- And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out. It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and shatters him, and will hardly leave him. Luke 9:39 – It “shatters him.” While there are so many powerful verses we could spend time writing on from this chapter, the one above captured my focus as I read. More exactly, the phrase “shatters him” captured my focus. We have here a young boy who was possessed by the enemy and the enemy tormented this boy. And not just in a minor way, but it broke the kid, completely shattering the boy and would keep the torment going for as long as possible. This is the enemy we need to remember is in our world today. The enemy isn’t a little red guy hopping around poking people with a pitchfork, he and his forces are disgusting demons seeking to shatter people. To break them down as far as possible and to torment as long as possible. If then you are seeking a reason to commit to following Jesus like we see in this passage, hopefully this provides it. Yes, following Jesus is denying ourselves and carrying our own cross. Yes, following Jesus means not having the normal comforts and having to leave precious things behind. It is a high cost to follow Jesus, but being able to help those being shattered by the enemy meet the Savior that can rescue them is worth the cost. If then you are a believer in Christ, but your devotion to Jesus has been minimal, I invite you to dwell today on that word “shatters.” The enemy is shattering people, and you have the message that can point them to the Savior that can end their torment and mend them back together. Let’s get after the mission. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3538
- Comment which country you are from (state if in USA) to really prove today’s message. — Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he sought to see him. Luke 9:9 – You can never know just how far your message will go when you share it or who all will be listening when you do. A simple posting of a verse can be seen on the other side of the world and a conversation at work can be heard all the way into the back room. When you share the message of God’s love the reach can even get to those you never thought it would reach like in our passage today where the high up government officials began to hear and be interested in Jesus. So begin sharing the message in your unique way. One way for me is these Daily DEVOs, what’s a way for you to share God’s message today to begin the process of the message reaching even more people? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 614
- Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” Luke 9:18 – On my first read of this verse, I was confused how Jesus was praying “alone” and the disciples were with Him. It didn’t make sense to me how someone could be alone yet with people. After some study, the word alone here means apart from the multitude of people. What this passage reminds us though is of something uniquely special to the Christian life. “Alone” changes for every believer once they accept Christ. Someone who is a believer is never truly alone anymore in the ways they were before following Jesus. For now they have the Holy Spirit of God within them and with them forever wherever they may go. They can never find themselves somewhere apart from the presence of their God. Also for those that follow Jesus they have the body of Christ, His church, always available to them. Maybe the church isn’t always physically present with us, but we have access to brothers and sisters in Christ, access to a family, anytime we choose. Of course we can choose to not lean in and not be close to our church family, but we can’t do anything about the truth that God has created that family and made it always available to us. What I hope then is seen from today’s devotion is how “alone” is so different for a believer than a non-believer in Jesus. We have the Spirit of God with us. We have the prayers and love of our brothers and sisters with us always. We may be physically by ourselves, but we are never truly alone as a follower of Jesus. Know then today if you are feeling that loneliness today, I am praying for you. You are not alone. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2326
