You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘Peter’ tag.
“Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. ‘Never, Lord’, he said. ‘This shall never happen to You!'” Matthew 16:22
“‘Lord if it is You,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.'” Matthew 14:28
“So Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, ‘Ask Him which one He means.'” John 13:24
“Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting of his ear.” John 18:10
“But he began to call down curses and he swore, ‘I don’t know this man you are talking about!'” Mark 14:71
“Then Peter said, ‘Silver and gold, I do not have, but what I do have, I give you. In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.'” Acts 3:6
Again, as in Part I, we are taking a look at Peter, one of Jesus’s closest disciples and leader of the group in all his humaneness. Additionally as stated in the last post, this is not about judging Peter by his actions, but seeing ways and learning from aspects of Peter and his actions and how they impact our spiritual journey with our Lord Jesus Christ.
Taking Action With the Best of Intentions – It has been said: “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”; according to Google first printed in Handbook of Proverbs published in 1855 by Henry G. Bohn. In Peter’s case, just a few hours earlier; Peter had declared that, even if the rest of the disciples deserted Jesus, he was ready to fight and die for Jesus. Now in the Garden of Gethsemane, it was time to put his words to the test. The mob, led by Judas had come to arrest Jesus. In the melee that ensued in taking Jesus, Peter draws his sword to defend Jesus and strikes the High Priest’s servant and cuts off his ear. Peter was doing exactly what he said he would do. Peter is acting with the best of intentions. Peter is not seeking glory for himself, nor does he have some private grievance with the servant that he is trying to get even about. Peter is defending Jesus, hoping to keep Jesus from being arrested. The only problem was, God’s perfect plan called for Jesus to be arrested. Peter was seeing things from only his perspective. Even though Jesus had stated to them, on several occasions, that He was to be turned over to His enemies and killed. For Peter, no matter what had been said, the arrest of Jesus was wrong and come HELL or high water, Peter was going to stop it. Again there is no judgement of Peter here. In a very real sense, this was very brave. Yet Peter is acting against the Will of God and Jesus lets him know it, in no uncertain terms. What we can learn from this is that we all have our own perspective and judgement as well. We may diligently read the bible, listen to our pastor or maybe even visit a blog 😊. What we have to be open to is, even with all our efforts, we may still get it wrong. We may be acting in a way that is contrary to God’s Will. When that happens, again if we’re open to it, God will let us know. First if we are acting in misalignment to God’s Will, our actions will not lead to the outcomes we were expecting or hoping for. Additionally, when our actions are out of alignment with God’s Will, He will tell us through our spirit. Even though we think our actions are justified and righteous, within our spirit there will be no peace from His Spirit. We will feel conflicted and feel led in a different direction. To fulfill God’s plan and scripture; Jesus had to be arrested and all the disciples needed to flee. And that’s exactly what happened. Today, let us be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit as we think, say and do, seeking out the peace that will come from knowing we’re abiding in Christ and in alignment with God.
Failure – We just covered how we can find ourselves doing things for what we believe to be righteous intentions but the acts are indeed wrong. However, sometimes we have no doubt; what we are doing is wrong for the wrong reasons. Peter had claimed that he would die for Jesus Christ. Peter had acted to try and defend Jesus Christ. Then Peter finds himself in a lonely dangerous situation. If Jesus Christ, the Son of God, could be arrested by mere men and hauled off for judgement; what power did Peter have against a same or worse fate. Peter had fled, but whether it was curiosity to see what was going to happen to Jesus or love of Jesus or some of both, Peter couldn’t stay away. He followed the mob to the High Priest’s house, where they were interrogating Jesus to see what would happen. Peter was staying outside in the courtyard, gathered with others around a fire to stay warm. Suddenly, the situation turns. Peter is found out, a servant girl recognizes Peter as having been a close follower of Jesus and points that out to the other bystanders. Peter is caught off guard. Peter wanted to know what was going to happen to Jesus, but he knew if he declared he was a follower of Jesus, he could be in great peril; so Peter denies knowing Jesus. Peter knows it is wrong, knows it is a betrayal to claim not to know Jesus, but he does it anyway. Yet Peter is given the opportunity to make amends. For the servant girl brushes off Peter’s denial and again accuses Peter of being a follower of