"Who do you say I am?"

Matthew 16:15-19:
"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. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

"Jesus asked the disciples who other people thought he was, then he asked them the same question. It is not enough to know what others say about Jesus: you must know, understand, and accept for yourself that he is the Messiah. You must move from curiosity to commitment, from admiration to adoration." (Life Application Study Bible commentary on Mark 8:29)

After reading the commentary further it says "From this point on, Jesus spoke plainly and directly to his disciples about his death and resurrection. He began to prepare them for what was going to happen to him by telling them three times that he would soon die." In reading this I can't help but recall my own salvation. I never heard from God before the day he saved me. He was always there, as it says in Acts 2:25 I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. however it was not until after this day he started speaking and opening his word to me. It is an amazing thing. I profess Jesus is my Lord and Savior and that through him I have eternal life.

May he speak to you this day.

You can also find this same teaching in Mark 8:27-30 and Luke 9:18-20.

Shackles...Job???

In reading 1Peter3:13-16 today I came across the part "...do not fear what they fear..." and my mind flashed across my current status in life. In this quick reflection I, one, gave thanks to God and two, gave thanks again. :) I thought about "what if I lost my job because of my beliefs" and I think how God has set me up where I do not have to fear this. I don't want to lose my job by any means as it is very much a blessing and allows me to do many things that I feel are important to me and want to do right now, however, if it came down to it I don't believe I would be in fear of losing it. Why? Good question. I feel God has led me into a humble life that has not put me into any type of debt other then my house mortgage and my house mortgage is proprtionate to my income so I am not living above my head. He also has led me through FPU (Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey) that has taught me techniques to be a good steward of my money. With all this I give him all the praise because through him I experience freedom.

In the grand scheme of life is it the savings or humble situation I am in that allows me to experience freedom? No, it is faith in my Lord and Savior - for it is the truth that sets us free. This is a lesson that I continually am learning.

Witness

This question was taken from a small group bible study book by Neil T. Anderson called Freedom in Christ.

1. Think of someone you know who is not yet a Christian. What does the bible say about why he or she does not yet believe (see Romans 10:14-15; 2 Corinthians 4:4)?

A Lot Said....Our Intimacy with God

Our intimacy with God - His highest priority for our lives - determines the impact of our lives.

Nugget of Postive Thinking

A quote from Henry Ford, "Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you are right."

A poem:

If you think you are beaten - you are.
If you think you dare not - you don't.
If you think you'll lose - you've lost.
For out of the world we find
That success begins with a fellow's will;
It's all in the state of mind.
Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or the faster man;
But sooner or later the man that wins
Is the one who thinks he can.
-Anonymous

War for a Soul

In reading Revelation 12 this morning verse 7 & 8 brought back memories of my grandfather's funeral.

I was recently saved and fervently praying for my grandfather who was diagnosed with cancer, a short time period to live and was not saved. A few months later I would fly home to attend his funeral. The day had been sunny and nice until my Uncle finished delivering the eulogy. We stood up, walked out from below the tent - as this was an outdoor funeral - and a tremendous dark cloud rushed in to abduct the sun and all the light and warmth created from it. The sky started turning black and a harsh cold wind started to blow, I knew in my spirit this was hell coming to claim my grandfather's soul. I became deeply troubled at the sight and feel of the drastic change. Directly above my head the ensuing darkness was met by a wall of light and beauty and a battle commenced. I prayed and hoped the light would win and as quickly as the darkness appeared the light drove it away reclaiming a once lost soul from the grips of the enemy. I visioned the hands of death pulling my grandfather down and then God gripping him and pulling him back.

Later that day my uncle would deliver me the message that my grandfather had accepted Christ a week before his passing. This message confirmed what I saw earlier in the sky and then is when I learned what it means to celebrate in death.

Meaningless?

So I hated life, because all the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. For man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless. (Ecclesiastes 2:17-23)

The first two sentences of this paragraph hit me so I decided to put them in the blog. I put the whole paragraph not so much more for me but for you reading.

So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grevious to me. The work done under the sun is still grievous to me. I don't hate but I don't understand, well sometimes I hate. I feel there is no direction I can take that I will be happy with, that will satisfy me. I've had these feelings for a while now and they tear away at me. They keep me sitting idle doing nothing but focusing on my toilsome labor and the worthlessness of it all.

I had a dream last night. This dream showed me three paths. One was a path I had been on before and I was looking to go down it again. It was a scary, long, gruelling path that lead to nowhere. I did not want to go on this path however this is the path I was drawn to in my dream. Another path directly behind me was a very steep difficult path. This path was shorter and on the other side there was nothing but sinking mud. I could find quick self-worth on this path by running to the top and showing everyone I could do it. I knew I could make it to the top but that would be the end of it. I could run and repeat this however I would never be able to go any further, only up, down, up and so forth. The praise and recognition I would receive would feel nice but would only deteriate, and was not what I was seeking. The third path was not really a path. It was more like a place. I never walked to this place but just seemed to be there. I was happy, full of joy, holding on and living in innocence. There was a game, practice maybe, of volleyball going on. It seemed juvenile and misguided however the people were doing the best they could. I felt challanged to join but I didn't. I was with most of my family, across the court my Grandpa watched the game being played, cheering with the crowd. I sat content with my niece speaking to me and us laughing together. I didn't want this to ever end.

I believe this last place represents the church, the body. The game being played is life. Here is where I will find myself and my calling. I am an intricate piece of the puzzle in the body. I do not know where that is but I know the body is where I belong.