Today's chapter is Luke 8 as well, but today we shall focus on the second "half" of the chapter, which would be verses 26-56. These verses tell about the healing of a demon-possessed man, the healing of a woman, and a dead girl being raised to life.
While there are many important lessons that can be learned from these stories, I think I'm going to focus my SOAP today on the healing of the demon-possessed man.
Scripture:
"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." ~Luke 8:37
Observation:
Let's get a little background on this story.
First: Jesus lands on the shore with his disciples, and then he sees this demon-possessed man coming towards him. Jesus and the demons have a little conversation, and they work it out that the demons will leave this man alone, and will now go live in a nearby herd of pigs.
Second: Pig herd is on a cliff. When demons enter pigs, all the pigs run off the cliff, and drown in the sea. The now useless pig herders frantically run off and tell the townspeople what has become of their precious pig property.
Third: The townspeople come out to Jesus, his disciples, and the now-made-sane man that used to be demon possessed. The townspeople are so scared of what Jesus might do next, that they tell him to leave. And Jesus does.
Application:
While there's a little more to this story, what really solemnly impressed me was that when the townspeople asked Jesus to leave, he did. He didn't raise an objections, or lecture them on how much worse off they were without him. He just...left. Wow.
Sometimes I feel like we tell Jesus to go away too. We may not audibly say it like the townspeople in our story did, but we still in effect say the same thing. How? If we watch movies that Jesus wouldn't approve of, browse websites that he would cry at, listen to music that he hates, or read books that he doesn't like, then we are telling Jesus, "Go away". And he does. Not with any fanfare, he just silently slips away, for he cannot be in the presence of those who do things that he doesn't approve of. And I don't think I need to tell you what Jesus would approve or disapprove of. You know yourself, deep down inside.
Have you been telling Jesus to "go away"??
Prayer:
Dear God, thank you so much for letting me read this story today. Please, do not go away. Please stay with me, and please help me choose activities that you would approve of. Make me willing to do what I need do, and not do what I shouldn't do. I love you! Amen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
P.S.--To learn more about this blogging-through-the-gospels program, or if YOU would like to join yourself (you're more than welcome-jump right in!!) go to: http://www.momstoolbox.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment