Mark 5:35-43 There Is a Fountain Ahead

Mark 5:35-43  While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler.  “Your daughter is dead,” they said.  “Why bother the teacher any more?”  Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”  He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James.  When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly.  He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing?  The child is not dead but asleep.”  But they laughed at him.  After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was.  He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”).  Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old).  At this they were completely astonished.  He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat. 

In the above story we see a circumstance when it seems Jesus comes too late.  Surely, Jairus and his friends wondered why Jesus had come at all since the girl was dead.  Doesn't Jesus realize the situation had already been decided?  They laughed at him when He said, "The child is not dead but asleep.”  The onlookers knew death was a permanent condition.  They knew Jesus the healer was no longer needed in this home for this family.  HE ARRIVED TOO LATE!  As we consider this story,  we might ask ourselves, how often have we viewed  circumstances and situations where Jesus the miracle worker is seemingly too late to make a difference?  When have we felt that the Lord did not offer us any help until the die had been cast and permanency had set in, making change impossible.  In the above account, the divinity of Jesus is being affirmed, but as believers we must believe that Jesus can never be considered too late even when the  situation seems permanently set against us, and we did not receive the answer we wanted.  We must remember He is always near us, always ready to bless us.  Sometimes his presence brings miracles and interventions beyond our understanding; other times He gently says no, and allows nothing to change.  The latter sears our hearts, but regardless we trust God, believing by faith we will place our lives into his hands.  We read precious promises in his word: The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.  (Hebrews 13:6 & 8)  We believe the truth of God's Word and the Holy Spirit bears witness to our hearts and minds that God is faithful to keep us to the end, and He will never ever fail us.  As the Spirit told Paul: My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.  (2 Corinthians 12:9) 

Oftentimes, life for Christians can be compared to the Israelites' wilderness journey.  As they were, we are aliens in a desolate land, a foreign place, not our home.  The children of Israel were passing through to the Promised Land.  As with our lives, life in the wilderness can be demanding, difficult to endure.  As we many times do, the Israelites grumbled, expressed their discontent.  All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt!  Or in this desert!  Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword?  Our wives and children will be taken as plunder.  Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” (Numbers 14:2-3)  At least in Egypt they knew they had food to eat and water to drink that did not require a daily step of faith.  The enticements of Egypt often tempt Christians when the struggle seems too hard.  When our marriages fall apart, when relationships seem too difficult and hurtful, those are times when Jesus seems uninvolved or arrives too late.  We think He should have come when there was a possibility of things improving.  When the marriage on life-support could have been made better; when the difficult relationship was still viable: at these times, we are tempted to believe the solutions are in Egypt, the old life.  Turning toward Egypt, the unregenerate man's way, might make us feel better, like we are winning rather than losing.  We think if we release our temper and allow uncontrolled anger or bitterness to reign in our lives, we might find a release from pain.   Maybe resentment and unforgiveness will ease the hurting of our souls, allowing our spirits to pay back evil with evil.  Perhaps getting a pound of flesh from our enemy for every hurt we have experienced is just what we need.  Looking back to the old ways, our Egypt, seems all too tempting when we believe Jesus cannot help us.  When we are without hope, the temptations of our flesh become more attractive.  Our old habits of drinking binges, sexual escapades, cheating on our taxes, malicious gossiping, and the like might help us find our way back to Egypt, where we would be more at home, more comfortable.  But wait, these are all from the devil, all expressions of faithlessness, signs of our failure to endure in Christ's love.  We must trust in him: He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.  (1 Corinthians 1:8-9) 

As the Children of Israel traversed the wilderness, there was always a question in the minds of the people of whether they would perish in the wilderness or God would succeed in getting them to the Promised Land.  Since water is so essential in surviving a desert environment, the people constantly wondered whether there was an oasis in front of them, and if not, would God provide the miracle of water they needed.  Would there always be a fountain of water in their future?  The Children of Israel had to walk through the wilderness each day, believing God was ahead of them just as much as He was behind them.  All of them knew the promises of God in their heads, but they had to believe in God's faithfulness in their hearts: By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.  Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.  (Exodus 13:21-22)  Do we believe that?  When Jairus' experience enters our lives and the desert is a dry and barren place with no sign of refreshing, can we believe there is a fountain ahead us, that God will provide life for us.  Do we know in our hearts He is faithful and never enters our lives too late.  Yes, we face events and situations that seem permanently disabling, but God can turn those situations into great successes if we trust that there is a fountain ahead of us.  Can we believe that God is always working to make our lives successful?  Do we believe the verses we quote so easily: And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.  (Romans 8:28)  If we believe him, then we know that He never leaves us.  Real inexpressible joy comes when we believe God is always with us: ahead of us and behind us too.  This strong belief in God's enduring efficacy and presence is called faith.  Without faith, the Bible says it is impossible to please God.  The dust of the trail, the heat of the day, the coldness of the night challenge our faith, but dear friends remember, He is never too late for He is always with us to the ends of our days.  Rejoice in the Lord today!  

Mark 5:24-34 Go in Peace and Be Free

Mark 5:24-34  So Jesus went with him [Jairus].  A large crowd followed and pressed around him.  And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years.  She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.  When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”  Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.  At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”  “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’”  But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it.  Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth.  He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you.  Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

Jesus, the source of all power to create, was touched by this sick woman in the midst of a huge crowd of people.  Knowing his power of creation had been touched by someone in the crowd, Jesus asks, "Who touched my clothes?"  Someone had touched him by faith, believing Jesus had the power and authority to heal her.  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of men.  (John 1:1-4)  We understand through the written Word that Christ created all things and in him was the fullness of the Godhead.  We know when He came to Earth, He came to show us the Father; He came to show us the power of the Holy Spirit in human form.  This woman who had suffered for twelve years with a bleeding condition that had taken all her money for failed treatments did not know anything except what she had heard about Jesus.  Yet she came in faith believing if she could merely touch his clothes, she would be healed of this terrible infirmity.  When her bleeding immediately stopped and she knew she was healed, Jesus also knew healing power had gone out from his being, and He stopped to ask, "Who touched my clothes?"  With people pressing in upon him from every side and having another mission to go to Jairus' daughter, his disciples were amazed by his question.  But Jesus continued to look to see who had touched his healing virtue.  He did not have to look far, for the woman sought him out.  Knowing she was healed, she came to Jesus, fell before him, and told him her story.  He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you.  Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”  

What must the people have thought when they saw this miracle take place?  This woman's friends knew of her infirmity, knew how long she had suffered.  With an issue of blood, she would have been unclean, an outcast in society.  Yet she dared to touch a man, dared to reach out in faith to one she believed had the power to set her free.  Something deep inside her called out without knowing why to the maker of the universe who walked among men and women and revealed the love and mercy of Father God to a hurting and lost creation.  This same Jesus, creator of all things, who would die on a cruel cross to save sinners was willing to take time for one woman in the midst of a large crowd in need of his care.  In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.  (Hebrews 1:1-2)  Jesus spoke to the woman from the crowd on that day, and He told her to go forth in his peace, free from her suffering.  When Jesus was born and the angels appeared to the shepherds abiding with their flocks, the angels were praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."  (Luke 2:14)  All of the world was in chaos outside of Christ: there was no true and lasting peace.  Paul told the church at Ephesus: He is our peace.  (Ephesians 2:14)  Through Christ's sacrifice at the cross, God offers every one of us the opportunity to enter into his rest, to receive the everlasting peace and joy of the Lord regardless of our human circumstances.  As we are adopted into the family of God, we become his dearly loved children, joint-heirs with Christ.  In this position of authority and power, we go forth as Christ's ambassadors, sharing the Good News of the gospel, telling others without hope of the peace that passes all understanding.

Today, some of you at the breakfast table may be struggling with issues that you think have robbed you of your peace.  If that is so, then you needed this breakfast.  If Christ is your peace, and He is; you cannot lose your peace.  God is with you and He promised to remain with you always: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”  (Hebrews 13:5)  When Jesus sent his disciples out into the world, He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  (Matthew 28:18-20)  He does not call us to do his work and then abandon us.  The writer of Hebrews compares Christians who fail to enter into Christ's peace and rest to the children of Israel who would not enter the Promised Land God had prepared for them.  And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed?  So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief. (Hebrews 3:18-19)   They drew back in doubt, fear, and unbelief.  They did not trust in the Lord.  They did not believe in his promises.  Finally, they missed out on God's best for them.  God's Word is true, and He keeps his promises.  When we stop reading the Word and stop listening to the still small voice of the Spirit, our hearts grow cold and our faith wavers.  We start questioning God: Did God really say He would never leave me?  Will He always go with me?  When we stop walking by faith, we lose sight of the perfect will of God.  We lose sight of his plans for our lives.  Jesus has set us free to go in peace.  He has given us power from on high to take up the cross and to follow him.  May we walk in him, drawing from all that He is in us and all that we are in him.  Praise his lovely name forever!     

