Jesus turned to Peter and said,“Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” ~ Matthew 16:23 NLT

How many times have you thought that a loved one or a friend was making a wrong, or even a harmful, decision?  I confess I have done it many times.  Do we speak out, or not?  The answer is given to us in the verse above.

First, we know, that no matter the choice, we are never to judge or condemn the person for making it.  However, we can pray that God will use it for that person’s and others’ good, no matter the consequences.

In Matthew 16 Jesus gives us a clearer answer as to how NOT to respond.  His friend Peter thought he was on a roll.  He had just told Jesus that he knew Jesus was the Messiah and Jesus had told him, that as a result of that answer, Peter would be given the keys, symbolizing authority, to the Kingdom of Heaven. In his euphoria, Peter had missed an important point. Jesus had clearly said that Peter only knew that he was the long-awaited Christ because the Father had revealed it to him.  It was not by his own brilliance or discernment.

So, when Jesus told his disciples that he was about to be tortured and killed, Peter assumed he knew better than Jesus.  In his viewpoint, that would never happen to his Messiah!  What Jesus said next must have felt like a slap in the face.  In that moment, Peter fell from being teacher’s pet to “a dangerous trap” set by Satan!

What happened?  As Jesus pointed out, Peter was seeing things from a merely human point of view, not from God’s perspective.  We don’t want that rebuke from Jesus, so how do we avoid it?  As followers of Jesus, we have something, rather Someone, living in us that Peter did not have yet. The Holy Spirit, who Jesus promised would be sent and who would guide us into all truth. (Jn.16:13)

I am sure, you, like me, want to see things as God sees them.  So, let’s ask the Holy Spirit to teach us to hear him clearly and to guide us every day.  Let’s stop assuming we don’t need his help.  God created us to live surrendered to true reality, his point of view.  We may not have all the right answers, but we belong to a God who does.  As we rely on God in every area of our lives, he can use us to bring Christ’s Kingdom to earth and glorify him in all we are and do.

Dear friend, be blessed as you trust that God loves you and has the best plan to grow you and use you in miraculous ways. May your eyes be opened to see as Jesus sees and may the Holy Spirit guide you more and more into all truth.  Smile!  Jesus has good plans for you! Amen.

Mary Sumner ~ September 27, 2022

“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.” Psalm 23: 1-3 NIV

What are you thirsting for right now? What desire is leaving your spirit parched? Have you been longing for a particular change of circumstances, only to be left wandering through a desert of waiting? Have you received something you’ve been desiring only to find you aren’t satisfied?

When we are spiritually thirsty, it is because we seek to satisfy our spiritual desires with earthly solutions when what we need is Living Water (John 7:37). We believe the lies that our grand expectations of life tell us: if we have “blank,” we’ll finally be “blank.”

If I just get this job, I’ll finally feel worthy.
If this person would just do what I want, I’d finally feel secure.
If this dream would be fulfilled, I’d finally be content.
The problem is, no earthly solution can satisfy our spiritual thirst.

Jesus promises us that we will have troubles in this life, and those troubles will cause us to thirst for justice, change, rest, healing, security, belonging, contentment, and redemption. He does not promise that the troubles will dissipate when we put our trust in Him. Rather he tells us, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace (John 16:33).
Peace. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath in through your nose. Now breathe out through your mouth. Peace. The Living God has given you peace so that in Him you can find your rest no matter the storms that are raging in your life. 

Everything that you are thirsting for, everything, can be satisfied by Living Water. When the Psalmists write in Psalm 42, “my soul pants for you, my God. When can I go and meet with God?” the answer is any time!
You can find rest any time. You can quench the thirst that leaves you parched and dry any time. You can be refreshed and renewed any time. You can be restored any time.

Dear friend, if you are thirsty right now, I urge you to drink deeply from the well of Living Water. Be blessed to find that it will never run dry. Sit quietly in the presence of the Spirit and allow Him to wash over every fiber of your being with peace, contentment, and joy. Be blessed as you breathe in peace and release the thirst that is keeping you from walking in confidence through the circumstances in your life. May you be blessed as you remember God’s promises to you: He is your shepherd. You lack nothing.
Claire Savageau ~ September 13, 2022
 

It is the same with my word.  I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.   Isaiah 55:11 NLT

A well-known biblical teacher claims that the Bible is not just to be read, but it is to be lived.  How is that possible?  We have mentioned before that there are those verses in the Bible that, when we read them, appear highlighted.  They jump off the page.  That is because the Word of God is alive, written through the power of the Holy Spirit to touch us and mold us.  These are the verses that reach out to us because they have something important to teach us.

And then, there are those words so alive with meaning, that they seemingly have been created specifically for us. They cut through all resistance, to speak directly to our hearts at exactly the right time in our lives.  Some call them rhema words.  The highlighted verses will move us forward in our knowledge. The LIVING words supernaturally beam themselves directly into our spirits and produce a tangible change in us.

Living, rhema, words may be accompanied by a warm rush of God’s love that dissolves doubt, reassures or comforts us.  Living words may come with a deep, but gentle, conviction of a change that needs to be made in our lives.  Usually our emotional response causes us to stop, let it take hold of us, and allow the Holy Spirit to do his work in us.  We may be lifted up, or shaken to the core.  We usually have to write it down, record it, so we can come back to ponder its full impact.

As you think of the living Word, you might pause, read, and ponder the beginning of the Gospel of John as he describes Jesus as the Word.  For example, “The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.” (John 1:4)

So, the question remains. How do we live the Word of God, the Bible? First, it seems we cooperate with the Holy Spirit when reading the Bible. We allow the Holy Spirit to use the important, as well as the rehma, words to penetrate our hearts, purify our minds and motivate our actions. Jesus lived the Word. That is why he was called the Living Word.  By the grace and power of his Spirit within us, we can learn to follow after and imitate Christ. May we believe that is possible, because we are called and created to do so.

Dear friends, be blessed as you read the Word of God expecting to be changed as you encounter the Living Word.  Claim God’s promise given in Isaiah 55:11, that God’s Word in you will accomplish all that God sent it out to do.  You can live the Bible, not just read it.  Be blessed with joy as you do. Amen.

Mary Sumner ~ August 30, 2022