Halloween: Obstacle or Opportunity

October 25, 2015
Obstacle or Opportunity   NOTES NOT EDITED
Romans 14:1-12

SIS: This particular holiday offers the perfect backdrop to display the Light of Christ’s love to the world!

Each year about this time a question surfaces in regard to Christians and the Halloween holiday.  Since I am pretty sure most of you have forgotten what I said over a year ago, perhaps it will be helpful to hear it again—or, maybe not.  I’ll let you decide.

As dark and sinister as this holiday is with all the references to

witches, goblins, ghosts, and gore, it is actually one of the most holy days of the church.  About 1200 years ago (835 AD) the RCC declared November 1^st to be a holiday to honor all the unnamed saints in the church.  It was called, All Saints Day.  October 31^st, the eve before All Saints Day was called “All Hallow’s (Holies) Eve.”  It was shortened to hallow’s e’en – hence, Halloween.  So, the word itself is associated with something good, not something evil.  So, is it OK for a Christian to participate in Halloween?

Let me begin with a short history of this holiday that is celebrated by

thousands of children all over the world.  There is ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT that this holiday was originally part of something evil and satanic – more correctly, pagan.  October 31^st is the last day of the pagan year.  November 1^st is a day set aside by pagans (nature worshippers) in Ireland and Scotland to honor the god, Samhain (sawan).  Samhain was the “god of the dead” (the Grim Reaper).  Druids who were the priests in this pagan religion served Samhain as a god.  It was a Druid belief that on the eve of the new year that all manner of evil spirits (ghosts, goblins, feeries, witches and elves) came out to harm people.  People would dress up as these spirits so that the spirits would be tricked into thinking they were one of them and would not harm them.  To appease these spirits you would have to leave food (treats) on the doorstep.  There is absolutely no doubt that this ancient, pre-Christian celebration is evil and celebrates evil.

About 325 AD.  as a matter of policy, Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity – he in fact declared all people of the kingdom to be Christians.  This meant that all manner of evil crept into the church as these new “christians” (little “c”) entered the church but kept there pagan practices.  It created a lot of trouble for the church.  Especially, the worship of Samhain and the Druids.

To counter these pagan practices the church instituted their own holidays to coincide with the pagan holidays.  It was hoped that this would deter Christians from participating in the pagan celebrations.  This is how the church approached three major pagan holidays– Christmas, Easter, and Halloween.  The pagan counterparts for Christmas and Easter were overshadowed by the Christian celebrations and they drifted into the dust of history.  All Saints Day was not as successful and many of the pagan influences of October 31^st remain to this day. 

Halloween is here to stay.  It was brought to our country by Scotch/Irish immigrants and has been celebrated since about the early 1800's.  The Irish sometimes call it I “Pooky Night,” because one of the mischievous spirits making the rounds on this evening was called “pookah.”  So, what is a Christian supposed to do about this day of the year?  Is Halloween and “obstacle to faith,” or an “opportunity for evangelism.”  I think that the Apostle Paul has some words of wisdom that may be helpful for us today.  Stand with me as we read from Romans 14:1-12:

As you decide how you will deal with this holiday—because holiness is a personal issue in this regard-- there are three considerations you should keep in mind:

1.  Consider the OBSTACLE Halloween poses (vv 1-7)

Halloween does pose serious questions concerning matters of conscience.

14 Accept  anyone who is weak in faith,  ^a but don’t argue about doubtful issues. ² One person believes he may eat anything,  but one who is weak eats only vegetables. ³ One who eats must not look down on one who does not eat,  and one who does not eat must not criticize one who does,  because God has accepted him.  ⁴ Who are you to criticize  another’s household slave? Before his own Lord he stands or falls. And he will stand. For the Lord is able  to make him stand. ⁵ One person considers one day to be above another day.  Someone else considers every day to be the same. Each one must be fully convinced in his own mind.  ⁶ Whoever observes the day, observes it for the honor of the Lord.  Whoever eats, eats for the Lord, since he gives thanks to God;  and whoever does not eat, it is for the Lord that he does not eat it, yet he thanks God. ⁷ For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.

In some matters of faith, there are no definitive answers (“doubtful issues,” v1).  I think this is true in regard to the matter of Halloween.  I read several sermons and articles on this matter in preparation for this sermon.  The majority, I must say, were very much against any participation in the activities of Halloween at all.  One writer said, “To me it makes no more sense for a Christian to participate in Halloween as it would be for a Russia to celebrate the 4^th of July.”  I think it is very clear why someone would say this about Halloween.

It is ABSOLUTELY A PAGAN celebration that predates Christianity.  It is definitely a time of year that is overrun with evil themes.  Horror films will clutter the airways and blood, guts and gore will be a major theme in many costumes. 

Halloween is rooted in pagan, satanic rituals.  Of that there is no doubt. So, it would seem to be a slam-dunk as far as answering the question: “Should a Christian celebrate Halloween?” 

The answer is a resounding: NO, or is it a resounding YES? It is a “matter of conscience” according to Romans 14.  How we regard

this day is up to each individual family.  There is Scriptural support for having nothing at all to do with this day.  There is Scriptural support that justifies “locking the door, turning out the lights and refusing to answer the door-bell.”  This is absolutely a justifiable position in regard to a day so clearly associated with pagan worship.  The Bible says,

“Avoid every kind of evil.”  (1Thess. 5:22).   Eph. 5:11 says, “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather, expose them.”

There are many other Scripture passages that would justify the position that a Christian should have nothing at all to do with Halloween.  The evil associated with Halloween poses an OBSTACLE that could justifiably prohibit any Christian from participating in any way.  But, is there also Scripture that would suggest ways in which a Christian could participate in this holiday – or perhaps Scriptures that suggest a Christian SHOULD participate in this holiday in some way that is redemptive in nature?  I think this is another CONSIDERATION Christians face in regard to Halloween:

2.  Consider the OPPORTUNITY

We can be light in the darkness.  The theme of this message is simply this: Halloween offers the perfect backdrop against which we as Christians can display the Light of Christ’s love.

Have you ever noticed how a jeweler displays his fine, expensive

wares?  Most often, fine jewelry like diamonds and precious gems, will be displayed on black velvet.  The black backdrop accentuates the shining brilliance of a diamond or fine piece of jewelry.  The darker the backdrop, the brighter the piece of jewelry shines.

I think a Christian can look at Halloween as just such an opportunity.

Against all the blackness of the celebration, the Light or Christ will shine even brighter.  This is something I think we as Christians in the 21^st century must consider.

In fact, this type of “cultural engagement” is exactly what Paul

has in mind.  Look again at verse 1.  Literally it reads:

Accept  anyone who is weak in faith,  ^a but don’t argue about doubtful issues.

In modern translations like the NIV, the train of Paul’s thought is

somewhat obscured.  What we call chapter 14, is actually an extension of Paul’s thought in the preceding chapter, verses 11-15.  What has been designated as 14:1 begins with a small, yet important, word.  That is the conjunction, “de,” or in English, “but,” or “therefore.”  Paul is describing in chapter 13:11-15 how we should “engage” the darkness of our culture.  Look at those verses:

¹¹ Besides this, knowing the time, it is already the hour  for you  to wake up from sleep,  for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.  ¹² The night is nearly over, and the daylight is near,  so let us discard the deeds of darkness  and put on the armor of light.  ¹³ Let us walk with decency,  as in the daylight: not in carousing and drunkenness;  not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy. ¹⁴ But put on the Lord Jesus Christ,  and make no plans to satisfy the fleshly desires.

Paul is instructing the Church to be forceful (put on armor) and engage the darkness in the culture around us.  The darkness, though it presents some danger, is the perfect backdrop against which a Christian can and should display the light of Christ.  In Chapter 14, Paul is giving us the freedom to engage the darkness of our culture, rather than seek to escape from it. 

What Paul is teaching, I think, is this: rather than run from the darkness all around us, like Halloween, we should put on the armor of light,and bring the gospel into our communities.  Paul dismisses disputes over the reason for the darkness, but rather dispatches the church into that darkness as “warriors of light wearing the armor of Christ.”   Cursing the darkness is no solution to the darkness–
lighting a candle is.  Keep your finger here in Romans and join me in a few other Scriptures that speak about letting our faith shine in a dark world.

