Reading for Today:
Psalm 75, 76, 23, 27
Gen. 43:16-34
1 Cor. 7:10-24
Mark 5:1-20
There is a saying that goes like this: “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.”
Mark’s Gospel exposes a lot of toleration among the people of God for “the devil they know.” Jesus comes along and they assume it’s some other “devil” they don’t know, and they get shocked… or they reject him.
In Mark 5 Jesus heals a man so thoroughly possessed by demons that no one can control him. They merely tolerate him at a certain distance.
But when Jesus sets the man free, the villagers are in the presence of something they don’t know. They would rather have the demoniac back!
There may be times in our own lives where the enemy has worn us down and we’ve let him hang out in some “upstairs attic” of our lives, thinking, “Well, at least he’s quiet there.”
Friends, the enemy and his activity are not to be tolerated. They are to be faced head-on and challenged. In our lives. In the lives of those around us.
It is time to be set free. It is time to set others free.
The power of the Kingdom… the power of the Cross… is freedom.
Apprentice 2 Jesus 