Another Gospel

9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, 11 for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works. – 2 John 1:9-11 ESV

John, as an apostle of Jesus Christ, took his role seriously. He had high regard for the teachings of Jesus and a strong sense of responsibility when it came to the wellbeing of the body of Christ. Like Paul, his fellow apostle, John was always on the lookout for those who would do harm to the church of Jesus Christ. They were both very aware that the enemy was out to destroy what Jesus had created. And Jesus, on the very night He was betrayed into the hands of the Jewish religious leaders, had made a heartfelt request of His Heavenly Father:

“I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.” – John 17:14-19 NLT

Jesus knew His followers were going to face intense opposition. Satan was going to throw all his resources against those who aligned themselves with Jesus Christ. When his attempt to thwart the redemptive plan of God by murdering the Son of God proved an abysmal failure, Satan would ramp up his efforts to stifle the Gospel by diluting and distorting it with lies and half-truths. But notice what Jesus prayed that night. He asked that His Father would keep His followers holy or set apart by the truth of His Word.

The truth of the Gospel message was going to be the key to resisting the lies of the enemy. And John warns his readers that anyone who did not remain committed to the teachings of Jesus never really knew Him. If they ended up rejecting the claims of Jesus to be the Son of God and the Savior of the world, it would be because they never truly believed in Him, to begin with. And John bluntly states that the rejection of Jesus as the incarnation of God in the flesh was to reject God Himself.

Anyone who wanders away from this teaching has no relationship with God. – 2 John 1:9 NLT

It is interesting to note that John describes these deserters of the Gospel as “running ahead.” He used the Greek word, parabainō, which conveys the idea of passing over or stepping around something. It is often translated as “transgress.” Under the influence of the false teachers, these people would choose to walk around the truths regarding Jesus and pass on to something new and seemingly better. Convinced that they were hearing new and improved information regarding Jesus, they would leave the teachings of the apostles behind. But John warns that, in doing so, they would be turning their backs on God. And John was not making this up. He was simply repeating what He had heard Jesus say.

“If I were to testify on my own behalf, my testimony would not be valid. But someone else is also testifying about me, and I assure you that everything he says about me is true. In fact, you sent investigators to listen to John the Baptist, and his testimony about me was true. Of course, I have no need of human witnesses, but I say these things so you might be saved. John was like a burning and shining lamp, and you were excited for a while about his message. But I have a greater witness than John—my teachings and my miracles. The Father gave me these works to accomplish, and they prove that he sent me. And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself. You have never heard his voice or seen him face to face, and you do not have his message in your hearts, because you do not believe me—the one he sent to you.” – John 5:31-38 NLT

The testimony of God verified the claims of Jesus. And no additional truth or new revelations from the lips of men were going to replace what God had declared about Jesus. “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him” (Luke 9:35 NLT).

John had no doubt as to Jesus’ deity and His claims of divinity. He had heard Jesus boldly claim, “I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me” (John 8:18 ESV). And John had been an eye-witness to not only the crucifixion of Jesus but also His miraculous resurrection. Everything had happened just as Jesus had said it would. He had risen from the dead, and John had seen it with his own eyes. 

So, John flatly asserts that if anyone suddenly decided that the truth as testified by God was false, they were the ones who were in error. John could well remember the extremely harsh words Jesus had spoken to the religious leaders of the Jews.

“Since you don’t know who I am, you don’t know who my Father is. If you knew me, you would also know my Father.” – John 8:19 NLT

A false understanding of Jesus and His identity will lead to a false understanding of God. If Jesus was just a man, then God is a liar. If Jesus did not resurrect from the dead, then God has provided no means by which men can be restored to a right relationship with Him. The apostle Paul pointed out the futility of faith in a Jesus who did not rise from the grave.

…if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. – 1 Corinthians 15:17-18 NLT

But Paul goes on to provide the truth regarding Jesus’ death and resurrection.

But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. – 1 Corinthians 15:19 NLT

And John fully supports Paul’s assertion when he states, “But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father and the Son” (2 John 1:9 NLT). Those who remain committed to and dependent upon the promise of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone will not be disappointed. To know Jesus is to know the Father. That is why Jesus claimed, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!” (John 14:6-7 NLT).

John wanted his audience to know that they were to have nothing to do with those who preached a different version of Jesus. If their teaching contradicted that of Jesus and the apostles, the church was to have nothing to do with them.

