Eternal Purposes
But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!”
—Matthew 16:22
Jesus knew exactly what was in His future. It came as no surprise to Him. He knew who would betray Him, He knew He would rise from the dead, and He knew exactly when these things would happen.
And at Caesarea Philippi, He began to tell His disciples what He was facing.
Matthew’s Gospel says, “From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead” (Matthew 16:21 NLT).
In the original language, Jesus used a word for “killed” that could be translated “murdered.”
Peter couldn’t believe that Jesus was saying this. In Peter’s mind, this simply couldn’t happen. It was commendable that Peter was truly concerned about the Lord. But he was missing what Jesus was trying to say. And he went too far when he took Jesus aside and “began to reprimand him,” saying, “Heaven forbid, Lord. . . . This will never happen to you!” (verse 22 NLT).
Interestingly, the word translated “reprimand” in this verse carries the idea of someone in a position of authority rebuking a subordinate. That is the way Peter began to reprimand Jesus. And the language implies that he did this repeatedly.
Imagine it for a moment. Jesus had just made a statement about His impending suffering and death. He obviously was in anguish over it. And then Peter took an authoritarian position and repeatedly began to reprimand Him. Peter had lost touch with reality.
Jesus said to him, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s” (verse 23 NLT).
We have to love a guy like Peter, because he was so utterly human. He said what many of us probably would have said in such a situation. He was impulsive, impetuous, and hotheaded but also very honest, courageous, and intelligent. And perhaps he was the most accessible of all the followers of Jesus.
May God help us to trust Him when He doesn’t do things the way we think He should and when we’re tempted to say, “Why, Lord?”
God is thinking of His eternal purposes. We can only see what will benefit us in this moment. But God is looking at the big picture. And He knows what He’s doing.
It is during these times that we must trust Him, cast ourselves at His feet, and say, “Lord, I admit to You that I don’t understand. I don’t know why. But I thank You that You are in control.”
There are a lot of things that will happen in life that we won’t understand. It is during those times that we must fall back on what we do understand: God loves us. And He is looking out for our best interests.
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God is with us.
He loves you, he sent me to tell you how much she loves you. There is a God, we are living in the end times, it may not happen in our lifetime, but the signs are there. It’s everywhere from schools, to government, to corporate institutions. Instead of focusing on that I’ve been focusing on Jesus and it’s changed my life in ways that I want for you as well. You don’t have to find a religion to love Jesus, and get to know him the author of our salvation. And you can do that at any moment.. forget about religion, forget about all the nonsense all the things you have to do to get into heaven. I have to do is invite you to send your heart, confess that he’s Lord and Savior over your life. He will come in and make away when there is no way. He loves you.
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Living The Gospel
You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.”
—Matthew 5:13
Nothing is worse than a hypocritical Christian.
Now, we’ve all had moments of hypocrisy. We have not always practiced what we preach. That is called humanity. Every Christian will fall short.
But there’s a difference between believers who struggle but are seeking to live godly lives and those who claim to be believers yet blatantly disregard what the Bible says.
If someone who claims to be a Christian is living a lifestyle contrary to what the gospel teaches and what the Bible says, they would do other Christians a big favor if they just didn’t talk about Jesus.
The world needs authenticity today. And before we can effectively tell others about Christ, we must first live it.
Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless” (Matthew 5:13 NLT).
We don’t think of salt as a valuable commodity today, because it is relatively inexpensive. But in the first century, salt was a bigger deal. It was a form of currency, and it was a preservative that kept meat from spoiling in the absence of refrigeration like we have today.
So, when Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth,” people immediately would have understood the comparison. Jesus was saying they were a preserving factor in the culture.
And that is what we are today. Christians are the ones who stand up for what is right. Christians speak out against what is wrong. And Christians are the ones who are always at the forefront of efforts around the world to help hurting people.
That is what Christians do. That is what Christians are. We are the salt of the earth.
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We are in the fight of our lives. Time to punch back.
For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.”
—Romans 1:16
We’re living in a time when people are standing up for all sorts of causes. And in some cases, people are even willing to lay down their lives for what they believe in.
Isn’t it time that we, as Christians, stand up for what we believe? It seems to me that at a time when so many are standing up for so many causes, there are many in the church who are not standing up for anything. We are embarrassed. We are ashamed. But it’s time to stand up and be counted.
The apostle Paul wrote, “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile” (Romans 1:16 NLT).
Are you ashamed of the gospel of Christ?
We must be especially watchful in this area of denying the Lord, because the Bible tells us that it’s something that will happen in the last days.
Many who once acknowledged Jesus Christ will ultimately deny Him. One of the signs of the last days is that there will be a great apostasy, or a falling away. Some will fall from the faith, Timothy says, and “follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons” (1 Timothy 4:1 NLT).
