Getting it wrong

In our current environment of fear, a time unlike any in my memory, Christians need to lead the way in faith. No, not with bravado that appears to dare that old virus to touch us. That is foolishness. No, not defying our government, no matter how misguided some public policies appear to be to some of us. We must respond with true faith, authentic prayers, and minds shaped by the eternal Truth. Unless we are keeping centered in Christ Jesus, we risk getting it all wrong, one way or another.

Peter, we learned in yesterday’s text, made a faith-filled proclamation about Jesus – “You are the Christ!” He listened to the Spirit, responded in faith, and led the way. Jesus called him a ‘rock,’ in that moment. A few verses later, not many days after his amazing faith words; “Rocky” got it terribly wrong and earned a strong rebuke from Jesus. Every time I read this passage, I cringe at the words the Lord spoke to him, words that reflect the seriousness of letting human wisdom replace spiritual truth. Read it and learn.

"From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul."  (Matthew 16:21-26, NIV)

Who doesn’t sympathize with Peter’s impulse in this story? He loves Jesus and cannot begin to even imagine how suffering at the hands of cruel men and then dying could possibly be the will of God for his Friend, the Man he is now convinced is the Anointed One who will bring deliverance for the people of God. He is so passionate that he ‘rebukes’ Jesus.  Talk about getting it wrong! He does not just say, “That’s awful” or “We don’t want that.”  He gets in Jesus’ face and tells Him to stop saying things that are not true! Imagine how he felt when Jesus turned on him and told him he was doing the Devil’s work? How awful was the realization that he was making it more difficult for Jesus to choose to take the road to the Cross, to save the world?  “You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, and not from God’s.”

This is THE question for me, for you, today:  Do I have the mind of Christ so that my choices will reflect the Truth of faith?  Christianity is not irrational, but sometimes God calls us to be supra-rational, understanding the world in a way that goes beyond human reason and what we can know with our natural mind.  For example, we cannot perceive eternity but we orient our lives around an eternal hope because God has revealed it to us.  In this story, Jesus explains to Peter that if self-preservation is his number one goal, he cannot find the life that God has prepared for him!  We must be prepared to ‘lose our life’ in the natural scheme of things to find the life God gives that never ends.  Yes, that is supra-rational!

As the world appears to go off its axis around us, with financial markets collapsing, schools closing, normal human activities being suspended – let’s be the people of God – with the mind of God, informed by the Spirit.

When others run, we stand.
When others take care of only themselves, we generously care for all.
When despair overwhelms, we stand in hope.
When some say, there is no way we point to the Way, faithful in prayer, our hearts filled with the Love of the Father.

Here is a word from the Word. May it own us . "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus," (Philippians 2:5, NKJV)  "and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7, NKJV)
___________

I Am Thine O Lord

I am Thine O Lord I have heard Thy voice

And it told Thy love to me

But I long to rise in the arms of faith

And be closer drawn to Thee

Draw me nearer nearer blessed Lord

To the cross where Thou hast died

Draw me nearer nearer nearer blessed Lord

To Thy precious bleeding side

Consecrate me now to Thy service Lord

By the pow'r of grace divine

Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope

And my will be lost in Thine

Oh the pure delight of a single hour

That before Thy throne I spend

When I kneel in prayer and with Thee my God

I commune as friend with friend

There are depths of love that I cannot know

Till I cross the narrow sea

There are heights of joy that I may not reach

Till I rest in peace with Thee

Fanny Jane Crosby
© Words: Public Domain

Getting it right

A team at the church which I serve has been working on the governing documents of the congregation for months. We are discovering how important words can be, how a little shift in a phrase can affect the meaning. Yes, we know that words matter as they are an expression of our understanding. Words can build faith, express love, encourage, and inspire hope. They can also tear down, wound, and demoralize. How are you using the words of your life?

There is one confession that is critically important, words that have the power of life. Those words? What you say about Jesus, what you truly believe about Him!

Matthew tells us about a moment when Peter, the man who often impulsively got things wrong, actually got it right. Jesus commended his faith and told him that he had not ‘figured it out’ but that God had revealed this important truth to him. "When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” He asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven." (Matthew 16:13-17, NIV)

This moment happened near the end of Jesus’ public ministry, as He was preparing to hand off the work of the Gospel to those men. He was their teacher, their friend, an amazing leader, a miracle worker. All those things were wonderful, but there was more to Jesus than that and here it is – “You are the Christ!”  As God’s Spirit stirred in Peter, he came to understand that the Man he rubbed shoulders with each day was more than Mary’s son, more than a great rabbi. Jesus was God, come in flesh, to save the world. To be sure, not all the theology around the divinity of Jesus was settled in that moment, nor did Peter have perfect grasp of all that was included in those words, but, in declaring that Jesus was God’s Messiah, the Anointed One for whom the people of God had waited for centuries, he was taking a huge step of faith.

Many people who claim to believe in Jesus fail to receive the mystery of faith. They accept him as a great teacher, a philosopher who laid a foundation for humanitarianism, but will not confess that He is God, the Savior of the world. Thomas Jefferson famously created the “Jefferson Bible” from which he excised all the reference to miracles of Jesus, His virgin birth, and the Resurrection because he thought they were superstitious ideas that detracted from the real value of Jesus teaching. He claimed to be a “Christian” because of his goodness and his hope in a benevolent God but rejected the idea of sin and the atoning work of Christ on the cross. Is this your understanding of Jesus? There is more! The heart of the Gospel of Christ is found in faith, not superstition, but the revelation that He is God in flesh, the unique God-man, sinless Savior of the world, alive again as the Guarantor of our eternal hope.