If anyone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don’t invite that person into your home or give any kind of encouragement. – 2 John 1:10 NLT

When it came to the Gospel, there was to be no place for toleration of alternate versions or new insights into who Jesus was and what He had come to do. The apostle Paul accused the church in Corinth of happily putting up with all kinds of false messages, including “a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed” (2 Corinthians 11:4 NLT). He issued a similar condemnation to the church in Galatia.

I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News. – Galatians 1:6 NLT

This was a real problem in the early days of the church, and it remains so even today. And the warning John gave to the members of the church in Asia Minor is just as relevant for us as it was for them.

Anyone who encourages such people becomes a partner in their evil work… – 2 John 1:11 NLT

The Gospel is the Gospel. It is not to be added to, distorted in any way, clarified, or amplified. In fact, the apostle Paul warns that anyone who tampers with the Gospel message as testified by God, proclaimed by Jesus, and preached by the apostles was to be cursed.

Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed. – Galatians 1:8-9 NLT

Serious and sober words because the message of the Gospel is the key to eternal life.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Make Him Known.

The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made. All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you! They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. – Psalm 145:8-12 ESV

Psalm 145

How does anyone really get to know God? Of course, the Scriptures tell us that God has revealed Himself in His creation. “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God” (Romans 1:20 NLT). But there is a sense in which creation provides only a limited understanding of God. It reveals His invisible qualities – His power and nature. But there is so much more to God. He is gracious, slow to anger, merciful, and incredibly loving. How are people to come to know those things about God? How will they discover the full essence of His character if all they have to go by is nature itself? God never intended nature to be the end all or final revelation of Himself. His eternal plan was to send His Son as the ultimate expression of Himself. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” (Colossians 1:15 ESV). “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known” (John 1:18 NIV). Jesus the Son made God the Father known to mankind. That is why He is called Emmanuel, which means, “God with us”. God came to earth in the form of a helpless baby and dwelt among men. That baby grew to be a man and for three and a half years He made God known to man. He revealed His power. taught about His Kingdom, expressed His love and, ultimately, gave His own life, so that men might be made right with God.

But what about us? What is our role? What part do we play in making God known to men? According to the psalmist, we too play a significant part in making God known. We are to talk about His power, testify to His grace and mercy, give thanks for all His blessings, and praise Him for all the mighty deeds He has done and continues to do in our lives. More than anything else, as those who have benefited from the saving grace made available through Jesus Christ, we are to tell others of the good news of salvation that God has made possible. People can look at nature and see the power and creativity of God, but they should be able to look at us and see the grace, mercy. love and forgiveness of God. They should be able to see what it looks like when a sinner becomes a saint as a result of God's remarkable gift of grace. And when they hear us talk about all that God has done and continues to do for us, they get a glimpse of God that they would otherwise have missed. But in order for them to hear, we must speak up. We must make God known. We have a responsibility to act as God's personal press agents, telling everyone we meet of His glory, grace, mercy, love and forgiveness. We have been commissioned to make disciples. But it is impossible to make disciples if we remain silent. Paul reminds us, “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” (Romans 10:14 ESV).

Jesus came in order to make His Father known. But He didn't stop there. He died in order to make men right with God. His death was an expression of God's love. “God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him” (1 John 4:9 NLT). Jesus make known the love of God. And we can do the same thing as we talk about what He has done for us. As believers in Jesus Christ, we are the recipients of that love. We now know God in a way that was impossible before Jesus Christ died. We enjoy an intimate relationship with God that is based on love and forgiveness. We have enjoyed the benefits of His grace. We know God as holy and righteous, but also as loving and kind. He is our God, but also our Father. He loves us. He has adopted us as His sons and daughters. We are His children and heirs. And we should want to make all that known to everyone we meet. We should gladly brag about our God. We should take every opportunity to tell others about the grace of God made available through His Son. But our great testimony isn't always what God has done for us in the past at our salvation. Sometimes our greatest testimony is what God is doing for us right here and now as a result of our new relationship with Him. It is His ongoing activity in our lives that a lost and dying world wants to know about. Yes, we have been saved. But in a real sense we are being saved each and every day as God works in and through our lives, transforming us into the likeness of His Son. When we talk about all that God is doing, and express our gratitude for His daily activity in our lives, we make Him known. We make Him visible. God becomes real to those who would otherwise be unable to see Him.

Word of Mouth.

One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. – Psalm 145:4-7 ESV

Psalm 145

Commend. Declare. Speak. Pour forth. Sing aloud.

