Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters–one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”  While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” —  Matthew 17: 4-5

I learn so much from Peter.  When you read about him, he seems to always say the wrong thing at the wrong time.  In this chapter Peter saw Jesus transfigured.  He also saw Moses and Elijah.  Peter made a major mistake by putting Moses and Elijah on the same playing field as Jesus.  God quickly intervened and basically said “it isn’t about Moses, it isn’t about Elijah…it’s all about my son, Jesus!”

Now, Peter made his mistake and got corrected all in a moment.  I realize now that I made the same mistake when I was a beginning Christian.  Unfortunately, mine took about 10 years before I realized it.  Let me explain.

Moses represents the Law…the 10 commandments.  When I first got saved, I thought that the most important thing I needed to do was start keeping them.  No more lying, no more cussing, no more…whatever.  The only problem was, I was a terrible rule keeper.  I found myself right in the middle of sin time and time again.  I always felt like God was dangling me over the fires of Hell.  I always felt like He was mad at me and I always felt like I was letting Him down.  This continued for quite a few years.

Elijah represents the prophets…the preachers of the day.  I remember flipping through the channels and finding a pastor named Jentezen Franklin that immediately hooked me.  He was dynamic, he was incredibly knowledgeable, and I just drank in every word he had to say.  I have two shoe boxes upstairs with over 200 cassette tapes that have his sermons on them.  He was the man…if Jentezen said it, I believed it, and that settled it.  I didn’t realize it, but I had a new problem.  Even though I was growing in knowledge like crazy, I didn’t have a real connection with God myself.  I knew He connected with Jentezen…He just wasn’t connecting with me.  Once again, it took a few years, but I realized that I was living off of another person’s anointing.  I didn’t want that…I wanted the anointing myself.

I sure wish I had read Matthew 17:4-5 years ago and put it all together.  Right there God Himself tells me in plain Salem-ese “Adam, it aint about doing good, it aint about goin’ to church and listenin’ to all the preachers…it’s about my Son, Jesus Christ, who laid His life down for you  All you have to do is listen to Him.”

How freeing is that?  My task is a simple one, though I dare not call it “easy.”  I must search the Holy Scriptures and simply look for Jesus.  He is there…all over the place.  The whole book tells of His great love for us.  Every single time I find Him, I must listen to Him.  I must just hang on His every word and let it sink as deep into my heart as it can possibly go.  I have found that the more I do this, the more I don’t HAVE to do what is right, but the more I WANT to do what is right.

If you think you are a “good person,”  you are not.  Certainly not good enough to go to Heaven.  If you don’t believe me read Psalm 14:3 or Romans 3:23.  Isaiah 64:6 tells us what He thinks of our righteous deeds.  Doing good things to impress God does not and will not save you…ever.

If you are placing your trust in a church or a preacher, their anointing won’t get you to Heaven.  Sure, they can point you in the right direction, can make you feel better and even help you grow in knowledge about God and the Bible…but they don’t save you.  Matthew 7:22-23 gives us a good example of this.  The people were saying “Lord, Lord did WE not…”  I think they were talking about some great things that were going on in their church.  Unfortunately, it is not about WE…it’s about Him and whether or not you have that relationship with Him. In verse 23 he plainly says “I never knew YOU.”

Only the blood of Christ which washes away your sin can save you.  Make absolutely 100% certain that you have asked Him into your heart and to forgive you for your sin.  Then, pursue Him with everything that you have.  Develop a relationship with the Savior of the World.

Who would have even thought that was possible?

“This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

Later

Adam