<html><head></head><body><div><div><div><div><br></div>Mark 3;7&amp;8<div><br></div><div><b>8. &nbsp;Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed; also from Judea</b></div><div><b>9. &nbsp;and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from Tyre and Sidon a great multitude, hearing all that he did, came to him.</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div>As it is today, so it was then; the&nbsp;people were like sheep without a shepherd. &nbsp;We and they do not fully know what we need. &nbsp;We know our physical hungers for health and food and drink, but we do not understand our own hunger and thirst for righteousness. &nbsp;We are lonely, separated from God, fearing the future.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;God in His love and compassion has taken&nbsp;on human form, becoming one of us, while remaing true God at the same time. &nbsp;He walks among us and brings us not only health and food and drink, He brings us hope. &nbsp;Hope which does not even understand what it is we need. We need Him.</div><div><br></div><div>We need Him as our King and LORD. &nbsp;We need Him as our Father and Brother and husband and friend. &nbsp;We need Him as our Great High Priest and Life-giving&nbsp;Spirit. &nbsp;We need Him as the Judge of the universe. &nbsp;We need Him as the Shepherd of our souls.&nbsp; &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Even though the people who spoke to others about Him did not know who Jesus truly was, (God come to us as the Son of man), the mysterious hope of their&nbsp;hearts and ours&nbsp;drew them and us&nbsp;to Him, a great multitude.</div><div><br></div><div>Our hope and expectations are&nbsp;too small, for it is the will of God that we be made truly, perfectly one with Him for eternity, becoming <i>“partakers of the divine nature.” &nbsp;</i>(2 Peter 1;4)</div><div><br></div><div>This can only happen if Jesus fulfills our greatest need, the cleansing and indwelling of our souls,</div><div>For this, He must die and He knew it.</div><div><br></div><div>Prayer: &nbsp;Merciful Father, you know the need&nbsp;of us perfectly. &nbsp;Forgive us we pray, when we from our fearing flesh, doubt You and give our hearts permission to fear. &nbsp; Grant us a faith which gives thanks in everything and rests in Your perfect love for us. &nbsp;&nbsp;Draw us to You dear Father through Jesus, by&nbsp;His coming to us in the flesh, by the Word and the Holy Spirit. &nbsp;Bless us to understand that being drawn unto You is to be drawn into You. &nbsp;Bless us to understand such ‘drawing’ is ongoing, it does not end with Confirmation or confession of the Creeds, these are just a part of your ‘drawing’ of us.&nbsp; Grant us faith to understand that our baptism <i>into Christ, </i>&nbsp;is the on-going&nbsp;culmination of Your work, we are delivered from all our fears already.&nbsp;We pray with hoping hearts, in Jesus, Amen.</div><div><br></div><div>Love,</div><div>Dad/Baba/Eric</div><div>Grandpa Pickle Pastor</div><div><br></div><div>“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word.</div><div><span>God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”</span></div><div><br><br><br><div><a href="https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&amp;c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&amp;af_sub1=Acquisition&amp;af_sub2=Global_YMktg&amp;af_sub3=&amp;af_sub4=100000604&amp;af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><br></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>


Mark 3;7&8
8.  Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed; also from Judea9.  and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from Tyre and Sidon a great multitude, hearing all that he did, came to him.
As it is today, so it was then; the people were like sheep without a shepherd.  We and they do not fully know what we need.  We know our physical hungers for health and food and drink, but we do not understand our own hunger and thirst for righteousness.  We are lonely, separated from God, fearing the future. 
 God in His love and compassion has taken on human form, becoming one of us, while remaing true God at the same time.  He walks among us and brings us not only health and food and drink, He brings us hope.  Hope which does not even understand what it is we need. We need Him.
We need Him as our King and LORD.  We need Him as our Father and Brother and husband and friend.  We need Him as our Great High Priest and Life-giving Spirit.  We need Him as the Judge of the universe.  We need Him as the Shepherd of our souls.   
Even though the people who spoke to others about Him did not know who Jesus truly was, (God come to us as the Son of man), the mysterious hope of their hearts and ours drew them and us to Him, a great multitude.
Our hope and expectations are too small, for it is the will of God that we be made truly, perfectly one with Him for eternity, becoming “partakers of the divine nature.”  (2 Peter 1;4)
This can only happen if Jesus fulfills our greatest need, the cleansing and indwelling of our souls,For this, He must die and He knew it.
Prayer:  Merciful Father, you know the need of us perfectly.  Forgive us we pray, when we from our fearing flesh, doubt You and give our hearts permission to fear.   Grant us a faith which gives thanks in everything and rests in Your perfect love for us.   Draw us to You dear Father through Jesus, by His coming to us in the flesh, by the Word and the Holy Spirit.  Bless us to understand that being drawn unto You is to be drawn into You.  Bless us to understand such ‘drawing’ is ongoing, it does not end with Confirmation or confession of the Creeds, these are just a part of your ‘drawing’ of us.  Grant us faith to understand that our baptism into Christ,  is the on-going culmination of Your work, we are delivered from all our fears already. We pray with hoping hearts, in Jesus, Amen.
Love,Dad/Baba/EricGrandpa Pickle Pastor
“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word.God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”


Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPad
