JESUS SPEAKING

And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

FAITHFUL THOUGHTS

Peter expected Jesus to immediately establish His Kingdom upon the earth; a belief that rendered him incapable of accepting Christ’s impending death upon the cross. Jesus rebuked Peter for his attempted subversion of God’s will, saying “Get thee behind me Satan.” Thus He identifies Satan as the true source of Peter’s inspiration to prevent Him from dying for the salvation of mankind. May we never stand in opposition to God’s will.

In the old testament, there lived a prophet named Jonah. The Lord instructed him to go to Nineveh (a wicked city), and preach a message of repentance and reconciliation with God. For whatever reason, Jonah refused to go; and in fact, he traveled in the opposite direction; making every effort to run away from his duties because of his hatred for the city. No matter where Jonah went, he was subjected to suffering by God; and still he refused to go. After being tossed into the sea he was swallowed by a massive fish that descended into the depths. And still he remained stubborn. However, after spending three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, he finally relented. He was spit up onto dry land and journeyed to Nineveh. Once there, he reiterated God’s warning for them to repent and avoid destruction (and for a time they did repent.)

Like Jonah, whenever we stand in the way of the Lord’s will, we place ourselves in opposition to God. As a result He may convict our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit, or He may cause us to endure suffering; a form of punishment designed to change our attitudes and bring us into submission. May we always follow God’s path and never walk in opposition to His will.

“Lord Heavenly Father, You are a wonderful creator, and we thank You for all of the many blessings we have received. Through the power of Your Holy Spirit, may we always walk according to Your will. May we never stand in the way of any works You are seeking to accomplish. We love You Father, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things, according to Your will, in Jesus name, amen.” God bless all of you!