Mark 5:18-20

This commentary or exposition (I don't know the better word to use... Simply Google-ing might work, but its VERY late. Ha!) really made broadcasting the following important to me because of the powerful description and deconstruction of what was a confusing passage. I had always know this story, but when I slowed myself down in reading the verses of "Jesus Heals a Man with a Demon, Mark 5:1-20" some of it didn't seem to flow with how Jesus had worked previously in Mark. Like I said, I've read this passage before and reading back over it didn't change what I originally thought about it in my heart and head.

What it did for me was paint an even grander, beautiful picture of this miracle. Jesus worked such an amazing thing here that Mark took more time describing this one exorcism than usual. This commentary/exposition was a reminder to myself that what I can't comprehend or understand about my own life and its direction doesn't always need my own understanding. Its a reminder to trust God and to trust His plans for my life. God's in control and that's an awesome thing! Furthermore, God desires me, wants a relationship with me and always loves me! I am going to continue to stumble and struggle with life's temptations and my own desires, but God always loves me and always will. He's going to be with me even when he seems to be "on the other side of the lake"and I'm sometimes left in places that "begged him to depart." He is with me (you) always.

Below is copy and pasted from - Reference: http://biblehub.com/commentaries/mark/5-18.htm

Gospel for Asia

Gospel for Asia ministries has produced "Forgotten Christmas."  Take a moment to view the video, then let's continue our conversation.



It's estimated that Americans will spend $400 billion on Christmas this year.  Forty percent of the toys given in December will be broken by March.  Fifty percent of us will spend more than we can afford.  A third of us will take six months to pay off our Christmas spending.  And 20 percent will have trouble making their mortgage or rent payment in January because of Christmas spending.

The commercialism of Christmas continues apace.  Kmart aired its first Christmas ad last September.  More than a dozen major retailers will be open all day Thanksgiving for Christmas shopping, rendering Abraham Lincoln's vision of "a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father" less relevant than ever.

How do we balance the holiday of Christmas with the holy day of Christ's birth?

Paul instructed Timothy: "As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment" (1 Timothy 6:17, NRSV).  Here we find two truths in apparent conflict.

On one hand, we are not to confuse prosperity with purpose.  Paul warns that riches are "uncertain"—the Greek word describes a foundation that could crumble and cause the house to collapse.  Hebrews 13:5 warns us to "keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have."  1 Timothy 6:10 adds that "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils."  Ecclesiastes 5:10 predicts, "He who loves money will not be satisfied with money."

On the other hand, God "richly" (plousios, abundantly, extremely) gives us what we have for our "enjoyment" (apolausis, pleasure, profit, advantage, joyfulness).  Our Father has "plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope" (Jeremiah 29:11).

A way to harmonize these truths is to use our material possessions for eternal purposes.  From Abraham and Barnabas to today, the Lord uses wealth for his glory and our good.  According to the Gospel for Asia video, one percent of what we spend on Christmas gifts would provide clean water to over a billion people in South Asia and a Bible to everyone in the world.  By giving that amount to ministries, millions could hear about the first Christmas for the first time this year.

How can we make Christmas less commercial and more spiritual?  Please share your thoughts in our comments section.  And ask the Lord how he wants the holidays to be holy days for you and your family.  Mother Teresa was right: "It is Christmas every time you let God love others through you."

- Written by Jim Denison

God, Today Please Remind Me That You Love Me

Saturday, January 7, 2012 - 6:00PM CT

This morning I prayed for God to remind me that he loves me.  I don't think I asked how much.

I woke up around 8 this morning, which is early for me by the way, to get ready for a coaches meeting I had to be at at 9.  After showering and getting out the door I headed to Brookhaven Country Club.  On my was there is when I am pretty sure I prayed the prayer, "Lord, please today show me, remind me that you love me."  My mom had had a meeting a couple of days before with our pastor at PCBC about wanting to rejoin the church.  He told her he prayed a similar prayer every day.  Finally today I prayed it.

I got lost on my way to the country club and was actually a couple minutes late.  I was so worried about making a bad impression with one of the dads that was going to be there as well.  I got there finally and he couldn't have been more awesome about it.  I had met him once before and he was a super nice guy to begin with.  The meeting went great and I got out of there in time to just barely make it to my 11am shift at the restraunt I work at.

