Greetings to you in the wonderful, beautiful, and powerful name of Jesus Christ – THE Risen Saviour! What a beautiful day in the Kingdom – sunshine, blue skies, and a gentle breeze, the Lord sure knows how to make a day! Therefore, how can we ‘rejoice and be glad in it’ with energy and focus and with creativity? I trust that you are getting our for a walk and to absorb the beauty of these “given days!” Today I will be praying for, asking Father to bless you with health, strength, and a happy heart…and that He would lead you beside still waters.
This morning I find myself drawn to a comment Jesus made to his friend, Peter, after a discussion about faith in the midst of uncertainty. The discussion turns on a question about the identity of Jesus…”Who do you, my disciples, “understand me to be?” If you remember, Peter makes a bold declaration and states that he understands and believes that Jesus is…the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Then Jesus commends Peter’s ‘rock solid faith’ and says – “…on this expression of faith, I will build my church, and the gates f Hades will not overcome it…!” Now that must have been liberating to Peter…the future church, the next generation of disciples was not dependent upon Peter’s skill or talents or education or leadership – but on his faith in who Jesus was…and all the opposition and conflicting teachings would not be able to stop the church from being built. Interestingly, the church had not even come into existence yet – this was a word of prophetic revelation.
I take great encouragement knowing that the future of the church is not dependent on performance or talent or money or any particular human being…but on “faith” expressed through ordinary people like Peter and Paul and James…and us – you and I. So, even at this moment in time when the church seems to be floundering, when a myriad of leaders are trying to make something happen, and when it seems like the church is losing ground in this world — Jesus is in the midst of a building program and the mess we sense is simply normal construction site activity and noise. After all…we have read the last chapter of “the Book” and we know He is preparing a new heaven and a new earth.
Just a little something to ponder…have a blessed day!