Skip to main content

266. Not me! Never!!

Matthew 26:31-35, Mark 14:27-31, Luke 22:31-34, John 13:36-38
Key Verse: "I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."
Luke 22:32

Poor Simon Peter. There are very few events of our Lord's walk on this earth that are recorded in all four gospels. There is the feeding of the five thousand, the death and resurrection of our Lord, Judas' betrayal, and this, Peter's denial of knowing Jesus. I'm sure that, for Peter, this is a very painful chapter that he would rather have forgotten, but for our sake, I'm glad that it is here.

I can identify with Peter. So often I have bravely prayed, during a worship service, as the music stirs my heart, or during a deep time of prayer, "Use me, Lord! I'll do anything for you, go anyplace! Make me brave for you!" Then, I cower or waffle when someone mocks my faith or when the Lord challenges me to do the unexpected. We deny our Lord more often than we probably choose to admit. Why? Well, we all have our own reasons. I have mine and you have yours. In this, however, Jesus is letting us know that even this is not hidden from Him, or unforgivable.

I find Luke's account interesting. Jesus says, "Simon, Simon, satan has asked to sift you as wheat." (Luke 22:31) This reminds me of the story of Job when satan asks God to allow him to torture Job to tempt him to fall away from his faith in God. God basically allows the test to go forward with Job, and now, for Peter as well.

Peter, however, learns something that Job never knew. Jesus is praying for him. Peter may fail, but Jesus offers restoration and once restored, there is work for Peter to do.

God is the God of second chances. The fact that He didn't abandon His creation from the beginning, but worked to restore proves this. He works in us to restore us to Him as well. Yes, as we shall see, Peter does fail, but as we shall also see, Peter is restored and goes on, in Christ, to do way more than he could ever imagine possible. The sifting process is only used to remove the lumps and impurities to make Peter more pure and useful to God.

In Him there is hope, hope for Peter, hope for us when we turn back to Him. "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13) It should be encouraging to us to know that our Lord knows what is coming, knows of our weakness and yet is committed to pray for us anyway. He hopes and does not give up on us. We are the weak and unreliable part of the relationship. He is the certainty, the solid rock on which we build our faith. If He won't give up on us, how can we give up on Him? He will forgive, and there is still work for us to do in Him. Thank You, Lord for not giving up on fallible me.


Hymn: "Lord of All Hopefulness" 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

211. The Sons of Thunder's Request

Matthew 20:20-28 , Mark 10:35-45 , Key verse: "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all." Mark 10:43B-44 In our readings for yesterday, in which Jesus outlined what was about to happen to Him, for His disciples, the passage in Luke ends: "The disciples did not understand any of this. It's meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what He was talking about." ( Luke 18:34 ) Now, we see just how truly clueless they were. Jesus had laid out a plan before them of pain and suffering and death and now James and John are focused on a promotion. The disconnect is so obvious. It's really not important to know whether James and john came up with this request on their own or if their mother put them up to it. The request was made and James and John thought that they could handle the responsibility that would come with it. What is that saying, "Fools rush in where angels fe...
Post a Comment
Read more

204. Come Like a Child

Psalm 127 , Matthew 19:13-15 , Luke 18:15-17 , Mark 10:13-16 Key Verse: Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14 The attitude of the disciples isn't much different than the attitude of many people, even Christians, today. Instead of seeing children as a blessing from the Lord, too many regard them as a burden to bear that gets in the way of our own selfish happiness. Family size is determined by what we think we can afford rather than openness to God's blessing, trusting God to provide. Satan hates children. Children represent innocence. The sooner he can corrupt and or damage a child, the happier he is. This is why Jesus warned in Matthew 18:6: "If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drown in the depths of the sea." To corrupt or damage ...
Post a Comment
Read more

174. Pleading for the Fig Tree

Proverbs 27:18 , Luke 13:6-9 Key Verse: He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who looks after his master will be honored. Proverbs 27:18 We have here three main characters: a master, who acquired the tree in hopes of eventually enjoying its fruit, a servant, who looks to the tree to reflect his care and attention, and lastly, the tree itself. The master has the right to expect his investment to pay off. The servant, who has obviously put much effort into the tree, would also like to see fruit. The servant's interest is not only to show his own talent in gardening, but because he wants to please his master. Both the servant and the master are dependent upon the tree to do what it was designed to do. Their little parable is an interesting way for Jesus to finish off His exhortation to, "repent or perish."  God is the Master. He had a purpose for you before you were even born. ( Jeremiah 1:5 & Psalm 139:16 ) He planted you on this earth to ful...
Post a Comment
Read more