This is a picture of Korsi or as Mark 5 records, the region of the Gerasenes. You can see in the middle of the hill a mound of dirt where archeologists have discovered a number of tombs. This fact, along with the hill and its location on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee gives amble evidence to this place being where Jesus drove out a legion of demons from two men.
For the first time in years, they heard only one voice – their own and now God’s. What peace they must have felt. What joy they were now experiencing all because a Jewish rabbi came their way.
Yet, if Jesus’ men had anything to say about it, these guys would have stayed in bondage for much much longer. We know this for at least three reasons. One, all twelve men got in the boat with Jesus to travel across the lake, but only Jesus got out. Why? Reason number two, their religious traditions. This was Gentile territory where pigs were being raised. They were afraid of being ostracized by their fellow Jews for even being in this territory, let alone talking with anyone living there. (See Acts 11:1-3 after Peter met with a Roman soldier.) But there is one more reason why they remained in the boat. They were cleaning their clothes! They were in the storm of their life while sailing across the lake. They thought they were going to die. Jesus, however, woke up, calmed the storm and told them to stop being afraid. They were so focused on their circumstances that they missed the opportunity to see Jesus change someone’s life forever.
Will we let life’s storms or what others might think of us keep us from the joys of seeing others set free? What a kick Jesus must have felt to see these men finally released from the grips of the enemy. Want to experience this for yourself? Love Jesus enough to listen and follow Him, even into areas where others might get on your case for it. Love Jesus enough to share Jesus with those around you by not missing the opportunities presented to you by being so focused on yourself.
Let Jesus change your life; and, be ready to share how He did it with those around you.

“The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; He will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the LORD, joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.”
Isaiah 51:3

This is a picture of the Wilderness of Paran in the Israeli Negev or desert. It’s as barren as you can imagine; yet flowers bloom, trees grow and wild animals roam its vast wastelands. This area holds great meaning both sad and wonderful for the Jewish people.
In the desert, they saw their God work mighty miracles on their behalf. They saw gushing rivers flow from rocks, dew from heaven turned into bread, meat literally fall from the sky and earthquakes swallow those who chose to challenge God.
The Israeli leadership forgot all these wonderful lessons. Moses sent 12 men from this spot to tour the land God had already given them. These same men saw God humble the greatest nation on the planet at that time, Egypt. Yet, that no one or nothing can stand in the way of God’s Word and plan when they returned from their tour. They wanted to return to slavery in Egypt over freedom in the Land because they feared the giants/obstacles in they saw.
If they had remembered their lessons, God would have given them further victory here in the desert, which would have brought joy, gladness, thanksgiving and singing. If they would have acted on the truths worked out before their very eyes, they would have settled in and seen this vast wasteland turn into the garden of Eden. (Modern Israel has done exactly that by the way.) Mediate on yesterday’s victories to see them occur again and again today and tomorrow. Those who forget will no go toward and become like Jesus, the one who brings joy, gladness and sounds of praise.

This is a picture of a 4,000 year old gate, which led into the biblical city of Ashkelon, one of the Philistine cities mentioned in Scripture. It is the oldest gate in existence today. It is also another example of archeologists following the Bible to find treasures hidden beneath earth’s surface.
Except for the reconstructed arch, these are the same stones people walked through 4K years ago. How do we know? Look to the left of the picture. You will see green grass covering a mound of dirt, which covered what you now see. Archeologists simply removed that dirt, put there over time through nature and people, to expose the treasure beneath.
Each person is made in the image of God; yet nature and people have covered it up over time. This cover up has affected our thinking, our choice mechanism and our emotional stability. Jesus, the Word of God, came to uncover the hidden treasure inside through removing all the garbage thinking, broken choices and emotional instability in our lives.
As archeologists followed Scripture to hidden treasures, follow the Word of God to better understand the hidden treasure of who you are in Christ…a secure child of God. Discovering this one truth will set you free from a lot of dirt.
“SET” Free Nowww

Jesus told His men to pray for Him while He went through the most horrendous struggle any human being could go through – to obey even when doing so will hurt so bad you’ll want to die.
Jesus was in the middle of an olive grove suffering immensely and His men were asleep. It took an angel to come and give Him strength to keep going through, not around, the trail He was facing. Did He want to quit? Yup. Did He want to take the easy road out? Yup.
I’ve heard it said, “Pray even when you don’t understand why or see results.” I now totally get it. The warfare we all face hurts. And much of that warfare is not physical, but mental. We have so many thoughts bouncing around in our heads, it makes hearing Jesus next to impossible. I pray you’ll hear that one thought your God has given you in His word to keep you focused.
I also pray that you’ll have someone praying for you. You need it. Prayer enters the unseen realm; and thus, we can’t always see the results. Does it matter? Do battle for those who have trusted you enough to be transparent and share about their challenges with you. You are entering arena where the real battle takes place.
Jesus’ men failed Him, so His Father sent an angel. You could be someone’s angel today!
Set Free Noww“W”

People throw their trash in the hills by my house. It was there that I saw the most interesting thing. A black bag of trash, which someone had illegally dumped, had been ripped and now grass was now growing out of whatever was in it! This new grass would provide food for some of the wild animals that roam these hills.
There is hope for all reclamation projects like you and me! People give up on us; yet our Father doesn’t. People discard us like garbage, but our Jesus doesn’t. We think we can never be used of God again; however, the Spirit uses us anyways.
God loves to take reclamation projects and beautify them. So, keep sharing Jesus with those the Spirit wants you to cast seeds into the soils of their life. You never know. Grass just might start growing out of that person’s garbage decisions, which in turn can help other believers grow closer to Jesus.
Never give up on yourself or others. Thank the Father, Jesus doesn’t!
Set Free “N”owww