I Love You, Lord (Klein, 1978), Lord, Be Glorified (Kilpatrick, 1978), Psalms 4:1-2, 5:1-3, and 85:5-7.
My Shepherd met me in His green pastures and laid me down in Mark 8. The Mind of the Spirit touched the spirit of my mind when I read verse 33:
Mark 8:33 But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.
He flagged me down and called me aside to Him at the word “savourest,” which translates φρονεῖς (phroneis), and speaks of what has our affection and so occupies our mind. Jesus saw something of Satan in Peter that day. Mark tells us that with these words, He “rebuked Peter.” In Matthew’s account, the Spirit reveals that Jesus spoke these words directly to him (Matthew 15:33). I’ve reflected on this moment many times, but today I focused on the word “savourest” and wondered that Satan savours the “things that be of men.” Satan savours, sets his affections on, and is intellectually occupied with the “things that be of men”? To what end?
Along the still waters, I pondered the question, What do I savour? Satan’s heart is set on man to destroy him (John 10:10). His appetites are satiated by devouring men (1 Peter 5:8). I don’t think Peter sought to “steal, kill, and destroy,” or to devour men, but rather his thoughts tended toward those things that would make him food for Satan, that would put him on the side of Satan’s agenda. By opposing the gospel, Peter was assisting Satan’s agenda, not resisting it (James 4:7). The last time Jesus used the expression, “Get thee behind me, Satan,” was during the temptation in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13, where after the second of three temptations Jesus said, “Get thee behind me, Satan”). See Matthew 4:1-11, where Jesus said, “Get thee hence, Satan,” to the same temptation placed at the end, the third temptation of three.
Interestingly, Jesus said this in the early part of His ministry in the context of facing persecution (Matthew 5:13), and repeats it near the end, in the context of spiritual warfare (Luke 14:34-35).
In the valley, kneeling in the shadow of His Cross, the Spirit pointed out that in each case where Jesus warned us about losing our “savour,” He referred to the Cross. He rebuked Peter for cherishing a foul savour, like that of Satan (Mark 8:33), as opposed to the savour death unto death, like Paul (2 Corinthians 2:15-16; see Galatians 2:20), and followed with a call to discipleship: “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (See Mark 8:34-38), and “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33). I denied myself, rose, took my cross, and followed Him to the table (Luke 9:23; Psalm 23:5-6).
Goodness and mercy met me as I approached the table, and indicated that I should not sit, but bow my head: Jesus anointed my head with His oil, mercy handed me my cup filled with His grace, and we hastened after Christ into the Harvest. A busy day lay before us!
Praying for revival! 🙏
Going live @~ 2:30 PM.
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