Here is what Paul was inspired to write to us - "But the way of getting right with God through faith says, “You don’t need to go to heaven” (to find Christ and bring him down to help you). And it says, “You don’t need to go to the place of the dead” (to bring Christ back to life again). Salvation that comes from trusting Christ—which is the message we preach—is already within easy reach. In fact, the Scriptures say, “The message is close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.” For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved." (Romans 10:6-10, NLT)

John helps us to understand that, like Peter, we don’t just figure this out. We are touched by the Holy Spirit and respond with faith. "This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world." (1 John 4:2-3, NIV)

Who do you say He is?  Words do matter because they reveal our faith, our core understanding. Let the Word inform you, the Spirit inspire you, and trust Christ, the Living God, to transform you from death to life.

Here is a word from the Word. "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:14-16, NIV)

____________

What A Beautiful Name

(Worship Jesus, revealed as our Lord)

You were the Word at the beginning

One with God the Lord Most High

Your hidden glory in creation

Now revealed in You our Christ

What a beautiful Name it is

What a beautiful Name it is

The Name of Jesus Christ my King

What a beautiful Name it is

Nothing compares to this

What a beautiful Name it is

The Name of Jesus

You didn't want heaven without us

So Jesus You brought heaven down

My sin was great Your love was greater

What could separate us now

What a wonderful Name it is

What a wonderful Name it is

The Name of Jesus Christ my King

What a wonderful Name it is

Nothing compares to this

What a wonderful Name it is

The Name of Jesus

What a wonderful Name it is

The Name of Jesus

Death could not hold You

The veil tore before You

You silence the boast of sin and grave

The heavens are roaring

The praise of Your glory

For You are raised to life again

You have no rival

You have no equal

Now and forever God You reign

Yours is the kingdom

Yours is the glory

Yours is the Name above all names

What a powerful Name it is

What a powerful Name it is

The Name of Jesus Christ my King

What a powerful Name it is

Nothing can stand against

What a powerful Name it is

The Name of Jesus

What a powerful Name it is

The Name of Jesus

What a powerful Name it is

The Name of Jesus

Ben Fielding | Brooke Ligertwood

© 2016 Hillsong Music Publishing (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

Is there a mountain in your way?

A few months ago, I drove up to the top of Pike’s Peak to stand and take in the view from that peak at 14,110 feet above sea level! To the east, the Great Plains lay like a tabletop. To the west, the Rocky Mountain peaks poke into the sky. Standing on top of a mountain like that is a natural ‘high,’ no pun intended! My ‘climb’ involved a couple of hours driving and still I felt a sense of accomplishment. Looking at that mountain from the foot and the view at the top produce completely different emotions – at one moment overwhelming, in another exhilarated.

As we walk with the Lord, we will find ourselves looking at peaks that rise menacingly, filling the horizon, daring us to try to find a way forward. Working toward that degree can be daunting. Rebuilding a life after loss to death can be a steep climb. Dealing with chronic illness, day in and day out, can be like climbing an endless trail up a steep slope. Ah, yes, there are so many ways that we face mountains. But, if we press on, if we hold onto faith in the power of God, when we have reached the summit, what a shift we find in understanding.

In Exodus,  I read about a man facing a mountain. God invited Moses to come to meet Him at the summit. "Then Moses climbed up the mountain, and the cloud covered it. And the glory of the Lord settled down on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from inside the cloud. To the Israelites at the foot of the mountain, the glory of the Lord appeared at the summit like a consuming fire. Then Moses disappeared into the cloud as he climbed higher up the mountain. He remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights." (Exodus 24:15-18, NLT) There, in God’s Presence, Moses received the Law, the plan for the Tabernacle which was the center of Israel’s worship, revelations great and wonderful. He was a changed man after his ascent to the top of Mt. Sinai.

John, too, was carried to a mountain where he gained new perspective! "And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal." (Revelation 21:10-11, NIV) From the height of his visionary mountain, John wrote of the disciple’s great hope, the promise of God’s victory over sin and suffering in a book that has encouraged and intrigued Christians for two millennia- The Revelation of Jesus Christ!

In the classic, Pilgrim’s Progress, an allegory about our journey to the Celestial City, John Bunyan wrote of the Delectable Mountains that afford the pilgrims, Christian and Hopeful, a view of their final destination. His insight is clear and instructs us well. From the heights of the mountains we have to climb along the way, we catch glimpses of God’s glory that draw us along.

Are you living in the shadows of the valley right now?

Does some peak stand ahead of you, daring you to scale its heights?

Or are you in the climb, feeling exhausted; seeing only more difficulty as you look ahead?

Keep climbing! New vistas will appear when you get to the summit!

The word from the Word is a prayer for those climbing steep trails today. Whatever your challenge, whatever your fear, make this your prayer. "I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray. Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways. You save with your strength those who seek refuge from their enemies. Guard me as the apple of your eye. Hide me in the shadow of your wings." (Psalm 17:6-8, NLT)

"It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights." (Psalm 18:32-33, NIV)  
__________

One Thing Remains (Your Love Never Fails)

(worship with this song about His love)

Higher than the mountains that I face

Stronger than the power of the grave

Constant in the trial and the change

One thing remains

One thing remains

Your love never fails

It never gives up

Never runs out on me

Your love

On and on and on and on it goes

It overwhelms and satisfies my soul

And I never ever have to be afraid

One thing remains

One thing remains

In death in life I'm confident and

Cover'd by the power of Your great love

My debt is paid there's nothing that

Can separate my heart from Your great love

Brian Johnson | Christa Black Gifford | Jeremy Riddle

© 2010 ChristaJoy Music Publishing (Admin. by Bethel Music Publishing)

Mercy / Vineyard Publishing (Admin. by Vineyard Music USA)

Bethel Music Publishing

CCLI License # 810055