August 14: Hidden from the “wise”

At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."    (Matthew 11:25-27 — New American Standard Bible)

There are two kinds of wisdom and intelligence. The wisdom of the world often fills people with pride; they can become impressed with how much they know, how wise they are, and how much they are able to accomplish. It’s difficult for them to listen to others, or to admit that there are things they do not know. Jesus is referring to these people when He says that God has hidden things from the wise and intelligent. Proud people will not go to God, and God cannot teach proud people. Proud people commonly deny that there is a God; and even if they do admit that He exists, they do not feel the need for His help. They will never admit to feeling powerless or being sinners, and repentance is a meaningless word to them.

But there is another wisdom which is from God. He gives this wisdom and intelligence to the humble. This is what Jesus meant when He said God had revealed things “to infants". After all, when we stand before God, can we ever be anything more than infants? What do we know compared to Him? What are we compared to the absolutely pure and sinless Jesus? What have we accomplished in comparison to His immense creation? And this is the entire point of this passage: there is hope for us only when we admit our sins, our dependence on Him, and our lack of true wisdom. God will reveal Himself to us when we seek Him with humble hearts. 

The big mistake that the “wise and intelligent” make is that they think they can understand and do anything if they put their minds to it, whereas the truly wise and intelligent understand that they can achieve great things through effort and hard work, but the most important things in life have to be revealed to us by the Son. Are you seeking God and His wisdom, and ready to apply it to your life? If so, your future is guaranteed, and not only will He direct and exalt you, He will save you.

August 13: Living among the tombs #4

The eyewitnesses described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and told about the pigs. Then they began to beg Him to leave their region. As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed kept begging Him to be with Him. But He would not let him; instead, He told him, “Go back home to your own people, and report to them how much the Lord has done for you and how He has had mercy on you.” So he went out and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and they were all amazed.   (Mark 5:16-20 — Holman Christian Standard Bible)

For most people in the world the idea of demon-possession is absurd — it’s a narrow-minded, fanatical, outdated way of dealing with conditions that are complicated, but clearly explained and treated with medicine and psychology. But in truth the idea of demon-possession is an exciting, cutting-edge manner of dealing with certain problems — an approach that quickly gets to the root of the problem and completely eliminates it. The widespread thought that demon-possession is absurd is a message that Satan and his demons promote because they are terrified of what would happen if more people knew the truth and used their authority to enforce it. If Jesus used this method to free this man that no one in the region of the Gerasenes could help — over a period of many years — why would this method not work today? Either this story is a big lie, or demon-possession is a reality that we need to pay attention to.

This recently healed madman begged… begged to go with Jesus, when the supposedly sane people of the city begged Jesus to leave. Though this man had lost years of his life to insanity, he was now smarter, more in control of his senses, more sane, more spiritual than the whole town. But in a surprising response of Jesus, he was told that he couldn’t get in the boat with Him, but should go back to his people and tell them what God had done for him. Within one day, this man went from being possessed by a legion of demons to being so free that he was sent by Jesus to help others. His healing must have been very impressive because all the people of Decapolis were amazed.

Isn’t this what our lives should be? We should not be content to have normal, mediocre lives. Whether we start out as bad as this man or not, we need to fight to see such a change in our lives and family that those who know us will be amazed. This is how God can go from being a god that no one can see, to a god that everyone can see. God is invisible, but He becomes visible in our lives when we allow God to do something genuinely great.

August 12: Living among the tombs #3

Now a large herd of pigs was there, feeding on the hillside. The demons begged Him, “Send us to the pigs, so we may enter them.” And He gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs, and the herd of about 2,000 rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned there. The men who tended them ran off and reported it in the town and the countryside, and people went to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and saw the man who had been demon-possessed by the legion, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.    (Mark 5:11-15 — Holman Christian Standard Bible)

(Today’s passage is a continuation of the last two days)

This is not an easy passage to understand. Why would Jesus give permission for the demons to go into the pigs? He didn’t order them into the pigs, but He did give them permission. Why did the demons ask to enter the pigs? Nowhere else in the Bible do we see an example of this. On one hand, we know that death and destruction of people, animals, or property was not something that pleased Jesus, He always tried to bring peace, healing, and strength to people. He could not have been happy to see 2000 animals die. But we have to remember that His primary goal was to free the horribly possessed man, not the pigs.

