How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, it cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, it cannot stand. And if Satan is divided and rises against himself, he cannot stand; his end has come.
Mark 3:23-26
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A house divided
Teachers of the law from Jerusalem claimed Jesus got his power from Beelzebul, the prince of demons. His answer is simple logic: why would Satan tear down his own work? A kingdom of evil that fights itself has reached its end.
The image reaches beyond this conversation. In June 1858 Abraham Lincoln used these words about a nation divided over slavery: a house divided against itself cannot stand. A person can be divided like that too: half wanting to believe, half not. What is torn apart inside will not stand in the long run.
Question for today
Where is my heart pulling in two directions?
Prayer
Lord, you know the division in my heart and around me. Bring together what has come apart. Amen.
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