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THIS WEEK’S BIBLE INSIGHTS ARE BY:
Cara Grant and are based on Mark 5 (NIV)
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ MORE ON THIS WEEK’S MAJOR THEME:
Mark 5
1 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 any more, 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.
don’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”
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
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.
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.
Sunday June 15 - Bowing before the Lord Jesus
When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. Mark 5:6
Many of us will have known times when illness, isolation or danger threatened to overwhelm us – and we cried out for God’s help. If this is you today, take heart; our verses this week reveal the depth of God’s love for those who come to him, on their knees, in desperation...
Jesus came ashore after calming the storm on Lake Galilee, and a man with an evil spirit hurtled down the beach towards him; naked, bloodied from self-harming, and screaming. Jesus stood waiting... the man crumpled at his feet, tormented, confused, desperate. Once he’d had a home and family (v 19), but now everyone shunned him, so he paced the hills alone, living – if you could call it living – among the tombs, like one already dead.
We’re not told how this man became dominated by evil spirits, though his region (‘the Decapolis’) was pervaded by Greco-Roman idol and spirit worship. Instead we’re shown Jesus’ supreme power over evil: ‘no demons... nor any powers... will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Romans 8:38-39).
There’s simply no contest. Jesus has God’s authority... and a whole new life unfolds for this poor sufferer. A glorious new life unfolds for all who bow their lives to the Lord Jesus: broken sinners and sufferers like you, like me. Let’s come to Jesus now...
Precious Lord, I bow before your majesty, thankful that your powerful salvation love surrounds me. Amen.
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PRAYER FOR TODAY