day 135: A Little Halloween Leftover

Mark 5:6-13

When Jesus was still some distance away, the man saw him, ran to meet him, and bowed low before him.  With a shriek, he screamed, "Why are you interferring with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?  In the name of God, I beg you, don't torchure me!" For Jesus had already said to the spirit, "Come out of that man, you evil spirit."

Then Jesus demanded, "What is your name?"

And he replied, "My name is Legion, because there are many of us inside this man." 

Then the evil spirits begged him again and again not to send them to some distant place.

There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby.  "Send us to those pigs," the spirits begged.  "Let us enter them."

So Jesus gave them permission.  The evil spirits came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd of about 2,000 pigs plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned.

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First of all, Happy Halloween.  I hope you have a great day, and remember that God is still in control-- even of demons and monsters.  I'm posting this early because I forgot I had written it for Halloween and I wanted to post it today.  I will continue to write the Encouragers Checklist Wednesday.

This verse proves that. 

Now, if there are 2 things I really don't like to talk about, they are death and demons.

I'm not big on demons lol.

But as I was searching the Bible, I found this verse, and knew it was perfect for Halloween.

There are a few things I want to focus on in this verse:

1. The demons recognized that Jesus was God's son.  In a world where some very good people don't recognize him-- the evil spirits do.  They knew who he was and wanted him to leave them alone.

2. The demons begged.  You don't normally think of demonic spirits begging.  It just doesn't seem natural.  TV, books, and movies have led us to believe that Demons are all powerful, evil beings who control everything and are impossible (or nearly impossible) to stop.  Demons are scary and can fill our nightmares.  However, we know that Jesus can stop them.  And he could destroy them.  They begged him to not send them away.  *THEY* knew he had complete authority over them.

3. Jesus gave them permission.  The demons had no authority or power to do anything unless Jesus let them.  That leads the question, "why?" does God and Jesus allow demons to do things, and I don't know the answer to that.  But I do know that it is His will and even God uses demons to serve His will (whether they know it or not).

So, if you have watched too many scary movies tonight... maybe got too into Ghost Hunters... and every noise in house is making you cringe-- remember that there is nothing under the sun that God doesn't control.  Even the demons have to obey him.  If you are scared, denouce them in the name of Jesus.  And remember, when God is on your side, there is nothing to be afraid of :)

God Bless You :)

Happy Halloween :)

Kelly