Here Comes the Son!

I have found great encouragement in the following verses:

Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it."Matthew 16:16-18

There's so much to digest within these 2 verses, but what really caught my attention was "the gates of the netherworld" (hell). Yes, you see Simon and his acknowlegement that Jesus is the Messiah, you see where Jesus gives Simon a new name...Peter, meaning rock. And you see Jesus leaving his earthly kingdom in the hands of Peter. Those few things are enough to keep you talking for awhile. Plenty of books have been written on those subjects alone, but as I was reading the verses; I realized that I had always read the last verse backwards and had always misinterpreted the whole thing.

I always pictured the gates of Heaven, holding back Satan...I had given the power to the Devil and pictured Christ and his followers in a defensive position. Like as Christians, we along with Christ were keeping Satan at bay. When nothing could be further from the truth. Christ is speaking of the gates of hell...we're on the offensive...nothing can hold "US" back...we're on the Lord's team. Satan can build all the defenses he wants, but we're the Body of Christ...his Church. And with Jesus we have the power to defeat Satan. The gates of hell WILL NOT prevail against Christ and his Church!! This is so encouraging to me in the times we are now living. Whether we're struggling with disease, finances, addictions, relationships, or just the world itself; we can know the power of God. Nothing can stop our Savior, Jesus Christ. Here comes the Son!!

Keep on Dancing!!