All or Nothing

Daily Reading:  Mark 3

If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. (Mark 3.24-25)

Devotional Thought:  When the religious authorities accused Jesus of casting out demons by the prince of demons, Jesus vehemently denied it, calling it absurd - for a house divided against itself cannot stand.  Spiritual division is deadly!

Whether in families, nations, or churches, one of Satan’s chief weapons is division.  He works hard to sow seeds of distrust, doubt, disloyalty, and suspicion.  Sadly, he finds willing Christians to spread those seeds!

“What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel” (James 4.1-2).  People want their own way; people are jealous.  Instead of working to serve one another, they instead wonder how they can get what they want. 

What is true on the macro level is also true on the micro level.  A person who has a divided heart cannot stand.  We are urged in the Bible to have pure hearts – undefiled; to have sincere faith - undistracted.  We must fix our eyes on what is above, not on what is on earth.  Jesus said, “You cannot not serve God and money” (Matthew 6.24).  Whether it’s money or something else that detracts from our devotion to God, when our hearts are divided, we cannot stand.

What about you?  What are those things that loom large in your eyes, those things that you are tempted to place before God?  Are you tempted to live a divided life, to have one foot in the Kingdom of God and one foot in the devil’s territory?  It doesn’t work.  With God, it’s all or nothing.

Prayer: Lord, I do not want to be a divided house that falls.  Instead, I want to stand in you!  I give myself to you completely - heart and soul - body and mind.  Help me also to sow seeds of unity and strength.  Amen.

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 2.7-12

7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.

8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.

9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. ”

10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.

11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.