In Matthew 16:21, Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.

Right after the glorious revelation that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus began to reveal to the disciples God’s plan to redeem man. He revealed to the disciples the gospel before it even happened. The truth is Jesus was betrayed, beaten, killed, and raised up on the third day. Many of us seem to lose focus on that. We only want to talk about the love of Jesus, the great teachings of Jesus, to follow His examples, or the peace that He brings. However, without the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, everything else is utterly meaningless. Paul wrote without the resurrection of Jesus, our faith is in vain and we are to be pitied the most amongst all men. Without BOTH the death and resurrection, there is no Christianity, there is no redemption, there is no peace. Our faith lies upon two pillars. The first pillar is the death of Christ to wipe ALL of our sins away. We are covered by His precious blood. The second pillar is the resurrection of Christ. Through His resurrection, we have received a new life. Both are the two most essential components of our faith. If one is missing, the foundation completely falls to the ground. Thank you God for this newness of life in Jesus Christ you have so graciously given to us. Lord, let Your world fall on us to bring forth the fruit you deserve.

Too many times when there is uncertainty, people simply say, “just have faith.” However, exactly what are they saying to have faith in? Faith is often times directed in the wrong places.  People tend to have faith in a person or an object (wife, boyfriend/girlfriend, best friend, car, job, church, etc.) What happens when those people or things let you down or just do not work? Abandonment of  faith is soon to follow.

This is a reminder of Matthew 7:24-27:

²⁴ “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: ²⁵ and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
²⁶ “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: ²⁷ and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

This says to me if I put all, most, half, or even 0.000001% my faith in a person or earthly possession, I am foolish enough to build a house on sand. I once was this foolish by having this much faith in a person. When that person turned out not to be who they perceived to be, it was painful. For months I walked in anger being lost and feeling hopeless. Life was miserable.

My foundation of faith was weak. As paraphrased from Matthew 16:26, I thought I gained the whole world, but most assuredly I lost my soul in the process. With the emptiness I had, I searched everywhere looking for the answer, an answer, any answer, following the blind because I was spiritually blind myself.

Be careful where you have your faith planted. If your foundation is not in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are sure to drown in the house built on sandy grounds. It is imperative that we understand who Jesus Christ is and the love that He has for us.

Being that He was blameless, an unblemished Lamb of God, He took our place on a cross, the cross which we deserved, taking our punishment upon His back. Yes, Jesus Christ was crucified for our sins, the world’s sins, but on the third day showed He is the true God and the gates of Hades could not contain Him. Through His resurrection, He defeated death and He has made us all who believe in Him alive and reconciled with God. We are now alive because our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ lives.

Oh I pray for all who are yet to find their way home to the Lord Jesus Christ to call upon His name and come unto Him. I pray they would just lay all their sins and iniquities, burdens and all the stress you carry around day to day at the cross, and He will remove it far away from them.  I pray that they will ask Him into their lives so that He can lift up their hearts and show them that He does give life more abundantly; a true life worth finding. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray let Your will be done, Your name be glorified, and Your Kingdom exalted.

I don’t need to see it to believe it. I know you are there God. For this feeling of goodness and peace even while I walk through the desert is not something that I can provide for myself. Yet, my Lord, people say they must see You to believe You. Why won’t you reveal yourself to them if that is all they need to believe in you? Oh yes my Lord, it is obvious, they do not mean it. When you did show yourself, they did not believe you; when you died on the cross they did not believe you; when you rose again they did not believe you.

While the heart is hardened, no matter how obvious you appear to them, they will reject You. I know You are the God who provides all of what we need and not necessarily what we may want. You have been faithful to us despite our selfish ways. Although we constantly break our promises and commitments to you, you steadily stand firm on Yours. Why must we be like this Lord? Oh yes, that is right, we are nothing but mere humans and You are God. Lord, it is obvious that you exist. Even the ones who don’t believe in You must believe in You to acknowledge that You don’t exist.

Lord, so then why do the same people who say they need to see you to believe you profane Your name? Oh yes Lord, it is very obvious as well. Just as the Pharisees wanted a sign and none was given to them, You are the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End; You do not owe us anything, and we owe you so much.

Everyone You have sent to prepare their hearts and give them the good news, they have ridiculed them, murdered them, cast them away. They are in search for understanding of the world. However, they will search for this understanding of the world until they die and find nothing because You own all of the world. If it is not Your will for it to be revealed, then it shall not.

So Lord, please fill my heart with this understanding: why do people who claim to believe in You praise your name but continue to walk in darkness and not live as a servant to You? Have you not provided them with the same freedom you have provided me? Oh yes Lord that is very true. You did say that they love you with their mouths but not with their hearts. Yes, I know they will call on you when they need You but forsake You when they don’t. Blessed are those who invite you into their hearts for they are pure of heart and seek to be humble and meek as you are.

But woe to those who go in searching of performing good deeds and think that is what You look for. I understand good deeds are important, but only when done for the right reason, and the right reason is in your name. Yes Lord I know, man wants to be seen by men to hear “good job,” have it placed on a resume, talk about it at the church barbeque, but I know once they get the praise from man, and it goes into their worldly book, it immediately leaves Your heavenly book.

So what is their motivation my Lord? Oh yes indeed, they want to use Your name for the bad and their name for the good as if they had any power whatsoever. God please mend and mold our foolish hearts to see you in pure form so we can see what You want from us. There is nothing worse than a proud servant. Lord I have something to address with You. Last year before I really knew You, I prayed a selfish prayer and you did not answer. I was upset with You, the world, and myself. They claimed you were always there and would provide. I was very upset.

However, I cannot stop thanking you now because I know you heard my prayer but knew not to answer and fulfill my request. If you did, I would never love you as I do now and you knew where my heart was, hardened as a mountain. So I know You are the God who is my provider. It is evident that some of the greatest prayers You answer are the ones you don’t answer.

Father God, I thank you for this wonderful conversation we have just had and all the revelations you have provided me. As you have commanded, I will share this conversation with all so that hopefully, just hopefully, one person will read this and Your glory can be revealed upon them. Thank You Father for You, Your precious Son the Lord Jesus Christ, and Your Holy Spirit which lives in me and enables me to walk in Your Holy Name. Selah…

In Matthew 28:23-26, Jesus tests the faith of His disciples. We read below.

²³ Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. ²⁴ And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. ²⁵ Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
²⁶ But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

Do you ever feel like you are stuck in the middle of a storm? Do you feel like you are perishing? Well my beloved friends, brothers and sisters in and through the blood of Christ, keep up your faith. Pray that it fails you not. God will not forsake you. He will never leave you. The apostle Paul said to the Colossians he has learned to be content in all situations. We must learn to do the same; to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior King. If we believe He died on the cross, was buried with our sins, and rose again from the dead to give us Eternal Life, Life more abundantly, to the fullest, then is there anything too big that He can’t take care of on our behalf? We must put all of our faith in Jesus Christ; whatever situation or circumstance we encounter, we must be certain that God is with us. His love never ends.