Tag: mat16

Broken Gates!

In Matthew 16, Jesus took His disciples to Caesarea Philippi. This region has a biblical history dating back to Genesis 6, where the Bible describes the Nephilim, a race of giants known as men of renown or mighty warriors. Throughout biblical history, this area has been associated with the Nephilim and, eventually, Molech, whom the Canaanites appeased with child sacrifices during their time. The area came to be understood as the gateway to the underworld, or the dead, in ancient times. It is in this region that something amazing happens. 

As Jesus and his disciples stand in this region, literally at the mouth of what was considered the gates of hell by the time of the New Testament, notice what Jesus says: 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. (Matthew 16:18, ESV) In other words, Jesus declares that He will conquer the forces of darkness, and His church will overcome them! The Apostle Paul discusses this victory that Jesus achieved through His cross when he wrote: He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross. (Colossians 2:14–15, NLT)

Ultimately, what does this mean for us as believers? The church is victorious over the principalities and rulers of darkness. Hell’s gates cannot stop or prevent us or the kingdom of God. Have they not tried in the last two thousand years? Yet here we are! Because of what Jesus did on the cross, the power of sin, wickedness, and Satan has been broken, and now we live in glorious victory! Light pierces the darkness! Therefore, we confidently carry this victory through Hell’s broken gates to a world bound in darkness so that they might be freed as we have been. 

Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from Matthew 16; Mark 8; Luke 9:18-27.

The Holy Reset!

As I meditated on today’s reading, the thought that stood out was how God had to reset everything for His people. Their sinful idolatry, for which they have been exiled, corrupted everything! Nothing about their society functioned according to the model God gave them upon coming out of Egypt. Everything was locked up in utter dysfunction.

Starting with their worship, Israel hired foreigners to take charge of the sanctuary (Ezekiel 44:8), a charge given to the Levites alone. In this vision, Ezekiel sees God reset and change many things about the priesthood and worship. God resets, rearranges, and reappoints even the land around the Temple. He puts borders and limits on the city and what the prince is allowed to have, as the religious and political elite have eaten up the land and homes of many of the people (Ezekiel 45:6–8). God even reset the most basic of Israel’s commerce by resetting the measure of the ephah and shekel. Yes, God’s people even managed to corrupt the basics of the basics of their economy. God also reset the tax structure. (Ezekiel 45:9–17) Sin had caused every aspect of Israel’s society to become so corrupt and dysfunctional that God had to do a holy reset!

This reminds me of what sin has done to many civilizations in history and is doing to our society today. From killing our children to willful confusion on what is a boy and what is a girl, to the dysfunction of our economy with its inflation and disparity between the ruling class and the peasants, to the religious landscape in which there is very little true knowledge of God remaining, our sin has devastated us. 

So what can the righteous do? A lot, actually! Those who know the Lord their God must not remain silent (Daniel 11:32). Christians possess a light that pierces the darkness (Matthew 5:16). Our holy difference must be magnified in our culture (2 Corinthians 6:17–7:1). On top of this, the very gates of hell cannot prevent the church (Matthew 16:18). 

So, is there hope? Yes! It begins with a holy reset in our lives as believers—that we can pray for—and, by God’s grace, find very effective in our lives and the culture of our day. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16, NLT)

Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from Ezekiel 44-45.

A bright spot in a dark time!

Israel is back at it again, doing evil in the sight of God. This time, the Philistines oppressed them for forty years! In the middle of this period, the Bible introduces us to Manoah and his wife, the soon-to-be parents of Sampson. Manoah and his wife stand out in stark contrast to the disobedience of Israel. While Israel has abandoned God for idolatry, Manoah and his wife, who are childless, are refreshingly reverent toward God! In the middle of these challenging times, both nationally and personally for Manoah and his wife, God tells them they will have a son. Notice the powerful response of faith from Manoah!

So Manoah asked him, “When your words come true, what kind of rules should govern the boy’s life and work?” The angel of the Lord replied, “Be sure your wife follows the instructions I gave her. She must not eat grapes or raisins, drink wine or any other alcoholic drink, or eat any forbidden food.” (Judges 13:12–14, NLT)

Two encouraging thoughts come to the surface. Manoah does not doubt God’s Word regarding the promise of a son. For Manoah, it’s when, not if. What faith in a doubt-filled, faithless time! The second thought relates to their obedience. They are careful to follow the instructions when society around them is disobeying the LORD’s instructions! The results?

When her son was born, she named him Samson. And the Lord blessed him as he grew up. And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him while he lived in Mahaneh-dan, which is located between the towns of Zorah and Eshtaol. (Judges 13:24–25, NLT)

Under the societal oppression of Israel’s sin and abandonment of God, here is a family that is blessed! In a faithless and disobedient culture, they love God! What a bright spot in the middle of some dark pages of Israel’s history!

Believers, are we not surrounded by a world of faithlessness and disobedience? Is not societal oppression from sin, evildoers, and the devil rampant around us? Is there not massive delusion today trying to crush any remaining pockets of godliness, sanity, and common sense? Yes! Can we be blessed in the midst of this? Are there others who have not “bowed the knee” to the wholesale idolatry of this present age? Is the Spirit of the Lord still stirring in the hearts of people, young and old alike? Is God still blessing people individually? Yes!

Then, it is time to rejoice that the impact of our light is the greatest when it is the darkest! Though conditions in this world may not be and have never been ideal for righteousness, righteousness, the Word of God and God Himself cannot be stamped out! Oh, how the devil has tried! This is not a time for believers to develop a fear-driven bunker mentality. In times like this, the following verse is all the more precious and powerful!

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. (Matthew 16:18, ESV)

Have the gates of hell prevented the church, and will they? No! Can you and I still be blessed in a world filled with crookedness and perversion? Yes! Rejoice, no weapon formed against us shall prevail over us (Isaiah 54:17)!

Thank you for joining with me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from Judges 13:1-15:20.