Read: Matthew 8:28-34
As Jesus confronted the demons in the men that had spent quite some time living among the tombs, deprived of any normalcy, they pleaded to go into the herd of pigs near by. Pigs to Jews were unclean. Jesus allowed them and the entire heard rushed down the steep bank and drowned in the lake. If satan is a murderer and a liar, we would expect his minions to be murderers and liars as well. We see here the destructive nature of satan and his demons.
Even worse than the demonic destruction is the reaction of the crowd that came out to meet Jesus. Some ran back to town and reported what had happened. When they saw Jesus they pleaded with Him to leave their region. They didn’t ask nicely. They didn’t drop a hint. They pleaded with Him. They begged him to leave. Had they known the true identity of this stranger in their midst, they would have begged Him to stay!
We should not be surprised when people ask us to leave or chase us away as we seek to share the gospel with them in word and deed. If they rejected Jesus and asked Him to leave we can expect the same treatment. We should be surprised, however, when believers ask Jesus to leave. What do I mean by that? I have been in so many churches where people are desperate to leave after the first hour. They plan so many things on Sonday that fellowship and being in Jesus’ presence is just not an option. Is not that simply another way of asking Jesus to leave? Some just want their religious fix and want to get out as quickly as possible. Some are desperate to get home for lunch. Others are meeting family or going out somewhere. Whatever the reason, these believers are asking Jesus to leave their presence.
Let me encourage you to think differently and radically about the Lord’s Day. Right here, right now I want to encourage you to dedicate the entire day (all 24 hours of it) to the Lord and to His people. Make a covenant with God that you will always seek to set apart the entire Lord’s day for Him and His people. Don’t be satisfied with giving the Lord an hour or 2. Give Him the entire day. Don’t be happy to get a religious fix. Soak up the Lord’s presence and swim in His grace and mercy.
A good passage to read and meditate upon is 1 John 4:11-12.
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
Notice what God says? He promises to live in us (plural not single) as we (plural not single) love one another. Read 1 John 3:18. It’s very hard to love one another as we’re racing off to another engagement from church. It’s very hard to love each other as we put work or chores or unbelieving family above our brothers and sisters in the Lord or as we place an hour or two time limit on our meeting time. If we do not love each other in action and in truth, we need to ask if God is really living among us or in us.
Let me encourage you to pray a prayer along the following lines and seek to keep your vow to the Lord week in, week out.
Lord God, you have called us to be in your presence each Lord’s day and to fellowship together. I confess that this has not been my priority of late. Other things have crept in. Please forgive me for this. Lord in your presence I make a pact to seek to keep the Lord’s Day each week for you and your people and to be proactive in edifying the body of believers that I worship with.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
With your cell group, seek to do something next Sonday at Church that will enhance the fellowship and love shared in your body.
Prayer Points:
> “I want to personally thank you for making a stand. However, it’s important to realise that the agenda for the same-sex marriage isn’t over, and this is just round one”. Jim Wallace
> Keep praying for our country and for the unity of family life here.
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