Matthew 16:23
    It is doubtful that Satan had himself entered into Peter and caused him to say this. Peter had just confessed his faith in Christ, and such a one could not be possessed in that way. However, Jesus rebukes the devil in Peter none the less because Peter was under the influence of the flesh. Our flesh lies within the dominion of the enemy, and he will influence it every chance he gets. Thus, Jesus words apply to sin in the flesh as well as to the person of Satan himself. Those who are not thinking in a heavenly mindset will delight in the things of this world, and not the things of God.
   This does reveal much about Satan too. He also literally is a stumbling block. That is his very nature. He always seeks to destroy the righteous. He does not delight in the things of God, of course. He hates God. He has fallen in love with the things of man. He sees in humanity a chance to pervert one of God’s creations to his own glory. He wants man for his own.

Bible Reading: Isaiah 29:1-32:20

Scripture Memory: 1 John 4:10 “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for this day that You have made. You put this day together to be just what we need. You already know what the day will bring forth. We know so little, and You know so much. Thank You for Your wisdom to guide us. We are blind without You. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man with kidney failure. Pray for a woman with cancer. Pray for a woman in an assisted living facility.

Journal Entry #13317

Matthew 16:22
   This is an extremely interesting passage. It reveals much about how everyone thinks. It shows how we think, how Jesus thinks, and how the devil thinks. Peter’s words to Christ must be understood in order to get the point here. Now, the translation ‘far from thee’ that we find here is a good one. However, we need to realize that every language has unique figures of speech. These ways of saying things cannot always be easily transferred to another language.
   For example, in Greek you can have a double negative. This is usually translated ‘God forbid’, but those two words are not actually there. Instead, the Greek is literally ‘no no’ in these instances.
   Here we have a figure of speech involving the word for mercy. Literally, Peter is saying, ‘Mercy to you, Lord, this will not happen to you’. So, we can see that this is difficult to express in English. In order to really grasp what is being said, you have to have it explained a bit more. Peter is saying that he wishes God’s mercy upon Jesus. He literally is rebuking Jesus, saying that a good God would never, in his great mercy, allow such horrible things to happen to such a good person as Jesus.
   This is a very human, and sinful, way of thinking. We presume to judge the situation for God. We determine an action as improper and declare that God would never do it. We make his choices for him. And, we have all been guilty of this kind of thing at one time or another. Peter was jumping to a natural, human, conclusion. But, Peter was wrong.

Bible Reading: Isaiah 24:1-28:29

Scripture Memory: 1 John 4:10 “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, You always help us so much. You do some many little things to bless us every day. If we just sat down and started counting Your blessings, it would take all day to do it, and we still wouldn’t be done! Thank You! I praise You for Your wonderful Son that You have given us. He is the blessing that is so wonderful words just cannot describe it. Thank You for him! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man starting a new job soon.

Journal Entry #13316

Matthew 16:21
    The faith of the disciples was still too weak for these new revelations from Christ to really sink in. However, they did remember his words later, and were able to share it with others. The fact that Jesus knew in every particular exactly what would happen is yet another proof of his deity.

Bible Reading: Isaiah 19:1-23:18

Scripture Memory: 1 John 4:10 “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for this day that You have made for us! You are so good to us! You are so faithful and just. You are always around when we need You. You never forget about us or forsake us. You always care. Thank You for Your Son, he is a great blessing to us each and every day. We owe You all the praise and thanksgiving. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a woman who is going to have a kidney removed. Pray for a man with a broken leg. Pray for a woman who just had some tests done.

Journal Entry #13315

Matthew 16:20
   The fact of Jesus’ identity was already well established. Jesus was not trying to prevent people from knowing who he was. Everything he did was to fulfill prophecy, which made it abundantly clear who he was. What Jesus is here disallowing is exactly what Judas did. He is telling them not to take matter into their own hands. He is warning them not to reveal his identity or location to his enemies.
   The people in general wanted to make him a king. This was not his plan. The Jewish leaders wanted him dead. Though this was part of his plan, it could only come as he wanted it to. He was telling his followers to allow him to control the situation. He knew they would be tempted to try to get people to see Jesus for who he really is. Judas, unsure how he felt about Jesus anyway, decided that betraying him to the authorities would either force Jesus’ hand, or at least make Judas some money.

Bible Reading: Isaiah 14:1-18:7

Scripture Memory: 1 John 4:9 “In this was manifested the love of God towards us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for who You are! You are worthy of all our praise today and every day! You are so good and gracious and loving! Your faithfulness is such a blessing to us. If You were not so patient with us, we would be in a lot of trouble. Thank You for Your love to us! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a boy with a stomach ache. Pray for a woman with cancer. Pray that we will be more thankful for our blessings.

