John 10:19-21 -- There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. 20 Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” 21 Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
After talking with the Lord in prayer we moved back to the Word to follow Jesus. What we find is the religious authorities once again divided over Jesus' words and actions.
What's interesting is since starting the JesusCCC facebook page I joined several other large Christian Men's Groups to see how they operated and flowed. Over the past two weeks there has been an odd shift in a lot of these groups of people accusing others of "having a demon" or "being a demon". At first, I thought, this is the saddest and silliest thing, because someone disagrees, they are accused of something like this. It was heartbreaking to see this in "Christian" groups and I prayed over it much.
As I read today's verses, it shined some light on this sad trend. Here is a group of religious men, divided over Jesus' Words and actions. One side immediately jumps to attack and criticize, "He must have a demon! He is insane.". The other side has heard His words and seen His actions and it has drawn them to want to know more.
We've seen from John chapter one all the way to ten, Jesus' words and His actions bring confrontation everywhere He goes. That applies today as well. There are those who, whether they realize it or not, have made themselves, their knowledge, or their understanding of the Word higher than the actual Word itself. Which leads to any who disagrees being attacked.
You see the Word of God can stand, unflinching, unshakeable in the face of any who would question, attack, or disagree. Whereas a person who holds their understanding of the Word, above the Word itself, will take the questioning or attack personal. Mainly because it's about them and their understanding and not so much about the actual Word.
There is absolutely a place to stand up and defend the Word, to speak truth in love, but not to attack and make ugly accusations when someone questions or disagrees. How many times do we see Jesus accuse someone of being demon possessed or being a demon because they disagreed with Him? None that I've seen.
Christian, if someone disagrees with you and you respond harshly, attack them, knock them down, or throw out wild accusations, are you walking as Jesus walked? (1 John 2:6) Absolutely stand up for Jesus, for God's truth, and His Word, but be very careful with how you respond to criticism, questions, disagreement, and attacks. (James 1:19-20) Just something to think about today.
Well, that's pretty much it for today. Make sure to get into the Word and let God take you on your own journey in and with Him!
You are loved. You are prayed over. You are not alone.
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