Get Behind Me Satan!

               

                When I realized what I was reading, I almost couldn't believe it. What I saw seemed as if it was profoundly disrespectful. As a matter of fact, it seemed to be borderline heartless, cold, and downright distasteful. This normally wouldn't have shaken me so much, had what I was witnessing been performed by anyone else. This act, however, was executed by Jesus. I stopped and asked the question: Isn't He supposed to be our example? How could He do this?

                The act I am referring to is the famous rebuke of Peter. The story begins as Jesus asks His disciples a simple question. Who do men say that I am? The disciples throw out various comments they have heard. Peter however, he is different. He has a revelation. He boldly declares that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus is so taken, He comments that this could not have been revealed to him by any man or process of cognition. This revelation was given to Peter by God the Father. Jesus then exhorted His disciples to tell no one.

                So far so good, right? However, Peter had a tendency to put his foot in his mouth. Jesus went on to explain some very difficult concepts to His disciples. He explained to them that He would have to go up to Jerusalem. Once there, He would suffer many things of the elders and priests. He would be falsely accused, He would be mocked, He would be mistreated, and He would be shamed. Ultimately, He would have to die and then be raised on the third day. This proved to be too much for Peter. Like many great friends out there, he went out of his way to do something he perceived to be in the best interest of his friend. He rebuked and attempted to convince Jesus that there must be an alternative course of action.

                Now we arrive at the part of the story that I simply could not believe. While I had read and heard this account on multiple occasions, the book of Mark offers a phrasing that brings out a shocking element of the story. Peter gets up and takes hold of Jesus, rebuking Him (Matthew 16:22). As Peter attempts to talk Jesus out of what he perceives to be a bad decision, Jesus doesn't just rebuke him. Jesus actually begins by facing him and then turns his back to Peter. Before Jesus speaks he fully turns his back on one of His most passionate followers. Talk about making a powerful point! In this position, facing the other disciples with Peter now standing behind Him, He rebukes Peter with the famous words, "Get thee behind me Satan!"

                "But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men." (Mark 8:33)

                This takes the situation to another level. It would be one thing if Jesus quietly rebuked Peter to conceal his error and bring private correction. Frankly, even if He wasn't quiet about it, had He at least said it to Peter's face, as I had always presumed, it wouldn't have been so extreme. The idea that Jesus first turned His back to the disciple, and then rebuked Him to everyone else, now that just seemed cold. That is, until I realized what the Lord was illustrating.

                In this case Peter represents any number of people, things, or responsibilities that have a degree of importance in our lives. There is no doubt that Peter was important to Jesus. However, sometimes these things, and even the most well meaning people in our lives become tools in the hand of the enemy. The fact that Jesus rebuked Satan and not Peter clearly indicates that Peter's actions were inspired by the devil, even though He didn't perceive it that way. The words that came out of Peter's mouth were a temptation to Jesus. The Bible is clear that Jesus was tempted in all points and we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

                What Jesus illustrated with his actions becomes a powerful lesson in how to overcome temptation. We first turn our back to it, then we begin to rebuke it. Let me explain. Let's say someone is trying to quit smoking. Does it make more sense to throw away all of the cigarettes in the house first and then pray for God's grace to overcome the temptation? Or does it make more sense to keep a pack of cigarettes in every room of the house, meaning the person is rebuking the habit every time they reach for the next cigarette?

                Sometimes temptation can be so strong in our lives that we have to first turn our backs to it so that our prayers and rebukes are not hindered. Jesus loved Peter so much that he turned His face from him before rebuking the devil! This was no easier for Jesus than it was for Peter. What we need to understand is that attacks often come through those that are closest to us. The devil is extremely intelligent, and seeds deception wherever possible. He will use the most well meaning people at times to seed advice and counsel into our lives that is entirely at odds with the leading of God. He will use what sounds like good advice to point us in the opposite direction of God's purpose for our lives. It is a difficult lesson.

                There are times when following the Lord will require us to turn our backs on the advice and counsel of those closest to us. We may even need to rebuke it. Jesus illustrated this with Peter. The most important thing to Jesus was fulfilling the purpose given to Him by His Father in heaven. God wants you to fulfill your purpose as well. Thus we need to learn to turn our backs on temptation when necessary.

You Too Can Win!

Greetings,

                Let's face it. You want to win. That's why you read motivational articles and listen to motivational speakers. Even watching others win can be fulfilling. Winning is exciting! No one needs to tell you that. This is why people compete to win. Everyone wants to win because winning brings many benefits. It brings recognition, emotional highs, awards, and commemorative plaques.

                I personally believe that winning and the desire to win is actually inherent to human nature. Think about it. Nobody competes to lose. Even little children grasp this concept. Winning means victory, and with victory comes positive emotions. Even in the odd case that people are competing to quote on quote "lose", the ability to "lose" changes its significance in that the one who loses actually wins. If people are competing, there is a winner, and thus winning is inherent to human nature.

                The proper question is not: do you want to win? The answer to this question is yes. Instead, the right question is: are you winning, and if not, why not? This means that regardless of what has happened, you want your marriage to win. The circumstances may make winning in this area feel so far from reality that you think you want to lose, but remember that losing is against your nature.  You want to win in your job. You want to win with the house you buy. You want to win with the friends that you have. You want to win in the relationship you share with your children. You want to win period!  Therefore, if you are not pursuing victory in your life, you are living contrary to your nature.

                Why is this important to understand? Sometimes people can experience enough loss that they forget their inherent nature. For instance, maybe they lost their first love. They lost their parents before graduating high school. They lost their first child to a rare disease. They lost their virginity to a rapist. They lost, and it corrupted the way they view themselves and their ability to win. Therefore they begin to live contrary to their nature. They accept defeat and they learn coping mechanisms. This is the person that considers themselves a "loser." Sure enough, as this person continually makes decisions out of this flawed perspective of their identity, others will begin to consider this person a loser as well.

                You may know a so-called "loser". Maybe you are a so-called "loser". Either way, to live the life of a  "loser" is to live a life contrary to human nature. This is important to understand, because if you have considered yourself a loser, then this is your wake-up call. Put simply, you too can win! Stop living contrary to your nature! If you  are reading this and thinking: who are you to tell me I can win...then I have news for you. Your circumstances no longer have to be your problem. I have a solution that trumps everything you've suffered and endured. I have a solution that will liberate you from every blockade and barrier that has ever held you back in life. Are you ready for it? His name is Jesus.

                Now before you wave your hand and tell yourself, "I've heard that  before," let me ask you a question. Have you really? The problem is, if we think we know Jesus and we are still losing we are truly living a life of deception. We are living in a void of lies and using our own will to enforce our failing approach to life. Allow me to explain how this works. Jesus is the ultimate example of victory. Out of His own mouth came the words, "I have overcome the world."

                So what does this have to do with you? Everything—and now it's time to learn why. In the book of 1 John 5:4 it says, "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." Here is my point. If a person is born of God they overcome the world—period. Moreover, the victory that overcomes the world is our faith. In other words our ability to trust God becomes a major determining factor in our ability to win!

                Let me put this another way. God is your maker. He knows that He designed you to win. Hopefully at this point you have also realized that you were designed to win. So what's your problem? Why do you keep losing? Why does your marriage fail? Why did you lose that promotion? Why couldn't you even win the friendly game of Monopoly last night? I am partly joking about that last item, but here is my point. The problem is that you were not born into winning circumstances. It is called the curse, it is called death, it is called original sin.

                In other words God designed humans to be winners. When Adam and Eve sinned in that garden, death entered and the curse of sin came upon us. This placed us in a state whereby losing  became a very real aspect of life. This created a dichotomy in that while losing is a very real part of life that can be difficult to overcome, there is an element of our very nature that longs to win in every situation. So how is Jesus the solution to this problem? He came to destroy the power of death and remove the curse. He did this so that we could reign in life through Him. "For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17)."

