From Gary... Living in a gutter

My granddaughter Elizabeth took this picture when she was walking with Linda.  I thought it was unusual  that flowers should grow in a gutter then and my opinion has not changed at all.  It occurred to me that some people are like this flower.  They live only for today and their lives are lived in a gutter.  Doubt that, well, listen to teenagers today- the language some of them use is atrocious.  Actually, I think it is more foolishness that anything else and is indicative of an unregenerated life.  Paul puts it this way...

Titus, Chapter 3

3 For we were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.  4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love toward mankind appeared,  5 not by works of righteousness, which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,  6 whom he poured out on us richly, through Jesus Christ our Savior;  7 that, being justified by his grace, we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.  8 This saying is faithful, and concerning these things I desire that you affirm confidently, so that those who have believed God may be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men;  

You are known by what you say and what you do.  Think about both things!!!  Like that flower that lives in the gutter, people notice how you live- so does God!!! The Good News is... people can change!!!  Jesus can help you "clean up your act" and live like you were intended to live.  Like Paul said:  "8 This saying is faithful, and concerning these things I desire that you affirm confidently, so that those who have believed God may be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men; " 

From Jim McGuiggan... Smike and Nicholas Nickelby

Smike and Nicholas Nickelby

Smike had never known fair treatment much less kind treatment and in the Dotheboys Hall School run by Mr. and Mrs. Squeers, enslaved and abused, his torment had only grown more intense. The new teacher Nicholas Nickelby was a different sort of person and in meeting him Smike met someone who treated him like a human to be cared for and nurtured rather than a whipping boy when someone with an ill temper wanted to ease his/her spleen. In the face of the boundless cruelty of the Squeers—shown to the entire body of children under their care—Nickelby resigned from the school in defiance of the Squeers' wishes.

Smike saw the young teacher as his hope for life and unknown to Nicholas he followed him away from the school, not showing himself in case Nickelby were to send him back. The teacher spent a night in a barn and in the morning he suddenly wakened and found Smike there; Nickelby had wakened without warning and Smike had no time to hide. Now discovered he begged to be allowed: "To go with you—anywhere—everywhere—to the world's end—to the churchyard grave."

The teacher's life's situation was not at all an easy one and while he feels a deep compassion for the boy he tells him he has little to offer by way of help but Smike is not put off and desperate for the warmth of friendship, or, even if friendship is too much to ask, he wants to know, "May I—may I go with you? I will be your faithful, hard-working servant, I will indeed. I want no clothes…I only want to be near you."

"And so you shall," said the teacher. "And the world shall deal by you as it does by me, till one or both of us shall quit it for a better."

Both were as good as their words.

In a world of quick-change passions, of outrageous pre-nuptial agreements, broken contracts, worthless promises, "sweet" marriage vows that vanish like morning mist, friendships that were "treasured" as long as one person ceaselessly pleased the other—in a world awash with so much uncertainty it's a breath of life to be certain of someone!

To read the commitment Ruth made and stuck with it (Ruth 1:16-18) makes your soul rise to its feet and cheer. Yesssssssss! To read of the mutual commitment of Smike and Nickelby generates the same feeling because it's the same thing.

Dickens' writing has remained one of the grandeurs of English life and literature. It isn't all sweetness and light for his own life wasn't like that. There's a lot of pain and loss in his writing and that reminds us that he stayed in touch with life as a whole. He didn't become the noted author he is by writing perfumed bubble and froth or simplistic moral platitudes (which is what much of the popular Christian literature is). Nor did he write dark hopeless muck or leave us wringing our hands in abject despair or make heroes of villains. He continued to remind us of the possibilities and potential of life; he speaks of happy endings without apology and makes us believe that honest commitments not only can be made but that they can be kept through thick and thin. What's more, he shows us the glory of such people and makes us want to be like that.

He touches the depths of life and enables us to see that there's more than evil in the world. And while there is evil in the world that is hard to explain if God is good, Dickens and people like him remind us that there is good in the world and that is hard to explain if there is no God that is good.

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

From Mark Copeland... Who Was Afraid Of Jesus?

