Good Morning Friends,
The Bible is all about Jesus. From Genesis to Revelation is ultimately a focus on Jesus. So, every character based in scripture is really a study of Jesus. And one of the key messages is that when we invite Jesus to be in our field of vision, in worship, work and witness, some amazing things will happen. Things like receiving new insights and knowledge and emotions. It is all about this wisdom but also commitment, sacrifice and submission to God and their related return for us individually and collectively. Friends, today with this thought in mind we look at scripture about casting out unclean spirits, the price of prophecy and living in difficult times while still loving. And we are motivated given the scripture to think about God’s authority and redemption as a means of helping us to set our sights on the important things in life. And so, we ask, Do We Have Divided Interests?
Scripture: The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet. This is what you requested of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said: “If I hear the voice of the Lord my God any more, or ever again see this great fire, I will die.” Then the Lord replied to me: “They are right in what they have said. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command. Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable. But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak—that prophet shall die.”
Deuteronomy 18: 15-20 (NRSV)
O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed. O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would listen to his voice! Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your ancestors tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
Psalm 95: 1-9 (NRSV)
I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin are anxious about the affairs of the Lord, so that they may be holy in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to put any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and unhindered devotion to the Lord.
1 Corinthians 7: 32-35 (NRSV)
They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
Mark 1:21-28 (NRSV)
We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she prevailed upon us.
Acts 16:11-15 (NRSV)
Message: Today we primarily look at Jesus teaching in the synagogue and showing authority over demons. But not that alone for scripture interprets scripture. The underlying message is about all in worship. It is about the importance of commitment but also having the right perspective. You see, looking up to Jesus means leaning on God’s word and the Power of the Holy Spirit. Being committed to Jesus means focusing and fixing our eyes with a gaze of confidence while looking away from other distractions. Being committed to Jesus means loving in a way where the joy and reward of the vison is of a finish line with Jesus as the goal. Being committed to Jesus mean being all in. It means rejoicing as in today’s Psalm. It means providing hospitality as our passage from Acts and being free from anxiety as our passage from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians suggests. So too when Jesus uses us and takes away the demons of sin, we too can be used for a purpose greater than ourselves that glorifies God with joy and a release of anxiety. Unfortunately, people can get out of control, but if we are committed to Jesus… if we see Him, who became a little lower than the angels, just like us, we see that humans have as part of creation can be crowned with glory and honor too, if with Jesus. So, if you want to find any real significance in life, then do not look to yourself… Look up to Jesus who became a man. Pay attention to Christ, who became fully human. Focus on the Lord, who became lower than the angels for a little while, so He could be our Sovereign Savior. Jesus became one of us, so He could become the Crowned Sovereign of the world and in time we could join him in the throne room because our minds have been transformed to think clearly and as a whole in the reality of God. He became one of us, so He could regain control where we lost control. The demons of life. Thankfully, Jesus never lost control. So as a human, Jesus elevates all people who align themselves with Him with a declaration of peace and a freeing of the captives of sin. You see, when you submit to Christ, we regain our position, because we are no longer slaves. Instead, we are under Christ’s rule, who conquered Satan on the cross for us.
And So, speaking with prophetic firmness as Jesus does in today’s Gospel text can make people and their demons squirm. We do not know the nature of the person’s demons in the story, but we do know that Jesus spoke with authenticity and authority. So too Paul in his letter to the Corinthians. But here Paul makes it clear that he is giving his opinion not a directive of God when it comes to marriage and the times in which he lived. In the final analysis Paul never marries and yet may have had a close relationship with Lydia that may have prompted such a consideration. The times were difficult and perilous, so Paul’s advice is more situational but born out of a sincere heart. That gift…that spark that makes a relationship alive in the personality of Jesus is indeed powerful and there is no doubt that it was the focus of Paul both day and night. Here we have a palpable symbol linked to how we can think and live spiritually whether married or not. We get a picture of this happening in the story of Lydia and Paul when truth is revealed in the sharing of the Gospel. Here we learn about love and the work of the Holy Spirit in the making of a relationship that is not only where the heart is but also a place of eternity, we can call home. It is a marriage in heaven with the family of God.
Pray we find God’s favor. Pray
we are ready for God to save, sanctify, heal, and free us. Pray we believe that the LORD wants to give us our deepest and purest desires. Pray we believe that God wants to bring new life into our lives. Pray we realize that it might take surrender and sacrifice to succeed. Pray we celebrate the casting out of demons. Pray we do something definite about those dark areas in our lives. Pray we let Jesus into our homes and hearts. Pray we have a continual, deliberate, and intimate experience of God. Pray we look up to Jesus. Pray we help others without expectation. Pray we learn to love unconditionally. Pray we keep love in our hearts. Pray we see the role of the Holy Spirit in teaching us how to love. Pray we open our hearts to the home Jesus is making for us. Pray we learn how to serve the Lord in love. Pray in difficult times that we trust God. Pray we face hardships accepting who we are, Pray we pray from a place of power surrendering our situations to God who has the greater plan. Pray we be open to guidance. Pray we take responsibility for working with God to create the change needed. Pray we trust Jesus. Pray we finish strong.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 