Bible
Study: 1st Thessalonians 5:1-6.9-11. / Luke 4:31-37.
One
paragraph from our reflection yesterday is worth repeating today as it serves
as a good foundation for understanding today’s message:
Our world
is the way it is today because people are POOR, BLIND, OPPRESSED and in CAPTIVITY.
This poverty is not so much a material one but a poverty of the spirit, a
poverty that has robbed many of their faith. Hunger, corruption, war etc. are
direct consequences of the blindness of men and women. People are so blind in
spiritual matters that they allow greed, selfishness and pursuit of money cloud
their minds to the extent that they fail to treat fellow humans with the respect
and dignity they deserve. Satanic oppression and captivity is what is
responsible for the wide spread of sin in our world today. Many have been held
captive by various bad habits and find it extremely difficult to break free of
their addictions to vices, immorality, theft, lying etc.
Inflamed
by the Holy Spirit, Jesus spoke with authority today casting out the demon from
a man who was held captive by Satan right inside the Synagogue.
First, you
wonder what a man with an unclean spirit would be doing inside a church.
Satanic captivity is something that never shows in a person’s face, neither does
it show in his or her mode of dressing. But Jesus has told us that “by their fruits
we shall know them.” At times, even the possessed person does not even know
that he or she is captivity under the operation of demonic spirits. He or she
does just goes about doing terrible things feeling on top of the world.
Only the
power of the Holy Spirit can bring about healing in this regard and this power
is available to us always in Jesus. Go for confession today, renounce all ties with
the chains of darkness and begin a new life today. A Woman once told her son
the story of two giants fighting inside his heart and the little boy asked: “Which
one wins eventually?” The mother replied: “The one you feed.” Are you feeding
your flesh more than your spirit?
In today’s
first reading, St. Paul challenges us to Spiritual alertness. “But you are not
in darkness, brethren, for that day to surprise you like a thief. … So then,
let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.” 1
Thessalonians 5:4-6. As we mentioned above, the four things preventing us from
living life as God intends are: poverty (of spirit), blindness, oppression and
captivity. These four disasters are in fact, the direct result of sleeping in
the Spirit.
In the
Spiritual life, it is either we are growing or dying. There is no static point.
Either we are in charge or Satan is in charge. Someone has to take authority! It’s
just the way God designed us. Like a car, it doesn’t move unless someone is
behind the steering. The person in the driver’s seat has the power to take the
passengers where he wants to, he also has the power to cause a crash if he
wants to. Your Spiritual life is your steering wheel. Do not leave it for the
world or to Satan. Take Charge today.
Let us
pray:
Come Holy
Spirit. Fill me daily with your power, order my steps in your word. Transform
me completely and use me to touch the lives of all those I meet daily that
through your anointing, I may do great things for God. Amen.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. Happy new week.
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