Thanks God

Scripture: The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”  He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water.  Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon‑possessed men.  Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.  Matthew 8:31-34 NIV

Observation: Jesus sends demons out of some men and ordered them into a herd of pigs.

Applications: I find it odd that the townspeople ask Jesus to leave their area after hearing the report of what had happened with the demons and the herd of pigs.  Wouldn’t you think that the people of that area would have welcomed a release from evil like that?I’m not that familiar with the history of that area but I believe that it was mainly a Gentile area due to the keeping of pigs.  It may have been that this area was steeped in paganism.  Were the people of the area upset with the loss of income, the loss of idols, or just overwhelmed by the power of the Lord?  I don’t know.  I do know they wanted nothing to do with Jesus.  It makes me think of how Jesus reaches out to many of us today and we either say “no thank you” or we ignore his gesture all together.  Maybe we should stop running away from him.  Maybe we should see his healing power for the blessing that it is when he heals the demon possessed, like in Matthew, or our ailing wife, like today in the hospital, we should not run from him but to him.  Praise God that he wanted me so much that he sent Jesus to invite me in.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you so much for sending Jesus to us. Thank you for having him display his love by healing the demon possessed, the affirmed, and the sick. Thank you for bringing my Honey through surgery today so successfully.  I marvel at the knowledge that you have allowed man to acquire and use in the practice of medicine. What a blessing!  Thank you Lord. I love you and I thank you in Jesus’ name. Amen

Doug