Category: Devotions

Football did not come home

Mark 5: 18-20 “As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.”

Last night football did not come home. England were knocked out of the semi-final of the World Cup. It did not come home. But the demon-possessed man did!

The fact is that the disturbed man had a normal life but all that had been lost because of the life he had lived and what had happened to him. He had a home but he had made the tombs his home. He had a family but he was on the mountainside alone, other gospel writers say he was with another similar man also, who knows there could have been more than two in the tombs they called home.

Jesus would not let the man go with them.

You see there was more than one broken man here. There was a broken home and a broken family. Jesus healed the man but the man was responsible to go and heal those who loved him or who had become afraid of him and distant from him.

Some of the followers of Jesus need to go back not forward. Go back and help fix what they hurt because they were hurt.

May our homes of desperation be turned to joy and sorrow into dancing. Let the stories of mercy resound within our families.

Football’s not coming home but may our homes and families broken by the enemy be renewed by the returning home of sons and daughters restored by Jesus!

Dress them!

Mark 5: 14-17 “Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. ¹⁵ When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. ¹⁶ Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man – and told about the pigs as well. ¹⁷ Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.”

What will you do once the miracle has happened?

• Those who had lost what they were responsible for immediately reported it to as many people as possible, “We have lost every pig, but it wasn’t our fault!”
• Those who had seen it told their eye-witness stories and they were popular for a while.
• Those people of the town who had come out to see the miracle, closed it all down, the show was over, this was not going to happen again, it was their decision and one that Jesus agreed to, he still does.

But there is a word within these verses that stands out to us today: “… dressed …”

The disturbed naked man now has clothes on. He is dressed for the first time in a long time. He was naked because of his possessed-life; it was a consequence of his bigger problem. The town in all their different responses saw this man dressed in a way they hadn’t seen before. Where did he get these clothes from? More importantly who got him the clothes?

I can only think Jesus on setting the man free then insisted that he was provided for in the way of clothes. Maybe the disciples were sent into the town to buy clothes. However it happened, he was provided for.  Here is the partnership of the divine and humanity.  If the man had only received clothing and no miracle then they would have become rags sure enough.

Yesterday I spent a few hours in an Indian slum. You have to walk around a slum to fully take in the depth of it, for it is another world from the one most of us have known. There is much spiritual darkness there, it is a dangerous place and the people seem to be far away from the miracle of Jesus. Yet God has His church there and they are offering children an education, youth cell groups are scattered around the slum and the church has grown from zero to 750 people in 25 years. Many are finding their miracle of Jesus, their lives are changed and they are being dressed with respect, dignity and humanity. Last night those children and young people, hundreds and hundreds of them gathered together, a mixture of backgrounds of Hindu, Muslim and Christians for a gospel musical programme where there was dancing, drama, songs and honour given to the miracle-worker, Jesus Christ.  The children were dressed like any other child would be not living in a slum. Hope, love and joy were in their eyes. The light was shining brightly. All over the world the same amazing story is taking place. The one thing that amazes me is what the Spirit is doing across this world. The miracle of Jesus is being found by many disturbed people and the Church is dressing them and may we continue to do so wherever we are today.

I know who you are

Mark 5:6 – 13 “When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him.⁷ He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” ⁸ For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!” ⁹ Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” ¹⁰ And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area. ¹¹ A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. ¹² The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” ¹³ He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

I know who you are. They said His name: Jesus, Son of the Most High God.

But it was an attack not a confession of worship. Superstition said that if you knew the precise name and identity of your enemy then you had control over them. But knowledge is not power over Jesus. Knowledge is not power over you either. It matters not what your enemy knows about who you, your name or what you have done or become.

I know who you are. Jesus asked them for their name. He did it to reveal the full extent of the damage they had inflicted upon this man. “We are many” is what they cried. They are trying to intimidate Jesus, “We are more than you, we are organised against you and we have a plan.” Jesus could have demanded for each of the demons names to demonstrate His power and to go along with the superstition. But He doesn’t need to know the names. When your name is the Name above all names, it matters not who you are facing.

