Captives ......

Captives.....

Isaiah 42:6-7 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles,
to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

These verse came to mind as I was reading Mark 5...

First, Jesus meets a man with evil spirits who lives among the tombs in the region of Gerarsenes... He is so strong that chains are unable to hold him, so filled with evil spirits, crying out night and day, hurting himself....captive....then freed at the Word of Jesus...amazing all who heard his story...freed from the captivity of evil spirits....

Psalm 107:10, 14-16 Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness, prisoners suffering in iron chains, He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, and broke away their chains. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron.

Second, a synagogue ruler begs Jesus to heal his daughter who lay dying.  But, this scene is interrupted by a woman who has been suffering for 12 years...all she wants to do is touch Jesus' cloak, believing she will be healed by the touch...
Jesus stops his travels to the the leader's home to speak to this woman..."your faith has healed you"... Freed from the captivity of suffering...

Finally, back to the little girl....the message comes that she has died, but Jesus ignores the message, telling the father, "don't be afraid, just believe".
Jesus  again puts the extras aside, focusing on the family and the 12 year, telling her to "get up" and she does...freed from the captivity of death..

Freed from captivity....Jesus showed in more ways that he has the power to free captives, blindness, fear, and on and on...he says "don't be afraid" in so many ways....I am here...

Thank YOU...

John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Hebrews 13:5b-6, 8 .....because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.