The Deliverer

Luke 8:26-39 Holman

26 Then they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes,[e] which is opposite Galilee. 27 When He got out on land, a demon-possessed man from the town met Him. For a long time he had worn no clothes and did not stay in a house but in the tombs. 
28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and said in a loud voice, “What do You have to do with me,[f] Jesus, You Son of the Most High God? I beg You, don’t torment me!” 29 For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was guarded, bound by chains and shackles, he would snap the restraints and be driven by the demon into deserted places.

1. Luke 8:26 Other mss read the Gadarenes
2. Luke 8:28 Lit What to me and to You

I relate to this man - driven by inner torment

uncontrolled by any external constraint

living in deserted places 

among the dead

no connection to living persons

unable to live and function in community with others

this passage is difficult because it raises so many difficult questions

How did this man come to be in this condition?

Was it something of his own choice?

in our modern era we like to be able to explain things in terms of natural causes and assign problems to some level of human control or blame

This passage forces us to acknowledge there are forces beyond our control and understanding that do intersect with our existence

How? Why?  not sure

it is sanity to acknowledge there are tings beyond my limited understanding
not to make them a scapegoat 
but that their are malevolent forces that I cannot deliver myself from

What exactly is the dividing line between human weakness, frailty, failing
and powerful spiritual influences that bring torment?

I don't know

But Jesus came to this man

the man no one could help
no one control
no one reach 
soothe
calm 
reason with 
comfort 
or redirect

He was completely and utterly alone

driven to torment inside and out 

Oh Lord, 
I don't understand all of the whys or the hows of how I came to this place
but i relate to this man
so full of pain and fear and misery
terrified of even you 
who came with love and deliverance

Only you can help us, Jesus

Only you have both the power and the love to reach the unreachable
the tormented

Please help me to not run away and shut you out in my place of terror
It may be frightening and uncomfortable 
but you come to bring me to peace
you come to set me free

from what is all I know
from the familiar entrapments

Help me to let you in 
to let you work

Do your work of deliverance in me

30 “What is your name?” Jesus asked him.

“Legion,” he said—because many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged Him not to banish them to the abyss.

32 A large herd of pigs was there, feeding on the hillside. The demons begged Him to permit them to enter the pigs, and He gave them permission. 33 The demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned. 34 When the men who tended them saw what had happened, they ran off and reported it in the town and in the countryside. 

35 Then people went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man the demons had departed from, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 36 Meanwhile, the eyewitnesses reported to them how the demon-possessed man was delivered. 37 Then all the people of the Gerasene region[g] asked Him to leave them, because they were gripped by great fear. So getting into the boat, He returned.

Oh Lord, 
we pray for change
for transformation 
for revival

but when you work your wonderful work
we become more terrified than we were before

because you are amazing 
and we cannot explain or control you

it threatens the fragile realities we try to construct 
to shelter us from what we cannot understand

You came in love 
to this whole region

but only one experiences your great deliverance
only one 
was brought 
to peace
covering 
and a right mind

Oh Lord 
help us to not ask you to leave
when we are frightened out of our wits
by the unknown
by you

You are so gracious
you listened to their request
you left 

Please don't leave me, Jesus

I need you 
and there is no other
like you

38 The man from whom the demons had departed kept begging Him to be with Him. But He sent him away and said, 39 “Go back to your home, and tell all that God has done for you.” And off he went, proclaiming throughout the town all that Jesus had done for him.

Oh, Lord, 
thank you
because you died for us
we never have to be sent away from you

we can always be with you
no matter what our situation 
no matter how we feel
no matter what others may be saying and doing
or how they view us

you have made a way for us to abide in you 
as we are honest with you 
in confessing our sins and our need 
and trusting what you alone have done

Thank you, you just want us to share what you have done
we don't have to convince anyone
or change anyone
just tell the truth
of who we are 
of who you are
of what we know you have done

you are reaching out in love to those around us
even to those who have known us well in our deepest torments

Oh Lord, 
I love you
you are so wonderful
thank you for loving me 
and seeking me out even in my torments
for bringing me to 
sitting at your feed, 
clothed
and in my right mind. 
a mind of worship and gratitude 
to you

Amen

2 Timothy 1:7

KJ21

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

ASV

For God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; but of power and love and discipline.