I know who you are. He sends the demons into the pigs and a business is destroyed. The population was a mixture of Jew and Gentile and the pigs were obviously belonging to a Gentile farmer. The pigs were an expensive commodity. Whatever you can think of in terms of possession this is what went to the bottom of the lake on that day. Jesus was showing that he knew who the man was. Jesus had more compassion for him than the pigs. Don’t focus on what is lost focus on what has been found. “It’s not fair” should be said towards the man not the business. Jesus knew where true treasure was and it wasn’t at the bottom of the lake but the man kneeling before him.

If possible try and search online for a song that has captivated me recently. Released this year by Hillsong, it is called Valentine. It reminds me that Jesus loves his world and the world was worth his sacrifice on the cross. He pursues the world and everyone in it, even a demon-possessed man or a mentally ill person bound on hurting themselves and both of them. Here right now, whether in the UK or in India or wherever the lost are, wherever there is damage, Jesus is relentlessly pursuing anyone in order to hear even a slightest whisper or a deep cry, “Have mercy on me!”

Jesus knows. He knows who they are. He knows who you are.

VERSE 1:

From Your sacrifice for the sake of all
Redemption’s birth and relentless hope
As the weight of grace crushed the face of love
And You bled and died for Your enemies

VERSE 2:
To woo us back from death and woe
A valentine to a faithless world
Every wayward heart You pursue us all
And in kindness call us home

CHORUS:
This world is Yours
My God this world is Yours
All You made to be Yours
I know You love us all

VERSE 3:
Your agape love displaces fear
And the plan is working heaven’s near
For the kingdom comes to the heart that whispers
Have mercy God on me

CHORUS 2:
This world is Yours
My God this world is Yours
All You made to be Yours
I know You love us all

All this world is Yours
My God this world is Yours
All You made to be Yours
I know You love us all

BRIDGE:
You reign forever
You reign forevermore
My heart surrendered
You reign forevermore

 

The Sound of Broken People

Mark 5: 3-5 “This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. ⁴ For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him.⁵ Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.”

The Sound of Broken People:  A journey of worship around the world

This is the title of a report from a young lady who has been a missionary apprentice over the last few years. Her name is Cherith and she has recently completed a gap-year project in 4 different countries. She graduated with a Bachelor of Music last year from Queens University, Belfast and part of her preparation that year though unwelcoming was to become broken herself, “…sometimes you have to realise how broken you are to realise that the whole world is too. “ With the help of a friend, Cherith wrote a song and then took it around the world, meeting broken people and recording them as they learnt to sing it. I found her report fascinating and it will be published soon.

Cherith visited a place called Rajahmundry, India. “I was told about a lot of Hindu converts to Christianity in this part of India, most of them were women.  In Hinduism many women look shackled, in fact the way one would tell a woman was married reminded me of shackles; they wore a bindi, family necklace, bangles on both wrists, anklets on both feet and toe rings.  Of course that is part of their culture, but I could not help but think it looked like shackles.   In the past there have been accounts of Hindu women being burnt alive with their dead husband so that they could not remarry, although this tradition is extinct it shows how Hindu women are sometimes seen in society, and because of this many Hindu women are drawn to Jesus, however they do face trouble at home.”

How can we describe the broken people of this world?

Their world is a painting of darkness and death. Failed dreams and hopes of and from many people surround their lives: They live in tombs.

Their connection with people is based on being controlled and held down like one would do with a dangerous animal. The world’s perception of anger is mistaken fear and need for freedom and normality: Chained hand and foot.

They have hatred but not with the cruel world as much as with themselves. They would try and erase their life if they could; they wish they had not been born: They cut themselves with stones.

But it is the sound that moves us the most. The sound of pain causes us to run to them. The cry for help coming from the depth of their hellish soul is the reason why we cross the lake and get out of the boat. For even if it looks like they don’t want us beneath it all is a human being who needs us.

Never grow deaf to the sound of broken people. They are everywhere. They are the trafficked girls of Cambodia, the oppressed Hindu women of India, the HIV orphans of Kenya and the lost dreams of the slum-dwellers in the Philippines. They are also down your street. You will pass them today and you may even have coffee with one. Listen loud, look deep, the encounter is coming.

Get out of the boat

Mark 5:2 “When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him.”

There are times to teach from the boat, to journey on the boat and of course to fish from the boat, but there are definite times to get out of it.