Jesus. More people are taking notice; Peter still doesn’t want to leave but doesn’t want to put himself in the danger that would come from acknowledging his relationship with Jesus; thus Peter denies Him a second time. But this second denial doesn’t end the torment. Now others are openly suspicious of Peter, one noting that Peter must be a follower of Jesus because Peter is a fellow Galilean and that is why Peter must be there to help a fellow Galilean Jesus. This is too much for Peter, the danger is too high; Peter starts to call down curses upon himself and the group to cause his denial to have more validity. Suddenly a rooster crows and the harsh light of truth and reality hit Peter square on in the cold light of truth. He; Peter, the man who claimed he would die with and for Jesus, had just knowingly and with purpose, three times denied he even knew his master Jesus. Peter now leaves, weeping bitterly. Dear Sisters and Brothers, we are told, we all sin. We all give into temptation and become sinners. Sometimes our sins are born our of fear of the world, sometimes they are born out of desires of the world. But we know what we are doing, and know what we are doing is wrong. Those times should affect us. We are acting against God. We shouldn’t be of a mind, well Christ died for my sins so no big deal. Actually they are a big deal. They should cause us the kind of sorrow and pain as they did Peter that brings us to confess and repent of the sin. Yet there is a bigger deal. Jesus Christ knows of our sins, just as he knew Peter would deny Him three times. Jesus Christ died for our sins, paying the price so we do not have to die for our sins. Sin should matter enough, to try to avoid it at all costs. But when we fail (not if), what should matter more is Grace, Forgiveness, Mercy and Love provided in Jesus Christ that leads to our ultimate restoration and reconciliation with our Heavenly Father.
Humility and where our True Power Comes From – This is a trait of humaneness I wish I would use much more myself and see much more around me. Jesus Christ has forgiven and restored Peter, after Peter’s denial of Him. Peter and the other disciples (except Judas) have been given the Holy Spirit. On the one hand, the following of Jesus Christ is growing by literally thousands daily, thanks in part to Peter’s leadership. People are selling all their possessions and giving them to the disciples to administer. On the other hand, Peter is being threatened, arrested, beaten and worse by the religious leaders because of his preaching of Jesus Christ, risen from the grave. Their ill treatment doesn’t stop Peter one moment. Then Peter comes across a lame beggar. Now, while Peter may not have had any money on him at the time, Peter may very well have had the resources from donations to help this man out. Peter might have told a follower to go back to where they were staying and get some money to support this man with. But Peter doesn’t look to earthly riches to share with the man; Peter has something more valuable, more powerful, Peter has Jesus Christ. Peter tells the man he has no silver of gold to share. However, Peter is not content to leave this man empty handed. Peter has the Power of Jesus Christ within him and he knows it. Peter does not call great attention to himself as some righteous, wonderful miracle worker. No, Peter is very clear, the Power of the gift comes from Jesus Christ and this is the power to heal the man. Peter commands the man to walk and the man does just that. For Peter, it is not about his greatness, but about bringing the Power of the gift of Jesus Christ to all who are in need, that Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father might be praised and worshiped. It’s not just Peter, Jesus Christ declared that all who believe in Him and abide in Him have His Power to do great things. Yet, like Peter we must understand, it is not our greatness that allows us to have this Power. The Power comes as a precious gift, of much greater value than any earthly gift, given freely by and through the Grace of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, looking at Peter’s life is not about trying to copy him or be like him. Jesus Christ was also clear when He met Peter and the other disciples on a beach for breakfast after His resurrection. Christ took Peter aside and was foretelling him what an aspect of his life would be like. Peter feels the need to ask Christ, if these things were going to be happening to Peter, what was John’s life going to be like. To which Christ responds; what does that have to do with you. In essence Christ is letting us all know, we have an individual plan with our Heavenly Father. We were not created to be identical. We are created to be equal but not identical. Thus, it is learning about Peter and aspects of Peter’s life and his interactions with Christ and the outcomes that we can use to reflect on our interactions, on our behaviors and their motivations; to learn from the challenges and triumphs to aid us in our journey. By the Grace of God, I hope to meet Peter some day and hear about the so many amazing aspects of his journey that no chapter or book could adequately capture.
