<html><head></head><body><div><div><div><div><br></div>Mark 8;27-30<div><br></div><div><b>27. &nbsp;And Jesus went on with his disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do men say that I am?”</b></div><div><b>28. &nbsp;And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; and others say one of the Prophets.”</b></div><div><b>29. &nbsp;And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” &nbsp;Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.”</b></div><div><b>30. &nbsp;And he charged them to tell no one about him.</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div>For Peter to call Jesus, <i>“the Christ”, </i>meant that Peter believed Jesus was the One, the One chosen by God and anointed with the Holy Spirit to deliver Israel from her oppressors, her enemies.</div><div><br></div><div>However, Peter and the other disciples thought Israel’s enemies were the&nbsp;Roman occupation and the Hellenistic influences introduced through Herod. &nbsp;They would probably also include their own corrupt priesthood, the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees who used their worship system to become rich off the people.</div><div><br></div><div>Peter and the disciples did not yet understand that God’s deliverance from our worst oppressors was deliverance from&nbsp;our own slavery to sin and death.</div><div><br></div><div>They expected Jesus to <i>“restore the kingdom </i>(earthly governmental political&nbsp;control) <i>to Israel.” &nbsp;&nbsp;</i>(Acts 1;6)</div><div><br></div><div>They were not expecting an entirely new divine and holy&nbsp;kingdom’s rule in their own hearts and in all of&nbsp;humanity.</div><div><br></div><div>When we pray, <i>“Thy kingdom come”</i>&nbsp; in the Lord’s Prayer, we are not praying for Jesus to come back and judge the sheep and the goats. &nbsp;We are praying for our own hearts to be ruled by the will of the Father, with Christ seated on the throne of every heart right now, in our own present time and place. &nbsp;Jesus’ return for Judgement will happen as well. &nbsp;But, His kingdom’s rule in each of us by faith is to be&nbsp;right now.</div><div><br></div><div>Who do you say Jesus is, to you?</div><div><br></div><div>Prayer: &nbsp;Merciful Father, increase our faith to believe Christ now dwells in each one of us by the Holy Spirit. &nbsp;Bless us further to believe we are to&nbsp;no longer be&nbsp;in charge of our own&nbsp;lives, (being our own little false gods and&nbsp;lords, deciding out of human reason and selfish desires,&nbsp;what we want,&nbsp;and what is right for us or wrong for us). &nbsp;Bless us to by faith, walk humbly <u>following</u>&nbsp;Christ, carrying our own crosses,&nbsp;being&nbsp;led&nbsp;in paths of righteousness, and&nbsp;delighting to have You&nbsp;at work in all of&nbsp;us, both to will and to do according to Your&nbsp;good pleasure, for, <u>this</u>&nbsp;is the Mind of Christ. &nbsp;In Jesus we pray, Amen.</div><div><br></div><div>Love,</div><div>Dad/Baba/Eric</div><div>Grandpa Pickle Pastor</div><div>“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.”</div><div><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 8;27-30
27.  And Jesus went on with his disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do men say that I am?”28.  And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; and others say one of the Prophets.”29.  And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?”  Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.”30.  And he charged them to tell no one about him.
For Peter to call Jesus, “the Christ”, meant that Peter believed Jesus was the One, the One chosen by God and anointed with the Holy Spirit to deliver Israel from her oppressors, her enemies.
However, Peter and the other disciples thought Israel’s enemies were the Roman occupation and the Hellenistic influences introduced through Herod.  They would probably also include their own corrupt priesthood, the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees who used their worship system to become rich off the people.
Peter and the disciples did not yet understand that God’s deliverance from our worst oppressors was deliverance from our own slavery to sin and death.
They expected Jesus to “restore the kingdom (earthly governmental political control) to Israel.”   (Acts 1;6)
They were not expecting an entirely new divine and holy kingdom’s rule in their own hearts and in all of humanity.
When we pray, “Thy kingdom come”  in the Lord’s Prayer, we are not praying for Jesus to come back and judge the sheep and the goats.  We are praying for our own hearts to be ruled by the will of the Father, with Christ seated on the throne of every heart right now, in our own present time and place.  Jesus’ return for Judgement will happen as well.  But, His kingdom’s rule in each of us by faith is to be right now.
Who do you say Jesus is, to you?
Prayer:  Merciful Father, increase our faith to believe Christ now dwells in each one of us by the Holy Spirit.  Bless us further to believe we are to no longer be in charge of our own lives, (being our own little false gods and lords, deciding out of human reason and selfish desires, what we want, and what is right for us or wrong for us).  Bless us to by faith, walk humbly following Christ, carrying our own crosses, being led in paths of righteousness, and delighting to have You at work in all of us, both to will and to do according to Your good pleasure, for, this is the Mind of Christ.  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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