Many rightly know that getting out of the boat is to step out of comfort zones when the boat is going through the storm and there is the opportunity to walk on water. But maybe we need to say we have had enough knowledge being given, we have been on enough pilgrimages and we have also grown our businesses and lives enough. Now is the time to step out of the boat for one reason only and that is to make ourselves available to people.

The shock is who it was who came towards Jesus when he stepped out of the boat. Was it going to be someone from the mixed sub-culture of the Decapolis? Surely that was on Jesus mind to advance the kingdom into those ten cities where the Hellenistic Jews lived? None of those came. However Mark focuses on a man who would be going into the Decapolis as an evangelist after he met with Jesus. One life can be changed by Jesus who can transform a region. But who is this man? He has an impure spirit, he is demon-possessed and he came to Jesus from the tombs. There are still many people who come to the body of Christ from dead places once the Church has got out of the boat.

Get past those contradictions to see human beings who need Jesus.

Mark 5: 1 “They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.”

The contradiction of origin:

It was the region of the Gerasenes. Matthew says it was the region of the Gadarenes and some translations have Gergesenes. All 3 are the same place. It is like I say I am from England or I could say Great Britain and I could also say the United Kingdom. The Sea of Galilee was also called the Lake Gennesaret and also the Sea of Tiberius, it is the same place. Whether you were local or someone from a far off place may determine what name you know the area by.

The contradiction of demograph:

The critics will talk of another contradiction in that Mark and Luke tell the story of one man, Legion, but Matthew tells of two men. The contradiction is easily understood depending on where the focus is. If the point of the story was to accurately tell of the number of demon-possessed then there is a contradiction. But if it is to tell of the fact that there Jesus was more powerful than the demons then there is no contradiction. There were two men, but the point is Jesus was confronting not one demon but a plurality of demons. The story passed down to Mark and Luke focuses on one man and the story passed down to Matthew focuses on two and that is okay. The point is that what is in common is that Jesus has the power over the demonic. So if you stall on the number you have missed the whole point.

The contradiction of culture:

They sailed across the Sea of Galilee to a place occupied by Hellenistic Jews. These people were Jews but were heavily influenced by the Greek language and culture. There was such a blending together of Jewish and Greek cultures that it formed a sub-culture. The region was also known as the Decapolis, simply meaning ten cities and Mark is the only gospel that says one of the men that he focuses on became an evangelist in those cities. If you came from that region then you were not a pure Jew like those found in Jerusalem and Judea, you came from a different school of thought, you had a mixture of belief.

So what does all that mean, what am I thinking?

Many may get hung up on details and treat people as only a number or want to talk about their history, trying to categorise them, but Jesus doesn’t think like that. That’s not what he wants us to focus on.
Everybody deserves to take the journey themselves no matter who they are, where they come from or what has happened.
Yesterday someone was telling me how their gospel work was small. I told them it is huge to those who receive it.
No doubt the disciples wondered why they had decided to travel to this region. But Jesus knew. Let me suggest what he was saying:

“We are going into a place of contradiction and a place that will forever have confusion attached to a story that we will make. Many will miss the point because they will look at the contradiction and the confusion. But there are two men underneath all that discussion who are real and who God loves that are on the edge of society that not even history will be kind to them because they will be argued over. But it is to them that I have come.”

Today we can easily look at people in a certain way and focus only on the contradiction of their life. Or we can cross the lake and go to a small group, to two, or even one and change their world. Everybody is worth the journey. Get past those contradictions to see human beings who need Jesus.

A waste of pork chops??

Mark 5: 1- 20 “They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes^] 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him.³ This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. ⁴ For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him.⁵ Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones. ⁶ When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him.⁷ He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” ⁸ For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!” ⁹ Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” ¹⁰ And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area. ¹¹ A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. ¹² The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” ¹³ He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. ¹⁴ Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. ¹⁵ When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. ¹⁶ Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. ¹⁷ Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region. ¹⁸ As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. ¹⁹ Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” ²⁰ So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis^[b] how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.”

 

This could have been a waste of pork chops?

A group of demons equals a legion.
A group of pigs equals a herd.
Gerasa also known as Gadara was the capital of the Gerasenes. Though it was known as one of the proudest cities of Syria it is now called Jerash and is a deserted ruin. Remove the body of Christ from a place and not long later it will become a ruin.
Jesus gave the legion permission to enter the pigs because the disarming of all demonic power to take place on the cross was not ready yet.

