The Book of MarkSample

"A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons. He was sitting there fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid. Then those who had seen what happened told the others about the demon-possessed man and the pigs. And the crowd began pleading with Jesus to go away and leave them alone." - Mark 5:15-17

In this part of scripture, we see people reacting to Jesus casting a legion of demons out of a man and into a herd of pigs. What is interesting is you would think they would be happy to see the man freed from his demons, but instead we see that they are afraid of the miracle Jesus just performed and want Jesus to leave them alone. Why do you think that is? The reason why they are afraid of what Jesus had just done was because they didn't understand the power Jesus had. They were more comfortable with having a demon possessed man in their town rather than having someone strong enough to save them in their midst.

When you're facing your friends and your family with the testimony of Jesus, and they decide that they would rather stay comfortable in the known (evil) things than an unknown (loving) relationship with Jesus, just know that their fear of uncertainty with the Lord is not your burden to carry. Jesus calls us to do one thing - share the gospel with everyone we come in contact with. The one thing that no one can take away from you is your testimony of all the grace and miracles He has shown you in your life. The perfect example of this is in verses 18-20 with the same demon possessed man.

"As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him. But Jesus said, “No, go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been.” So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them." Mark 5:18-20

If you have ever second-guessed the power of your testimony, just remember what scripture tells us at the end of verse 20 “and everyone was amazed at what he told them”. Your testimony along with His living word (The Bible) is the only thing that no man can deny because it is yours to share. Don't be afraid to step out when the Lord is asking you to share what He has done in your life. It may just be the very thing that someone needs to hear.

Question for today:

What has the Lord done for you so far in your relationship with him?

Prayer:

Lord, help me to have the confidence to step out and share everything You have done for me. Allow me to have peace when I speak to someone about who You are and why I know You are the one true God. Give me the words to speak and the compassion to understand. Just allow everything I say to be a seed planted in someone else's life that You are real and You truly do love them and want a relationship with them. Give me more desire than ever before to share Your word with those around me. Thank You for choosing me to share Your word with the world around me, and I just ask that You would give me humility and grace as I have more conversations about You. I just ask that You would be with me in every conversation and that I would reflect who You are to those around me. Amen!

Worship Song:

The Story I’ll Tell by Maverick City Music