The Story of My Life as told by Jesus
Christ
(Seed Sowers Christian
Book Publishing House. http://www.seedsowers.com/)
Friday, November 30, 2012 I Was Accused of Being Possessed by
Satan
Page 104-105 Matthew 12:22-37; Mark 3:20-30; Luke
11:14-15, 17-23, 33-36
When Jesus went to Nazareth, his
boyhood home, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath and read the Scriptures.
He was not well received and the people responded, “How can this be?” Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” Jesus responded, “No prophet is accepted in his own hometown.”
(Luke 4:22-24)
Our passage for today has a
similar theme, except this time it is Jesus’ family with doubts about his
prophetic authority. We know that some in Jesus’ family did not become
believers until after Jesus’ death and resurrection. Many times it is our own
family and those closest to us who can be the most resistant to our witness for
Christ.
As I ponder Jesus’ experience
with his family, I recall once again the words of Brennan Manning in his
memoir, All is Grace, “God loves us unconditionally, just as we are; not
as we should be. Because none of us is as we should be.”
Brennan’s simple phrase reminds
me to allow God’s grace to extend to me, for I am certainly not as I should be;
and it reminds me to be patient and extend God’s grace to all others, including
my family.
Many of the people Jesus
encountered had specific, identifiable issues that shaped their lives. Some of
these issues were illnesses, others were demons, and others were physical
limitations. The rest of the people had their issues as well, but they were
just not as obvious. They saw what Jesus did for others though, and hoped that
somehow Jesus could touch their lives and fix what was wrong. Jesus is
concerned that these people are building their faith on the signs of the coming
Kingdom, rather than on the values of new life in God’s Kingdom.
Those who were jealous of Jesus’
growing fame tried to discredit him by saying Jesus was in league with the Lord
of the Flies, the literal translation for Beelzebub, the slang reference for
the evil one. In response to these allegations, Jesus affirms “I am casting out demons by
the power of God” (Luke 11:20). The literal
translation for ‘power of God’ is ‘finger of God’, and is also used in Exodus
8:19, when the Pharaoh’s magicians said they could not do the miracles Moses
performed because Moses was using the finger of God.
Becoming a Christian is not just
a matter of stopping the inappropriate behaviors we call sin. As a follower of
Jesus, I am called to proactively fill my life with the things of God. Becoming
a Christian is a call to fill the spaces formerly occupied by sinful actions
with new acts of grace, mercy, love and justice. This is not an impossible
assignment. The Apostle Paul affirms that the Finger of God is at work in the lives of His children: “For God is working in you, giving you the
desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13).
Sē’lah
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What word or phrase
in today’s reading attracts your attention?
Reflect on that word
or phrase.
What insights come to
you?
How does this passage
touch your life today?
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(Selah is a word that appears in the
Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my
correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about
these things.)
These
meditations are available by email. Contact me at Amkrom812@gmail.com to be added to the email list.
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The Story of My Life as told by Jesus
Christ
(Seed Sowers Christian
Book Publishing House. http://www.seedsowers.com/)
Monday, December 3, 2012 I Denounced the Hypocrisy of the
Pharisees
Page 105-106 Luke 11: 37-54