AMP

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control].

Jesus is there

"Jesus wept"

John 11The Message (MSG)

The Death of Lazarus

11 1-3 A man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. This was the same Mary who massaged the Lord’s feet with aromatic oils and then wiped them with her hair. It was her brother Lazarus who was sick. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Master, the one you love so very much is sick....”

5-7 Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, but oddly, when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed on where he was for two more days. After the two days, he said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.”

8 They said, “Rabbi, you can’t do that. The Jews are out to kill you, and you’re going back?”

9-10 Jesus replied, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in daylight doesn’t stumble because there’s plenty of light from the sun. Walking at night, he might very well stumble because he can’t see where he’s going.”

11 He said these things, and then announced, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep. I’m going to wake him up.”

12-13 The disciples said, “Master, if he’s gone to sleep, he’ll get a good rest and wake up feeling fine.” Jesus was talking about death, while his disciples thought he was talking about taking a nap.

14-15 Then Jesus became explicit: “Lazarus died. And I am glad for your sakes that I wasn’t there. You’re about to be given new grounds for believing. Now let’s go to him.”

16 That’s when Thomas, the one called the Twin, said to his companions, “Come along. We might as well die with him.”

17-20 When Jesus finally got there, he found Lazarus already four days dead. Bethany was near Jerusalem, only a couple of miles away, and many of the Jews were visiting Martha and Mary, sympathizing with them over their brother. Martha heard Jesus was coming and went out to meet him. Mary remained in the house.

21-22 Martha said, “Master, if you’d been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. Even now, I know that whatever you ask God he will give you.”

23 Jesus said, “Your brother will be raised up.”

24 Martha replied, “I know that he will be raised up in the resurrection at the end of time.”

25-26 “You don’t have to wait for the End. I am, right now, Resurrection and Life. The one who believes in me, even though he or she dies, will live. And everyone who lives believing in me does not ultimately die at all. Do you believe this?”

27 “Yes, Master. All along I have believed that you are the Messiah, the Son of God who comes into the world.”

28 After saying this, she went to her sister Mary and whispered in her ear, “The Teacher is here and is asking for you.”

29-32 The moment she heard that, she jumped up and ran out to him. Jesus had not yet entered the town but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When her sympathizing Jewish friends saw Mary run off, they followed her, thinking she was on her way to the tomb to weep there. Mary came to where Jesus was waiting and fell at his feet, saying, “Master, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33-34 When Jesus saw her sobbing and the Jews with her sobbing, a deep anger welled up within him. He said, “Where did you put him?”

34-35 “Master, come and see,” they said. Now Jesus wept.

36 The Jews said, “Look how deeply he loved him.”

37 Others among them said, “Well, if he loved him so much, why didn’t he do something to keep him from dying? After all, he opened the eyes of a blind man.”

38-39 Then Jesus, the anger again welling up within him, arrived at the tomb. It was a simple cave in the hillside with a slab of stone laid against it. Jesus said, “Remove the stone.”

The sister of the dead man, Martha, said, “Master, by this time there’s a stench. He’s been dead four days!”

40 Jesus looked her in the eye. “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”

41-42 Then, to the others, “Go ahead, take away the stone.”

They removed the stone. Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and prayed, “Father, I’m grateful that you have listened to me. I know you always do listen, but on account of this crowd standing here I’ve spoken so that they might believe that you sent me.”

43-44 Then he shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” And he came out, a cadaver, wrapped from head to toe, and with a kerchief over his face.

Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him loose.”

