Compassion Experienced

N.T.#357 "Compassion Experienced"

July 31, 2024 

Mark 5-Part 3

LET IT GLOW 

Previously, we studied about the demon-possessed man delivered by Jesus. His story was about restoration, commissioning, and obedience. Jesus made an amazing difference in this man's life by restoring it. Friend, are you in need of your life restored, home restored, marriage restored, family restored? Jesus can do it. Let Him make an amazing difference.

Jesus' popularity grew to such an extent that wherever He traveled word quickly spread and crowds clustered. (verse 21) Then one of the rulers of the synagogue in Capernaum, Jairus, fell at the feet of Jesus. His 12-year-old daughter was seriously ill at the point of death. Obviously, the father had observed Jesus' healing ability. All he wanted was to have Jesus touch the girl and she would be healed and live. Isn't that faith?

Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him to the man's house. He wanted these guys to have a first-hand experience witnessing the miracle.Jesus put everyone in the house out except the parents and the 3 disciples. He didn't want to make a scene or put on a show. 

Jesus touched the girl's hand and commanded her to arise and walk. The onlookers were greatly astonished. Can you imagine the joy to have the girl made whole again? Then Jesus instructed the couple to remain silent about the girl's resurrection. 

LET IT GROW 

It was Jesus' compassion, not His attraction, that set the Lord apart from others. Are we compassionate too?

LET IT GO

Change my heart, sweet Jesus, make me into a loving person.

Open my eyes to see the needs of others. 

Who is Jesus to You?

N.T.#356 "Who is Jesus to You?"

July 30, 2024 

Mark 5-Part 2

LET IT GLOW

We left the demon-possessed man with Jesus, as the legion(6,000) of demons conversed with Him. They asked, in verse 7, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the Most High God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. 

In other words, those demons knew who Jesus is, asking what business they had with Him. Although the disciples did not fully understand who Jesus was, those demons knew. He is superior to all things created. 

Torment means torture in the Greek language.

How did Jesus converse with those demons?

• Jesus commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (verse 8) 
• He asked what its name was, to which the answer was Legion. (verse 9)
• The demon asked Jesus to not send them out of the country, but into the swine nearby. (verses 10-12)

That resulted in the demon-possessed swine ran down the cliff and drown in the sea. Evil is manifested in disease, disasters, discord, death, and decay. Satan opposed the work of Jesus in the wilderness, (Mark 1:13), in the synagogue (1:23), at home (1:32), and throughout His travels (1:39, 3:11) The author of evil hates God and wants everything God created to be consumed in his self-destructive rebellion. (Swindoll)

This probably occurred over several days, not a single afternoon. 

James 4:7 tells us, Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 

With God's grace, we can totally submit to Him. We should stand against outward opposition, resist the accuser, and walk in the Spirit with the utmost caution. (Falwell)

Not all bad things that happen to us is due to the devil working. They could be of our own doing, sin. Our duty is to submit to God and to resist the devil and his temptations to sin.

LET IT GROW

What happened next?

•  Those hired hands keeping watch over the seine fled to the city and country telling what happened. 
• People went to see what was done, finding a mass of rotting pig carcasses washed onto the shore, and the formerly deranged man behaving normally. (Swindoll)
• The delivered man was sitting, clothed, and in his right mind. (verse 15)
• the people who feared the demon-possessed man living among the dead, but they feared Jesus more, wanting Him to leave. They preferred the status quo where everything could be explained by natural means. 

Jesus didn't have to leave, but it suited His purposes to go. The delivered man wanted to go with Jesus, but He had a greater purpose for the man. 

Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. (verse 19)

Did the man obey Jesus? Yes. He went to Decapolis, and area of 10 cities southeast of the Sea of Galilee, and told of the great things Jesus had done for him. Jesus had released him from bondage, restored his dignity, renewed his mind, and gave him a divine purpose. All the men marveled. What an evangelist.

When we get the opportunity, do we tell others what Jesus has done for us? Who is Jesus to you?

LET IT GO

What a wonderful Savior is Jesus!

He is my Savior, Healer, Redeemer, Provider, Sustainer, Giver of Life.

Whom do We Worship?

N.T.#355 "Whom do We Worship?"

July 29, 2024 

Mark 5

Thank you everyone for being patient with me. We returned Saturday exhausted from Boston for a week of Vacation Bible School. There were some challenges along the way-delayed flights, late luggage, leaders left behind. Yet, we pressed on to accomplish God's will. Our luggage did not arrive until late Sunday night, which contained our personal items and VBS materials. Other obstacles included late children, late lunches, lack of space, and little ones disrupting classes.

