Friday, August 11, 2023

Our Lord is responding to His disciples when they returned from sharing the Good News. The 70 had been out sharing the Gospel. They called on the name of Jesus, and the demons obeyed them. That seemed to have validated the authority of the disciples. The Lord gave His disciples power over evil spirits, but that should not have been the main focus. That was just a byproduct of their position in Christ. These days, even among believers, when demons manifest, people get excited. When we were young believers, demonic manifestations caused jubilation in our meetings. But our Lord says having our names written in Heaven should excite us more. Knowing the Lord and living out our salvation with fear and trembling should be our preoccupation. So let’s love the Lord supremely, trust Him completely, obey Him wholeheartedly, praise Him continually, and use our abilities to serve Him.

The Haggai session on a believer’s paradigm shift and the motto — Christ’s last word should be my first concern — has never stopped influencing me.