A Heart For Jesus

“for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.” ‭‭Song of Solomon‬ ‭2‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭ESV A new day! A new year! A feeling of newness in the air. A time for a fresh start. Put the past behind us, yes, but let’s not forget the lessons the Lord has taught us. Remember the good things of 2024 and look forward to all the Lord has in store for us in this new year! And as Ephesians 1:18 says, "having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints" Happy New Year everyone! for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone! ‬‬

“And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”” Mark‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬-‭19‬ ‭ESV‬‬ I love this story of how Jesus heals the man who had a demon. But I’ve often wondered why the people of the area begged Jesus to leave their region. I would think they would want Him to stay after witnessing how the demon possessed man was healed.  So I decided to get a little background on this country of the Gerasenes. The people of this area were Gentiles. So most likely they were pagans. Being pagans, they probably had many gods, so who knows what their gods required of them. No wonder they were afraid! Perhaps that is why they asked    Jesus to leave? Maybe they were afraid of what else He would do? Maybe they were afraid...