From His Heart Daily Devotional 13 December 2021
ARE YOU KNOWN IN HELL?
“But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus saying, ‘I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.’ And seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. And the evil spirit answered and said to them, ‘I recognize Jesus, and know about Paul, but who are you?‘” Acts 19:13-15
When I was a kid growing up in the little town of Los Altos, CA, I remember going to the United States Post Office with my mom. Post Offices were well-known for one interesting thing: They had a bulletin board of the FBI’s Most Wanted. Customers of the Post Office were alerted to these enemies of the state as their mug shots were plastered all over the country. If you had seen one of these enemies, you were to notify the authorities immediately, for these people were considered armed and dangerous.
THE DEVIL’S BULLETIN BOARD
Did you know that there is a bulletin board in hell’s Post Office? The devil mounts pictures of those he considers enemies to the kingdom of darkness. These folks are guilty of being radiant Christians, empowered by the Holy Spirit and armed with the word of God. They are people like Paul, known in heaven… and feared in hell.
Let me ask you a sobering, thought-provoking question. Is your picture on the devil’s bulletin board? Are you known in heaven and feared in hell? Or do you just have a secondhand faith?
Acts 19 tells us about a man named Sceva and his seven sons. They were Jewish exorcists who didn’t know the Lord but wanted to use the power of His name. They thought the name of Jesus to a demon was like kryptonite to Superman. What they didn’t realize, however, was the power over demons came from actually knowing Jesus, not just knowing about Him. They tried to piggyback on Paul’s faith in Christ, and it did not work well at all.
The demon replied to these Jewish exorcists and basically said, “Who are you to order me? You are not on our bulletin board. You are not armed and dangerous.” The Bible says, “And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded” (Acts 19:16).
A secondhand faith will never experience the power of God. Jesus is not a lucky rabbit’s foot. He is the King of glory, the Savior of the world. He wants to have a genuine relationship with you. He wants to fill your life with His love and grace. He wants to live through you and make you a force for His kingdom, salt and light in a lost and dying world.
If you have never done so, you can join the Lord’s army today and become armed and dangerous for the King. If you have gone AWOL, you can get back on track with Him, for He is the God of second chances (see Jonah 3:1).
One of the Lord’s favorite words is come. Will you take Him up on His invitation and come to Him?
And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost. (Rev. 22:17).
Love,
Pastor Jeff Schreve,
From His Heart Ministries