                Do you know what I call reigning in life? I call that victory! I call that winning. Jesus is the game changer. Jesus came to replace fallen realities with new creation realities. As a new creation in Christ... you too can win!

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Reconciling with Children

Greetings,

                When I picked up the phone her tone said it all. She was broken. She was in despair. She felt powerless. Why? As she began to explain to me, she was the mother of a child that had severed all communication. Furthermore, years had passed and now she had a granddaughter—a child she had never met. Can you imagine? She was without solutions. She had tried to figure it out, to bring resolution in her own strength, and to wait on God. In spite of all of this, nothing changed. In her desperation for reconciliation, she made a call. Little did she know that the time had finally come for her power encounter with the Living God.

                Years ago when I was still in Bible school I volunteered for the prayer line of the church that I was attending. It was a powerful experience. In that position I not only had the opportunity to minister to people locally, but to people around the country and even from other nations. The head pastor of the church had international influence and so prayer requests came in from many places.

                In this kind of ministry a person gets exposed to a lot of things... people seek help for issues they don't seek help for in person. The option of anonymity plays a big role in the effectiveness of prayer lines. Some of the stories and situations I was presented with were frankly mind-blowing. For instance, there was the woman whose father would periodically come after her and rape her. Due to his connections, she could never successfully press charges.

                Then there was the issue of the woman whose husband was getting involved with a secret society. His behavior was beginning to get very weird. Moreover, when she would start asking too many questions weird things would happen. For instance, she found a literal animal organ in a drawer. It manifested without anyone breaking, entering the home, or putting it there. This kind of activity was the product of real sorcery.

                Of course I can't forget to mention the woman who called in with certain health problems. As I began to pray for her, I realized that she was heavily demonized. So there I was, in that little room on the phone, driving out demons in another nation. As I was going at it, I could hear her in the background literally vomiting as the demons were being driven from her. The presence of God on me during that call was like a thick cloud that even the other prayer warriors in the room felt. To those Christians that want to remain naive to the needs that people have in the real world—I do not recommend volunteering for a prayer line!

                As I ministered in this position our instructions were simple. Don't counsel, don't prophesy, just pray. A prayer warrior learns quickly that to be effective, their perspective of God must remain bigger than whatever situation they are hearing. For me, this was an essential platform. It worked to launch me forward in my ability to minister to real needs in a real world. A world oppressed by a real devil.

                And so it was that during my service that I met a certain lady on the other end of the phone line. Her story broke my heart. She had not had communication with her daughter for years. To add insult to injury, during that time the daughter gave birth and did not allow her mother to so much as see her grandchild. The mother was a committed Christian and despite her best efforts and intentions, reconciliation had not come to their family. She had not been able to enjoy open communication with her daughter and remained totally estranged from her grandchild. What could she do?

                Maybe you or someone you know is in a similar situation. The relationship between them and their children has become entirely broken, and reconciliation seems impossible. Maybe as a parent you have found yourself in this situation and all you can do is blame yourself. Your shortcomings, your mistakes, your inadequacies: how can you expect anything better than the pain you have because of the divide that exists between you and your children?

                In other situations you may be caught up in a difficult situation because your children have gone astray. Your walk with Christ has divided them from you. They want their lifestyle and they reject yours. This was the case with this woman and her daughter. She was trusting Jesus, but it was difficult. As a matter of fact, the Bible is clear that hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life (Proverbs 13:12).

                So there I was, preparing to stand with this woman for reconciliation between her and her daughter. But what could one prayer do when years of waiting and praying had already been lifted up? The answer: Quite a bit! Together, we put our faith in a promise of God found in the book of Isaiah. If you have children that have gone astray, I encourage you to memorize and pray according to the following promise regularly. It is written, "But thus saith the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children (Isaiah 49:25)."

                The very next week I received a special phone call while volunteering on the prayer line. If you can believe it, it was the same woman! The chances of this happening were incredibly small! So small, in fact, I believe it was a God thing. The news: the very next Sunday after our prayer, the daughter showed up at her church with her child! In an emotional and tearful reunion, forgiveness and reconciliation manifested. With man this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.