Matthew 16...."Blessed are you Simon"...."Get behind me, Satan."

Reading in Matthew 16 yesterday we came across familiar scripture that revealed truths about our human condition that I had not considered before.  Quite frankly, I have always consider my human condition as weak and probably of little use to God.  But in Matthew 16: 15-19 Jesus shows us that, in our human condition, we can receive, share, and do for God just as Jesus did in His human condition.  When Jesus asked the disciples who he was, Peter responded saying that he was the Messiah.  Jesus blessed Peter and said, "...flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven."  He went on to tell Peter that on this rock he would build His church.  This rock was God's word spoken by man for man.  Jesus, being fully human, and very consistent to point out to his followers that his works and words were from His Father, understood that humanity, when connected to God by His Spirit, is the connection God has with us.

Ironically, within a few verses, Jesus also shows us the human condition when His Spirit is not the voice we follow.  In Matthew 16: 21-23, when Jesus is telling the disciples about the suffering and death he would face, Peter rebuked Jesus saying, "God forbid it, Lord."  Jesus turned and said to Peter saying, "Get behind me Satan!  You are a stumbling block to me, for you are  setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."  A couple of things stand out. First Jesus said that he was a stumbling block to Him...Peter was introducing doubt and temptation to Jesus, which Jesus did not want.  In His human condition, Jesus knew that temptation was always going to be used to  separate Him from His Father.  Second, Jesus points to Satan as the source of this temptation and ordered Satan to be behind Him where he could not come between Him and God.  Jesus was not calling Peter, Satan; but he was telling Peter that he was not speaking words from God (as he did in  the earlier verses) but words from Satan.  In our human condition, our natural tendency is to set our minds on human things.  But Jesus admonishes Peter for not setting his mind on divine things.  In our humanity we have the power to decide where we will set our minds.  Jesus set His mind on the Father and on divine things and that is what he wants us to set our minds on.  Satan will use the human things to separate us from God in order that we can become stumbling blocks for others.  The divine things...God's Word, God's Love, God's Grace, God's Forgiveness, God's Son are the things we need to set our minds on and share with humanity.

“No one is good—except God alone."

Luke 18:19

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁹ “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone."

I am so guilty of considering myself as a good person...better than many...better than I used to be...I could be worse.  Yet Jesus did not have these opinions of himself, so why should I?  I want people to look at me and see me as a good person; someone they respect, admire, trust, enjoy, and want to be around.  I want to project myself as "good".

This high opinion of myself is evident in my prayer life.  I approach God with gratitude for how he has blessed me and made me a better person and then I  proceed to tell God how he can be a "good god" by doing good things like healing, forgiving, supplying, helping, and fixing.  I petition God in prayer as if Love, Goodness, Righteousness, Mercy, and Grace were not His Nature.  God, by His nature Loves beyond measure, Forgives Mercifully and Graciously, Heals perfectly, and Supplies in abundance.  In prayer, I am asking God to be who He already is.

I need to remember and go to God in prayer in the full realization of His Goodness.  By His Spirit leading me in prayer, my petitions will become praises and His nature will become my own.  I will want  what He wants.  I will see the healing that glorifies Him.  I will be thankful for the abundance of His supply.  I will receive the forgiveness that he so graciously offers.  I will love as he loves; loving people who seem unlovable and those who have hurt me.  I will be joyful, generous, patient, kind, peace loving, faithful, gentle, and have self-control (reject temptation).  (Galatians 5: 22-23...Fruit of the Spirit)

As I grow closer to God through prayer...seeking and desiring to be more Like Christ...I will want people to see His nature and not my own when they look at me.  That is what Jesus showed the world when He came and died and that is what He has entrusted to us, His followers and believers.

"For God So Loved The World..." John 3: 16

John 3:16

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

These words, spoken by Jesus, are the gospel message...the Good News....which the world needs to hear.  Jesus did not come to give us a To-Do list to get into heaven; He gave Himself and the promise that by believing that He is the Son of God, we will be saved and we will receive the gift of eternal life. 

When I proclaimed my belief in Him, I immediately knew that I had recieved this gift.  Over the years, I confess that at times my belief seemed weak and uncertain, but I never fell into unbelief.  It was at those low points when His Holy Spirit, a gift to help me, carried me, loved me, and assured me that His promise of eternity was mine.  Jesus relates to us because He walked this earth  as a man and experienced the same trials and temptations that we face.  That is why he sends His Spirit to abide with believers,  With His help, we feel His love and compassion when we are at our lowest.  He overcomes this world daily as we live this life and he overcomes death with eternal life.

There is power in the name of Jesus and that power is fueled by the love of God for all who believe that He is the Son of God.