Don't Mess with Our Pigs: Wednesday Devotion

Luke 8: 26 - 40 NHEB

 26  They arrived at the country of the Gerasenes. which is opposite Galilee.

 27  When Jesus stepped ashore, a certain man out of the city who had demons for a long time met him. He wore no clothes, and did not live in a house, but in the tombs.

 28  When he saw Jesus, he shouted, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, “What do I have to do with you, Jesus, you Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me!”

 29  For Jesus was commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For the unclean spirit had often seized the man. He was kept under guard, and bound with chains and fetters. Breaking the bands apart, he was driven by the demon into the desert.

 30  Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered into him.

 31  They begged him that he would not command them to go into the abyss. 

 32  Now there was there a herd of many pigs feeding on the mountain, and they begged him that he would allow them to enter into those. He allowed them.

 33  The demons came out from the man, and entered into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake, and were drowned.

 34  When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled, and told it in the city and in the country.

 35  Then people went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.

 36  Those who saw it told them how he who had been possessed by demons was healed.

 37  All the people of the surrounding country of the Geresenes asked him to depart from them, for they were very much afraid. He entered into the boat, and returned.

 38  But the man from whom the demons had gone out begged him that he might go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying,

 39  “Return to your house, and declare what great things God has done for you.” He went his way, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

I love this story for a lot of reasons.

First, this was a Gentile city with a heavy Greco/Roman population and Jesus went there on purpose. This in my opinion proves that Jesus didn't limit himself to the Jewish people even during His earthly ministry.

Second, demons knew who Jesus was and knew He had power to command them. Not only that, demons can experience fear. They begged not to be cast into the abyss. The fact that demons begged shows that they fear the abyss. There are entirely articles and even books written about the abyss, so we won't go there for now. Just the realization that demons experience fear is enough.

Third, this shows the absolute power and authority Jesus had as a person on this earth. Just the knowledge that he was able to cast that many demons out is mind boggling.  But this story brings up some questions as well.

Why was the demon's name Legion?

When the demon began begging Jesus not to send them to the abyss, Jesus asked its name. The response was "my name is Legion for we are many" Mark 5:9. A Roman legion normally consisted of up to 6,000 soldiers. Why do I bring this up? Well if there were say only 5 demons in the man then logically only 5 pigs would have committed suicide. Again according to Mark 5:13 over 2000 pigs ran into the sea. There could have been multiple demons in a pig, but I think it is safe to say that around 2000 demons were in this man.

Why did Jesus allow the demons to enter the pigs?

This is a question I have thought about often. Was Jesus showing mercy on the demons? What happened to the swine herder? Why did the people ask Him to leave? Why did Jesus make the man stay and not allow him to become a disciple? We will take each one of these questions.

Was Jesus showing mercy on the demons? 

I actually thought this at first, but then I thought why would he do that? At first I thought Jesus was just that compassionate, but as I kept reading I realized that there were several times that the Bible said Jesus was moved with compassion. This was not one of those times. I think Jesus saw an opportunity to impact an entire city and not just this man and his family. I know this sounds bad, but delivering a man from his bondage would not have had as immediate an impact as the pigs did. The pigs effected the entire city. These were Gentile people and we love our bacon. Having that many pigs die at once was a big deal. That in conjunction with the man now being able to function was huge.

What happened to the swine herder? 

I wish I could give you an answer, but I really can't. I do know that everyone who was keeping the pigs witnessed what happened and told the residents of the city what had occurred. For a short period of time, I am sure they were local celebrities.

Why did the towns people ask Jesus to leave? 

The most obvious reason is fear, but why would these people be more afraid of Jesus than a demon possessed man? I think there are a couple of reasons the towns people feared Jesus more than the demon possessed man.

1. They had gotten used to him. Yes he terrorized people and he was naked and he couldn't be confined, but "That is just crazy ol' Joe." If this were today this man might have even been a tourist attraction. I can imagine people coming from miles around just to see Ol' Joe. They would have had to bought something to eat and maybe even spend the night.
2. This was different. When they didn't want to deal with Ol' Joe they would bind him with chains. This would keep him for a little while, but he would break the chains and run off. Now however; he was sitting at the feet of a man, fully clothed, and carrying a normal conversation. This would be enough to make anyone question the power involved.
3. This event cost the town dearly. This herd of pigs could have been the entire supply of pork for that city. The truth is we don't know. What we do know is this freaked out the community. Don't Mess With Our Pigs!

