God's Perspective

Even when it's hard and you don't feel like doing anything, keep pressing on and asking God for the joy of the LORD.  So that our circumstances don't distract us from God's purpose.

Prayer request accepted.

PRAYER: LORD teach us how to discern Your ways.  Help each one of us to create an environment so saturated by Your Will, that anything NOT of You is easily recognized and rebuked in the name of Jesus.  LORD, You are good!  Everything You do in my life is good.  Spending time with You is so good.  Learning and knowing Your Word is precious and a responsibility that we should not take lightly.  I don't want to be destroyed for a lack of knowledge, so I ask You to continue to provide Your Word in every area of our lives; and I thank You for the Holy Spirit, whom discerns the mysteries of  Your Word in our hearts at just the right time.  Thank You for always being right on time.  You are my Encourager, my Joy, my Light.  I'm so thankful to know You, to love You and be loved by You.  In the name of Jesus, amen.

MATTHEW 16: 21-28

JESUS PREDICTS HIS DEATH: part 2

PLEASE READ THE VERSES DIRECTLY FROM THE BIBLE: 

These verses may be broken up to discuss each point

(Emphasis v. 21-23) 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."  

Put yourself in Peter's shoes for a second.  How would you react to Jesus' explanation of His own death?  Peter, Jesus' friend and devoted follower who had just eloquently proclaimed Jesus' true identity (v.16), sought to protect Him from the suffering He prophesied.  What Peter did not understand as of yet, is that if Jesus hadn't suffered and died, Peter would have died in his sins.  Great temptation can come from those who love us and seek to protect us.   BE CAUTIOUS of advice from a friend who says, "Surely God doesn't want you to face this."  Often our most difficult temptations come from those who are only trying to protect us from discomfort.

In Jesus' wilderness temptations, Jesus heard the message that He could achieve greatness without dying (v.4:9).  Here He heard the same message from Peter.  Peter had just recognized Jesus as Messiah; here, however, he forsook God's perspective and evaluated the situation from a human one.  Satan is always trying to get us to leave God out of the picture.  Jesus rebuked Peter for this attitude.  And we also, need to rebuke advice that leaves God out of the equation.  All advice is not good advice, no matter the relationship with and the good intentions of the person.

PONDER THIS:

ARE YOU EVALUATING YOUR SITUATION FROM A HUMAN PERSPECTIVE?

ACTION:

PUT AND LEAVE GOD IN THE PICTURE AT ALL TIMES.

Jesus said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." Mark 16:15

Notes from Life Application Study Bible & NIV Women's Devotional Bible-Classic Edition.  Definitions from the New Oxford American Dictionary