Tammy On Tuesday ~ “Classic Jesus” Style

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Classic: The word classic means something that is a perfect example of a particular style, something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality. 

I was reading a story in the Bible not long ago and at it’s conclusion, I thought to myself, “Well, isn’t that just Jesus’ classic style!?”  (I hope you’ll take the time to read the whole story in Mark 5:1-16.)

 The story begins with a hopeless situation….Time to call on Jesus!

Its the story in Mark 5 about the man living among the tombstones in a cemetery plagued by many demons.  This man was a mess.  He had serious problems and darkness surrounded his life.  It’s a chaotic scene.  All things considered, it would seem he was a lost cause.  We don’t know how he got there, we just know he’s in a really dark place.

The Bible says,

This man lived among the burial caves and could no longer be restrained, even with a chain. Whenever he was put into chains and shackles—as he often was—he snapped the chains from his wrists and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Day and night he wandered among the burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones.  Mark 5:3-5

I don’t want to dwell on his condition.  I think you see that it’s bleak.  But I do want to point out that I’m glad the story illustrates a person in what might seem the worst situation possible because it helps you and I see that our situations – no matter how difficult they may seem – are not too far from the hand of Jesus.

So let’s just cut to the good part of the story.  Jesus sets the man free in “Classic Jesus” style (So if the Son sets you free, you will be truly free.  John 8:36 ) and those who witnessed His miraculous work run to tell others.  When people begin to show up on the scene…they see what Jesus can do with hopeless situations:

The herdsmen fled to the nearby town and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran. People rushed out to see what had happened. A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons. He was sitting there fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid.   Mark 5:14-16

That’s what Jesus is in the business of doing.  He brings a quiet calm to a person’s life.

We find the man sitting.    We find him fully clothed.    We find him perfectly sane. 

Maybe you are a cheat.  Maybe you are lazy.  Maybe you’re a gossip.  Maybe you’re selfish.  Maybe you’re an addict.  Maybe you feel as though “you really screwed things up this time.”  Maybe you’re enslaved to a particular sin.  It controls you and mocks you. But you’re never too far gone to experience the redemption of Jesus!   Look what Jesus did for this man possessed by demons.

For this man, it seemed there was no hope.

How did he get there?  Have you ever asked yourself this same question?

People feared him and left him to his demise.

Have others left you alone to deal with your mess?

He couldn’t help himself.

Have you lost your way?  Have you lost your strength?

When Jesus comes on the scene, you find that you are no longer defined by what you do or the mess you’re in…it’s about Who you’ve come to know…the One who is sitting there beside you.

 

Notice with me three things about this man’s encounter with Jesus:

First, the man was sitting quietly…He stopped running.

Are you running from the demons of your past…

OR maybe, running to what you thought would satisfy?

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10 – This man knew he had met Jesus.

Second, he was fully clothed…both physically and spiritually – He gives us what we need.

Like this man, when Christ saves us, He clothes us in His righteousness.

I am overwhelmed with joy in the LORD my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit or a bride with her jewels.  Isaiah 61:10

Third, he was perfectly sane…in his right mind

 What comfort and confidence comes from thinking clearly, from seeing life through God’s perspective,  from abiding in the truth that results in a sound mind!

 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7

 

PINIMAGEWe live in a crazy world.  Maybe you aren’t walking among tomb stones.  Maybe you aren’t engulfed in darkness to the degree this man was, but an encounter with Christ changes everything about a crazy situation.  It changes you.  It changes your future.  Notice this man did not stay among the tomb stones.  He went on his way and shared the truth of what Christ can do with others.  His life was living proof of “Classic Jesus”.

Do you know someone who has had this type of encounter with Jesus?  Do you see in their life the signature of  Jesus?  Is that your story?  Do you display the evidences of “Classic Jesus” style in your life?

• Does your  life express a quiet confidence?
• Are you daily clothed in His righteousness?  (His power to live ‘rightly’)
• Has God given you the spirit of power, love and a sound mind?

My prayer is that if there be one who reads today’s blog post that needs to experience the freedom Christ offers, you’ll run to Him.  He will do for you what He always does in His “Classic Jesus” style.