Although we had challenges to overcome, the Lord blessed us with 26 kids attending and 5-8 salvations. Five of us were able to paint the outside of a three-story church building. Three of us stayed at the pastor's house and was able to minister to him and his wife. All in all, we consider it a successful mission trip. Exhausted, but blessed, we hit the ground running back home on Sunday.

LET IT GLOW

Let's pick up in chapter 5 in our study with the healing of the Gadarene demoniac. Matthew calls the people Gergesenes. ruins of Khersa (Gerasa) on the lake shore disproved these claims because this location was in close enough proximity to the larger city of Gadara that a single event could be identified with either place. (Falwell)

Mark mentions a man, while Matthew rsays there were two. They were demon-possessed, at any rate. So immediately when Jesus got out of the ship He was confronted with this man.

LET IT GROW

How does Mark describe him?

• His residence was among the tombs. This shows us he was not a rational person choosing such an environment. 
• He was demon-possessed, an unclean spirit.
• No one could bind him, not even with chains. There was no hope in controlling this man, for he was able to break the chains and escape. (verses 3-4)
• No man could tame (subdue) this one, for he had supernatural strength. 
• He cried night and day in the mountains and tombs, cutting himself. What an effect on the man's mental faculties that he would cut himself. This must have kept people away from the area.
• The man ran to Jesus when he saw Him and worshipped (prostrate oneself in homage, bowed down before Him)
• What do we have in common? The demons considered Jesus was there to destroy them. (1:24)

When we come to Jesus, do we bow before Him? Even the demons acknowledge Jesus to be the Son of the Most High God. Do you?

Or do we give more time to our things than to our God?

LET IT GO

Lord Jesus, truly, You are the Son of the Living and Most High God.

We bow down and worship You, for You alone are worthy of praise, honor, and worship, my God and my King and my Savior.

 

Who is in Control?

N.T.#354 "Who is in Control?"

July 24, 2024 

Mark 4-Part 6

LET IT GLOW 

When Jesus and His disciples were in a ship on the Sea of Galilee, a storm arose. It was a whirlwind or cyclone, which is common there. It is surrounded by mountains and often the weather changes quickly and vicious. 

What was happening to those men?

• They were headed to the other side of the lake. (verse 35)
• Waves beat into the ship filling up with water. Other ships were with them.
• Jesus slept on a pillow in the back of the boat. 
• The disciples woke the Lord up asking Him, "Master, carest thou not that we perish?"

Jesus had been teaching His students so it was test time. 

They traveled from the Bay of Parables southeast to a region near the southern shore known as Gerasa, of which Gadara was a principal city. (Swindoll)

What spiritual immaturity to ask their Lord if He cared. They lacked understanding of who Jesus is-Creator of the wind and seas and the One who loves them so much that He died for them. Didn't they know nothing was doing to happen to the Son of God? Yet, don't we tend to get in a frenzy when something disrupts us, scares us, delays us, gets us out of our comfort zone? 

As I write this, a global shutdown on airlines' computers has happened this morning. I am sure many people are upset that they are grounded and can't return home to family today. (I was upset last month when our planes were delayed several hours while going to visit our daughter.) I am praying our mission team will be able to fly tomorrow to Boston.

LET IT GROW

What did Jesus do to help?

• He arose and rebuked (to express strong disapproval of someone, reprove, charge) the wind and told the sea to be still. (verse 39)
• The wind ceased and there was a great calm.
• Then Jesus rebuked His disciples., asking, Why are ye so fearful? Now is it that ye have no faith? (verse 40)

Fearful means timid; faithless; faith means persuasion; conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher); assurance; belief.

So the disciples were lacking faith in Jesus. They had God in their boat. Shouldn't they have understood that when God is with you, nothing can harm you? Sinking is impossible! Now they knew Jesus as the Messiah sent by God to lead them. Those guys witnessed first-hand the power of Jesus. We should fear Him more than our circumstances. Then we will trust Him above all else.

And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea oby Him? (verse 41)

This is one of my favorite passages. We must remember what storms Jesus brings us safely through, then we will trust Him more today.

How is your faith?

LET IT GO

Let God be God over our life.

Trust Him in all things. 

Give Him glory and praise whenever He rescues us. 

Tiny Seeds

 N.T.#353  "Tiny Seeds"

July 23, 2024

Mark 4-Part 5

LET IT GLOW 

Mark gives us the only recording of the parable of the sower given by Jesus. It complements the parable of the sower by explaining in more depth the results of spiritual growth accomplished in good soil. the interpretation pictures the gospel working in lives. the Word of God works in individual hearts, sometimes slowly, until the time when God reaps the harvest in that person and saves him. 

