Peace is the Answer

~~~ 1 Samuel 1:9-20 ~~~ Psalm (1 Samuel 2:1, 4-5, 6-7, 8ABCD)~~~

~~~ Mark 1:21-28 ~~~ 

 “Quiet! Come out of him!”

The unclean spirit convulsed him 

and with a loud cry came out of him.

Jesus cast out the unclean spirits 

within the synagogue worship space. 

He cast out these evil spirits in the presence of the elders.

Jesus was firm in his command to the un-welcomed guest.

He did not scream, his eyes did not roll back in his head.

Jesus spoke his command with strength and confidence.

The desired result was attained...the unclean spirit fled.

As this unclean spirit fled its resistance caused 

the host person to convulse.

The evil spirit had taken up residence 

within the body and soul of this poor man.

The words of Jesus have power, 

not just for unclean spirits 

but for good too.

The words of Jesus appear to be just like our words, 

but his words are truly the words of God.

Hannah was not possessed by an unclean spirit,

 but she was distraught.

She had not been able to conceive a child.

...my prayer has been prompted

 by my deep sorrow and misery.

Eli, the priest said

 “Go in peace,

and may the God of Israel 

grant you what you have asked of him.”

Both Hannah and the possessed man

had their prayer answered by God.

Both were granted peace from God.

Many times we do not realize that the answer to our prayers

includes God's peace.

If we can find peace in our lives

 then what we think we need in our lives may just change.

May you find peace in your life.

Peace in your soul will change the outcomes of your prayers.

Pray for your needs, but be open to God's peace.

Peace fills the cracks in our heart.

Blessings in prayer.

~~~Peace~~~

The Holy One Speaks

~~~ Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~~~

~~~ Deuteronomy 18:15-20 ~~~ Psalm 95 ~~~ 

~~~1 Corinthians 7:32-35 ~~~

~~~ Mark 1:21-28 ~~~

The people made the request for something more

 than an ordinary prophet was capable of delivering.

They wanted the real thing.

God tells Moses he is pleased with their request.

I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kin,

and will put my words into his mouth;

he shall tell them all that I command him.

Jesus stands in the synagogue and who recognizes who he is first?

The unclean spirit hidden within one in the assembly.

The unclean spirit acknowledges the pure 

presence of the spirit within Jesus.

“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?

Have you come to destroy us?

I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

We have seen Jesus quiet the stormy waters,

 environmental elements,

with his voice and words...

Today we see him exercising 

his powerful words over the unseen spirit.

Which do you feel is more significant?

Calming the forces of nature or commanding a spirit to leave?

Blessings in knowing he is with you.

~~~Peace~~~

Our Fragile Hearts

~~~ Hebrews 7:25—8:6 ~~~ Psalm 40 ~~~ Mark 3:7-12 ~~~

Jesus is always able to save those who
 approach God through him,
since he lives forever to make
 intercession for them.

It is obvious to me that if Jesus died on the cross
 for us there is nothing he would not do for us.
If we stand at the foot of the cross and look up
we can see Jesus is the one who is our connection to the Father.

His arms are open wide inviting him to come to him.
He is the one who will intercede on our behalf.
He is the one who will bring our prayers to God.

Jesus is the one who knows us best because
he became one of us.

He understands our fragile hearts.
He understands our weak bodies.
He understands our broken spirits.

Because he understands his care, love
and compassion for us will last forever.

He knows our struggles he knows we fall down.
He wants us to know that he is always here to help us get up...
to try again...to start over...to be strengthened
by his promises and his presence.

He is always able to save we should hold that close to our heart.

...whenever unclean spirits saw him 
they would fall down before him 
and shout, “You are the Son of God.”
He warned them sternly not to make him known.

These unclean spirits were somehow able to see
 who Jesus truly was beneath his human bodily form.

They were able to sense his power over them.
They knew, even deeper than their evilness,
 when they were in the presence of the 'Son of God'.

Truly nothing is impossible with God.
We must first humble ourselves by admitting
 we do indeed need Jesus to intercede for us.

We must come to Jesus and trust that he will never let us down.

May the Blessings of Our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you always.

He is the source of deep peace for our fragile hearts.

No Lightning Flash

~~~ Hebrews 2:5-12 ~~~Psalm 8 ~~~ Mark 1:21-28 ~~~

Jesus was a man, lower than angels as Paul points out,
yet all things are subject to him in heaven and on earth.
God sent Jesus to us hiding his divinity within his humanity.
While his divinity was never diminished
its visibility was cloaked by his physical body.

What is man that you are mindful of him,

or the son of man that you care for him?

You made him for a little while lower than the angels;

you crowned him with glory and honor,

subjecting all things under his feet.

In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit;

he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?

Jesus exercised control over this unclean spirit

 with a few peaceful words.

Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!”

All things are subjective under the feet of Jesus.

There was no need for force...there was no need

 to restrain the man with the unclean spirit.

It only took a few words spoken by Jesus

 with the authority he received from the Father.

The words of Jesus compelled 

the unclean spirit to immediately leave his host body.

It convulsed the man's body and departed with a loud cry.

The unclean spirit did not argue his case to stay.

Nor did it try to defend itself for being there.

