Many miracles of the Lord involved healings of demon possession. Mary Magdalene ((Luke 8:2) the demon possessed boy (Matt 17:18) and many others.
Did demons/evil spirits actually control the minds of these people? Were these evil spirits just a product of the 1st century, perhaps to show how the Lord was able to heal and comfort those in distress?
Today, we might not call them demons but I can vouch for the hopelessness of mental depression and anxiety.
Having survived a recent knee surgery, I am healing nicely. The physical therapy is painful and lengthy. I need to do it twice a day in order to stretch the muscles and ligaments in my knee. But the real problem with my recovery has been the terrible trauma of depression and anxiety, common after surgery. Mine is manifested in extreme nausea.
I am now on the mend………thanks to many praying friends and medication,
It is so simple to say. “Think positively; count your blessings; just get over it; focus on something else.” I said the same before this hit me. I now have a new empathy for mental illness. Hopelessness and despair are the product of such an illness.
No wonder there are so many miracles of these healings in scripture. The Lord was the healer and He still is.
God has given us special help. Some are healed instantly, some gradually, and some through the gift of medicine.
When sin entered the world, what follows is death and suffering. But hope is coming.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (Rev 21:4)
I wonder how many of us really believe that Genesis is just a cute kids’ story. Not really fact at all. The book itself really doesn’t address social issues of the day, or does it? Is God our creator or is He merely the “overseer” of millions of years of death and decay to bring forth man in His image?
Our world faces enormous problems……violence, war, crime, pornography, economic collapse and natural disasters. The family structure itself is under attack. We are witnessing a general decline in Christian values worldwide. Our own country, which was founded on Christian principles, is rapidly losing its Christian base. We are becoming a pagan nation. How can this be?
I believe that without God as the Caring Creator, than our system of values has no moral basis. The social issues we face today, are symptomatic of an underlying root cause…..the loss of Biblical authority stemming from attacks on the book of Genesis. If Genesis isn’t true then perhaps none of the Bible is true. Christian values only make sense in the light of history recorded in Genesis.
The sanctity of life, of marriage, human freedom, laws and justice, all have their origins in the historical understanding of Genesis.
If we are ever going to see America turn back to God, we must faithfully teach and defend the Bible….starting with the creation account in Genesis.
So God doesn’t seem to be answering your persistent prayer. It just isn’t working out. Perhaps you are thinking…. is some special sin in my life that prevents His answer? Or perhaps God is just capricious. He is sitting on His big white throne passing judgments on who gets help and who doesn’t.
I also have doubts when I have prayed for a special answer and there is no answer. My fellow Christians try to comfort me, but can they really understand?
There are verses I read over and over again. You know them. ”If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. (John 14:14) or “Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray. (Psalm 5:2)
Life isn’t always fair and just. Just read the paper. Look at your own circumstances.
“But He (God) said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble. For My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. .(2 Cor. 12:9)
No, your prayers and mine aren’t always answered in the positive. Butit’s the negatives in life that bring us to depend on Him.
If God doesn’t answer in the way we ask him to intervene, it is not a sign of His absence or of His indifference.
He knows our needs and we can trust Him, even when His answer to us is “No”.
I have now officially joined the 21st Century. I have found Facebook, or rather Facebook has found me.
“Barbara… You have notifications pending”. Do I really want to read small talk from one person to another?
So where is God in all of this?
Yes, He does have a Facebook page and He is inviting the whole world to read it.
There are many websites promoting God. However, His most authentic Facebook connection is probably sitting on your shelf right now.
Start with Genesis and go from there…..or perhaps Matthew. He speaks to you through these words which have inspired countless millions through the ages. Everyone is invited to be His “friend”.
God isn’t faceless…….He can prove it.
So best to pick up your “hard copy” and start reading.
Thanks for reading my posts. Hope I have given you “food” for thought. When reading my articles make mental notes of your own. I want my blog to serve as a starting point for your own devotions.
I do need a proof reader however.
Excuse the mispellings, twisted syntax and other grammar goofs.
Any volunteers?
But please keep reading and hopefully I will improve with age……..I had better hurry up!
Lay’s potato chips are having a contest. Visit their web site and see if you can come up with a name for a new flavor. Wait….. don’t bother, because I am sure my new chip is the winner.
I must admit to loving potato chips……like peanuts ……..I can’t eat just one.
Can you??
So how do potato chips and the gospel compare?
When studying the four gospels and our Lord’s teachings to His disciples, I try to imagine myself with Him, hanging on His very words. The parables, the stories, the very acts that caused such a disturbance in the 1st century…don’t seem to be so revolutionary to me but then I am a product of my age.
However, who is humble enough, giving enough and loving enough? Who prays enough? Who has the faith of a mustard seed?
Peter said (John 6:68)……..” Lord, to whom should we go…you have the words of life”
I can’t seem to get enough of His words. The more I read of Him and draw upon Him the more I need Him.
Just like those potato chips……..I can’t get enough!
When reading Genesis 1:5….. The Creator of the Universe is creating time. “God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.”
Time was created as a gift for man. However, time was determined not by a clock but by sun and moon, light and darkness. The Hebrews planned their lives around the seasons and the feasts that God prescribed for them. (Lev. 23) Spring meant planting and fall was the harvest. They only had the heavens and stars to give time. The cycle of the moon and planets gave them the months. God gave them a life style. The Sabbath was devoted to worship and rest. Even the oxen got a day off.
But you and I are regulated by clocks, giving us minutes and hours in the day. We feel productive when we accomplish the tasks that we feel must be done. We go to jobs, take kids to school, and the myriad of daily living assignments. After all, we are a time-oriented society.
There are hundreds of books on time management. Seminars give us a sense of organizing time and we feel good about time management.