Mt. 5:16  In the same way, let your light shine  before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

Eph. 5:8   For you were once darkness, but now you are light  in the Lord. Walk as children of light

2 Cor 4:6  For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God’s glory  in the face of Jesus Christ.

The Christians of Paul’s day knew what it meant to live in the midst

of all kinds of pagan darkness.  Rome was well-known for its excesses and its tolerance for almost any religious practice in the world.  The meat sold in most markets in Paul’s day were first used as sacrifices to idols.  Paul’s instructions come against the black backdrop of paganism – not that much different with what we see at Halloween, today.

Halloween is proof positive that our world needs light!  Halloween does not need to be an OBSTACLE to sharing our faith but may be a great OPPORTUNITY for sharing our faith.  This brings me to my third consideration:

3.  Consider the OBJECTIVE of participating in Halloween (7-8)

⁷ For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.  ⁸ If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

We must concentrate on the WAY we participate, not the DAY.

In the matter of Halloween, as in living the Christian life in
general it is all about our OBJECTIVE – that is, our PURPOSE.  We
should live our lives in such a way as to demonstrate without question that we are “children of Light;” servants of the Most High God.

Verse 6 talks about some who eat meat and some who don’t. Verse 6 talks about some who regard one day as the right day of worship and some who regard another day.  Paul was probably talking about the various “feast days” that Jews observed, but that Gentiles did not.  Paul’s admonishment to them on these NON-essential matters applies also for us in our day in regard to how we treat Halloween. Paul does not say which group is right.  What Paul emphasizes is not the DAY, but the WAY that a person worships.  Paul talks about PURPOSE.

Our purpose or objective should be to “honor God in all we do.”  As

Paul says, “if we live, we should live to the Lord and if we die we should die to the Lord.”  IT’S ALL ABOUT HIM – NOT US! 

Our whole purpose in life – whether at Halloween or any other day – should be to point out to as many people as we can that there is a judgement coming.  The ghosts, goblins, witches, and gore that seems so innocent at Halloween points to the reality of what awaits someone who dies without accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  We should use Halloween (and every other day) as an opportunity to warn others of the judgement to come.  That is our “objective.”  Look at verse 11:

¹¹ For it is written: As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to Me, and every tongue will give praise to God.

The Christian’s objective at Halloween should be to help others

prepare for the coming judgment.  Rather than “lock our doors, turn out the lights, and ignore the children ringing our door-bell,” we should seek to use this day as an OPPORTUNITY to be “light in the darkness.”  With that objective in mind let me give you some suggestions on how to BE LIGHT AT HALLOWEEN TIME.

1.  First and foremost, have nothing whatsoever to do with anything that promotes evil or the occult (things involving witchcraft, etc.)

2.  As you put candy in the bags of children, also put in some information about our church.  We have some flyers printed up that you can take with you today and use tomorrow.

3.  Dress your children in Biblical costumes.  Get them to tell their friends why they don’t dress in costumes with “evil” themes.

4.  Play Christian music really loud and decorate your home with       Christian themes

5.  Get a pumpkin and carve a “cross” in it.  The candle can represent      Jesus as Light of the World.

6.  Most importantly: PRAY!  Use this as a time to offer special prayers against the evils of our community: drugs, alcohol, etc. Pray for each home you visit. Be ready to give a witness to your faith.

7.  Be creative and come up with more ideas.

I hope you will take these considerations and do what you feel in your own heart will bring glory to God.  Halloween is not going to go away.  As Christians, we must address the issues.  The evil that is “up front” at Halloween is very real.  The darkness in our world is very real.  We need to share our light.

One of the pagan traditions as I mentioned earlier was to dress up

like one of the evil spirits so that they would not recognize you and harm you.  I see too many church folk that are doing that today.  They are talking like the devil, partying like the devil, and wearing a Christian costume to church once per week thinking that they are going to fool God.

God will not be fooled.  If the Light of Jesus Christ is not burning in

your heart through the Holy Spirit, then you can expect to spend all of eternity celebrating Halloween – only, you will be on the “trick” side, not the “treat” side.  If you die without accepting Jesus Christ, you will not escape judgement – you WILL spend eternity in the abode of demons – the place the Bible calls hell.

