and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; 4because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him.
Our family enjoys having pets around. We have a female Lab and a male Weimaraner dog. Both Labs and Weimaraner's are very affectionate family dogs but they are also very high energy dogs. Training them is a necessity. Training requires us to use many different methods. When training, we can have up to three different collars on them at one time. Their regular leash collar, a pinch collar and an e-collar. Each collar plays a specific role. But the purpose is to use all collars at once so you can control them and begin to train them to do what you want. The devil's scheme is very similar in that he desires that one area of bondage or control would lead to other areas of bondage and control so that he can "train" us for his ways. The man that Jesus immediately encounters in the country of the Gerasenes in Mark 5 was already bound by demons. The people in that region new that something supernatural and demonic was happening in his life by the way that he would break through even the chains and shackles that they would put on him. He was a nuisance as he would scream out from among the tombs and caves and gash himself with stones. No one could subdue this man because of the strength of the demons inside of him. I'm sure that there were some during that time who felt compassion and were truly trying to help him, while others found him quite annoying. But notice how they wanted to help him. They tried to bind him with shackles and chains. They must have thought, "at least if he is bound he won't be as much of a danger or nuisance. If we continue to find different ways to bind him and 'train' him, maybe we can find a way to deal with him in an easier way." This is a great illustration of the world's ways even today. When you are facing a problem that you can't fix, the world will say: "come under our control and let us direct you if you want to find freedom from that ailment. Take our chains on you, do what we say, talk like we talk, walk like we walk and all your problems will go away and you will be free." What they are essentially saying is: "Do you want freedom? Then take our yoke of slavery upon you and become bound to other things that will help with that one thing." We live in a time where the world is coming up with alternative ways to find "freedom" from the afflictions of life. But notice that almost every way of "freedom" that the world offers involves some sort of dependency upon something else. They don't remove anything, they just mask it by providing some sort of alternative way to help you "cope". But notice that even the coping mechanisms themselves become a yoke of slavery! I am thankful for modern medicine and how God has blessed humankind with the ability of the mind to come up with new ways to deal with sicknesses and ailments. For instance, as we have seen in recent years, there has been an incredible rise of addiction to Fentanyl. But even worse than that, an unprecedented rise of death because of addiction to Fentanyl. Something that was meant to be a way to help people cope with pain has become a yoke of slavery. An extreme example of this would be experiencing intense pain in your leg and then breaking your finger in order to take your mind off of the pain in your foot (Major Payne anyone?). That's not freedom; that's compounded bondage. When Jesus says in John 8:36: “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. Jesus is promising complete freedom. He says you will be free indeed, which means really and actually free. Not theoretically, not partially, not in our hearts, but actually, completely free. When Jesus casts the demons out of this man in Mark 5:12, 13 that man was totally free. Jesus didn't give him "coping mechanisms"; He set him free. Every time that Jesus brought healing or deliverance it was complete and final. "I once was blind but now I see" is complete and evidentiary. There weren't any gimmicks or tricks or additional things that Jesus added to His work. He spoke, He touched, and He loved to where freedom flowed from His innermost being. Are you free today; not theologically but in reality? If not, take God at His word and experience complete freedom through Christ by calling on His name the way that the man in Mark 5 did. Questions to Consider: 1. What are areas in your life where you are not free from sin? Will you share those areas with someone to receive prayer? 2. What are areas in your life where you have trusted in the world to bring about freedom for you but it hasn't worked? Examples: social media, watching tv, medications, alcohol, money etc.
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