‘Lord, why did You give this “picture” of an unclean spirit after You explained Your power over Satan?’

In Luke 11:20, clearly You cast out demons by the power and authority of God the Father.
In Luke 11:21-22, clearly You declared Your power over Satan.
In Luke 11:23, clearly You stated that people are “for” You or are “against” You.
You left no wiggle room to straddle both sides of that fence!

You had cast out a demon from a man and he was delivered from an unclean spirit.  He had his life back and was no longer inhabited by it.

You gave the following parable:
(NASB) Luke 11:24-26 “When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’
25 ‘And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order.
26 ‘Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they  go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”

My question: ‘Did that person not turn to the living God of the Bible to fill him with His life?  If not, then he was ready to be inhabited again by eight evil spirits seeking a house (the man) in which to live.

Jesus said in Luke 11:23, “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.”
Again notice that there is no middle ground, there is no neutral positions. You EITHER gather OR scatter.
Clearly we EITHER are seeking God to fill our lives OR we give room for evil to permeate our minds, our emotions and our wills.

Some of those evils are: drugs, entertainment which does not honor God, selfishness, self-serving attitudes, demeaning words filled with disdain, anger, what can you think of?
These evils are used against us and control us…if we do not put God first in our lives.  If we do not put into practice His words of truth.

In the next days these devotionals will explore Colossians 3:2-17…hope you can join us.

So, what is controlling you?  According to the Lord Jesus, either He is first in your life and is in charge…or not!

 

What is Controlling You?

Who is at the controls in your life?