Day Twenty-three: Tag Along (Mark 5:18-20)
Devotional: Younger brothers are a real fascination. They will get roughed up and made fun of but will still come back for more. Younger brothers tend to adore their older brothers. They want to try to keep up with he and his friends. Oftentimes as the brothers get older they become the best of friends. But as kids, the younger brothers can be an annoyance, seen simply as a “tag along”.
The Bible says that there’s one “who sticks closer than a brother”. Ultimately, this is Jesus. He’s the “Older Brother”, the One who protects and defends. We are “joint heirs with Jesus”. And the good news is that Jesus doesn’t get annoyed and won’t prevent us from “tagging along”. However, it almost looks that way in today’s passage, doesn’t it?
The man that Jesus healed simply wanted to go with Jesus. But Jesus wouldn’t let him. What’s the deal with that? It’s because Jesus had a plan for the man’s life. He was going to use him to reach others for Jesus. And it wasn’t a complicated strategy to do so. Jesus said to the man, “tell them how much the Lord has done for you” (v. 19).
We tend to complicate serving God and sharing Jesus. Really, it’s not too complicated at all. Just make it a priority to tell others all that God had done for you! And what was the response of the people? Verse 20 says, “everyone marveled”. How important is it for us to see the people in our lives marvel at Jesus? Sometimes we want people to marvel at us. We want people to be impressed with us. But the way of Jesus is to live that others might be impressed with Jesus.
Who are some people in your life that need Jesus? That need to understand that He can cast out of their lives the “demons” that have controlled their lives for so long. His death and resurrection ensures the potential for victory over sin and death. Will you make it a priority to tell them all that God has done for you? And let them know that God can do it for them as well!
Prayer: Make a list of some of the things that God has done for you over the years. Take time to pray and give thanks for those things. Next to each one, think of person who needs God to do a similar thing for them. Take time to pray for the opportunity to share those things with them.
Devotional: Younger brothers are a real fascination. They will get roughed up and made fun of but will still come back for more. Younger brothers tend to adore their older brothers. They want to try to keep up with he and his friends. Oftentimes as the brothers get older they become the best of friends. But as kids, the younger brothers can be an annoyance, seen simply as a “tag along”.
The Bible says that there’s one “who sticks closer than a brother”. Ultimately, this is Jesus. He’s the “Older Brother”, the One who protects and defends. We are “joint heirs with Jesus”. And the good news is that Jesus doesn’t get annoyed and won’t prevent us from “tagging along”. However, it almost looks that way in today’s passage, doesn’t it?
The man that Jesus healed simply wanted to go with Jesus. But Jesus wouldn’t let him. What’s the deal with that? It’s because Jesus had a plan for the man’s life. He was going to use him to reach others for Jesus. And it wasn’t a complicated strategy to do so. Jesus said to the man, “tell them how much the Lord has done for you” (v. 19).
We tend to complicate serving God and sharing Jesus. Really, it’s not too complicated at all. Just make it a priority to tell others all that God had done for you! And what was the response of the people? Verse 20 says, “everyone marveled”. How important is it for us to see the people in our lives marvel at Jesus? Sometimes we want people to marvel at us. We want people to be impressed with us. But the way of Jesus is to live that others might be impressed with Jesus.
Who are some people in your life that need Jesus? That need to understand that He can cast out of their lives the “demons” that have controlled their lives for so long. His death and resurrection ensures the potential for victory over sin and death. Will you make it a priority to tell them all that God has done for you? And let them know that God can do it for them as well!
Prayer: Make a list of some of the things that God has done for you over the years. Take time to pray and give thanks for those things. Next to each one, think of person who needs God to do a similar thing for them. Take time to pray for the opportunity to share those things with them.
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