Divided Reflection 2/18/20:

I apologize as it’s been a while between my reflections.  Recently, I have been reading a couple books of quotes.  These quotes are taken from famous people throughout time highlighting the need for motivation, self-growth and the will to overcome.  These quotes are wonderful to read for when you just need to see something in writing that will remind you much of what you may be experiencing, someone else has already experienced and said something very clever about. 

Another unfortunate thing about quotes is that they only really cover a split second relief without actually offering any solution to the issue.  My grandfather was really good with quotes and I remember him throwing many my way as I faced difficult situations growing up.  One of his favorites was “work smarter not harder”.  I have thought of this occasionally as I would try to bull through something.  Why climb a wall when I can walk around it?  The Enemy uses this ideology in his work as well.  He knows there are easier ways to pull people away from Christ and if allowed, he will work smart in his efforts.  Satan doesn’t attack the Church directly; he does it though individuals who are already there.  He is the king of deceit, lies and false witness.  And, most importantly, the Enemy will not stop until he finds the weak-link and exploits it.

In Mark 3:22-30, the scribes from Jerusalem said that the reason Jesus was able to drive out demons was because He was from Satan Himself.  “It is through the prince of devils that he drives devils out.”  I always wondered why anyone, even they, would go so deep in challenging Christ as to call Him evil.  The reason however is simple, to divide the people from Him.  The fastest way to destroy something is to do it from the inside, to pull the center support out from under and allow it to fall in, rot, decay from the inside out. 

Jesus answered this challenge but saying “How can Satan drive out Satan?  If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot last.  And if a household is divided against itself, that household can never last.”  The Enemy wants to divide our families, our households, our workplaces, our churches so that he can destroy what God has built from within. 

If we allow Satan to divide us from God’s purpose in our life, we are making the Enemy’s job easier!  If we divide others from God’s purpose in their life, we are doing the Enemy’s job for him!  Division is destruction in slow form.  Whether it is a team, an organization, or an individual, it must not be divided from God’s mission least it can never last.   Don’t allow division to pull us from Christ. 

Mr. Swann / Principal