Our Most Gracious Heavenly Father, we are so grateful that, after creating us, You have not abandoned us to try and figure out how to live and how to interact with You on our own. We are so thankful for the Your Word and the people who populate it which give us such wonderfully constructive lessons on how to receive Your Love and Blessings, You so long to give. Forgive us we pray when we are tempted, or worse yet actually act out on our own without considering Your lessons for us. Through Your Spirit, guide us back to You and how to stay abiding in You so that our lives can lessons for others which brings praise to Your Glorious Name. We pray in the Name of our Great Teacher and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
“Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. ‘Never, Lord’, he said. ‘This shall never happen to You!'” Matthew 16:22
“‘Lord if it is You,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.'” Matthew 14:28
“So Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, ‘Ask Him which one He means.'” John 13:24
“Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting of his ear.” John 18:10
“But he began to call down curses and he swore, ‘I don’t know this man you are talking about!'” Mark 14:71
“Then Peter said, ‘Silver and gold, I do not have, but what I do have, I give you. In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.'” Acts 3:6
Peter and his story, his walk with Jesus and his leadership in the faith after Christ’s resurrection is such a fascinating and enlightening one. For it seems to me that we see Peter’s humaneness in great detail and if we can be open to it, see our own humaneness as well and can learn from it.
Leadership – Much is made today about the need for leaders and the value of leadership. It seems to be one of the hallmark traits for greatness. When a situation arises that calls for it, a leader will step in and take charge, no matter the situation, even if it involves a superior. That’s what Peter felt called to do. Jesus, who is the Messiah, who had performed so many miracles, brought about so much good; started talking crazy. Jesus was talking about suffering horribly, even being killed and by His own people, no less. Jesus’s talking could definitely hurt the organization of the disciples and derail their mission. That talk must be stopped. So Peter, the leader, acted. He rebuked Jesus for the good of Jesus and the organization. That’s what a good leader does. And, if we’re talking a human organization then that might be appropriate. Jesus was and is God. Peter was rebuking God! Who rebukes God or stands against God? Satan does. Here’s something for us to reflect on. Have we ever told God He’s wrong? Have we looked at our circumstances in our life, experienced an unexpected answer to a prayer and thought or even in essence prayed to God saying or at least inferring, God I think you got this one wrong? There is no dual leadership with God and us. God is in charge. God is the leader, PERIOD. If we challenge that leadership, we may also receive a similar response, out of love, for our own good.
Risk Taking – Risk taking is another attribute that is often lauded today. Don’t be afraid to fail, take the risk, the greater the risk the greater the reward. Peter took a risk. To start with the situation was dicey. Night, in a small boat, far from shore, with a storm kicking up, the disciples were in a deteriorating situation. Then, they see what must be a spirit, a ghost. Nothing physical, no person can walk on water. Yet here comes what seems to be just that; a man walking on water. Jesus called out a reassurance to them not to be afraid for it was Him. Who’s the risk taker in the group? Peter. How does a man walk on water? If this is really Jesus doing this then He should be able to allow me to do it as well; Peter thinks. So he asks Jesus to allow Peter to walk on water as well. Probably, much to Peter’s surprise, Jesus agrees and calls Peter out of the boat. Talk about a reward! Peter is walking on water! Then humaneness rears its ugly head. The storm is still there. The wind is still blowing, the waves still crashing. The world takes Peter’s attention of Jesus and Peter starts to sink. We may pray for great things in our lives, things that are truly outside our comfort zone. We may believe that we are ready to fulfill them if God will only allow it. However, what about the world? What will happen when the world either through threats of storms or perhaps the glory of successes; attempts to have us take our eyes, our concentration off of God and His plan? The peace comes from knowing, because of what happened to Peter; that Jesus Christ will never let us drown should we take our concentration off Him and start to sink into the sea of worldliness.
