Mark 5 -- Are They Still Really Out There?

“When Jesus got out of the boat, instantly a man with an evil spirit … ran to Him, and fell down before Him.”  It’s amazing that a possessed man would run to Jesus when the demons inside him were saying, “What do You WANT with me, Jesus?”  They had been controlling the man, but somehow, deep down inside, the tortured man’s soul caused him to run to the only One who could help.  Immediately Jesus granted him release from the demons who had controlled him and he was instantly back in his right mind.  His natural inclination was to follow the One who’d set him free, but Jesus wouldn’t let him.  He said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how He has had mercy on you.”  He wanted the man to start to bear fruit for the kingdom rather than just basking at the feet of the Savior.

 

I think we tend to dismiss the thought of evil spirits today, but God’s word has not told us that they’ve all been banished from human bodies.  After reading This Present Darkness, I began to understand that they could be the cause of our besetting sins, sent to cause just enough trouble to keep a Christian knocked off-center.

 

Father, help us to know.  Just as You did in that day, make it clear if we’re fighting Satan or simply unwilling to give up an old part of our lives.  Help Your children to see the true enemy so that he can be defeated.

 

Your Brother In Christ,

 

Gary Ford

Mark 4 -- Now Who Am I In This Story?

I have an etched stone outside of my window that says, “We sow the seed.  God produces the harvest.”  That’s important to remember while reading Jesus’ parable about the four types of soil.  Otherwise, we might find ourselves (as I once did) caught up in just why God would plant seed on a road!

 

Our job is to plant seed wherever we can.  God is the One who prepares and conditions the soil of each heart, enabling the seed to grow if it is meant to.  We don’t decide where to do the planting.  Our job is solely to scatter the seed, which is the Word of God.

 

I think it’s also important to remember that at some point someone else was scattering seed that landed on our hearts – seed that led us to where we are with God today.  If our hearts are the fertile soil, then perhaps we have a question to ask ourselves – are we the 30-times-more, the 60-times-more, or the 100-times-more field?  We have some responsibility in that, and Jesus addressed it in verses 24-25:  “The way you give to others is the way God will give to you, but God will give you EVEN MORE.  Those who have understanding will be given more.”

 

Jesus then gave them “a practical test to see how much they had really learned,” my commentary said.  These experienced fishermen headed across the lake in a boat, yet soon found themselves in fear for their lives in the middle of a storm.  They were in the storm because of their obedience to God, my commentary made sure to note.  Despite the fact that Jesus had promised they were going to the other side, the fact that Jesus was with them, and the fact that Jesus was perfectly at peace in the storm, the disciples were disturbed.  “Jesus slept because He was truly secure in God’s will … The greatest danger was not the wind or the waves:  it was the unbelief in the hearts of the disciples.  Our greatest problems are within us, not around us … They’d seen Him perform miracles and yet they still had no faith.  It was their unbelief that caused their fear, and their fear made them question whether Jesus really cared.  We must beware of an evil heart of unbelief.”

 

Father, this parable was about us as sowers, but it was also just as much about the condition of our own hearts to determine our level of belief in Christ, for that level helps to determine how effective we can be in sowing Your word in the lives of others.  Help me in my moments of unbelief.

 

Your Brother In Christ,

 

Mark 3 -- About Family??

“Then Jesus went home, but again a crowd gathered … When his family heard this, they went to get Him, because they thought He was out of His mind… The teachers of the law from Jerusalem were saying, ‘Beelzebul is living inside Him!  He uses power from the ruler of demons to force demons out of people.’”

 

I know that in Jesus’ divine nature He knew that the world was blinded by sin to who He really is and to what He was accomplishing while on earth.  But His human nature had to have felt pangs of sorrow when His own family – His mother and his half-brothers – came seeking to take Him home, thinking He’d lost His mind!  My commentary noted that this was “the only place in Mark where Mary is seen, and her venture was a failure.”  That should say enough right there about attempts to venerate her and cause her to be worshiped.  She was actually seeking to stop His ministry!

 

Jesus used the moment to teach us that “family” is made up of all those who do the will of God.  “Jesus’ half-brothers were not believers, and Jesus felt closer to the believing publicans and sinners than He did to His half-brothers,” my commentary said.  We aren’t to abandon our families, but we are to put God’s will above everything else in life … “We must not permit even our dearest loved ones to influence us away from the will of God.”

 

Father, that lesson lows me the vital importance of leading my family to love You and to seek Your will in their lives, too.  Help me to do that as a dad.  Help me to make their relationship with You a priority for me as well.

