Tag: Peter denies Jesus

Too Scared

Old Testament: Zephaniah 1-3

Poetry: Psalm 140

*New Testament: Matthew 26

I am writing today’s devotion for those that consider themselves strong in their faith.  I’m talking about those of you out there that know there is nothing anyone can do to mess with your salvation.  You are going to stay faithful to the end no matter what may happen.  You just know you would never turn your back on God.  If Peter were around today, I am sure he would say he was in this group, but he surprisingly was not able to keep his word in the past.

In Matthew 26, Jesus was explaining to the disciples at the last supper that they were all going to fall away on account of him.  Peter spoke up and said that even if everyone else falls away, he never would.  I am sure Peter believed that with his whole heart, but then Jesus described how Peter was going to deny him three times that very night.  At that point, Peter did not politely agree with Jesus; instead, he doubled down on the fact that even if he had to die with him, he would never disown him.  The rest of the disciples then said the same.  So what happened?

Jesus was arrested after Judas betrayed him with a kiss.  A large crowd came to arrest him, and all the disciples deserted him and fled.  That didn’t take long.  They were too scared to stay with Jesus even though they said they would never do that just a few hours earlier.  Peter followed Jesus at a distance, but we know he was confronted three times that night and disowned Jesus all three times.  Why?  Because he was too scared.  He was tipped off it was going to happen that way so he could have been prepared to deal with it, but his fear made him act differently.

Would you be strong enough if you were in the same situation as Peter?  I hope so, but how strong is your faith now?  Does fear ever get in the way of you doing something that should be done?  Have you invited your neighbor to church yet or are you too scared?  Maybe just haven’t gotten around to doing that yet, wink wink.  Are you willing to stick up for some kid at school that is being picked on or are you scared what people might think about you?  Is there a ministry at church you might be good at, but you are too scared to give it a try?  Is there a family member, co-worker, or friend that needs to hear about Christ?  If fear is holding you back in any of these situations, join the Peter club.

I honestly think if you had enough guts to deal with any of these situations, it would probably turn out well, or at the very least, not that bad.  You may get rejected or have people ridicule you, but you may also save a life for eternity.  I am always surprised what risks people will take to save a life for a handful of years now (running into burning buildings, etc.), but they are unwilling to put themselves out there when trying to save lives for an eternity.

Do you know who was really scared to do something he knew needed to happen?  Jesus.  He prayed three times for God to come up with a plan different than him having to die for everyone’s sins.  He was so scared that he said in verse 38 that his soul was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.  He absolutely did not want to do what he was supposed to do.  But in those same prayers, he said he would follow his Father’s will, not his own.  Did the situation turn out to be easy and he was just over-thinking it?  Nope.  He had to go through a terribly painful death.  He was definitely scared, but he wasn’t too scared to do the right thing.

So those of you with the strong faith, Jesus gave you the example to follow.  Is there someone you need to talk to?  Make it happen even if you are scared.  Is there a ministry waiting for you?  Volunteer for that even if it makes you sweat.  Jesus saved a bunch of lives by facing his fear and acting.  Hopefully, you can help save some lives too.

Reflection Questions:

Is there something you should be doing for God that you have put off?  Do you make excuses so you don’t have to admit you are too scared?  Or maybe just try not to think about it?

It’s easy to put things off until later.  Is there anyone in your life that you waited to talk to, but now it is too late because they are gone (died, moved to a different state, got a new job at a different company, etc.)?  If so, how does that make you feel now?

-Rick McClain

sgl23bibleplanDownload

Feed My Sheep

Theme Week – Peter: John 21

Old Testament: Ezra 9 & 10

Poetry: Psalm 17

Peter has experienced so much with Jesus that it is difficult to wrap our minds around everything. Miracles, explanations of the Kingdom, who God is, how to live, even being resurrected to life are some of the actions and ideas that God accomplished and conveyed through His Son. Peter took it all in. Peter was undergoing a transformation through his relationship with Jesus.

Peter knew and stated that Jesus was the Messiah (the Christ), the Son of the Living God. (Matthew 16:16) This idea was revealed to him by God, but Peter stumbled when Jesus was on trial. He was terrified and rightly so. He saw the cruelty, the brutality released on Jesus so he denied him three times.

On the shore that morning, Jesus wants Peter to understand that he forgives him. After a miraculous catch of fish and eating a fish and bread breakfast, Jesus asks Peter if he loves him more than these?  “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” This time Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” Peter said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.”

Jesus is direct with Peter. He will express his love for Jesus by feeding, by taking care of his sheep. Of course, Jesus had taught them that his followers were his sheep. At that time, we were the ones that had not yet entered the sheep pen by the gate. But Praise God that Peter showed his love for Christ. He truly Followed Jesus. He became brave speaking to the crowds about believing and being baptized into Jesus. We are encouraged and challenged by what Peter said and did. He did feed the followers of Jesus then and we are still receiving that food and care today through the scriptures. Along with Peter, we have the chance to feed and care for the followers of Christ. We will faithfully follow the plan that God sets for our lives. We will follow Jesus Christ.

-Rebecca Dauksas

Reflection Questions

  1. Do you love Jesus (even if you have failed him before)?
  2. What job do you think Jesus has for you to do for him? How will you do it?
  3. Will you follow Jesus? How?
sgl23bibleplanDownload

How Could They?

Luke 22

Thursday, December, 29, 2022

            Can you imagine if you lived in Bible times and the son of God handpicked you to be a part of his very exclusive inner circle?  How amazing that would have been to be chosen as one of the twelve disciples!  Spending time in conversation with him daily, watching him perform many miracles, listening to him teach the people and reveal the coming kingdom, and just being around the most awesome dude ever would have been incredible.  Surely, that group of twelve would be so devoted to him that they would never turn against him.  Or, maybe they would.

            Let’s start with Judas.  I’m not making excuses for him, but Luke 22:3 does say that Satan entered into Judas right before he went to the chief priests and officers to devise a plan to betray Jesus so he could be put to death.  Although, how in the world could one of the twelve disciples get to the point where Satan would be allowed to have so much influence over him.  He didn’t have to go along with the temptation Satan presented to him, but he willingly did turn his back on Jesus.  I don’t really understand how he could have justified in his mind such an evil plan, but clearly, he was weak in the faith department and not strong enough to not give in to the temptation.

            I think we accept the fact that Judas betrayed Jesus – because he was Judas.  Who has anything good to say about Judas?  It’s not like he was John, James, or Peter, some of the most impressive disciples.  They would never turn their back on Jesus, until Peter did.

            Peter showed over and over that he loved Jesus and was totally onboard for the cause.  His faith was pretty strong also – strong enough to walk on water for a little bit.  So what went wrong?  How could he have denied Jesus three times in one night.  Furthermore, to make it worse, Jesus even told him right beforehand that he was going to deny him three times.  It seems like after the second time he would have thought, “Okay, that was two times, but there’s no way I’m messing up a third time.  I’m not falling for that one.”  But one of the most devoted of Jesus’ inner circle was not strong enough to not give in to the temptation.

            Let’s fast-forward to today.  How strong is your faith?  Are you onboard with the cause 100% or are you a fair-weather Christian?  What can you do to make sure you don’t give into temptation when tough times hit?  There is one suggestion from Jesus that he stated in verse 40 and again in verse 46.  He told the disciples to pray that they wouldn’t enter into temptation.  I find it interesting that he didn’t tell them to pray to not enter into sin; he told them to pray to not enter into temptation.  Temptation is not wrong.  Jesus was tempted in the same way we are tempted, but he did not give into the temptation and sin.  That is deep, at least to me it is.

-Rick McClain

Time to ponder:

Many of us spend time figuring out how we are not going to enter into sin, but have you ever thought about what you could do (or not do) to not enter into temptation?  That seems like a great place to be because you will probably not sin if you are not tempted to sin.

Is there anything else you can do to prepare yourself to be strong enough to not give in when strong temptations arise?