You can escape that fate by accepting Jesus Christ today. Don’t spend eternity in a Halloween nightmare. Come to the light – so you can share the Light.

Halloween presents us with either an obstacle,

or and opportunity – faith makes the difference.

<<>> 

Tower Builders

October 18, 2015

Tower Builders    NOTES NOT EDITED

Luke 14:25-33

SIS:  Following Jesus Christ will cost you everything you are and everything you have.

From the beginning of time mankind has been building towers.  The first tower builders mentioned in the Bible are those building the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:4):

Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.

Tower building has always been a mark of man's ingenuity and perceived self-autonomy.  They are testaments in stone and steel of man's greatness.

People have been building towers for thousands of years. These have served many functions, as watchtowers, fortifications, temples, lighthouses, victory monuments, clock towers, minarets and cathedral spires. A tower can be an expression of religious devotion (minarets and spires), of power (the Tower of London) or of national pride (the Eiffel Tower). The one aim that all tower-builders share is the desire to impress, to create a sense of wonder.

So, what are we to make of this passage and all the talk about tower building?  One way to begin to get a handle on what Jesus is saying is to pay attention to the scene described in verse 1:

"Now a great multitude went with him."

This is a common scene throughout the narrative of Jesus' life -- crowds were always around Him.  Something about the Person of Jesus was magnetic.  But, Jesus is going to "thin" out the crowd with what He is about to say.  He is going to say to those casual observers -- those on-the-fringe watchers; those, fair-weather followers --

"Following me is going to cost you everything you are and everything you have."

Building a great tower or skyscraper or any edifice of any size takes both planning and resources.  Building a tower will cost you something.  So it is with following Jesus -- it will cost you something:  everything.  Jesus did NOT say, “Don’t be a Tower Builder.”  What he did say was, make sure you are willing to pay what it will cost.

1.  For starters, it will cost you your
            PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS (26)

If anyone comes to Me  and does not hate  his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, and even his own life—he cannot be My disciple.

Most preachers like to preach about the love of Jesus and His unifying power.  That is certainly part of the narrative of Jesus' life--and important part.  But it is not the whole of the matter.

Christianity also divides, as well as unites.  It requires a conscious decision to align oneself unilaterally and unequivocally with Jesus Christ alone.  Choosing to associate with Christ is at one and the same time choosing to disassociate with others.

Verse 26 is what we call in literature a "hyperbole."  It is an exaggerated statement intended to make a significant and strong point on a matter.  a  as boys my brother and I loved to play with sticks.  Sometimes they would be rifles.  Sometimes they would be spears.  My Mom would see us playing with these sticks and she would say:  "Jackie. Timmie. Put those sticks down.  You're going to poke someone's eye out."  Now, we were generally obedient boys so we would toss away our sticks and go do something else, probably just as equally damaging to some body part or the other.

But, in all the years I lived at home--until I was 18-- and with all the sticks we boys in the neighborhood played with, I don't know of one eye ever getting poked out.  My Mom was just using hyperbole to make the point that we should be careful.

Jesus uses hyperbole to describe the kind of relationship we should have with Him:  vs 26

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.

What Jesus is saying is this:  following me will cost you in personal relationships.  It will determine who you can be a close friend and hang out with and who you can't.  Following Jesus will determine who you can marry and who you can't.

The Bible says, "Do not be deceived.  Bad company corrupts good behavior." (1Cor. 15:33).  Paul admonishes believers, in regard to having intimate relationships with non-believers,  “Therefore, come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord” (2Cor. 6:17).

When we are believers, we can and should have non-believing friends, but we should never let our friendship with any other person interfere with our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.   Usually, persons who are not believers will probably not be good candidates for close friends because they will grow weary of our witness and choose to disassociate from us.  In some cultures, families will consider you "dead" if you become a believer.  Or, even worse, they will seek to kill you for becoming a believer if you don't recant as we see happening so often in the Middle East and other nations.

By far, out of the five kids in our family, I was the academic one.  I'm the only one to have finished a four year degree, not to mention a post-graduate degree.  My Mom and Dad had hoped I would become a Medical Doctor.  They viewed that as one of the highest levels of success one could achieve in life -- and certainly it is one of the highest.  However, I don't do well around sick people.  I have a nasty habit of fainting. So that was out.

