MARK 10

28 Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.

29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, there is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children,or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s,

30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and

 brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

31 But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.

THE CHERRY ON TOP OF THE CAKE

I wonder if you have ever thought this…well look at everything I have given up for you Lord. Peter certainly, did and as usual he was very vocal.. he usually opened his mouth, without getting his mind into gear, that’s why I can identify with him so much.

 He states that they have given up everything to follow Christ and

 indeed, that was true, but Jesus puts it all into perspective in his

reply. He agrees that people have left things for the sake of Him and the gospel, but also says that they will receive a hundredfold, what they have left.

 Please note the two things right at the end, which Jesus says that we

 will receive and many people leave out. Many prosperity preachers say

 that the Christian will receive good things from God and this is true.

The first thing is persecution, note that persecution is added on. We will receive hundred-fold, but we will have persecution. As Christians, wee live in a world that to be honest hates us, sure it puts up with us,but it has little time for us, just as the world had little time for the Saviour.

Secondly and here is the cherry on top of the cake…we will receive

 Eternal life. We will spend eternity with Jesus and Father God, we will

 have perfect bodies and live-in heaven a place that is beyond our wildest dreams.

Whilst we are here on earth, we get a snapshot of what heaven will be like as we have fellowship with our Saviour, but when the time comes, we will see him face to face, we will serve him and live in the glory of his presence.

Jesus talked about the pearl of great price, that when someone found it in a field, he would sell everything he/she had to buy that field.This is that pearl.. salvation.. being with Jesus.

What we have given up is nothing to what we are receiving now and what we will inherit in eternity.

Glory to God

God bless you

JUDE

9 But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil (Satan), and[a]arguing about the body of Moses, did not dare bring an abusive condemnation against him, but [simply] said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

9 DISPUTING WITH THE DEVIL

This verse seems very obscure, but it so wonderful.

It shows us some things about how to defeat the devil, but also urges caution.

Firstly the caution, Michael who is one of the senior angels, and here he is disputing with the devil. Look at what he is saying. He does not bring an accusation against him, he says The Lord rebuke you. He does not use his own power or authority, he uses the authority of God. Likewise we have to use the authority of Christ’s name, unlike the seven sons of sceva, who tried in their own strength to handle the devil. You cannot handle the devil in your own strength, but you can use the authority you have in Christ.. use the name and the blood to defeat HIM.

Secondly, look at the tactics of the enemy. In Deuteronomy chapter 34 verse 6, it says that no one knows where Moses was buried. The tactic of the devil is to sidetrack the church into disputing about issues that are not important.

Church, you need to stop doing the devil’s work. His tactic is to entangle the church in petty arguments about minor points. You would of thought the devil would be discussing some major point, but here he is talking about the body of Moses.

Let’s be careful, and not get involved in petty disputes over words. So many christians spend their lives disputing over some minor points of doctine. Also don’t handle the devil on your own, you have the armour of God, you have the blood of Christ and you have the power of the name of JESUS

Use them wisely and use them often!

God bless you

Keith