I’m not going to give you a third question because I think it would be wise to use your time to keep thinking about the first two questions.  There really is a lot there to think and pray about.

2022 SeekGrowLove Bible Reading PlanDownload

A Day to Remember

Mark 14

Friday, August 5, 2022

It’s a story we’ve heard a thousand times – Mark chapter 14. Jesus predicts that one of his disciples will betray him, one will deny him, and they feast for one last supper. He’s arrested and, in the face of threat of death, commits to remaining non-violent; even going as far as to heal those who oppose him. The archetype of betrayal, prophecy, and endurance coming together in one of the final chapters of Jesus’s time on earth. So, what more could we take away from these things after hearing it repeated our entire lives? There is always something new to be learned or applied if you’re willing to try to find it.

Starting at the beginning of the passage, a woman approaches Jesus with an exorbitantly expensive container of perfume. She takes this jar of perfume and dumps it all over Jesus, to which she receives backlash. Those in the company ridicule her for not utilizing the perfume for something better, like helping the poor. Admittedly, this would be a very honorable thing to do. But surprisingly, Jesus stands up for her and tells them to not shame her for doing a good thing to him. “The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me.” Mark 14:7.

This is an interesting thing for Jesus to say, as I would imagine him having the mindset of ‘do everything to help those in need,’ but this circumstance seems to be different. There will always be the poor and needy, there will always be the hurt and the wicked. Jesus is the light in darkness, as darkness is the default state, only interrupted by the presence of light, not vice versa. If we spend all of our energy trying to eliminate the darkness, we will lose sight of the light that sustains us incipiently.

Jesus is well aware of this, as the light that sustains and empowers him is God. He cries out “Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Mark 14:36. Jesus is crying out in the most passionate and sincerely affectionate way imaginable to his father, begging that his death be made unnecessary, that this burden will be taken from him. However, he takes the proper mindset of being able to accept that what he wants may not be what God wants. When you pray to God for an answer, are you able to accept what He responds with in the same faith Jesus could? It’s no mere feat, but then again Jesus is no mere man.

Not only does he accept what needs to happen, but he also stands firm on what he teaches. If you remember from yesterday, Jesus specifically said to not be afraid when we are brought before the court for our faith, but to answer as the Spirit guides you to, as it is the voice of the Spirit that will talk for you. When they had arrested him and grilled him with questions, “… Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.” Mark 14:61. He needed not respond to their trickery but waited until he knew what he was saying to tell them the truth. For this, they killed him. Could you stand for truth until the end? Could you stand with what you believe and know to be true even if every person would hate you for it? If so, you would be stronger than Peter. He lacked this ability, and defied Jesus 3 times—to which end it destroyed him.

“Immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: ‘Before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times.’ And he broke down and wept.” Mark 14:72. Have you ever gotten to the point in your sin where you don’t even recognize who you are anymore? For Peter, he had been spending the past couple years of his life devoted to following Jesus to the end. And yet, when it mattered most, he denied even knowing him. He had become so distraught by his sin that he had nothing else to do than weep at what he’d done.

Sometimes, when we recognize that we’ve fallen so far from the righteous path laid before us, and become so wrapped up in our sin, all we can do is weep and pray that God can forgive us. In fact, it’s often in these moments that we convince ourselves that there’s no way God could possibly forgive us for what we’ve done… but that would be missing the whole point of the story! Jesus died so that even in the midst of our most egregious pain from sin, we have the opportunity to be forgiven. Even Paul, who was a Christian-slaying murderer found salvation! Do not waste this opportunity that Christ has given to you, but rather repent for your sins and devote your life toward serving his purpose. Amen.

-Mason Kiel

Application Questions

  1. Even if you’ve read Mark 14 many times before – what stands out to you today?
  2. How can you extravagantly love and honor Jesus?
  3. What does it mean to pray, “Not my will but yours be done”? What do you need to surrender and give up to God?
  4. In the past, how have you deserted or denied Jesus? Have you accepted Jesus’ forgiveness?
2022 SeekGrowLove Bible Reading PlanDownload