Fear and Hesitancy – The disciples had been around Jesus enough to know; if He said it was going to happen, it was going to happen. If Jesus said 5,000 can be fed with five loaves of bread and two fish, they can. If Jesus says to a girl who is dead; arise, she will. If Jesus tells the lame to walk, the blind to see, the lepers to be healed; they are. Jesus is now saying that one of His disciples; one of His most trusted friends, is going to betray Him. Dread comes over the group. Maybe in earlier times, the disciples would have protested that Jesus was wrong; that they would never do such a thing. This night, there was only fear. It was also interesting that it was not a fear that led to finger pointing or accusations: “I bet it is Thomas or I know it is Andrew, that is something he would do”. No, each discipled feared, that because Jesus did not name the traitor, it could be any one of them. If Jesus said it, it will happen. The hesitancy comes into play with Peter in that he dearly wants to know who it is or at least that it is not him. Yet, he is hesitant to ask Jesus directly. Why? We can’t be sure. Maybe Peter thinks he won’t get an answer. Maybe Peter is afraid of another rebuke. Maybe Peter believes John is more likely to pry the answer out of Jesus than Peter is. Maybe it is that old adage: “Never ask a question you can’t stand the answer to”. In one respect, the fear the disciples feel comes from being confronted with the truth of and from Jesus. Jesus Christ is God. Therefore, what Jesus Christ says is it, period, exclamation point. We may not want to hear it, we may want to deny it, but the power of God will always win out. It is only accurate to have a fearful respect in being in the presence of that kind of power. Yet, the Power of God is always used in righteousness, justice and love. It is a power we can’t truly comprehend, but it is a power always used for the perfect good. In the face of such power, we may become hesitant to ask or even interact. If God is so powerful, what does He care about the singular me? I can’t matter to Him, so why ask. I would agree with that assessment from a human point of view, except that Jesus Christ specifically calls on us to ask. He tells us that each of us, even our hairs are numbered and important to God. Our Creator God, Father in Heaven, loves us and will answer us and will never abandon us; even if the question, let alone the answer seems scary.
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, in looking at Peter and his humaneness, it is most certainly not to judge Peter. As for me, I don’t know if I would have had the strength or courage to do any of these things let a lone not make the errors that Peter did. No, we look at Peter to reflect on Peter, to learn through Peter. We look at Peter to ask ourselves about our own humaneness and how it is impacting our relationship with our Heavenly Father. It is to also understand the Great Grace and Miracle that our Savior knows about humaneness because He came to this earth and became completely human as well as completely God. That Jesus Christ took upon Himself the sins of our humaneness that we might come and abide in Him, through His perfection. Praise be to God and thanksgiving for Peter, for what we can learn from him and that God has a plan for each of us, just as He did for Peter.
Our Most Gracious Heavenly Father, we are so thankful, for Your word and how it teaches us about Your Loving, Perfect Nature. We give thanks for servants, past and present, like Peter who answered Your call and gave so much of themselves, even with their humaneness and frailties that we all share. Forgive us when we allow our human traits to take our focus off You and supersede Your direction for us with our own. Like with Peter, instruct us, save us, answer us and moreover love us that in Your Mercy, we can always return to You. That in Your instructing, saving, answering and loving us, we may become servants who share Your Love with this needy world and bring praise to Your Most Holy Name. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen
“Blessed are you Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 16:17
“Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men!” Matthew 16:23
First off, I’ll admit that I am a person who often reads the bible in small pieces. Sometimes it may be a chapter but most often it is only a handful of verses within a chapter that make up a single thought or story and sometimes even a single verse. While that can be appropriate for contemplating and praying for meaning, it can also cause me to miss the context of how messages fit together in the greater scheme of God’s narrative. Take the two verses above.
Also first, I have to say that I find myself drawn in sympathy, empathy and admiration to Peter. Why; let’s look at the two verses above. In Matthew 16, Jesus starts out preaching against wrong teaching. Some of the very basics of the wrong teaching is that people don’t understand who Jesus is. So Jesus first asked who the people thought He was, with a string of wrong answers in reply. Then Jesus asked; who do the disciples say that Jesus is? Peter replies with the great answer: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God”, to which Jesus replies with the quote of Peter being blessed.
Just stop and imagine that for a moment and put yourself in Peter’s place. You are a fisherman with no formal training. You’ve been around people, learned people who claim that Jesus is a fraud, with others claiming Him to be merely a prophet or perhaps even Elijah. But you (remember being Peter) step forward and give the answer you truly believe in faith. Not only does Jesus, the One True Son of God, commend you and tell you you’re right, but goes on to say that you received that from God, Himself and; if that wasn’t good enough, that you will be receiving the keys to the kingdom of heaven! Now we can’t be sure but one wonders when Jesus turned His back if Peter (and possibly you or I would have) was pointing at himself with both of his thumbs as if to say: “That’s right you heard it from the Man, I’m the Rock!”