Why did Jesus not let the man follow Him? 

I really wish we knew this guys name. This man was the first evangelist. His job was simple tell your story. That is all, no more. Apparently he told it well. He told everyone who would listen and even talked at people who didn't want to listen. Not only did the man that was freed talk, you know the swine herders talked about it a lot as well.

 40  When Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him.

Here is where the story of an entire town turning Jesus away because He messed with their bacon becomes a story of victory. We really don't know how long it was between these two trips, but we do know it was long enough for the word to spread. The second time Jesus came to town not only was He welcomed, the town was waiting for Him to return.

Conclusion

We don't see demon possession in modern times, or do we? I believe that demon possession is still alive and well in today's world. I do think most of the time it takes on a different look. The devil is smart, anyone who says he isn't has not been paying attention. I believe the devil adjust his strategy based on the situation. In a time when everyone was religious, fear was a great attractor of attention. In a time when people are more secular and selfish a more subtle approach is better.

I am sure this town was grateful to have the demon possessed man freed. No more worrying if he would attack a merchant on the road, no more interruptions during festivals,  there would be many reasons to be thankful that this man was freed from this bondage. But, before the full knowledge of what had truly occurred in the life of this man and in the life of the town, there was the immediate loss of their ham, bacon, and chops. No matter who we are we have things that we would like to be freed from. But just like this town there are things that we would rather not do without.

We do not have to follow strict dietary guidelines in order to become a Christian. There are a lot of things that people claim are a part of the Christian life that really aren't. There are many rules that have been made since the time of Christ. These rules may have started out with a good reason, but in time they become ritual more than worship or practice rather than praise.

I am a firm believer that when a person becomes a Christian they do not have to do anything on their own. The things that God wants them to give up, He will work on the person from the inside out and they will want to give those things up as well. Don't focus on legalism of religion. Focus on the freedom of Jesus.

I hope you enjoy these Wednesday Devotions.

Bringing Rural Back

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ReLeaf Leaf Scoops a review

When I first saw this product I wondered "Why didn't I think of that?" It is a good idea, especially for small land owners, suburbanites, and folks with micro plots. It is simple and it works, for the most part. Don't worry we are going to cover it all.

Usability

The ReLeaf leaf scoops are pretty self explanatory. They are basically handles extensions. By using the scoops the volume you can handle each load is increased quite a bit. Just use them like you would your hands to gather up materials like leaves, pine straw, wheat straw, or mulch.

Light Work

On dry and even damp leaves the ReLeaf leaf scoops do a fine job. Pine straw is also a go. For light work these things are really good.

Comfort

Here is where I have a problem. My right wrist is a little deformed. One of my bones stick out further than normal. The scoops are comfortable on my left hand on my right it is fine until I have a load in the scoop. I talked about the discomfort in the video but I didn't know what was causing the pain till later. The pain is caused by my wrist , not the design. 

I have wrapped the right scoops wrist strap with padding and vet wrap. That has helped a lot to reduce the discomfort.

 

Medium Work

As soon as you move into heavier weight materials like mulch or even some compost, you begging to get to the outer limits of the scoops design. If you watch the video you will notice that while trying to mix composted manure and mulch the scoops buckled a good bit. They were still able to do what I wanted to get done, but you could almost hear them groan from the strain.

If you would like to see my video of the  ReLeaf scoops in action you can do so below.

Final Thoughts

 This is a really good idea and for the smaller land owner the ReLeaf Leaf Scoops may be just what you need. They are not intended for heavy materials and are perfect for what they are designed for. I use them, I really do. If I hadn't gotten them for free to review, I would still buy them. They do have their limitations, but all in all they are a go.