In tomorrow’s passage you will see that the people of the city asked Jesus to leave when they heard what had happened to the pigs. It didn’t matter that the young man was free and in his right mind, they had lost money and that was more important to them. The entire situation forced the town to choose: Jesus or pigs. And yet, it wasn’t as simple as losing animals. The people of that area on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee were Jews — and forbidden by God to own pigs or eat pork — so the real choice that that town had was: God or the world, obedience or rebellion. Jesus was there to offer them a chance to repair their relationship with God, and they turned their backs.

Instead of concentrating on the poor pigs that died in the sea that day, we should be feeling sorry for the people of an entire city that rejected God and were spiritually lost. Never again do we hear about Jesus visiting that region.

But something similar happens today in every one of our lives. Whenever we make a bold step of faith, decide to let go of something negative, or start getting closer to God, we will be attacked. Setting that man free was a real victory for Jesus, and so demons created a distraction that enraged the entire town and caused them to hate Jesus. Before and after any big victory in our lives, we can expect to be attacked. The bolder our step of faith, the bigger the devil’s attack will be. What we have to do is stand firm, refuse to loosen our grip on God, and determine that we will make it through victorious.

I’m sure that freed man saved many more than 2000 people over the remaining years of his life. That’s the real story. 

August 11: Living among the tombs #2

When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and knelt down before Him. And he cried out with a loud voice, “What do You have to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You before God, don’t torment me!” For He had told him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” “What is your name?” He asked him. “My name is Legion,” he answered Him, “because we are many.” And he kept begging Him not to send them out of the region.    (Mark 5:6-10 — Holman Christian Standard Bible)

(Today’s passage is a continuation from yesterday)

Isn’t it strange how Christians and churches today ignore the whole concept of evil spirits and possession? Very few talk about it or actually make prayers against evil spirits, even though it was a daily routine for Jesus and His disciples. In fact, what would people do with the man living among the tombs today? They’d medicate him and have him committed to a mental institution. Any talk of evil spirits and prayer would be met with laughter, rolling of the eyes, and ridicule. Yet that was Jesus’ answer 2000 years ago. Was he ridiculous? Should we laugh at Him?

We have to ask ourselves why this passage, and others like it, are included in the Bible. One reason would have to be that God wanted us to be aware of the existence of evil spirits, and how to cast them out. This man lived in a cemetery, cut himself with sharp stones, and had a legion of demons — an extreme case — but in the Bible and today we know that demons also work in more subtle ways like fear, depression, suicidal thoughts, unemployment, marriage problems, repeated failure, “bad luck”, addictions, and so forth. Because of this, each one of us needs to assess whether or not we are completely free from demonic influences. Many times people are totally unaware that they are possessed. They assume that what they’re going through is life, nothing else; and because they don’t know the real source of their problems, they can’t fight them.

Jesus’ name and power bring total freedom from evil spirits. But the devil plays lots of “games” with people. Many who serve him (the devil) pretend to “help” people. People involved in the occult and Wicca, or who are fortune-tellers, tarot-card readers, mediums, and psychics are all using the power of Satan to do what they do. They may say beautiful things about the spirits of nature, or about how they’ve always had a gift for seeing the future or sensing psychic activity, but they are dangerous and will open doors to evil spirits if we go to them or believe what they say. Do be deceived by these things. Focus on the Lord Jesus and His Word — that’s where the power is.

Though the man from the Gerasenes had a legion (a unit of 3,000 to 6,000 men in the ancient Roman army) of evil spirits, they begged Jesus not to send them out of the region. This means that they are no match for Jesus, and since we believe in Him, they are no match for us.

August 10: Living among the tombs

Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes. As soon as He got out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came out of the tombs and met Him. He lived in the tombs. No one was able to restrain him anymore — even with chains — because he often had been bound with shackles and chains, but had snapped off the chains and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him. And always, night and day, he was crying out among the tombs and in the mountains and cutting himself with stones.    (Mark 5:1-5 — Holman Christian Standard Bible)

Jesus had just calmed a raging sea, and now He is confronted with a raging man, that He later calms and sets free. Three times Mark mentions that this man lived among the tombs — caves where the bodies of the dead were placed. This was considered an unclean place for the Jews, and even today, who would choose to live in a cemetery? And yet this was simply an outward sign of what these spirits were intent on doing to this man. 

The New Testament frequently mentions demon-possessed people, but this man was the worst of all that are mentioned. His life leaves no doubt about the real aim of Satan; he wants death, anger, depression, separation, and destruction. In most people the devil tries to work undercover and blame anyone or anything for his work, even God. But with this man of the Gerasenes, he no longer tried to disguise himself and was blatantly out in the open.