Ah, how fleeting is human fame. Because the very next verses, the very next thing that is spoken of see’s Peter come crashing down. The bible does not give us a sense of time between the two happenings. We can’t say for certain if it was hours, days, or even weeks but it is the very next thing that the Word wants to stress in this gospel. It is time to start to prepare the disciples for the true mission, the true reason for Jesus the Christ coming to earth; to die as a sacrifice at the hands of His own people and rise again on the third day. To Peter, this is too much, the Son of God can not die, especially not being killed by the very people He came to save. So Peter decides he must intervene. In front of the disciples, Peter pulls Jesus aside and the gospel tells us, started to rebuke Jesus.
Again, please stop and let this sink in. You’ve very recently declared that Jesus was the Christ, the Only True Son of God. Now, you are going to pull the Son of God aside and chastise Him, tell Him that He is wrong! No wonder the reply was as swift as it was devastating. Peter had gone from being the Rock, to being Satan! How did that happen?
Here is the lesson of Peter and it doesn’t just happen once. Peter is blessed by God with the knowledge of Jesus as the Christ. Then the world and the message of the world seeps in and Peter feels that he knows enough to rebuke Christ. Christ’s Heavenly Father needs Him to die on the cross. Peter’s human perspective needs Him to live and be an earthly conquerer and king. Peter is the only disciple to walk on water. He challenges Jesus to beckon him to walk on water and Jesus does just that. Peter steps out and actually walks on water but then world seeps in. The world, in the guise of winds and waves, causes Peter to fear, take his eyes of Jesus and he starts to sink. Peter, is the only disciple to come to Jesus’ defense in the garden, standing up to the crowd and striking the slave of the high priest. Jesus admonishes Peter and ends up arrested and the world crashes in. The world tries to tie Peter just to knowing Christ let alone fighting for Him, and Peter denies it three times.
Ah Peter, Peter, Peter. Yet truth in fact how many times could I look in the mirror and call myself or at least see myself as Peter? How many times have I been blessed by God and instead of being truly humbled, felt that I obtained some sense of greater insight or wisdom. Then, when I heard some preaching or read something in the gospel that I found different than my understanding, started to rebuke the gospel or disavow the preaching; letting Satan and his perspective seep in? How many times have I asked for something and in the blessing of God’s granting it, found myself in some new and uncertain place where metaphorical winds and waves are crashing around me and fear tries to drive me away? How many times have I been tempted to be less than bold in proclaiming my love for and followership of Jesus Christ allowing my silence or timidity to be a rejection?
Dear Sisters and Brothers, we can learn so much from Peter yet to do so we must be very frankly honest with ourselves. But here is the final point I’d like to make and it comes from the Gospel of John. With all that Peter does, Jesus Christ loves Peter. Jesus Christ doesn’t judge Peter, He restores Peter. Jesus Christ knows, not only the failures of Peter, but knows that, filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter will be the rock on which Christ’s church will be built. Peter is not perfect but he is redeemed. Likewise, Christ knows the plans He has for you and I and, like Peter did, when we humble ourselves and proclaim our love for Christ, He will redeem and restore us in Love, Mercy and Compassion as only Jesus Christ can do.
We must fight against the duality that the world will try to have us adopt. Yet we can have faith, take strength and find peace, as Peter did, in the redeeming and restorative love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Our Most Gracious Heavenly Father, we humbly thank you for the revelatory nature of Your Word. We equally thank you for the Holy Spirit who You sent to reside in us, to explain to us Your Word and the message of Your Love it has for us. Forgive us when we allow the message and perspective of the world, of Satan to encroach on us and lessen the impact that Your Word can have in and through us. As Your Son Jesus Christ did for Peter, restore us when we have fallen allowing us to return to You, Your Love and be feeders of Your sheep. We pray this in the Name of the One True and Only Begotten Son who came to earth to be our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen Read the rest of this entry »
“….the Holy Spirit fell upon those who heard the word……And those who were of the circumcision…..were astonished…..because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.” Acts 10:45
“Then Peter answered: ‘Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” Act 10:47
I am saved! I am forgiven! I’m going to glory! I don’t dance! I do dance, to the Lord! I don’t do this or that! I pray! I pray to the Saints! I don’t pray to the Saints! I…….I………I’M SPECIAL!!!!! Aren’t I?
