Runnin with the Devil

God delivers....literally.

Gen21:1 Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised. 2 Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. 3 Abraham gave the name Isaac [a] to the son Sarah bore him. 4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

Isnt it cool that God doesnt have to work or isnt limited to working within the "norm"
I love the fact that Sarah laughed. I love the fact that she knows this is foolish to most....but that God has no limits. She in the next verse wants others to laugh with her.


In Matthew 12
Jesus is talking to the Pharisees, who have been saying that Jesus is driving out demons in the name of Satan. Jesus challenges them with;

"Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand."
Telling them what a rediculous presumption this is. I cannot believe that the 'religious' leaders of the day would have the audacity to challenge the Messiah by saying he is 'Runnin with the Devil'---(80's Van Halen reference....forgive me)

He then tells them "for a tree is recognized by its fruit."

And here is the kicker--
Matt 12:43"When an evil[f] spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation."

Jesus is challenging the Pharisees and their lack of discipleship.... saying that people who haven't been discipled...filled with God's word, become bearers of 'good fruit' (doers of God's word), basically being Pharisees....are highly likely to be overrun with 7 times the evil...and be worse off than before.

I feel this is a word to today's churches who are preaching a watered down gospel, a prosperity gospel or any church that is more about its business than God's business. Pharisees were all about going about looking religious, and they cared outwardly about the 'religiosity' of those who would listen.....but inside these guys were ...."whitewashed tombs" "broods of vipers"...."bearers of bad fruit".

God ....as your bride....never let us forget your commands to love You and love others.
Never let us (as a body of believers) become whitewashed tombs... that look good on the outside, and has rotting corpses on the inside. Let us be about your business and less about our own agendas.

Merry Christmas Gentlemen. I will probably not post tomorrow, we start early...and have activities until we leave with the trucks loaded for Austin.

Tray Pruet - Associate Pastor
www.AustinNewChurch.com