Our Response Matters

"And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country."    Mark 5:6-10 (ESV)

The response of Satan and his demonic force is quite impressive. No matter where they are, no matter what is going on, they acknowledge God as God and realized His authority.

Often, the demons seem wiser than the Christian.

The demons realize they are subject to God, yet they realized it too late in that they are on a collision course with hell. All humanity will one day acknowledge God as God. It is tragic that some will realize this fact too late.

We need to make the right choices while we still have the opportunity.

Why am I afraid?

"On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?"”  Mark 4:35-40 (ESV)

I wonder how many times God would say to me, “Why are you so afraid?” My answer would be evident to me, yet silly to God.

When I am right where I belong, why would I be afraid? If I am not where I belong, then my fear is justified. Being where I belong or apart from where I belong is, for now, my choice.

The Little Things

"And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes more significant than all the garden plants and puts out large branches so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” With many such parables, he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. He did not talk to them without a parable, but privately to his disciples, he explained everything."   Mark 4:30-34 (ESV)

I must watch over the little details of life, for they determine the “issues” of the future. Small seeds placed in an environment that allows them to grow will grow, and will, one day, be beneficial or drain me of time and energy as I try to eliminate the effect they have caused.

Both the seeds and the environment in my life are critical, and I must pay close attention to both.  This does not make one a legalist, but it makes one wise.

Healthy Fear

"And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. And when evening came they went out of the city."  Mark 11:18-19 (ESV)

We often try to destroy that which we fear. We try to destroy God rather than fear Him. We try and destroy viruses rather than fear them. We try to eradicate poverty rather than fear it. 

Fear can be a good thing, for it makes our actions align with something more powerful than us. We seem to want to eliminate it because we want nothing to be more powerful than ourselves, yet in reality, many things are more powerful than us. 

The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Those who recognize that God is almighty must respond to that fact just as I respond to viruses by washing my hands and the thought of poverty by planning, working, and saving. 

Reasonable fear is healthy. The elimination of fear, although a natural desire, disconnects us from reality. 

There is an almighty, all-knowing, ever-present God, and I am not Him. My fear for Him is healthy, and I will not attempt to minimize this truth. 

Do we really know God?

And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.”   Mark 3:11 (ESV)

One cannot help but wonder why Satan and the demons would resist God in the first place since whenever they are in God’s presence they fall down, and they acknowledge Him as God.

Think of how powerfully persuasive Satan is. To persuade those who were in the presence of God that God would somehow relinquish his power and authority to Satan is unfathomable.

Satan is so clever that He makes sin look like a good idea, even, perhaps, something God intended us to enjoy. Those who are trapped in sin usually do not know how they got there, and they have no idea how to get out from under its influence.

Many who struggle with sin know God and acknowledge God as God, yet this acknowledgement does nothing to break the power of sin in their lives.

Perhaps they know God like Satan and his demons know God, and therefore remain powerless to overcome the sin that is so natural to the Godless.

A proper relationship with God actually changes our behavior

Religion can be cruel

Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.  Mark 3:1-6 (ESV)

It seems as if Jesus was always looking to see if a Pharisee was in the area.  When they were present, Jesus did something kind to expose their evil.

Religion can be cruel and evil, whereas a relationship with God, true Christianity, is kind.

Anger and grief are normal responses to a Godless religious system that uses rather than loves people, and we would be best to have nothing to do with it.

WHAT TO DO WITH WHAT I KNOW

And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face toward the southland; preach against the south, and prophesy against the forest land in the Negeb. Say to the forest of the Negeb, Hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every green tree in you and every dry tree. The blazing flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from south to north shall be scorched by it. All flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.”  Ezekiel 20:45-48 (ESV)

Prophets have a tough job, yet it’s really not difficult. The tough part is having to declare the absoluteness of God to people who believe in relative “truth” and values. The tough part is having to call people out on their sin, when all others around them have become comfortable in their sins.

The easy part is knowing what God has said and repeating it. Anybody can do that.

Some things never change. Knowing God and what He says is still simple. Speaking to our people about what He has said can be rough. What will I do with what I know?