Still, that left being a lawyer, so my Mom and Dad still had hopes of getting one professional out of five.  One day, while still in the Navy, I called my Mom and gave her the good news -- "I feel God is calling me to be a preacher!"   My Mom had always supported me 110%, so I was a little surprised when she -- in almost a fainting voice said:  "Why in the world would you want to be a preacher?"  Eventually, Mom got used to the idea and in typical "mom style" became my greatest supporter.  She often compared Billy Graham to me -- and not the other way around.

Choosing Jesus is to say, "All my relationships in this world must come second to Him -- everyone of them!  Jesus turned to the crowd and said:

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.

He was saying, "Following me will require that you surrender even your personal relationships to me.  Noone can be more important to you than I am.

2.  Second, following Jesus will cost your
            PERSONAL PLANS in life. (27)

Whoever does not bear his own cross 
and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

The most powerful words in this passage come from this verse, “come after me.”  While this is an accurate literal translation, the construction usually means simply, “follow me.”  Everybody follows some plan—that is, something or somebody. Some people entertain the myth that they are following nobody but themselves.  That is a delusion because if one’s self is not controlled by Christ, it is controlled by the Devil—and his plan.  We don’t control anything. 

By the year 1979, Bob Dylan had become a rock and roll legend. That year Dylan professed faith in Jesus Christ and the rock world was, well “rocked.”  Rock and rollers were known for hard drinking and harder living.  One commentator analyzed Dylan’s conversion like this:   “Nothing guarantees more scorn in rock 'n' roll circles than a man who gets religion. I mean, we pay these guys to visit hell and bring us back colour slides and here they go slipping off to heaven. It's a severe breach of contract” (Steve Turner). During his West Coast tour following his conversion, Dylan refused to play his pre-Christian standards like, “Blowing in the Wind,” that became an anthem for the anti-war movement of the 60’s.  Yet, Dylan realized that he had not been in control of his life:  drugs, sex, and rock and roll had left a void that the great ballads could not fill.  Dylan knew he needed a better plan for his life.  Out of that struggle came one of his most beloved gospel songs—delivered as only Bob Dylan could deliver it.  The song was titled, “You Gotta Serve Somebody.”  The course serves up these words of wisdom:

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed

You're gonna have to serve somebody,

It may be the devil or it may be the Lord

But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

It may have more impact if you hear Dylan express it himself. [VIDEO: 6:31]

There are only two sets of plans for your life—two, no more and no less.  The plan God has for you, Jeremiah mentions to God’s people on the eve of a dark and uncertain time in the nation’s history:

^{Jer. 29:11} For I know the plans I have for you” —this is the Lord’s declaration—“plans for your welfare, not for disaster,

to give you a future and a hope.

This is God’s plan—health, hope, and victory.  Then, there is the plan the Devil has for your life—a plan steeped in despair and consummating in eternal destruction.  The Devil cares not if you think you are the “captain of your own ship.”  He will gladly let you play at the helm.  The Devil knows that without Jesus in your life, he has full power to set the compass and control the rudder.  Self-control is an allusion.  Self cannot be controlled.  It must be surrendered.  We see the Devil’s plan at work in Judas (Lk. 22:3).  Judas had a plan.  He made some serious money but the Bible describes the end of the Devil’s plan for Judas in Mt. 27:5: “He went and hanged himself.”  After a number of days hanging dead from an isolated tree Acts 1:18 tells us:  “He fell headfirst and burst open in the middle, and all his insides spilled out.” And, so it will always be with the Devil’s plan, when we give into our self, and not Our Savior.

No wise person builds without a plan, and none of us live without a plan.  We are either living according to the Devil’s plan--building the tower we want--or we are living by God's plan and building the tower He wants.  The Devil’s towers will always crash and burn.  The towers built according to God’s plans will rise up and up until it touches heaven’s glory.  You need to abandon your plans, which are really the Devil’s plans, and begin living, working, and building according to the Kingdom’s plan:  “building on earth as it has already been built in heaven” to paraphrase the Lord’s Prayer.

