Author: newlifenarrabri

Quote for the Day

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As long as the Temple remained standing, animal sacrifices were being conducted by the apostate Jewish priesthood. They were going through the religious motions to keep up the appearance of righteousness to deceive the people. The people believed the ark of the covenant was behind the veil in Herod’s Temple, like in the Tabernacle of Moses. Since the destruction of Solomon’s Temple, there had been no ark in the Holy of Holies. This is why it was significant when the veil was torn from the top to the bottom when Jesus died, to reveal the absence of the ark. Cindye Coates

Reflection on Mark 1:21-28

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Scripture

The people were amazed at his teaching for he taught with real authority – quite unlike the teachers of the religious law.

Observation

Jesus and his disciples go to Capernaum. On the Sabbath, Jesus goes to the synagogue to teach, People are amazed at his teaching for he has authority, unlike the teachers of religious law.

A demonised man starts shouting. “Why are you bothering us? Have you come to destroy us?” he shouts.

Jesus orders the demon out of the man. The spirit comes out immediately. This amazes the people even more, because Jesus has authority even over evil spirits.

Application

The teachers of religious law had very little authority in their teaching. They often just resorted to commenting on other, more famous, teachers. But they had nothing new to add of themselves.

The Spirit of God is alive and active. He is always showing us new truths from His Word. We can never fully exhaust the depths of God or of His holy Scriptures.

Jesus cut through the religious propaganda. He is the real truth, the holy Son of God. For that reason, every word he speaks carries the authority of God.

There is no greater authority.

Listening

Lord. What do you want to say to me about this passage?

Keith, the real sign of my authority was the demonised man who screamed at my presence. Satan knows me, as do his evil minions. They tremble at my presence.

When I save a person, their demon flee. As my Spirit invades their spirit, there is no room for evil spirits.

Satan trembles whenever the gospel is preached under my authority. He shrieks when a person surrenders their life to me. He knows his time of mischief making is coming to an end and he resists with all his might.

His might is nothing compared to my authority and the power of my kingdom.

Demons manifested when she accepted Jesus

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From godreports.com

By Asaiah Logan –

When Yasuko Fleming first prayed to accept Jesus in London in 1993, demon spirits showed up enraged.

“Buddha’s face was there. All the gods I used to pray to were right in front of me,” she said. “They told me, ‘Don’t do that.’ … They grabbed me on my shoulder and pull me back and then I I felt my neck was choked.

After an hour of prayer, praise and scripture reading from the woman who led her to Christ, Yasuko was free.
Yasuko Fleming, from Japan, took a year to study in London. Her landlady was a born-again Christian and invited her to know Jesus.

“I didn’t know anyone who believed in Jesus,” she says. “When she said there is only one God, I didn’t agree,” Yasuko said. “I believed in many gods. It made me feel safe. I didn’t want to get disappointed by one or two gods. I wanted to believe as many as I can so that I feel secure.”

The landlady read her a verse about the people who trust God will not be disappointed. It confronted her directly and convinced her that God was speaking to her.

“When I heard that, it felt like a wall inside my mind fell down,” Yasuko said. “I thought, wow, this feels true.”
So she received Jesus into her heart.

Immediately, the demons manifested and engaged in a battle for her soul that lasted an hour. It turns out that the landlady had been praying and fasting for three days to bring Yasuko to Jesus.

“After that, I felt clean,” she said. “I felt peace for the first time in my life.”

Today, Yasuko leads a Christian art and dance community in Tokyo.

Little by littler, her family members all came to Christ. Japan is 1% Christian and has a strong culture of conserving traditional values, so people are resistant to the gospel.

“It was really hard,” she said. “It’s okay if it takes 10 or 20years Just love your family members. Pray for them. Don’t rush. God is patient.”

She says Japan can be reached one person at a time. “Jesus started with twelve people,” she said. “We can start with whoever is near us.”

Now at All Nations Art Community in Tokyo, she teaches dance and English, runs a café, leads a prayer room, and holds small church services. Sometimes she sings or dances outside. “People stop and watch,” she said. “I can feel the whole atmosphere change.”

Even after all these years, she remembers that first prayer. “Jesus walked toward me,” she said. “And I felt like He had been waiting for me for a long time.”

This article first appeared on Pilgrim Dispatch.