Jesus I know, and Paul I've Heard of, But Who Are You?: One Year Bible Reading for June 29

 Today we read from these verses:

2 Kings 15:1-16:20
Acts 19:13-41
Psalm 147:1-20
Proverbs 18:4-5

Let's look at Acts. First of all, the reference is full of prime numbers. 19, 13, and 41 are all prime. Interesting, huh? Well, I thought so anyway. But this is one of my favorite stories from the Bible. These guys are like "Did you hear about Paul and his friends casting out demons?? That sounds awesome. We should try that..." so they find someone with a demon and they try it. 

That's not a good plan, because demons are very smart, they've been around for a long time, and they're liars. So you're probably gonna get hurt if you play around with them. That's not to say we shouldn't confront them, but only when God calls us to. And usually He tells us to let Him handle them. Look at Jude 1:9 for an example of how even the archangels don't accuse the devil to his face, but let Jesus take care of him.

So what happens? The demons say, "I know Jesus, and I've heard of Paul. But who are you?" and they beat them up and the guys run out of the house, bleeding and naked. That's what happens when you try to do spiritual warfare and you're unprepared.

But the good thing is, God calls us to focus our attention on Him. Yes, there might be times when devils need to be driven out. But even then, calling on Jesus name and singing His praise is one of the best ways to drive out the evil ones. 

In our day to day life, we should let God handle the devil and focus on loving God and loving our neighbors. That's what we're ALL called to do.

God, thanks for prime numbers and important lessons.