Silence may be golden, but it has no place in the life of the believer when it comes to God. We are to be blatantly verbal and vociferous about Him. According to David, the only time we should be silent about God is in order to meditate on the splendor of His majesty and on His wondrous works. But the meditation is simply intended to provide us with food for thought and then words of testimony and praise. When we think about God and His greatness, we will be motivated to turn those thoughts into verbal expressions. God is due our praise and if we are silent, we demonstrate either our ignorance of His greatness or our indifference. It is interesting to note that when Jesus was entering Jerusalem on the back of a donkey's foal, the crowds were cheering wildly, exclaiming “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:38 ESV). When the Pharisees witnessed this scene, they demanded that Jesus silence the crowd. But His response was simply, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out” (Luke 19:40 ESV).

God deserves praise. And as the only members of His creation with the capacity for speech, we are intended to use our voices to verbally acknowledge who He is and all that He has done. We are to commend, declare, speak, pour forth and sing aloud. And of all people, believers should have the most to say about God. There is something normal and natural about talking about that for which we are grateful or by which we have been amazed. When we see a beautiful sunrise, we feel the urge to tell someone. When we take a memorable vacation, we can't help talking about it. When we are proud of our children, no one will be able to stop us from bragging about them. We tend to praise that which we appreciate. We talk about what interests us. We unashamedly testify to others about what we find meaningful in our lives. It could be a delicious meal at a local restaurant, a good book, a movie, a newly discovered musical group, a recent Facebook post, a personal achievement or any of a number of other things. But how often do we declare the greatness of God? How many times do we commend God to others? How frequently do praises concerning God come from our lips and to the ears of those we meet? Are we prone to sing God's praises out loud and outside the context of a Sunday morning worship service?

David so eloquently wrote, “The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world” (Psalm 19:1-4 NLT). The heavens declare the glory of God. We can see it in a sunrise or sunset, a cloud formation, a night sky filled with stars or the gentle breeze on a warm summer night. God's creation constantly praises Him. The angels in heaven never cease to offer Him verbal praise and adoration. But as human beings, the pinnacle of His creative energies, far too often we remain silent. Rather than commend God to others, we complain. Instead of declaring the mighty acts He has already done, we demand that He do more. We speak, but do the words that come out of our mouths concern God? Do words of praise, thanksgiving and honor for God pour forth from our lips? Do we sing aloud of His righteousness?

Our silence condemns us. But it has even far greater implications. Our failure to speak up concerning God's glory and greatness puts the next generation at a distinct disadvantage. They run the risk of growing up having never heard of who He is. And it is not that they are living in a verbal void. They are surrounded by voices of all kinds shouting messages of every type imaginable. Their ears are being bombarded by false messages and deceitful words that leave God out or attempt to diminish His significance. So we must speak up. We must commend, declare, speak, pour forth and sing aloud. What the next generation will know about God will only come from what we tell them about God. Paul would have us consider “And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?” (Romans 10:14 NLT). God deserves our praise. The next generation depends upon it.

The words of the chorus, “My Lips Will Praise You” say it all.

My lips will praise You

For You are holy

My voice will ever rise

Before Your throne

My heart will love You

For You are lovely

And You have called me

To become Your own

We have much for which to praise God. There is no reason to remain silent. Our silence indicts us. It reveals an ingratitude or at least an ignorance of His activity in our lives. And it leaves the next generation at a distinct disadvantage. So let us talk loud and often. Let us declare boldly and proudly. Our God is great and greatly to be praised.

Hear Indiscriminately.

Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name's sake  (for they shall hear of your great name and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house, hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name. – 1 Kings 8:41-43 ESV

1 Kings 8:22-53

It was Peter who wrote, “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:34-35 ESV). The apostle Paul seconded this sentiment when he wrote that God, “will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury … God shows no partiality” (Romans 2:6-8, 11 ESV). Solomon knew that God had chosen the people of Israel as His special possession. He was well aware of the fact that they enjoyed a unique relationship with God and were privileged to be called His people. But Solomon also understood that God was the God of all the nations. Their privileged position as His chosen people was in order that they might be a witness to the rest of the world. As they lived in obedience to God's commands and experienced His abiding presence and power, the nations around them would stand in awe and admiration. Long before the days of Solomon, Moses had told the people, “See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?” (Deuteronomy 4:5-8 ESV).

