Lately, we've been walking our way through a series I'm calling, "The Lord of the Spiritual Things", delving into what the Bible has to say about spiritual phenomenons and the paranormal. Obviously, we're jumping off of the theme of "The Lord of the Rings", the incredibly popular book and movie series.

I'm not a huge "Rings" fan myself, but my boys are; one of them in particular. He loves to watch the battle scenes, sometimes doing so literally over and over again. Both of my boys admire the heroes of the stories, Aragorn and Legolas.

Without a doubt, there is something in our culture that is fascinated by the power that can be had in realms unknown to us. I don't mean to sound "Twilight Zone"-like, but am just making an observation with many years of experience in Youth Ministry, culture-watching, Adult Ministry, and spiritual perception.

Maybe I think about this more than others do because what I do as a Pastor is so deeply entrenched in looking for and being perceptive to what is happening at any given time in the unseen spiritual realm. At the same time, I have always tried to keep an eye on how the spiritual realm impacts the physical and vice-versa, never being one too keen on "being so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good."

I just know from experience and observation that something in us spins a differently when we contemplate the possibility of "other-worldly" power that may be within our reach. Whether it's the fantasy/analogy of a story like "The Lord of the Rings", a penchant for "Twilight Zone" marathons, a fascination with seemingly harmless (to some) dabbling in things like oujia boards, or an obsession with just having to know what the future holds, we have a want for power.

It is in many cases, I believe, a desire for things that don't belong to us. Now, hear me please, I love a good mystery just like anyone else does. I am not talking about a good novel enjoyed by the dim light of a candle or a "whodunit" thriller complete with popcorn. What I am really addressing, here and in our series, is the over-interest our culture has with things that just don't belong to us.

Deuteronomy 29:29 says, "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law."

God is saying that there are things that we will never know ... that's what "secret" means, right? Those thing belong to the Lord; always have, always will. There ARE things that He chooses to reveal to us, and as He reveals them, they then belong to us and to our children forever.

Friends, catch with me WHY He reveals the things that He does .... "that we may follow all the words of this law." Apparently, the things we will never know or never have answers to are not pertinent to God's desire for us, or our ability, to walk this life out in relationship with Jesus.

We're continuing our series throughout October, obviously leading up to "Halloween". This year, we are going to address where "Halloween" comes from, what the Bible has to say about celebrating such things, and why it is that we as a church, offer an alternative event that we call "Harvest Festival". I really want to encourage you to be with us throughout the series.

Speaking earlier of heroes, this year's Harvest Festival will be full of them! We're using the theme of "Heroes Unmasked", and inviting all to come discover who the real heroes are and to meet them personally.

On a "physical" note, we are always looking for LOTS of candy and LOTS of volunteers to make Harvest Festival happen. Join the fun this year in both ways!