“Be Careful How You Use The Name Of Jesus!”

“Be Careful How You Use The Name Of Jesus!”
Yesterday we read how Jesus told his disciples not to stop anyone who performed miracles in his name. That does rule out the fact that Jesus also said, “Not everybody who says, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven.”
In Ephesus the seven sons of Sceva a Jewish chief priest saw how “God did extraordinary miracles through Paul” and they thought they could do the same. They would say over demon-possessed persons, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.”
One day the evil spirit in a possessed person answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” So saying the man jumped on them and gave them the beating of their lives, such that they had to run out of the house naked and bleeding. When both Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus heard this “they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honour. Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. Those who had practised sorcery brought their scroll together and burned them publicly… In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power”(Acts 19:11-20).
Oh yes, “at the mention of the name of the Lord every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord!” But nobody should call the name of the Lord in vain!
Deceptive miracles now abound all around us! But one day, the fake manipulators will confess publicly and the word of the Lord will continue to spread widely and with power! However, God works in mysterious ways! The sons of Sceva wanted to use the name of Jesus for self-gains and to earn cheap popularity, but it led to the conversion of many!
Be genuine when you call on the name of the Lord because even today the demons still ask, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”
Prayer: Holy Spirit enable me to call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in earnestness and not for self-gains. Amen!
Have a blessed weekend! Peace be with you!