Reading the Gospels provides so much insight into the thinking of Jesus Christ and those who spent the most time with Him. In Luke 9, for instance, Jesus asked his disciples what others thought of Him. The responses were that people compared Him to late prophets such as Elijah and some thought of Him as the recently executed John the Baptist.
However, Jesus was more interested in getting the opinion of the people He spent the most time with. Those whom He eventually called His friends (John 15:15). He wanted to know what they had concluded about Him. And so, He continued the conversation, posing another question in Luke 9:20 - “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.” The same response was recorded in Matthew 16:16-Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And in the Book of Mark, Peter is recorded as saying, “You are the Messiah.” (Mark 8:29).
Peter's response was based on His interactions with Jesus. He'd watched the Son of Godchange water to wine,cast demons out of people, and heal the sick, including his own mother (Mark 1:30-31). He'd seen Jesus dress down the religious and political authorities of His day and those men had no 'come back' for His wisdom. And so, when Peter called Jesus the Messiah, which means 'the anointed one' or 'the chosen one', he really meant it.
If Jesus asked you this same question today -Who do you say I am?- what would your answer be?
Would you give details about Him from the Bible, or would you be able to give specifics from your own life? If you can't genuinely speak about Jesus in a personal way, then that means you are in desperate need of a relationship with Him. And that's not a bad thing because Jesus came to earth to introduce Himself to people in His age and every era to come. That means today can be the very start of a beautiful relationship with Him, whereby you get to know more and experience more of Him. In this way, you too will be able to genuinely explain who Christ is to you as well as His impact on your life.
If you already know Jesus and can readily describe who He is to you, give God glory and praise for that privilege. Be sure to write it down somewhere and feel free to share it with the rest of us. Then, please take a moment to pray that others will be able to do the same. Now, if you don't have the answer to Jesus' question -Who do you say I am?- stop everything you are doing and ask Jesus for the opportunity to know Him better. Then, don't forget that you made this request because He will introduce Himself to you soon.
God bless you!
PS: If you are wondering why it is important to know Jesus and have a relationship with Him, then consider Luke 10:22 - “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
This scripture lets us know that Jesus chooses those to whom He will reveal His Father. He surely will not do that for those who don't like Him and aren't interested in knowing Him. Thus, we need a relationship with Jesus in order to have one with the Lord. We need Jesus in our lives to receive the Holy Spirit who acts as our Comforter and Guide. Basically, there are nothing but benefits in knowing Jesus and being able to confidently say whoyou,and not somebody else, thinks He is.
From AC - YHWH ropheka, You are the Almighty God Who heals and so I plead the healing blood of Jesus upon SC, Val's cousin, Lou's dad and EL, who are all battling cancer.
I call on You to destroy and eliminate all malignant cells from all systems, bones, blood, and organs. Free them from discomfort, and pain and replace the spirit of fear with Your transcending peace and comfort. Guide the hands and minds of the medical team entrusted with their care and provide them with high-quality care, treatments, and medicines.
Please grant them a healing breakthrough for Your almighty glory and victory! In the name of Jesus, our great Physician, Amen.
CLOSING PRAYER
Abba Father, thank You for another hour in Your presence. Thank You for another gathering to lift up praises as well as prayers for others.
God, I thank You for being so gracious and giving to us not just today but all the days of our lives. Thank You for giving Jesus to us. Your precious Son. The firstborn of all creation, made in Your image (Colossians 1:15).
And yet, He was given to suffer and die so we don't have to. Hallelujah!
Good Lord, may we all continue to experience Jesus in new and unique ways. May these encounters strengthen us and help us grow in our knowledge of You. May our faith blossom and our wisdom increase. Thank You so much for hearing these petitions, especially because, as we pray IJN, You Lord answer with a 'Yes' and we just have to say our Amen!
Hallelujah!!!
From CD - He is my EVERYTHING
Hallelujah!! Praise God that He found me worthy ❤️❤️
LAST 10 MINUTES
Did you take some time to think about how you would respond to Jesus' question - “Who do you say I am?”
What was the result? Did you have a host of experiences with Christ that determined what you had to say about Him and His character? Could you confidently, like Peter, express who He is to you?
Listen, we are all at different stages in our walk with the Lord and that is not necessarily a bad thing. The Lord allows us to get to know Him over a period of time. The problem is when a person doesn't care to know Him at all.
And Jesus is integral to not just knowing God but getting to His heavenly abode.
So, if you'd like to get to know Jesus, please consider saying the following prayer. And if you know Jesus, but have a loved one who needs to encounter in a deep way, please join along and pray for them.
Jesus, thank You for dying on the cross for me. I appreciate Your sacrifice on my behalf. Today, I acknowledge that I need to know You better and I want to know You more. Jesus, please meet with me. Introduce Yourself to me. Enable me to see, feel, and hear You. Fill me with what I need and transform the rest of my life. I too want to confidently speak of You and my experiences with You, IJMN, Amen.
Praise the Lord Almighty!
From sis FJ - Father I praise You for creating the institution of a family. Dear Lord, the bible says it is You who puts the solitary in a family. You also desire peace between the generations. My rock, I cry out to You to have mercy upon families and let there be peace. Your desire is for parents to raise up godly offspring, so I pray that you would help them to achieve that. In Jesus name I pray, amen
From AC - Thank You YHWH Rapha for Your continued healing and for providing medical solutions and breakthroughs that restore the health of Your children.
May You bless all healthcare providers and medical professionals for the tireless work they do. May You grant them wisdom, discernment, strength, and a sound mind to make informed decisions, meet the tough demands of their profession, and provide the best care possible to their patients.
Bless the hands of their work and grace them with the ability to heal both mind and body, for Your almighty glory.
In Jesus’ name, I pray Amen.
