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But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness Gal 5:22 |
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Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Monday, June 17, 2019
Today's Passage : Today's Passage:Jesus Heals Two Men with Demons Bible Verse :Matthew 8:28-34 "And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region." Message:
Mark's account of this incident is more detailed and worth reading at this point: (Mark 5:1-20)
Christian attitudes about demons cover a wide range. A lot of us believe in them literally and, at the opposite extreme, a lot of us believe that demons do not exist as actual beings, but was an ancient method used to describe mental illness. Some believe that demons did exist but were abolished by the crucifixion, or at least, lost their power over Christians. By the same light, some theologians see Satan not as a being, but as a spiritual force, a personificationPersonification: The attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form. rather than a person.
Our beliefs in this regard have exactly zero significance to our salvation. We are justified by our faith in Christ and saved by our rebirth in Him. (In this regard, see, for example, 1 Corinthians 9.)
C. S. Lewis took a sensible middle ground in this regard, as in this quote from The Screwtape Letters: “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.” The problem with dwelling on demonology is that, almost always, it leads to superstition and ultimately fosters evil. One need but say the words “witch hunt” to understand how badly an obssession with demons can damage Christianity.
At any rate, Christ treats demons as persons, and converses with them as if they are separate beings rather than the product of a schizophrenic's diseased mind; and so shall we.
One very odd characteristic of New Testament demons, such as those here (collectively named “Legion” in Mark), is how readily they recognize Christ to be the Son of God. Even stranger, they recognize that there will come a time in the future (the crucifixion) when they are to be defeated; Legion complain that Christ has come to torment them “before the time.”
The demons are actually more respectful of Christ than the townspeople. Even though Christ heals the afflicted men and restores them to their right mind (Mark 5:15), thereby removing the terrorizing threat they had posed to local inhabitants, all the townspeople care about is that their pigs have died! So they invite Jesus to please go somewhere else.
The great lesson here is that we do not need to fear demons or evil spirits. They have no power over Christians. E.g. Luke 10:17-20. Satan can only tempt; he cannot harm us directly, for the Holy Spirit protects us.
Meditation : Prayer : Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, I pray that you direct my way unto you, and make me and all of us to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you; to the end that we may establish our hearts unblameable in holiness before you, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints......Amen |
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