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On Following Christ and Plowing

Original art from the Gutenberg Project
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/23353/23353-h/23353-h.htm

Luke 9: 57 - 62 NIV

57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

59 He said to another man, “Follow me.”

But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”

62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

There is a massive difference between reading something and reading something with the intention of teaching or explaining. I have read this many times before, but it wasn't until I started working on this post that I realized how harsh these responses sounded. After digging a little deeper, I think I understand.

This scripture has been on my list for the Wednesday Devotion ever since I made the decision to start this series. There is a lot here to cover.

At the time of this scripture Jesus is pretty much at the height of his earthly ministry. I figure there were lots of people who were following Him around, but there was a difference in following and being a follower. Where ever Jesus was exciting things happened. People were healed, demons were cast out of people, multitudes of people were fed by a child's sack lunch. Wherever Jesus was, was the place to be. But being a part of the inner circle, that was different.

The end of Jesus's earthly ministry was drawing near and before someone was accepted as a disciple, Jesus wanted them to understand the cost.

No Home

Jesus had a traveling ministry. He and his disciples slept under the stars as often if not more often than they slept in someone's home. Even then it was someone who invited them to stay. I believe these opportunities decreased a great deal after the four friends tore the roof off of a house to be able to get their paralysed friend before Him. Warning this man that they had no home was fair and honest.

Let the Dead Bury Their Dead

This one I found a little difficult to understand for a while. According to Jewish tradition, when a family member died, someone has to stay with the body. All of the immediate family are required by tradition to be mourners. This young man really should have been with his family. If this young man was willing to avoid his traditional responsibility to his family, how would he react in the face of persecution.

Let Me First Say Goodbye

This one I understood easily.  This man wanted to follow Jesus, but he wanted to tell his folks goodbye, that seems normal enough, but I believe that there is a lot more to it. Can you imagine what the scene would have been like around Jesus on a daily basis? To be counted among His true followers probably came with a level of notoriety. The religious leaders would hate you, but the common people would say "He is a follower of Jesus" and say it with a level of respect and possible awe. People can be easily swayed by emotion. I know some who have declared faith in Christ because their friends did so or because their parents wanted them to, or even because the preacher gave an emotional message that moved them. The decision to become a Christian is not one to be made lightly. Conviction should be the motivator not emotion. These two are easily confused. Conviction can come and go, but it is an insistent knowledge of being imperfect. It can be a regular remembrance of a specific event or a general sense of missing the mark. After all that is what sin is.

Sin is an archery term.  To sin is to miss the bulls-eye, while still hitting the target. Anything short of perfection is sin and sin is a word we do not like to use.

The Plowing Analogy

I love this analogy. It is a perfect word picture of a Christians life. If you have ever plowed a field with mules, horses, oxen, or a tractor even for that matter, this statement is easy to understand. When I first started learning to plow using draft animals, I was lucky enough to find an ol' timer to help me out. His first bit of advice what "Don't look at what you are doing. Find a landmark off in the distance, focus on that, drive toward that mark." When I followed that advice I had nice straight furrows. As soon as I looked at the plow cutting through the ground, my furrow would be a little off. A couple of times I looked back to admire my work. As soon as I did, I had a major curve in my furrow. 

An old photo of Abbie and myself taking a little break.

We as Christians are a lot like my plowing job. As long as we keep our eyes on Jesus we are able to stay straight. As soon as we take our eyes of Jesus and start looking at what we are doing problems begin. If we start looking back it is real easy to get sideways. 

There are always things in our past that can take our eyes off of Jesus. Many times we as people want to revel in our victories,  brag about our scars, cry over our heartaches, and complain over the ways we have been mistreated. This is true in so many ways and it is something that I still struggle with.

Looking back not only affects our relationship with God, it can also hinder our relationship with others. My wife is the most wonderful woman in the world. Don't believe me? Just ask me and I will tell you again. We have both been through some really bad relationships in the past. From time to time however we will both revert back to the reactions we had in our previous relationships, I more often than her. It is not fair to my wife for me to look at her through the lens created by someone else. When we both focus on Jesus and each other, in that order things work so much better.

I hope you are enjoying the Wednesday Devotions.

Bringing Rural Back

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