<\/p>\n
Mark 8:22-30; Matthew 16:13-20; Luke 9:18-20; Mark 8:31-9:1; Matthew 16:21-28; Luke 9:21-27; Mark 9:2-13; Matthew 17:1-13; Luke 9:28-36<\/strong><\/span> Matthew:<\/strong> Today we read about Peter\u2019s confession of Christ in Matthew chapter 16. In verse 15 we hear Jesus ask: \u201c\u201cBut what about you?\u201d he asked. \u201cWho do you say I am?\u201d And then in verse 16 Peter replies \u2013 \u201cSimon Peter answered, \u201cYou are the Christ, the Son of the living God.\u201d<\/em> I believe this is a question that is asked of each of us today as well. Who do you say that Jesus is? Is your answer the same answer as Peter\u2019s? If not, will you pray to God about who Jesus truly is?\u00a0 Below is a fresco from 1481 by Pietro Perugino of \u201cChrist Giving the Keys to Peter\u201d from verse 19:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span> <\/span> Bible.org\u2019s commentary on today\u2019s readings in Matthew chapter 16 titled \u201cPeter\u2019s Confession and Christ\u2019s Church\u201d<\/strong> is <\/span>at this link<\/span> and commentary on chapter 17 titled \u201cThe Transfiguration\u201d<\/strong> is <\/span>at this link<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span> Please join us in memorizing and meditating on two verses of Scripture today:<\/strong> \u201cThen Jesus said to his disciples, \u201cIf anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.\u201d <\/em>Matthew 16:24-25 NIV<\/span><\/p>\n Prayer Point:<\/strong> Pray that you are following Jesus, denying yourself and taking up your cross daily. Pray that you have lost your life for Jesus.<\/span><\/p>\n Comments from You:<\/strong>\u00a0 What verses or insights stand out to you in today\u2019s readings?\u00a0 Please post up by clicking on the \u201cComments\u201d link below!<\/span><\/p>\n God bless, p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Chronological Bible readings at this link.<\/span><\/p>\n p.s. #2 \u2013 Download a schedule of our Chronological Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.<\/span><\/p>\n p.s. #3 \u2013 I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Chronological Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mark 8:22-30; Matthew 16:13-20; Luke 9:18-20; Mark 8:31-9:1; Matthew 16:21-28; Luke 9:21-27; Mark 9:2-13; Matthew 17:1-13; Luke 9:28-36~ Click here to read today\u2019s Scripture on Bible Gateway ~~ Listen to today\u2019s Scripture with The ESV Bible ~ Matthew: Today we read about Peter\u2019s confession of Christ in Matthew chapter 16. In verse 15 we hear<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32712,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[1920,45,46,558,53,231],"class_list":["post-32711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bible-study","tag-12th","tag-bible","tag-blog","tag-chronological","tag-october","tag-readings"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32711\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
~ Click here to read today\u2019s Scripture on Bible Gateway ~<\/span><\/em>
~ Listen to today\u2019s Scripture with <\/em>The ESV Bible<\/em><\/span> ~<\/p>\n
In verse 18 we read \u2013 \u201cNow I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Praise God for Jesus instituting the body of Christ, Jesus\u2019 church!\u00a0 And all of the powers of hell will not conquer the body of Christ!\u00a0 \u00a0Do you praise Jesus regularly for the church you attend?\u00a0 Do you pray for the ministry of your church regularly?\u00a0 Do you pray often for your pastors \/ ministers \/ priests?\u00a0 Do you pray for others that attend your church?\u00a0 Do you pray for those that will soon be coming to attend your church?\u00a0 I have to say \u2013 I absolutely love my church.\u00a0 I honestly cannot imagine what my life would be like without the church.\u00a0 I met first met Jesus thanks to the church about 6 and a half years ago.\u00a0 And Jesus changed my life forever.\u00a0 Thank God for the church!\u00a0 I realize that some of you may feel that some churches have some issues and so you don\u2019t go to church at all at this time. However, I honestly do believe that we are called to be in community with others in a church \u2013 be it a big church, small church, house church, etc. \u2013 and that you really can find a great church if you search prayerfully.\u00a0 Trust me, they are out there!\u00a0 If you are not currently attending church \u2013 maybe because of bad experiences you had at another church in the past, will you pray about this with Jesus?\u00a0 Will you attend a different church again soon?\u00a0 I honestly believe it will bless you immensely to attend church again on a regular basis. Also, I am reminded of a classic line from Billy Graham \u2013 \u201cIf you ever find the perfect church, please do not join it. You\u2019ll mess it up!\u201d \ud83d\ude42 Indeed, there are no perfect people out there, and hence no perfect churches. But let us be the church anyway! The church may be a majestic mess, but it is Majestic indeed! And I do honestly believe that the body of Christ is the \u201chope of the world\u201d. Please be an active participant in this Hope.<\/span><\/p>\n
Verses 24 \u2013 26 are so powerful today: \u201c\u201dIf any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul?\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Wow\u2026 there is so much going on in these verses\u2026 I pray they speak to you powerfully as well?\u00a0 Do you want to follow Jesus?\u00a0 Will you put aside your selfish ambition?\u00a0 Will you shoulder your cross?\u00a0 Do you know what your cross is?\u00a0 Are you trying to \u201ckeep your life\u201d in any area of your life?\u00a0 Or, will you give up all of your life \u2013 every area \u2013 to Jesus so that you will find true life?\u00a0 Is there anything that this world has to offer that is worth more than your soul?<\/span><\/p>\n
Worship God:<\/strong>\u00a0 Today\u2019s readings in Matthew 16:24-25 about taking up our crosses and following Jesus reminded me of the beautiful song by Leeland called \u201cFollow You:\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
Mike<\/span><\/p>\n