the tempter

Thursday March 5^th, Mark 8: 33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." Satan is not always seen as the harbinger of evil as we often see Satan today, but as the tester. After his baptism, Jesus was tested by Satan out in the desert after 40 days. Here Satan comes as a tester in the form of Peter’s desire for the easy way out. For Jesus however, the path ahead leads not to the easy, “what’s in it for me” way and to personal salvation, but rather leads to the salvation for, and of, the whole world. That kind of salvation and change comes at a cost.  When we seek only our own satisfaction, we tend to short circuit what God has in mind for our mission in the world. Don’t worry about God.  Gods plan will prevail, remember, God has time on his side.  Now what God needs is You on his side also.