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Topic: demons

To be a Christian is to be at war – a war to rest in the right place. The world wants us to rest in and find satisfaction in everything but Jesus. So the enemy plants thoughts in our minds that line up with our sinful desires, and together they create an argument that easily becomes a stronghold. Paul says we've been given weapons that are powerful enough to tear down the argument and the stronghold.

Rebellion

December 15, 2024
Sin brings all kinds of death. Death physically, relationally, spiritually. Sickness, disease, war, affliction, and trouble are now part of human existence. Sin corrupts us all the way down – mind, will, emotions, desires, leaving us completely depraved and unable to please God. By the time you get to the end of Genesis 6, one of Adam and Eve’s sons has killed the other; people are bragging about sex and murder, until, “When the Lord saw that ... every inclination of the human mind was nothing but evil all the time, the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and he was deeply grieved.”
Paul now moves into Ephesus, a place of magic and cultish worship, and goes to work like he usually does, proclaiming to the Jews that the New Covenant is now in effect. Also as usual, when darkness is confronted with the Light, it causes a stir.
With the base of operations now at Lydia's house, Paul and Silas settle into a routine of prayer with the new believers. But this new church has stirred up some opposition – both spiritual and political. Paul and Silas end up beaten by rods and thrown in prison, where we find them worshiping in the middle of the night.