The relationship between God and His chosen people was not intended to be exclusive, but an example of what it meant for men to live in a right relationship with God. As those outside the nation of Israel watched God work among His people and act on their behalf. they would be intrigued and attracted. As they witnessed Israel's adherence to God's commands and jealously watched as He blessed them abundantly, some would find themselves drawn to Israel’s God. Converts to Judaism were a regular occurrence even during the days of Solomon. He knew that there were those from foreign lands who would turn to Yahweh, “for they shall hear of your great name and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm.” They would show up at the newly completed temple and pray to God, and when they did, Solomon asked that God would hear them indiscriminately. He knew his God to be accepting of all those who called on Him for His name's sake. Any who knew God to be the one true god and approached Him humbly and reverently would be heard by Him. But Solomon's request was based on his desire for God's glory and fame to be spread around the world and among the nations. He knew that when God heard and answered the prayers of even the non-Israelite, the news of God's gracious favor would spread. For Solomon this meant “that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel.” He wanted everyone to know, fear and worship God as he did. He desired for God to be known among the nations. His was not a biased and bigoted view that refused to share His God with others. He simply wanted the glory and greatness of his God to be known among all men.

It is interesting to juxtapose Solomon's outlook with that of the religious leaders in Jesus' day. They had become intolerant of and even hateful toward anyone who did not measure up to their exacting standards – Jew and Gentile alike. They looked down their noses at Jesus and the disciples. They despised the Romans. They treated the common people with derision. They were far more concerned with their own glory than they were with God's. Their reputations were far more important to them than His. Yet Solomon begged that God would hear the prayers of the foreigner indiscriminately and answer graciously and mercifully. Why? So that God's fame and glory might spread. Is that my desire? Do I want to see God's fame spread among the nations? Do I ask that God would hear the cries of all those who call out to Him, so that they might see the goodness and glory of God? Perhaps if we were more interested in God's glory being spread, we would care more interested in sharing the good news of God's grace among the nations. If we really wanted God's fame to fill the earth, we would more readily desire to see God's power to be revealed among all people. We would also want to see to it that we illustrated what it looks like to have the God of the universe intimately involved in the everyday affairs of life. We would want our lives to be a testimony to God's goodness, grace, and glory – “in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you.”

Present-tense Belief.

Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. – 1 John 5:10 ESV 1 John 5:6-12

The problem with many of us as Christians is that we live in the past. We can recall the place, date and time when we accepted Jesus as our Savior. We can give our “testimony” as if it happened yesterday. But sadly, for more than a few believers, it makes little difference in the way they live their lives today. It is interesting that, as John attempts to assure us of the truth of Jesus' role as the Son of God, he uses present-tense language when talking about our belief. He writes, “whoever believes” – present tense. When he speaks of “whoever does not believe God,” he also uses the present tense again, along with the active voice. John's emphasis seems to be on a progressive, ongoing and active belief that is taking place in the present, not just the past. Having had a past belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God is all well and good, but that belief should be continuous, having an impact on our lives in the here-and-now. Saving faith is present-tense faith. It doesn't live in the past, as some distant memory, but is an ever-present, always growing reality in the life of the believer. Peter tells us, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation” (1 Peter 2:2 ESV). Paul told the believers in Ephesus they were to move from immaturity to maturity,  “growing in every way more and more like Christ” (Ephesians 4:15 NLT). Neither Peter or Paul were suggesting that we can become any more saved than we already are, but we can continue to increase in our faith and grow in confidence that what we believed in at a given point in time was really true and continues to be true.

The real question we need to consider is what is the nature of our belief today? Has our faith increased? Are we still placing our trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord? I am not suggesting that you can lose your salvation. And neither was John. But our belief in Jesus Christ should be active and ongoing. The idea that I prayed a prayer, walked the aisle, gave my life to Christ or got “born again” is all well and good, but is my faith alive and well? Is my belief present tense? Is it active and growing? I have often wondered what our testimony really should be. Many of us have been trained to see our testimony as a past event. In other words, we think of it in terms of a point in time where we “accepted” Jesus. For me, that event took place nearly 53 years ago. I was seven years old and walked down the aisle of the church during what our denomination called the “invitation.” It was at that moment I “gave my life to Jesus.” That became my testimony. When someone asked me to share my testimony, it was to that point in time I would refer. But the older I get the more I realize that my testimony is a living thing. It is ongoing and alive. When a lost person wants to know what Jesus means to me, they are looking for present tense implications, not some past experience to which they can't relate. They want to know what Jesus is doing in my life right now. My testimony should be an evolving, ever-growing thing, as I continue to live out my life in faith and trust in God and His Son.

