That evening many demon-possessed people were
brought to Jesus. He cast out the evil spirits with a
simple command, and he healed all the sick.
Matthew 8:16 NLT
One particular aspect I love about Messiah Jesus that was revealed in the gospel accounts of His life, was His readiness to help all who were in need...
brought to Jesus. He cast out the evil spirits with a
simple command, and he healed all the sick.
Matthew 8:16 NLT
One particular aspect I love about Messiah Jesus that was revealed in the gospel accounts of His life, was His readiness to help all who were in need...
Those who needed healing, got healed. The blind received their sight. The crippled were made to walk. Those who'd been stricken with leprosy were cured. And those who were tormented by evil spirits were set free from the demonic powers who held them in mental and physical bondage. Nothing was too hard for the Lord.
As for me, I could relate to this because I too once lived in torment. Ever since childhood I had been plagued with emotional and behavioral problems which caused me to struggle through my adolescent years. Continuous thoughts of suicide, and my long-time obsession with death and dying, kept me in prolonged states of depression. While compulsive acts of juvenile delinquency all cried out of a boy vexed by demons.
Even in adulthood, I still had a demonic cloud hanging over me. Looking back, it's a miracle that I managed to stay alive and not self-destruct. I say this because there were so many times when I wrestled with feelings of loneliness, hopelessness, and despair.
Yet the time came when, at age twenty-four, I ended up in prison with multiple life sentences. Now locked away, I was truly a lost soul. But in the dark world of confinement and being eaten away by a guilty conscience that gnawed at me day and night, I somehow managed to call out to the Lord.
In a midnight prayer of desperation, I cried to Jesus. He heard me. I've no doubt He did. For after a time on my knees in prayer, when I got up it was as if a huge weight had been removed from my shoulders. Jesus had taken away all my sins. That night I slept well.
By the next morning, I knew something had changed. I felt clean. I was at peace. In time, I would come to understand that my mind and soul had been set free. Those demons were gone. They weren't welcome in my body anymore. My years of torment were over. It's now been more than thirty years, and they haven't been back.
"If the Son of God shall make you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:36). How true!
D.B.
As for me, I could relate to this because I too once lived in torment. Ever since childhood I had been plagued with emotional and behavioral problems which caused me to struggle through my adolescent years. Continuous thoughts of suicide, and my long-time obsession with death and dying, kept me in prolonged states of depression. While compulsive acts of juvenile delinquency all cried out of a boy vexed by demons.
Even in adulthood, I still had a demonic cloud hanging over me. Looking back, it's a miracle that I managed to stay alive and not self-destruct. I say this because there were so many times when I wrestled with feelings of loneliness, hopelessness, and despair.
Yet the time came when, at age twenty-four, I ended up in prison with multiple life sentences. Now locked away, I was truly a lost soul. But in the dark world of confinement and being eaten away by a guilty conscience that gnawed at me day and night, I somehow managed to call out to the Lord.
In a midnight prayer of desperation, I cried to Jesus. He heard me. I've no doubt He did. For after a time on my knees in prayer, when I got up it was as if a huge weight had been removed from my shoulders. Jesus had taken away all my sins. That night I slept well.
By the next morning, I knew something had changed. I felt clean. I was at peace. In time, I would come to understand that my mind and soul had been set free. Those demons were gone. They weren't welcome in my body anymore. My years of torment were over. It's now been more than thirty years, and they haven't been back.
"If the Son of God shall make you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:36). How true!
D.B.