Journal Entry #13314

Matthew 16:19
   This verse, again, is taken to mean that Peter was himself selected for something that he alone might exercise. That he alone might bind an loose. Instead, Jesus was saying of Peter what is true of all of the church. The gates of hell cannot prevail against the church because it belongs to Christ. He protects it. In the same way, it’s ministers, of which Peter was the prototype, hold the keys of salvation. The ministers of the gospel know who belongs to Christ because of their response to the Truth. And, they know who is not his because of their response as well.
   This was a very Jewish way of speaking. The Jews would say that the leaders, the scribes and Pharisees, Sadducees, etc. had this kind of authority. But, they did not. The true ministers of God were standing there with Jesus, and he was explaining their role. He was helping them to understand that the church would be the vehicle of salvation for the world.
   Those who would say they love Christ but hate the church are treading a dangerous line. In fact, many in this day want to break off the bands of the organized church and sort-of tailor-make their own Christianity. Though breaking from unbiblical traditions is a wise move, we would do well not to throw caution to the wind. The church is God’s chosen vessel for the salvation of the lost. He does not intend for us to all go at it alone. He wants us to meet together as we do as a church and worship him, and preach the Word.
   Indeed, we have many in this day who would confess Christ, but refuse to join a local church. Though membership in a local body of believers can never save anyone, saved persons should be members of their local Bible-believing church. Otherwise, we might as well rip the entire book of Acts right out of our Bibles. The Jews wanted to know that they were approved. They wanted to know that what was done on earth was done in heaven. We should have no less of a desire, and a much surer confidence of it.

Bible Reading: Isaiah 11:1-13:22

Scripture Memory: 1 John 4:9 “In this was manifested the love of God towards us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for this wonderful weekend! You are so glorious! You love is so perfect and complete. You are not lacking in anything. Your mercy knows no limit. You cannot be overestimated. You are all we could dream that You are, and so much more. Thank You for You! You are the blessing that makes our lives so much fun to live. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man with kidney failure. Pray for a man’s unspoken request. Pray for several young people at a crucial time in their lives.

Journal Entry #13313

Matthew 16:17
   By this statement, Jesus begins to help his disciples understand the ministry of the Holy Spirit. God is at work in the lives of those who believe and follow Christ. He reveals the Truth from his Word to us as we study it. Peter knew what he did because he listened willingly to Jesus and God the Father taught his heart the Truth through Christ. This was an unprecedented revelation level. Indeed, in this age, God has made all the revelation we need available to us in his Word.

Bible Reading: Isaiah 1:1-5:30

Scripture Memory: 1John 4:8 “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for the wonderful day You have given us. You are worthy of our praise at all times. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man having a lot of dizziness. Pray for a woman with bad headaches. Pray for a man traveling.

Journal Entry #13311

Matthew 16:16
   One of the most interesting aspects of this confession is the way Peter refers to Almighty God. He says God is living. In our modern theological mindset, the idea of God being alive is rather minor compared to the declaration of Christ’s position as the Messiah, and as the Son of God. We make a big deal out of Peter getting these things right. And, it is a big deal.
   However, this idea of God being alive is just as important. Peter mentions this because he was Jewish. In the Jewish mind, especially after their escape from idolatry, the idea of God being alive is very crucial. In our day, the idea of God being a living being has, traditionally gone without saying. But, now that our Western world is slowly meeting with the rest of the world, this tradition must be changed. If we are not very specific about the God we believe in, we fail to properly communicate to others who don’t know him.
   Thus, we would do well to learn from Peter. Say what you mean. If you are talking about the living God (especially since he is the ONLY True and Living God), then say so. When speaking to an individual who might possibly get Almighty God confused with some other supposed diety, one must be specific. Our Living Heavenly Father must not be mistaken for a man-made god.

Bible Reading: Song of Solomon 5:1-8:14

Scripture Memory: 1 John 4:8 “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, our theology will only be as good as our idea of You. Help us to always remember how great You are. You are far above all powers of this world. You are the Master of all things. Thank You for Your great benevolence! You have done so much that You did not have to do. You just always do the right stuff. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man in the hospital. Pray for two men who are trying to be good witnesses at work. Pray for the lost.

Journal Entry #13310

Matthew 16:14
    There was an idea going around that Jesus was John the Baptist come back from the dead. This was, of course, a spectacularly ridiculous notion. But, such ideas held great sway with the superstitious, like Herod, for example. The second conjecture of the people was more biblical, but still ridiculous. To identify Jesus as Elijah, one would have to ignore, or be ignorant of, the entire ministry of John the Baptist. The Jeremiah idea was connected to some of the Jewish traditions that Jeremiah would be the prophet greater than Moses who would come to them.
   Thus, we see, all of these conjectures were based upon shaky, questionable, ideas. Very, very few thought about Jesus long enough and hard enough to come to anything like the right conclusion about him. The same thing is true today. There are many missing the path to life through Christ on the right hand and the left. Only a few are making it. Only a few realize Who He really is.

Bible Reading: Ecclesiastes 7:1-10:20

Scripture Memory: 1 John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for those times when You choose to bless us so much that we are amazed. Your blessings are always a mercy to us, but sometimes they are just overwhelming. Thank You for willingly giving to us in spite of ourselves. You are so gracious! How can we thank You enough for all that You do? Oh Father, You are the most important One in our lives! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man with a tumor in his intestines. Pray for two men with cancer.

Journal Entry #13308