Friday, April 16, 2021
And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house. Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”. Mark 3:22-29
A House Divided
In Mark chapter 3, some were trying to discredit Jesus - the Pharisees and his own family. The Pharisees had heard that Jesus has healed a demon possessed man who was blind and mute and they were trying to discredit Jesus by saying that He was acting in Satan's power when He did this. Jesus quickly pointed out to them that this is blasphemous and warns them to stop for they will be "guilty of an eternal sin." What Jesus said to the Pharisees is that Satan could not cast out Satan. There is no way He could have cast out this man's demon in Satan's power as they were accusing Him of doing. He explains that a kingdom divided against itself will not stand. A house divided against itself will only destroy itself in the end.
This past year has changed our views on so many different things. We have dealt with so many issues, one right after the other, and at times, it seems all the unity was gone. In many ways, this country has become a house divided, and a house divided will not stand.
Human
lives are truly an endangered species because we are destroying ourselves from
within. America has become sick with a
horrible cancer and it is eating us up from the inside out. We are turned upside down where right is wrong,
and good is bad. Respect for others is
almost non-existent as people cry out against one another for any reason they
can come up with. As Christians, we value the sanctity of life and that means that all life is sacred in God’s eyes. That doesn’t mean that we condone the
horrible hate crimes and police killings, terrorism, and intolerance. It simply means that when we look at someone
who is a part of these heinous acts, we have to remember that God created them
and we should value all life that He created.
If it is valuable to God, then it should be valuable to us. It is about separating the behavior from the
life. We can value life without valuing
what those lives stand for. After all,
it is an age old belief of Christians to love the sinner, not the sin, or at
the very least represent Christ and the Church in a positive way to all people.
God is the
one and only hope for our country. No elected official is going to be able to turn this country
around, fix what is wrong, because there are those among us who are going to do
everything in their power to see that it does not happen. Sadly, it is a heart issue and no amount of
earthly power will help. Like a parent
with an out-of-control toddler, once you have given an inch, they take the mile
and then some, and getting it back under control seems impossible. We are an endangered species - in danger of
ourselves and totally destroying what we all work so hard to have. May God be with us and have His hand on us
through this season. May we turn the
corner of hatred and self-destruction in this country, turning back to Him,
remembering why this country was established in the first place.
Blessed
are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Matthew 5:9
