with devotion

The last state of that person is worse than the first.

“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

There is a tendency to take these verses literal and try to explain the interactions of demons with human beings - I once approached them that way. When we focus on that aspect we really miss the greater message of it. We miss that Jesus is speaking of a generation of unbelieving people.. an evil generation, if you will, that embraces some sort of faith for a season and then falls away. It reminds me of these chilling verses in Hebrews:

For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?

I am really not a fire and brimstone kind of guy. In my life I have found that love, and not fear, brings me closer to God. Yet these verses and others like them must be included in a complete theology. They speak to me of temporal and eternal consequences. When a person continually rejects the Holy Spirit they harden their heart towards Him.. and these continual actions cause the last spiritual state of that person to be worse than the first.

Lord, I lift to you those with hard hearts. Help them to simply say yes to you.

He takes away his armor in which he trusted ...

And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Have you ever believed in something so fervently only to find out (maybe years later) that what you believed was not 100% truth? I have. I wonder what part of us needs to embrace that kind of thinking? At some level you know that those who accused Jesus of being in league with the devil knew that they were wrong - yet these, because of their pride and insecurity, would not let go of a lie to embrace the truth. And sadly, they now find that they are fighting God.

I wonder if the two men pictured in these verses are representatives of two kingdoms? Perhaps the first is the kingdom of religion and the second the kingdom of God? Residents of the former kingdom trust in external armor and cling to ancient traditions that seemed to have kept them safe for so long. Yet these are not able to withstand the assault of the latter because the armor of the inner invisible kingdom is always stronger than those of the external one.

Help me to always be on your side Lord. I want to gather, not scatter, with you today.

A divided household falls ...

Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?

I once spoke to a young couple (who were Jehovah Witnesses) that told me that Satan was involved in miraculous healings. These embraced the same error that some in Jesus day held. These simply did not understand the nature and the mission statements of spiritual kingdoms. If they did they would realize that demonic forces are never portrayed in the bible in a way in which good is used to do create evil. Jesus' answer to evil was to exorcise it.

On the flip-side I know of many people who seem to always be seeking a sign from heaven. It reminds me of a time in 1976 when my first wife wanted to be healed of diabetes and went off her insulin as "an act of faith". As she became ill God spoke to the both of us through the scriptures about the foolishness of putting Him to a test. Sadly, many even today do not understand how foolish it is to put God to a test by seeking miraculous signs.

Help me today to seek you and not signs Lord.

How much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit ...

What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!

There is a pure grace involved in prayer that many find uncomfortable. The idea that a father in heaven longs to lavish us with good things is a foreign concept for many who have grown up trying to earn their father's love. Sadly, our image of God is often molded by the brokenness of our earthly parents. Even so, Christ speaks to us in this passage and tells us that even the best of the best of parents here on earth cannot be compared to our heavenly parent.

Many times Christians focus on the gifts of the Spirit but seldom is there mentioned the Spirit as a gift. Perhaps this is so because we want the gifts that the Spirit can give us (i.e. wisdom, healing, miracles, etc.) rather than the Spirit himself? Consider how Paul says in Romans that "you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” Maybe this gift of himself is one that gives the spiritual identity that we so long for?

Abba! Daddy! Thank you for the gift of the new birth. Help me to live like your child today.

Ask ... Seek ... Knock ...

And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Whenever I read these verses I always think of how the words Ask, Seek and Knock spell out ASK when you use the first letter of each word. Here is the way that I see the progression of prayer in these verses:

Ask: communicates to me the simplest form of prayer. Often all that is needed is to simply request something of the Father. Many times this is a one-time occurrence that is answered in a straightforward manner.
Seek: this type of prayer represents more than just a request. When we seek we do not seek for an answer so much as we seek God in the answer. The answers to seeking prayers often come in a much subtler fashion.
Knock: the role of persistence and perseverance in prayer is represented by this word. Lets face it, no one likes to stand knocking at a door for a long period of time. Yet this is the sort of prayer that can change us the most.

The wonder in what Jesus says is that each of these prayer types always has a God response. I sometimes ponder if, when my prayer is not answered, I am asking when I should be seeking or seeking when I should be knocking.

Teach me to pray Lord. Help me to discern the type of prayer that I need to pray.

Because of his impudence he will rise ...

And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs.

The idea of a friend knocking on the door of a friend at midnight is fairly alien to most Westerners - I think that we all feel a bit too "civilized" to do something like that. Perhaps that is one of the messages in this passage? Perhaps some prayers are not answered because we are simply not desperate enough to ask God for something in an uncomfortable manner? Perhaps our prayers sometimes go unanswered because we do not put ourselves on the line?

I am reminded of a day in March of 1990 - my first wife Ellen had a heart attack and kidney failure at age 39 and she was in intensive care at our neighborhood hospital - things were tense in her room and she was not breathing strong enough to get oxygen to her extremities. As the doctors began to prep her for a ventilator I told them all that I wanted to pray first. They stopped what they were doing and I cried aloud an awkward prayer of desperation.. and her oxygen levels increased.. and a ventilator was not needed. I believe that God heard my desperate cry for help.

Help us Lord to embrace a style of prayer that makes us feel a bit uncomfortable.

When you pray ...

Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” And he said to them, “When you pray, say:

“Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.”

This remembrance of the Lord's prayer in Luke is a bit different than the one in Matthew. Perhaps Jesus taught it at a different time. I get the idea in the gospels that he sometimes rendered the same teaching to different audiences. Even so, the essentials of worship, intercession, petition, forgiveness and leadership all remain. In it Jesus calls us to:

Call God "Father" - is there a sweeter word for God in any language?

See Him as a king as we ask for His reign in our lives and in our world.

Acknowledge God as the one each day who provides for our needs.

Bow before the Lord as people who have been forgiven a great debt.

Understand our need to not only be forgiven but to forgive everyone.

Seek His leadership knowing that our flesh is weak under temptation.

These sentences speak to me of how God longs to hear us speak to him in prayer. They remind me that God is close enough to us to hear each word we utter. And they shout out, from the pages of holy writ, that our Father loves his children with an everlasting love. How can we not be faithful to bear our hearts in prayer to a God such as our Father.

Father, help us today to pray the heart of the words and sentences that you have taught us here.

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