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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
When he arrived at the other side in the region of the
Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so
violent that no one could pass that way. "What do you want with us, Son of
God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the
appointed time?"
Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs."
He said to them, "Go!" So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.
Matthew 8:28-34
Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs."
He said to them, "Go!" So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.
Matthew 8:28-34
They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.
When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs
to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore,
not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore
the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to
subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and
cut himself with stones.
When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his
knees in front of Him. He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want
with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” For
Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”
Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” And
he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.
A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The
demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” He
gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs.
The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the
lake and were drowned.
Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the
town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. When
they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of
demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those
who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed
man—and told about the pigs as well.
Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their
region.
As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been
demon-possessed begged to go with Him. Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go
home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and
how He has had mercy on you.”
So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how
much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.
Mark 5:1-20
They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is
across the lake from Galilee. When Jesus stepped ashore, He was met by a
demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn
clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he
cried out and fell at His feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you
want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” For
Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had
seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he
had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.
Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into
him. And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.
A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside.
The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and He gave them
permission. When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and
the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they
ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out
to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom
the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind;
and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people how the
demon-possessed man had been cured. Then all the people of the region of the
Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So He
got into the boat and left.
The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go
with Him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return home and tell how much God
has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus
had done for him.
Luke 8:26-38
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be
to God.
Do you have any demons?
It’s definitely not a crazy question by any means.
You see, we hear the word “demon” we often automatically think about the movie, “The Exorcist”, or other movies like it where so much evil has entered a person that they are fully possessed, tormented, and left incapacitated, unable to be who they are because the demon has taken over.
But is every demon one that consumes a person and takes them over?
Not necessarily.
Consider the definition of the word “demon”. Webster’s says a demon is an “evil spirit” but then also adds that it could be “a source or agent of evil, harm, distress, or ruin”.
With that, here’s a question to consider:
Is there anything in your life that is a source of evil or causing harm or distress or ruin, or even a combination of these things?
If you aren’t under any of these now, then maybe you have been before at sometime. For we all may have found ourselves in distress at some time or another and if we haven’t then stand by because it seems to be a part of the life experience.
Do you have any demons?
It’s definitely not a crazy question by any means.
You see, we hear the word “demon” we often automatically think about the movie, “The Exorcist”, or other movies like it where so much evil has entered a person that they are fully possessed, tormented, and left incapacitated, unable to be who they are because the demon has taken over.
But is every demon one that consumes a person and takes them over?
Not necessarily.
Consider the definition of the word “demon”. Webster’s says a demon is an “evil spirit” but then also adds that it could be “a source or agent of evil, harm, distress, or ruin”.
With that, here’s a question to consider:
Is there anything in your life that is a source of evil or causing harm or distress or ruin, or even a combination of these things?
If you aren’t under any of these now, then maybe you have been before at sometime. For we all may have found ourselves in distress at some time or another and if we haven’t then stand by because it seems to be a part of the life experience.
Doubt that?
Then consider that synonyms for distress are grief, worry
and woe, someone who is upset, afflicted and bothered. If you’ve ever felt any
of these, then you have been demonized to some extent. There’s little debating that
our life’s circumstances sometime leave us haunted by the past, or possibly
haunted by the present, or even haunted by what might be ahead. Too often, life
has a way of leaving our hearts, souls, and minds troubled.
Given this truth, thanks be to God we have Jesus who showed us yesterday that He had the power to calm a raging storm by just the mere words from His mouth. Today, He shows that He also has power over demons, making Him the Great Demon Disposer.
Our scripture starts with Jesus arriving “in the region of the Gadarenes”, a location about six miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee. The Gadarenes was largely populated by Gentiles (more on that later) and once arriving, Matthew’s account tells us Jesus encountered “two demon-possessed men” who had come from the tombs to meet Him. These tombs were usually where the dead were buried or the impoverished lived. In the case of the two possessed men, it seems there was an attempt to imprison them in the tombs, the scriptures telling is the men had been chained hand and foot but the shackles could not contain the man as he broke free from them. Such was the torment the man was under that we read where he would cry out at night from the tombs and regularly cut himself with stones. Indeed, these weren’t mild demonic spirits the men were dealing with for “they were so violent that no one could pass that way.”
