Theme: A Week with Peter

Second Chances

He had disowned his Lord and they had killed him.  He was ready to fight and die for Jesus.  He had drawn his sword and struck, yet Jesus did something that he did not understand.  Instead of fighting for his kingdom Jesus made him put his sword away.   Peter didn’t understand.  Why would you allow this cowardly mob to take you and jeopardize your rightful place as King?   Peter followed the mob in a daze at the chain of events.  He was abruptly confronted about being with Jesus and as fear gripped him he denied it.  Another confronted him and Peter said he didn’t know Jesus.  The third time he cursed in his denial.  And then he heard it.  The rooster crowed and deep inside he felt an agony that tore his heart and soul apart.  He ran away in shame, broken-hearted at what he had done.  In the days afterward he replayed it over and over.  How could he have betrayed and abandoned him?   Jesus is dead as is his kingdom.    

What Peter heard from the women was too good to be true.  He ran to the tomb to find it empty, but still he couldn’t bring himself to believe.   Then Jesus came to them all behind closed doors.  Peter was overjoyed to see his Master.  Hope was reborn, yet Peter held back.  Feeling the guilt of his betrayal he just couldn’t approach him.  Jesus returned a week later appearing to them and speaking directly to Thomas about not doubting.  Peter was elated to see his Lord again, but he had huge doubts.  His feelings of worthlessness and shame were like a vice.   To clear his head and have time to think Peter decided to go fishing.  Several of the others came along and they fished all night with no luck.   As Peter sat in the boat in the early  morning he  noticed a man walking down the shore.  The man called out “Friends, haven’t you any fish”.  When they say no he says to try the other side of the boat.  They oblige the request and the catch is huge.   Immediately Peter’s heart skips a beat as he sees the bulging net of fish and realizes this has happened before.   Some 3 years before Peter had met Jesus for the first time after fishing all night.  Jesus had given some fishing advice then followed by the same results, a huge catch.  “Could it be” Peter thinks to himself?  At that moment his fishing partner John leans over and says “It is the Lord”.  

His mind flashes back to another time he is in a boat. To get to Jesus he must get in the water. This time there is no hesitation and he jumps in.  Peter reaches the shore and sees that Jesus has breakfast ready with bread and fish hot off the coals.  The group eats in silence and Peter feels the awkwardness of being so close to Jesus but saying nothing.   Jesus breaks the silence and speaks directly to Peter.   “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?”  Three times he asks the question and three times Peter says yes Lord.  The third time Peter’s feelings are hurt.   All he has wanted since leaving everything was to be with Jesus, to serve him and yes, even die for him.   With each of Peter’s affirmations of his love Jesus responds for him to feed his sheep and tells Peter his life, his service, and yes Peter your death will glorify God.  Now “follow me”.   A flood of relief, of gratitude, of reverence comes over Peter as he realizes Jesus has not given up on him.  He is calling him again to another special mission.  Instead of fishing for men he will be feeding sheep.    

Lord help me remember that my denials of You do not cause You to give up on me.  Give me wisdom to realize that my weaknesses and lack of understanding of who You are and what Your will is do not cause You to abandon me.  Lord, help me know you will never forsake me even when I forsake You, and that Your plans for me will succeed despite my failures.  May you be glorified in my life.

Scotty Elston

Shallowater, Texas

Theme: A Week with Peter

Prepared for the Day of Testing

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” But he said to Him, “Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!” And He said, “I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.” (Luke 22:31-34 )

Did Peter tremble as these words washed over him?

A substantial test was coming and coming quickly.
Did Peter find comfort that Jesus prayed for him?

Major tests are coming for each of us as well.
Will our faith fail or will we be empowered to stand by the Holy Spirit?  Assuredly, Jesus intercedes on our behalf, also (John 17, Romans 8:34).  Peter thought he was ready for the “sifting,” even prison or death.  Was it fear that paralyzed Peter’s faith?  Was he afraid for himself, or his family?  We do not know, but Jesus demands the throne of our heart.  Not self, nor spouse, nor parent, nor child can occupy His place.  

