Most have heard the account recorded in Mark 5 about Jesus casting the demons out of the man and into the herd of pigs. It is a clear example of Jesus’ power over evil, but there is another part of the story I think is important for us.

Mark 5:18-20 writes, “As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him. But Jesus said, “No, go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been.” So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them.”

Jesus told the man to go and tell about what God has done for him. What about us? How often have we prayed for safety for ourselves or loved ones when traveling, or prayed for resolution of a medical problem, relief from a financial challenge, or success in our business, or other requests that have come to pass. Do we go and tell others the great things God has done for us, or do we attribute it to chance?

Dear Lord, you protect, provide, and save us every day. Help us remember to tell everyone what you have done for us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Judges 7 tells a story about Gideon, the leader of the Israelites after they had arrived in the Promised Land. God told Gideon he would help the Israelites defeat the Midianites who were threatening the Israelites. Gideon assembled an army of 22,000 men, but in the course of the account, God had him reduce his force to 300. We can only guess how large the Midianite army was, but if Gideon thought he needed 22,000, it was likely to have been several thousand.

In Judges 7:2, “The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many warriors with you. If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength.”

With 300 men then God gave the Israelites victory.

The message for us is that it is not what we have, or what we think we can do, that matters; It is what God can do. God has control over all things. So when we have no idea how “we” can accomplish something, that is when God can intervene, and when we have success we know God has done it for us.

Dear Lord, Faith is believing when we don’t know how. Help us remember that this is where you want us, putting our faith in you, and trusting you to work in our lives. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

We all know that God created us with a free will to choose. There is a constant battle going on inside each of us; a battle between our desire to choose to obey God and do what is right, and our desire to choose to follow the “self-centered” desires that the world would have us follow.

Think of all the modern day social issues that revolve around the “right” and “freedom” to do things that are clearly wrong according to God.

Paul writes to the church in Galatians 5:13 “For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.”

Dear Lord, please help us use the freedom you gave us to live lives that glorify you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The book of Ecclesiastes was written by Solomon, King of Israel after David, who, when asked by God what he wanted, asked for wisdom, rather than riches or power. As a result, God granted him wisdom, riches, and power. In Ecclesiastes he writes about his search to understand what life is about, and the conclusions he reaches.

In chapter 3 he starts by describing how there are different seasons in life, “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up….” and so on.

His conclusion in Ecclesiastes 3:11-13, he says, “Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.”

We will go through seasons in our lives, good times, difficult times, and we will not know what work God is doing in and through our lives during these periods. What we can know is that God is in control and has a reason, so as Solomon says, we should be happy and accept what life brings along, focusing on and enjoying the gifts God has given us.

Dear Lord, You have given us all so much to be thankful for. Help us reflect on these things, and live the seasons in our lives with happiness and enjoyment. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

There are numerous reasons people resist or reject the message of Jesus Christ. One that has been common since the beginning of Christianity is the difficulty scientific and academically “smart” people have with not being able to figure things out. During early Christianity, the brilliant academics were the Greeks. Even today, we study writings of Plato, and Aristotle, and the creations of the ancient Greeks.

The apostle Paul recognized this challenge that the “intellectuals” had with Christianity and wrote about it in 1 Corinthians 1:21-25. He wrote, “Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Greeks say it is all nonsense. But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.”

What if you needed to be smart enough to figure out how salvation worked in order to be saved. It would no longer be God saving, it would be the smart saving themselves; Which would essentially make them their own god. Ultimately, when people put their intelligence above their faith they are making themselves or their intellect their own god.

Dear Lord, we all have our struggles to overcome in order to surrender ourselves to you. Help us all see and believe the power and peace of salvation, your gift to us, and accept it with humility. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.