May 2, 2021 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Provoking to Peace

 Provoking to Peace

Jeremiah 7:11b-20 - New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ . . . But I have been watching! declares the Lord.

¹² “‘Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for my Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. ¹³ While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer. ¹⁴ Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your ancestors. ¹⁵ I will thrust you from my presence, just as I did all your fellow Israelites, the people of Ephraim.’

¹⁶ “So do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them; do not plead with me, for I will not listen to you. ¹⁷ Do you not see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? ¹⁸ The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to arouse my anger. ¹⁹ But am I the one they are provoking? declares the Lord. Are they not rather harming themselves, to their own shame?

²⁰ “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: My anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place—on man and beast, on the trees of the field and on the crops of your land—and it will burn and not be quenched.

What has the Lord been doing (verse 11)?

Where is Jeremiah to go (verse 12)?

What did the Lord do “again and again” while the people of Judah were doing wicked things (verse 13)?

In your opinion, why would the Lord do “to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your ancestors” what he had done in Shiloh (verse 14)?

Where is the Lord going to thrust the people of Judah (verse 15)?

What will the Lord not listen to (verse 16)?

How do the people “in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem” arouse the Lord’s anger (verses 17 and 18)?

In your opinion, are the people of Judah and Jerusalem provoking the Lord or harming themselves (verse 19)?

What is going to be poured out (verse 20)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

Mark 11:27-12:12 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁷ They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. ²⁸ “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?”

²⁹ Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ³⁰ John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!”

³¹ They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ³² But if we say, ‘Of human origin’ …” (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)

³³ So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

¹ Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. ² At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. ³ But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴ Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. ⁵ He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

⁶ “He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

⁷ “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ⁸ So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

⁹ “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
¹¹ the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

¹² Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.

Who came up to Jesus in the temple courts (verse 27)?

What did they ask Jesus (verse 28)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus ask them for the origin of John’s baptism (verses 29 and 30)?

Why could they not answer “from heaven” (verse 31)?

Why could they not answer “of human origin” (verse 32)?

How did they answer (verse 33)?

What did the man do with the vineyard that he planted and protected (verse 1)?

Who did the man send to collect some of the fruit of the vineyard (verse 2)?

What happened to that person (verse 3)?

How were the other people sent to the vineyard treated (verses 4 and 5)?

How did the man think they would respond to his son (verse 6)?

Why was the son killed (verses 7 and 8)?

“What will the owner of the vineyard do” (verse 9)?

What happens to “the stone the builders rejected” (verse10)?

What did “the teachers of the law and elders” know (verse 12)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how are the people of Judah and Jerusalem in Jeremiah 7:11b-20 and the chief priests and elders of Mark 11:27-12:12 similar? 

Acts 3:11-15 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. ¹² When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? ¹³ The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. ¹⁴ You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. ¹⁵ You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. 

Where were Peter and John when “the people were astonished and came running to them” (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why did Peter ask “why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk” (verse 12)?

Who “has glorified his servant Jesus” (verse 13)?

Who “handed him over to be killed” (verse 13)?

Who had the astonished people verse 11 disowned (verse 14)? 

What did they do to “the author of life” (verse 15)?

What had God done for “the author of life” (verse 15)?

What had Peter and John done (verse 15)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does the rejection of God by the people of Judah and Jerusalem in Jeremiah 7:11b-20 compare to the rejection of God by the people in the temple in Acts 3:11-15?

In your opinion, how is the question that Jesus asks in Mark 11:27-12:12 “what then will the owner of the vineyard do” and His answer to that question “he will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others” relevant to Peter’s words in Acts 3:11-15?

Romans 5:1-8 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

⁶ You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

How do “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (verse 1)?

What do “we boast in the hope” of (verse 2)?

In your opinion, how can we “also glory in our sufferings” (verses 3 and 4)?

What “has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (verse 5)?

When did Christ die “for the ungodly” (verse 6)?

Who might “someone . . . possibly dare to die” for (verse 7)?

How did God demonstrate “his own love for us” (verse 8)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what is the difference between the people of Judah and Jerusalem in Jeremiah 7:11b-20 who are arousing God’s anger and the people that Paul is speaking to in Romans 5:1-8 who are boasting “in the hope of the glory of God”?

In your opinion, why is being willing to answer “John’s baptism-was it from heaven or of human origin” in Mark 11:22-12:12 important to the justification through faith that Paul discusses in Romans 5:1-8?  What does an unwillingness to answer this question demonstrate? 

