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329. Amazing Grace

Psalm 103
Key Verse:  He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
Psalm 103:10

"He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."  (Psalm 103:9-10)

There are so many things that God could accuse us of because of our sinful choices.  There are so many things that we choose to do that hurt Him and cause Him to have reason to be angry with us.  How would we have felt toward Peter if he had said that he would stick with us through thick and thin and then ran off when we needed him most?  Betrayal by a friend is painful, but on the beach that morning, Jesus reaffirmed His forgiveness.

Our loving Father is the God of second chances.  When we acknowledge our sin and turn to Him, He is waiting, with arms open wide, eager to forgive and put us back in the game.  He knows our frailties.  He knows our faults and weaknesses, but He never gives up on us.  He patiently works with us, making us more dependent upon Him so that we are strong in His strength, in our areas of weakness.

Paul explains it this way:  "He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.  Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, insults, hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong."  (2 Cor.9-10)  Peter had a moment of weakness, but Jesus did not condemn him for it.  Instead, He offered His strength in Peter's area of weakness and commissioned him to care for Jesus’ flock.

As far as we know, Peter never denied his Lord again.  In fact, in Acts, when Peter was mistreated by the Jewish leaders for his steadfastness to Christ, it is recorded, "The apostles, (including Peter), left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the sake of the name.  Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ."  (Acts 5:41-42) Paul records an incident in which Peter began to waver a bit, (Gal. 2:11-16), but we know that Peter accepted the correction because of his ministry activities that followed.  Peter was no longer a coward.  Christ's forgiveness made Peter brave and Christ is eager to do the same for us.

"Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His Holy Name.  Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.  The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed." (Psalm 103:1-6)

Psalm 103

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