Scripture Reading: Luke 8.26-39 Today's inspiration: "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?"

Before you read today's passage, ask God to speak to you from His Word.

Good Morning!

Yesterday we left Jesus calming the storm for His men. . . only to find Him landing in the region of the Gerasenes, (Gentile territory), on the southeast side of the Sea of Galilee. Picture Jesus with me--He's getting out of the boat, no doubt with the hem of His garments getting wet, and He walks on to shore. He barely puts His sandals on when a demon-possessed man comes out to meet Him. I said, 'Jesus steps onto the shore and a demon-possessed man comes out to meet Him.' Don't you find that odd? Why would this man, filled with many demons, come out to greet our Lord face to face? Folks 'round those parts were used to seeing the crazy demoniac naked, homeless and living among the tombs--why, they had seen him bound and shackled even, though he always broke loose, and ran into the wilderness! So the guy lets out a scream and falls down before Jesus. He calls Jesus by name, asking Him not to torture him. Jesus demands of him, "What is your name?" "Legion," meaning he was filled with many demons. (a legion was the largest unit in the Roman army, so it was a familiar term to these first- century dwellers.) Then the demons themselves call out to Jesus, begging Him not to cast them into the bottomless pit. (yes, they knew that to be their ultimate destination) The demons recognize Jesus' authority over them, and tremble; He came to destroy demons and release men and women to eternal life.

What did this man want with the Lord? Maybe he knew that Jesus wouldn't leave him as he found him. Do you have any demons in you? Now I am not talking about the kind that made this man so crazy he couldn't even function--I'm talking about those things inside you that keep you from experiencing life to the full, like Jesus came to offer us. (John 10.10) No, they aren't likely to cause you to uncontrollably scream out loud or keep you from relationship with others, but then again, maybe. . . maybe they are things that are pushed way back, and sometimes find expression in your anger or bitterness. . . maybe they are things that people have told you that have kept you under a shadow of heavy doubt--about God, about yourself, about the future, about your worth. How about young girls who were told they were unattractive in some way, (remember "Seventeen" by Janis Ian?) or guys who were told they would never amount to much? Have you been laboring under the weight of painful words that have marked you? Oh, come on, it is okay to admit it to yourself. . . is it time to get those 'demons' out?

This fella 'Legion' had the right idea->He went out to meet Jesus. Scripture doesn't say that he was hoping to be set free from his demons, but why else would he have gone? Word was out about Jesus--that He always had time for those who needed healing, that He never backed down to evil. Yes, I think Legion went out to meet Jesus because he wanted something from Him. Jesus does not disappoint--the demons are cast out, and in to a large herd of pigs, which runs over a bank of the lake, and drowns.

That is not the end of the story for Legion, though. The townspeople find him dressed and calmly sitting at Jesus' feet, listening to His teaching. Dang. Radical transformation. So much so that he begged to go with Jesus and His men as they moved on. . . His Lord, our Lord said, no, "Return home and tell how much God has done for you." In that statement, Jesus' lays claim to His deity, His work being the work of God. Legion now uses his voice to go and tell what God had done for him--that is to say, he became a witness for Jesus. From scary guy to role model. Dang.

How about you? 'Got any 'demons' hanging around? Maybe you and I could take a page out of Legion's book, and go out to meet Jesus. Tell Him what ales you. . . tell Him where it hurts. . . ask for healing. And then, like Legion, share how God's mighty love has impacted you with someone, or several someones.

So that you may know and grow,

Christine dig into this: 1) In James 2.19, what do we learn about the demons? What is James saying we need in addition to our belief?