<html><head></head><body><div><div><div><div><br></div>Mark 10;28-31<div><br></div><div><b>28. &nbsp;Peter began to say to him, “Lo, we have left everything and followed you.”</b></div><div><b>29. &nbsp;Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel,</b></div><div><b>30. &nbsp;who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.</b></div><div><b>31. &nbsp;But many that are first will be last, and the last first.”</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><i><b><br></b></i></div><div>Our call to ‘Follow Jesus and become fishers of men,’ is not a call to stop loving our families, or to stop caring for them. &nbsp;Instead, Jesus, by the grace of God becomes our spiritual husband and elder brother, who leads us in paths of righteousness, (<span>which some of our loved ones may not at this time also seek to walk with us in&nbsp;the Lord). &nbsp;Consequently, by our following and their not, we find that with Peter, we have left them. &nbsp;Our hearts never stop yearning for them to share with us&nbsp;in this new life. &nbsp;But, if at this time they will not also answer the call to ‘Follow’, we must still go on.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Jesus consoles us with the promise, that in following Him&nbsp;and living for the proclamation of the Gospel,</span></div><div><span>we receive an entirely new true family, the Church. &nbsp;This does not mean we stop loving our old families, it means we who are in Christ become partakers of God’s whole family throughout this world and heaven, for all time. &nbsp;We will forever yearn to have our biological family be one with us in Christ. &nbsp;But, if they will not, then we must go on with our Lord. &nbsp;<i>“Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” &nbsp;</i>(Exodus 20;3)</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Notice&nbsp;especially, that Jesus says that in following Him, we not only receive our new, true family, the Church, but with this new life in Christ, we also receive <i>“persecutions.” </i>(v.30)<i></i></span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>The endless rebellious&nbsp;war of Satan against Christ has been won by the cross and empty tomb, but our enemies, the devil, this world, and our own flesh refuse to surrender. &nbsp;They know the war is lost, but their hate is undying. So long as this age goes on, until Christ returns for the final judgement, His enemies, with their mindless hate, will futilely&nbsp;continue to&nbsp;attack Christ’s body (His Bride the Church)&nbsp;and her&nbsp;work of proclaiming the&nbsp;Gospel. &nbsp;</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span><i>“Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” &nbsp;</i>(James 4;4, see also John 15;18-27)<i><b></b></i></span></div><div><br></div><div>Jesus’ last statement in verse 31 is referring&nbsp;to Himself, His persecutors, and to us.</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;The <i>“first,” </i>&nbsp;were&nbsp;those&nbsp;who had authority to crucify Him, (as well as those today who temporarily have the power to reject Him), they&nbsp;will in the Judgement,&nbsp;be powerless and themselves be&nbsp;condemned. &nbsp;They will be made to be <i>“last.”</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div>When Jesus speaks of <i>“the last” </i>&nbsp;He speaks of Himself, (and His Bride the Church). &nbsp;He was by the will of the Father placed under their corrupt authority and&nbsp;handed over to be condemned and&nbsp;to be killed. &nbsp; We who are now <u>in Christ</u>&nbsp;also are commanded to submit to&nbsp;those corrupt authorities,&nbsp;we are&nbsp;commanded to be subject to them, pay taxes to them,&nbsp;even to be killed by them, just as&nbsp;Jesus was. &nbsp;<i></i></div><div><br></div><div>Now, by the resurrection, Christ is <i>“the First” </i>&nbsp;and we who have been raised with Jesus in His resurrection (by our&nbsp;baptism into Christ), are truly&nbsp;<i>“first” </i>&nbsp;with Him, although the world does not yet see it, it will.</div><div><br></div><div>Prayer: &nbsp;Merciful Father, grant us grace to pray for those who are in authority, as you have commanded us,&nbsp;(no matter how little we think of them). &nbsp;Bless us to <i>“seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness,” </i>&nbsp;and in this life ‘be willing to suffer the loss of all things,&nbsp;even death,’ for the sake of the Name of Jesus and the Gospel. &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><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 10;28-31
28.  Peter began to say to him, “Lo, we have left everything and followed you.”29.  Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel,30.  who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.31.  But many that are first will be last, and the last first.”

Our call to ‘Follow Jesus and become fishers of men,’ is not a call to stop loving our families, or to stop caring for them.  Instead, Jesus, by the grace of God becomes our spiritual husband and elder brother, who leads us in paths of righteousness, (which some of our loved ones may not at this time also seek to walk with us in the Lord).  Consequently, by our following and their not, we find that with Peter, we have left them.  Our hearts never stop yearning for them to share with us in this new life.  But, if at this time they will not also answer the call to ‘Follow’, we must still go on.
Jesus consoles us with the promise, that in following Him and living for the proclamation of the Gospel,we receive an entirely new true family, the Church.  This does not mean we stop loving our old families, it means we who are in Christ become partakers of God’s whole family throughout this world and heaven, for all time.  We will forever yearn to have our biological family be one with us in Christ.  But, if they will not, then we must go on with our Lord.  “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.”  (Exodus 20;3)
Notice especially, that Jesus says that in following Him, we not only receive our new, true family, the Church, but with this new life in Christ, we also receive “persecutions.” (v.30)
The endless rebellious war of Satan against Christ has been won by the cross and empty tomb, but our enemies, the devil, this world, and our own flesh refuse to surrender.  They know the war is lost, but their hate is undying. So long as this age goes on, until Christ returns for the final judgement, His enemies, with their mindless hate, will futilely continue to attack Christ’s body (His Bride the Church) and her work of proclaiming the Gospel.  
“Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”  (James 4;4, see also John 15;18-27)
Jesus’ last statement in verse 31 is referring to Himself, His persecutors, and to us.
 The “first,”  were those who had authority to crucify Him, (as well as those today who temporarily have the power to reject Him), they will in the Judgement, be powerless and themselves be condemned.  They will be made to be “last.”
When Jesus speaks of “the last”  He speaks of Himself, (and His Bride the Church).  He was by the will of the Father placed under their corrupt authority and handed over to be condemned and to be killed.   We who are now in Christ also are commanded to submit to those corrupt authorities, we are commanded to be subject to them, pay taxes to them, even to be killed by them, just as Jesus was.  
Now, by the resurrection, Christ is “the First”  and we who have been raised with Jesus in His resurrection (by our baptism into Christ), are truly “first”  with Him, although the world does not yet see it, it will.
Prayer:  Merciful Father, grant us grace to pray for those who are in authority, as you have commanded us, (no matter how little we think of them).  Bless us to “seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness,”  and in this life ‘be willing to suffer the loss of all things, even death,’ for the sake of the Name of Jesus and the Gospel.  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."Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPad
