DEMONS IN AMERICA???
Mark Chapter 5, verses 2 - 5
“2When Jesus got out of the
boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more,
not even with a chain. 4For he had often been chained
hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. 5Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out
and cut himself with stones.”
As
you can imagine, every since the healing miracle I witnessed a few weeks ago,
it has really got me thinking about the whole subject of healing. We see sick and injured people everyday, and most of us believe in God healing the
sick. Our doctrinal beliefs may create
some controversy on the techniques of healing such as laying on of hands or
certain people having the gifts of healing, but almost without exception, all
Christians believe that God can and does heal the sick. But what about demon possessed or people
possessed with evil spirits? Why don’t
we hear about that anymore? We read
about it in the Bible, but for some reason we think it don’t happen today. When we read about the demon possessed people
in the Bible, we get a visual of that person, how crazy they must have looked,
and think I never see anyone like that today.
Look at verse 5, the word says the man cried out and cut himself with
stones. I listen to a radio call in show
for teens almost every Sunday called “Dawson McAllister live” on my drive home
from Bible study. I would guess that
around 50% of the calls that come in are from teenagers who cut themselves for
relief of their mental pains, or to get attention. There are literally millions of people
addicted to drugs because they are trying to cover up an unexplainable pain
inside them. Thousands of people everyday
are trying to make that pain inside them go away by
getting involved in sexual activity looking for love. So what does a demon possessed person look
like or act like? Maybe we need to open
our eyes and look around us. My food for
thought this month is this: don’t read the Bible with blinders on. The Bible is not just a book about history,
it is a living word. The miracles and
people of the biblical times are the same as the miracles and people
today. When you read about people or
situations in the Bible, don’t try to imagine what they looked like or acted
like, but rather look around you and see the people and situations the word is
talking about today.