Day Four-August 20
Another day, another devo!
Today is the day when we finally get to the main, miraculous story about our demon-possessed man from Mark chapter 5. We’ve heard about how he and others have shared his story, but now we are finally getting to hear it!
Today I want to cover Mark 5:1-13. I would highly encourage you to go read this section of scripture on your own, because here, today, we will just hit the highlights.
Basically what happens is this: One day a man possessed by a demon came out from a graveyard to meet Jesus. Now this man was crazy! He was running around half-naked, busting through chains, screaming, and hurting himself. Nothing could restrain this man... The demon had a tight hold on him.
Well, demons, actually.
Multiple.
This evil spirit called himself “Legion” because there were so many demons making up the one evil spirit inside this man. (‘Legion’ was a military term used by the Romans that referred to a military unit made up of 5 or 6 thousand soldiers. So imagine 6 thousand demons possessing this man! No bueno.)
These demons knew who Jesus was and were afraid of His power. They begged Jesus not to torture them. When Jesus told them to come out of the possessed man, the demons asked Him for permission to enter a herd of pigs. Jesus granted them that request, and then the demons, in all of their chaos, ran the pigs down a cliff and into a lake where they drowned.
So to make a short story shorter. Man possessed by demons. Demons fear Jesus. Demons leave man and enter pigs. Pigs drown. Man is set free.
My study bible says this about this man’s story: “Just about everything in this situation would make Jesus and his disciples unclean under Jewish law - they were in Gentile territory, the demon-possessed man was living in a cemetery, and a herd of pigs was nearby. This was the last place we should expect to find them. But they went there to minister, resulting in the transformation of someone’s life and a powerful witness. God may lead you to minister to surprising people in startling places for him. Trust him and follow his lead.”
God may call us to share our story with people we might never choose on our own. He can (and will!) call us to step out of our comfort zones to share our faith. All we have to do is trust Him, and He will take care of the rest.
I want to point out something though that is more important than us stepping into unexpected places.. I want to remind you that God stepped into an unexpected place for YOU. God the Father sent His perfect Son, Jesus, to earth to die a brutal death on a cross to pay the price for my sin. For your sin. He stepped into an unexpected place. He didn’t deserve that punishment - we do. But in His mercy, He came and took it for us.
Without recognizing that, we have no story to tell. The only story of my life that matters is that I was trapped in sin, but now I am set free. Only because of Jesus. All because He came to this unexpected, sinful, graveyard of a place… for me. For you.
This is our story.
-Allie
Today is the day when we finally get to the main, miraculous story about our demon-possessed man from Mark chapter 5. We’ve heard about how he and others have shared his story, but now we are finally getting to hear it!
Today I want to cover Mark 5:1-13. I would highly encourage you to go read this section of scripture on your own, because here, today, we will just hit the highlights.
Basically what happens is this: One day a man possessed by a demon came out from a graveyard to meet Jesus. Now this man was crazy! He was running around half-naked, busting through chains, screaming, and hurting himself. Nothing could restrain this man... The demon had a tight hold on him.
Well, demons, actually.
Multiple.
This evil spirit called himself “Legion” because there were so many demons making up the one evil spirit inside this man. (‘Legion’ was a military term used by the Romans that referred to a military unit made up of 5 or 6 thousand soldiers. So imagine 6 thousand demons possessing this man! No bueno.)
These demons knew who Jesus was and were afraid of His power. They begged Jesus not to torture them. When Jesus told them to come out of the possessed man, the demons asked Him for permission to enter a herd of pigs. Jesus granted them that request, and then the demons, in all of their chaos, ran the pigs down a cliff and into a lake where they drowned.
So to make a short story shorter. Man possessed by demons. Demons fear Jesus. Demons leave man and enter pigs. Pigs drown. Man is set free.
My study bible says this about this man’s story: “Just about everything in this situation would make Jesus and his disciples unclean under Jewish law - they were in Gentile territory, the demon-possessed man was living in a cemetery, and a herd of pigs was nearby. This was the last place we should expect to find them. But they went there to minister, resulting in the transformation of someone’s life and a powerful witness. God may lead you to minister to surprising people in startling places for him. Trust him and follow his lead.”
God may call us to share our story with people we might never choose on our own. He can (and will!) call us to step out of our comfort zones to share our faith. All we have to do is trust Him, and He will take care of the rest.
I want to point out something though that is more important than us stepping into unexpected places.. I want to remind you that God stepped into an unexpected place for YOU. God the Father sent His perfect Son, Jesus, to earth to die a brutal death on a cross to pay the price for my sin. For your sin. He stepped into an unexpected place. He didn’t deserve that punishment - we do. But in His mercy, He came and took it for us.
Without recognizing that, we have no story to tell. The only story of my life that matters is that I was trapped in sin, but now I am set free. Only because of Jesus. All because He came to this unexpected, sinful, graveyard of a place… for me. For you.
This is our story.
-Allie
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Day One-August 17Day Two-August 18Day Three-August 19Day Four-August 20Day Five-August 21Day Six-August 22Day Seven-August 23Day Eight-August 24The Author-August 25The Author (part 2)-August 26The Author (part 3)-August 27The Author (part 4)-August 28Comfort-August 29When I Get Where I’m Going-August 30Qualified-August 31
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