<html><head></head><body><div><div><div><div>(Note from yesterday’s 2/14&nbsp;devotional/commentary, (Mark 4;24&amp;25)&nbsp;I should have included this verse concerning the hearing/receiving of the Word of Life and the necessity for it to both come into us AND&nbsp;flow out of us.)</div><div><i>“On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, &nbsp;‘If anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink. &nbsp;He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” &nbsp;</i>(John 7;37&amp;38). <i>“drinking” </i>is hearing the Word, the <i>“rivers of&nbsp;living Water”</i>&nbsp;is the life of teaching and living&nbsp;the Word to others. &nbsp;It is<span>&nbsp;the life of Good Works which God has prepared for us to walk in. (Ephesians 2;10)</span></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Mark 4;26-29<div><br></div><div><b>26. &nbsp;And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed upon the ground,</b></div><div><b>27. &nbsp;and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how.</b></div><div><b>28. &nbsp;The earth produces of itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.</b></div><div><b>29. &nbsp;But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div>This too is a curious passage.</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;&nbsp;Is Jesus speaking of the kingdom of God as it is ‘planted’ individually in each Believer, or, is this saying of Jesus referring to the entire church? &nbsp;Is the <i>“putting in of the sickle” &nbsp;</i><span>each person's</span><span> individual death, or is Jesus speaking of the final Judgment at the end of the age?</span></div><div>Is the progressive growth of the <i>“seed” </i>the development of each&nbsp;individual’s conformation into spiritual maturity, (into Christ), or is Jesus referring to stages in the life of the Church throughout history?</div><div><br></div><div>I tend to believe this applies best to the progression and growth&nbsp;of the kingdom of God at work in each of us as individuals. &nbsp;<span>In-as-much as Jesus has just been speaking of individuals who received the </span><i>“seed” </i><span>in the parable of the “Sower”.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Two points must be made:</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>First, the <i>“seed”</i>&nbsp;(the Word)&nbsp;does its’ work without our understanding how it grows in us. &nbsp;Our soul, holds the <i>“seed” </i>of God’s Word, but it is the Word in us, (Christ by the Spirit in us) which grows up to fully spiritually reproduce. &nbsp;We must not claim the credit for fruitfulness, it is all God’s doing.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Secondly, the <i>“putting in the&nbsp;sickle”</i>&nbsp;applies to at least two&nbsp;‘deaths’ for us.</span></div><div><span>&nbsp;First,&nbsp;our physical death at the end of our earthly&nbsp;life, once the Lord has accomplished His purposes in and through us. &nbsp;As Paul says, <i>“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. &nbsp;Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award me on the Day, and not only to me but also&nbsp;to all who have loved his appearing.” &nbsp;</i></span></div><div><span>(2 Timothy 4;7&amp;8)</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Second, it also applies to our death with Christ to sin, through our baptism into Jesus. &nbsp;(Romans 6;3 and 2 Timothy 2;11). This baptismal death is ongoing. &nbsp;It is the death we use daily in our struggle against temptation.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Dying to self is what a seed must do if it is to reproduce. &nbsp;As Jesus said, “<i>Truly, truly, I say unto you,</i></span></div><div><span><i>Unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. &nbsp;He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”</i></span></div><div><span>(John 12;24&amp;25)</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>This is what Christ in us by the Spirit and the Word is doing.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Prayer: &nbsp;Merciful Father, You give us true Life <u>in Christ Jesus</u>, bless us to live in Him, by our baptismal death, denying ourselves, taking up our crosses, following Him,&nbsp;and being found fruitful. &nbsp;In Jesus we pray, Amen.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Love,</span></div><div><span>Dad/Baba/Eric</span></div><div><span>Grandpa Pickle Pastor</span></div><div><span>“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word. &nbsp;God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><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>

(Note from yesterday’s 2/14 devotional/commentary, (Mark 4;24&25) I should have included this verse concerning the hearing/receiving of the Word of Life and the necessity for it to both come into us AND flow out of us.)“On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed,  ‘If anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink.  He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.’”  (John 7;37&38). “drinking” is hearing the Word, the “rivers of living Water” is the life of teaching and living the Word to others.  It is the life of Good Works which God has prepared for us to walk in. (Ephesians 2;10)

Mark 4;26-29
26.  And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed upon the ground,27.  and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how.28.  The earth produces of itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.29.  But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
This too is a curious passage.
  Is Jesus speaking of the kingdom of God as it is ‘planted’ individually in each Believer, or, is this saying of Jesus referring to the entire church?  Is the “putting in of the sickle”  each person's individual death, or is Jesus speaking of the final Judgment at the end of the age?Is the progressive growth of the “seed” the development of each individual’s conformation into spiritual maturity, (into Christ), or is Jesus referring to stages in the life of the Church throughout history?
I tend to believe this applies best to the progression and growth of the kingdom of God at work in each of us as individuals.  In-as-much as Jesus has just been speaking of individuals who received the “seed” in the parable of the “Sower”.
Two points must be made:
First, the “seed” (the Word) does its’ work without our understanding how it grows in us.  Our soul, holds the “seed” of God’s Word, but it is the Word in us, (Christ by the Spirit in us) which grows up to fully spiritually reproduce.  We must not claim the credit for fruitfulness, it is all God’s doing.
Secondly, the “putting in the sickle” applies to at least two ‘deaths’ for us. First, our physical death at the end of our earthly life, once the Lord has accomplished His purposes in and through us.  As Paul says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award me on the Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”  (2 Timothy 4;7&8)
Second, it also applies to our death with Christ to sin, through our baptism into Jesus.  (Romans 6;3 and 2 Timothy 2;11). This baptismal death is ongoing.  It is the death we use daily in our struggle against temptation.
Dying to self is what a seed must do if it is to reproduce.  As Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say unto you,Unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.  He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”(John 12;24&25)
This is what Christ in us by the Spirit and the Word is doing.
Prayer:  Merciful Father, You give us true Life in Christ Jesus, bless us to live in Him, by our baptismal death, denying ourselves, taking up our crosses, following Him, and being found fruitful.  In Jesus we pray, 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.”


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