Another interpretation is Jesus sowed the gospel message until the final harvest in the future. His disciples would continue the work of presenting the gospel that would eventually yield a harvest.  (MacArthur)

 Is God's Word growing our faith and obedience?

LET IT GROW 

The mustard seed parable is found in verses 30-32.  Have you seen and held mustard seeds? They are tiny round seeds, yet they can grow to the size of a tree where birds can lodge. God's Word has produced millions of followers in Jesus, but it only began with a few good men. we need to be careful that it is not snatched out of our life by impure thoughts, hurtful words, mean people, Our faith, no matter how small, can join with that of others to accomplish great things.

Jesus explained His parables to His disciples. (verse 34) He spoke other parables not recorded. Those with ears to hear gained spiritual knowledge and grew wise in kingdom living. Others remained willfully ignorant or were perpetually distracted by temporal concerns eventually drifted away with the wind. (Swindoll)

I thank God for those who are studying God's Word with me. What an encouragement you are!

LET IT GO

Grow our faith, Lord Jesus. 

Help us faithfully plant seeds of Truth and salvation.

We trust You will grow it for Your glory.

Planting Seeds

N.T.#352 "Planting Seeds"

July 22, 2024 

Mark 4-Part 4

LET IT GLOW 

I recall planting sunflower seed with my granddaughter as a young child. We didn't do much to help them grow other than watering. The pretty flowers seemed to grow on their own, as if it was automatic. Some would grow to be over 5 feet tall. It was a fun experience to share with her. I'm going to ask her if she remembers this. Jesus gave us a parable concerning the grow of seed.

Now we have the fourth of five parables Jesus taught as Mark recorded. In verse 26, Jesus compared the kingdom of God to seed that a man planted. As he went about his life, the seed sprouted and grew, though he didn't understand how. (verse 27) Over time a crop was produced that was ready for the harvesters. (verses 28-29) The disciple of Jesus who faithfully proclaims God's Word can have confidence that it will accomplish its work. (Isaiah 55:10-11) The Word has life within itself, so God will ensure growth and harvest as people respond to his Word when it is rightly explained. (Evans)

God promises His harvest will be magnificent and prolific-the best fruit ever grown. Our witness may be weak and our efforts may seem to influence so few, but the Word of God is a powerful growth agent. We need to keep our eyes on the great harvest to come and not let bad soil or weeds discourage us from faithful service and witness. (Life Application Study Bible)

LET IT GROW 

In verse 28, of herself means automatically in the Greek language. Isn't it wonderful that God's procedure for growth does not need to be intellectually perceived to be experienced. (Falwell)

Please pray for our mission team as we have Vacation Bible School in the Boston area this week. It is a Hattian church where we are going, so it seems like a foreign field. We are planting seeds of the Gospel there.

What kind of seeds are you planting?

LET IT GO

Help us sow seed of faith, love, peace, and joy today, Lord Jesus.

How thankful we are for Your Word, Your salvation, Your forgiveness.

Please save the lost.

Heeding and Sharing

N.T.#351 "Heeding and Sharing"

July 19, 2024 

Mark 4-Part 3

LET IT GLOW 

Do you realize that it isn't enough for us to study the Word of God, but He wants us to apply it and share it. 

In verses 24-25, Jesus gives a parable of new standards. (The Bible records 39 parables of Jesus.)  Jesus' kingdom does not operate like the world's system. The closer we listen, the more we understand and we are given. Watch what we hear. False teachers are everywhere. Stay in the Truth and Word of God.

First, Jesus tells us to take heed (look at, see, beware) what we hear. There is a lot of deception out there, so we need spiritual ears to discern the truth. The world measures success in physical materials and money, but believers are to be successful when they hear God's Word and apply it in their life, bearing fruit of the Spirit. 

LET IT GROW

Secondly, Jesus tells us whatever mete (measure) we use towards others will be used toward us.

 If we are faithful servants to Jesus, He will be a faithful Master to us.  (Dr. Hammond)

More knowledge will be given to those who use it for the glory of God and to benefit others. An example is teachers of the Word when they apply it and share it, honor God with it. If we don't use what we have, it will be taken away. (verse 25)

Please pray for our mission team as we do VBS next week in Massachusetts. We will be leading children in a Hattian church there. Please pray for our safety and the seed of the Gospel planted, watered, and produce fruit.

LET IT GO 

Help us apply what we learn Lord Jesus in Your Word of Truth, then share it with others.

To You be glory forever.