3.  Third, following Jesus will cost your
            PERSONAL PLEASURES in life.

Read verse 27 very carefully:  Whoever does not bear his own cross  and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

Notice the word, “bear.”  Scholars do not completely understand the “meaning of this word.  In other contexts is means “to lift up.”  Other places it means to “take upon oneself” as a load or burden.  The context in this verse seems to imply something much deeper than simply “carrying a burden.” The word can also refer to a “mark” or “seal” identifying one with a leader or group.  One Greek source states this about the word translated, “bear”:  carrying is an exertion of power and thus includes an exercise and application of will.

The key issue here seems to be to “make a difficult choice to follow a risky path or undertake an arduous task.”  The word, “cross,” supports this definition of the word “bear.”  The object we are to bear is an instrument of death—death by the most indescribable and painful means.

Crucifixion was a particularly nasty way to dispatch criminals or other enemies of the State.  It not only was a very painful process often involving driving nine-inch nails through the wrists and feet, but it was a particularly “shameful” way to die.  Crosses dotted the roads and byways so those passing by could contribute words of contempt and disgust to the criminals’ days of agony upon the cross.

The cross could be seen for the antonym (or opposite) of pleasure.  So, “to bear one’s cross” means “to willfully embrace pain, scorn, shame, and even death in order to identify with Jesus Christ.”

Please understand that choosing pain over pleasure is something that everything in our nature rebels against.  Man’s first sin, in fact, involved “seeking pleasure.”  Genesis 3:6 tells us:

Then the woman saw that the tree was
good for food and delightful to look at.

Oh, yes, there is “pleasure in sin” to be sure; but such pleasure will be short-lived and the pain sin brings will last much longer.  The Proverbial Poet reminds us:  “Stolen bread tastes sweet, but it turns to gravel in the mouth” (Prv. 20:17, NLT).  A few verses later, Solomon the Wise will point out,  “The one who loves pleasure will become a poor man” (Prv. 21:17).  Men pursue pleasure as one of life’s most highly valued treasures.  The pursuit of pleasure can become an idol in a person’s life.

This worship of pleasure is a major reason why men like Joel Olsteen and other prosperity preachers are adored by the masses, while the masses have long forgotten preachers like William Booth. Booth, who established the Salvation Army against great opposition in order to reach people detested and discarded by society, said over 100 years ago:

“The chief danger that confronts the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, heaven without hell.” Booth pretty much hit the proverbial nail on the head in forecasting our present state of affairs.

We see this version of Christianity throughout the Western world today:  “a Christless, crossless, powerless Christianity.”  Tower Builders must count the cost and a great deal of that cost involves giving up the pursuit of “personal pleasures.”  This is not a “popular” message, but it is a “powerful” message.

Jesus had advice for those who might want to become “Tower Builders.”  It will cost you much.  It will cost you personal relationships.  It will cost you your personal plans.  It will cost you personal pleasures.  In reality . . . it will cost you EVERYTHING!

Tower Building is a costly, risky pursuit.  But, nothing is quite so fulfilling as being a part of building something remarkable—especially something eternal.

Many, many years ago I visited San Francisco for the first time.  Remember, I grew up in rural West Virginia.  The tallest buildings in town were three stories.  I remember riding the “Bart Train” from Oakland, under the San Francisco Bay (no real challenge for a former submariner).  I remember emerging from the San Francisco underworld, ascending up the stairs into the heart of San Francisco.  My little hillbilly eyes could not comprehend what they were seeing. Concrete and steel giants stood like royal sentries guarding the city.  I felt the same awe as that other Jack must have felt when he saw that beanstalk disappearing into the clouds.  There is something majestic about tall towers—something overwhelming, and yet inviting.

Jesus did not say, “Don’t be tower builders.”  What He did say was, “Be sure to count the cost of building a tower.”  As I write these words, my eyes begin to tear up.  I want so much to leave behind a “tower of faith” built in devotion to a Lord who has given me so much.  What could we build here in our lives today—in our families, in our churches, in our communities—if we were willing to pay the cost of “tower building?”  I believe God will visit upon us with His power and glory if we will surrender to Him our “personal relationships, our personal plans, and our personal pleasures.”  Building Towers will not be cheap.  It will not be easy.  It will be glorious.  Count the cost.  Build a tower.