The Importance of Consecration

Consecration is the act of making something sacred; to set something apart from the norm. The closer we are to Christ’s return, the more extreme Christian consecration has to be. And it could even be things that aren’t sins that we have to get rid of now, and we can’t be worried about people calling us legalist overly religious Christians. Why? Three reasons: One, the closer Christ’s return is, the heavier Satan is twisting the reality of spirituality. Two, on behalf of that, the craftier he is getting with his lies. And three, on behalf of both, the more “harmless” actions are becoming so associated with darkness, Christians cannot partake in them anymore. And one of the highest lies he’s gotten away with in the Christian community is the softness of our consecration in how we view it. And for those of us who are disciplined and hardcore with it, we’re labeled legalist and religious and even Pharisees, and I’m not even denying those people. But there are some of us, we do exist, that the Holy Spirit told us to do these things, not out of legalism, but because the world’s mentality on spirituality has deviated from truth and light so far, that we have no choice but to adapt to it in order to make a difference. And unfortunately, that means letting go of certain practices that were harmless once upon a time, but not anymore. I’ll give you an example: Pumpkin carving during the Fall season.

I know, right? That’s so random! It’s not even—what??? Nobody understand it when I tell them that the Holy Spirit Himself told my family to stop carving pumpkins in the fall, and it’s not because we were doing anything wrong. So, a little background; we were raised in a very strict Christian household, and I don’t mean religious trauma or abuse or anything like that. Our house was a Christian house of genuine authenticity, love, and respect, and nothing was forced upon us. Halloween was one of those things that my sister and I didn’t understand why we weren’t allowed to involve ourselves in it. It’s a national holiday, everybody partakes in some form, and even though the real deal celebrates everything the devil stands for, there are ways to Christianize it; or so we thought. So, when we grew up and we finally understood it, we were very obedient in that category and we treated Halloween like any normal day of the year. We did not associate at all. Any possible thing having to do with Halloween was prohibited (Our porch lights were off and sometimes, we purposely leave the house because after 15 doorbell rings, it gets annoying and nobody ever reads the sign that we aren't giving out candy for some reason). So obviously, like normal kids, we felt very much left out, because even our Christian friends were celebrating, some of them. And even the ones who didn’t had at least some “harmless” fun. So, one year when my sis and I were teenagers, we went through all the common practices, and we reasoned that out of everything associated with Halloween carving pumpkins could be a legitimately harmless activity that our family could enjoy without giving people the wrong idea. We also recognized that carving pumpkins had been seen as a seasonal thing and not just a Halloween thing. And we didn’t make jack-o-lanterns; we carved other things like smiley faces and memes and funny kiddy things. And for those few years, we were not convicted, at least, I don’t remember ever being convicted. And the people we lived around knew that we were Christians and when they saw our pumpkins, they’re initial reaction was “Oh, they don’t celebrate Halloween. They’re just doing a universal family fall activity.” Here’s where it got weird.

A good several years later when my sister and I were 15, we moved from South Tulsa to Bixby in 2018. And I only remember one or two times our family carved pumpkins in the fall after the move. But some time after the last year we did it, my sister suddenly told me, “Hey, I don’t think we need to be carving pumpkins anymore.” And me, who had found it to be a little boring and tedious, and kiddy anyway now that we were grown up didn’t care and thought nothing of it, so we stopped. It wasn’t until 2025 that my mother suddenly confessed to me when I was 22, that as a matter of fact, she had been convicted by the Holy Spirit Himself about us carving pumpkins in the past and just didn’t tell us, because we eventually fell out of eagerness for it by ourselves and she didn’t think she needed to…until I started writing this article nearly 8 years later LOL.

Before I launched Lavender Logical and was working on the Halloween article, the thought rekindled. I had earlier added in the article why the act of pumpkin carving was a pagan practice and should be avoided (and my belief remains firm); but then I began to question why the act of taking a knife to a pumpkin would be a sin. It doesn’t make sense. They way I had explained it made it sound like literally anything could be a pagan practice. It was like saying the pagans used to worship their false gods by washing dishes, so as Christians, we can’t wash dishes anymore (can I get an amen!) And also, who’s to say that the Celtics were the first to carve anything into a vegetable? It really did sound legalistic and that’s not gonna bear me any fruit by saying that to people! So, I asked God why our family wasn’t allowed to carve pumpkins anymore, but we were allowed to before…or were we? Had we ignored Him? We never made jack-o-lanterns or carved anything unholy or dark, or scary, so what was our case? And He told me through my mom, who confessed her conviction we hadn’t known about. Turns out, His command had to do with both us and everyone around us as members of a twisted last-days society; as the Bible calls it, “like the days of Noah,” when everyone thought Noah was crazy for building the Ark. Now the Christians (at least, some of us), are being laughed at for refusing to celebrate Halloween. Here’s what I discovered:

Carving a pumpkin with no association or acknowledgement to a pagan holiday isn’t a sin…at least, it’s not supposed to be. But just like body piercings, tattoos, and alcohol which, in the correct context aren’t sins either, but even when stewarded in that correct heart posture, guess how many lives you still can cause to stumble into sin all because of them? It’s almost as if the lives of others we affect can’t read our hearts! (Sarcasm; that’s literally in the Bible.)

God proceeded to remind me of how most curse words became curse words. Some of them started out as harmless, but today, they are censored for their vulgarity and negativity. Take the “b-word” for example. I don’t need to spell it out, you guys know what it is. It used to be the scientific terminology for a female dog. It was fact! But the word started to be used in a negative way, then derogatory, then vulgar, and today, it’s so vastly known as a curse word, that hardly anyone even remembers its origin. It’s gotten so bad that it’s literally a form of godly consecration not to say that word amongst the line of other curse words. If you’ve seen in another article, I explained how demons can attach themselves to things. And because demons are spirit beings and therefore invisible to the physical realm, they have the power to attach to anything we can see by their given jurisdiction by God; but also, what we can’t see. Things like words. The Bible says that our words have power. This isn't just said to give us a faith boost. It has genuine power given from the spiritual into the physical, because it is one of God's characteristics and we are made in His likeness. Just as He can influence the realms with His words, so can we. The only difference between our verbal influence and His is that we can't see them all manifest...but they still happen! And the ones that we can't see with our physical eyes, God can see! This is why we must be careful with what we say. Demons can attach themselves to words because they are spiritual beings with jurisdiction to the physical just like words are. And Satan, their commander has the power to pervert and manipulate things which were birthed from the harmless into harmful. Harmless things can be handed over to the darkness once it has been used in a dark context long enough. They become cursed. Curse words are the result of words which gained power through Satan's perversion instead of God. Instead of being used for good, they are used for evil; instead of building people up and blessing, they are for tearing down and cursing. They are literally cursed words. So, if words have power, but actions speak louder than words, that means actions can be spiritually manipulated and cursed too, even harmless actions! Things like pumpkin carving may have been harmless once upon a time, but it isn’t 2012 anymore. We are closer than ever to Christ’s return, and the act has become so associated with Halloween and no longer an act of the autumn season that no matter what you carve as a Christian, nobody cares. In their eyes, you’re associating with Halloween, which will ruin your witness. The act has become cursed. Which brings me to my next point.

