Deus Misereatur

My morning reading today (17 September) took me into the gospel according to Luke 8.26-39 . This is the episode of the man “who had demons” (v.27) in the country of the Gerasenes. There are several connections between this story and the sea-storm that precedes it (22-25: you can read it on yesterday’s post ). I’ll bring those out as we go along. To begin, the man who had demons is quite frenetic, frenzied and frantic. He is naked, lives among the dead and decaying (tombs – v.27), and is unrestrainable, even by shackles and human force (v.29). Just as with the sea-storm, this man is raging and fuming, and his presence is threatening to others. Then he meets Jesus and his whole way of existence changes. Once our Lord sets him free from “Legion” (v.30), there is a complete change of his manners and mental state: “Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in ...

This morning it was beautiful as I read my Bible. In the dark right before dawn, I sat on my patio under the lamp – with birds singing, mild skunk smell wafting on the breeze, cicadas rattling, etc. – and read two passage. At first they seemed to have no relation to each other, but later, while running my 3.3 miles and reflecting on them, it hit me how well they went together. Maybe a few of you reading this will profit by these considerations. Steadfast in Your Faith (Colossians 2.1-5) Paul wrote, “For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, // that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.\\ I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, ...

{I hope you are finding these beneficial. Feel free to use it in your church, and in your personal prayer time - Mike } Prayer Preparation:  The wise man reminds us in Proverbs 15.8, “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him.” We hear a verse like this, and we want to cringe and cower in our pew. On the one hand, we rightly see ourselves – standing stripped down to just ourselves – as “the wicked”. But hear the second part through the ears of those who are united to The Upright One, “Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 Jn 2.2). We are not stripped down to just ourselves, but united to Jesus, we are clothed with his uprightness – and so this verse should rouse us in prayer – our prayers are – not might be, not could be, but are – acceptable to the LORD! Let us pray: Lord God, thank you that through faith you have made us all sons of God, and our baptism declares that we are united to Christ. And so, clothed, as i...