Through the words of Jesus his connection with the Father
 becomes evident even to the evil spirit world.

There was no lightning flash of power,
Jesus simply stood before the man
and commanded the spirit to vacate the man's body.

Jesus exhibited his power many times
 through the use of his words.

Perhaps we should pay more attention to these words.
Jesus can also cast out the demons from
our soul through his words.

Jesus can dispel and put to rest
 all that is roaring within your heart.

He will Bless you with one word...
Quiet.
~~~Peace~~~

Answered Prayers

~~1 Samuel 1:9-20~~(Psalm) 1 Samuel 2:1, 4-5, 6-7, 8abcd ~~Mark 1:21-28~~

 Hannah was praying silently;
though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard.

Fervently Hannah prayed for a child, not just any child but a son.

She spoke the words from her heart.

Her voice was silent, but her lips were carefully 

forming each word.

God listens and God answers even when we 

cannot hear our own voice.

God does not need to hear our spoken words in order 

to hear our prayer requests.

Eli said, “Go in peace,
and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.”

Eli loved Hannah even though she had been barren for years.

He respected and honored her longing to bear him a child.

He blessed her prayers. He joined with her desire

 that God would hear her prayer.

He wanted her to be at peace with her prayer.

He wanted her to believe that God was indeed listening to her heart.

Sometimes what we long for within our soul

 is more powerful than any prayerful words could ever be.

How has God answered your prayers?

...for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.

A new teaching with authority.

Jesus taught in the Temple with the authority 

bestowed on him by the Father and the power of the Spirit.

He taught from the source. A 'new teaching' indeed.

He spoke with pure goodness, holiness.

He spoke from the heart from his core.

The evil spirits could not ignore his searing words,

even though he was not speaking directly to them.

They felt compelled to exit their host, whom they had been

 tormenting for some time.

His words literally put the fear of God in them.

They wanted to escape...to run and hide.

The unclean spirits could not get out 

of their host being soon enough.

Prayers were answered for a man who came to listen

 to the teaching of Jesus.

The man himself made no request to be freed

 from the unclean spirits.

Jesus heard his prayer of silent desire.

It is not always necessary to use words when we pray.

May God answer those prayers in the silence of your heart...

those unspoken prayers...those prayers which have no adequate words.

God Blesses us with answers to prayers

 we have yet to pray.

He answers with what he knows is best for us.

Hannah received her son, Samuel.

God heard her solemn prayer.

The man was cleansed of the unclean spirit.

God heard the prayer he had not yet spoken.

Let Your Hearts Take Comfort

~~~ Hebrews 11: 32-40 ~~~ Psalm 31 ~~~ Mark 5:1-20 ~~~

 

 Let your hearts take comfort, all who hope in the Lord.

 

People endured horrific tortures through their strong faith...

even being cut in half, devoured by lions and stoned to death.

 

One man tortured by unseen forces breaks his chains and presents himself

before Jesus. He begs to be released from the legion

of evil spirits that had held him hostage for many years.

 

Hearing of the powers of Jesus he drew all the strength

 he had left within to come to Jesus.

Somehow he saw Jesus as his hope to be free of his chains

and tormented body.

 

By all accounts this man was uncontrollable.

He lived among the dead in the cemetery...where decay and stench

surrounded him night and day.

He was surrounded by death on all sides.

 

In his distraught state of mind he was bruising his body with stones,

nothing he could do would free him from the legions of demons.

 

Nothing can stop Jesus from saving anyone who comes to him.

This man had nothing to lose and everything to gain by coming to Jesus.

 

All in that time knew that a legion was some 6,000 soldiers.

No matter how awful.

No matter the number.

Nothing is too great or terrible for Jesus.

 

He was to conquer death itself.

 

 

 

Catching sight of Jesus from a distance,
he ran up and prostrated himself before him,
crying out in a loud voice,
“What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?
I adjure you by God, do not torment me!”
(He had been saying to him, “Unclean spirit, come out of the man!”)
He asked him, “What is your name?”
He replied, “Legion is my name. There are many of us.”
And he pleaded earnestly with him
not to drive them away from that territory.

Jesus even listened to the unclean spirits plea to be spared.

As they requested, He sent them into the herd of swine nearby.

The swine could not survive with these evil spirits inside their flesh.

They swine went mad and stampeded themselves right

off the cliff into the sea where they drowned.

 

The people who had witnessed these things were themselves terrified.

They were terrified at the power of Jesus.

His power was stronger than a legion of demons.

They feared his power.

They were not sure just how he might use it in the future.

What if he used against them?

What if he could see something within

 that they themselves could not see?

 

We tend to fear the unknown.

We tend to fear that which we cannot understand.

They could not understand the casting out of demons from the tormented man.

The tormented man, on the other hand, did not seek to understand.

He was just grateful for his release from the demons

 who had help him hostage for so long.

 

This is exactly what sin does to our soul...

sin holds our souls as hostage.

We try to make deals with ourselves.

We end up becoming more and more frustrated with each attempt until...

we abandon our self to Jesus.

He alone is the one who can cast out our demons.

 Live in freedom!

 Let your hearts take comfort, all who hope in the Lord.