                          "THE GOSPEL OF MARK"

                   Who Was Afraid Of Jesus? (5:1-20)

INTRODUCTION

1. After calming the storm, Jesus and His disciples arrived in the
   country of the Gadarenes... - Mk 5:1
   a. A region on the east side of the Sea of Galilee
   b. Variously called Gadarenes, Gersasenes, and Gergesenes (after
      nearby cities)
   c. Also known as the Decapolis (a district of ten cities) - Mk 5:20

2. After taming a wild sea, Jesus now tames a wild man (Hendriksen)...
   a. A man possessed with unclean spirit - Mk 5:2
   b. Unable to be bound by chains, night and day crying and cutting
      himself - Mk 5:3-5
   c. Moved to worship Jesus by the legion of demons that possessed him
      - Mk 5:6-9
   d. The demons begged not to be tormented or sent out of the country
      - Mk 5:7,10
   e. Asking to be able to fill a herd of swine, they are allowed, only
      to drown them - Mk 5:11-13
   f. The swine feeders fled to tell others, who when seeing the
      demoniac in his right mind, begged for Jesus to leave their region
      - Mk 5:14-17
   g. As Jesus returns to his boat, the healed man pleads to join Him,
      but is sent home to tell others what the Lord has done - Mk 5:18-20

[In studying Mark's account of the healing of the demoniac and the
events which followed, I was struck by the fear of Jesus manifested in
this story.  So I ask, "Who Was Afraid Of Jesus?"  Was it...]

I. THE DEMONS WHO WERE LEGION?

   A. YES, AND JUSTIFIABLY SO...
      1. They begged Jesus not to torment them - Mk 5:7
      2. Note the similarity to the unclean spirit(s) in the synagogue
         - Mk 1:23-24
      3. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil - 1Jn 3:8
      4. The demons (unclean spirits) knew the time was coming - Mt 8:29
      5. Indeed, everlasting fire is prepared for the devil and his
         angels - Mt 25:41
      6. Even now there are sinful angels bound by "chains of darkness"
         - 2Pe 2:4; Jude 9
      7. One day the devil himself will be cast into the lake of fire
         - Re 20:10
      -- Yes, the demons who were legion were terrified of Jesus!

   B. WE SHOULD BE AFRAID...
      1. If we are not ready for the coming of the Lord - 2Th 1:7-9
      2. We too will experience everlasting fire prepared for the devil
         and his angels - Mt 25:41,46
      3. Those not in the Book of life will not escape the lake of fire
         - Re 20:15; 21:8
      -- Yes, we should be terrified of Jesus if we are not ready!

[As we return to our text (Mk 5:1-20) with our question ("Who Was Afraid
Of Jesus?"), was it...]

II. THE DENIZENS OF THE REGION?

   A. YES, BUT UNJUSTIFIABLY SO...
      1. When they came to Jesus and saw the healed demoniac, they were
         afraid - Mk 5:14-15
      2. They pleaded with Jesus to depart from their region - Mk 5:17
      3. Their fear was the fear of the unknown, and they were unwilling
         to know
      4. Their fear deprived them of great blessings!
      -- Yes, the denizens of the region were foolishly afraid of
         learning more about Jesus!

   B. WE SHOULD NOT BE AFRAID...
      1. Of learning about Jesus, for He offers rest for our souls - Mt11:28-30
      2. Of coming to Jesus, for He is the source of every spiritual
         blessing - Ep 1:3
      3. Of obeying Jesus, for His words will free us from the bondage
         of sin - Jn 8:31-32,34-36
      4. Of following Jesus, for His words will provide safety in life's
         storms - Mt 7:24-27
      -- No, we should not be afraid to learn whatever we can about
         Jesus!

[Finally, as we consider "Who Was Afraid Of Jesus?", we ask if it
was...]

III. THE DEMONIAC WHO WAS HEALED?

   A. NO, AND JUSTIFIABLY NOT...
      1. He begged to be with Jesus, but Jesus had other plans for him
         - Mk 5:18-19
      2. He was not afraid of Jesus, nor afraid to tell others about
         Jesus - Mk 5:20
      3. Jesus had done great things for Him, and telling others led
         them to marvel - Mk 5:20
      -- No, he who was healed by Jesus was not afraid of Jesus!

   B. WE SHOULD NOT BE AFRAID...
      1. Of Jesus, for He loved us and washed us from our sins!- Re 1:5
      2. Of telling others about Jesus, who has given us great hope
         - 1Pe 3:15
      -- No, we who have been saved by Jesus should never be afraid of
         Jesus!

CONCLUSION

1. Who was afraid of Jesus...?
   a. Those unwilling to repent of their sins
   b. Those unwilling to learn about Jesus

2. Who was not afraid of Jesus...?
   a. The one who appreciated what Jesus had done for him
   b. The one who was willing to tell others what Jesus had done

3. Who are we more like in this story...?
   a. The demons who were legion?
   b. The denizens of the region?
   c. The demoniac who was healed?

The nature of our relationship with Jesus reveals the answer.  Do we
want to be with Jesus?  Are we willing to tell others about Jesus?  Or
are we afraid of Jesus...?

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011