Hold On to Goodness

~~~ Joel 1:13-15; 2:1-2 ~~~ Psalm 9 ~~~ Luke 11:15-26 ~~~

...it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons...

The evil in our world today seems to be overpowering any good,

yet there are many people who still believe in God.

When Jesus was presented with evil spirits 

possessing the soul of a person he only need raise 

a single finger to cast away the evil.

A single finger contained enough power and goodness

to send the evil spirits fleeing in the opposite direction.

The crowds are jealous and in their jealousy they are confused.

They accuse Jesus of drawing his power directly from Satan.

To me this does not make any sense...

Why would you engage evil to get rid of evil?

Jesus demonstrated that his power was coming from God.

No other assistance was required.

Jesus is one with the Father there is no 

separation of power.

Therefore if God is all powerful 

then it follows that Jesus too is all powerful.

Evil spirits are no match for the power of God's goodness.

It is the pure goodness of God that makes it possible 

to make evil spirits turn away.

As long as this goodness from God remains fresh and alive

the evil spirits are hesitant to return.

It is possible for you to be an active participant

 in warding off the evil spirits.

One way is through your prayers.

Your daily prayers keep the goodness 

of God like a pool of spring water.

Spring waters are moving, bubbling, teaming with energy.

This is how your prayer life must be if you are to keep 

the evils spirits away from your soul.

Evil does not want to exert extra energy to soak up a soul.

Evil searches for those who are spiritually frail...

Evil comes into the unsuspecting soul.

Hold on to the 'finger of God'

that is truly all you need.

If you do find yourself in a battle with evil spirits

remember it just takes one finger of God

to bring you into his care.

We have never been promised by God

 that all evil would be erased from the world...

But we have been promised

 that he will always be there for us.

Take refuge in your prayer life;

for it is there that you will find the 'finger of God'.

Blessings of protection from all evil.

~~~Peace~~~

The Upper Hand

~~~ Galatians 3:7-14 ~~~ Psalm 111 ~~~ Luke 11:15-26 ~~~

Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

There have been movies released where Satan
 is fleshed out and brought to life.
One I viewed recently displayed the power of evil.
We may not ever experience visible signs of evil but
when we see them in a movie it is alarming.

All powerful, God is the only one who can stand against evil.
In today's Gospel we see Jesus standing up
to Beelzebul, driving out the evil spirit.

If evil was always visible before our eyes would
 we be more motivated to resist...to denounce it?
Evil even pretends to be something other than what it truly is...
How often we are fooled.

What is your initial response when you detect evil in your life?
Do you turn away? Do you fight against it?
Do you give into your own weakness?
Do you seek God to rid your soul of the evil presence?

It is Jesus who can destroy Satan.
It does not matter what name we may give this evil power.

The closer we follow Jesus...the closer we walk with Jesus...
the less likely it will be that the evil spirit will take control of our soul.
Jesus will forever have the 'upper hand' against evil.

But it could also make us a prime target...the coveted prize.
If the devil can win over one of God's
faithful imagine how that would please him. 

We must always keep up our guard against the attacks of Satan.
Some have been so impressed with the power of the devil
 that they even accuse Jesus of somehow tapping
into same power source.

No matter how superior evil appears to be...
no matter how widespread evil is...no matter how near
evil is to you personally...We have the most important
 being on our side...Jesus.

As long as we are here the evil spirit will roam about
searching for any opportunity to attack...to take
control over one more soul.

I pray it will never settle into your soul.
We are Blessed with protection from
the one who is most powerful, who can/does cast away the evil spirit.

May you walk in the light of truth and grace...
Love God with your whole heart, body, and soul.
Keep that ever in the front of your mind.
May your heart be filled with the Peace of the Lord.

False Accusations

~~~ 2 Samuel 5:1-7, 10 ~~~ Psalm 89 ~~~ Mark 3:22-30 ~~~

The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus,
“He is possessed by Beelzebul..."

The scribes from Jerusalem had more authority than the local scribes.
These revered scribes are the ones who declare Jesus
to be under the influence of the devil.

This is a serious accusation for them to make.
Beelzebul is referring to the chief evil spirit.

Jesus counteracts their accusations with a parable.

Why would the head of the evil spirits be driving
out its own evil presence?
This makes no sense. You would think this evil spirit
would be summoning additional evil spirits
to descend upon their hosts.

Jesus uses parables to compare two things side by side.
This is an effective way to point out the differences
and similarities between the two.

In this case Jesus speaks about the divided house.
 ...if a house is divided against itself,
that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided,
he cannot stand;
that is the end of him.

This comparison makes it seems
 obvious that the learned scribes are confused.

Evil spirits are about using actions
 that strengthen their hold of a person's being.

This was just one example of many times when
Jesus was falsely or wrongly accused.

In the story of the Three Little Pigs,
the third pig built his house out of bricks making
 it impossible for the wolf to blow down.

Jesus wants us to be so strong in our faith
 and beliefs that any false accusations will not
catch us off guard.

Blessings come in times of false accusations.
We must not be fooled by the evil spirits.
Peace.