Becky Crenshaw

“Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet…” Luke 10:39

I promise I will move on from here. But I can not quit thinking about those feet! So one more day and then I promise we will move on!

Yesterday we introduced the concept of the “feet of Jesus” being the proper place of a disciple. And we all fell in love with confident Mary “seating herself” down as one of His pupils. No question about it, Mary knew her spot.

By definition the greek word for feet is pous and the Strong’s Concordance explains the meaning as “disciples listening to their teacher’s instruction are found to be at his feet.”

So I went to work looking up other instances of this feet-sitting picture in Scripture and I am drawn to a story back a few chapters. Let’s look at Luke 8:26-39.

Jesus and his disciples had sailed to the region of Gerasene and were met by a naked, demon-possessed man who called himself, Legion. This man lived in tombs. Yes among dead bodies and was tormented by MANY spirits. They were ruthless demons… “seizing him, throwing him down on the ground, keeping him under guard and bound with chains and shackles.”

When Jesus met Legion, he spoke to the demons and cast this ruthless spirits into a large heard of pigs feeding nearby. Well, the herdsmen of these pigs watched the entire show and as soon as they witness their very own pigs, now demon possessed and throwing themselves off a steep bank to drown in a lake, of COURSE these guys ran and told everyone possible. This is craziness, right!?

So here come the crowds. Eager to see for themselves what was happening to this man. And oh did they find him….

Sweet Legion. “This man who had been tormented for a long time” (v.27) was found. And guess where the crowds spotted him? You guessed it!… “Sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.”

Those Jesus feet. Mmmmm, they draw us in. Those who were once tormented, bound with chains, shackled and living amongst the tombs KNOW that once they are free there is only ONE place safe. They know their spot is marked at feet of their Rescuer.

Legion now CLOTHED rather than naked. Legion now IN HIS RIGHT MIND instead of losing it.

Again, I take literary liberties, but the parralls are NOT hard to see.

I once knew a girl. She was bound by chains of sin. Thrown around by demons of her own, clothed in shame, and living amongst dead places of her past. Seemingly, loosing her mind and feeling there was NO way out of her patterns. But Jesus called her by name and freed her. Clothed her with robes of His righteousness. And this NEW creation girl knew of ONLY ONE place that was safe and rightfully hers…. her seat at the feet of her Jesus.

(it’s me! it’s me! – wink)

And who am I kidding? I STILL tip toe back into my tombs… maybe my sin patterns aren’t as blatantly rebellious as my early years, but my flesh is fast to bind itself up in shame and self-condemnation, shackled by comparison, losing my mind to chaos, over-commitments and worldliness. Anxiety, fear and worry torment me and attempt to throw me down to the ground regularly.

I may not have the same types of demons as I once did, but they are spirits just the same. And Jesus is “stepping out on land” coming my way – just like he did in Martha and Mary’s “certain village.”

He is on mission to cast out all the tormenting spirits. Yours, too.

And once He does, and you find freedom, it draws your heart to worship at His feet.

Sooooo. Are you ready to choose what is better? Let’s make some connections. Grab a notebook and a pen. The Lord wants to reveal a few parallels to you.

Choosing What’s Better:

• Jot down what comes to mind when you consider your life… what areas do you feel 1. Chained? 2. Tormented? 3. Tossed around? 4. Naked/Exposed? 5. Losing your mind?
• Now let’s get free. Repentance opens the door to restoration. What part of what you wrote down is yours to acknowledge and seek forgiveness (maybe from the Lord or others). Spend some time with this part. Be honest before the Lord. He knows anyway, right?
• Now that you have identified these areas, let’s replace the lie with Truth from God’s healing Word. Read 1-5 below and open your heart to receive each word as YOUR GIFT. YOUR STORY. YOUR IDENTITY. Advent is an awaiting of Baby Jesus, yes, but ultimately Baby Jesus was brining all of this to you.

1. Chained: Romans 6:22 But now that you have been set free from sin and become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life
2. Tormented: Mark 4:39 “Then Jesus arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace, be still!’ And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.”
3. Tossed Around: Psalms 4:8 I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.”
4. Naked/Exposed: Isaiah 61:10 I delight greatly in the Lord my soul rejoices in my For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness
5. Losing My Mind: 2 Timothy 1:7 For God did not give me a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.