I was leading a Bible study today, and I was sharing from Mark 5:17, which to me is one of the saddest verses in Scripture, where the Gadarenes asked Jesus to depart from their coasts after He had driven our the evil spirits from the demoniac into their 2,000 swine that perished in the sea. They would be happier if everything went on as it had before He came, even if it meant that man would never have had the life-transforming encounter with Christ that delivered him from such heart-wrenching torment. You see, when Christ comes—change occurs. He breaks up the status quo! Change bothers people...even change for the better! When we read that account many of us would agree that it is an unthinkable thing not to want Jesus in our midst. But I said to the ladies that were there, that I wonder if many of us wouldnt have done the same thing they did simply because we do not like change! We wouldnt want Jesus to upset our status quo either. 1. Many people are open to Jesus as long as He keeps His distance. But when He comes too close, they get uncomfortable. . 2. They like the gentle Jesus of the picture books but not the powerful Christ of the gospels. 3. They like a marble Jesus they can touch for good luck, but they recoil from a Christ who demands their total allegiance. 4. And some are against Christianity because Christianity threatens their business, their lifestyle, their habits, and their personal morality. 5. All of us are apt to ask Jesus to depart when He comes too close and crimps our cherished plans. 6. We want a gentle Jesus who will keep His nose out of our business and who will take us to heaven but won’t interfere in the way we live on the earth. 7. We want a Jesus who builds our self-esteem and makes us happy, but we want nothing to do with the Lord from heaven who calls us to take up our cross and follow Him. This is why the Joel Olsteens of our day are so popular. Thats the Christianity they promote! . 8. And more than a few people today hear the gospel and then say, “If Jesus comes in, something else will have to go, and I don’t want to let go of it.” ~ You see, when Christ comes into a life—change occurs. It will never be business as usual again! But that change will always be for the better. If only we would realize this!~ ~This is an excerpt of what I shared today with a group of ladies.
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 02:16:05 +0000