Getting Past Our Human Nature
by Jon Walker

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.” Mark 8:33
When Jesus calls you, he expects you to begin thinking like him. This isn’t as impossible as it sounds because the Apostle Paul says you have been given the mind of Christ: “‘Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:16 NIV)

The issue is in accessing the mind of Christ as you mediate upon God’s Word and listen to the Holy Spirit, who is your guide into all truth (John 16:13). If you imagine discipleship as a physical journey, then you can easily see that the more time you spend with Jesus, the more you will begin to understand his way of thinking.

As you walk with him day in and day out, you will become intimate with his likes and dislikes; you will see what he sees and hear what he hears. You will know what he cares about and you will know what he considers insignificant, petty, or distracting. You will witness how he responds to problems, expectations, and laughter, and you will learn what he thinks about your future.
All of this will teach you to think from God’s perspective, to engage the mind of Christ available to you through the Holy Sprit.

The Apostle Peter shows how this transformation takes place. As he follows Jesus, he begins to submit his mind to the Father and that changes his perspective. He begins to see things as they appear inside the kingdom of heaven.

In other words, Peter begins to clearly see reality and he is able to see the truth that Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus says, “For this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17)

Christmas: God Is for You by Rick Warren

But the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. Luke 2:10 (NLT)

"And if God is for us, who can be against us?"

Knowing God is for you will change your whole perspective on life. You'll stop thinking of God as someone looking down from heaven, ready to yell, "Gotcha!" anytime you mess up.
Instead, you'll realize God loves you; God is with you; and God is for you! God is for your success in life; he created you for a purpose and he wants you to succeed. It is God, your Creator, who will measure your success in life, and no one else.

This is extremely good news!

It means you don't need to be afraid of God because God is for you. Yet, some people are so afraid of God they get nervous just talking about him. Do you know why? They feel guilty, and then they start thinking, "If I get close to God, he's going to lecture me. He's going to remind me of all the things I've done wrong, and then I'll feel even worse!"

Nothing could be further from the truth of God. Jesus said, "I did not come into the world to condemn it, but to save it." In effect, Jesus is saying, "I didn't come to scold you, I came to save you."

And if God is for us, who can be against us?

Jesus came to save us, not to scare us. That's why when the angel was telling the shepherds about the birth of Jesus, the first thing he says is: "Don't be afraid!"

In fact, when God sends a message to people in the Bible, it's not unusual for the first words to be: "Don't be afraid." There are 365 messages from God in the Bible that begin with a phrase like, "Fear not!" In other words, every single day of the year you can read a message from God that says, in effect, "You don't need to be afraid. I am for you; I am with you; I love you."

We celebrate Christmas because of this good news from God!