KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Friday, October 20, 2017
Chapters: Matthew 16, Mark 8
Message: Look UP
Hello My Friend,
The past couple of months have been a real struggle for me, I find myself exhausted, distracted, irritated, not only with other people, but myself as well. The problem is that I take on too many things at one time, then deadlines come and I end up getting behind. I now have three jobs, three. Why? Because one is not enough to provide me with the money I need to pay rent, let alone the rest of the utilities. And this is the key to the problem, my lack of faith that God will provide, I am trying to do everything in my flesh instead of trusting that God will supply my need. I, and we all should know that we cannot physically do everything by ourselves, it is impossible, mostly because our flesh can only run on so many hours of the day, we need rest, food, water, and not only for our physical needs, but mind, and spirit as well. And that is where Jesus comes in. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:13,19.
There is a difference between someone who wholeheartedly follows God and one that halfheartedly follows Him. A person that is halfhearted only seeks help from God when he gets in trouble and does not do one thing to turn his life around for God’s sake. A person who is wholehearted recognizes that even though he will still sin from time to time he takes the steps needed to turn his life around for God’s sake. The Pharisees and Sadducees were always trying to find fault in Jesus, even to the point of trying to get Him to prove He is true.
“The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.” – Matthew 16:1-4.
“but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” So true, it is right in front of their faces, they see the evil, the crazy people, the wild fires, the catastrophic storms, but they are oblivious to the fact that judgment is coming and Jesus is returning. Genuine happiness is spiritual and it can only come from God, the believer’s hope and joy comes through our Saviour, Jesus Christ. His compassion for us should engage us to be steady and constant, running the Christian course with patience, and always rejoicing in Him. Skeptics are always finding ways to discourage and keep us from, A blind man went to Jesus for help in hopes that he would be able to see.
“And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.” – Mark 8:22-26.
“and made him look up:” Until we look up to Jesus, that is, until we believe by faith, we are blind to Jesus, it is only when we look up to Him that we can see Him, and that is when He will reveal to us who He truly is. One good thing about reading the Bible as the events took place is that you can see how each person saw Jesus and what they got out of witnessing His work at the same time. Matthew, which was directed to appeal to the Jews, goes into detail about a conversation Jesus had with His disciples, asking them who He thinks He is.
“When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” – Matthew 16:13-19.
“Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” Still today, people wonder who Jesus is, many saying that He was a great prophet. He indeed is a great prophet, but much more than that, He is the Son of the only living God, the only sinless high priest to offer a sacrifice to God on our behalf, and He is, in fact, the only sacrifice that God will accept to redeem those who believe in His Son once and for all. “But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” – Hebrews 10:12-14.
Man makes many rules that seem like they come from God, but really they are more grievous than God’s. Yes, we are to study God’s Word to know His rules and He does want us to follow them once when we learn of them. We must realize that every Christian is a work in progress, we are not perfect, we all have things that we need to work on, so we must never judge someone who may be doing something we know God does not want us to do. God works on each one of us according to our maturity level, but there is one thing all must do in order to see Him do a great work in us. Jesus explains as He reminds us of why He came here to begin with, there is always one person trying to stop us from hearing the truth and that is Satan.
“And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.” – Mark 8:31-35.
“for thou savourest not the things that be of God,” First of all, Satan always wants us questioning our salvation, second, God makes it simple, follow His Son. Following Christ teaches us to walk in His ways. Denying ourselves, teaches us to let go of our prideful ways, taking all our sin and burdens to Christ. We all have our own cross to bear, but it does not have to define us, we can endure, and we can conquer anything as long as we have Christ in us. Following Christ is not about the way we dress (although we should be modest), the color of our hair. It is about walking with Christ, growing with Him, letting Him create a great work in us. If we faithfully follow Him, we will become like Him, and others will see Him in us, which is what He wants more than anything.
“Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.” – I Peter 4:16-19.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” – Matthew 16:18.
Today’s Prayer: God, We do not always know where our steps will take us on life’s journey, but we do know where they lead, and that is to Your Son. Our steps here may lead to cold, dark mountains or deep valleys, or perhaps crooked paths and rough terrain, but ultimately led to where the steps of Jesus take us. We will no longer have questions about You or our future, for we know that we will spend eternity with You in Your Kingdom. Lord, lead us and guide us, give us Your power, wisdom, and strength to stand strong and overcome our trials until You come to get us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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