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DECEPTION STARTS IN THE MIND
God Likes Us
Mark 5:19, 'Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.'
MARK 5:18-20
One of the ways God's goodness is revealed is through His mercy. We may describe mercy as 'the readiness of God to relieve the misery of fallen creatures.' Many times, mercy is called compassion or lovingkindness. It is expressed toward the sinner because of the misery that sin has brought upon him.
God's mercy to the believer is revealed by His taking away the misery of sin's consequences through the New Covenant of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Mercy is not something merited or earned, but as the Apostle Paul...
Worship Is Warfare
Mark 5:6, 'But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him.'
MATTHEW 8:28-34; MARK 5:1-17; LUKE 8:27-39
The word 'worshipped' is taken from the Greek word 'proskuneo' which means 'to prostrate oneself in homage to; do reverence to; adore.' The fact that this tormented man ran to Jesus, and not away from Him, indicates that even 'demon-possessed' people have a free will and Satan cannot control an individual without his consent.
Many battles have been fought over whether or not a Christian can be demon possessed. The Greek word for 'possessed' literally means 'to be demonized.' The Bible makes no clear distinction between degrees of demon activity (such as oppressed, depressed, possessed, etc.),...
WHAT'S IN A NAME?
Servant Power
Mark 4:41, 'And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?'
MARK 4:35-41
When God created this physical world and all of its inhabitants, He gave mankind authority to rule and subdue His creation. Although God still owned the universe and all that was in it, He gave control of the earth to man.
When man sinned, he began to use this power against God's wishes. God did not ordain all the terrible things that have happened throughout history, and yet He did not take back man's right to dominate the earth. Instead, He became a man and took back that authority to Himself by conquest. After Jesus' resurrection, He said in Matthew 28:18,...
BEING POSSESSED OR OPPRESSED
Peace In The Midst Of The Storm
Mark 4:37-38, 'And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master carest thou not that we perish?'
MATTHEW 12:46-50; 8:23-27; MARK 3:31-35; 4:35-41; LUKE 8:19-26
Considering the fact that the boat was filled with water, it is amazing that the disciples had to awaken Jesus. This was not a large ship with cabins below deck but rather a small, open boat and Jesus was, no doubt, 'soaked to the bone.' This reflects Jesus' humanity and how tired He must have been. It also shows that Jesus must have been in a very deep sleep. Medical science has discovered...
ASHAMED?
Joint Heirs With Christ
Matthew 12:50, 'For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.'
MATTHEW 12:46-50
We are not just heirs, we are joint-heirs with Christ. It would be wonderful to inherit any amount of God's glory and power. But, the idea that we share equally with the one who has inherited everything God is and has is beyond comprehension. This is an awesome blessing, but it also places a tremendous responsibility on us.
In the same way in which a check made out to two people cannot be cashed without the endorsement of both parties, so our joint-heirship with Jesus cannot be taken advantage of without our cooperation. Unaware of this, many Christians are...