Lectionary Calendar
Thursday, March 28th, 2024
Maundy Thursday
There are 3 days til Easter!
Attention!
Partner with StudyLight.org as God uses us to make a difference for those displaced by Russia's war on Ukraine.
Click to donate today!

Daily Devotionals
Mornings and Evenings with Jesus
Devotional: October 10th

Resource Toolbox
Morning Devotional

In the synagogue there was a man which had a spirit of an unclean devil. - Luke 4:33.

LET us glance at the subject of this miracle. In the days of our Saviour, demons seem to have been allowed to seize and to possess the bodies of men in some extraordinary and inexplicable manner; to show, perhaps, more sensibly, his victories over the powers of darkness, which are invisible to us, and to prove “that for this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” The sort of spirit possessing is commonly designated from the state of the being possessed. You read of “a deaf and dumb devil;” that is, the man was deaf and dumb. Here he is called “an unclean devil.”

All devils are unclean; they are all sinful. They are unclean in their natures, in their passions, in their actions, and in all their endeavours to make men unclean,-that is, to love sin, and to live in the practice of it. This man, though not perhaps old in years, was filled with the sins of his youth. His sin was now made his punishment. Satan had entered him corporeally as well as spiritually,-for he always possesses the soul of men. He that is governed by envy has the spirit of an envious devil; and he that is governed by malice has the spirit of a revengeful devil; and he who lives in chambering wantonness and sensuality has the spirit “of an unclean devil.”

All sin is of a defiling nature; and while any sin rules in a man, this sin keeps up a connection with the enemy of his soul, and he is “led captive by the devil at his will.” There are some who deny diabolical agency, but thereby they prove it the more, for “he blinds the minds of those who believe not.” And the apostle says, he is “the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.”

Observe, Secondly, The scene of this miracle. The subject of this possession “of the spirit of an unclean devil” attended in the synagogue. This is no unusual thing. When “the sons of God” came to present themselves before the Lord, we read, in the book of Job, that “Satan came also, and presented himself among them.” He is excluded from heaven indeed, but Adam and Eve found him in Paradise, and our Saviour found him in the wilderness. Where can we be now so as to be inaccessible to him? He is said to be in the world, for “the world lieth in the wicked one;” but let none imagine that they are inaccessible to him when they are alone. Ah! David found him when he was alone on the housetop. Wherever we are, therefore, we should remember the words of our Saviour, “Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.” We may find him at the throne of grace, standing at our right hand to resist us; at the Lord’s table, endeavouring to draw off our minds from the dying of the Lord Jesus; and we may find him in the house of God now, in our days. Satan has much to do in the synagogue,- much more than in many other places.

In Macgowan’s “Dialogue of Devils” there is this relation:-Two infernal spirits having met, one of them very warm and weary, the other cool and lively, after a little explanation it was found that he who was cool and lively had been to the play-house, where he had nothing to do; where they were all with him; where they were all of one mind, all doing his work. Whereas the other, who was warm and weary, said, “I have been at a place of worship, and I had much to do there: to make some sleep; to induce some to hear for others instead of themselves; to lead the thoughts of some, like the fool’s eye, unto the ends of the earth; to pick up, as fast as I could, the seed which was sown in the heart; and to turn away the point of the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, lest it should pierce even to the dividing of the soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and be a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Evening Devotional

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. - 2 Corinthians 6:2.

THERE are three ways of understanding this. The “time” in which the Messiah was accepted as Mediator between God and man, “loving us and giving himself for us as an offering and sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour,” evinced by his resurrection from the dead, and his being crowned with glory and honour; the “time” when God accepts the supplications of sinners in his name; and the “time” when sinners “accept” the Divine mercy, are made “willing in the day of his power,” and are induced to submit themselves to the righteousness which is of God. “Behold, now is the day of salvation.” When it is considered that a season is named by anything which peculiarly and supremely abounds in it, we need not wonder that the Apostle should call the gospel dispensation the “day of salvation;” because salvation is its design, its grand aim, all its business, and its supreme distinction and glory.

Observe, first, The blessing, “salvation.” It is the salvation of the soul; a “great salvation,” “so great salvation,” including deliverance from all possible evils, and the bestowment of and introduction to all conceivable good. It is “an everlasting salvation.” It is “salvation with eternal glory.” It is therefore a “full salvation,” leaving no evil unremoved, no want unsupplied, no hope uncompleted. It is a finished salvation so far as regards its purchase and procurement; and its actual accomplishment will be fully and perfectly performed in the day of Jesus Christ.

Secondly, “The day of salvation” intends first the season in which it is plainly revealed. It was early announced in the garden of Eden, and revealed unto the patriarchs, and shadowed forth in types and ceremonies. To them the Saviour was far off, but now he has approached; they saw him through a veil, we behold him with open face. And the day of salvation is “now;” because it is fully proclaimed and freely offered. The invitation is, “Whosoever will, let him come.” It is the “day of salvation” when Gentiles are made partakers of the same body, and Jesus Christ is God’s “salvation to the ends of the earth”- when he sends forth his servants into all the world to proclaim it. It is “now” the day of salvation, because “now” it is actually enjoyed. It is not a future blessing merely, but it is a present benefit; and therefore “now is the day of salvation.” Many have experienced it, and are enjoying it; and what numbers more shall experience and enjoy it? The present day is a day of discovery, a day of the spread of liberal opinions, of education, of new openings in trade and commerce; but the time in which we live is pre-eminently the day of a full, free, finished, and eternal salvation.

Observe, thirdly, The attention it deserves and demands. Let us “behold,” in order that we may remember and admire the goodness of God. Let us behold and consider that this day terminates with our lives; and what is our life but a vapour? “Behold,” how much of this day is already gone, and how uncertain the remainder of this brief and diminished period is; and that if the season be lost, it is irrecoverably gone; and if the season closes before the blessing be possessed, this will be the bitterest aggravation of the sinner’s doom. “Behold, now is the day of salvation;” therefore let us endeavour to bring others into the enjoyment of its distinguished blessings; and though we cannot save them meritoriously or efficiently, we may instrumentally. And let us remember, too, that it is their day of salvation as well as ours, and their only season as well as ours. “If any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him, let him know that he which converteth a sinner from the error of his way, shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.”

Subscribe …
Get the latest devotional delivered straight to your inbox every week by signing up for the "Mornings and Evenings with Jesus" subscription list. Simply provide your email address below, click on "Subscribe!", and you'll receive a confirmation email from us. Follow the instructions in the email to confirm your subscription to this list.
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile