God Speaks
Jesus Taught in Parables and Healed Many, Including a Demon-Possessed Man
Verse of the Day:
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Watch TBR Day 288
We Respond
Mark 4
Reflection: Jesus taught a large crowd while he was in a boat. One of the stories He told was the parable of the soils. He later explained the parable to His disciples. It was meant to illustrate various people’s responses to God’s message when they hear it. Hard hearts, shallow hearts, distracted hearts, and good, receptive, and fruitful hearts are all represented. The importance of putting into practice what a person hears was one of Jesus’ main points. Calming a storm when the disciples were overwhelmed with fear proved who Jesus really was, and they were astonished.
Prayer: Lord God, by Your Holy Spirit, cultivate my heart so that I become fruitful soil for Your Word. May I pay attention to what I hear and shine so that people see You, not me. May I be like a patient farmer sowing the seed of Your Word, watching it grow in the lives of others. Lord, please calm the storms of fear, doubt, and any other difficulty in my life. May I simply trust and obey You. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will write out what God appears to be teaching me so that other concerns can’t so easily snatch it away.
- I will ask the Holy Spirit to show me if I am truly bearing fruit with what He is teaching me.
- I will intentionally put into practice something I hear in a sermon this month.
- I will cry out to God and then trust Him during a storm I am facing in my life.
Mark 5
Reflection: The first thing Jesus encountered as His boat arrived at His destination (the region of the Gadarenes) was a man who was oppressed by an evil or unclean spirit. This man was so violent and strong that he lived among the burial tombs and broke any restraints others tried to use to control him, even iron shackles. He wandered around the area day and night screaming and cutting himself with sharp rocks. This man ran to Jesus as He landed. Immediately, Jesus spoke to the demon in the man saying, “Come out of him, you unclean spirit.” Jesus found out the name of the large group of demons and directed them into a herd of pigs as they had requested. The residents of the nearby town heard about this and went out to verify what they had heard. They found the formerly demonized man clothed and in his right mind, “perfectly normal.” He wanted to go with Jesus, but Jesus told him to go back home to his family and friends and tell them what had happened to him. Jesus went back across the lake where Jairus, a leader in the local synagogue, met Him. His twelve-year-old daughter was very sick, and he asked Jesus to come heal her. Just at that time, a woman who had suffered a flow of blood for twelve years touched Jesus’ robe and was secretly healed; however, Jesus confronted her publicly. In the meantime, word came that Jairus’ daughter had died. After encouraging the woman and Jairus in their faith, Jesus proceeded to Jairus’ house and restored the daughter to life.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, only You know to what extent demons (or unclean spirits) are harassing people and causing them to act violently and irrationally, harming other people or even their own bodies. Please set these people free and release them to tell their friends and relatives how You have had mercy on them. May they proclaim all You have done for them (and us) both naturally and spiritually. Thank You also for healing long-standing issues and even bringing life to those presumed dead. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will ask to witness or participate in a deliverance ministry.
- I will encourage someone who has been delivered from demonic oppression or past trauma to share their story as a testimony to God’s grace and goodness.
- I will share this week my testimony of God’s grace and mercy in my life with someone who doesn’t yet belong to Jesus.
- I will, in faith and expectation, bring a long-standing issue in my life to Jesus for healing like the woman with the flow of blood.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.