Of interest, Mark and Luke’s version of this encounter only mentions one of the two men, the one through which the demons were speaking. We know we are talking about demon-s plural because the evil spirits disclose it themselves, telling Jesus their name was Legion because they were many. We don’t know how many but we do know that the demons understood who Jesus was as they “shouted to Jesus”:
Given this truth, thanks be to God we have Jesus who showed us yesterday that He had the power to calm a raging storm by just the mere words from His mouth. Today, He shows that He also has power over demons, making Him the Great Demon Disposer.
Our scripture starts with Jesus arriving “in the region of the Gadarenes”, a location about six miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee. The Gadarenes was largely populated by Gentiles (more on that later) and once arriving, Matthew’s account tells us Jesus encountered “two demon-possessed men” who had come from the tombs to meet Him. These tombs were usually where the dead were buried or the impoverished lived. In the case of the two possessed men, it seems there was an attempt to imprison them in the tombs, the scriptures telling is the men had been chained hand and foot but the shackles could not contain the man as he broke free from them. Such was the torment the man was under that we read where he would cry out at night from the tombs and regularly cut himself with stones. Indeed, these weren’t mild demonic spirits the men were dealing with for “they were so violent that no one could pass that way.”
Of interest, Mark and Luke’s version of this encounter only mentions one of the two men, the one through which the demons were speaking. We know we are talking about demon-s plural because the evil spirits disclose it themselves, telling Jesus their name was Legion because they were many. We don’t know how many but we do know that the demons understood who Jesus was as they “shouted to Jesus”:
"What do you
want with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before the appointed
time?"
Yes, the demons knew exactly who they were dealing with. We know because they identify Jesus as being the “Son of God” and understand the power that comes with that. The demons also knew Jesus had the power to torture and destroy them for they begged Him to send them into a herd of pigs instead of eternal destruction in the Abyss if He drove them out of the men they possessed.
Yes, the demons knew exactly who they were dealing with. We know because they identify Jesus as being the “Son of God” and understand the power that comes with that. The demons also knew Jesus had the power to torture and destroy them for they begged Him to send them into a herd of pigs instead of eternal destruction in the Abyss if He drove them out of the men they possessed.
Note here that this was just another indicator of the
region being largely Gentile. Pigs were considered the most unclean animal
possible by the Jews and thus no Jew would have a single pig let alone a large
herd of them. Frankly, it was no coincidence that Jesus chose impure animals to
bear impure spirits for the scriptures tell us that Jesus granted the demons
request and commanded the demons to leave the men and go into the pigs. The
request Jesus would not honor was the one to not bring judgment on the demons
for no sooner did the evil spirits enter the pigs that the animals “rushed down
the steep bank into the lake and died in the water.” The demons were cast into
the Abyss despite their desire not to be and through His actions, Jesus, the
Son of God, showed us that He truly was and still is the Great Demon Disposer.
Go back to the opening discussion.
Go back to the opening discussion.
What is demonizing you? What is causing you distress?
What is causing you to worry or feel anxious, stressed, or afraid?
You need to identify these things, write them down and name them if need be, and then turn those demons over to the One who can drive them away, to Jesus.
You need to identify these things, write them down and name them if need be, and then turn those demons over to the One who can drive them away, to Jesus.
One thing’s for sure. You don’t have the power to do it
yourself, no matter how much you think you might, but Jesus does.
Won’t you trust in Him right now and allow Him to rid you
of whatever is tormenting you, bringing healing and peace as He does? He’s
standing by and ready to drive out your demons and show you a peace that
transcends all understanding (Philippians 4:6-7).
My prayer is that you will seek Him, allow Him to do what only He can do, and find your rest in Him, now and forever.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
My prayer is that you will seek Him, allow Him to do what only He can do, and find your rest in Him, now and forever.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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