Scripture reinforces our faith for the coming assaults.  Will we be prepared?  Peter “wept bitterly” after failing Jesus.  We will reap the harvest of our “fear” if we do not prepare for battles that are coming.

Ephesians 6:10-18 says,

“Finally, be strong in the LORD, and in the strength of His might.  Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.  Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.  Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.  With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for the saints,”

Isaiah 43:1-3a says,

“But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob,  And He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;  I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.  For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;”

Jesus prayed for Peter and his prayer was answered.  Once Peter turned back, he boldly strengthened his brothers. After our resurrected LORD encouraged him to “feed His sheep,” Peter fearlessly preached on Pentecost, taught and baptized Gentiles, traveled extensively and planted churches.  History teaches that Peter went to his death humbly requesting to be crucified “upside-down” because he felt he was unworthy to die as Jesus died.

Decades after his denials of Jesus, Peter, through the Holy Spirit, records these reassuring words:

“His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.  For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”  (2 Peter 1:3-4)

Paul also warns and reassures us through this scripture:

“Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.  No temptation has overtaken you but such as it common to man, and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:12-13)

Holy God and Father,
We love You and desire to serve You wholeheartedly.  Father, help us remember Peter and many other examples You have supplied.  Failure will happen, but recovery is possible in You.  Help us fear You alone. Prepare us for the mounting assaults against our faith in You.  Remind us of the crippling effect that fear and pride have on our faith and witness.  Thank You, Father, for the grace and mercy You grant to us over and over again.
In the holy name of Jesus, Amen.

Mischelle Oliver

Stephenville, Texas

Theme: A Week with Peter

‘I Stand Amazed’

When you are a young teenager and are proud of your athletic ability, you may not be easily impressed by someone else’s ability.  At least, you may be reluctant to admit it.  When I was 13  or 14 and playing Pony League baseball, I was pretty proud of my ability.  One day at practice, our coach was hitting infield practice for us.  He hit a grounder to me at shortstop and I was to throw home to our catcher.  I fired the ball as hard as I could.  It was a wild throw.  The coach simply reached out with his bare hand and snagged my wild throw.  Without even acknowledging my wildness or showing any effects of catching my wild throw, he hit another grounder to another infielder.  I was amazed!!  I was amazed at his catch.  I was amazed that he did not shake his hand from the pain or make any verbal response to the pain.  AND I WAS IMPRESSED!!!

One day, Jesus made an amazing impression on Peter.  SUCH AN IMPRESSION THAT PETER WAS WILLING TO FOLLOW HIM FOR THE REST OF HIS DAYS!  It is recorded in Luke 5:1-11.

1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, 2 he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

Peter was so impressed by Jesus that he was willing to leave everything and follow Him.  Peter was amazed that Jesus could catch fish in such a manner.  I conclude that Peter realized that Jesus was not a ‘mere man’.  And so began a life devoted to Jesus.

May each of us, as we study the life of Jesus be filled with awe, like Peter.

Prayer:  God, help me to ‘stand amazed in the presence of the Nazarene’.  Help me to ‘wonder at His love for me, a sinner condemned and unclean’.

Terry Brown

Abilene, Texas

Theme: A Week with Peter

PETERS FLIP FLOP

(Matthew 16:13-24)

 In the 16th chapter of Matthew, verse 15, Jesus asked the disciples, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” We are proud of Peter. He got it exactly right. Jesus called him blessed and promised him the keys to the kingdom. He even promises that heaven would back his work.

That is why we are so shocked when we read in verse 22… “And Peter took him (Christ) and rebuked him saying ‘God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to you.’”

         

One minute Peter is acknowledging Jesus as the Christ, the only Son of God and with the next breath, he is correcting Jesus like a child. What gives? We must understand who Jesus is an

d acknowledge this truth before men. And we must understand who we are and acknowledge that as well.

         

Peter was fine with Jesus as Christ. But Peter still had too high a view of himself as an advisor or partner with Jesus.