Peter had every reason to feel special. And he and those who traveled with him, had a behavior about what was special and what was not. Peter was a Jew; not only by birth but by the covenant of circumcision. Jesus was a Jew. And while the Risen Jesus Christ had told them to go and preach to all the world; Jesus himself, during his time on earth had stayed, taught and preached mainly to the Jewish people.
For the most part, the early church in Jerusalem was made up primarily of Jews. When the church was being persecuted and many disciples were dispersed, they went to Jewish Synagogues in the outlying towns. That’s where Saul (later to become Paul) was going to was the Jewish Synagogue in Damascus to arrest the disciples who were spreading the Gospel there.
Special. Special people with special food. Peter’s awakening to Our Heavenly Father’s grander plan starts with a vision that he has. God shows Peter a great sheet filled with unclean animals which devout Jews were not to eat. Peter was hungry and the voice of God came to Peter and instructed him to kill and eat from the sheet. Peter at first refuses saying he will not eat anything unclean. Yet God responds telling Peter that whatever God has cleansed is no longer unclean. Peter would soon learn that God was talking about more than just food.
For there was a man named Cornelius, a Roman Centurion. Normally a man like that would have been the sworn enemy, a vile and disgusting, low life less than human person to a Jew. To even meet with that person or go into his house would make a Jew unclean. Except Cornelius was different. Unbeknownst to Cornelius, by the Grace of God, through the Holy Spirit, Cornelius had heard about God, prayed to God, gave alms to God. I say unbeknownst to Cornelius because the salvation through Jesus Christ had not been preached to him. So God told Cornelius to send for Peter and Peter would instruct him on what to do.
So here we go; Peter going to meet with a gentile; a Roman Centurion at that. This can’t go well. But God had told Peter before hand to go to Cornelius. And what Peter found in Cornelius was a devout and humble man. A man who, along with his entire household, revered and feared God. So Peter gladly preached the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; the Son of God, all mankind’s Savior. When Peter completed his preaching an amazing thing happened. The Holy Spirit came upon Cornelius and his family and they began speaking in tongues. This greatly perplexed the Jews who had traveled with Peter because they thought the Holy Spirit would only come to those who were of the first covenant, circumcision. So both Peter and those with him saw the Power of God to save all who believed on Him and were born again, baptized in the Spirit and professing Jesus Christ as God’s Son.
We live in a world today where people strive to differentiate themselves in someway to show that they are special. Maybe it is by a degree that they have, an obstacle they have overcome, a position or title they’ve obtained, an amount of wealth they have acquired and on and on; to be special is to be worthy. It is one thing to say you are special but truly you should have some way; show some deed, some measure of why you have earned the distinction of special.
According to a 2012 article in the Washington Times, 84% of the world says they follow some religion but only 1/3 say they are Christian. So right there we might start to think there is something special or unique about us. Yet the world tells me, if I’m going to claim that I’m special, I must show that I’ve done something to earn that title. And should I buy into that theory, then I can be justifiably proud of claiming to be a disciple of Christ. And I can look down upon all the others who are not as special.
But God knows different. By His mysterious and all encompassing Grace, while I was yet a sinner, God came to me. Completely destroyed in my sin, Jesus Christ lifted me up and said: I died for you that you may live in fellowship with Me in My Father’s Kingdom. The gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out upon me that He might dwell in me so that I might gain a level of understanding.
Special? You bet. But not of my doing, not of your achievement. So let us live out our special nature, in humility, in joyous praise to Him, in total love to Him and to all of His creation. Not calling any person common or unclean. Knowing that God’s Special Nature can and will come to those whom He chooses. That we are chosen, out of His Divine Mercy, is something very special indeed!
