Delivered and sent

Saturday, January 22, 2011
Devotions: Ps 30, 32, 42, 43; Isa 46:1-13; Eph 6:10-24; Mk 5:1-20

I put myself in Your hands, YHWH; my hope is in You alone. Your anger is momentary, but Your kindness and mercy are everelasting. You shake me when I'm too secure, and cradle me when I am broken. You have turned my mourning into dancing and girded me with gladness, so that my soul may exult in praising You. I give You thanks now and always! We are happy whose sins God has forgiven and covered; the Holy One imputes no iniquity to me, and when I confess my sins and folly, He forgives and heals me. God is my Hiding Place, my Refuge, and my Teacher. The wicked suffer many pangs, but steadfast love surrounds me as I trust in YHWH; let all the righteous rejoice and shout for joy. I long for You, my God, like a thirsty stag in the desert; when can I see You? When can I come to You? When will You visit me? I live on tears day and night; people ask me, 'Where is your God? Are you what a believer looks like? I want no part of such a faith!' But I will cling to You, Lord, and keep remembering Your faithfulness and love. I will continue to praise You and trust in You, and You will vindicate me, to Your own honor. Let my soul rise up and honor my Lord and Creator, my Help and my God! Send out Your light and truth and bring me to Your holy hill, my Lord! Let me dance around Your altar and tell of Your goodness everywhere I go.

The idols of the Gentiles are objects; they are transported in bags on donkeys; they are a burden and powerless to help. Listen, house of Jacob and remnant of Israel: Our God is YHWH; He lives; He will carry us and save us. There is no other god like our God; I Am not metal or wood; there is no image that conveys My nature—except the Messiah, My Anointed One. My counsel stands; My will is accomplished; I will do what I have intended. Listen, stubborn of heart, far from deliverance: I deliver; I save; I hasten to save, and you are My chosen ones. Come and be blessed!

Be strong in YHWH and the strength of His might. Put on God's armor, and stand before the devil. We are not contending against mortals, but against spiritual principalities, powers and world rulers of this present darkness—the spirit hosts of wickedness from the heavenly places. So, believer: put on God's whole armore, and stand on the evil day. Gird your loins with truth; cover your heart with righteousness; shod your feet with the gospel of peace; take up the shield of faith that quenches the fiery darts of the evil one; put on the helmet of salvation; and lift up the sword of the Spirit: God's word. Pray always in the Spirit, with supplication, intercession, praise and thanksgiving. Stay alert—watch and pray and watch and pray! Pray for all the saints, particularly those carrying the gospel, that God may order our speech, and that we may boldly declare the mystery of the gospel. Paul was the ambassador of Christ, a bondslave to the truth; like him, let all believers boldly declare the truth, as we should. Let God's peace rest upon all the brothers and sisters in faith; let God's love rest on us. Grace abide with all who love our Lord Jesus the Messiah with undying love.

Jesus and His party arrived in the country of the Gerasenes, in trans-Jordan, east of the Sea of Galilee. As Jesus disembarked, He was met by a man who came out from the tombs. He was possessed by unclean spirits, and no one could do anything with him. He had often been bound with fetters and chains, but with demonic strength he wrenched the chains apart and snapped the ropes. No one could subdue him by physical force. Night and day, among the tombs, he continually cried out and bruised himself with stones. When he spied Jesus from afar, he ran and fell before Him, saying 'What have You to do with me, Jesus, Son of othe Most High God? I plead with You, by God, do not torment me.' Jesus had said to the spirits, 'Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!' Jesus demanded, 'What is your name?' And the reply: 'My name is Legion, for we are many!' The spirits begged Jesus not to send them out of the country. A great herd of pigs was feeding on a nearby hillside, and the demons begged Jesus, 'Send us into the swine. Let us go into them.' And Jesus gave them permission. So the unclean spirits departed from the man and entered the swine; and the herd of about 2,000 animals, rushed down the steep bank and into the sea, and there they drowned. The swineherds ran into the city and countryside and told the story, and people came to Jesus. They found Him with the demoniac sitting quietly, fully dressed and in his right mind. And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their neighborhood. As Jesus prepared to embark, the man who had been possessed begged to go along with Jesus, but the Lord said instead, 'Go home to your firends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.' And the man obeyed, departing and beginning to declare in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and all who heard, marveled.