Wearing the Uniform – Showing Loyalty!
Do you follow certain teams or groups? Do you have clothing or other articles that bear their name and advertise to others that you are “for” that team or product?
Why are some people so loyal to a person or group? Maybe we give loyal service and follow others closely because we feel loved or special to them. Perhaps we love them deeply, or maybe they have done something great for us – something that changed our life. Are you loyal to anyone like that? How about this: Is there anyone super loyal to you? If so, what do you think makes them so committed to you? What is it that makes you so loyal to them?
If you were to be this kind of loyal to another, what would that person have to be or do? Are there people in your life to whom you could show this kind of loyalty? How would it make them feel to have a loyal friend?
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In the first century in the Middle East there was a woman who was super-loyal to a Jewish rabbi. The woman was Mary Magdalene (Mary of Magdala) and the rabbi was Jesus. Apparently, Mary was a woman of wealth and influence, but she became very troubled with some deep emotional problems from evil influences. She became demon possessed.
We may not see that or notice it much in our sphere of life, but in her day, it wasn’t uncommon. And it was scary. She was tormented and may have become a danger to others and to herself. When Jesus met her and saw her condition, He drove the demons from her – never to return. She was free, and her mind returned to sanity. For us it would be similar to being healed from a suicidal level of depression or a tormenting type of mental disorder.
You can imagine how grateful she was to Jesus for the new freedom and complete healing she was granted. Now, her future could be happy and promising. The Bible records in four of the books of the New Testament (the Gospels) that Mary Magdalene witnessed Jesus’ ministry, his crucifixion, death, burial, and His resurrection. She was an important person in Jesus’ ministry. Mary was there with Jesus and, along with some other prominent women, helped support Jesus’ ministry financially. One thing is for sure – Mary of Magdala was grateful to God for the deliverance she received from Jesus’ hands.
Have you been set free from anything in your past that was crippling you or holding you in its clutches? Have you been set free from anger, depression, mental disease, physical ailments, destructive relationships, crippling fears, patterns of lying or stealing, or habits that were leading you into addictions or worse?
Though I have never been possessed by demons, I know a few people from our travels in this and other countries who have been or have been so heavily influenced by evil forces that their life was headed for destruction and an eternity in hell, if they had not been delivered by God’s powerful Holy Spirit. The deliverances that I have experienced were sometimes immediate but most of the time they involved at gradual turning away from sin or shame to face the truth of God’s love for me and power to deliver me.
I know that today I am a new person because of the power Jesus has exerted on my life – my emotions, my thoughts, my choices, and my actions. Though I am aware that these healings I have received are real, I also know that I must make good, godly choices to stay free and hopeful. My choices matter. So do yours.
Are you making choices that lead to freedom and life or bondage and death? Are you loyal to Jesus and to friends who have your best in mind? What influences are you having on others who are loyal to you? Are you leading them to life and freedom? What a wonderful opportunity we have in this life to follow Jesus in loyal, loving obedience and to have a happy, hopeful influence on others.
What does your life’s uniform advertise? What team do the fans around you know you are cheering for and wanting to win?