Seek Good...Hate Evil

~~~ Amos 5:14-15, 21-24 ~~~ Psalm 50 ~~~  Matthew 8:28-34 ~~~

...Seek good and not evil.......Hate evil and love good...

The demoniacs were controlled by something outside of themselves.
Something evil had taken over their very beings.

The Lord will be with those who seek good...
those who diligently avoid evil.
We are strongly urged to turn away from evil.
We are encouraged to love what is good.
We should cherish what is good when we find it.

I know all the birds of the air,
and whatever stirs in the plains, belongs to me.

God lays claim over all of creation.
A creation he created initially for good.
In the beginning all was good.

But evil managed to make itself visible.
Evil made itself appealing.
Evil spoils what was created to be good.

God knows we were created for good...all was created to be good.

Jesus comes into the presence of the two possessed
with the spirit of evil

The demons pleaded with him,
“If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine.”

The swine were lowly creatures associated with Gentiles
during Biblical times.

Sometimes things outside of our control
 prevent us from living our life to the fullest.

If you have something in your life that is holding you back
know that there is nothing more powerful than the power of Jesus.

His power to drive out the demons
 was far beyond anything the people had ever witnessed before.

They were frightened so much by the broad scope
 of his power that they begged him to leave the area.

What else could Jesus do?
How far would this power of his extend?
Would this power cause problems in their town.
How could he cast evil spirits into animals?

Blessed with grace to live a full life.
 ~~~ Peace ~~~

Jesus Offers Freedom

~~~ Amos 5:14-15, 21-24 ~~~ Psalm 50 ~~~ Matthew 8: 28-34 ~~~

The demoniacs in today's gospel were coming from the tombs...

the graveyard...the place of death, decay, and emptiness.

Out of their demonic possession came terror to those who came near them.

In their misery they were miserable and were only capable of enveloping others in misery. Everyone took steps to avoid them not wanting to become

a victim of their savage ways.

When you are hurting it sometimes means that you hurt those around you.

When you are hurting you often feel unloveable.

When you are not loved your actions confirm that you do not want to be loved.

When you are hurting you have the tendency to push others away be your actions.

These two demoniacs were roaming around tormenting others because that is all they knew. You cannot give that which you do not possess.

You cannot give love when you do not have love to give.

When Jesus comes on the scene they are immediately suspicious of his intention.

They were not used to trusting anyone.

So they say to Jesus,

"Have you come to torment us before the appointed time?"

They wanted to be released from the prison of themselves but had no power to help themselves. They wanted freedom from who they were.

The remarkable thing is that even in their possessed state they were still able to recognize Jesus as the Son of God.

The pure goodness of Jesus was able to reach into their consciousness.

This goodness of Jesus is what allowed them to surrender to his ability to free them.

They were willing to let go of what was the source of their tormenting.

This was an exorcism executed by Jesus on the spot.

Jesus complied with the demons request to send them into the herd of swine...swine an unclean animal. In fact pigs were consider the most unclean animal during the time of Jesus. These demons knew they would have certain destruction by being cast into the pigs. They were granted freedom from themselves.

Jesus came to give each of this same freedom from ourselves...freedom from our sinfulness...freedom from the invisible chains that bind us.

This kind of powerful freedom was frightening to the town...

they begged Jesus to leave.

If he could cast out demons what else could he do?

Perhaps there were some things about their lives that

they were not willing to have cast out.

We hold on to our sins not realizing that they are really controlling us.

Leaving our comfort zone, be it riddled with demons or not, is a difficult prospect.

Are you willing to let God release you from the 'demons' hiding within?

God offers us true freedom...

May God Bless our Troops who understand the many faces of freedom.