JOIN THE JOURNEY JR.
Families Abiding in Jesus together
With shorter reading assignments and kid-specific focus areas, Join The Journey Jr. is designed to help parents disciple their kids and engage with Scripture in the best ways for their age.
This month's memory verse
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
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But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?”
11God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles. 12When handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled.
13A group of Jews was traveling from town to town casting out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation, saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!” 14Seven sons of Sceva, a leading priest, were doing this. 15But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?” 16Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered.
17The story of what happened spread quickly all through Ephesus, to Jews and Greeks alike. A solemn fear descended on the city, and the name of the Lord Jesus was greatly honored. 18Many who became believers confessed their sinful practices. 19A number of them who had been practicing sorcery brought their incantation books and burned them at a public bonfire. The value of the books was several million dollars.*20So the message about the Lord spread widely and had a powerful effect.
Can you think of a time that you were afraid? What were you afraid of? Why was it scary to you? Take a moment and share with your family.
In Ephesus, there were some scary things happening because the city was full of real spiritual darkness. People practiced magic, cast spells, and worshiped fake gods. Many of the people there only cared about having power, so they would seek even evil power to have it. We see in our passage a group of men tried to fight evil spirits using Jesus’s name like a magic trick, and it went horribly wrong for them, because they didn’t actually know Jesus (Acts 19:13–16).
But Paul wasn’t afraid to be in Ephesus. Paul faced real evil there, and he didn’t need to be afraid, because he wasn’t relying on his own strength. The Holy Spirit lived inside him, giving him both courage and the power of the Holy Spirit. Think about that! The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead was living in Paul!
That’s what makes Jesus’s power different from every other power in the world. Jesus didn’t only heal people or cast out evil spirits while he was alive. He died on a cross, and three days later, he rose back to life! Death is the strongest power there is and Jesus beat it. That means there is nothing, no evil spirit, no fear, no dark power in Ephesus or anywhere else, that is stronger than Jesus.
That same power is not just a story from long ago. You have the Holy Spirit living inside you the moment you trust in Jesus, just like the believers Paul prayed for at the start of Acts 19. That means you do not have to be afraid of evil, of scary things, or of the dark, because the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is living in you right now. We are never facing anything alone, and we are never facing anything with a power bigger than God’s.