Long before al-Qu’ida, the PLO, or the IRA, a single man terrorized a small town on the eastern Galilean shore. Naked, this man roamed freely among the tombs and burial plots of the local cemetery. His screams chilled the day and his howls sliced through the night. A man of Herculean strength, the townspeople were unable to restrict him. Chains placed on his wrists were snapped like kindling. Shackles were smashed like fruit in a press. Fear and intimidation oppressed the people. They were in need of rescue.
Jesus hit the shore of this Galilean town focused on His usual routine of preaching, teaching and healing. As He climbed from His boat, the wild man emerged from the cemetery. He recognized Jesus and ran to meet Him.
Jesus knew the man was not of a right mind, that evil held him captive. Jesus immediately commanded the evil spirit to leave the man. But it was a hardened spirit. Bowing low before Jesus, it caused the man to shriek, “Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In the name of God, I beg you, don’t torture me!” (Mark 5: 7).
Jesus provoked terror in the terrorist.
And with good reason. The spirit was in fact many spirits—at least two thousand. Yet despite their number, they feared the one man before them. Calling Him by name and title, they recognized His power and authority. Only Jesus, Son of God, could end their occupation of this pitiful man.
Jesus did call the spirits out and allowed them to enter a herd of pigs. Two thousand pigs, mad with possession, raced down a steep embankment and into the lake where they drowned. Their confused caretakers fled to town.
As word of the mass swine suicide spread, the townspeople rushed to the shore. There they witnessed their tormentor sitting at Jesus’ feet, fully clothed and rational. And this terrified them more than his screams and howls once had. He was now like one of them. It was more than they could accept. They begged Jesus to move on and leave their town alone.
How can that be? Jesus had removed their greatest fear, and the people of the Geresenes were afraid, not grateful. The mad man faced them, restored and fully functional. And that was more terrifying than a naked man in the cemetery.
Isn’t that our way too? There’s a problem, a danger, a wound that we long to have fixed. Jesus, the healer and restorer, comes to make the situation right again. But sometimes what we want from Him is a bandage, not a cure. A band-aid will cover and protect the injury, but a cure involves time and treatment…sometimes treatment that means additional pain.
We all have fears and anxieties that hold us captive from time to time. Perhaps it’s the terror of a secret from the past that threatens to reveal itself. Maybe it’s the possibility of failure that immobilizes when it’s time for action. Or it could be that you spend valuable time and energy trying to keep up a pretense because of the paralyzing fear of being exposed as the phony you really are.
Isaiah 61:1 – 2 says Jesus comes to “bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners…To comfort all who mourn." His job is to heal and release us from the terrors that hold us hostage. And because He knows all about our life—all the pain and mistakes—He is able to walk us through the healing process. But it is a rebuilding process. It may require working through painful memories or facing difficult truths about yourself or people in your life. It will ultimately require forgiveness. And letting go.
This is where Jesus is often told to move on. Have you been to this point? Jesus can remove your greatest terror, but are you willing to let it go? Letting go of past hurts and secrets, fears, and phony masks may seem to be too much. You may prefer to let go of Jesus. But don’t. Let Him push you on.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
An Evangelical's Reaction to the 2008 Presidential Election
How appropriate was my daily Scripture reading for November 5—the morning after our nation elected its first African American President.
My passage for that morning came from John chapters 8 and 9. Jesus is addressing the Pharisees—even those who say they believe in Him, those who give lip service to His ministry but continue on in their established religion. Jesus’ ministry was revolutionary. It required deep personal change. It called for an inward change from hearts of stone to hearts of flesh (Ezekiel 11:19)—hearts devoted to the living God; hearts of mercy and compassion and forgiveness; hearts that would change the world and see God’s Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven.
But the Pharisees had no room for Jesus. Their hearts were full of their own gospel—arrogant, pompous, self-righteous, worldly power through religion. And because their hearts had no room, they could not hear Jesus’ word. Without hearing, their minds could not accept and understand (John 8:43). With hardened hearts (hearts of stone), they could not see the sin in their own lives. Though their eyes were open and taking it all in, they were blind (9:39). They could not see, so they could not witness this man as the Son of God. They did not know Him. They did not know the Father (8:19).
We evangelical Christians can be much like Jesus’ Pharisees. Our hearts have been hardened by our love of our religion, our love of political power, and our determination that we have it right! Four years ago we were held up as George W’s strength. We were the reason he won the 2004 election.
Where was the evangelical Christian clout in 2008?
It seems it held little interest with this year’s two candidates. Why? Look at our leaders. One was removed from office after admitting sexual immorality and soliciting drugs. Six “prosperity gospel” televangelists were investigated by the Senate Finance Committee. Two weeks before the election, a pro-family action committee posted a “what-if” letter reflecting on the first Obama term of office. This 16-page document dated October 22, 2012 proposes a future America where the Boy Scouts have been abolished, student-led prayer is ruled as proselytizing and worship and is no longer allowed in public schools, and several Christian publishing houses are forced out of business because major booksellers, targeted by homosexual activists, discontinue sales of Christian books. The scare tactics from this family-first group are vicious and seem designed to provoke mistrust among people of faith.
