Devo Acts 19

Chapter 19
13Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name
of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the
name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” 14Seven sons of
Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15(One day) the evil spirit answered
them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” 16Then the man
who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them
such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. 17When this
became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with
fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. 18Many of those who
believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. 19A number who had
practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When
they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.
20In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.

Meditation:
1. Uttering or chanting the name of Jesus is no key to supernatural power. The
key is having a personal relationship with Jesus, being available to Him and
learning to see where He is at work.
2. Do I use Jesus’ name lightly?
3. Is there still something in my life that belongs to the idols or witchcraft? Am
I willing to get rid of them all?

Personal Note:
Jesus Christ name is powerful and God you are never going to be fooled.  You know the depths of my heart. I am coming back to the heart of worship and it's all about you, it's all about you Jesus.  I am sorry Lord for the things I have made it, when it is all about you, it's all about you Jesus.  I desire a deep and personal relationship with you.  I am willing to rid myself of greed, envy, lust, and pride.  The people were willing to burn 50,000 scrolls of idolatrous items, each worth a day's wages.  Let's assume each day's wage is ($12/hr x 8 hrs = $96 ~ $100), that's like almost $5,000,000 (5 million).  Dedication and repentance takes sacrifice and action.  In this way, the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.  We need people to take Jesus Christ seriously and repent sacrificially in order to have the Gospel spread widely and grow in power.