Whose side are you on?

‘You say that I drive out demons because Beelzebul gives me the power to do so. Well, then, who gives your followers the power to drive them out? What your own followers do proves that you are wrong! No, it is not Beelzebul, but God’s Spirit, who gives me the power to drive out demons, which proves that the Kingdom of God has already come upon you.’ (verses 27,28)

Read Matthew 12:22-32

It can happen that our focus today is as skewed as that of the Pharisees when Jesus walked on earth. Like them, instead of focusing on Jesus as healer, giver and friend, we can argue about things we don’t understand or comprehend—or are too stubborn to change our thinking about.

We can be thankful that Jesus came to earth to carry out all God’s commands, not to answer our questions. Nothing he did was done without the Holy Spirit or against the Father’s will. Everything he did was done in order to bring glory to God. Yet even in living life to perfection, he was picked on and despised. The choice is now ours: do we join with those who cause dissension through their questioning of the Holy Spirit’s work, or do we join with Christ in the work of his kingdom on earth?

Ask yourself if there are ways in which your thoughts, words or deeds could have shifted the focus of others in the church away from Christ. If so, what will you do about it?

Forgive me, Father, for any damage I’ve done to others. Heal me, and help me act in ways that bring glory to you. Amen.

by Julie Hahn, in ‘Refreshment for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2003)

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