45 That was a turnaround for many of the Jews who were with Mary. They saw what Jesus did, and believed in him. 

This passage of scripture resonates deeply 

Jesus is all powerful and all knowing and all love

He cares deeply for us and feels all our pain

our suffering

our devastation

our grief and loss

but he does not do what we desperately cry out to him to do

He who could have saved

could have prevented this

did not

how to reconcile believing in him

with horrible, senseless, seemingly random suffering and tragedy

that he has the power and control to change
or to prevent

O Lord, I know you are good

you love all

you want to heal, restore, change, transform

thank you, we can come to you with our burning and painful questions

with our anger and devastation

our shattering grief and loss

We are so vulnerable and powerless

But you are near to the broken hearted

to those who are crushed

and devastaed

What you want to give us is belief in you

this seems like nothing when we are in such pain 

But you are the one we need the deepest and the most

No one else can come into the deepest soul like you

There is no real comfort or hope apart from you

Help us to not shut you our in our anger and pain

Help us to not blindly run away from you our only true help

Seek us

pour out your spirit on us

help us to come to you and open all of our hearts to you

to let the sealing stone be rolled away

Whatever is happening around us

You are inviting us to come to you

to know you in the midst 

of even this

"When my heart is overwhelmed within me,

lead me to the rock that is higher than i."

Psalm 61:2

You, Lord are higher than I

You, Lord are that rock

that is higher, stronger, than anything I can know and understand

Bring me to you

even in this

Thank you, you came into the midst of our suffering and humanity

You are the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief

Isaiah 53International Children’s Bible (ICB)

53 Who would have believed what we heard?
    Who saw the Lord’s power in this?
2 He grew up like a small plant before the Lord.
    He was like a root growing in a dry land.
He had no special beauty or form to make us notice him.
    There was nothing in his appearance to make us desire him.
3 He was hated and rejected by people.
    He had much pain and suffering.

People would not even look at him.
    He was hated, and we didn’t even notice him.

4 But he took our suffering on him
    and felt our pain for us.
We saw his suffering.
    We thought God was punishing him.
5 But he was wounded for the wrong things we did.
    He was crushed for the evil things we did.
The punishment, which made us well, was given to him.
    And we are healed because of his wounds.

6 We all have wandered away like sheep.
    Each of us has gone his own way.
But the Lord has put on him the punishment
    for all the evil we have done.

7 He was beaten down and punished.
    But he didn’t say a word.
He was like a lamb being led to be killed.
    He was quiet, as a sheep is quiet while its wool is being cut.
    He never opened his mouth.
8 Men took him away roughly and unfairly.
    He died without children to continue his family.
He was put to death.
    He was punished for the sins of my people.
9 He was buried with wicked men.
    He died with the rich.
He had done nothing wrong.
    He had never lied.

10 But it was the Lord who decided
    to crush him and make him suffer.
    So the Lord made his life a penalty offering.
But he will see his descendants and live a long life.
    He will complete the things the Lord wants him to do.
11 He will suffer many things in his soul.
    But then he will see life and be satisfied.
My good servant will make many people right with God.
    He carried away their sins.
12 For this reason I will make him a great man among people.
    He will share in all things with those who are strong.
He willingly gave his life.
    He was treated like a criminal.
But he carried away the sins of many people.
    And he asked forgiveness for those who sinned.

The High Priest Who Cried Out in Pain

14-16 Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.

Hebrews 4:14-16 The Message

transformation

 I am just an ordinary person
nothing outstanding from anyone else

wanting the same things that anyone else wants

to be loved and cared for and accepted
to be valued and able to do something meaningful and helpful

to be valued and be a part of something significant beyond myself

I felt like God was someone far away  impossible to please and a heavy task master

exacting heavy burdens  with no help at all

in situations that would not change

I tried to do the right thing but could not
I was never satisfied because I could never seem to do enough

I was anxious and fearful all of the time

 I felt isolated and alone
even going to church and biblestudy and being involved in serving others

I tried to be compassionate and care for those within reach around me and even far away

it was exhausting and never ending

i did not have the resource to even keep myself together let alone really help anyone else.

the need of others around me was just as deep as my own
even my best efforts were a few drops into a bottomless bucket

I read book after book and they were helpful and true but seemed to just scratch the surface of my life

deep down how I thought and functioned remained stubbornly the same

Despair became a daily struggle

why was God so hard on me
why didn't he help me
why didnt he change me
or my circumstances or other people

I prayed and tried to give thanks and be grateful
and this also did help but it did not bring about deep lasting transformation

 As it turned out, it was the best thing that could have happened. Instead of trusting in our own strength or wits to get out of it, we were forced to trust God totally—not a bad idea since he’s the God who raises the dead! 
 2 Corinthians 1:9 The Message

 7  ...if you have to suffer troubles as we have done, then, like us, you will find the comfort and encouragement of God.

Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity

8-11 We should like you, our brothers, to know something of what we went through in Asia. At that time we were completely overwhelmed, the burden was more than we could bear, in fact we told ourselves that this was the end. Yet we believe now that we had this experience of coming to the end of our tether that we might learn to trust, not in ourselves, but in God who can raise the dead.  2 Corinthians 1:7-9 Phillips

8 Brothers, we want you to know about the trouble we suffered in the country of Asia. We had great burdens there that were greater than our own strength. We even gave up hope for life. 9 Truly, in our own hearts we believed that we would die. But this happened so that we would not trust in ourselves. It happened so that we would trust in God, who raises people from death. 

 2 Corinthians 1: 8-9 International Children's Bible

My experience resonates deeply with these words written by Paul nearly 2000 years ago 

that there is a point to suffering, any suffering and hardship

that it is an opportunity to come to know God in ways I could never otherwise

this is my attempt to share this so you also may be brought into a loving relationship with Him who loves you more than you can ever know

Talking to God out of the depths

1-2 Help, God—the bottom has fallen out of my life!
    Master, hear my cry for help!
Listen hard! Open your ears!
    Listen to my cries for mercy. 

   Psalm 130:1-2 The Message

"Out of the depths I cry unto you..."      Psalm 130:1 KJV

This is the cry of the psalmist and it echoes the cry of my own heart

God does not ask me to pray politely or even properly

He welcomes the deep cry of my heart

He does not tell me to try to be strong 

to keep my emotions at bay

He welcomes me 

He invites me to come 
and be known and loved 
when I am at my lowest and worst

"God is near to all who call upon him

to all who call upon him in truth" 

     Psalm 145:18 NIV

Pray:

What is it that is hurting right now?

talk to God about it

write / journal / pray

tell him all about it

What is troubling to you?

Where do you need mercy and help?

"Casting all your care upon him

because he cares for you"

I Peter 5:7

He is not wearied by you

He is glad to listen to you 

He understands you 

the very depths of you

He knows everything about you and what is going on

He is near and waiting to hear from you

He is not deterred or disgusted by your weakness

your problems

your lack

your wrong choices

who you are

Truth

God is true 

to come to him 

I must come in truth

I do not need to try to cover up or hide what is not hidden to Him

He already knows the truth

about me

the depth of my need

what I do wrong

what I think and feel that is not loving or kind or positive

this is all painfully clear to him

when I am willing to be honest about these things as well

He is there

Forgiveness

If you, God, kept records on wrongdoings,
    who would stand a chance?
As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit,
    and that’s why you’re worshiped. Psalm 130:3-4

God is both ruthlessly honest 

and kind, understanding and merciful and forgiving

He is not like anyone else I know

I do not need to pretend I am anything other than who I truly am

Knowing the depth of my great need

He sent His only and greatly beloved Son, Jesus Christ

to make a way for me to know and be known by him

to have a relationship with Him 

that is not based on anything I am or could do

A relationship based entirely upon who He is and what he has already done

That’s what Christ did definitively: suffered because of others’ sins, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones. He went through it all—was put to death and then made alive—to bring us to God. 

 I Peter 3:18 The Message

18 Christ himself died for you. And that one death paid for your sins. He was not guilty, but he died for those who are guilty. He did this to bring you all to God. His body was killed, but he was made alive in the spirit.    I Peter 3:18 International Children's Bible

Pray:

Is there anything you want to confess to Him?

What is it that you feel ashamed of ?

guilty about?

Don't hold anything back

tell Him all

in detail

there is nothing you need to hide or cover with Him

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us

and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."    I John 1:9 KJV

Worship Him:

He longs to forgive

longs to renew

longs to restore

longs to bring healing and hope

peace and love

to any one 

ANY ONE

Write:

What you are seeing of God now?