 

Mark 5: 21-24 Jesus Comes With Us

Mark 5: 21-24  When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake.  Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there.  Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying.  Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.”  So Jesus went with him.

Jairus, a synagogue ruler, a prominent citizen in the Jewish society, needed a miracle when he humbly fell at the feet of Jesus.  He knew his daughter would die without divine intervention in her life.  Later in the chapter, we discover Jairus' daughter does die before Jesus reaches her home; therefore, Jairus' concern about his daughter's imminent demise was valid.  Jairus is a member of Israel's ruling class.  Many of them opposed Jesus for various reasons: some felt he was an outright fraud; others thought he was trying to usurp the priests' authority; a few believed he was given supernatural power by the evil one.  Once when Jesus had healed a man with a shriveled arm on the Sabbath and then had withdrawn to the lake and had healed many others in the the crowd that surrounded him, the teachers of the law said, "He is possessed by Beelzebub!  By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.” (Mark 3:22)  Maybe Jairus was a true believer all along, but maybe because of his daughter illness he was a recent convert: a foxhole conversion experience in the time of need.  Regardless, he humbles himself on this day before Jesus, begging for his daughter's life.  How often even today, people of little believe or no believe in Jesus, turn to him when all else fails, when they have no hope.  The wonderful part of the account of Jairus and his daughter is that JESUS WENT WITH HIM immediately.  Regardless of Jairus' previous spiritual condition or his reason for turning to the Lord, Jesus had compassion on him and his daughter.  Jesus does not quibble or question Jairus's motivations, telling him that He is too busy doing God's miraculous work at his present location to be bothered by Jairus' concern.  No, Jesus immediately follows Jairus to his house.  We know Jesus' journey to Jairus' house will be interrupted by the woman with an issue of blood, but Jesus intends to  go with Jairus to his daughter's side immediately.  

Oftentimes in our own lives, we need Jesus to intervene in a miraculous way.  In those instances, as Christians, do we believe that Jesus is near us and desires to go with us immediately to meet our needs.  An essential component of the Christian faith is the staunch belief that Jesus is always near us, always willing to assist us in our daily walk in life.  An enduring faith believes without doubt that He is near us and will perfect that work he started in us.  The apostle Paul wrote that we can confidently believe that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.  (Philippians 1:6)  We know Christ is much greater than a computer for he hears and addresses everyone's concerns simultaneously.  His spirit does not have to leave another circumstance to meet our needs; no, He comes quickly to our concerns.  The Bible says God is much more loving and caring than a natural father who loves his children passionately.  Jesus said if a natural father who is evil gives gifts to his children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!  (Matthew 7:11)  We see in today's passage a man who humbles himself to persuade Jesus to enter into his life in a powerful, healing way.  We view a wonderful and powerful scene of solicitation, yet the Bible says we who are his children can come boldly to the throne of grace, asking what we will in faith as HIS SPIRIT petitions God on our behalf.  We are not bastards: we are in the family of God through and IN JESUS.  As we read in Hebrews, as his sons and daughters: Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.  (Hebrews 4:16)  Can we believe this REALITY or do we believe the scriptures are misleading, in error, a myth passed on by foolish people?  The God of the universe who inspired the holy scriptures is not capricious, not a prevaricator, not a deceiver.  HE IS NEAR US, displaying to us in every way, his love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  By the power of the Holy Spirit, He writes his will upon our hearts and minds.

If Jesus is such a wonderful, compassionate interventionist for us, why are our lives often full of seemingly unresolved pain and troubles?  Why does He not come quickly and deliver us when we find ourselves in such relentless difficulties?  When we  experience uncertainty and even unbelief, we must come back to the totality of the scriptures.  God is eternal, his work is eternal.  His purposes are beyond this timeframe of existence and our understanding.  In the Bible, we see people who are sick or have a problem that God allows.  We see the early church fleeing for their lives.  Why did God not destroy all those who were against the early church?  We see Paul with an infirmity.  God told him he would use that weakness to perfect Paul, allowing him to see that God's strength was made perfect in his weakness.  We see Paul in daily jeopardy of losing his life.  We see him beaten more times than he could count.  But in all of this distress, we find Paul standing firm in the faith, telling others about the goodness of God, asking all to pray continuously about everything and to rejoice in the Lord.  Was God away from him when Paul suffered?  No, God went with him as surely as Jesus went with Jairus.  Jesus' purpose for Jairus' daughter's healing was probably to reveal his divinity to the unbelievers in Israel.  In Paul's life Jesus revealed the reality of the Spirit in the life of a man of faith, totally committed to his Lord.  Paul's life indicates that regardless of the circumstance, the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit leads us if we will trust him.  Under constant duress, Paul writes letters of encouragement and joy.  He tells us God is alive and will always be with us even through the most dire times.  His letters encourage us to keep believing, to keep moving on IN THE LORD, even in the face of death, which all of us will experience.  When Paul neared the end, he told his son in the faith: For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day — and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.  (2 Timothy 4:6-8)  As Jesus goes with us, may this be our statement of faith when we finish the race.  

