15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus answered and said to 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 also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Memory Verse: I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. Revelation 22:13.
Names are essential for identification but it goes far beyond that because there is something about what we are called which makes us feel special. I remember having a conversation with my daughter back when she was 4 years old, it was focused on behaviors. She had to start learning to treat others with kindness and I asked the question “are you a princess or a monster?” She shouted mum am a princess I am not a monster. I believe she said this because she knows a monster is known to have a bad reputation and a princess is known to be beautifully well behaved and attracts a lot beauty. It seems quite simple to understand but it was my way of explaining to her that to be called a princess, she had to behave like one.
Hearing, knowing and saying a name are some of the ways we get to become more aware of people and to our Father in Heaven, the narrative is exactly the same. Today’s bible reading shows a lot of confusion on who people thought Jesus was. Unlike my daughter who knew she was definitely a princess, the people described in the scripture seemed pretty confused; no wonder they didn’t treat Jesus with the honour He deserved and neither did they enjoy the benefits of knowing Him.
Some thought He was John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets so they basically didn’t know what to expect from Him.
We are like some of those confused people! It’s ok to be confused as a child (unbeliever) because we still learn to understand the right from wrong so if I had asked my daughter that same question a couple of years younger than that, she may have easily called herself a monster because to her it’s just choosing one from another without a thorough understanding. Peter however was being directed by the spirit of God and it takes knowing God to be taught by the Lord. Peter was able to say the right words because he had moved from being a non-believer to a believer and was actively and intentionally following Christ.
Peter therefore enjoyed the benefits of knowing God and Jesus blessed him and spoke into his future, endorsing him with all authority.
Knowing who God is can sometimes be the only answer to most of the questions we ask ourselves and thus helps us understand our position with God. Knowing Him enables us to call Him into life challenging situations not because we have seen Him perform in such capacity before but because we trust Him by His name and what He has done and we believe is able to do.
The Lord revealed Himself many times in the scriptures but unless we begin to dig deeper into His word, we may remain and keel floating in the confused state and there will really be no difference between us and unbelievers.
Are you still unsure if God will come through in every situation? A good place to start is asking yourself “who is God to me and who and i to Him?” IF you are still unsure then ask God to tell you who He is and He has always able and known to reveal Himself to His people, just like He did with Moses. And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” Exodus 3:14.
PRAYERS
- Father You are faithful and loving, my all, appreciates you from the depths of my heart
- Thank You for being so your lovingkindness and for the gift of eternal life granted unto me
- Father help me to further know you better, reveal yourself unto me
- I desire wisdom Father, crown me with it and grant me understanding in all areas of life
- Help me to study my salvation daily with fear and trembling and to love you unconditionally
- Help me Lord to mind what I say out and to maintain my advantage over the devil.
- Help me to get closer to you Lord, to know your mind and to receive direction and instructions from you
- Help me Lord not to grieve the Holy Spirit but to remain in sync and abiding always.
- Help me Lord to focus on you solely and not be carnally minded
- Help me to be compassionate towards others, to show benevolence and to meet other’s needs
- I receive the power of a giver, guide me Lord and lead me to reach out to those in need
- Help me to walk with you daily, live my life for you and be at the centre of it all
- Forgive me Lord of all my iniquities, bless me abundantly and make me a blessing unto others, in Jesus mighty name I pray, Amen.
