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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion Wednesday, August 20, 2003 DEMONS |
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Frontline Devotion for Wednesday, August 20, 2003 by Penny Risen
Kids of a certain age love scary stuff: monsters, aliens, strange beings, ghosts, mutants, creatures with otherworldly powers.
So when I taught Sunday School, we always read the passages when Jesus battles demons with zest and shouts and growls and much carrying on. Point made that Jesus always beats the bad guys, and those Bible stories can be pretty dramatic after all.
Jesus shouted at demons, He called them out, cast them into foul beasts and they perished jumping over cliffs and such. It was considered very important when Jesus gave His disciples the power to cast out demons and evil spirits, and to heal the afflicted. They as Christ's followers, new leaders on a mission, were regarded with a new respect. They too could triumph over evil.
The Bible's full of examples -- in both Old and New Testaments -- of God coming to defend His people. He shows over and over that He is with us during all the tough times. Even against demons, the devil and all evil can muster to overthrow the good in us -- God's on our side, fighting and winning. He presses forward on our behalf, in the face of ... anything!
What kind of demons are we threatened with daily? Are we carrying some around inside? Are they any less frightening to us today, than demons were to folks in Jesus' day to them?
*Fear: Of illness, disease or death; of being left alone; of our family or friends going astray; crime; terrorism; of embarrassment or failure.
*Worry: Of being successful enough; of being popular enough (a big one for teens); of being respected as we should; of making the right decisions or getting the right job.
*Doubt: Of trusting a mate to be loyal and faithful; of our own abilities; of relying on the wrong person; of our having been a good leader, parent, child, spouse, friend ...
*Addiction: To alcohol; drugs; food (or dieting, another big one for teens); flirtations; over-spending; over-exercising; of using or doing anything to extremes to distract us from our responsibilities.
Our own personal demons are nasty matters that can stick in our brains at 4 a.m., or creep up on us while daydreaming in traffic. Do we let them churn away inside, or do we give them to God?
We have a defender, a Redeemer: No problem is bigger than God.
He's always listening and has a plan for us, even if its message takes a while in coming, or we don't recognize it immediately. He also gives us helpers to rid our lives of demons -- our fellow Christians, church leaders and families, perhaps people we haven't even met yet who God will send our way.
But as Matthew 12 reminds us, fighting demons is a never-ending battle. Be wary, it warns:
"When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation."
Guard yourself with the faith of a child, like we did at Sunday School: Be bold to ask Jesus to stick beside you every day and "beat the bad guys," the demons, within you.
Prayer for the Day: Dear Lord, you are the strong one in this relationship. I admit that I need to lean on you and that some problems seem bigger than I think I can bear. Thank you for your love when I have burdens and for letting me give them to you in prayer. Amen.
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All are welcome to join and share in our Devotional Ministry. Pastor Dave welcomes and appreciates feedback. pastordave@goodshepherdonline.org.