Father, I thank You for being the Mighty Man of War. The El Gibbor. Jehovah Sabaoth.
Lord, I lift up the situation between Israel and Hamas. God, on a Sabbath and on a holiday to Your glory, Israel was attacked, leading to the deaths of many. Several hundred were kidnapped. Father, You see all and You know all. I invoke Your word in Isaiah 45:17. You have declared an eternal salvation for Israel and IJN, and I know that You Jehovah Shalom will ensure that peace comes sooner rather than later.
I want to also pray for the innocents in Gaza who have been affected by the choices of Hamas to bring war to their land. There are too many children and others being killed and Lord, I pray for them as well that as is promised in Psalm 65:7, You shall still the turmoil of the nations. Father, remember the miracle You worked for Rahab. All around her, the city fell but she and her loved ones were made secure because of her faith in You. For Your faithful in both countries, protect and cover them. Lead them to safety.
God, I also call on You to send angelic help into this situation. When Daniel prayed, You sent an angel, but one of the chief princes, Archangel Michael, had to help him fight his way to Daniel. As such, please send your angels to fight against every prince of Persia and every evil coalition intent on causing more bloodshed and chaos. Remember that You do not abide the stirrer of conflict and You have reserved a bloodbath for those who do not shrink back from spilling human blood (Ezekiel 35:6). Be they in the physical or the spiritual. Lord, let Your way and Your word quickly come to pass, IJMN, Amen.
Father, I come before You today to pray for those who have not had the opportunity to encounter Jesus. There may be all sorts of forces at work to prevent them from meeting Your Son, our Savior.
Lord, Your word is that Jesus waits at the door and anyone who opens will get to sit with Him and with You (Revelation 3:20). It is my prayer that people will hear that knocking and will open the door to You.
Remember God, You also promised to pour out Your Spirit on all flesh (Acts 2:17). I pray that as You pour out Your Spirit, people will drink and be blessed. That they will not allow satan to choke out Your word from them or transform them from good soil into rocky soil or anything else that isn't conducive for Your presence, IJMN, Amen.
PRAYER TIME
Take some time to pray for people, remembering that as Christians, we have an obligation to love others. One way of doing so is to lift petitions for our loved ones, colleagues, leaders, nations, etc.
We can also pray for complete strangers. The key is to pray for someone other than yourself over the next 25 minutes.
God bless you.
Lord, I want to take this opportunity to express my thanks for the special encounters I got to witness this week. I saw You work in wonderful ways for people. I saw You answer prayers. I saw You move mountains like they were nothing.
God, You are great and greatly to be praised.
Now and forever more, Amen!
Jesus, You are my Chief Advocate and Intercessor. Thank You for being with me at all times.
Thank You for freeing me from the clutches of the devil and its evil schemes against me.
Thank You that You did this not only for me but for so many others.
Thank You, Jesus.
Thank You, God, for making Jesus accessible to us.
Jesus, I want to say thank You for the privilege of knowing You and experiencing Your blessed help in my life.
Thank You for the chance You gave me to learn about you, choose to submit to you, and become a born-again Christian.
I thank You for the privileges that this affords me and I am forever grateful.
From AC - This is a good time to post a comment I read 3 days under a YouTube video, by someone describing who Jesus is. I made sure to copy and save it:
The greatest man in history, had no servants, yet they called him Master.
Had no degree, yet they called him Teacher.
Had no medicines, yet they called him Healer.
He had no army, yet kings feared Him.
He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world.
He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him.
He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today.
His name is Jesus.
🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾
Thank You Jesus for knowing me. I am grateful that with everything You do, I am not invisible to You. Thank You for dying on the cross for me and determining that I would be worth that blood sacrifice.
Hallelujah!
From AC - Jesus, You are my saving grace, my Helper in times of trouble, my refuge Who covers me, my Counselor, my Redeemer, the Great Physician Who healed me, my Comfort, my enduring Strength, and Transcending Peace. Thank You for restoring my soul and reconciling me with the Almighty Father. Thank You for Your spiritual gifts and the power bestowed upon me through the Holy Spirit. Take all glory, honor, and praise! Amen! Amen!
PRAISE TIME
Give glory to the Lord for He is worthy of all the praise!
Don't waste another second - tell the Lord the reasons why you love Him and are grateful to Him.
Remember, your very life is a result of His goodness and mercy.
Give Him all the honor!
From P4R - Amen may the Lord continue to use you for his glory
Here are a few more -
Shoutout to @AlexisC. Her post nudged me to go find out how other people have described Jesus.
Here are a few examples -
From AC - Good morning Peppers, I pray Friday blessings upon you. Thank You @FFJ for this morning's beautiful message about King Jesus.
For to us, a child is born, to us, a Son is given... And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace ~ Isaiah 9:6
Yeshua, King above all kings, Alpha and Omega, our mighty Saviour, Treasure of Heaven, thank You for Your everlasting salvation, redemption, healing, grace, mercy, peace, and blessings. Thank You for being the good and faithful Shepherd, that rescues me and covers me. Thank You for answered prayers, immeasurable gifts, and faithfulness, for Your Word never ever returns void.
Words are insufficient to describe all that You mean to me and how much I love You and adore You. You are my eternal joy, my only constant with Whom there is no variation or change (James 1:17). I pour my praise upon You and crown You with worship not simply for what You have done for me, but I extol You because of Your greatness and glory.
I pray Jeremiah 24:7 upon my brothers and sisters, that they shall desire more of You and sit at Your feet as Mary did and hear Your heart. Pour Your Spirit upon them Lord and help them to never lose the wonder of Your mercy and the price You paid in full for our freedom.
May Your sovereign Name be glorified, above all names, always and forever. Amen, Amen.