The restraunt was very stressful today with some of my coworkers not being in good moods.  I went abou my business but still complained aloud to other coworkers and mentally in my head.  Just not the best day at work although all the customers I had were actually very pleasant and I was happy to serve them.  That made the shift not as bad as I was trying to make it seem.  During that shift when things weren't so bright I prayed the prayer again knowing that I was stressing out about things too much.  "Lord, please remind me today that you love me."

When I got off work I went home to meet my friend about looking at apartments.  My mom, also being our realtor, my friend and I went downtown to look at some places.  It was a good experience and we got a lot out of it as far as knowledge of what we were looking at.  It was cool with the three of us and happy we all got to go together.

When we got back home it was finally time to go see friends and relax for the night.  I headed to Tom Thumb to pick up some beer for me and my friend.  When I got back to the parking lot to head to my friend's new awesome apartment I sat there for a second.  I thought, "It doesn't seem like God answered y prayer today.  Did I miss something?"  So I prayed the prayer again sitting in the parking lot with the radio off.  I realized today wasn't even over and maybe there was something extraordinary he had in mind.  I prayed a third time, "Lord, please show me/remind me that you love me."

It was like I had a revelation.  What was I thinking!  God had been showing me all day how much he loved me.  When I say revelation, I mean that I can't even write down how many times throughout the day God HAD shown me.  It wasn't one or two things, it was continuous!  Sure, sin was still in my life and had invaded my day, but God revealed to me how much he loves me all the time.  The story of my day that I have written above does no justice for accounting for the love God revealed to me when I prayed for the for the third time in that parking lot.  I drove from Tom Thumb to Henderson Avenue dealing with some traffic with the radio off.  The love I recalled through the day kept being revealed to me one by one, one thing after the other.  I didn't get moved to tears but I got emotional and felt the Holy Spirit inside me more than I have felt in a while.  I had to write it down.  Now, I need to blog it.

On that drive to Henderson Avenue I felt God calling me to blog things like this.  I haven't written in a long time.  I realized that I have always felt a need to share God's love and still don't think I'm meant for the pulpit or anything.  I think though that God has a way, multiple ways, this being one, to use me to share his love.   I am still on my journey and will be for the rest of my life but if this is a step in the right direction then Praise Him!  All Glory to God in the Highest!

Brian Wilson: Rage Platform

While I like to talk baseball and discuss my personal thoughts and opinions on the game I also try to incorporate my personal relationship with Jesus Christ into my blogging, whether it be a post about baseball players who influence me or simply songs that inspire me.  I don't think that God has plans for me to be a preacher or even a teacher to some extent but I do believe the Lord has put in me the ability to share His Word.  I am taking strides in my life to develop and continue to grow my relationship with the Lord and even though I do stumble and come up short of his desires for my life He continues to work in me.

I am a baseball fan if you didn't notice by my web page design.  How could I not know more about this guy Brian Wilson?  I now know who Brian Wilson the Major League Baseball player is especially after watching him be utterly dominant throughout the postseason eventually striking out Nelson Cruz to end my beloved Texas Rangers' World Series Championship run.  It was a sad moment for me and all Rangers fans.  After that final pitch, as he does after every successful game, Brian Wilson turns around touches his wrist, puts a circle to his mouth, makes an X with his arms pointed to the sky and looks up.  This is not a taunt to anybody but instead something he started to do for himself and has ended up being the platform he uses for the whole world to see.

My friends at home are great at finding random website links through a multitude of sources. I went back this spring break knowing I'd see more.  One of my friends who is all about Deadspin articles told me about Brian Wilson and The Machine.  Now, this wasn't the first time I had heard about them and I guess I might have been more informed about who or what they are if I hadn't been working all summer at a camp where I had minimal access to the internet.  Even just recently, before Spring Break, MLB 2K11 has been running their promotional campaign for the game with Brian Wilson being a key cog in the process.  After seeing him on TV so many times I started thinking, "That guy is so cool... even though he's on the Giants and they beat the Rangers and... they beat the Rangers."  Infatuated with the dude's persona I thought it only made sense to do the mo-hawk because I was already trying to find a way to cut my hair short.

This is the video that had me cracking up!

After going through many a YouTube video I saw his interview with Jay Leno.  He wasn't being funny (funny as usual) but had more of a talk show talk thing going.  Leno asked Wilson about about his postgame X thing he does and he explained that it was for The One God and his father who passed away when he was 17.  That floored me!  I was like "WOW!  This crazy dude has a relationship with the same God I do!? Are we talking about the same Savior here?  I can see it but let me dig a little deeper."  So I googled Brian Wilson Christian and this was the first video that popped up and I felt overjoyed.

Praise Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior!