Ezra 1-2; John 21

The scene is set. Peter and Jesus are sitting around an early morning charcoal fire… Just like the charcoal fire the night Peter denied Jesus three times…

Jesus then asks Peter if he loves Him and asks Him three times.. Read below:

15 Then when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these do?” He replied, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.” Jesus told him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 Jesus said a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He replied, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.” Jesus told him, “Shepherd my sheep.” 17 Jesus said a third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that Jesus asked him a third time, “Do you love me?” and said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus replied, “Feed my sheep. (John 21:15-17 [ESV])

Jesus always looks past our sin to what we can do for Him in His kingdom. Peter had done the unthinkable. He had denied Jesus three times. Even when Jesus takes Peter aside and tells him He was praying for him Jesus looks past the denial. We read the following:

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:31&32 [ESV])

One of the greatest sins ever committed and Jesus doesn’t demand an apology. He let’s Peter know He knows in the passage of this morning, but His call to ministry was the focus of Jesus here.

If Peter hadn’t turned back, or had blown off the sin Jesus wouldn’t have had the early morning breakfast meeting with him. Jesus knows our hearts probably more than our words.

Some of us have struggled with sin and we have asked and asked and asked for forgiveness. The first time would have been enough, but even still Jesus knows your heart. He knows you are sorry and when He does He gives you a new mission to accomplish in His Kingdom work.

We have all had to ask for forgiveness but has dwelt there. Jesus wants us to look forward to the new assignment He has for us. Satan is the one that keeps us at the sorry point putting the lie into our heads that we are no longer any good to God. God is waiting to give you your next assignment in His Kingdom. What will it be for you?

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Hosea 1-3; Matthew 16

21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. 22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” 23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” (Matthew 16:21-23 [NIV])

What a very interesting passage of Scripture and many of us know it. And yet I think we are all guilty of the same reasoning, just on different topics that Peter was. Jesus is predicting his death and Peter takes him aside and tells him this is not going to happen, it shouldn’t happen in his mind will never happen. Why? Because it doesn’t line up with human reasoning and logic. Jesus was going to be victorious in Jerusalem. He wasn’t going to die there. That messes up the plan. Jesus replies with the fact that Peter only has human concerns in mind and not godly ones. How can we be guilty of this today? Here are some ways:

• My child could never go to a closed country to share the gospel. It’s too dangerous.
• Someone else will stop and help that person who is struggling along the road. I don’t need to.
• My child needs to be in as many sports as possible, evening neglecting Sunday morning activities at church because they may get a full ride scholarship or even better a pro career.

This faulty thinking of ours goes on and on. Where could you be guilty of putting human concerns before godly ones? What can you do to turn those actions and thinking around? Do it today!

1 Samuel 14; Psalm 124; Acts 10

It was one of those days again, it happened this past weekend – hearing someone verbally abusing just so they could hurt our family – all because we are different – all because we are the only followers of Christ in our family.

The Philistines said, “Look! Those worthless Israelites have crawled out of the holes where they’ve been hiding.”– I Samuel 14:11  CEV

I have been verbally abused for my faith by co-workers, by neighbours, by friends – but when it is family, it hurts most.  Somehow I know the promises of God when it happens with the others, but with my family I forget that God is there to protect me too.

Let’s praise the Lord!
He protected us from enemies
    who were like wild animals – Psalm 124:6  CEV

So as our family regroups and begins to pray for when our next family visit will take place, one of the most encouraging thoughts is that grace abounds where nothing else will do.  God wants our family to know Him – everyone is accepted.  As I lead my family through grace and as we heal, this one fact remains.

Peter said to them, “You know that we Jews are not allowed to have anything to do with other people. But God has shown me that he doesn’t think anyone is unclean or unfit. – Acts 10:28  CEV

It is a whole lot easier just to invite them to a church service and have them decline.  No, God has called them to Himself and as family, we are called to share Him with them.  I am reminded of what Jesus went through when He entered the very world He created.

I loved Courtney’s post where she wrote the entire Psalm 23.  That is how powerful that Psalm is – and it helped me this past weekend to know that I do not walk alone.

Lord, thank you for Your Word.  Thank you for Psalm 23. Thank you for speaking encouragement and allowing us to see others as You see them. Thank you for showing us how to take verbal abuse for our walk with You and how not to take it personally.  Give us the strength, give us Your Holy Spirit, and allow us to continue to serve You, speak about You and most of all, follow You even in the face of difficulties. Amen.

Erwin (evanlaar1922)

 

Judges 6; Acts 10; Jeremiah 19; Mark 5

Sometimes I forget. Like Gideon, I keep my faith hidden and thresh my wheat in the wine press. Like Gideon, I tend to keep expectations low,  dreams limited and focus on getting by. Immediate disappointment is deferred that way, but in His Grace, God’s vision for life is higher than mine. My stale faith and prayers do not limit what God can do. To the contrary, time and time again, He delights in interrupting the normal.

Those interruptions are a gift to the person with the smallest of hopes. Consider the synagogue leader whose daughter is healed, the woman who dares to reach out in the crowd to discretely touch Jesus’s clothing, and the demoniac delivered from the Legion. But for those unable to cope with the fact that they are not in control and life as they know it has been irrevocably altered, the interruptions of God are unwelcome, if not terrifying. I am thinking of the  Gideon’s Midianite and Amalekite neighbors and later the  Gerasene swineherds.

God doesn’t allow me to stay stuck in the past. His ways break through conventions and rules to call me to the unexpected. I prayer that when He calls me to take the next risk, I will be quick to listen and obey as in the case of Cornelius and Peter. His grace enables me to let go of prejudices and old habits that may have served in the past, but will not work today.

Lord, do not allow me to cling to my ability to get it right. Let me hold tightly to the grace to which you have called me by name. Thank you for being my anchor and my hope. Your relentless pursuit of my soul never fails. It’s by the glorious, beautiful name of Jesus that I offer this prayer. Your sufficiency continues to amaze in ways never expected. Amen.

“We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain, where Jesus, a forerunner on our behalf has entered…” Hebrews 6:19-20.

Kathy

 

 

Job 29-30; Acts12

Of the 12 disciples, Peter appears to go through the most dramatic transformation. He is concerned about how his life compares to others. He’s impulsive and emotional (refer to the walking on water incident and when he slices off the ear of a soldier), and he doesn’t seem to understand his own limitations and shortcomings (consider his declaration of allegiance to Christ at the Last Supper). One minute he’s quite sure of his commitment and the next moment, he denies having known Christ. Peter and I aren’t so different.

The Peter in the book of Acts is a changed man. Life is no longer about him; it’s all about following wherever the Lord leads him. He doesn’t cave into threats. Popular opinion no longer overrides the truth. In short, he is fearless. His refusal to deny Christ leads to what he was so afraid of before -prison and probable execution. I want that kind of love for Christ in my life. I want Peter’s kind of transformation.

What I fear, is that the subtle seduction of comfort and the good opinion and affection of others lead me to slip into denying Christ before I even realize the path I have chosen.  It’s one of those frog in the hot water situations and I doubt that I am the only frog in the pot.

Peter’s transformation tells me this: the abundant life is not found in hiding from conflict and rejection, nor is it found in choosing comfort and security over God. I am not looking for a bed of nails to lay down on so I can prove my love for God, but I am asking  him to show me where I am apt to compromise and keep me from that temptation. I want an open and honest heart that follows him wherever he leads.

Klueh