Father, I am grateful for a wonderful day! Good times of worship and fellowship with both churches and an enjoyable time with Karen for the rest of the day. As I come before You this evening, may I hear You clearly and put into action what I hear. Amen.
Matthew 16:18-19 (<<click the green)
This is one of those passages which can be a little tricky – even the notes in my Bible gave a few different ways it could be understood. But when I looked at the two verses in the Amplified Bible and the New American Standard Bible on BibleGateway.com both made a great point. The word Jesus used for Peter is the word petros means a small or detached stone. When He uses the word rock in reference to building His church upon it, He uses the word petra meaning bedrock or a huge rock.
The Amplified Bible goes on to state that, “Throughout the New Testament Christ is clearly depicted as both the foundation petra and chief cornerstone of the church… Peter explains the role of believers as “living stones” in the church which is built on Christ as the foundation and cornerstone (1 Peter 2:5-6).”
Each and every one of us is small or detached stone. By ourselves, we can’t accomplish a whole lot but when we join together and allow ourselves to be placed together upon the sure foundation – Christ – then we can accomplish great things! We truly have nothing to fear in that because we are building on Christ “all the powers of hell will not conquer it.”
Again the Amplified Bible states, “The physical death of Christ will not hinder the establishment of the church nor will death overtake the church.”
In Christ we are victorious! Nothing can stand against Him, though the powers of this world try their best to do so.
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for enabling us to be more than conquerors in this life. May we place all our of trust in You!
June 3rd, 2018, Sun, 9:16 pm
