MkITN IX, Verses 14 - 29

14. And when they came back down the mountain to re-join the other nine disciples, they saw a huge crowd around them, and the religion scholars obviously arguing with them about something.

15. But as soon as the crowd saw Jesus, His face still slightly glowing with the residue of the glory from the transfiguration, they were amazed, and instantly drawn to Him...and they all flocked to Him, and greeted Him with great excitement.

16. And He warmly received them, asking, "What's going on down here? What's all the commotion about?"

17. From out of the crowd a man spoke up and said, "I'll tell You what's going on...I brought my son to You, because he is under the influence of a spirit that has struck him dumb.

18. And not only has it silenced him, verbally, it also frequently sends him into violent convulsions, causing him to foam at the mouth and grind his teeth, after which he falls into a motionless stupor. This thing is literally making him waste away, so I asked Your disciples to end its authority over his life, but they weren't able to do it.

19. To which Jesus responded, "Oh what a faithless and unaware generation! How many times do I have to go over these things with you? At what point are you going to start walking in your own authority? Bring your boy to Me, sir."

20. So the boy was brought to Him, and when the controlling spirit saw Jesus, and recognized who He was (as the spirits always did), it started showing off, attempting to rebel and resist Jesus' authority. It threw the boy into a seizure, causing him to writhe on the ground and foam at the mouth, just as the father had described.

21. Ignoring the spirit's dramatic display, Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has this been going on?"

22. "Ever since he was a little boy", the man said. "And I didn't tell you this part, but sometimes it even causes him to attempt suicide...it tells him to jump into an open fire, or to drown himself in the river, and he tries to do what it tells him to do! We're really in trouble here, so if you can do anything to help us with this thing, please have a heart and do it!"

23. Jesus answered him, "You say 'if' to Me...'if' you can help us...and I say 'if' right back to you...'if' you can believe...'if' you can believe, anything is possible!"

24. And before Jesus could completely finish the sentence, the man cried out, "YES! YES! I do believe! I mean, I have some doubts I have to deal with...I'm tired, physically and emotionally, frustrated with this thing that's been plaguing my son for so long...but deep in my heart I really do believe! That's why I came to you in the first place!"

25. Jesus noticed that an even larger crowd was forming to see what was going on, and He refused to let the spirit gain any more attention. So He said, "All right...that's enough, you controlling spirit! Leave the boy's life, and never bother him again!

26. And the spirit screamed, and convulsed him...then it obeyed Jesus and departed. But it left the boy spent and seemingly lifeless, lying still on the ground, so the people started saying, "He's dead."

27. But Jesus gripped his hand, and in one swift motion, pulled him up off the ground, and he stood on his own.

28. After arriving back home, His disciples cornered Jesus and asked, "OK...why couldn't we drive the spirit out?"

29. And He answered them, "Look, I've authorized you all to do everything that I do, but you can't let rebel spirits intimidate you, and make you think that you're weak...or that they're strong. You have to maintain your confidence in who you are in God to have dominion in the spirit realm...and you can do that by staying in constant communication with Him. In that sense you could say that these kinds of spirits can only be expelled through the self-awareness resulting from the strength of your own prayer life."

THURSDAY THOUGHTS

WEDNESDAY WORDS

Hey bloggers...

I may post the rest of MkITN IX here later today...in the meantime, go to the devotional blog for a good word (www.ayearinthenow.wordpress.com)...

Also, I plan on doing an outline for Lifeskills In The Now tonight, and posting on that blog, as well (www.lifeskillsinthenow.wordpress.com)...

I don't post on either of these blogs regularly while I'm paraphrasing the Gospels, so I hope you'll visit them and leave a comment...

MkITN IX, Verses 1 - 13

1. Then He took this concept of the revelation of the Kingdom to another level by saying, "This is the absolute truth...some of you who are standing right here are going to see it happen...you're going to see the Kingdom of God arrive in full force and power."

2. And, sure enough, six days after this, His prophecy came to pass for three of them. He took with Him Peter, James and John, and led them up to the top of a high mountain, apart by themselves, and was transfigured right in front of their eyes...His appearance morphed and changed from the inside out, becoming luminous with near-blinding brightness.

3. His clothes began to glisten with a white intensity...whiter than any launderer on earth could bleach them in a thousand washes.

4. As this was happening, the Prophet Elijah suddenly stepped out of linear time...out of the perceived past...out of their history, and into their now...and appeared alive to them. Amazingly, he was accompanied by Moses, and both of them entered talking...they broke through to where the disciples physically existed, already in mid-conversation with Jesus!

5. And somehow Peter instinctively and instantly connected with transcendence, and joined right in this cross-dimensional conference, saying, "Master, it is a beautiful thing for us to be here to witness this! Let us make three memorials...one for You...one for Moses...one for Elijah!

6. He spoke before thinking, but when he said these words, it dawned on his mind what he was seeing and saying, and "reality" set in. And this perception took him immediately to a place of violent fright and dread, connecting him with the fear that the rest of the disciples were already experiencing.

7. But before any of them could begin to process any of this, a cloud threw a shadow upon them, and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My Son, the blessed and beloved One! Listen to Him always...listen and obey!"

8. And in an instant the disciples were looking around, rubbing their eyes, trying to mentally accept this seemingly surreal experience, and seeing nothing but Jesus...no Moses...no Elijah...no blinding light...no cloud...only Jesus.

9. Then, as they were coming back down the mountain, He swore them to secrecy, saying, "Listen...right now I really don't want you to tell anyone about what you just saw here. But after the Son of Man rises from the dead, you're free to talk about it."

10. So they faithfully kept the matter to themselves, as He had instructed. In fact, keeping quiet about the strange experience was easy for them, because there really was no way to adequately explain it, anyway. The part of what he said, however, that they did have a problem with was the thing about "rising from the dead". They really had no idea what on earth He meant by it.

11. Meanwhile, they were asking Him, "Why do the religious leaders and scholars insist that Elijah has to come first?"

12. And He said to them, "Well, they're right about that...Elijah does have to come first to restore all things and set them right...to get everything ready for the revealing of the Son of Man, who will suffer many things, and will be despised and rejected by the people.

13. But in reality I tell you that Elijah has already come, and the people abused him in much the same way, just as the Scriptures predicted."

Happy Father's Day!

Let us praise those fathers who have striven to balance the demands of work, marriage, and children with an honest awareness of both joy and sacrifice. Let us praise those fathers who, lacking a good model for a father, have worked to become a good father. Let us praise those fathers who by their own account were not always there for their children, but who continue to offer those children, now grown, their love and support. Let us pray for those fathers who have been wounded by the neglect and hostility of their children.

Let us praise those fathers who, despite divorce, have remained in their children's lives. Let us praise those fathers whose children are adopted, and whose love and support has offered healing. Let us praise those fathers who, as stepfathers, freely choose the obligation of fatherhood and earned their step children's love and respect. Let us praise those fathers who have lost a child to death, and continue to hold the child in their heart.

Let us praise those men who have no children, but cherish the next generation as if they were their own. Let us praise those men who have "fathered" us in their role as mentors and guides. Let us praise those men who are about to become fathers; may they openly delight in their children. And let us praise those fathers who have died, but live on in our memory and whose love continues to nurture us.

- Kirk Loadman