Matthew 16:13-16 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
This groundbreaking conversation took place at Caesarea Phillipi, which lies today in the modern-day reserve of the Banias in the Golan Heights region of Israel. The city was established by Ptolemaic Greeks, a Hellenistic community where the worship of the god Pan was centered. Reviled by the Jews of Yeshua’s time and considered by them the most idolatrous place in the entire Galilee, to this day it remains a place of nature worship and deep paganism.
Why did Yeshua (Jesus) deliberately take his disciples to the most sinful, pagan place to reveal who He was? Why not in the temple courts, or the tomb of Jeremiah or one of the prophets, where He might feel more at home and welcomed? No, Yeshua revealed who He really was… in the darkest corner of Israel.
Now that tells me that the Lord is not shy about shining His light in dark places, and that includes the ones inside me. Psalm 139 tells me that He is intimately acquainted with all of them –that I can forget about keeping secrets from Him. It seems He rather delights in walking into enemy territory and taking ground. Those areas of my life that I don’t want anyone else to see, (and usually can hide from them) – He wants to visit, speak His word, illuminate and cleanse the place! The places where I’m darkest and weakest are His greatest opportunities to be glorified through repentance, transformation, and healing.
Take time to open before God the dark areas of your life, trusting in His perfect and patient love for you. He wants to reveal His forgiveness and beauty right where you are most ashamed and miserable. The gates of Hell shall not prevail against a saint whose faith and courage invite Yeshua deep into the hidden areas of his soul, to be cleansed and given over to Him.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.
How to display the above article within the Worthy Suite WordPress Plugin.
[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]Failure is never a pleasant feeling. It isn’t enjoyable to lose a job, see a relationship falter, or fail a test. But the disappointment we feel when we face defeat can be turned to joy if we look at it the right way!
A "beachhead" is the first objective, the primary location for a military force landing on an enemy shore, which, when secured can be used to gain further advancement.
This is the touching story of how Yeshua (Jesus) was anointed before His crucifixion. But there's one thing about this passaage that stood out to me as I read it again.
As the war continues in Israel, much has been made of the success of the Iron Dome defense system which shoots down incoming rockets from the Gaza Strip. While we are very thankful for the protection this system affords, it does present a certain public relations challenge for Israel. Somehow, regardless of the differences in both size and intention between Israel and the Arab world, the global media frequently emphasizes what they call, “moral equivalency”. The perception of Israel’s military strength and technical superiority somehow makes her the aggressor with an unfair advantage.
There is an important lesson here and in other places of God's Word, namely that humility and gladness go together. What do the humble and the joyous have in common? They both look up. The humble are those who don't look down on anyone. The truly humble look up all the time. They have to look up, because their eyes are on God, and He's above them. The joyous are always looking up as well, otherwise they wouldn't be rejoicing. The joyous are believing the Good News, so they rejoice!
Picture this — you come home from a long day of work — you walk into your living room — plop down on your couch in exhaustion — and there in the corner of the room — your eyes are drawn to something moving — it’s a rattlesnake! Do you say to yourself, “Oh, I’m too tired to worry about that now, I’ll deal with it later?” Of course not! You’d jump up right away, find a bat or something of the like, alert your family, call the neighbors, call 911, call the fire department and who knows what else! It’s a life-threatening situation!
Have you ever heard of the Valley of Elah? It's the valley near Bet Shemesh where David defeated Goliath, yet this historic battlefield is virtually untouched in Israel. During the rainy season a brook runs through the midst of the valley, however it dries up during the summer. This brook is very likely the one from which David chose his five smooth stones – one of which was used to kill Goliath. Yet, this historic place has no landmarks, no churches – people drive past it all the time unaware of it's biblical or historic significance.