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Mark 5:1-8 - Lover of souls
Scripture:
Mark 5:1-8
1 They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the
Gerasenes.
2 When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an
unclean spirit met Him,
3 and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind
him anymore, even with a chain;
4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the
chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces,
and no one was strong enough to subdue him.
5 Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in
the mountains, and gashing himself with stones.
6 Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him;
7 and shouting with a loud voice, he said, "What business do we have
with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God,
do not torment me!"
8 For He had been saying to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean
spirit!"
NASU
Thoughts:
One of the most dramatic, memorable, and heart-warming stories of the
Bible. Who cannot be moved by seeing this man, tormented to the point
of living like a wild animal, even practicing self-mutilation (verse
5), set free and in his right mind:
Mark 5:15a
15 They came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon-possessed
sitting down, clothed and in his right mind
NASU
This man was under the control of demons and behaved in ways that made
others run from him. He was dangerous; out of control; he had injured
himself no doubt leaving ugly scars. This was not the sort of person
most of us would intuitively look at and say, there's something
beautiful here. But Jesus wasn't repelled by the man, He immediately
engaged in conversation with him and sought to solve his real problem.
Sometimes we are painfully aware of our ugliness before the Lord. We
are so imperfect before Him. Even as believers, we still battle with
temptation
and sin. But Jesus loves us. Like this man, He wants to fix what is
wrong in us. How amazing! On our ugliest day, He cares for our
souls. What is stopping us today, from coming to Him for help?
Prayer:
Lord, like this man I need Your touch to rescue me from the sin that so
easily entangles in this world. Any sin brings ugliness into my life.
Thank You for Your deliverance! Having received You as Savior, You
have set me free from all my sin by the power of Your cleansing
blood.
Amen
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