Our Most Gracious Heavenly Father, we humbly proclaim that we are not worthy of the Gift of Salvation that you have bestowed upon us. We praise Your Most Holy Name for the sacrifice of Your Son Jesus Christ. Forgive us when we try to lift ourselves up as worthy of this gift and perhaps look down upon others who have not received it. Help us to see all of your human creation as someone to love that they might see through that love, the Love you have for them. In the Name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen
“Simon, Simon!…Satan has asked for you…..But I have prayed for you, that your faith shall not fail and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:31-32
Can there be anyone one worse than a betrayer? Don’t we call those people traitors and think of them as the worse kind of villans? Think of the names down through history, Brutus, Benedict Arnold, Judas. Isn’t it interesting that Peter’s name is not one of those whom we name? Isn’t betrayal even that more heinous when it comes from your very closest friend, one in whom you have put so much trust?
Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter: “the Rock”. Peter had been the first one to openly and definitively declare among the disciples that Jesus was the Son of God. Peter had been one of Jesus’ three disciples in his inner circle; James, John and Peter. There seemingly would have been no one on earth closer to Jesus than Peter. And we all know the story. Jesus has been taken by the mob to the residence of the high priest. They take Him into the high priest’s house but Peter does not follow. Instead he stays outside in a courtyard warming himself by the fire. Then it happens; this man, the closest friend, this man who had seen the power of Jesus first hand as he, himself walked on water at Jesus invitation. This man who had pledged to die to defend and protect Jesus. This man is approached and pointed out as being a follower of Jesus. Once, then a second time and finally a third time, with one gospel saying that he became mad and started to curse, Peter vehemently denies that he knows Jesus. A roster crows, Peter realizes what he has done, Luke even says Jesus turns and looks at Peter and Peter leaves, totally dejected, totally despondent, weeping bitterly.
Here’s the thing. Jesus wasn’t shocked by this. Jesus knew that it was going to happen. AND, Jesus knew that Peter would return, in faith to Jesus, thus Jesus forgave him. Jesus forgave Him ahead of time. The difference between Peter and Judas? It seems to me it was the fact that Judas never returned to Jesus in faith. Yes he felt remorse, but it was remorse for being a part of the condemnation of an innocent man. Peter knew he had betrayed the Son of God. Jesus knew that Judas would never return to him in faith. Jesus knew that Peter would return. Jesus also knew where Peter’s downfall was going to come from; Satan. Jesus could have told the other disciples to never trust Peter again. Jesus could have given Peter a lengthy set of tasks to accomplish to prove his worthiness to be trusted again. Jesus didn’t. Jesus simply asks him to be Peter; the Rock; and to use his strength as the Rock to strengthen his brothers.
Okay, fine for roughly two thousand years ago and yeah for Peter! But what does that have to do with now? Perfection, Jesus Christ was and is and we are not. Jesus knows. Jesus knows ahead of time that we are going to fail. He knows the power of Satan to deceive and tempt and that we are going to willfully choose the wrong path. Peter was nor forced to deny Jesus, he did that of his own free will. The same way today, He knows we are going to sin. And, this is crucial to understand, Jesus knows that we will return and thus He has already forgiven us. He does not half way welcome us back: “Now I’ve got my eyes on you!”. He does not give us arduous tests to complete to get back in His good graces. No that is what the world requires. He tells us ahead of time, “You are completely forgiven, come back.”
Think about this in comparison of how the world (Satan) would handle this. If you mess up, make a mistake, somehow come up short of perfection; you need to be punished. If you have betrayed, you can probably never do anything to receive complete redemption. We have a right to judge people and hold them to that standard. Now the other side of the perfection coin that we use to judge ourselves is quite different. Satan tells us and we sometimes act upon, perfection is impossible to obtain so don’t bother trying. Good is good enough. Then, good is impossible to obtain so not bad is good enough. Finally, bad is okay because everyone is being bad so why shouldn’t I? (Don’t believe me? Try driving the speed limit on the interstate) .
