Sigh

I'll get back to the habit post later, but something struck me that I really want to share and remember.

Why do people sigh? If others are like me, they sigh when they're about to face an event or person that brings a sense of trouble or frustration during a time when they are already tired or they sigh in relief after a good amount of tension has passed.

It's sort of like saying "As tired as I am, I'll step up to take care of this tedious task, but I wish it wasn't necessary." For example, if the dishes in the sink are flowing over and the dishwasher is full, either I sigh or my wife does. The one who sighs is generally the one who takes the responsibility.

Sighs of relief are a bit more rare. It's like holding your breath in anticipation, then when the event is over letting it out. It's that moment at the end of a good movie or sports game when you say "Whew! That was close."

While reading through Mark I came across something that stood out. Jesus sighed. It's mentioned twice in the Bible - both times in Mark, almost back to back in scripture (Mark 7:34, Mark 8:12). Jesus apparently had moments of exasperation. He didn't get angry, but you can see his disappointment.

Mark 8:12 is obvious, so I'll address that first:

And the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him (Jesus), seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him. But He sighed deeply in His spirit and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation." And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side... Then He charged [the disciples], saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."

There are other issues going on through this verse, such as bickering about a loaf of bread, hardened hearts, and selfish ambitions amongst his disciples. Though that contributed to Jesus' frustration, I don't think it was the root of His sighing.

Jesus shows frustration on two specific related issues. At first it appears that it might be because the Pharisees are being a pain, but Jesus has dealt with these jerks before. I think it specifically has to do with them demanding a sign and spreading some idea that even though Jesus heals the sick, the lame, the blind, the possessed and has miraculously fed thousands that unless He can make some super-miracle sign from heaven (like maybe turning the sky green or something goofy like that) then He can't really be (from) God. And I think the second issue is that his disciples and others were starting to believe that the Pharisees had a point.

It's obvious from these troublemakers that even if Jesus gave them a bigger sign than He already had through His ministry that they wouldn't be satisfied and would want an even bigger sign. They didn't want a Savior, they wanted a magician.

Jesus could have given a big enough sign that it would have overthrown the Roman Empire. This should all sound familiar - it was a temptation from Satan when Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days (Luke 4:5-6). He wasn't here to do that, and doing so would have gone against the will of God The Father.

That second issue is about leavening. These Pharisees and Herodians are trying to devalue the works of God. When they start spreading thoughts that what Jesus is doing isn't good enough evidence of who He is and others start believing it - even His own disciples - that's a great disappointment.

How should we apply this? We need to be steadfast in God's word and get to know His character. Most churches teach what the Bible says, and the good ones go as far as how to apply it - but how many really go into the character of God? We need to be on lookout for that. It's our individual responsibility... and let's stop putting conditions on God.

We shouldn't say that if God is really God then He wouldn't allow some event to happen or that He would have performed some crazy sign. That's what the Pharisees and Herodians did. Sometimes He does give us signs, but I don't see evidence that He does it to show off who He is, but rather to help us know who we're dealing with. I doubt that's the type of sign the Pharisees would be willing to, or want to, accept. Even when Jesus was crucified and the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom they didn't take it for a sign and just sewed it back up.

Mark 7:34 is tougher to get through. Partly because the man's heart isn't revealed until well after Jesus sighs, but remember that God can see into the heart of man and that He can tell what state it's in. The gist of this passage is that Jesus heals a deaf and mute man who had nothing more than the selfish expectation to be healed. Jesus tells him not to tell anyone (this has caused trouble in the past - and I believe it ultimately led to the Pharisees confronting Jesus in chapter 8, see above).

You'd think this guy could at least be quiet - after all, he was so speechless that he didn't even take a moment to thank the LORD for healing him. But he immediately runs off and disobeys Jesus' command with the very tongue that was just healed. How many times do we beg God to do this - or to do that and expect it to be done, then get angry with God when it isn't to our liking... or when He does answer our prayer we go off sinning just like before - perhaps with the very part of our life that God just healed?

I'm not saying we shouldn't ask. God makes it clear that asking Him is good. When we come to expect it from Him is where we go wrong. We can't put our sinful man-limited expectations on the creator of the Universe and expect any good to come of it.

Then, when God does pull through we should turn to Him in gratitude and ask Him what we could do for Him . What He wants usually isn't what we think He wants. Our society is selfish by nature. We tend to quickly forget the good that others do and remember the bad. Apparently this neither new, nor specific to our culture.

Go against that selfish grind. Pay close attention - people are doing thoughtful things for you that you have no idea of. Find out about those things, then when you discover someone doing something kind, thank them and ask what you could do for them. In the meantime, list out specific times in your head when something happened (or didn't happen) to save you from trouble... chances are, that was God. His greatest miracles happen when there is the least expectation.

Demonic door-to-door brush salesmen.

Corby Stephens posted a call for people to give up their stories on demonic possession. Most people responded with first or second accounts similar to the Hollywood-famous flying Ouiji board scene from so many of the horror movies it produces. A few posts were about eerie people resembling a page out of the script from Invasion of the Body Snatchers. As crazy as their accounts sound, I am one of those who fall in the camp believing them to be possible - without the gratuitous green vomit and rotating heads.

It's interesting to note that there’s a growing movement to communicate with "the dead" built into modern culture.

Shows like Ghost Hunter and Most Haunted seek to communicate with the spirit world by informal seances called vigils. Through EVPs they get frightening results. They also have called on mediums for guidance.

Outside reality TV there are plenty of other shows that indicate that society has gone over the top to put "romance" in necromancy: Dead Like Me, Pushing Daisies, Ghost Whisperer, Medium and Supernatural to name a few.

The internet is also full of ghost hunting podcasters and specter-seeking clubs who use questionable techniques to contact the spirit world. Very dangerous stuff. It's about as safe as taking down you're dad's 1960 chemistry set, mixing all the powders and potions then quaffing it down in the name of science.

Only a few times on any of these shows have I heard mention that demons, acting like the liars they are, will play the part of impostor to misguide and even hurt people. But that’s usually before a showdown between some silver-bullet toting vigilante and a shape-shifting Balrog, which presents the thought of demons as believable as the existence of a Keebler elf.

Perhaps the society we live in is so washed out with political correctness that the demons don’t really have a desire to present themselves. Doing so would risk being discovered and it’s easier, and perhaps even more of a game, to sit back and watch us stumbling to our own ethical demise.

The society as a whole has the spirit of Satan. I mean that in the most literal definitive sense. It is working in opposition of God. That's where the majority of demonic power appears evident.

In all of this, I have a question. If the media is so bold as to teach that necromancy is romantic and exciting, why aren’t churches just as bold to acknowledge the issue.

Demons were real and problematic in the days of Noah. They’re seemingly more subtle today, but sometime in the near future it will be the days of Noah all over again. Did God put a restraining order on them or are they strategically hiding since it’s nearly impossible to believe in them without also believing in God?

Even more astonishing is that throughout the Bible, demon possessed people freely went into the synagogues (Mark 1:23) and hang around Jesus to be exorcised (Mark 3:10-12). If demons really had all that much power over their host, what would compel them to get so close to God? Was it just to stir up a little trouble with Jesus the same way they did through the possessed girl towards Paul in Macedonia? I know arrogance is a sin, but that all seems to go beyond sin into stupidity. Maybe demons have wised up over the years and learned they can do more harm by remaining unseen than in the Hollywood limelight.