In Our Right Mind

I was reading about the demon-possessed man in Mark 5:1-20 the other day. That is a wild account. Could you imagine living near him? You have heard stories. You know better than to walk close to where he is located. You hear the screams, and no one can stop him. It must have been a terrifying thing. Then this Jesus shows up. Had the townspeople heard about Him? If they had not, they would soon. You have to wonder, “How can Jesus control what was uncontrollable for me and my community?” It points to the fact that He is God, and we should listen to Him.

After the demoniac’s encounter with Jesus, the people saw a man sitting, clothed and in his right mind. I want to ask you, “Have you had an encounter with Jesus, and are you now in your right mind?” What do you mean, am I in my right mind? Of course I am. What I mean is, do we still think like we are in sin? One of the things that coming to Christ should do is change how we think about things. Outside of Christ, our thinking is darkened (Ephesians 4:17-20). So just because I was taught this or have done it this way all my life does not mean it is right. I must be willing to challenge every thought with the word of God. I have to transform from thinking worldly to thinking biblically (Romans 12:2). That is a daily challenge but one we should take up because we know Jesus.

The demon-possessed man wanted to go with Jesus, and Jesus gave him the mission of telling others. When we escape the devil, we see others trapped, and we should want to help them as well (2 Timothy 2:25-26). It will not be easy. Trying to help someone see and understand things differently than what they have always seen or understood can be challenging. We have to be patient and simply plant the word of God in their lives, praying they will accept it, and God will give the increase.

After the Sermon

We just finished our study of the Sermon on the Mount. I hope it was beneficial and challenging to you. Have you ever thought about what happened after the sermon? According to Matthew eight and verse one, when Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. Why? He had just given them some powerful teaching that amazed them (7:28). I think partly that was because He taught as one having authority (7:29). So what else will He teach or do? I do not know, but I am going to follow Him.

In chapter eight verse two, we see a leper desire to be cleansed. This man seems to have great faith in that he believes Jesus can heal him if He desires. What will this Jesus, who we think has all this authority, do? Jesus stretches out His hand and heals the man. The one who taught with authority now shows His authority over sickness. Part of the reason Jesus did miracles was to prove that what He said was something you had better listen to and apply (Acts 2:22). That is what Jesus wanted you to do: to take His words and live them out because what He said was truth (Matthew 7:24-27; John 17:17).

A last lesson I want to cover in this event was that Jesus told the leper to go and show himself to the priest. Why? Well, Jesus tells us Moses commanded it (Leviticus 14). Before Jesus died, these people were still living under the Old Law. Jesus believed and taught people to obey God. Would Jesus not call us to do the same today? Do you think that leper went and showed himself to the priest? I am guessing he did. After being in exile, I think he was so thankful that he would have done whatever Jesus asked. When you think about our situation, we were exiled from God because of our sin, and Jesus paid the price to redeem us. Should that not make us so grateful that we desire to do whatever Jesus wants?

Who Is In?

As I write this on Monday, March 16th, Selection Sunday has just occurred. If you are not familiar with Selection Sunday, it is where the teams for the NCAA basketball tournament are selected and placed in the bracket. I am sure it started last night, but it is in full swing this morning, talking about who is in and who is out. How do they decide? A committee gets to gather and look at things like wins and losses, strength of schedule, and various other things to decide. I have never been a part of the committee, but I am guessing there are some difficult decisions. Some people agree and some disagree with those decisions. So if you are a college basketball fan, it gives you something to talk about.

I am thankful that my status in Christ is not dependent on a committee of humans. Could you imagine a human committee trying to decide who is in Christ and who is out? What would you look at? Wins and losses versus sin? How difficult your life was or any other plethora of factors? What if the committee did not know certain things or were biased toward me? I would be much more nervous than those teams sitting and waiting to see if they got in the tournament.

If we do not make it into Christ on the basis of a human committee, how do we get in Christ? The Bible answers that question in Galatians 3:27 when it says, “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” If I want to be in Christ, I must be baptized into Christ. The basketball team in the tournament can be put out of it if they lose. We can be put out of Christ if we do not continue in Him. 1 John 1:5-10 teaches us that we must continue to walk in the light. What is that light but the way of Christ? Are you in Christ? The answer is very simple if we go back to the Word of God.