Good morning church family!
Wow, what a few weeks it’s been. Maybe you’ve missed my posts – I’ve missed writing them. I enjoy traveling, but I like being home even more. There’s just something about settling into a steady rhythm that I seem to really enjoy.
But, isn’t it funny how when God wants to get our attention he often chooses to break up our comfortable rhythms? I shared a little bit (or more than a little) this last Sunday about one particular time Jesus did that with his disciples.
To recap (in case you missed it), he took his disciples to the pagan town of Caesarea Phillipi. I truly think it is impossible for us to understand how disruptive this was to Peter and his friends…probably the best comparison I can think of is like dragging a dozen monks on to the Las Vegas strip…anyway, Jesus took the 12 there for a very specific reason.
He asked them two questions, “Who do people say that I am?” and “Who do you say that I am?” Peter gave the A+ answer, “You are the Messiah, the son of the living God.”
But Jesus isn’t interested in A+ answers if it does not produce A+ lives. I hate to even press the point (because I love A+ answers too) but if you give all the right answers to the test, you can still fail in the end.
Against the backdrop of paganism and totally opposing worldviews, Jesus wanted Peter to understand and live out his faith in who he was. He wanted Peter (and the others) to carry the Good News of the Kingdom even to such ridiculous places as Caesarea Phillipi.
So, I’d like you to take that question from Jesus and put yourself in the most hopeless, unbelieving, pagan situation you can imagine. Maybe that’s not as far away from your house as you’d like to think.
“Who do you say that I am?”
And then, don’t miss Jesus’ application: because he is Messiah, because he is the King, he wants you to take the Good News of His Kingdom to that unbelieving, hopeless, pagan situation (yes, you, not someone else and not just your money…he wants you) and lovingly sacrifice your comfort for his glory.
If that sounds hard, it’s because it is hard. But that’s why he never intended you to do it alone. He commissioned a community to carry out this missional task. So, maybe sometime this week or next, grab a few friends and pray about how you can take back a couple square inches of God’s Kingdom in your world over the next few weeks. It usually doesn’t have to be big – it can be as small as asking someone who is marginalized what they could use that they currently don’t have. But, you’ll never know what God can do through y’all unless you submit and try.
Praying for you today,
Pastor Steve
P.S. It’s good to be back…looking forward to continuing this journey with you!
