13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
14 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”
15 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. 18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”
20 Then he sternly warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
21 From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead.
22 But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!”
23 Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”
Matthew 16:13-23
Dear God, I know I would not have answered these questions correctly. Heck, my wife and I were talking about it the other day. I know I would not even have been there. I would have labeled you (Jesus) a heretic and not given you any of my attention. We were talking about what it would take for us to believe a modern prophet was really a prophet. What would be my test?
I didn’t come up with many answers, but I suppose the fruits of the Spirit are one way to gauge it. Do they exhibit the fruit of the Holy Spirit or not? Love? Joy? Peace? Patience? Goodness? Faithfulness? Kindness? Self control? (Galatians 5:22-23)
What of the fruit that comes from following the desires of our sinful nature? Sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. (Galatians 5:19-21) Does the person have these things?
The truth is, it’s hard to know anyone behind closed doors. Anyone can put on a show. Jesus could have been putting on a great show for everyone publicly, but then behaved a different way behind closed doors.
Father, Holy Spirit, I don’t know that I’ve really resolved anything here this morning except to say that I am pretty sure I wouldn’t have believed in you if I had been there 2,000 years ago. I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry for your sake and the deservedness you have to be loved and worshipped. I’m sorry for my sake that I would have missed you and if you showed up today I might still miss you. Show me how to love you. Show me how to love others. Show me how to not miss you when you show up in my life and teach me to be discerning so I do not listen to false prophets as well.
Through Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection I pray,
Amen
Emails to God 
audeliadelacruz1
August 4, 2022 at 11:32 am
I am right with you John, I do not think I would of believed Jesus was who he said he was 2000 years ago. When many bad things happen in the news or even in life it is hard to except this can be happening and except that God is in control and he will see us through these tough times. This is were our faith, and prayer comes in. Thank you for sharing this story,
Many thanks and God bless,
Delia