Use Your Key
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 16:17-19)
Thought For Today:
If you were given the keys to your city, what would you do? A key to the city is a symbolic gift from the city's administration, often given by the mayor, to welcome and honor visitors, residents, or others. The key represents the recipient's freedom to enter and leave the city at will, as a trusted friend of the city's residents. Jesus, who reigns over the city of heaven, gave Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven, not just one key, but many. What an incredible honor! Peter could use these keys to loosen and bind upon the earth at his own discretion. Although we don't know the exact number of keys on Peter's ring, we do know that he used one to unlock the church on the day of Pentecost. He said, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls" (Acts 2:36-41). So, how are you using the keys given to you?
