Day 196- Authority

📖Daily Reading

 Matthew 16

🎥 Video  

Join me on my morning walk as we rise and shine together by walking through the Bible daily and learn a practical applicable coaching nugget from the ultimate life coach - our creator (whatever that means to you). No judgement zone here, all are welcome, we are all on a spiritual journey because we are after all spiritual beings having a human experience.

 

📝 Reflection 

 Matthew 16: 18-20

   “Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.” 

21-23

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.  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!” Jesus turned to Peter and said, “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.”

 

I feel like Paul Harvey right now, and now you know the rest of the story… I have heard and read vs. 21-23 so many times, but I didn’t have the full context of the previous verses leading up to this very well known exchange between Peter and Jesus. Maybe you have and you are shaking your head. But I am a great example of what happens to many of us who believe in Jesus, but haven’t done the reading and digesting of the full word of God for themselves. We only have part of the story, which means we only have a partial understanding of the authority we have been given from the author.  As I think about it now, I have never treated any other book the way I have treated the Bible.

I would never just skip around and only read a few sentences or a few pages here and there and only ready other peoples opinions on it and book reviews and think that I have gotten the full story on my own. Yet this is how many of us live our whole lives with regards to the bible. Whether you are a ‘christian’ or not everyone seems to have an opinion or something to say about the bible even without ever opening it or treating it randomly like I have.  I don’t say any of this to cause any shame or condemnation, I feel none myself. You don’t know what you don’t know!  But when you know you now have responsibility and authority.

Anyway, back to the story. It might seem harsh if you read vs 21-23 in isolation, Jesus seems to be calling Peter Satan even after just appointing him and renaming him Peter to be the ‘rock’ upon which the church is built. After renaming him and giving him the assignment of building the church he also gives him full authority to determine what is allowed and forbidden on earth AND that it will be the same in heaven. That his a hefty responsibility to give a human. Immediately Peter is given the opportunity to demonstrate his understanding of his authority and he ‘fails’. But this is how Jesus is teaching his disciples, in action, failure is never failing it is always learning. We don’t get Peter’s response here in the text, but imagining myself as a fly on the wall I would guess Peter knew immediately what Jesus was really saying and teaching him. Peter allowed fear to creep in and have a ‘say’ in the conversation and therefor nearly gave fear authority and a stronghold in his heart. 

Peter loves Jesus and didn’t want to lose him or for him to have to suffer. He wants it to be another way. Peter’s love is limited in his humanness and it is self motivated, self preserving and self satisfying. He is thinking too small, can you imagine if Jesus had allowed Peter’s ‘order’ to stand, there would be no resurrection power and conquering of death, for any of us. We have to be careful what we wish for and our motivations. In our authority and living in worry and fear we limit and even prevent God’s greater blessings and grander plan. 

Chapters 16 & 17 have several more examples of this concept at work. The disciples get into a fear based argument about not having enough bread, Jesus has to step in and remind them of feeding the 5,000 and the 4,000. You can hear it in his voice through the pages, ‘what is wrong with you? don’t you remember?’. He compares fear to yeast - how allowing even a little fear permeates the whole dough. He also gives the example of a mustard seed of faith, we all have the untapped potential laying dormant inside of us because we allow the yeast of fear to permeate our being and our soul and we don’t claim our authority granted in Jesus demonstrated through belief, faith and trust. 

Now, please don’t take the gospel according to Felecia as the Gospel. Again, newbie first time bible reader here 🙋‍♀️📖. I really encourage you to open your bibles and read and internalize it for yourself and let the living word penetrate your heart, allow holy spirt to speak to your spirit. Pray for understanding of your own authority and how you might be living by fear dressed up as faith instead of the truth of God’s eternal love and life resurrecting power.

 

✍🏼Daily Journal Prompt 

Are you allowing fear to be like yeast in the dough of your life? In what ways, in what areas, with whom?  How can you redirect or over ride fear with faith? 

📖Tomorrows Reading

 Matthew 17-18

Coaching Opportunity

Let's make 2023 the year of YOU by laying a solid foundational mind set! The world needs what only you have to offer! Give yourself the best gift ever, the best version of you is ready to rise & shine!

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If you have stuck with me this far, then you are not reading this by accident, I believe God has a plan for you and is calling you forward!😉🤩

 

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