of the saints. I don’t have time to list them all, but you can go to Openbible.info and type saints in the topical search and you will see for yourself.

It refers to us mere mortals that strive each and every day to obey God’s commandments and keep our faith in Jesus. It doesn’t mean we’re perfect. It means we are doing the best we can. It means we are trying our best to be a shining light for the lost in this world.

While many religions consider this a time to remember the dead and those who have gone before us, I encourage you to pay careful attention to how you live. Some pray for the dead, but the Bible tells us to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

Once someone dies their soul departs. The Bible doesn’t mention any kind of waiting room, it simply says in 2 Corinthians 5:8 to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. I don’t profess to be an expert in this area, but I do know there is no need to pray for the dead.

The deceased who have left to be with the Lord are in a much better place than we are, and they no longer need our prayers. For those whose fate was not so good, there is no praying them out of that situation.

There is certainly nothing wrong with honoring our deceased. Some like to visit gravesites and adorn them with flowers and there is nothing wrong with that. We pay our respects at memorial services. We suffer a great loss when we lose someone dear to us, and we think about them often. We don’t need a holiday to remind us to remember them.

It’s fine to remember them during this time. For those we believe are in heaven with the Lord, we need to do our best to be sure to get up there to be with them again.

As we go through this day, we should strive to be a saint. We should strive to obey God’s commands and keep our faith in Jesus Christ even through the difficult times. We know we will go through hard times. We also know what awaits us in heaven. This makes enduring any hardships we face on earth worth it.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve decided I want to go to heaven to be counted among the saints up there. I can’t wait to see all the splendor and most importantly my Lord and Savior. I definitely want to be in that number when the saints go marching in.

As you celebrate the saints that have gone before us today, do your best to be sure you will be counted as one of them.

Have a great day!