Daily Bread 2-9-17
Matthew 16:22,23
22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
23 But he turned and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me Satan: thou art an offense unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
ref. - Mk 8:33 - But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.
Often times we think we are helping when we are just getting in the way. In Peter's instance, he was ready to go to war with anyone who touched Jesus. If anyone was to persecute our Lord he was ready to go to battle. First we must determine who our Lord is. If it is anyone but Jesus(our children, our friends, our addictions, etc....), we are already outside of the realm of Godliness and in need of a true salvation in Jesus Christ. Now in a carnal setting among worldly people what Peter did would have been good and fine and would have been a show of loyalty love, and his dedication to Christ, but Peter and the disciples were not carnal people, and neither were the people that were beginning to follow Christ. We read in our Bible that vengeance belongs to God, and that in the Church we do not take our own vengeance nor cast our own judgment on others. We must get back behind the word of God in the gospel revealed to us by Jesus Christ, then his disciples, then the apostles, and remain there. When in a confrontation and trying to remain holy, we must repeatedly go over the scriptures and find what their true meaning is and stay with them. If we do not, it reveals that we do not have our faith in him but are trying to get in front of him. We are looking for another better way. He wants his power to be manifest in our lives, not the powers of the world, or even the law. He wants his power shown through his grace. What we must realize is that when we think we are really "getting things done", most times we have overstepped our bounds in Christ. We say we believe, but in reality, we see a way that we think is better and we follow it, we are revealing ourseves as non-believers who are lacking in faith. Even though we may say we believe, our actions prove otherwise. What we must realize is that Christ is no longer physically here so that other disciples or even the non-believers can see him or learn from him. They must see a good example in us and be led to understand why we believe what we believe. This is where good, Holy Ghost filled preachers come in. If we wait on God the answers will be revealed to us, Biblically, and in a way that all can understand. If others accept the word of God and the will of God it is up to them, but we as examples must accept it and not only hear it but do it. We, as true believers, are called the Body of Christ, so let us remain behind his teaching and behind his ways and have faith that, in the end, maybe not on this earth, but in the end, everything will come to light and be manifest in the eyes of our Lord!! Let's get out there and be the body and if we have stepped out of bounds or in front of Christ, let's repent and get back to where we belong, disciples of Him!!! Have a great day!!!