The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name."
No walk home from school is safe from these demons!
One day, when Ralphie is walking alone, an angry snowball comes out of the blue. Hits him hard in the face. Splatters all over his glasses.
The cackling, mocking laughter confirms the source.
Farkus rears his ugly head. Confronts Ralphie who is desperately fighting back tears.
"What are you going to do? Cry?" He taunts. "C'mon, crybaby, cry! Cry!"
But, this time for Ralphie is different from the others. The narrator tells us a "red hot flame" begins to burn within him.
He snaps!
With a warrior's roar and a rush of rage, Ralphie hurls himself at Farkus, tackling him to the ground. And, he gives this bully a thrashing he will never forget.
Nor, will any of the school children looking on.
In one outburst of crazy courage, Ralphie destroys Farkus' reputation as a tough guy and demolishes his power to intimidate.
The demon is vanquished for good.
~
Are there demons in your life that are bullying you? Telling you you're not pretty enough? Smart enough? Strong enough? Thin enough?
Persuading you that you can't succeed, so why try? Feeding on your weaknesses and perceived short-comings like buzzards on a carcass?
Let Jesus be your "Ralphie".
He'll beat the bullies up. Set things to right. Remind you all the while how much He loves you.
Just. As. You. Are.
Because, you are first and foremost a child of God.
With a right to live a full, abundant life according to His promise.
~
Will you allow Jesus to be your "Ralphie" today?
Will you join me in prayer?
Help us to remember, Father, that in trying to cast out our demons on our own, we'll probably "shoot our eyes out". Let us, instead, turn to Jesus, our Savior, our Mediator, our Advocate, and ask Him to come to our aid. Thank You for loving us as Your children. Amen.
Readings
Psalms 66, 67 or 19, 46
Exodus 3:1-12
Hebrews 12:18-29
Luke 10:17-24
Beautiful prayer Martha....loved this a lot. Each one of us needs to remember this. We might be grown ups and out of school but we do face such people in various forms daily. At such times this prayer will help us. AMEN
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by today, Privy, and glad you liked the prayer.
DeleteYes, I agree, there are bullies in the adult world, too, as I have, unfortunately, met some. But, we will keep the faith and keep on praying!
Blessings to you!
There are so many mysteries in a person's life. In mine, I could very well point out my own demons, my favorite sins, addictions and bullies and they wish to remain hidden. But once recognized in the light of Christ, they could be defeated. I know I couldn't by my own strength. I rely on God's grace and love.
ReplyDeleteI pray with you. I pray for courage and humility, self surrender and trust. I pray that I'll be able to face my weaknesses with sincerity. May God's love be our strength,
Thanks so much for coming by, Melissa!
DeleteNone of us can rely on our own strengths to conquer our deepest weaknesses and we all, like it or not, have our "demons". We must, as you say here, "rely on God's grace and love" to defeat them.
And, yes! "May God's love be our strength"!
Blessings to you!
What a great analogy! I'm sure I'm the only person on the planet who hasn't watched this movie although I've heard about it for years. That's what happens when you never turn on the tv. I do think we all have bullies in our lives, that lizard voice in our brain that tells us we aren't good enough. Overcoming the bully, real or imagined surely takes the power of Christ.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by today, Lynne!
DeleteYou haven't seen this one? Oh, make sure you do sometime - it is an absolutely funny and delightful film.
And, it so takes the power of Christ to overcome those negative voices in our heads. So glad he can beat those demons up!
Blessings to you!
I love how you tie in stories, movies or songs that many of us can relate to with your message. Great post. :)
ReplyDeleteSo glad you enjoyed the tie-in, Jessica. I try! :)
DeleteThanks for stopping by today.
Blessings to you!
Love this post Martha! Great lessons here.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you enjoyed the post today, RoseAnn, and the lessons.
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
Blessings to you!
I have always been bullied Martha since childhood. It happened at school, it happened at home, and is happening now. I never know how to respond. I just feel hurt and cry lonely tears. This post touches my heart. Thank you
ReplyDeleteOh, Nikky, this makes me so, so sad . . .
DeleteI will keep you in prayer, my friend. You are on my special prayer list I keep next to my computer so I will see the people there and pray often.
Thank you for stopping by.
Blessings to you!
Hi Nikky. I just wanted to let you know I just lifted a prayer for you. Hugs to you.
DeleteHi Martha,
ReplyDeleteI needed to see these words today. "There are no accidents" was what I posted in my own blog, and reading your post was certainly a divine appointment set up by God.
Thank you for sharing this!
Have a peaceful Sunday.
Best regards,
Mary
Thanks so much for coming by today, Mary!
DeleteI'm so glad the post spoke to you today - you are so right - "there are no accidents". I will check out your post.
Blessings to you!
Let Jesus be your Ralphie. I laughed out loud. Great image! But when I first read about the demons that plagues us (we both wrote about demons this week!), I thought about the story of Milarepa who invited the demons to tea, the point being that we give power to our demons by being afraid of them or fighting them. Hmm, other thoughts....
ReplyDeleteGalen, I'm so glad imagining Jesus as Ralphie made you laugh. This image was definitely inspired by God for me. As a teacher for many years, the most detestable thing was seeing/dealing with bullying. We know this is exactly what the demons in our lives do to us. Demean us. Break our spirits. Try to separate us from the love of God.
DeleteI think we will truly shoot our eyes out if we don't ask for help in the fight. The knock-out punch can only come from our Lord.
Thanks so much for stopping by and may God bless!
Martha, this is timely. I’ve seen a good bit of those bullies over the past few weeks. It was a Jezebel spirit if ever there was one. Like Elijah, I ran and hid. Thankfully, my hero, Jesus, gave me permission to brush off the dust and return to the land of the living. Bless you friend!
ReplyDeleteOh, Debra, I can't tell you how sorry I am for this pain and bullying you have endured as of late. Why is it that people only feel validated when they can wield power over and inflict pain onto others? Whatever happened to loving our neighbor as ourselves?
DeleteI have had to be Elijah, too, in the past. Long story for another time, but I am so happy to know that our Lord has restored you to the land of the living and right where He intends you to be.
Love and blessings!
The bullies I am contending with right now, are ignorant, yet they can still get to me. Probably because I love them so much. Believe it or not their latest jab to me is to "be real", this from people who have no idea what reality is....I am at a loss at times because I keep trying to understand
ReplyDeleteinsanity...
ReplyDeleteOh, Jan, my heart goes out to you! Know I am lifting you in prayer daily, my dear.
DeleteStay strong and be of good courage.
Blessings!
I did have my share of bullies in my boarding school a well as in my ex husband. But now when I look back I feel sorry for these insecure people who think they are superior by terrorizing someone they think are weak.
ReplyDeleteYes, Rimly, I, too, believe that bullies are very insecure people for whom power over others somehow validates their existence.
DeleteSo sorry you had to endure bullying like this . . . I, too, was bullied by an ex.
Blessings!
I think the inner demons are the hardest to get rid of, Martha and yes, we need all the strength of the Spirit to be rid of them. Loved how you connected Ralphie to Jesus!
ReplyDeleteYes, indeed - those inner demons are crafty, spiteful creatures who want to steal our joy. We can't let them and, with God's help, they will be defeated.
DeleteGlad, too, that you liked the connection between Ralphie and Jesus. :)
Thanks so much for coming by!
Blessings!
I just love this movie.
ReplyDeleteIt's one of my favorites, too, Adriana.
DeleteThanks so much for dropping in today!
Blessings!
Put me on the list of people who have never seen this. What a great analogy. Thank you. Yay Ralphie! And yay Jesus.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by, Sandra!
DeleteYes! Hooray for Ralphie and a huge hooray for Jesus!
Blessings!