 

Your Brother in Christ,

 

Gary Ford

Mark 2 -- I Don't NEED A Doctor

In this chapter, Jesus healed the man who was lowered through the roof by his friends after He told the man that his sins were forgiven.  This set the teachers of the law on edge, thinking that only God could forgive sins.  And a little later, they were also disgruntled because He was eating with tax collectors and sinners.  Jesus told them that healthy people don’t need a doctor.  Sick people do.

 

My commentary picked up on both of these incidents and said, “There are three kinds of patients whom Jesus cannot heal of their sin sickness:

 

1)       Those who do not know about Him;

2)      Those who know about Him but refuse to trust Him; and

3)      Those who will not admit that they need Him.

 

 

The teachers of the law were in that last category.  They did not think they needed forgiveness.  My commentary said, “Forgiveness is the greatest miracle that Jesus ever performs.  It meets the greatest need; it costs the greatest price; and it brings the greatest blessing and the most lasting results.”

 

Father, I’m so glad that You moved my heart to the point where I knew I needed such healing.  You’ve helped me to realize my need and to depend on Christ to provide for it.  Let me never think that I am beyond the need of forgiveness.

Mark 1 -- In CHURCH??

“Just then, a man was there in the synagogue who had an evil spirit in him … Jesus healed many who had different kinds of sicknesses, and He forced many demons to leave people.”

 

A man with a demon in the synagogue!  It’s enough to make us wonder how many there might be in our churches today as well!  “It took the presence of the Son of God to expose the demon … The demon certainly knew exactly who Jesus is … The demon’s use of plural pronouns shows how closely he was identified with the man through whom he was speaking.  The demon clearly identified Christ’s humanity (“Jesus of Nazareth”) as well as His deity (“the Holy One of God”).  He also confessed great fear that Jesus might judge him and send him to the pit … He tried one last convulsive attack, but then had to submit to the authority of God’s servant and come out of the man,” my commentary said.  If it were only that easy today.

 

Also, Jesus healed a leper in this chapter.  My commentary said leprosy is a picture of sin:  “Like sin, leprosy is deeper than the skin, it defiles and isolates, and it renders things fit only for the fire.”  So very true.

 

Father, we need You to examine each of us, to find where Satan or his demons have sunk their claws into our lives and are trying to pull us away from a God-honoring life.  We need You to remove these sources of temptation, to help us discover that our sin is more than skin deep – that it affects not just our whole life, but others around us as well.  Cause us to agree with You on the ugliness of sin and our need for Your healing and forgiveness.

 

Your Brother In Christ,

 

Gary Ford

Joshua 20-24 Doing Both

Everyone settled into the land God had promised them.  But Joshua wanted to make sure that they didn’t settle for less than God.  In his farewell speech, he made it clear that they had to make a decision to serve God.  There could be no neutrality. 

 

Then he called their hand on something really surprising – some of them were still sacrificing to or hiding Egyptian idols, after 40 years of wandering in the desert plus all those years of conquering the land!

 

“His point was that they couldn’t do BOTH,” my commentary said.  “Joshua warned them what would happen if they didn’t get rid of their idols:  They would eventually forsake the Lord, and then He would have to chasten them … Their great need was to cleanse their hearts of allegiance to other gods and to incline their hearts only to the Lord … We may fail Him, but He will never fail us.  When God ordains our service, He is morally obligated to see us through.”

 

Father, I know I ask You to help me remember a lot of what I read in my quiet times.  It just goes to show that daily immersion in Your word is necessary to fight back the attacks of Satan, and we can’t read it and forget it.  Left to our own devices, we will fail.  Help me to keep examining my life and to throw away any idols I find that divide my allegiance to You.

 

Your Brother in Christ,

 

Gary Ford

Joshua 18-19 Unwrapping Our Gift

I thought about jumping over to the Christmas story just for today, but something reminded me that all Scripture speaks of Christ, so I stuck with Joshua.  I’m glad I did.

 

In these chapters, the Israelites had received a gift from God – the Promised Land.  These chapters looked to be about as exciting as reading surveys of land, for that’s what they were.  So what did I see?  How many of us accept a Christmas gift and don’t open it?  That seems to be what Joshua was getting at when he said, “Why do you wait so long to take your land?  The Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given this land to you.”

 

In the same way, God through Christ has given us “land”.  He’s prepared a life for us and wants to pour out all of His blessings on us.  Today, I hear Jesus saying, “Why do you wait so long to take what My Father has given you?  Open your present!”

 

Father, thank You for the gift of Your Son, and for the eternal life I’ve received by believing in Him.  Help me not to forget that Your Word says that eternal life begins now.  Don’t let me fail to experience any part of what You’ve planned for me!

 

Your Brother in Christ,

 

Gary Ford