Morning by Morning, April 4 - Determined for Destiny
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen for Your voice, for Your sheep hear Your voice and follow You (John 10:3). ...
"From that time on, Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, 'God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to You.' But He turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things'" (Matthew 16:21-23).
You were determined to fulfill Your destiny. Even the anticipation of rejection, betrayal, and abuse could not dissuade You or distract You. Even the seemingly encouraging rebuke of love from an assuring friend and faithful disciple could not redirect Your steps, confuse Your thoughts, or alter Your course. You had set Your face like flint to go to Jerusalem and fulfill all righteousness with the holy sacrifice of Your holy life for all of us (Isaiah 50:7 fulfilled in Luke 9:51).
All along the way, You had the freedom to say "No," but continued to say "Yes" -- "Yes" to the will and the way of God, "Yes" to Your identity and Your destiny (Luke 22:42). And all along the way, it was necessary to have Your mind set on divine things, not human things, to "set Your mind on things above, not on things on the earth" (Colossians 3:2).
Peter thought he knew best. He even "took (You) aside and began to rebuke (You)" (Matthews 16:22). Wow, what chutzpah! But how many times have I done the same -- maybe not as directly, maybe a little more passively-aggressively, but with just as much insistence on the things and the ways of this world, instead of the things and the ways of God, nonetheless.
But You were resolute. Give me grace to do the same -- humility to seek the will of my Father, the faith to believe it's always God's best from heaven's perspective even if it doesn't look like it from earth's perspective, and the courage to obey. "For (I) died, and (my) life is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3). Give me grace to be determined for destiny, as I seek to walk "in (Your) steps" (1 Peter 2:21). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
I pray you will be empowered by the grace of God with humility, faith, and courage to be determined in the destiny our Father has for your life, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Please keep us in prayer for the First Wednesday Service of Worship and Prayer for Healing at Oak Hills Church, Crownridge Campus in San Antonio this coming Wednesday Night, April 5 at 7pm. I'm excited to be sharing a message of hope and healing. Come join us! All are welcome!
Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257
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