Are there any Bible verses or passages that come to mind?

Wonder 

If I am being honest with myself and God 
and if I am willing to hear and absorb the truth He presents to me 

through His words in the Bible

I will come to worship

because He is amazing and wonderful 

there is no one like Him

completely beyond all I can imagine and even comprehend

Whatever my circumstances or state

He wants to be known

He wants to be near to me

He wants to bring me near to Him



Deep calls to Deep

This psalm is evidence that I can begin to express and articulate my pain

my anger 

my sadness

my bitterness and discontent

whatever is in the depths

may be cried out

to Him

In any circumstance or state

I can come to Him 

and commune with Him in the depths of my being

Deep calls unto deep

When the pain is prolonged

is intricate and tangled and complex

and has no clear or immediate trajectory of change

I can come again and again to Him to pour out my soul 

to articulate and put into words all that I am feeling and thinking


Talking to Him

Talk to God in the pain

the bewilderment

the loss

the grief

the disappointment

the anger

the sadness

This psalm is given to show us how to pray 

God is near to the crushed 

and the broken

We can cry out to God from the depths of our being

in the depths of our pain 

When my heart is overwhelmed

lead me to the rock that is higher than I Psalm 61:2 KJV

Psalm 61:2Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

2 I call to You from the ends of the earth
when my heart is without strength.
Lead me to a rock that is high above me,

He is that rock

that alone is secure and unchanging

all else is transitory and fleeting

Talk / Write / Pray:

What is on your heart?

What are you concerned about?

What would you like to talk to God about?

He is patient

He is kind and compassionate

He is merciful and understanding

He cares for you

He is not limited in either time or patience

He wants to listen to you unburden your heart to Him

Trust

I pray to God—my life a prayer—
    and wait for what he’ll say and do.
My life’s on the line before God, my Lord,
    waiting and watching till morning,
    waiting and watching till morning. Psalm 130:5-6 

It is a very painful truth to realize
      that I am completely powerless
      to effect deep lasting change 
      and transformation
      in myself or any one else 

Talk / Write / Pray:

Where do I feel most powerless?

most helpless?

what am I afraid of here?

How can I remind myself of who You are?

What am I longing for?

How can I trust you, Lord in this?

my life a prayer


what else is there but to keep baring my soul to God
to keep talking with Him
to be in relationship with Him

to trust Him to work his amazing work

in ways I cannot now see or understand now

but I can know Him
in the midst 

not watching what is distressing me
but watching for Him
waiting for Him to do what I cannot

What He is doing is inviting me into a relationship with Him
right here and now
where I am today

Weeping may endure for a night
but joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5 KJV

5 His anger lasts only a moment.
    But his kindness lasts for a lifetime.
Crying may last for a night.
    But joy comes in the morning.

Psalm 30:5 ICB

those who trust in Him are not put to shame in the end

Hope

O Israel, wait and watch for God—

    with God’s arrival comes love,

    with God’s arrival comes generous redemption.

No doubt about it—he’ll redeem Israel,

    buy back Israel from captivity to sin. Psalm 130: 7-8

Yes, Lord, 

help me to watch for you

you want to redeem and recover

you want to free me from all that I cannot free myself 

you want to give me Yourself

with your arrival comes love into the depths of my being
and through me into this situation 
this relationship

changing me from the inside out

Praise you O Lord!

Psalm 130The Message (MSG)

A Pilgrim Song

130 1-2 Help, God—the bottom has fallen out of my life!
    Master, hear my cry for help!
Listen hard! Open your ears!
    Listen to my cries for mercy.

3-4 If you, God, kept records on wrongdoings,
    who would stand a chance?
As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit,
    and that’s why you’re worshiped.

5-6 I pray to God—my life a prayer—
    and wait for what he’ll say and do.
My life’s on the line before God, my Lord,
    waiting and watching till morning,
    waiting and watching till morning.

7-8 O Israel, wait and watch for God—
    with God’s arrival comes love,
    with God’s arrival comes generous redemption.
No doubt about it—he’ll redeem Israel,
    buy back Israel from captivity to sin.

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson