They Begged JESUS To Leave

"When JESUS reached Gadara, on the other side, HE was met by two men, possessed by devils, who came out from the tombs.  They were so fierce that no one dared to pass that way.  They cried out, 'Son of GOD, leave us alone!  Have YOU come here to torment us before the time?'

Some distance away there was a large herd of pigs feeding.  So the demons begged HIM, 'If YOU drive us out, send us into that herd of pigs.'  JESUS ordered them, 'Go!'  So the demons left the men and went into the pigs.  The whole herd rushed down the cliff into the lake and was drowned.

The men in charge of the pigs ran off to the town, where they told the whole story; and also what had happened to the men possessed with the demons.  The whole town went out to meet JESUS; and when they saw HIM, they begged HIM to leave their region." - Matthew 8:28-34 

(The herd rushed down [see Mark 5:13 and Luke 8:33].  The actual text of Mark says, "two thousand pigs rushed."  This is an incredible number, for such large herds of pigs were never seen.  In Hebrew, the word for herds is only distinguished from the word for 2,000 by an accent mark.  Probably a mistake was made when Mark's Gospel was written in Greek.)

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Blessed The Man Who Fears The LORD

"Alleluia!

Blessed is the one who fears YAHWEH,

who greatly delights in HIS commands.

His children will be powerful on earth;

the upright's offspring will be blessed.

Wealth and riches are for his family;

there, his integrity will remain.

He is for the righteous a light in darkness;

He is kind, merciful and upright.

It will be well with him who lends freely,

who leads a life of justice and honesty.

For the righteous will never be moved;

he will be remembered and loved forever."

- Psalm 112:1-6

(Another alphabetical psalm, developing the thought of the blessings received by those faithful to GOD: descendants, prosperity, virtue and salvation.  It also deals with our reverence for GOD shown in practice--mainly, charity to our neighbor.

Indeed as the psalmist says in verse 4, 'He is for the righteous, a light in darkness...'  For, in John 9:5 JESUS says, 'I AM the light of the world.'  We should therefore, never be in darkness.  HIS guiding light will always be there for us whenever we need it, especially in our desperate days and when we are groping in the darkness of the night.

Our present society also needs witnesses, who fear GOD and are passionate lovers of HIS commandments.  It needs men and women to reflect the rays of the Light because they are generous, compassionate, and attentive.  Those who want to be witnesses of GOD in our time, can pray with this psalm.)

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