         

So, Jesus took the disciples aside and taught them, in verse 24, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” 

The confession of Jesus is much easier than the denying of self.

Dear Lord, you are to be praised for your great works. You saved us by giving us your own son. He saved us by denying self, taking up his cross and dying for us. Following Christ is hard. I do a poor job of denying self. I resist the cross. Please forgive me. Help me become the living sacrifice you want.

         

Please forgive me for arguing with you, advising you and ignoring you.  Help me.  I want to follow Christ Jesus.    In His name, I pray.   Amen

Paul Shero

San Angelo, Texas

Theme: A Week with Peter

Had an Impetuous Day, Lately?

Being impetuous can ruin a person’s life…or it can, with godly direction, make his life amazing!

We can all likely think of incidents where impetuous actions ended in disaster, sometimes tragic ones.  A person who can’t control their anger and who acts impetuously can tyrannize whole families, even communities, cities, nations, the world!  We’ve seen too much growing evidence of that!

The apostle Peter for sure was an impetuous personality.  Almost every story about his life  in the gospels reveal this aspect of his make-up.  From the time Jesus called Peter we read of his bold statements that seem to have been rash and sometimes reckless.  We discern his judgmental nature.  We see him as the “action guy” of the apostles.  We see him as the leader of the apostles…at least he is portrayed in such a way.  Yet we find him in trouble a number of times!  The story related in Matthew 14:22-33 surely is the event that most describes Peters impetuosity when he immediately exclaimed, “Lord, if it’s You, tell me to come to you on the water!”  Of course we all know the outcome of that experience….both thrilling and disappointing!

For me, the saddest example of Peter’s impetuous nature was at the end of Jesus life where Peter promised three times he would never deny Christ!  He seemed vehement in these statements, for he was perplexed that Jesus would question his devotion.  Then, of course, the consequent actual denial, three times, as Jesus was going through the cruel trial that led to His crucifixion!  It is a blessing to us, who live by faith in Christ, to have the Bible record Peter’s reckless promises and to record his denial, and his ensuing remorse and despair. We are comforted, in actual fact, to know that the Lord did and will show mercy and forgiveness to one whose nature misdirects him and words are spoken too quickly, without thinking.

 

Fast-forward through the crucifixion, resurrection, ascension of Jesus, to the day of Pentecost, Acts chapter 2.   Has Peter defected? No, we find him restored to full assurance and confidence! It is amazing indeed what the resurrection of Jesus did for the apostles and all the followers of Christ!  Then we read of the powerful work of the Holy Spirit as Peter and the apostles proclaim the great gospel of Christ, the new way of salvation that He bought with His own blood, the Perfect sacrifice once and for all times for the sins of mankind!

This transformation in Peter’s life gives all of us such hope!

We see that God can use us, whatever our “besetting sin” might be, if we let Him transform us, make us new, forgiving and sanctifying us through faith in Him!

We are blessed to truly know the changes in Peter as he aged,  mellowed, and became more and more like the Lord. His   letters to the church, 1 and 2 Peter,  testify to the transforming work of the Spirit of Christ in Peter’s life. From Peters “not me, Lord!” (Matthew 26:13) to his benediction found in the close of 2 Peter  3, verse 18, “but grow in the grace and knowledge of  our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen,” we realize how he became more the man God wanted him to be.  And it is proof that God can take us, whatever our personality, and shape us as He wants us to be, if we are willing to surrender to His will and work in our lives.

The “good” side of an impetuous nature is seen when we are prompted by something that occurs to do a good deed and we act upon it in faith.  Too many times we back off when we have an impulse to do a good thing, take time to analyze it, or delay, and the opportunity passes us by.  I pray that all of us will recognize these opportunities, and have the courage and faith to act upon them at the moment of occurrence.  I am sure there were probably many unrecorded events in Peters life where his impulsive nature resulted in great good in his and other peoples lives.

Prayer:

Father in Heaven, help up to be willing to be molded by You into the serving, loving likeness of Jesus, who came to show us You, our Father!  Use our individual uniqueness by changing and ‘tweaking us’ so that our lives point to You in all we do!

Thank You, Father, for the work of the Spirit of Christ in our lives.  Help us stay sensitive to your leading. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Jan McCoy

Merkel, Texas

Theme: A Week with Peter

Oh, what’s in a name?

In reading about Peter and his brother Andrew in John 1, we get to peer into the minds of some of the first people to meet the now-openly recognized Messiah and, as a result of this meeting, to choose to believe in Him. Immediately after Andrew introduces Peter to Jesus, Jesus gives Peter a new name. Upon their first encounter, Jesus looks into Peter’s heart and defines the very essence of Peter as a man and spiritual being, by changing his name.

We know who Peter is later on in the book--the one who denies Jesus, the one who begs Him not to speak of His death, the one with the bad temper. If Jesus could look into his heart and know the nature of his spirit, why did He give him the name “Cephas?” Cephas is Aramaic, a word whose meaning is identical to that of the Greek name Petros--“rock.” Why did Peter get this name?

He’s skittish, hotheaded, and will deny his belief or doubt Jesus when things get a little rough. But he gets the name that means “rock.” He doesn’t seem very steady, solid, or unwavering to me.

The way John writes is absolutely entrancing. As I read this book, my favorite of the gospels, I feel like Jesus is looking straight into my heart and mind as He speaks to Jews and Gentiles, apostles and Pharisees, mothers and sons and soldiers and adulterers. Here are some examples:

Jesus to the disciples: “What are you looking for?” (1:38)

Jesus to the paralyzed man: “Do you want to get well?” (5:6)

Jesus to the Twelve: “You don’t want to go away too, do you?” (6:67)

Jesus to Martha: “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” (11:40)

Jesus after the footwashing: “Do you know what I have done for you?” (13:12)

Jesus to Peter: “Will you lay down your life for me?” (13:38)

Jesus to those waiting to arrest Him: “Who is it you’re looking for?” (18:7)

Jesus to Mary, after He has risen: “Who is it you are looking for?” (20:15)

 

Each time I read these questions, I feel a voice in my ear whispering, “What are you looking for, Erin? Do you want to get well? Would you lay down your life for Him? What do you believe truth is?” I feel unsettled after I read this gospel, and I think that’s why. Those questions are meant for the reader just as much as they’re meant for the person within the narrative to whom Jesus directs them.

Three times Jesus asks His followers who or what they are looking for, the first of which is right before He calls Peter by his new name. This takes my mind to the book of Revelation: “Because you have kept my command to endure, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is going to come over the whole world to test those who live on the earth. I am coming quickly. Hold on to what you have, so that no one takes your crown. The victor: I will make him a pillar in the sanctuary of My God, and the name of the city of My God--the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God--and My new name” (Revelation 3:10-12).

Despite Peter’s character flaws, He is a victor and one of Jesus’ chosen until the very end. Peter gets a new name, and as I read this gospel with ominous questions floating around in my head, I know that we get what Peter gets, too. We’ve surely failed as well. Maybe not in the same ways as Peter, but in ways that make us feel unworthy of that new name. But, as the book of Revelation says, we have made the commitment to endure, and are therefore identified by a new name as the redeemed in Christ. Peter is a blessed reminder that all who are continually looking for Jesus and remaining faithful are restored and renewed. He reminds me that Jesus calls us by name and we are His.

God,

Sometimes, in reading about Peter, we judge him a little too harshly. Thank you for this example of Jesus calling a man who is sometimes cowardly, sometimes doubting, and sometimes afraid to proclaim what he believes. We know that we are all there at times, but that we are still branded with a new name because of your mercy and grace, just like Peter. Thank you for redefining us so we don’t have to define ourselves. We know your definition of us will endure forever. Thank you for making us victorious. We love you.

In the name of our Victor,

Amen.

Erin Daugherty
Abilene Christian University