Mark 5:11-20 Broken Wings

Mark 5:11-20  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 evil 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 family 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.

Jesus had no sympathy for the many evil spirits who possessed the demoniac.  When Jesus cast the demons out of Legion, He was not doing them a favor, but He may have given them permission to enter the pigs to emphasize his power over them and also to reveal how many demons were holding Legion hostage.  As we see, the whole herd of two thousand pigs panicked when they felt the presence of the demons, killing themselves in the lake, giving the demons no living hosts in which to abide.  We see that the demons in Legion were truthful when they said, "we are many."  Who could have fathomed there were literally a multitude of these wicked, foul spirits in this one man, Legion.  But Jesus, by commanding them to go into the pigs, clearly revealed their immense number and the severity of Legion's condition.  These demons were not saved from destruction by entering the swine, for their hosts immediately destroyed themselves as they rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned, releasing these demons for eternal punishment in the abyss.  The Bible speaks of "the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels."  The demons understood that Jesus had the power to destroy them.  In another instance when a demon possessed man came to the synagogue where Jesus was teaching, and the demons said to Jesus, “Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth?  Have you come to destroy us?  I know who you are — the Holy One of God!”  When Jesus commanded the demon to come out and the man was freed, the people were amazed that He gives orders to evil spirits and they come out.  (Luke 4:34 & 36)  The news about Jesus' power spread throughout the area.

Dad had a dream the other night about a little bird with a broken wing.  He realized this bird would never have a normal life.  Even though it would live, the broken wing would dictate what it could do and what it could not do.  Literally, this small bird was enslaved by its own limitations.  We are like this injured bird, but we are enslaved by sin and death.  Burdened down, we are not free to fly as God intended us to rise to heavenly places.  We are bound to an earthly domain, unable to reveal God's intentions for us: to soar in the spirit.  Sin has left us with broken wings.  The Bible says, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23); consequently, we are enslaved to sin, and the author of sin is the evil one.  As we follow his dictates in life, he becomes our master.  We think we are functioning as freewill beings; actually, we are not free at all: our choices are not our own.  Paul understood this dilemma: So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.  For in my inner being I delight in God’s law;  but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.  What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.  For in my inner being I delight in God’s law;   but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.  What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?   (Romans 7:21-24)  Jesus came to rescue us from this broken state, from this slavery to sin.  He came to heal broken wings, to make them as if they never were broken, perfectly new.  The Bible calls this being born again.  We are IN CHRIST, new creatures, made to display his glory, to soar to new heights through the power of the Holy Spirit.    

Jesus set this wounded and demented man free from a life of slavery to the demons that bound him.  Legion no longer had to obey or to react to the will of these demons.  After his deliverance, he functioned in his right mind and received the ability to choose a new life.  No longer would Satan be in control of him.  He would be acting and talking as he desired.  For we know Jesus said that if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.  (John 8:36)  Legion would no longer be expressing the demons' wickedness.  Jesus directed him to go back and tell his story to his family and community.  Surely, his story included such remarks as, "I am free, I am free at last."  What a story of deliverance he had to tell!  And sometime soon, he must have adopted a new name, for he no longer carried a legion of demons within him, tormenting his every move.  How many of us today rejoice in the Lord because we have the same story: I am free, I am free at last!  Around this breakfast table the same story could be told by each participant in this meal.  We have been set free from the bondage of sin and death.  Our wings are no longer broken.  The evil one has no hold on our lives.  We are no longer enslaved by our limitations.  Praise God!  Through Jesus Christ's death and resurrection, the gate to freedom from our hopeless state has been opened to us.  Through that gate we enter into the Holy of Holies where God abides.  That is where we soar in the Spirit, delighting in all God has prepared for us.  What a story each one of us has to tell.  Now we are called saints of God, not sinners.  Because of Jesus, we can go back to our families and communities with a story of deliverance.  WE ARE LIVING TESTIMONIES OF HIS GRACE AND POWER.  As the Bible says, you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  (1 Peter 2:5)  Today, knowing who we are in Christ and who He is in us, may we sing the songs of deliverance and praise to our Lord, letting the whole world know Jesus saves to the uttermost!   