It is faith that is active and alive that gives us assurance. John writes, “ I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13 ESV). Once again, John uses the present tense. My ongoing belief in Jesus provides me with an ongoing assurance of eternal life. I have eternal life right now. It is not just a future promise, but a present reality. The writer of Hebrews reminds us, “So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised” (Hebrews 10:35-36 NLT). The apostle Paul encourages us to keep on keeping on. He wants us to have an active, ongoing, present-tense faith. “That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NLT). Keep on believing. Keep on trusting. Live in the present tense. Let your testimony be a living, vibrant, ever-changing witness to the goodness of God, the reality of your salvation, and the life-transforming power of the Spirit of God in your life.

Go and Tell.

Luke 8:26-39

"The man who had been freed from the demons begged to go with him. But Jesus sent him home, saying, 'No, go back to your family, and tell them everything God has done for you.' So he went all through the town proclaiming the great things Jesus had done for him." – Luke 8:38-39 NLT

After the demons left the two demon-possessed men and fled into the herd of pigs, sending them running wildly off the edge of a nearby cliff, that's when the real action began. The disciples stood amazed and afraid. The herdsmen, who just watched their livelihood get wiped out, took off at a run for town in order to tell everyone what had happened. In no time, Jesus was surrounded by villagers eager to see for themselves what had happened. They wanted to verify that what they had heard was true – the two men (at least according to Matthew's account) were no longer demon-possessed. These two men had been a fixture in the lives of these people for years. They feared them and stayed as far away from them as possible. Both of the men were more than likely from the nearby village and their neighbors had seen them make the transition from normal, healthy boys to crazed, demon-possessed lunatics living in a graveyard and terrorizing the community.

When the villagers arrived, they found the man who had the many demons and was known as Legion, "sitting at Jesus' feet, fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid" (Luke 8:35 NLT). Not amazed, but afraid. A similar response to that of the disciples when Jesus calmed the sea just a few hours earlier. Luke records that when the disciples had seen Jesus calm the waves and the wind, they "were terrified and amazed" (Luke 8:25 NLT). At the witness of the power of Jesus, the villagers and the disciples reacted in fear and terror. They didn't know what to do with what they had seen. In this case, the villagers wanted Jesus to leave, "for a great wave of fear swept over them" (Luke 8:37 NLT). Rather than worship, they wanted Him to leave. They wanted life to go back to the way it was before. It didn't matter that there was a miracle sitting in their midst in the form of two totally healed, demon-free men. They wanted Jesus gone.

But there was at least one individual who reacted in faith and not fear. One of the men who had been healed asked Jesus if he could go with Him. His life had been radically, unalterably changed by an encounter with Jesus, and he wanted to spend the rest of his life serving and following Him. But Jesus denied his request. Instead, He told the man to "go back to your family, and tell them everything God has done for you" (Luke 8:39 NLT). Jesus made him a missionary to his own people. The area in which this all took place was on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee, in a region that was primarily Gentile. So Jesus commissions this man (and more than likely, his companion) to return home and spread the news of what God had done for him. This man had had an encounter with God Himself – in the form of Jesus, the Son of God. Now he was to go and tell what had happened. And he did. Mark tells us, "the man started off to visit the Ten Town of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him, and everyone was amazed at what he told them" (Mark 8:20 NLT). There is no greater tool for proclaiming the power of God than the lips of the one who has experienced that power first-hand. Our testimony of transformation at the hands of God is undeniable and irrefutable. Yes, people can doubt it, but they can't disprove it. There were probably those who would deny that this man had ever been demon-possessed, but he would always know the truth. His zeal and unwavering knowledge of what had happened to his life would always be there. And the same should be true of us. Our greatest witness of the power of God is what He has done in our own lives. Jesus is telling us to do exactly what He told this man to do: "Go back to your family, and tell them everything God has done for you." Go and tell. Just share what Jesus has done. Give testimony to the fact that you have been and are being transformed by the power of God. And this testimony should be an ongoing and a growing one. Each day, we should have new news to share regarding God's power in our lives. It is not just about a point in time when we accepted Christ as our Savior. That is just the beginning. Our testimony is a work in progress. God is always doing something in our lives. His power is always available and at work behind the scenes. Sometimes we just don't see or recognize it. But we must look for it and then tell everyone we meet about it. Go and tell – spread the news of "everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been" (Mark 8:19 NLT).

Father, too often I fail to recognize Your power in my life. And as a result, I fail to tell anyone else about it. First of all, help me to see it. Secondly, help me have the boldness to talk about it to others, regardless of how they might receive it. I want to go and tell more regularly and faithfully. You have done so much for me and shown me so much mercy over the years. I have a story to tell that is growing with each passing day. May I begin to tell it to all with whom I come into contact. Amen.