The people didn’t mind that this man had legion.
Nor did they mind the pig farmers possessing a herd. (Pigs are an abomination to the Jews).
But when the body of Christ moves in the supernatural and turns the tables on evil making wrong things right, then the towns will sit up and their response may not be what we expect.
Jesus cast legion out of the man and the town cast Jesus out of their vicinity.
Leave our town not because you are boring, ineffective, dwindling, non-relevant to our generation. No.
Leave the town because this supernatural activity is too much for us.
This is a sleepy town. We need a sleepy Church.
Let’s stop giving what our towns want and give them what they need.
Some Churches leave a town because they fall asleep.
Other Churches leave a town because they wake everyone up.

Let us leave Jesus as He is

Mark 4: 35-41 “That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” ³⁶ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. ³⁷ A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. ³⁸ Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” ³⁹ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. ⁴⁰ He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” ⁴¹ They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Let’s leave Jesus as he is.

They took him just as he was (teaching in the boat) and they sailed across the lake. But they didn’t leave him just as he was (they woke him up almost furiously).
Why? It was the change of their circumstances and their fear.
These 2 elements tempt us to move Jesus from where He is to where we want Him to be. Or where we think we need Him to be.

Faith says whatever you are doing Jesus, wherever you are, I know I am safe just because you are on this boat with me.

I will do what I think I need you to do.

I will be what I think I need you to be.

I can do this because you are here.

You can be quiet.

I am strong in your stillness.

 

Who is on the branches?

Mark 4: 30-34 “Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? ³¹ It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. ³² Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.” ³³ With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. ³⁴ He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.”

 

One of the many Messianic prophecies can be found in Ezekiel 17: 22-23 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain. ²³ On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches.”

It is this kind of OT prophecy that Jesus has in mind when he gives this parable. Judah is small and is planted but from this tribe will come a branch where the birds will perch, not to swoop down and take the seed as in the other parable, but that they themselves will find security from their own dangers.

Jesus is speaking about himself. He is the Messiah branch of Judah. The birds are people, nations, maybe for that generation the Roman oppressors. The image is that the kingdom of God is peaceful. It has turned enemies into participants of the kingdom. It all happened from the smallest of seeds.

Our application would be this: Whatever you are trying to do for God, it may look really insignificant, so small that nothing good looks like it will happen. Yet from that act of kindness, that spoken word, your testimony shared, this gospel that we live for, then from that can grow something beyond our imagination.

Yesterday I visited Tamworth Elim Church which has so far provided 17 tonnes of food for local people who are struggling financially. Where did that mountain of provision come from? It was an idea sown into the mind of the Pastor in 2011. An idea, that is all!

Today you may only have an idea. You may only have your testimony. You may only be … you finish the sentence off. It doesn’t sound much at all. But out of this small thing you are doing for God then it can surpass your wildest dream. So much so that it can impact today the robbers of yesterday (the birds) and the miracle will not be just the growth of the seed but who sits in the branches! This is the kingdom!

The patience needed with the gospel

Mark 4: 26-28 “He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. ²⁷ Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. ²⁸ All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. ²⁹ As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

There are things that you can do, you can scatter the seed, you can spread the gospel, speak words of life and of hope. But that’s it. You can only do so much. You have to wait for the harvest.

The partnership with God involves waiting.

Digging the seed up to inspect it isn’t going to help.

“All by itself…” Without you God does the important work and you will never be able to explain it except it is a miracle of life.

First the stalk. That is all. There is no harvest. There is just a sign of a potential one.

The partnership with God involves waiting.

Second the bud shows. There has been growth. The seed has nearly accomplished its work. But try harvest now and it will be of no use. It is still too early.

The partnership with God involves waiting.

Finally the blossoming bud and yet even then there is a waiting time until it is fully ripened. At last the harvest has come and it is time for reaping.

Around your life there should be fields of stalks, buds showing, blossoming buds and ripened buds ready for harvesting and of course fields ready for the seed.

Out of your mouth comes the words of God, the seed, you may not think of it like that but it is true. You scatter all day long to everyone you meet. Wait patiently; the seed will do the work. God partners with what comes out of your mouth.