I was reading Matthew 16 and 17 this morning when two thoughts it me. One was that Jesus famous rebuke to Peter, "Get thee behind me Satan," is followed up with "you are not setting you mind on the things of God, but on the things of man." ESV (Leland's Bible was handy this morning...I don't like the print size:) Boy, that hits home. Peter and the disciples were on the ground floor of something big. It would be like if I had bought stock in Nintendo, Marvel Movies, or the USA Today Newspaper before they got successful. Peter probably imagined Jesus taking the throne of David and ruling at that time. The disciples clearly thought this because in Acts they ask Jesus before he leaves, "6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" But God had such different plans and those plans were amazing!! Peter, a poor fisherman, did awesome things! He escaped a prison in which he was guarded like he was in super max! He healed a lame man and brought a woman back to life! He became the leader of a movement that went from one city to a global reach. A student's college professor uses Peter as an example of why the Bible isn't true. "How could an unschooled fisherman do such a thing?" she argued! I don't know if the student trusted in my answer or the professors, but clearly the professor does not grasp the power of Almighty God! Anyway, this is so true in our lives. We have big plans sometimes. When God tells us directly that he has other plans we need to respect that and realize his way is the best way!

The other thought was Peter's wanting to build a tent for Jesus, Elijah, and Moses. God the Father rebukes Peter and refocuses him on Jesus. Peter got distracted by his admiration of two of God's servants that he missed the importance of Christ. I get this sometimes as a Pastor or people will feel this way about our church. I immediately try to warn them that the church or I will let them down at some point...only Christ will never fail! If you have gotten discouraged about your Pastor in that he has clay feet or you think he is a poor fit, or your church...you need to shift your focus. If Jesus is the focus then you will not need to be disappointed. You may need to forgive me or the church or work things out but you will have peace.