“Beat it, Satan!” ~~Jesus

Jesus understands Satan’s approach. Three times Satan tempts him. 

Jesus quotes God’s word and then uses his authority to send Satan on his way. Jesus has given us the same authority. We are in the new plan with God. Jesus brokered the agreement.

May I use the authority of Jesus.

“Beat it, Satan!” ~~Jesus (Matthew 4:10 The Message)

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Not of his own authority

Wow, after all that time. Imagine what he has seen Jesus do firsthand. How the words of our Lord must have stung. But it wasn’t cruelty. It was love. He was answering Philip’s question. And He wanted to be clear. And He was. What was happening wasn’t the ordinary. It was a new plan unfolding. It was good news even if it didn’t feel like it some days.

Jesus is challenging me to change my mind about who is in control. His authority is now established. It is real. I must keep leaning into His power. I must keep the relationship in tact. I must know Him. Now.

Jesus answered: ‘Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. John 14:9-11

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“Tell me your name.” ~~Jesus to the demons in a man

Imagine this. One day Jesus arrives in the country of Gerasenes by boat. As Jesus got out of the boat, a madman from the cemetery came up to him. He lived there among the tombs and graves. No one could restrain him—he couldn’t be chained, couldn’t be tied down. He had been tied up many times with chains and ropes, but he broke the chains, snapped the ropes. No one was strong enough to tame him. Night and day he roamed through the graves and the hills, screaming out and slashing himself with sharp stones. This is one terrifying dude.

When he saw Jesus a long way off, he ran and bowed in worship before him—then bellowed in protest, “What business do you have, Jesus, Son of the High God, messing with me? I swear to God, don’t give me a hard time!” (Jesus had just commanded the tormenting evil spirit, “Out! Get out of the man!”)

Jesus asked him to tell Him his name. He replied, “My name is Mob. I’m a rioting mob.” Then he desperately begged Jesus not to banish them from the country. A large herd of pigs was browsing and rooting on a nearby hill. The demons begged him, “Send us to the pigs so we can live in them.” Jesus gave the order. But it was even worse for the pigs than for the man. Crazed, they stampeded over a cliff into the sea and drowned.  Those tending the pigs, scared to death, bolted and told their story in town and country. Everyone wanted to see what had happened. They came up to Jesus and saw the madman sitting there wearing decent clothes and making sense, no longer a walking madhouse of a man.

Those who had seen it told the others what had happened to the demon-possessed man and the pigs. At first they were in awe—and then they were upset, upset over the drowned pigs. They demanded that Jesus leave and not come back. As Jesus was getting into the boat, the demon-delivered man begged to go along, but he wouldn’t let him. Jesus said, “Go home to your own people. Tell them your story—what the Master did, how he had mercy on you.” The man went back and began to preach in the Ten Towns area about what Jesus had done for him. He was the talk of the town.

Jesus is in control, always. There is no nasty demon that He can’t send packing. They obey him and we must know it.

 “Tell me your name.” ~~Jesus to the demons in a man. (Mark 5:9-10)

“I’ve been given it all by my Father! Only the Father knows who the Son is and only the Son knows who the Father is.” ~~Jesus

Oh my goodness. Jesus has everything. It is a great gift from His Father. All authority, power, love. Everything!! Nothing is lacking in Him. Their relationship is like none other. Only that kind of love can produce a world for us that is different than what we know today.

Jesus has it all. Nothing is impossible or lacking. May I know it and live that way.

“I’ve been given it all by my Father! Only the Father knows who the Son is and only the Son knows who the Father is.” ~~Jesus (Luke 10:22)

“The great triumph is not in your authority over evil, but in God’s authority over you and presence with you.” ~Jesus

Some days we get excited about the wrong thing. What matters is God’s complete rule in our life. What mattes is His presence in my relationships. Yes, we have authority and can exercise it. But that isn’t what is important. We must remember that daily. Doing what God wants is the key.

“The great triumph is not in your authority over evil, but in God’s authority over you and presence with you.” ~Jesus

“I came with the authority of my Father, and you either dismiss me or avoid me.” ~~Jesus

Jesus declares to us in a very clear way that He has the authority of God, His Father. There is no level of subtlety in his assertion. We can accept Him. We can reject Him. We can avoid Him. What we can’t do is ignore the fact of who He is. His greatest desire and passion is that we accept Him and the life he has to offer us.

“Why are you so skeptical?” ~~Jesus to religious scholars (and now, Page 2)

Jesus had said to a paraplegic, “Son, I forgive your sins.” This infuriated the religious scholars. They whispered “He can’t talk that way! That’s blasphemy! God and only God can forgive sins.” Catch that? Blasphemy. Who is Jesus to forgive sins? Jesus asks them why they are so skeptical. There He is, the Son of God. He can forgive sins. God has given Him that authority. He also knows that may be a tough pill to swallow. So, he says “Which is simpler: to say to the paraplegic, ‘I forgive your sins,’ or say, ‘Get up, take your stretcher, and start walking’? Well, just so it’s clear that I’m the Son of Man and authorized to do either, or both . . .” (he looked now at the paraplegic), “Get up. Pick up your stretcher and go home.” And the man did it—got up, grabbed his stretcher, and walked out, with everyone there watching him. They rubbed their eyes, incredulous—and then praised God, saying, “We’ve never seen anything like this!”

They started out skeptical and ended up praising God. That is Jesus and that is us some days. Starting out skeptical. Ending up praising God. It is our choice.

“Why are you so skeptical?~~Jesus to religious scholars

“The one who rejects you, rejects me.” ~Jesus

Jesus has given us His authority. We are His ambassadors to His world (Kingdom) here on earth. We fully represent Him. If this world rejects Jesus they reject God who sent Him. Jesus calls on us, in fact demands us, to get this deep in our souls. When we command things to happen, in the name of Jesus, they happen. We represent Him. Lock, stock and barrel.

“The one who rejects you, rejects me. And rejecting me is the same as rejecting God, who sent me.”~Jesus

Authority in God's world

I live and work in a world where authority comes from a vote or an appointment. I see, every day, titles of people who have been “hired” or appointed to do something. Is that where my authority comes from?

No. It comes from Jesus and God. That is all there is to know. In God’s world (and that is the world I really live in), He is in control. He makes the appointments. My authority comes from Him. That is all there is to it but it is way to easy to forget that.

I, Paul, and my companions in faith here, send greetings to the Galatian churches. My authority for writing to you does not come from any popular vote of the people, nor does it come through the appointment of some human higher-up. It comes directly from Jesus the Messiah and God the Father, who raised him from the dead. Galatians 1:1-5