Matthew 8:30-34
And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw Him, they besought Him that He would depart out of their coasts.

   Pigs are very intelligent animals. I met a woman and her husband who raised them and one of them they kept as a family pet. This pig lived in the house with them and was housebroken. They just loved her.
    The woman and her husband had their own maintenance business. They had been doing very well, then suddenly their business began to decline and they were not getting anymore calls.
    One day, the woman was outside and she heard the telephone ring. She came in the house just in time to see her pig lift the receiver off its hook with its mouth. The pig set it down then oinked into the mouthpiece several times. Then she picked up the receiver once again and deftly set it back onto its cradle hanging up on another bewildered potential customer.
    Piggy was promptly removed from the house and returned to a pen in the yard. Soon afterwards business returned to normal.
    We all have pet pig sins we would like to keep. They’re fun to play with, but we don’t really see the damage they can do to us.
    When Jesus sent some demons into a heard of swine, the decision the townsfolk made concerning the Lord was in essence - let’s keep the pigs and ask God to leave.
    We want to hang onto our pet pig sins of lust, indulgence, greed and the like, but we don’t realize what it is going to cost us in the end. It’s better to let the Lord have His way. When He calls again, this time, be willing to let go of the pigs and ask the Lord to stay.

Copyright H.D. Shively 2005

Return to Devotionals | Return to Homepage