If time is a gift related to God and God is love, then time is a gift. God isn’t in a hurry. He is above our technology oriented society.
The kingdom …is the ultimate rule of God as coming to mankind. Jesus brought the kingdom in its inception and it will be completed when he returns. Meantime the kingdom of God is within us. So seeking God’s character and to know him implies setting apart a specific time to that end.
This all leads up to “Seeking first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you well.” (Mt 6:33) Perhaps living on God’s time is what is necessary for me.
Our time, like all of God’s gifts is squandered.
Redemption has the literal sense of “buying back”. Let us “buy back” the opportunities that God gives us, liberating time so that we can make good use of it, taking advantage of the occasions which God gives…listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and see where He leads.
With one out of every seven people in this country receiving food stamps as well as hundreds of food banks and churches who give away food for those who show up to take home a sack…..this story seems to fit into life today. And yet nothing can compare with this “free food”!
Jesus had been teaching his disciples, preparing them for service. He was their rabbi and teacher. According to tradition the disciples would follow their rabbi for a period of three years, leaving families and work and devoting time to study with him.
One occasion when the Lord and his disciples needed a time of rest they took a boat to Lake Galilee. But the crowds heard about their trip and followed on shore. (See Matthew 9; John 6; Mark 6). Jesus had been healing and teaching and the crowds wanted more.
I often wonder if they followed Him for the show, to hear His teaching or see miracles of healing….probably all the above. In any case the Lord loved this motley group of people. He did heal them; he preached to them of the kingdom and spoke as no man had spoken before. He spoke with authority. He healed with compassion. He loved them as only God could love. And what a show they were about to see!!!
So this great crowd of 5000 men….not to mention the wives and kids had followed Him.
It was late in the day. Everyone was tired and hungry. The disciples told the Lord to send the people home or go to the local 7/11 and buy food.
Did they have any food among them? Well, there are five loaves of bread and a couple of salted fish…that won’t handle this crowd.
Fortunately, the disciples had obtained their “food handler’s” license and the fish were declared free of antibiotics and not farm raised. There was a warning label as to the sodium content but after having spent hours in the sun a little salt would benefit these people. There were no additives in the bread and although it contained saturated fat a small slice would pass. The calories consumed were within guidelines of the hungry multitudes.
He gave the traditional Hebrew blessing and those fish and loaves multiplied enough to feed that crowd, plus they had extra baskets left over. What a miracle!
Why didn’t this crowd prepare for themselves? Couldn’t they have brought their own bread and fish? How does this story apply to us?
I often think how we too don’t prepare for the “end of the day”. Here we see God’s love and care for his people, but there is warning also. There will be a time when the fish and bread might run out.
The “end of the day” might be fast approaching.
Prepare now……..the Lord’s return might be closer than you think!!
Don’t you remember the story of Jack and the Beanstalk? Jack was the winner. He took the gold, the goose and then cut the beanstalk, which killed the giant. David, also killed the giant, Goliath. David confronted him, in the strength of God, and gave that Giant a permanent headache. What bravery!
There are several references to Giants in the Hebrew Scriptures. They were a people to be feared. Their size sent chills down the spines of God’s people.
“There we saw the Giants (the descendants of Anak came from the Giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” (Numbers 13:33). God’s chosen people were told to possess the land but how could they possibly defeat those huge warriors?
We still have Giants, of course…..fears, frustrations, and hopelessness that come constantly to confront us and our faith…..obstacles that seem too big to move. We even inject every day small problems with emotional steroids that make them into Giants!! I know, because I do.
Overcoming our Giants requires that we continually stay in contact with the “Giant killer”. Our Heavenly father gives us the strength to confront these Giants just as He gave courage to those early warriors.
Yes, we too, are warriors of a sort.
Paul in his letter to the Ephesians 6: 11 “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. “
We need God’s armor. My own isn’t sufficient for defending myself. Staying in contact with my “commander in chief” gives me the power I need as a Giant killer.
(Insert your name here)_______________Slayer of Giants.
Have you ever thought why bread is mentioned so often in scripture? What brought this to mind was my last trip to the market……there were at least forty types of bread or bread products……maybe more if you count the donuts!
As I remember the first bread mentioned in scripture was the unleavened bread used in the first Passover in the book of Exodus…The people were told to make their bread in haste without leaven, because they had to leave quickly before the bread would rise and then baked.
Then the manna that God sent to the desert wandering Hebrews after they left Egypt. It is called the” bread of heaven” so I guess it must have been a type of bread which was wonderfully designed to provide complete nourishment.
On a table in the Tabernacle there were twelve loaves of bread which were to represent the twelve tribes of Israel. David and his men when on the run from King Saul, and entered the tabernacle and ate that bread. Apparently, God forgave him. Hunger and survival were more important than those twelve special loaves of bread.
Our Lord himself, said. “I am the bread of life” (John 6:48) or again…..in His special prayer “Give us this day our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11).
As in most Jewish writings, there are layers of meaning in everything. Bread can mean sustenance, assurance of life, and food for our souls.
The Book of Leviticus contains no fewer than fourteen mentions of bread.. Yet the theme of bread in this context seems to have more to do with developing and maintaining closeness to God; first by means of purity (Leviticus 21 & 22), then festivals (Leviticus 23), and finally by rule of law or the Torah (Leviticus 24).
And yet another meaning might be that bread is associated with wealth or work ethic.
He who works his land will have enough bread…(Proverbs 12:11)
In Scripture “bread” can mean money just as it does in colloquial slang: “Got any bread?” “Can you lend me some dough?” or “what field are you in?”
Again and again in the Bible, the word bread plugs us into reality. Bread reminds us to keep our feet on the ground. We are grounded on our faith, we are supplied spiritual bread for our souls, physical bread for our bodies and we are told to work for our bread.
AbideLines 