Have our evangelical leaders no room in their hearts for Jesus? Where is the mercy, the compassion, the forgiveness? Jesus asked this question of the religious leaders of His day. We should ask the same in 2008.
Watch our Christian leaders in the coming months. Will they be praying for our new governmental leaders? Praying for their safety as well as their decisions? Will they tell us that God places our leaders over us…or is that true only when “our guy” wins the election? Will they remind us to turn to God to ask how He wants us to respond to this election?
And how do we respond? That is for God to guide and lead us. But it does seem that we better open our ears and our eyes. There is a reason why minority and young adult turnout at the polls was higher than ever before. These groups could finally identify with a candidate. We need to remember that neither the Republican NOR Democratic Party has put a candidate before the people who has engaged them in the process as Obama did this year. We need to open our eyes and ears to the people who have felt disenfranchised. Why have they felt that way? We need to ask God to show us how to respond to their voice.
And we do need to pray for our new president. If the evangelical leaders won’t ask you to do this, I will. God has allowed Barak Obama to win this election to fill His purpose. We need to be sensitive and responsive to that. Pray for President-Elect Obama: for his safety, for his wisdom, for his faith. Pray the same for his family and his advisors. Pray for peace among the elected officials of both parties as they work with the new president for the good of our country. And pray that you are able to respond as God desires.
My passage for that morning came from John chapters 8 and 9. Jesus is addressing the Pharisees—even those who say they believe in Him, those who give lip service to His ministry but continue on in their established religion. Jesus’ ministry was revolutionary. It required deep personal change. It called for an inward change from hearts of stone to hearts of flesh (Ezekiel 11:19)—hearts devoted to the living God; hearts of mercy and compassion and forgiveness; hearts that would change the world and see God’s Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven.
But the Pharisees had no room for Jesus. Their hearts were full of their own gospel—arrogant, pompous, self-righteous, worldly power through religion. And because their hearts had no room, they could not hear Jesus’ word. Without hearing, their minds could not accept and understand (John 8:43). With hardened hearts (hearts of stone), they could not see the sin in their own lives. Though their eyes were open and taking it all in, they were blind (9:39). They could not see, so they could not witness this man as the Son of God. They did not know Him. They did not know the Father (8:19).
We evangelical Christians can be much like Jesus’ Pharisees. Our hearts have been hardened by our love of our religion, our love of political power, and our determination that we have it right! Four years ago we were held up as George W’s strength. We were the reason he won the 2004 election.
Where was the evangelical Christian clout in 2008?
It seems it held little interest with this year’s two candidates. Why? Look at our leaders. One was removed from office after admitting sexual immorality and soliciting drugs. Six “prosperity gospel” televangelists were investigated by the Senate Finance Committee. Two weeks before the election, a pro-family action committee posted a “what-if” letter reflecting on the first Obama term of office. This 16-page document dated October 22, 2012 proposes a future America where the Boy Scouts have been abolished, student-led prayer is ruled as proselytizing and worship and is no longer allowed in public schools, and several Christian publishing houses are forced out of business because major booksellers, targeted by homosexual activists, discontinue sales of Christian books. The scare tactics from this family-first group are vicious and seem designed to provoke mistrust among people of faith.
Have our evangelical leaders no room in their hearts for Jesus? Where is the mercy, the compassion, the forgiveness? Jesus asked this question of the religious leaders of His day. We should ask the same in 2008.
Watch our Christian leaders in the coming months. Will they be praying for our new governmental leaders? Praying for their safety as well as their decisions? Will they tell us that God places our leaders over us…or is that true only when “our guy” wins the election? Will they remind us to turn to God to ask how He wants us to respond to this election?
And how do we respond? That is for God to guide and lead us. But it does seem that we better open our ears and our eyes. There is a reason why minority and young adult turnout at the polls was higher than ever before. These groups could finally identify with a candidate. We need to remember that neither the Republican NOR Democratic Party has put a candidate before the people who has engaged them in the process as Obama did this year. We need to open our eyes and ears to the people who have felt disenfranchised. Why have they felt that way? We need to ask God to show us how to respond to their voice.
And we do need to pray for our new president. If the evangelical leaders won’t ask you to do this, I will. God has allowed Barak Obama to win this election to fill His purpose. We need to be sensitive and responsive to that. Pray for President-Elect Obama: for his safety, for his wisdom, for his faith. Pray the same for his family and his advisors. Pray for peace among the elected officials of both parties as they work with the new president for the good of our country. And pray that you are able to respond as God desires.
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