Skip to main content

Acknowledgement But…

“Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ‘Never, Lord!’ he said. ‘This shall never happen to you!’” Matthew 16:22

Peter thought he was doing something right and noble. In fact, he was the one who had just acknowledged and confessed that Jesus was truly the Messiah, the Son of God. Perhaps he even felt emboldened when Jesus responded to his confession by saying that it was upon such faith and truth that He was going to build His church and hell would not be able to stand up against it. I don’t know. But what happens next is interesting.

Jesus starts to speak about what was coming. Suffering. Death. Resurrection. He was about to experience it all. Peter intercedes to protect Him. Notice the actions and the words. Peter did not want to embarrass Him, so he took Jesus aside and said, “Never, Lord.” What? Peter was acknowledging that Jesus is Lord but then proceeds to tell Jesus what was and what wasn’t going to happen. He, Peter, was going to save the day!

It makes me wonder how often I acknowledge Jesus’ title, Lord, but do not respect or submit to His position. If He is Lord, then He deserves my obedience, my humble submission, my reverence and awe. But if I am acknowledging His title while still determining in my own mind and heart what is and what is not going to happen, then practically He is not Lord at all. And I would be reflecting exactly who Jesus says Peter is. He responds, “Get behind me Satan. You are a stumbling block to me. For you do not have in mind the concerns of God but merely human concerns.”

Acknowledging a title is not honoring who Jesus truly is. The concerns of men must be replaced by the concerns of God.

Prayer Focus: Lord, help me today to hear Your voice and have in mind Your concerns rather than my concerns. For I know that when I focus on Your concerns, mine will be cared for.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Storyteller

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.” Acts 1:8-9 These are the last words Jesus speaks to his Apostles just before ascending into heaven. Not what they were expecting. They were wondering when Jesus was going to set up His Kingdom on earth. As He was ascending into heaven He reveals we are the ones to accomplish the task. Jesus’ departure is not desertion; it is a commission to be the storytellers of truth to the rest of the world. Frequently, we look at this scripture in relationship to our life. We perceive Jerusalem as our own community, Judea as our city, Samaria as our country and the ends of the earth as the world. Christ informed the apostles they will have the power of the Holy Spirit to reach these people. Notice the word “and...” Jesus didn’t say...
1 comment
Read more

We Can

“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” Mark 10:38 James and John were asking (through their mother) for special consideration in the Kingdom. Mrs. Zebedee asked that her sons sit in the seats of honor right beside Jesus and His Father. Jesus asks them a hard question: “If that is what you want, do you think you can face and go through all that I am about to go through, even to the point of dying?” Without really knowing what they were saying, they answered, “We can.” We want God to give us special attention and honor, but in doing so we don’t always understand what we are asking for. He was not speaking of a dunk in water here. He was speaking of immersion in a life of sacrifice, becoming “obedient to death, even death on a cross.” James and John would face difficult days ahead. James was shortly hereafter executed for his faith. And while John outlived the other disciples, at one point...
Post a Comment
Read more

Answers

“An angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Go south to the road, the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ So he started out...” Acts 8:26 Philip is an example of how God calls us to step out in obedience even if it doesn’t make sense at the time. The angel of the Lord gave clear directions for Philip to go from Jerusalem to Gaza. He was asked to travel in the heat of the day through the desert, not the normal paved route to Gaza. Philip did not question God or try to figure out why God was asking him to go. He didn’t pause to wonder how he was going to deal with the physically draining aspects of the journey or who was going to fund his trip. He simply started on his way. As he went along, the Holy Spirit directed him to an Ethiopian eunuch. Philip struck up casual conversations which led to sharing the good news about Jesus. Many people have told me they desire to go on a mission trip but are not sure if they should go. They want to have all the answers ahead of time....
Post a Comment
Read more