Mark 5:1-10 We Are Free Indeed!

Mark 5:1-10  They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.  When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him.  This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, 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?  Swear to God that you won’t torture me!”  For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you evil 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. 

Legion, a man bound hand and foot by tormenting demons, living a life of desperation and loneliness, illustrates quite dramatically the general lostness of the many who exist without God on this earth and without an eternal purpose.  Jesus says people who will not hear his words have a father who is the adversary of God himself.  Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here.  I have not come on my own; but he sent me.  Why is my language not clear to you?  Because you are unable to hear what I say.  You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire."  (John 842-44)  Jesus says those rebellious to his words are slaves to sin, and the author of this rebellion is the devil.  Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin."  (John 8:33)  Literally, Jesus is saying that those who live their lives for themselves, who act as if the eternal God does not exist, are bound hand and foot, prisoners of the evil one.  They are not like Legion, raving in the loneliness of the wilderness, displaying bizarre behavior, but they are equally as bound by the spirits of destruction as the hopeless Legion.  Their view of life as an accidental, transient experience with no real purpose other than to eat, drink, and be merry opens them up to the devil's lies, which includes that there is no God and that life is an ephemeral, existential experience, nothing more.  Of course these conclusions, push mankind into a dark cave of meaninglessness with no other purpose than to exist for this world's enticements, for they see no hope of a better life to come.  Christ told the people: When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.  All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.  After those on his right, blessed of the Father, enter into their eternal reward, Jesus will turn to his left, saying, Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  (Matthew 25:31-33 &41) 

When Jesus arrived on the shore that day, He came to bring hope to one who had no hope, to one who outside of Christ who would have faced the eternal flames of Hades.  He came to deliver Legion from a desperate life on this earth and from total separation from the God who loved him and sent his Son to ransom Legion from hell.  He came to set free an eternal soul trapped in his own dark cage of oppression.  Jesus immediately commands the demons to “Come out of this man, you evil spirit!”  Jesus refers to the demons in the singular, spirit; however, the man is possessed by many demons, all of them representing the kingdom of darkness.  For sure they represented one spirit of evil, and this spirit of evil intended to torment and then to destroy this man made in God's image.  The devil's pleasure is to oppress and finally to destroy anyone who is made in God's image.  As humans in his image, we are uniquely created to glorify God through Christ Jesus our Lord.  And IN CHRIST we become holy children of God, sons and daughters of the Most High, capable of being in The Almighty's presence forever.  The devil hates this plan of God; he hates us, for through Christ, we bring glory to God his advesary.  Consequently, Satan's evil intentions are to bring all humanity down to the pit of despair and hopelessness.  But we trust in the promises of God who planned a rescue mission from the beginning of time.  As the psalmist wrote: I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.  He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.  He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.  Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.  (Psalm 40:1-3)  There is no cry too weak for God to hear; no pit too deep for him to reach; no slim, mud or mire too laden with sin for the Holy Spirit to penetrate.  Christ broke every barrier of evil at the cross and won the victory over sin and death.  He says, "You are free!" And we are free indeed!

We who hear the voice of Christ and believe upon his holy name are set free from the consequence of sin which is death--death in this life and death in the life which is to come.  Paul explained so well the provision God has made for us: For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.  (Romans 5:17)  We have been made by God the Father to live eternally in the place prepared for those who love him, his much-loved children.  The blood-bought church of the living Lord is no longer bound by the chains of this evil world of sin and sickness.  Satan has no hold on the redeemed.  As surely as Christ arose, we have been raised in newness of life to overcome through the power of the Holy Spirit and to live forever in the presence of God.  We know who we are in Christ because his Word tells us: We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true.  And we are in him who is true — even in his Son Jesus Christ.  He is the true God and eternal life.  (1 John 5:20)   Dear children, live a life of spiritual fruitfulness.  Jesus has given us freedom and abundant life to do his work.  To every man and woman, He says, I have work for you to do.  I have set you free from the darkness of the cave and blessed you with spiritual gifts.  No longer are you lost in the wilderness.  No longer do you need to allow your mind to whirl because of the futility of this earthly existence.  No, my child, you have a purpose; you have a promised land to inherit; it is at the very heart of God.  Come boldly and confidently to the Holy of Holies.  There, you will find peace, rest, and joy.  Your mind will say, "I am finally home."  Anxiety, doubt, and fear will flee, for God will wipe away every tear.  Praise God, the Lord has come to our shore today, and He is ready to set us free as we yield everything to him.  Amen!  

We have been on vacation.  It is good to be back!