Mary had seven
demons when she encountered Jesus. He
healed her and as a result of this healing, she chose to follow him. She proved
her loyalty to Christ by her hard work, perseverance, faithfulness and respect.
“Not long afterward Jesus began a tour of the nearby cities and
villages to announce the Good News concerning the Kingdom of God. He took his twelve disciples
with him, along with some women he had healed and from whom he had cast out
evil spirits. Among them were Mary
Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.” Luke 8:1-2
Mary helped take care of Jesus
and his disciples. But she did more; she
also became a disciple by spending time with Christ. She had a personal relationship with Him. Although she suffered greatly before meeting
Him, she turned her life toward Christ and was never the same again. Many lives
have been shattered by the demons of life:
divorce, alcohol, and drugs.
Christ came to save us from these sins and completely transform our
life.
My friend Joyce loved the Lord and shared
her story about the heartbreak she went through with her husband Chad.
My husband Chad,
a chaplain in the Air force, was stationed in Alaska. According to him, he “fell in love” with
another woman he had been counseling.
The other woman was being counseled because of her husband’s abuse.
For me, the worst part was the
rejection—the fact he preferred someone else to me. God brought me through this
devastating experience.
I met Chad
in college. He loved the Lord and wanted to be a minister. When I finished
college, I taught elementary school for two years while he finished school. I
received a master’s degree in library science. My husband was in seminary, I
worked in the seminary library.
After seminary we were youth pastors for
two years in New York State.
Then he entered the military chaplaincy. His first tour of duty was in Oklahoma;
the next in Alaska. While he was
in Alaska, I spent the year with
my parents in Pennsylvania. When he returned, we spent nine months at a
base in Florida before he left us
and the chaplaincy to return to Alaska.
Many people
prayed for us and for restoration of our marriage. A retired missionary friend wrote, “You are honored to be put in a spot which
fits in with God's Word: And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also
knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and
experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” Romans 5:3-5 This is what makes your roots go deep and
keeps faith in Jesus.”
I couldn’t understand how my husband could
give up me or our three sons for another woman. He saw the new relationship as
something wonderful and ours not worth staying together. I felt I was the
victim. The children were deprived of a biblical family with a mother and
father, and grandparents and other members experienced hurt and pain.
My husband left us with $90 and no home.
My loving parents took me in and his parents helped us. God provided a job as
the librarian in a school where my children attended.
One evening as I was at the altar, a woman
prayed for me that the Lord would remove bitterness and replace the void with
His love. Life improved for me emotionally and spiritually.
I have a friend going through a divorce
similar to what I had faced. I told her there would always be a scar, but the
wound would heal.
The fact that God had a purpose in this
helped me to forgive my ex-husband. I have learned through the pain and
suffering of losing someone that the Lord will never leave me nor forsake me
and He will provide all of my needs.
Mary also knew the Lord would never leave her
nor forsake her. “Standing near the cross were Jesus’ mother, and his mother’s sister,
Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary Magdalene.”
John 19:25
She was one of the first to hear the angel
say that Christ had risen and to go tell the disciples.
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