In your opinion, how do you think the surprise of the people in Acts 3:11-15 about a lame man being given the ability to walk would compare with their surprise if they understood that Jesus, who they handed over to be killed and then disowned, was declared by Paul in Romans 5:1-8 to have loved them enough to die for them?  What does it take to accept that love? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Jeremiah, Mark, Acts and Romans teach us about how we, who have sinned, can respond to God?

In your opinion, how can we move from being people who are “harming themselves” to being people who “have peace with God”?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

April 25, 2021 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Holding on to What We Have

Holding on to What We Have

Jeremiah 7:1-11a - New International Version (NIV)

¹ This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ² “Stand at the gate of the Lord’s house and there proclaim this message:

“‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. ³ This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. ⁴ Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” ⁵ If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, ⁶ if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, ⁷ then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever. ⁸ But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.

⁹ “‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, ¹⁰ and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things? ¹¹ Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you?

What word came to Jeremiah (verse 1)?

Where is Jeremiah to stand to proclaim “this message” (verse 2)?

What do the people of Judah need to do for the Lord to let them “live in this place” (verse 3)?

In your opinion, what would the people of Judah meant if they said “this is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord” (verse 4)?

What four ways and actions are listed that the people of Judah need to change (verses 5 and 6):

1)

2)

3)

4)

How is “this place” where the Lord will let them live if they change described (verse 7)?

What worthless things are they trusting in (verse 8)?

In your opinion, what is the conflict between the stealing, murdering, committing adultery, committing perjury, burning incense to Baal, and following other gods; and standing before God in His temple and saying “we are safe” (verses 9 and 10)?

What does the Lord ask if “this house, which bears my Name” has become (verse 11)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

Mark 11:12-25 - New International Version (NIV)

¹² The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. ¹³ Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴ Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.

¹⁵ On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, ¹⁶ and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. ¹⁷ And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

¹⁸ The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

¹⁹ When evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.

²⁰ In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. ²¹ Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”

²² “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. ²³ “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. ²⁴ Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. ²⁵ And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

How did Jesus feel when they left Bethany (verse 12)?

Why was there no fruit on the fig tree (verse 13)?

What did the disciples hear Jesus say (verse 14)?

Where was Jesus when He “began driving out those who were buying and selling there” (verse 15)?

In your opinion, why would Jesus quote the passage from Jeremiah here (verse 17)?

Who began to look for a way to kill Jesus and why (verse 18)?

What had happened to the fig tree (verse 20)?

Who remembered the cursing of the fig tree and said “Rabbi, look!” (verse 21)?

In your opinion, what mountain was Jesus looking at when He said “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, “Go, throw yourself into the sea’” (verse 23)?

In your opinion, what can we learn about prayer from verses 23, 24 and 25?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how are the people of Judah in Jeremiah 7:1-11a and the chief priests, teachers of the law and sellers of Mark 11:12-25 similar?  How are the words of God through Jeremiah and the actions of Jesus in Mark similar? 

Acts 14:1-7 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. ² But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. ³ So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders. ⁴ The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. ⁵ There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. ⁶ But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, ⁷ where they continued to preach the gospel.

Where did Paul and Barnabas go “at Iconium” (verse 1)?

Who believed because of their effective speech (verse 1)?

What did the “Jews who refused to believe” do (verse 2)?

How did God confirm “the message of his grace” (verse 3)?

How did the people of the city respond (verse 4)? 

In your opinion, why was there “a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews” (verse 5)?

What did Paul and Barnabas do when they found out about the plot (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how is the conflict God’s call to reform to those entering the temple in Jeremiah 7:1-11a also shown by the division in the synagogue and city in Acts 14:1-7?

In your opinion, is there anything in the success of Paul and Barnabas in Acts 14:1-7 that helps us understand the teachings of Jesus about prayer in Mark 11:12-25?

Revelation 3:7-13 – New International Version (NIV)

⁷ “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. ⁸ I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. ⁹ I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. ¹⁰ Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.

¹¹ I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. ¹² The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. ¹³ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Who is the One who opens and no one can shut or shuts and no one can open (verse 7)?

What have the Christians in Philadelphia done in spite of having little strength (verse 8)?

Who do “those of the synagogue of Satan” claim to be (verse 9)?

Why will the Philadelphian Christians be kept from “the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth” (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what does the command to “hold on to what you have” mean (verse 11)?

Who will be a pillar in the temple with a new name written on them (verse 12)?

Who is to “hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what is the difference between the people who are entering the temple where Jeremiah stands giving God’s warning in Jeremiah 7:1-11a and those who become pillars of the temple in Revelation 3:7-13?