How the world views Christians in 2025 is not the same as it was in 2012. It’s one of the reasons the word “repentance” is being blasted from the mountains and not just from the pulpits and the crazy homeless guy with a sign by the street (we need more of those guys). There’s a phrase in the Bible that repeats itself in nearly all of the correctional Books like Proverbs, Romans, and Isaiah and some other books. The phrase is always the same group of words, “feet that are swift in running to evil.” Up until recently, I thought it was a figure of speech; it’s NOT. People today are so desperate to find dirt on Christians, and I’m not talking stains, I’m talking SPECKS; GRAINS OF SAND. They are looking for whatever they can possibly get their hands on as an excuse to sin, no matter how frivolous and petty it is! And it’s not just unbelievers; it’s also lukewarm and unrepentant Christians. They aren’t going for big and obvious things anymore. They are going for small useless things that everyone takes for granted. Petty things that aren’t even sins, like carving a smiley-face into a pumpkin! But I will second that: ANY petty action isn’t a sin until the Holy Spirit tells you not to. When that happens, it will turn into a sin henceforth if you disobey. This is currently the case for my family, but it could be different for yours. The point is to consult with the Holy Spirit if you should continue this fall activity. Assume nothing! That's another one of Satan's tricks is to get people to lean on their own understanding and reason away commands from God!

Here’s the average thought process of neighbors finding carved pumpkins out of a Christian home back in 2012: *Neighbor sees Christian family’s pumpkins out on the curb. One has a glowing cross in it.* “Oh look. This Christian family carved pumpkins. I see a cross and a smiley face. I don’t see any decorations. They must not celebrate Halloween for their own reasons.”

Here’s the average thought process of neighbors finding carved pumpkins out of a Christians home 2025: *Neighbor sees Christian family’s pumpkins out on the curb. One has a glowing cross in it.* “Oh look. This Christian family carved pumpkins. I see a cross…They must be the kind of Christians who try to make Halloween holy. Carving pumpkins is associated with Halloween. They say they don’t celebrate Halloween, but they’ve carved pumpkins. If they’re gonna be hypocrites, then that means I can celebrate Halloween whether I’m a Christian or not and it should be okay, because they’re doing it. If they can celebrate however they want, then I can celebrate however I want.”

See the massive difference? Do you see how shallow and self-centered people are now? They’re looking for grains of sand because they don’t really wanna change. And you say that it’s not your problem and it’s not your fault, but that's pride. Just because you are one person in 8 billion on the planet doesn't mean God won't hold you responsible for your own viewpoint towards your neighbor. Last I checked, the most important command in all of Scripture is to love your neighbor as you love yourself and as you love God with your heart, soul, and strength (mind). Loving your neighbor isn't dismissing your own fault for their sins. It's being concerned for their soul and doing something about it! It's making sure they don't stumble no matter how petty you think it is! When God tells you to stop doing something because of how it's affecting your neighbor, your opinion doesn't matter. God's Word is not just the Bible; it's every Word that comes out of His mouth past, present, and future. Pumpkin carving in itself may not be a sin, but causing your neighbor to stumble and rebelling against God who warned you it would happen and you pulling that self-righteous assumption, IS. God would never allow you to cause someone to stumble without warning you first. So, if you decided to ignore him because of how petty you thought it was, bing! You've just sinned with not one, but two charges: Disobedience, and the causation of a neighbor to stumble, both of which are listed in the Bible (Romans 14:13 and Samuel 15:23). And plot twist, the prophet Samuel quoted that disobedience is as the sin of witchcraft. What is it we were trying to avoid by not celebrating Halloween again?

To learn more about the history of pumpkin carving and Halloween, click here!

Romans 12:1- Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 

Romans 12:2- Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

John 17:17- “Sanctify them by the Truth; Your [God’s] Word is Truth” (Jesus praying)

1 Peter 2:9- But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

A lot of people read this and say, “This was God’s command for Israel, not us.” But later in the New Testament when Jesus died, the commands and benefits God gave to Israel were given to the Gentiles, aka, the entire world; including everyone who is not Jewish. We as Christians are God’s chosen people, a royal priesthood because the Holy Spirit lives inside of us as He did the Holiest of Holies of the Tabernacle. Our flesh is required to be kept sacred because we are now that tabernacle! Anyone who has accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior and who has acknowledged the Holy Spirit living inside you, this consecration is required! We are to be set apart from the world. We live in the world, but not of it. We do not follow the customs of the world but are transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). This means that anything the world has made unholy, no matter if it was holy once upon a time, we are no longer allowed to participate no matter how petty or harmless we still think it is. Pumpkin carving used to be seen as harmless, but today, it is not. In fact, when you learn about how pumpkin carving even began, you’ll find that actually, it was never harmless to begin with!

Pumpkin carving was simply used as an example to many I could share and have done so with articles of their own. I have articles on alcohol, body piercings, tattoos, and dark styles of fashion.

The bottom line is that consecration comes by obedience to God, which is full surrender, and the ultimate form of worshipping Him! To ignore what the Holy Spirit tells you to avoid because you’ve decided that it’s harmless is pride in the form of disobedience by leaning on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). God didn’t give Israel all of these rules to make their lives difficult. He was assuring that their way of life was visible to the surrounding nations so that they would know the power of God when His wrath came upon them; to know that there was a real God in heaven who actually listens and performs miracles unlike the idols they were worshipping. He even promised blessing to the Israelites for their obedience to those rules to compensate for the struggle of the flesh. It is sad to read that the Israelites always fell back into ignorance, disobedience, and no consecration; and their consequences should be reflected by us and not forgotten. God’s blessing comes with today’s consecration just as it did in the Old Testament; and so do the consequences. Just like God’s reasons for Israel’s rules, as Christians, we are to be set apart so that everyone around us can see evidence of our walk with Christ. When an unbeliever or a new Christians sees an experienced Christian without consecration, such as drinking, or partaking in actions associated with Halloween, they will believe that it is okay; and if their flesh already struggles with things like that in a demonic light, their struggle will only worsen. In some cases, these struggles and Christian secular involvement can cause people to not just sin but lose their faith entirely; and as a result, the Christians responsible will be held accountable for it. Are you really willing to risk it?

Proverbs 3:5- Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

Another major damaging viewpoint is the effect the lack of consecration has on children raised in a Christian household. Take Christian “holy Halloween” participants for example. There are parents who still allow their kids to wear costumes and go trick-or-treating for the sake of “fun memory-making,” in the wholesome belief that it will benefit their child, and in some cases, keep them from resenting the parent from “being too religiously strict”. But in reality, they are actually teaching their children that partaking in a little bit of secularism is okay; involving in one worldly custom is okay and won’t damage their Christian light. The issue with this is that the child is still young and his/her brain, personality, emotionality, and spirituality are still maturing. That one act of worldlyism is all it takes to set them up for spiritual failure, because it will never stay as one. That one is the devil’s foot in the door. As they grow older, they will find themselves exploring what other acts of worldly custom they can “get away with without damaging their faith.” This is the definition of a lukewarm Christian. Those “harmless” secular traditions you take with your children are actually teaching them and setting them up to be lukewarm Christians. And when they grow up, not only will their belief be set in stone as it was instituted before they were fully developed, but they may also despise true consecrated Christianity; they will scoff at other more disciplined Christians who refuse to do the things the carnal discovered and viewed to be harmless; they will sear their conscience to the voice of God. And I’m gonna say it: A good chunk of the reason there are so many lukewarm Christians today is because their parents were afraid of religion-induced resentment and retreated into a less disciplined Christian household. In most cases, lukewarm Christians come from lukewarm parenting. Proverbs 22:6 says that parents are to train up their children in God’s instruction, that is, His full instruction, (full counsel), not partial. Parents are not to provoke their children to anger by harsh worldly treatment, but to raise them in the discipline (consecration) and instruction (God’s words) that comes from the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). This anger (NKJV uses the term “wrath”) is not just the child’s response to ungodly treatment but can also be God’s wrath in response to undisciplined training. Parents are not to do anything in which would otherwise provoke the child to suffer God’s wrath when they are grown.

Proverbs 22:6- Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

Ephesians 6:4- Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.

Don't risk worldly customs. God created mankind after His own Image to be sacred to protect our spirit, escape deceit, and grow His Kingdom. A little rule of thumb: Good can be corrupted, but evil cannot be redeemed. Why? Because God creates and He is Good; Satan manipulates and he is evil.