3 March 2014 - demonic possessions?

3 March 2014 - demonic possessions? 


We tend to seek treasure and inheritance that is ultimately perishable, defiled, and fading on this earth in the here and now.  We are like the rich man who observes the law but is too attached to this world and can't make a break from it when Jesus asks him to do so.

“You are lacking in one thing.
Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor
and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
At that statement, his face fell,
and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

Where is our treasure?  Is it somewhere "where moths and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal"?  Or do we store ourselves "treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal"?  We know that ultimately, where our treasure is our heart will be as well (cf. Mat. 13:19-21).  We want our heart to be somewhere permanent, somewhere built on rock.

We know that this doesn't mean we are to necessarily divest ourselves of all of our possessions.  We know that our heavenly Father knows that we need at least certain material needs (cf. Mat 6:8).  How can we tell if we are answering the call of Jesus to be poor in spirit (cf. Mat. 5:3)?  God will allow us to insist on the impermanence, the transience, and the decay of this world if we want.  Such dissipation can be our ultimate destiny if we insist.  How do we insure that we inherit the kingdom of heaven promised to those who are poor in spirit?

The test is always this: are we ready to answer Jesus when he calls us?  Or do these material things get in our way?  When Jesus calls, do we follow, or do we go away sad because we have a tight grip on our many possessions?  It isn't easy, admittedly, to live with all of these possessions and yet remain sufficiently detached to cast them aside in favor of the call of Jesus.  In fact, it is humanly impossible.  We will be entangled by the things in our day to day lives without God's help.  Good things that we need and which God wants us to have and to use in our day to day life will nevertheless become snares for us without his help and grace.

“Then who can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said,
“For men it is impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for God.”

The first step to relying on God in a way that liberates us from the things we own, that allows us to own them rather than they us, is to remember the much greater hope and promise we have in God.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading,
kept in heaven for you
who by the power of God are safeguarded through faith,
to a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the final time.

This hope enables us to "suffer through various trials" as our grip on our own life is gradually loosened and our faith becomes genuine, "for praise glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."  He never forgets his promises.  He "will remember his covenant for ever."  In our effort to not be ensnared by this world the joy of transformation in Christ must be a reality and not an abstraction. 

Although you have not seen him you love him;
even though you do not see him now yet you believe in him,
you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,
as you attain the goal of faith, the salvation of your souls.

He is the one that "has sent deliverance to his people", deliverance from wealth, and from all potential snares that may keep us from his kingdom.  His promise, his covenant, is stronger than any of these and it endures forever.  "[H]oly and awesome is his name.  His praise endures forever."  Let us join in that praise!