May 28, 2010
All that matters
Mark 8:27-38
Tiffany Wilkins
Central Truth
What we believe about Jesus determines our life on this earth and for eternity.
Key Verse | Mark 8:29
And He continued by questioning them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.” (Mark 8:29)
Mark 8:27-38
Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ
27 And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” 30 And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.
Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection
31 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life 1 8:35 The same Greek word can mean either soul or life, depending on the context; twice in this verse and once in verse 36 and once in verse 37 will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
Footnotes
[1] 8:35 The same Greek word can mean either soul or life, depending on the context; twice in this verse and once in verse 36 and once in verse 37Dive Deeper | Mark 8:27-38
The adoption process is stressful because there are so many things that are out of my control. When I want to control things, I am not trusting God for His plan or provision. The lack of trust comes when I believe lies about Him. They creep in easily and can be twisted truth, which can make the lies difficult to recognize. From Scripture I know that when we surrender to the Lord and to His plans for us, we can find His peace and joy, no matter the circumstances.
I have personally experienced God's peace, which should help. But when we hit our first obstacle in our most recent adoption process, I began to panic. Subconsciously, I was thinking, "Here we go again, more trials, all so God can mold me into the image of His Son." The lie: God does not want the best for me, and He is really not good. Now it is true that we all are being transformed into the likeness of His Son, but God is not doing it out of meanness. He may be allowing the obstacle, or He may be causing it—only He knows.
But instead of meditating on His faithfulness and recalling all the wonderful things He has done in my life, I chose to think about the things that did not turn out the way I had planned. I had processed and embraced most of the details of my life, but I allowed my thoughts to go crazy instead of taking them captive to the obedience of Christ and turning to Him. I was convicted that I was not praying about the details of the process because I was fearful of God letting me down, when the truth is that God is the only One who will never let us down.
Had I been praying about the details, my heart would have been softer toward Him, and I would have been less likely to believe the lies. After identifying the lies, I could answer His question from Scripture, "You are the Sovereign Lord."
Discussion Questions
1. Who do you believe Jesus is, and what does your answer mean in light of your current circumstances?
2. What lies are you believing about the Lord lately, and what Scriptures can you find that contradict those lies?
3. What are five attributes of God you have seen in your circumstances this week?
4. If you believe Jesus is the Christ, with whom can you share this truth this week?
FAMILY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. In verse 34 Jesus said that, if we want to follow Him, we must deny ourselves. What does it mean to “deny yourself”?
2. Have you ever wanted to do something but knew that God would want you to do something different? Talk about those situations.
3. Try denying yourself this week and putting God and others first.