Get Behind Me Satan

In Matthew 16, Jesus is telling his disciples about how he will be killed in the near future. Peter responds by saying “Far be it from you Lord! This will never happen to you.” Jesus reacts very swiftly by saying “Get behind me Satan!” Why does he say this? It seems like a fairly mean response to make to a friend who’s just looking out for you.

Firstly, Jesus was not literally saying that Peter was “Satan.” Rather, he was reacting to Peter’s words which were not in accordance with what He knew His father’s will was for Him. Satan is a crafty guy and he knows how to create doubt in our minds. One of those ways is by using the people closest to us. Has this ever happened to you? Has God ever asked you to do something drastic or even crazy and when you mention it to your friends or family they give you a million reasons why that won’t work? These people are all well-meaning but do not know God’s will for your life. There are several stories of this in the Bible including Noah and Joshua where someone needed to go against the grain to accomplish God’s plan.

Another important point of the story is that when Peter says this to Jesus, Jesus doesn’t say “Oh, you think I shouldn’t go through with this? Let’s talk about it.” No. Jesus knew his Father’s will because he was in constant communication with the Father. Because of this he was able to recognize what was against His Father’s will immediately. Instead of entertaining the idea, he immediately shut the idea down. This is what we should be doing in our own lives. We cannot be “wishy-washy” when it comes to God’s will. We need to be like Jesus and strike forcefully aginst any idea contrary to Him. As the old saying goes: If you give Satan an inch, he will take a mile. Stand firm against any seeds of doubt that the Devil may be trying to plant in your life and stay in constant communication with the Lord so you can know his will for your life.

Spiritual Gifts

You are gifted! It’s true! God said so! This might be hard for some of us to believe as we live day to day. How am I gifted? I just have a boring office job. I can’t throw a football for yards for a touchdown or create a fabulous meal like on Master Chef or sing well enough to win American Idol or The Voice. How am I gifted?

Well, God does not promise you a gift or talent that will sky rocket you to stardom but he does say that everyone is given a gift by the Spirit. In verse 11 of 1 Corinthians 12, Paul says “All these (gifts) are empowered by one and the same spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” God knows you better than anyone. He knows which gift is best suited for you. Some examples from the Bible are gifts of healing, miracle working, prophecy, and speaking in tongues. These are gifts that are not “famous” by the world standards, but when they manifest themselves it is an opportunity to communicate with God and see Him literally reach down to earth and into our lives.

What is your spiritual gift? Have you ever thought about it? Or have you rather thought “Well that person is a gifted pray-er and that person has the gift of healing but I’m just a “normal” Christian. Wrong! You have a gift! The Holy Spirit gave it to you personally so you could use it to draw people to Him. Spend some time in prayer and talk with those people around you who know you best. Ask the Lord to show you your spiritual gift so you can use it for His glory.

Building the House of God

This past week our focus was on being a Biblical Community. Our verse comes from Ephesians 2 and for this blog I will focus on verses 19-22 which says:

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

I love this image of the people of God being stones that come together to become “a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” God created us to be in community with one another. He knows that we need to share our lives with others and help each other grow spiritually. Life is a whole lot tougher when we try to carry every burden and responsibility on our own.

Let’s think about it in terms of this image of “building a house.” One brick is not going to give anyone shelter. You need many bricks to come together and gain a firmer foundation from each other in order to successfully build a house. Another point is that you cannot be a Christian and choose not to participate in community. If you built a house and some of the bricks decided they did not want to be a part of the group anymore and left, the house would be left with gaping holes and would eventually collapse.

In order for the body of Christ to be successful, every member needs to fully participate. God designed the church this way specifically. The old mantra is true: “United we stand, divided we fall.” He says in Ecclesiastes “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (4:12). Don’t fight against community. Embrace the group of Christians around you and let’s work towards becoming a more Biblical Community and help each other grow closer with God.

Kendra Mikols

Re-Focus

Re-Focus

This past week, our sermon theme was on Single-mindedness. As the name implies, we are supposed to
have one focus, one central thought through which all other thoughts are funneled: Jesus Christ. This obviously is easier said than done. We all are extremely busy people. We have worries and doubts and bills to pay and presentations to give and a whole slew of other activities to fill up our day. God knows this and knew when he created us that we would be a busy people.

Let’s think of our lives as our favorite snack, that food you could eat anytime, anywhere. Mine is Cheez-its. I love them! Now imagine that instead of the regular version, they only have the fat-free or salt-free version of your favorite snack. Can you still eat it? Yes. Is it going to be as enjoyable? Nope, probably not. That is our lives without constant communication and focus on God. Can we walk through life with just the minimum of “God time?” Yes, people do it every day. Is it going to be as good or as satisfying? Absolutely not. God created us to be one with Him and life is just not all that great without Him.

In his book Common Roots, Robert E. Webber says “We must learn, then, not to HAVE a spirituality, something we turn on at a particular place or time, but to BE spiritual, as a habit of life, a continuous state of being. It is to this end that we seek after God in the stillness and hubbub of life, but always and everywhere in and through the church, where Christ is made present to us and, through us, to the world.” All life needs to be saturated with Christ and our first instinct in every situation should be to call out to Him. This week, look at your life and see if you are trying to live a “low-calorie” Christianity or if you are taking advantage of the full banquet God is offering you in Him.

Kendra Mikols