Yet they couldn’t drive out this particular demon. In fact, Mark 3:15 tells us that Jesus gave them “authority to drive out demons.” The boy’s symptoms looked like epilepsy, but somehow, some way, demons were harassing him.īefore this event, Jesus had sent out his disciples under his authority. A much better translation of this word is “demonized.” A demonized person may be harassed from the outside or from within. In Mark 9, the disciples and teachers of the law were arguing over a poor, helpless boy who is described as “possessed by a spirit.” The term “possessed by a spirit” or “demon-possessed” is a terribly unfair and incorrect translation.

Scripture offers no sure-fire formulas, but this comes as close to any formula I know of.Īs much as many of us talk about it but never do it…Īs much as many of us talk about it, don’t do it, and convince ourselves that we are doing it…prayer takes no shortcuts. But one night, he left us with an adage that I will never forget.Īs you read the following lines, imagine yourself sitting in an African-American church, with the minister standing at the pulpit, dressed in a minister’s robe, wiping his brow and the people fanning themselves around you. Terry Rhone challenged us in our commitment to Christ and demonstrated what a follower of Christ looked like. As a result, our weekly hall meetings were a unique amalgamation of announcements and church-African-American style. The Resident Advisor for my freshman wing in college was an ordained minister with the Church of God in Christ, a predominantly African-American Protestant denomination.

Bible cafe elijah bible study