Episode 659

TODAY’S READING

21 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching.

22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.

23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out,

24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are–the Holy One of God.”

25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!”

26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.

27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”

28 And at once, his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.

Mark 1:21-28

What I wanted to focus on here were two things. The first is that they recognized that God had authority when he was teaching that Jesus carried the authority of God because Jesus was 100% Man, but also 100% God, and here it’s evident that his teachings were different from what they were used to. He was different because not only was he a teacher with authority, but he wasn’t teaching the way they were used to with the scribes. So there was something different about Jesus from the start. Beyond that, I loved that when he did this miracle when he performed the miracle, two things were said; the first is that even the unclean spirit had to obey Him. And the second was that this miracle caused fame upon him in this town and everybody knew of him. So what that tells me is that when God does something in your life, everybody will be talking about it. 

It will spread like wildfire because everybody will be astonished by the authority that you have allowed God to take over your life. And they will be astonished by the things that he does in your lives, the things that he casts out of your life, and the blessings that He brings into your life. So today’s prayers is a simple one; we recognize the authority that God has recognized his teachings are different from anything we’ve ever learned elsewhere. There is no greater wisdom on this planet than the wisdom we find in the Bible. And then beyond that, we recognize that when God moves on our behalf when God moves in our lives, other people will be talking, told that that’s a good thing in our situation because we want people talking about how God moves in our lives. We want them to know Jesus personally because they get to see him in action in our lives. So the next time God does something good shatter from the mountaintop tops, look at a friend who may be meeting that little ounce of joy and hope in their lives that God is good. If he can work in your life, he can work at heart.

Prayer:

Father, God, we thank You, Lord, for this beautiful Thursday. Thank you for the opportunity to gather in your name. Thank you for the opportunity to get to know you more through the different miracles that you performed. Lord, here we’re talking about the time in which Jesus healed a man with an unclean spirit who recognized that Jesus has authority, Lord, the authority that you granted him authority over our lives and that his teachings are pure. They have such authority on them that we get to lean into them. We get to allow them to lead us as you walk into different situations. And we recognize that the best wisdom that we can find it here in this Bible. We don’t need to go elsewhere looking for wisdom. We know that you have it for us right on these pages. And then, Lord, beyond that, we pray that we remember that everything submits to you, even unclean spirits. You are the king of all. We thank you for protecting us. We thank you for guiding us. May you continue to work in our lives. May we continue to spread the goodness and the testimony of when you move so that when you do move, others will be talking about it. We love you. We ask that you bless us this beautiful Thursday and protect us. Visit your son’s mighty name that we pray. Amen.