Yet in the times in which we are living when we have violence at an unprecedented level, who do we often see vilified on television, in movies, and in the press?
It’s people of faith. At best, they portray those who believe in God and have certain moral principles as kooks or feeble-minded dolts. And at worst, they blame them for the problems that our society is facing.
Ironically, these very problems, which are the result of our society’s rejection of God, are then placed at the feet of Christians, as though we have brought them on our culture.
You can say anything. You can believe in anything. But if you stand up and say, “There are absolutes. There is right and wrong, and the Bible says so,” you’re labeled as a crazed fanatic who’s hurting our society.
However, this isn’t the first time in history that Christians have been made scapegoats for the ills of a culture. When Caesar Nero was largely responsible for the burning of Rome, he laid the blame at the feet of the Christians, although they had nothing to do with it.
It isn’t right. It isn’t fair. But it’s part of being a disciple of Jesus. It’s part of the Christian life, although it isn’t something that any of us enjoy.
Yet Jesus said, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11–12 NKJV).
Wear it as a badge of honor. Remember, you’re in good company. Don’t be ashamed of the gospel of Christ.
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Create a counter culture atmosphere
Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world.”
—John 17:18
As we go out to invade our culture with the good news of Jesus Christ, we must recognize that we are behind enemy lines. We’re in a hostile environment. For the most part, people are not always supportive of or receptive to what we have to say.
Without question this is a tricky balance. But here are the words of Jesus in a prayer that only He could pray to the Father. Referring to us, His followers, Jesus said, “I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. . . . Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world” (John 17:15, 18 NLT).
Did you catch that? Jesus said that He’s sending us into the world. Yet the Bible warns us that we shouldn’t be conformed to this world.
In 1 John 2:15–16 we read, “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world” (NLT).
Yet Jesus said He was sending us into the world. So how does this work?
The apostle Paul shed some light on this for us. Writing to the believers in Corinth he said, “When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin. But I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that” (1 Corinthians 5:9–10 NLT).
In another passage, Paul spoke of becoming all things to all people (see 1 Corinthians 9:19–22). The idea is that we want to influence the world—and not have the world influence us.
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Sacrifice
What are you willing to give up to get the one thing that can give you a life?  For me it was drugs, alcohol in women. Sin leads to death, destruction. Satan comes to kill, steal and destroy. God comes so that you have life and life in abundance. But you have to be willing to sacrifice. 
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The end is near
May not happen in our life time, but we are witnessing everything that was written.
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Life is built on value exchanges
We learn from each other, we help each other, we follow others that would be for us to show us the way. If you’re older, and have some wisdom, or if you’re younger, and have some wisdom, and I’ve been thinking about starting a channel now is the time we need people like you. America is under attack. If we don’t stand up now we will fall.
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Life is built on value exchanges
We learn from each other, we help each other, we follow others that would be for us to show us the way. If you’re older, and have some wisdom, or if you’re younger, and have some wisdom, and I’ve been thinking about starting a channel now is the time we need people like you. America is under attack. If we don’t stand up now we will fall.
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STOP, talking yourself in and out of everything
Life’s short, don’t wait, do the thing you’ve been putting off for years. The channel, new job, propose, whatever just go for it, stop thinking and dooooooo
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What’s wrong with helping people
I just want to encourage someone, because I need encouragement, I’m not afraid to ask for help. It’s ok, to not be ok. The last few years I was not ok, I am still not. It’s hard, life, loss, pain, suffering. But it just makes me want to love people even more. Some people go on the other path. Me I like this one, tried the other no thank you, no fukin thank you. Yeah I cussed, I’m not perfect just trying to be.
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Do what you can
Don’t stress life so much, lean on God, lean on friends, family, help each other when you can.
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God is with you
He’s for you. I’m shocked at how things have turned around, just by waking up early everyday and putting God first. When we put God first in our lives, it’s amazing what begins to take place.
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Knowing what to do
And doing it are 2 very different things. When we’re intentional, we reap. When we’re complaining, blaming that’s not Gods will, that’s ours and we can expect things to go wrong and they will.
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Problems we all have em.
Ever feel like you’re the only one dealing with things that are difficult? That’s because that’s a trick from Satan. Do you wanna know another trick? He gets people to think that he doesn’t exist that he’s not real as he destroys their lives. I have a solution, it’s time to punch back.
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Get after it
Just trying to encourage someone, anyone the way I am encouraged by Gods word. You don’t have to believe in God to receive some positive. Good energy, to help propel you through your day. We all need help from time to time, go ahead and try it on your own. And after you failed repeatedly, let me know how that works out for you. It’s by design that we are to live in community with each other.
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