S. O. A. P.

Here’s Your 90 second AM Devotional!

S-cripture:

Mark 5:15
When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.

O-bservation:

Since 2012 I have been writing a daily S.O.A.P. devotional like this one. I always choose just one verse from four different chapters I read, and I write my thoughts about that ONE VERSE. I believe this ONE verse brings me as much or more pleasure in writing about as any verse in the Bible. The man in question had been demon-possessed and living in the tombs near the beach where Jesus’ boat had docked. Indeed he was a crazy man filled with a legion of demonic spirits. Jesus approached him and cast the demon spirits out of him. He was completely delivered and set free. Sometime later, people from the community of Gadarea, who all knew the man, saw him clothed and sitting in his right mind. And it scared them.

A-pplication:

I love that line, “They Were Afraid!” To me, that’s one of the weirdest statements in the New Testament. In other words, they weren’t afraid of the demon-possessed man when he was nuts, but now that he was healed and normal, they were afraid. Why? They had many sins going on in their faith community that had been well hidden until Jesus showed up. One of which was a Jewish community thriving financially over a herd of several thousands of pigs they were raising. That was anathema in the Jewish faith. The thought here is, what else were they trying to cover up? When the light shines in the darkness, all the creepy crawling activities of the darkness begin to be revealed. Even to the point that “Your Peace May Scare Them!”

P-rayer:

Dear Jesus,

What I’m grateful for this AM is your peace in my life that passes all understanding. I’m not sure if my peace has ever scared anyone, but I know this man in Mark 5 was so changed that his peace and serenity literally scared the “NORMAL” folks out of their minds! Thank you for your peace! Amen

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