A Divided House Falls

Luke 11:14

“Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls.” Jesus Christ

Who is Jesus addressing, the crowd that saw him heal a mute man who had a demon, and the mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed?  Some accused Him of doing it through the power of Beelzebul the god worshipped by the Philistines and had become a nickname by the Jews for Satan. 

Jesus goes on to say the following, “And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁰ But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

Today in the country of my birth, we stand divided, and some call themselves progressives and others go by the title of conservative.   And we live in a country, a great nation with roots deep into debate and thought, and yet today we don’t listen to anyone with a view we do not like.  I believe that is from the devil of hell, for Jesus has stated; He comes to kill, steal, and destroy.  Jesus calls him a thief and a deceiver, and the devil is very good at division.  His goal is to oppose all that is good and holy and to deceive many, and he has done an excellent job.

So what can an ordinary man, a man of no wealth, and no status in this world do to combat such a foe?  Humble yourself and confess your sin before a holy God who loves all men, even fools.  But fools will not bow a knee at this time to God, and in fact, they will say there is no God.  Victory comes only in the prayers of a man who comes to the Father with a clean heart, looking to Him for the victory.

Yes, it is my understanding that victory comes when we pray our Fathers will, not ours when we love our enemies and do good to those who want to do us harm.  I believe that being on the other side and yet returning evil for evil is a trap that the enemy of your soul desires and tells you is good. 

First, we must be right before God and man, and love is from God, it’s only found in a relationship with the Lord, for God is Love.  So let me ask you a question, what are we as followers of Christ doing?   If I’m right, it is not working that well?  As a follower of Christ, we know that reproach is not pleasing to our Lord and if that is our attitude He will not hear our petitions.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice