Angels and demons

I have always been interested in supernatural events and activities ever since I was a little guy.  Growing up during the revival of the 1990's and the outpouring that happened in my church in Kentucky gave me a desire for the things of God and my encounters with angels when I was younger have kept me hungry for more of those experiences.  

Along those same lines I have had experiences with demons before and left   the experiences with some questions in my mind.  I think all of us at some point have had experiences we may or may not admit to that have left us questioning the whole supernatural thing a bit and wondering what some of the truths are behind our experiences.

I didn't really have many references from the bible about the works of angels and demons until I sat across from a woman one evening who was possessed and read bible passages to her as she tried to manifest what was inside her.

I think most of us have this curiosity and maybe have had experiences that we couldn't understand or didn't want to understand.  Either way, here are some things I have been thinking about lately.

I have always wondered at and marveled at the the story of Jesus in the grave yard with the guy that was possessed by a bunch of demons.  Mark chapter 5 talks about the story of the man in the tombs and how he was bound with shackles and chains but he would break them and nothing could keep him bound.  When I read this story in the Amplified version it says that the shackles were weak and the chains were broken by his constant rubbing them and pounding on them with rocks.  What's the point?  I have read this plenty of times before and wondered at the strength of the demons inside the man to break those chains.  But when I read it in the amplified it tells me that he was only able to break those chains and shackles by using natural or physical means.  The shackles were already weak and the chains he had to work to break, it was not some superhuman, supernatural power that enabled the man to break free!  Though he was possessed by a legion of demons he was still bound to normal and natural rules of law.

Then we read in Acts chapter 12 about an encounter with the supernatural and the working of angels.  Peter had been arrested and was heavily guarded in prison.  It says that "he was chained between two guards and that sentries stood guard at the entrance.  In other words...Peter was BOUND!  He had two chains holding him to two guards along with sentries standing at the entrance to his jail cell.  What happens next?  And angel of the Lord shows up, smacks peter to wake him up and then the chains fall off of peters wrists and the jail cell door opens and peter walks right out of jail.  

So what's the point?  demons will try anything they can to instill fear and torment into the lives of believers but they are still bound within the confines of the natural world.  The chains did not fall off the possessed man but he had to work to break them off  by using rocks to smash them.  With peter the chains simply fell off his wrists and he walked out of jail.  Angels are given a higher degree of power, they are not limited to the natural order of things.  In other words, if God sends an angel to set Peter free, Peter is getting free. 

The simple point in this entire story is to understand that we serve a God that is not bound by natural limitations but that He is limitless and boundless in His love and compassion.  

So let fear and worry and doubt fall off of your life like the chains that held Peter to his captors.  Let love, peace, and hope come on you like a warm blanket.  And finally understand that there is a God that loves you.  He is not fighting for you because He already won the war.