<html><head></head><body><div><div><div><div><br></div>Mark 16;14<div><br></div><div><b>14. &nbsp;Afterward, he appeared to the eleven&nbsp;themselves as they sat at table; and he upbraided them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div>I am so thankful that God inspired Mark to include this verse in this Gospel.</div><div><br></div><div>It reveals how all we&nbsp;Believers retain our deadly,&nbsp;unimproved,&nbsp;stubborn, selfish, prideful, sinful&nbsp;natures. &nbsp;These sinful natures of ours&nbsp;<u>never</u>&nbsp;change, ever.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;As Saint Paul writes&nbsp;about himself as a Baptized Christian saying,</div><div><i>“For I know that <u>nothing good dwells in me,</u></i><i>&nbsp;that is, </i><u>in my flesh.</u><span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span>I can will what is right, but I cannot do it.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span>(Romans 7;18)</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>These eleven men had just completed the greatest, most intensive three year (walking)&nbsp;seminary/theological education which has&nbsp;ever been&nbsp;given to men, and yet,&nbsp;they still remained carnal, stubborn,&nbsp;hard-hearted, and unbelieving!</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div>And, so do we! &nbsp;We, of ourselves, do not improve, we do not ‘get better,’&nbsp;or become ‘better people’. &nbsp;The wicked old-man abides in our flesh as our enemy, <span>a</span>&nbsp;servant of the devil,&nbsp;unimproved and unchanged,&nbsp;until the day we die. &nbsp;He wants no Lord, but himself.</div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>This is why Paul exhorts us,&nbsp;<i>“But I say,&nbsp;walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. &nbsp;For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would.” &nbsp;</i>(Galatians 5;16&amp;17)</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Martin Luther explains it this way asking:</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span><i>“What does such baptizing with water indicate?”</i></span></div><div><span><i>“It indicates that the Old Adam in us should buy daily contrition and repentance&nbsp;be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.”</i></span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span><i>“Where is this written?”</i></span></div><div><span><i>“St. Paul writes in Romans, chapter six: &nbsp;‘We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” &nbsp;&nbsp;</i></span><span>(Luther’s Small Catechism, Baptism, the Fourth question, &nbsp;LSB, page 325)</span></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Therefore, there&nbsp;remains a necessary <i>“upbraiding”</i>&nbsp;which all pastors are obliged to make a part of their rightful ministry to themselves and&nbsp;the Lord’s&nbsp;carnal-minded&nbsp;sheep, just as Jesus <i>“upbraided”</i>&nbsp;his disciples for their <i>“hard-heartedness&nbsp;and unbelief”.</i></div><div>We ourselves are inspired and&nbsp;obliged, by the gifts of repentance,&nbsp;faith, and the Holy Spirit&nbsp;to be at war with our carnal nature continually.</div><div>The Old Adam is no friend to us. &nbsp;We are exhorted&nbsp;by Paul to, <i>“By the Spirit, put to death the deeds of the body.” &nbsp;</i>(Romans 8;13) &nbsp; This we are able to do by faith&nbsp;as the <i>“Born-anew”</i>&nbsp;man, believing that Christ by the Spirit is indwelling us, empowering us to, <i>“Deny our selves, take up our crosses, and follow Jesus.”</i></div><div>(Matthew 16;24)</div><div><br></div><div>Walking by the Spirit, means on-going war with the carnal fleshly nature. &nbsp;Remember, <i>“Greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world.” &nbsp;</i>(1 John 4;4) &nbsp;This spiritual warfare make us long to be out of the flesh, and home with Jesus altogether.</div><div><br></div><div>Prayer: &nbsp;We praise you dear Father, that it is the <i>“born-anew”</i>&nbsp;man in us who is the Believer, and not our carnal flesh. &nbsp;We rejoice dear Father that You have created this new life in us as You raised us up in Christ in our baptism into Him. &nbsp;Deliver us from the vain and futile efforts of ‘self-improvement’ and grant that we live now believing in Christ by the Spirit indwelling us as&nbsp;the forgiven&nbsp;‘new-man’ (who is one with his Lord). &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, everyday, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word. &nbsp;God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”</div><div><br></div><div>Note: Our bodies are cleansed, so as to be temples of the Holy Spirit, they rightly belong to God alone. &nbsp;They are not ours, but God’s. &nbsp;They exist to serve the will of God and our neighbor, not to serve themselves. &nbsp;The sinful nature indwelling our flesh, is to be ruled, not served. &nbsp;<i>“Sin shall no longer have dominion over you.” &nbsp;</i>(Romans 6;14)</div><div>Remember, ‘resting’ of&nbsp;body, spirit, and mind,&nbsp;is part of worship also. &nbsp;Faith allows us to rest.</div><div>Resting in this life,&nbsp;is done so as to make us better servants, it is a means, not an end.</div><div>Our true ‘rest’ is always and only in Christ, believing. &nbsp;This, we are able to do in the midst of suffering and&nbsp;sacrificial labors.</div><div><br></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>


Mark 16;14
14.  Afterward, he appeared to the eleven themselves as they sat at table; and he upbraided them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.
I am so thankful that God inspired Mark to include this verse in this Gospel.
It reveals how all we Believers retain our deadly, unimproved, stubborn, selfish, prideful, sinful natures.  These sinful natures of ours never change, ever.  As Saint Paul writes about himself as a Baptized Christian saying,“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.  I can will what is right, but I cannot do it.”  (Romans 7;18)
These eleven men had just completed the greatest, most intensive three year (walking) seminary/theological education which has ever been given to men, and yet, they still remained carnal, stubborn, hard-hearted, and unbelieving!
And, so do we!  We, of ourselves, do not improve, we do not ‘get better,’ or become ‘better people’.  The wicked old-man abides in our flesh as our enemy, a servant of the devil, unimproved and unchanged, until the day we die.  He wants no Lord, but himself.
This is why Paul exhorts us, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.  For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would.”  (Galatians 5;16&17)
Martin Luther explains it this way asking:
“What does such baptizing with water indicate?”“It indicates that the Old Adam in us should buy daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.”
“Where is this written?”“St. Paul writes in Romans, chapter six:  ‘We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”   (Luther’s Small Catechism, Baptism, the Fourth question,  LSB, page 325)

Therefore, there remains a necessary “upbraiding” which all pastors are obliged to make a part of their rightful ministry to themselves and the Lord’s carnal-minded sheep, just as Jesus “upbraided” his disciples for their “hard-heartedness and unbelief”.We ourselves are inspired and obliged, by the gifts of repentance, faith, and the Holy Spirit to be at war with our carnal nature continually.The Old Adam is no friend to us.  We are exhorted by Paul to, “By the Spirit, put to death the deeds of the body.”  (Romans 8;13)   This we are able to do by faith as the “Born-anew” man, believing that Christ by the Spirit is indwelling us, empowering us to, “Deny our selves, take up our crosses, and follow Jesus.”(Matthew 16;24)
Walking by the Spirit, means on-going war with the carnal fleshly nature.  Remember, “Greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world.”  (1 John 4;4)  This spiritual warfare make us long to be out of the flesh, and home with Jesus altogether.
Prayer:  We praise you dear Father, that it is the “born-anew” man in us who is the Believer, and not our carnal flesh.  We rejoice dear Father that You have created this new life in us as You raised us up in Christ in our baptism into Him.  Deliver us from the vain and futile efforts of ‘self-improvement’ and grant that we live now believing in Christ by the Spirit indwelling us as the forgiven ‘new-man’ (who is one with his Lord).  In Jesus we pray, Amen.
Love,Dad/Baba/EricGrandpa Pickle Pastor“A chapter a day, everyday, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word.  God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”
Note: Our bodies are cleansed, so as to be temples of the Holy Spirit, they rightly belong to God alone.  They are not ours, but God’s.  They exist to serve the will of God and our neighbor, not to serve themselves.  The sinful nature indwelling our flesh, is to be ruled, not served.  “Sin shall no longer have dominion over you.”  (Romans 6;14)Remember, ‘resting’ of body, spirit, and mind, is part of worship also.  Faith allows us to rest.Resting in this life, is done so as to make us better servants, it is a means, not an end.Our true ‘rest’ is always and only in Christ, believing.  This, we are able to do in the midst of suffering and sacrificial labors.


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