In your opinion, what does the victory of those who have little strength but are able to keep Jesus’s word in spite of the synagogue of Satan in Revelation 3:7-13 help us understand about Jesus’s teaching of prayer in Mark 11:12-25? 

In your opinion, how would the synagogues in Iconium in Acts 14:1-7 and in Philadelphia in Revelation 3:7-13 being in opposition to Christians have effected people making decisions about Christ? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Jeremiah, Mark, Acts and Revelation teach us about how those who frequent ‘holy’ physical buildings can become hostile to God and His people?

In your opinion, are there ‘holy’ physical buildings or ‘holy’ groups who have become hostile to God today?  How can we be victorious in today’s challenges?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

April 18, 2021 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – The Formation of a Kingdom

 

The Formation of a Kingdom

Zechariah 9:9-12 - New International Version (NIV)

⁹ Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
    Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
    righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
¹⁰ I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
    and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
    and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations.
    His rule will extend from sea to sea
    and from the River to the ends of the earth.
¹¹ As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
    I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.
¹² Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope;
    even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.

Why are “Daughter Zion” and “Daughter Jerusalem” to rejoice and shout (verse 9)?

Who was “lowly and riding on a donkey, or a colt, the foal of a donkey” (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “take away the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken” (verse 10)?

What will the King proclaim “to the nations” (verse 10)?

Why will the King “free your prisoners from the waterless pit” (verse 11)?

Who is to “return to your fortress” (verse 12)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

Mark 11:1-11 - New International Version (NIV)

¹  As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, ² saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. ³ If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”

⁴ They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, ⁵ some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” ⁶ They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. ⁷ When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. ⁸ Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. ⁹ Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

¹⁰ “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

¹¹ Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

Where was Jesus when He sent the two disciples (verse 1)?

How is the colt that is tied in the village described (verse 2)?

How are the disciples to answer if anyone asks “why are you doing this” (verse 3)?

Where was the colt (verse 4)?

Who ask “what are you doing, untying that colt” (verse 5)?

What happened when the disciples “answered as Jesus had told them to” (verse 6)?

When did Jesus sit on the colt (verse 7)?

What did people spread on the road (verse 8)?

Who shouted “Hosanna” and “blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David” (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what were the people who shouted “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David” (verse 10)?

Where did Jesus look “around at everything” (verse 11)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how is the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9-12 linked to the circumstance described in Mark 11:1-11?  What do you think the people who shouted “Hosanna” expected to happen next? 

Acts 2:1-13 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

⁵ Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶ When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. ⁷ Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? ⁹ Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome ¹¹ (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” ¹² Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

¹³ Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

When were “they all together in one place” (verse 1)?

What “filled the whole house where they were sitting” (verse 2)?

Where did “what seemed to be tongues of fire” come to rest (verse 3)?

How were they all filled (verse 4)?

Who was in Jerusalem (verse 5)? 

Why was the crowd bewildered (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why was the crowd “utterly amazed” that the Galileans could speak is a way that everyone heard their native language (verses 7 and 8)?

What did they ask each other (verse 12)?

What did the ones who made fun of them say (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how is the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:1-13 a beginning of the fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9-12 to break the battle bow and “proclaim peace to the nations” while extending His rule?

In your opinion, how is the “coming kingdom of our father David” that the people were shouting was “blessed” in Mark 11:1-11 related to the sound like the “blowing of a violent wind” and “what seemed like tongues of fire” in Acts 2:1-13?

1 Peter 1:1-2 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, ² who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

How does Peter describe himself (verse 1)?

Where are “God’s elect” (verse 1)?

How have the elect been chosen (verse 2)?

What kind of work does the Spirit do (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why does Peter say the elect are to be both “obedient to Jesus Christ” and “sprinkled with his blood” (verse 2)?

What does Peter want the elect to have “in abundance” (verse 2)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how are the people “who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood” in 1 Peter 1:1-2 a part of the extending of “His rule” that is prophesied in Zechariah 9:9-12?

In your opinion, could those who shouted “Hosanna” (save) and spread the cloaks and branches in Mark 11:1-11 be some of those who are exiled “throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia” in 1 Peter 1:1-2?  Why would they need the “grace and peace” that Peter blesses them with? 

In your opinion, how could the events of Acts 2:1-13 have helped those who are exiled in 1 Peter 1:1-2 to understand that they have the unity of family or kingdom even though they might not be in the same location as others who are exiled?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Zechariah, Mark, Acts and 1 Peter teach us about who the citizens of the Kingdom of our Lord are?

In your opinion, how can we move from living as scared prisoners of a world that is doomed to being citizens of the Kingdom of God filled with an abundance of grace and peace today?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)