Blog 12-31-2010
Friday
PRaP 12-31-10
250 Events In The Life Of Christ/ A Harmony Of The Gospels Part 110
Section 2: Message And Ministry Of Jesus
“Jesus Predicts His Death The First Time”
Matthew:
21 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, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
28 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
This is written in 3 of the Gospels and almost word for word the same. I find it interesting that Peter, the one Jesus said is the rock upon which He was going to build the church (See Matthew 16:13-20) was a stumbling block. See any irony in those words? There are many churches and many stumbling blocks among those churches today that only have concerns of this world and not the concerns of God. One day those stumbling blocks will be removed or they will be straightened so that they will no longer make Him stumble.
Pick up your cross and follow Him daily as not to be a stumbling block but to be a disciple of the Most High God. Do not be ashamed to speak of Him who gives life everlasting. Do not fear people but fear God. He lived He died and He lives again for us. The price of sin has been paid for us all and all we need to do is ask forgiveness and believe in Him. Pick up your cross and join me as we walk through this life together as disciples of Christ unashamed to speak the Gospel Truth about the Living Water, the Bread of Life, Messiah, in the name of He who is Holy, in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.
Peace and Agape Love,
Pastor Steve
