the Third Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time
“And he healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons.” ( Mark 1:34 NASB)
Some Christians tend to think of demon-possession as a phenomenon that existed when our Lord was on earth but is no longer present today. That is a misconception that should be corrected. Almost every day’s newspaper contains accounts of mindless crimes that give every indication of being demon-inspired. There are certain symptoms of demon-possession that help us to identify it and to distinguish it from mental illness.
First of all, a demon eventually leads his victim into violence and destruction. The purpose of a demon is always to destroy.
A person who is demon-possessed has two or more personalities—his own and that of the demon(s). He may speak with different voices and identify himself with different names.
This person is capable of supernatural feats of strength or supernatural powers of knowledge.
Although he may speak patronizingly of the Lord Jesus at times, his normal behavior will be to blaspheme or react violently to any mention of the Lord, or of prayer, or of the blood of Christ, or of the Word of God.
His behavior is extremely strange, erratic and restless. Others can neither understand him, control him, nor rehabilitate him. He may be suicidal, and may live in bondage to fear and superstition.
Demon-possession is often closely associated with the use of hallucinogenic drugs. These drugs usher the person into the transcendental realm and open his being to the entrance of demons. The word translated “witchcraft” (KJV) or “sorcery” (NASB) comes from the Greek word “pharmakia” meaning drugs.
The demon-possessed person is often sadistic, exhibiting unusual mental or physical cruelty, and sometimes mutilating and dismembering the bodies of his victims.
Other demon-possessed people may be morbid, frequenting cemeteries, collecting skulls or other bones, or obsessed with gruesome stories.
The sun and the moon, especially the new moon, exercise profound influence in the world of demonism. Hence the reassuring promise of the Word to believers, “The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night”.
Demons can be exorcised by prayer and by the authority of the Name of the Lord Jesus. But lasting deliverance for the person is only found when that person is born again through faith in the Savior.
'Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time' Copyright 2007 © William MacDonald. 'Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time' articles may be reproduced in whole under the following provisions: 1) You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. You may not use the material for commercial purposes. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.
