Daily Devotion - The Prince of Demons

Jesus miraculously heals the disabled, dines with sinners, and spars with the Pharisees.

“I never have any difficulty believing in miracles, since I experienced the miracle of a change in my own heart.” - Saint Augustine

Opening Prayer: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. Lord, have mercy on me, strengthen me, guide me, and walk with me this day. Amen.” - from Psalm 103

Today’s Reading: Matthew 9

Summary: In Matthew 9, Jesus heals a paralyzed man who is lowered through a roof, demonstrating His authority to forgive sins. He calls Matthew, a tax collector, to follow Him, and dines with sinners, causing criticism from the Pharisees. Jesus performs several more miracles, including healing a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years and raising a girl from the dead, while also emphasizing the need for new wine in new wineskins to signify the arrival of a new covenant.

Consider

v. 3-7: And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” And he rose and went home.

Working in corporate America, I’m continually shocked by the way many of my co-workers and leaders have been indoctrinated by the therapeutic industrial complex, where every trial is trauma, every moment of nervousness or uncertainty is undiagnosed anxiety, and every fault can be easily explained away by an online personality test. It’s as if life is one big bully and we’re all living as its perpetual victims.

One of the most repeated buzzwords in the therapeutic, biomedical industrial complex is “self-forgiveness.” In a system that is already highly narcissistic, the most important thing one can do, apart from loving themselves, is to forgive themselves.