Happy Monday! Do you remember the days as a kid when it was clean up day? Well, I certainly do. It was one Saturday, I was probably seven years old when I decided to take a short cut in cleaning. I made up my bed and then I took everything that was on the floor or lying around and I put it under my bed. I happily skipped off to tell my mom that my room was clean. She came in and inspected. She found the room spotless,  however,  my mom was smarter than a seven-year old. She moved my little twin bed and saw my stash…I’d been discovered. Sometimes we can appear to have a clean life, stashes of junk from our past stuffed here and there. But God is willing to come clean our house. Let Him. Enjoy today’s devotion and your day. 

Bible Verse – Matthew 12:43-45 NLT
⁴³ “When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order. ⁴⁵ Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation.”

Reflection
Last week, we read verse 39, where Jesus had replied to the teachers and Pharisees who were seeking a sign that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus said, “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah.” Today, Jesus continued to address what would happen to the evil generation.”

The story Jesus shares in these verses is an example of the Pharisees who attempted to make themselves clean without God. They sought out religious acts but their hearts were far from God; which permitted Satan the opportunity to return in their lives even bolder.

Sisters and brothers, when we ask Christ Jesus into our lives to be our Lord and Savior, He alone makes us clean and transforms us. It’s in our relationship with Him that we have been given strengthen and are filled with power to defeat the enemies schemes. It’s the Lord and our relationship with Him that fills us up. Religious acts alone will continue to have us seeking things that don’t fulfill us. We can be the most devoted pastor, teacher, leader, singer and server in the church, but without a personal relationship with Christ Jesus we will never live up to our full potential in Christ or find fulfillment – leaving the door open for the enemy to return stronger or bolder in our lives.

So today, ask the Lord to clean house – clear out anything in you that doesn’t please Him. Then ask Him to fill you to capacity with his Holy Spirit so that there will be no room for the enemy to return or return with more demons to distract you from your relationship with Jesus Christ and what He has called you to do or purposed you for. 

Prayer
Father God, thank you for today. We thank you for the love that you have for us. Lord, thank you for your instructions and wise counsel. Lord, you are our rock and fortress. Lord, remove anything in us that does not please you. Lord, press it out until there is no more. Lord, create in us a clean heart and spirit. Lord, increase or faithful and strengthen our passion to follow you. Lord, equip us with your word and fill the spaces in our lives, that are targets for the enemy, with more of you. Lord armor us up and shield us from the strongholds of the enemy. Lord, we pray for those suffering with any addiction and we ask that you remove any desire for them to continue with their addiction. Lord, we ask that you set them free from the temptations or desire to continue in their addiction or turn back to the addiction. Lord, heal those who are sick. Lord, be with those who were/are impacted by the tsunamis that took place. Help them to recover. Send what they need with urgency, Lord. Lord be with us all and place your favor on us as we go through the day. Lord, strengthen your family and make us more like you. In Jesus name, amen!

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