He had lost all control of himself, along with his decency and dignity. they isolated him and did their best not to Only Jesus was able to do what neither the demon-possessed man, nor his neighbors, could- Restore him as one made in the image of -Come out of the man, unclean spirit-- Satan desires to distort and destroy God-s--image in men and women. But Jesus came in power to destroy these graciously uses His authority to restore desperate the situation.

Are you a practical atheist- Do you profess belief in God, yet struggle to depend upon Him when life gets dark, difficult, So did Jesus- first followers. you are so fearful- How is it that you have no faith-- Jesus heal the sick and liberate the demonpossessed. happened to them personally. Their faith inJesus- authority had not really been tested. One day that changed.

For sure, one of the first things a new believer notices is a drastic change in appetites- Not necessarily pasta vs. salad but and His people where there was none before- And this is all accompanied by a new disdain In fact, before we met Jesus, the real things of God and His kingdom were not only unperceivable to us. Think back on Jesus- conversation with Nicodemus - -Jesus answered and said to him, -Truly, he cannot see the kingdom of God.-

God has chosen to bring His rule to this earth by involving ordinary people like us. He is not using political means, social reform, a strong military, nor slick marketing campaigns. He-s using everyday disciples who faithfully sow gospel seeds with their lives and words. A unstoppable. -- the earth yields crops by itself-- Mark 4-28 -NKJV-- so, the gospel has power within itself - the very power of God - to produce eternal life. -- I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes-- Romans 1-16 -NKJV-

None of us would intentionally misuse the gospel. Would we- Jesus says the gospel gets misused every time it is concealed by those who possess it. -Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed- Is it not to be set on a lampstand-- Mark 4-21 -NKJV- We who have received the gospel are meant to share it as lamps shining light into darkness. Just as lamps use up their oil and are replenished to usefulness, so it is in the life of Christ-s disciples. Growing Christians are those who are constantly being used by God to bring the gospel of His kingdom to others, and are continuously replenished by Him as this work is carried out.

-Listen- Behold-- Jesus- parable of the sower begins and ends with a strong summons to hear. -He who has ears to hear, let him hear-- Mark 4-3,9 -NKJV- God-s kingdom is rightly understood only by and responding in faith and obedience ears. Satan, the enemy of souls, works relentlessly rightly. content us with shallow emotionalism, or choke our attention with earthly preoccupations.

-And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them-- Mark 16-20 -NKJV- If you want to see the Lord at work, turn your energy to the Lord-s work- That saying came to my mind during our recent trip to southern India, where the work of Christ building His church is robust, dynamic, and visible. Our brothers and sisters in Kerala face growing pressure from their Hindu-dominated government, yet remain joyfully focused on making Christ known. By God-s grace, churches are growing stronger, and more numerous, in a climate of poverty and persecution

Is there an unpardonable sin- If so, what is it- How do I know whether I-ve committed such a sin- leaders contains a chilling, muchmisunderstood warning- -- he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject As important as it is to understand Jesus- promise that precedes it- -All sins will be forgiven the sons of men-- -Mark 3-28- for those who seek Him. For repentantcaptivity- He exerts His power to free us from sin-s strongholds

Doesn-t it seem like Romans 8-28 is worn out- -And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.- Isn-t it tempting at times to read quickly through that verse because it-s one of the few we-ve actually memorized- Not necessarily because of our spiritual discipline of meditation on God-s word but simply because our Christian culture has Nevertheless, there it is. Staring boldly at us from the text of the most profound work ever penned. It was breathed from the mouth of our wonderful Father and written to give us a full understanding of our relationship with Him in Christ Jesus.

What if God changed His mind- What if someone from our past came along and convinced Him that we were the wrong choice- closet. The things we don-t share on Sunday. What if God decided He-d made a mistake- Or what if our life situation got so bad hold on any longer - not one more moment. the face. Completely exhausted, our grip slipping, on the verge of falling away. What if everything went wrong- -Who will separate us from the -Rom 8-35a-