Passage
Matthew 16:21-28 (ESV)
Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch
Acts 8:26-40
Key Verse: 8:35
Whoever Wants to Be Jesus' Disciple
Date: Jul. 31, 2015
Daily Bread
Key Verse: 16:24
First, God's concerns, human concerns (21-23). Jesus began to teach the disciples what the Messiah came to do. He would go up to Jerusalem where he would suffer many things, be killed and then raised to life. This was Jesus' most important mission. Jesus did this to save sinners, like us, from their sins. This is what God wanted. But Jesus' words upset Peter who said he would block this from happening. By not accepting what God wanted, Peter became a stumbling block to Jesus and an instrument of Satan.
Second, too follow Jesus (24-28). To be a disciple of Jesus requires denying one's own sinful ideas and passions, to take up one's cross and to follow Jesus. Instead of trying to save himself in this world, as Peter was trying to do, a disciple must lose his life for Jesus. But Jesus also promises that genuine disciples will find life. They will be rewarded for what they have done for him when he comes again.
Prayer: Lord, may your concerns be my concerns. Please help me to deny myself, take up my cross and follow Jesus everyday.
One Word: Be a genuine disciple of Jesus
