Tag Archives: man of the tombs

“What’s in Your House?”

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Even while the people stood amazed at the freedom given to the man of the tombs, the legion of demons found new homes. While the bodies of pigs floated out to sea, the people received as open doors with welcome mats.  

The demons begged that they should not have to leave the region. I guarantee you they didn’t leave. They begged to enter the pigs. I guarantee you they didn’t drown with the pigs.  


No, they were alive and well. They went to work on the people of that region immediately. Read the response of the people; and they begged the Lord to leave their area.  


People are being healed by the Lord these days. Where do their demons go? They go to anyone who is willing to embrace their filthy ways.  


“What’s in your house?”


(Mark 5)

Forsaken Owner

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A vast apartment complex? No.  A trailer park a mile square?  No.  A high rise condominium in China.  No.  But over 2000 lived there at the same time.

Evicted, all of them, in a moment.  All their filth left behind.  The owner is left, for the rest of his life, to clean every room on his hands and knees.  Even the homeless are forbidden to live there again.

“Please let me go with you!  Nothing remains for me here!”  The owner begs to leave.  The answer comes from the compassionate enforcer.  “Stay here and tell everyone how I have cleaned out those detestable tenants.”

Without another word, the Savior is gone. 

They may well believe this man’s horror has come to an end.  But who will befriend him?  Who will take him into their house while he cleans what is left of his own?  Driven mad by detestable tenants, he now faces sanity and responsibility.  And he will face it alone.

Can we blame them for despising this poor wretched owner?  He frightens the children at his approach.  This conversation has nothing to do with anything but God.  He has no other trade but breathing.  To them he is fearsome, by virtue of history, and useless to the future.

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I thank God my Savior, the Holy One of the living God, for giving me this place to serve.  Cast out by my former folly, here I can add to his wonderous bounty.

Praise to the living God.  For in Christ Jesus, he even redeems such as I.

By His Grace

To Judge or Assess?

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Scale_of_justice

Image by TaranRampersad via Flickr

I witnessed an old man having trouble with the lock on the back of his trailer.  Now, I’d jump out and help.  But only one key opens the lock.  And only one set of fingers at a time can turn that key.  And what advice can I possibly give to help? “Try to turn it this way.”  Yeah.

I was waiting behind him to pull into my door.  And there was nothing more to do but sit and watch.  After a while he gave up and waddled back to my truck.  Was he going to ask for help?  Maybe he thought I carried a bolt cutter or an oxy acetylene torch.  Nah, that’s not reasonable to expect.

He got near my truck and I jumped out to meet him.  He began to talk and my soul was startled.  Anger and cursing flowed from his mouth like a river of fast moving mud.  I didn’t expect that.  He didn’t look like someone who carried that kind of heart.  But there’s not much a person can tell about another by simply looking at them.

This experience brings me to ponder “judging”.  We are instructed (commanded actually) not to judge.  But what would this world be like if we didn’t access our fellow humans? How would we sort out danger or friendly?  Would we allow the enemies of truth to come live in our house?  Perhaps, but not without making some measure of prevention.  So what is this judging thing?

Judging, as we’re commanded to refrain from, is more likely having to do with settling on a conviction that someone is a certain way and  without redemption.  Perhaps it’s like being a judge at a trial and rendering a sentence on the person in question.  I can see how this would be a source of major damage.  There would be no hope of that person ever overcoming their history.  And such judging would preclude any possibility of change.  So they would be locked out of our sphere of acceptance and hope.

Judging, as is necessary, might be more like assessment.  We consider the other person according to what knowledge of truth we contain.  And we allow for learning on both parts.  I allow myself room to learn something more about the person, while I continue to consider that person with reserved guard.  And I allow that other person room toward possible clarification of their personality.

Refrain from condemning others to the life they now present to you.  But be careful not to allow enemies to get too close.  A curious mix of understanding is needed here.  But doesn’t this just show how small and unwise we really are?  Who can know what is right without the Lord giving understanding?  How many people have been killed, through the ages, because others judged them unfit.  Even the righteous have become victim of this kind of judging.

In the end, perhaps it would be better to identify two words we can use.  We are allowed to access a person’s intend and tendencies.  And do so with understanding that we might well be wrong.  We’re allowed to protect what is precious in our world.   But we’re commanded not to condemn others before we have all the facts.  And even when all the “facts” are presented, can we truly judge them on an eternal scale?   “Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”

And what would have happened if Jesus had met the “man of the tombs” and simply turned around and left?  After all, wasn’t the entire village afraid of this man?  Wasn’t he a horrible person?  But look what happened when Jesus drove the evil spirits out of him.  The villagers found that man “in his right mind and sitting at the feet of Jesus”.  (Mark 5: 1-10)  See also:  http://timglass.wordpress.com/2008/10/04/a-man-from-the-tombs-mark-51-10/

At the same time I’m put in remembrance of the 7 sons of sceva:

13 “Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. ”  (Acts 9)

Again, we are told to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

By His Grace.