Whose House? 

“Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee.” James 4:7

One day the owner of a beautiful house heard a knock at the door and when he opened it he found the Lord of glory, Jesus Himself, waiting to be welcomed in. “Do you want to come into my house?” the man asked in wonder. “Please come in; I am so honored to have you in my home.” Jesus came in and then the man led Jesus to the best, cleanest room in the house for Him to live in.

The next day, there was another knock at the door and this time it was the devil. The man slammed the door shut, but the devil got a foot in the door, pushed it open, and began to wrestle with this homeowner. The wrestling match went on all day long until finally the man got Satan back out the door. He was totally exhausted and couldn’t help wondering why Jesus hadn’t done anything.

The next morning, he heard the knock again and planned to ignore it. But there was something alluring about the knock, so he decided to take a small peek. He opened the door a crack, and before he knew it, the devil was back in. While wrestling all day, he couldn’t help but be offended by Jesus. “Why isn’t He doing anything?” So when he finally got Satan out the door, he walked up the stairs and knocked on Jesus’ door.

The Lord of glory opened the door, and the man was careful to be respectful: “Sir, I didn’t want to disturb You, but I thought You should know the devil’s been here the last two days. I have exhausted myself fighting him and was hoping to get some help in the future.”

“My Son,” Jesus said with love in His eyes, “you have invited me to live in your house, but the truth is that I have already paid for this house with My own blood. Why don’t you get the deed and give it to Me, so instead of Me living in your house; you live in Mine.” 

The next morning the knock came again and fear grabbed the man’s heart. He was so tired he didn’t know if he could resist the knock or get the devil out again if he opened the door. Then he heard steps on the stairs. It was Jesus and He didn’t look happy. “Son,” he said, “I want you to open the door and not just a crack. I will stand right behind you. Ask him what he wants.” There was fire in the eyes of Jesus.

The man opened the door wide and there was the devil in all his hideousness. “What do you want?” the man asked. The devil started trembling. “Nothing,” he said, as he turned to flee.