Key Thought

Today's Prayer

Father, open my eyes to the people around me who are aching to receive the good news of your grace in Jesus. Please give me the words and the wisdom to share Jesus in a loving way. In his name I pray. Amen.

Today's Verses in Context

Jesus and his followers sailed on across the lake. They sailed to the area where the Gerasene people live, across from Galilee. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man from that town came to Jesus. This man had demons inside him. For a long time he had worn no clothes. He lived in the caves where dead people are buried, not in a house. The demon had often seized him. The man had been put in jail, and his hands and feet had been tied with chains. But the man would always break the chains, and the demon inside him would force him to go out to the places where no people lived. Then Jesus commanded the evil spirit (the demon) to come out of this man. The man fell down before Jesus and shouted with a loud voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Please, don't punish me!" Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" The man answered, "Legion." (He said his name was "Legion" because many demons had gone into him.) The demons begged Jesus not to send them into eternal darkness. On that hill there was a big herd of pigs eating. The demons begged Jesus to allow them to go into the pigs. So Jesus allowed the demons to do this. Then the demons came out of the man and went into the pigs. The herd of pigs ran down the hill and into the lake. All the pigs drowned. The men that were caring for the pigs ran away. The men told the story in the fields and in the town. People went out to see what happened. The people came to Jesus and found the man sitting there at the feet of Jesus. The man had clothes on and was in his right mind again; the demons were gone. The people became afraid. The men that saw these things happen told the other people all about how Jesus made the man well. All the people asked Jesus to go away. They were afraid. So Jesus got into the boat to go back to Galilee. The man that Jesus healed begged to go with Jesus. But Jesus sent the man away, saying, "Go back home and tell people what God did for you." So the man went all over town telling whatJesus had done for him.

Related Scripture Readings

But you should keep the Lord Christ holy in your hearts. Always be ready to answer every person who asks you to explain about the hope you have. But answer those people in a gentle way with respect. Always be able to feel that you are doing right. When you do that, the people who say bad things about you will be made ashamed. They say these bad things about the good way you live in Christ. They will be made ashamed for the bad things they said about you.

So Jesus came to them and said, "All authority (power) in heaven and on earth is given to me. So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach those people to obey everything that I have told you. You can be sure that I will be with you always. I will continue with you until the end of the world."

So we continue to tell people about Christ. We use all wisdom to counsel every person and teach every person. We are trying to bring all people before God as people who have grown to be spiritually mature (perfect) in Christ. To do this, I work and struggle using the great strength that Christ gives me. That strength is working in my life.