Jun 29: Matthew 16:13-19

Key Verse: Matthew 16:13
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

Devotion:
How many times have you noticed how Jesus would ask loaded questions? Here He is almost teasing the disciples by asking them who people are saying the Son of Man is… they would have known full well the next question to follow would be who they think the Son of Man is!

Many times when God tries to speak to us we don’t hear the calling because either the world is too noisy or we are not focusing on Him. Jesus, I think, was trying to get the disciples to tell the difference between listening to the Lord and listening to the world around us. Sometimes God just wants us to shut the world out so we can hear what He wants from us.

As long as we can remember just who Christ is and how much He means in our lives, we stand a good chance at getting to hear Him even when the world is screaming. I have a hard time hearing people talk when I am in a crowd because the noise and voices around me are distracting my brain too much to follow a single small voice in amongst that.

The same can be said for us and Christ; it is as if we are standing in a crowded room (the world) where everyone is trying to speak loud enough for themselves to be heard above the noise of others. The louder everyone speaks the louder the din is and the less we can differentiate single voices. This is where we need to be able to listen to that one special voice – the voice of Christ!

Points to Ponder:
How well do you do in a crowd?

Are you close enough to Christ to hear Him?