Reflections on Israel - Matthew 16:13-20

Matthew 16:13-20

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Jesus was the most humble man when He walked on this Earth. He never used his power to take advantage of anyone or any situation. He came to seek and save that which was lost(Luke 19:10). He was a comforter to those in need and a healer to the sick. He came to fulfill prophecy and to die on the cross for our sins, not as a King and conqueror over the Roman Empire but because He loved us. His mission was to set us free from the chains of sin in our lives. To bring us everlasting life.

As Jesus turned His focus to this final mission of the cross, He took his disciples all the way north to Caesarea Philippi to see the idol worship that took place there at the Temple of Pan and the Gates of Hell. This place was considered the dirtiest and most sinful place that the Jews would know of. And Jesus took them there and told Peter that on this rock, on this place, He will build His church and not even the gates of hell will prevail.

Jesus didn't want his church to be built in the religious capital, but to bring the gospel message to the poor and downtrodden. To the places where it was the darkest. This is the essence of Christianity. It is not to live a good life and be a good person. It is to go to the places and to the people that have no hope, that have nothing left to lose, to the places where no other person would want to enter. To seek and save that which was lost...  Seeing this area today, one can see how Jesus did break the Temple of Pan and caused the Gates of Hell to stop flowing with a massive earthquake in the 300s. It is only a site of ruins today and no pagan worship could be done there again.

If there was one place of peace in Israel that I experienced Jesus' presence, it was here. I walked the Temple Mount and moved through the Holy Sepulchre, and both felt completely and utterly dead spiritually. Satan has used these areas to try and deceive people and lead them astray from knowing Christ. Only where Jesus wasn't worshiped through images and buildings was I able to feel His presence. A calmness and spiritual happiness. To see how Jesus promised that He would build His church on this rock, this place of pure evil is something else.  Yes, he ultimately destroyed and conquered the devil through His death and resurrection, but to see Satan's handiwork utterly devastated first hand is something else. Nothing, nothing in this world can stand up to the power of Jesus. It is something that we can hold onto, even through our trials and tribulations.

John 16:33 says: 

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

And He has overcome the world indeed! 

Reflections on Israel - Joel 2:12-13

Joel 2:12-14 (ESV)

12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord,

    “return to me with all your heart,

with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;

13     and rend your hearts and not your garments.”

Return to the Lord your God,

    for he is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;

    and he relents over disaster.

These images and verses explains repentance in a new way for me. Repentance is turning from your old ways, the sin that you committed and making a full 180 degree turn. Though, most of us only do this with our outer selves. To tear our "garments" so to speak. To show others your outward shame but without making a true repentance form your sins. And when the next opportunity arrives, you will just go right back to your old self, your old ways. This is not where true repentance lies. 

What God wants from us is not to seek repentance by just showing it to everyone around, but to rend our hearts, to break down in tears towards God for what we have done. This is where true repentance lies. It is turning towards God in our pain and sin, and not to seek it from the outward repentance we try to show to others without a true heart change. We should seek for forgiveness from our wrongs,but to do so knowing that we sinned against God first and foremost. 

As Psalm 51:3-4 says:

3 For I know my transgressions,

    and my sin is ever before me.

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned

    and done what is evil in your sight, 

 In Jesus there is no condemnation since we have been forgiven for our sins. Though,we should never take lightly any sin we do. We should be truly humbled by our faults and the knowledge in knowing that without Jesus we are without hope. To repent with the knowledge that God loves us and chooses to see us as perfect even through the mistakes we make because of the blood that Christ shed on the cross for our sins. This will allow us to stand up and move forward with the knowledge that we can continue to grow and keep following in our Rabbi's footsteps. So rend your hearts unto God and not your garments.

Creatures of Passion - Reflection on Proverbs 16:9

Oh, how we are creatures of passion. We seek to find ourselves in the waves of emotions that guides our path to what we want and what we think is the path that God has for us.

There have been many times where I thought, where I believed that God had something for me only to have it taken away. Or where i believed that this was His will in my life, only to see the door close. It wasn't until God showed a verse to me that it really hit home. Proverbs 16:9 reads:


The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps. (ESV)


That verse hit me like a ton of bricks. Oh how I'm a creature of passion that plans what I think is God's will. Only to have Him completely shatter it, remove what I thought was in line with His will. I'm humbled, torn apart, and, in the end, turning to God in repentance for my sins. Then He guides me into the path that He has established for me. Ecclesiastes 7:13 reads:


Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked? (ESV)


God purposely puts things in our path to teach us and to grow us. He let's us run off with our hearts, to seek after what we want and then lets us fail. And He does this only because He loves us. He loves us so much that His main purpose is for us to root out the deep, dark, sin that resides within. To bring us closer to Him and to remove the chains that binds us from being truly free. Our God is a jealous Father. He does not want us to strive after things in our lives that will kill us spiritually in the end.


The question that ultimately comes from this is, when you fail, when you are brought down to the edge of desperation, what will you do? Do you blame God for not giving you all of your hearts desires? Do you blame Him for not giving you a perfect life of comfort? Do you fall deeper in sin? Do you seek joy or comfort in temporary pleasures?


Or will you turn to God in desperation and repentance. Will you find comfort in His arms and peace in His presence. If this is what You do, He will heal you and bring you everlasting joy that cannot come from anywhere else. Our gratitude should be to praise God and thank Him.for caring for us more than what our earthly father ever could.

Psalm 142 - In Desperate Need of You

I cry to my Savior and Lord
To block the Devil's evil sword
In my weakness I pour out my heart
Not knowing where I should start

My spirit grows faint within
I do not see a way I can win
My path is covered with many traps
When I stumble I hear the devil's claps

There is no one who is by my side
Nowhere to run, no place to hide
My life seems meaningless to most
So I look up to the heavenly host

Listen to my cry oh Lord, I beg!
I am desperate, walking with a broken leg.
Set me free from this crippling and dark prison
So those around me will know your mighty mission