Take not the devil's perspective

If our sins weigh heavier in our mind than our potential for grace and effective service to God and others, we must be taking the devil's perspective. God wants us to be realistic about ourselves. But genuine realism does not lead to caving in under a sense of worthlessness. That is not realism; it is believing the devil's lie. Yes, realism leads us to a sense of weak­ness. But it leads also to Paul's assertion: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil 4:13). Paul says elsewhere, "He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses ... for when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor 12:9‑10). --Richard Lovelace

Dwelling on that which enslaves... and He who frees

This fella Legion has captured the attention of many of us as we looked at Mark 5 last week and tomorrow. And it has me thinking and praying about our addictive behaviors... and the love & power of Christ.

I . . . was bound not by an iron imposed by anyone else but by the iron of my own choice. The enemy had a grip on my will and so made a chain for me to hold me a prisoner. The consequence of a distorted will is passion. By servitude to passion*, habit is formed, and habit to which there is no resistance becomes necessity. By these links . . . connected one to another . . . a harsh bondage held me under restraint. --Augustine

*(passion for anything--- diamonds or drugs, position or power, grades or times, relationships, etc)


Batter my heart... John Donne

Batter my heart, three person'd God; for, you

As yet but knocke, breathe, shine, and seeke to mend;

That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow mee,'and bend

Your force, to breake, blow, burn and make me new.

I, like an usurpt towne, to'another due,

Labour to'admit you, but Oh, to no end,

Reason your viceroy in mee, mee should defend,

But is captiv'd, and proves weake or untrue.

Yet dearley'I love you,'and would be loved faine,

But am betroth'd unto your enemie:

Divorce mee,'untie, or breake that knot againe,

Take mee to you, imprison mee, for I

Except you'enthrall mee, never shall be free,

Nor ever chast, except you ravish mee.

links on demons

what are demons?--Demons, very good& brief article by J.I. Packer here

I'll try to point you to resources in case there is something you want/need to pursue more info on....
--Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices by Thomas Brooks.... you can probalby get a paperback for $5 or read it online here


i haven't gone thru these... but both men I trust and respect... so this would be a good start

Spiritual Warfare Part 1 - God's Control Over Demons
Vern Poythress (mp3)

Spiritual Warfare Part 2 - God's Redemption from Demons
Vern Poythress (mp3)

Spiritual Warfare Part 3 - God's Empowering to Fight Demons
Vern Poythress (mp3)

Demons
Sam Storms

Defeat of Devil-Demons
Sam Storms

Doors to Demonization
Sam Storms

Nature of Demonization
Sam Storms

The Lewis quote about 200 years from now

“The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbor’s glory should be laid on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you say it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or the other destinations." lewis (full quote)

Calvin quote on Mark 5

In the person of one man Christ has exhibited to us a proof of his grace, which is extended to all mankind. Though we are not tortured by the devil, yet he holds us as his slaves, till the Son of God delivers us from his tyranny. Naked, torn, and disfigured, we wander about, till he restores us to soundness of mind. It remains that, in magnifying his grace, we testify our gratitude. --John Calvin on Mark 5

How Demons Work

C.S. Lewis, in his book "Screwtape Letters" pictures an experienced demon (Screwtape) mentoring his nephew, Wormwood, in how to be an effective demon... He does this through writing letters... this one on how to keep a new Christian from following “The Enemy” (who for demons is the living God).

“My dear Wormwood, I wonder you should ask me whether it is essential to keep the patient in ignorance of your own existence. That question, at least for the present phase of the struggle, has been answered for us the High Command. Our policy, for the moment, is to conceal ourselves…. I do not think you will have much difficulty in keeping the patient in the dark. The fact that ‘devils’ are comic figures in the modern imagination will help you. If any faint suspicion of your existence begins to arise in his mind, suggest to him a picture of something in red tights, and persuade him that since he cannot believe in that (it is an old textbook method of confusing them) he therefore cannot believe in you.” --CS Lewis

In The Problem with Pain, C.S. Lewis states that people will “enjoy forever the horrible freedom they have demanded, and are therefore self-enslaved.”

Demons & Pigs & Jesus

asking about the relationship between the demons and the pigs: Once Jesus has forced the demons to name themselves, they know defeat is immanent and they grovel. Apparently the most
the demons can hope for is to be left in their home territory rather than being
banished to the wilderness or to ruins. (These places were considered dangerous
to human beings because demons wandering and lurking in such places were
desperate for human hosts.) While demons would not normally want animal
hosts, Jesus was now master of their fate, so they bargained. It seems likely that
Jesus was able to accomplish a dual purpose. Banishing the demons permanently
and ridding the territory of an animal that since Moses was unclean to Jews.
When the demons enter the pigs, they immediately rush down a steep slope into
the lake. Animals have no resistance to the demons’ great urge to destroy life.
Mark writes nothing about the spirits leaving the pigs and therefore, we are to think that they remain in the water. Other ancient literature leads us to believe that demons considered this fate worse than having no host at all. --from the Mark Study Guide of Redeemer PCA in Manhattan

Evil, Suffering, and Our Joy

If heaven is a compensation for all the stuff you have always wanted but never going to have, that is one thing, but if the new heavens and new earth is our hope, and it is - and therefore we have a restoration of everything you ever wanted - the new heavens and new earth will make every horrible thing you every experienced nothing but a nightmare… and as a nightmare will do nothing but infinitely, correspondingly, increase your future joy in glory, in a way that it wouldn’t have been increased if you had never suffered it. And that is the ultimate defeat of evil. To say evil is an illusion or that you are going to be compensated for it is one thing, but to say that evil will be in the end the servant of your joy - that’s astounding. The Christian hope does not just compensate you for your suffering, it undoes it - it absolutely undoes it. Our momentary affliction achieves an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. --Tim Keller