We have an amazing Savior! He knows perfection because He is perfection. Yet He knows us. He asks us to try for perfection because He knows, every time we try, every time we are generous, every time we love unconditionally, every time we decide not to judge, every time we forgive, we get closer. Jesus Christ knows that we won’t always do what is perfect. He knows we will sin. AND Jesus Christ, in perfect love, has forgiven us already. AND because Our Heavenly Father’s plan was for Jesus Christ to sacrifice His life for ours, Our Heavenly Father has forgiven us as well. May it always be that in our striving, there is turning, as well as in our falling, there is always returning to Our Heavenly Father, through the Grace and Sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Our Most Gracious and Heavenly Father we proclaim that You are perfect. We further testify that You created all things in perfection. Yet we humbly confess, Dear Father, that we, Your Creation, have fallen short of perfection. We acknowledge that we are sinners and are deserving of Your judgement. Yet, Most Merciful Father, we are so exceedingly thankful that instead of the judgement we deserve, You saw fit to send Your Most Holy Son Jesus Christ to die as a sacrifice in our place that we might be forgiven. Pour out Your Spirit on us, we pray, that we might strive to live a life worthy of that sacrifice. That we would not do as the world teaches but do what Jesus Christ taught. We can not express adequately, Most Gracious Father, our gratitude that when we fall, You are there to pick us back up and welcome us back through the body and blood of Your Most Precious Son. And although, in this life, we may not perfectly attain it, may it be that we live a life of obedience and praise to Your Most Holy Name. In the Name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen
Do not be afraid, from now on you will catch men. Luke 5:10
He said to him: Feed my lambs. John 21:15
Peter, a fisherman by trade. We don’t know how successful a fisherman he was, but we do know that he thought of himself enough of a fisherman to question Jesus. In the story in Luke when they first met, Jesus told them to let down their nets, to which Peter replied, that they had been fishing all night and caught nothing. The implication being, if we’ve been at this a long time with the results that we have why should we listen to you? But they do and have a miraculous catch of fish.
Redemption. Jesus then calls Simon (whom he, at that point had not surnamed Peter “the Rock) to come to be a ‘fisher of men” (used in other gospels). And Peter follows. I think that it is interesting in the account of Luke, that Simon’s first response to the extremely large catch of fish is to know that he did not have anything to do with it. Simon is confronted with the power of Jesus Christ, which Simon can see as a righteous power and his initial response is to ask Jesus to depart for he says, “I am a sinful man, Oh, Lord”. Yet Jesus knows that Simon is a sinner and redeems him; calls him to join Jesus.
Of course, one might think that once redeemed, the journey becomes easy. Well, maybe not. Let’s see; Jesus names Simon, Peter (good thing). Jesus calls Peter, Satan (not so good thing). Peter asks Jesus and Jesus calls Peter to walk on water; which he does (good thing). Peter almost drowns and Jesus asks him why his faith is so little. (Not so good thing). Jesus tells Peter that Peter is going to be the rock, the foundation on which he is going to build the church (great thing). Jesus tells Peter that Peter will deny knowing Jesus three times (terrible thing). So we can see, that even once redeemed, Peter goes through trials in his faith walk with Jesus.
And as we might expect; Peter is mortified at his last failing of Jesus. When he denies knowing Jesus, not once, not twice, but three times; we are told that he left and wept bitterly. I wonder if his mind harkened back to their initial meeting and he found himself saying: “See I told you, you should have left, that I was a sinful man!”
Jesus, could have left Peter there; in the bitterness of his failure. Yet what does Jesus do with and for Peter? He restores him. In a sense, Jesus tells Peter, it is okay, I still have need of you and still want to work with you; as He tells Peter; “Feed my lambs.” For they are Jesus’ lambs and they all knew how precious were Jesus’ lambs to him and Jesus was entrusting the care and feeding of the lambs to Peter. And Peter did not disappoint.
So what are we to take from this? First the enemy will try to keep us from Jesus Christ at all costs. He will try to convince us that we are not good enough to come to Christ so don’t even try. Jesus Christ tells us, do not be afraid, I know you, I love you and take you just as you are and I will redeem you. The enemy will say, maybe you have confessed Jesus Christ the son of God but look, look at the sin you’re committing, you must leave the presence of Jesus Christ as you are no good. What does Jesus Christ say? I not only know of your sin but I did what you can not. I took your sin upon myself so that I can restore you, if you will believe on me and repent.
Dear Heavenly Father, may those who do not know you, hear the call of redemption offered by Your Precious Son, Our Savior Jesus Christ. May those of us who have declared Jesus Christ as ou personal savior, call upon Jesus Christ to restore our relationship when we have stumbled. That in the both the redemption and restoration, brought through the death and resurrection of Your Only Son our Lord, Jesus Christ. That Your Most Holy Name will always be praised Above All others.
Amen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUJ-kqpCppM
Hisnamebpraised's Blog 