I remember one day I was sitting around at an outing with colleagues from work. Someone brought up the issue of psychic activities (i.e. Horoscope, tarot cards, palm reading), and I simply said that I did not believe nor practise that. What I did NOT do, was explain why. That was a really weird moment for me because I knew I should have explained myself and I didn't. I am not in the habit of hiding away my faith, my love for Christ or my belief in His Word. Yet I did not speak up, even when questioned why. I remember walking away, surprised at myself.
Peter's first encounter with Jesus is a memorable one: “Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, 'You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas' (which is translated, A Stone)” John 1:42. Simon Peter answers the call, and leaves all to follow Christ. One day, Jesus asks his disciples, “'But who do you say that I am?' Simon Peter answered and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build My church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” Matthew 16:15-18.
What a pivotal moment this must have been for Peter! Yet, soon afterwards, Jesus warns Peter:
“And the Lord said, 'Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith would not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.'” Luke 22:31-32
“Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.” John 13:38
Peter ardently rejects the idea that he would ever deny Jesus. Yet, he does...three times. Knowing that Peter would before hand, Jesus intercedes on his behalf. He also does not give up on Peter. I have learned that Jesus sees our hearts, knows our weakness and prays for us. When we have fallen, we must remember to GET BACK UP! He is waiting to restore us.
John Chapter 21:15, Jesus says to Peter three times, “'Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?' He said to Him, 'Yes, Lord; You know that I love you.' He said to him, 'Feed my lambs.'” Now, Jesus knows that Peter is up to the task.
How do you think that God used Peter's failure to prepare him for future ministry? Have you ever failed the Lord, yet seen the mercy of God come through in a restorative and redemptive way? Please click on the comments link below to share. I think I'll be the first to respond :-) Be blessed as we strengthen one another in Christ Jesus.
8 comments:
I think God used Peter's failure to show him his own need to depend on God, instead of his human will. Peter's heart did not intend to ever deny Christ, yet at the moment of possible persecution, he did. That greater reliance on GOD is a lesson for me as well. When I did not speak up as I should have many years ago, I learned that I am very capable of faltering. It has increased my own reliance on the Lord for strength.
It makes me think of John 15, where Jesus reminds us that He is the vine, we are the branches and GOD is the Gardener who prunes ever branch that bears fruit, so that it will be even more fruitful. I am to remain connected to the vine, at ALL times!
Look at Peter's new found boldness in the book of Acts! Even after being jailed for preaching the Word of Christ, he states:
We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Saviour, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him." Acts 5:29-32
Now, does this sound like the Peter of the Gospels who denied Christ three times? (smile)
See what Christ's restoration looks like?
Thanks Tash for this post... can I share that I am learning how brooding over sins and failures is actually such a waste of time since we are constantly told in the Word how much we are dependent on God's grace, since no one is good?
I am learning to make the time between the brooding and confession much shorter, and to walk in the confidence that I am forgiven immediately after confessing rather than trying to "do penance" by continuing to walk in regret and guilt.
Christ is not only the Redeemer of our sins, but of all our lost chances, mistakes, and failures. How exciting! Every day, every moment, can be a brand new one where we just start again ... and grow and do better and better ... and we can watch for God to redeem a situation or circumstance and get glory for it. Just as He did for Peter. We can and should really rejoice expectantly in that all the time!
Psalm 130:3-4, NIV
"If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness;
therefore you are feared."
God makes everything beautfiul in its time(Ecclesiastes 3:11). And that means everything! (Romans 8:28)
If we really lived and breathed these truths there would be no room for looking back with regret ... just excitment about the new things that God is going to do in and through us!
Tash I look forward to hearing a testimony someday of someone asking you this same question about Horoscopes and tarot cards, and how the Lord will enable you to give a different response the next time : )
God bless you all...
Beloved.
I am so convinced of the following 2 things and yet I confess that I have yet to fully grasp them:
1/ God loves me so, so much because of my faith in Christ Jesus and…
2/ God is so, so committed to my development as his child. This means making sure that I really have learned everything I need to learn from any given situation and if need be revisiting the ‘thing’ (whatever it is) a hundred times if I still haven’t ‘gotten’ it!
One of my favourite movies (which I’ll leave nameless), has a famous line in it where one shady character says to another shady character: “ Oh, don’t worry. He’s pretty thorough. He’s not gonna forget about you”. In the movie this ends up being a dark humoured comment and gets a chuckle from the audience, because the point he’s making is ‘you’re dead meat! The main character always takes care of his business -- no matter what!' How blessed and priviliged we are in Christ that our Father God is so much more committed to us, but only for good and not for evil! God knows if we can move on in a certain area or if he needs to revisit anything with us!
I wrote down the following statement in my prayer journal on Feb 1st, 2011:
“Object lessons drive home points and feelings are the nails it uses”
Like Peter’s bad memory of his denial of Christ or some other unforgettable memory we’ve experienced in some situation in our walk with the Lord, praise God that he can take those moments and make them simply 'growth pains' as we develop and mature in Christ Jesus!
Thanks guys, for your comments!
@Beloved, I have had several opportunities since then to answering the question that I balked many years ago. Praise God for His mercy!
@Anonymous-Yes, lesson was thoroughly learned!
You both raise very important points about the mercy, grace and purpose that GOD applies to our failures. Thank you for sharing your insight!
In God, all things work together for good even in a situation we think worst.
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good, to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
@ Kaspagarigan, thank you for the reminder! That is a powerful scripture, and indeed GOD does work all things out for a good. What a relief that is!
So many times I have psychologically flogged myself for not standing up for JESUS when the opportunity presented itself. But with each failure came the resolve to stand if that situation ever repeats itself and at times it did and I rose! Yes Natasha, our own foibles are constant reminders that we are to remain connected to the vine, at ALl times.
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