Insanity, insomnia, self-harm, rage, super-human strength, and extreme misery were all clear proof that Satan was at work in this man. But it’s important to note that in spite of being terribly possessed, this man was still able to approach Jesus for help. Though his situation seemed more than impossible, he had the strength to fight against it and walk up to the one Person that could help him — and we can do the same.

No matter how bad off you are, there is always hope. But we need to remember that life on earth is first and foremost a spiritual struggle. Our enemies are not the people around us, or situations, but negative spiritual forces. Demons and the devil are our enemy, and at the root of any problem we will find them in one form or another. Not every problem is a demon, but many are, and if we refuse to copy Jesus’ example and fight them, there will be problems that we cannot overcome.

Let’s use this tool that Jesus introduced to us.

August 9: Kicking against the goads

“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” So I said, “Who are You, Lord?”  And He said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.”    (Acts 26:14-18 — New King James Version)

This is an account of Paul’s conversion. He had been a vicious persecutor of Christians and the church, throwing men and women in prison, and even stoning people to death like Stephen. He had been trained in the best Jewish seminaries, and despised the new teachings about Jesus and the church that was forming as a result of them. But clearly, God saw something special in him. Though he hated the church, he was a man on fire, ready to go to any length to be faithful to his beliefs. And so, true to form, God looked past his mistakes and saw what he could become.

As he was traveling on the road Damascus to arrest men and women in that city who believed in Jesus, he was knocked off his horse, blinded with a bright light, and heard the voice of the Lord Jesus. This was the beginning of a three day journey of faith that ended with Paul being saved, surrendering his life to the Jesus had he had recently despised, and becoming a man that did more to spread the news about Jesus than anyone else of his time.

Jesus told him that it was hard to kick against the goads. In those days, when a new ox was hitched to a wagon or plow it usually bucked and kicked in irritation. A goad was a piece of wood that hung down close to the ox’s heels that would teach it to stop kicking and submit to the yoke of the wagon or plow. Before Paul had his encounter with God on the Damascus road he had been resisting Him just like an ox, and God was telling him to surrender to Him and follow His direction. Much later, Paul wrote to Timothy explaining his previous way of life: “formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an arrogant man. But I received mercy…” (1 Timothy 1:13)

Don’t forget where you came from. God wants to use you like He did Paul, to bring people out of darkness into His light, to rescue people from Satan and lead them to God. But like Paul, your greatest weapon it to explain to people where you came from, and how God’s power transformed you — most importantly on the inside, your character and thoughts. It may be painful to remember the past, or embarrassing, but your story of how God rescued you brings glory to His name and shows others that there is hope for them too.

It’s so great to believe in a God that doesn’t give up on people who’ve made so many mistakes.

August 8: The least in the kingdom

After John’s messengers left, He began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft robes? Look, those who are splendidly dressed and live in luxury are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and far more than a prophet. This is the one it is written about: Look, I am sending My messenger ahead of You; he will prepare Your way before You. I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John, but the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he”.    (Luke 7:24-28 — Holman Christian Standard Bible)

John the Baptist had been killed by King Herod, and here Jesus is speaking about what a great man he was. John had been famous for being brutally honest, for preaching the truth whether or not it offended people. He was God’s prophet charged with paving the way for the Lord Jesus. We know of no miracle that he performed; he did not raise anyone from the dead; he did not cast out demons that we know of; he didn’t multiply any bread and fish, or part the waters of a river or sea. What he was known for was convicting people of their need to be baptized in water, to repent from their old lives, and start living new lives that were pleasing to God.

Jesus said that no greater man had ever lived. What makes a man like John great? Miracles and blessings don’t make a person great; what makes us great is our readiness to repent and live for God. I’m sure that John had the faith to perform miracles and heal the sick, but his focus was on healing people’s souls, and preparing them for the message they would hear from the Lord Jesus.

But then Jesus said something amazing. He said even though John was the greatest of men, those who are least in the Kingdom of God are greater than him! John had announced Jesus’ coming, but he was not a part of the kingdom that Jesus ushered in. This kingdom began after His death and resurrection, so even though John prepared the way for this kingdom, his life came to an end years before it was established.

If you live by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and follow Him with all your heart, mind, and strength, if you have given up your old nature and have adopted God’s, you are a citizen of this kingdom — and Jesus says that you are greater than John. This can’t mean we are greater in character or faithfulness. It must mean that the rights and privileges available to us are greater than anything John had. We know what Jesus did not the cross and what that implies for the devil and demons, and we have access to the Holy Spirit like no one who lived before Jesus. Though many great miracles were done in the Old Testament, and lives transformed, we can see even more today if we understand the rights and privileges that we have in the One John came to announce.