1. Peter Messed Up BIG TIME – Three times,
on the night of Christ’s “trials”, he denied even knowing Him! And on the third
denial, the scriptures tell us that he did so with cursing!
2. Peter Truly Loved Christ & Was a Man of
Faith - Jesus called him “Rock”. Peter walked on water. He, along with John and James, was one of
Christ’s closest followers. He was crucified for His faith. On more than one occasion, he declared the
Lordship of Christ.
3. Peter Had Repeated Opportunities to
Remember He Needed Humility – Not only did he deny Christ, but prior to
that, Peter was impetuous and cut off the ear of one of the Roman guards who
came to arrest Jesus. Jesus had to rebuke Peter for that.
Although Peter walked on water…he sank. And
Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When Jesus was washing
the disciple’s feet, Peter told Jesus he didn’t want Him to wash his feet and
Jesus had to gently help Peter get his thinking back in line. When Jesus told
the disciples of all that was to come – what He’d suffer and of His death,
Peter pulled Jesus to the side and rebuked Him! Jesus had to acknowledge the
enemy in that moment and said, “Get behind Me, Satan…” Jesus also foretold of
Peter’s denial but Peter adamantly stated that even if everyone else denied
Jesus, He never would. Not very long later, Peter would deny Christ and weep
bitterly at the remembrance of Christ’s words. When the Lord gave Peter a
vision of various kinds of animals and told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
Peter said “No, Lord. I’ve never eaten anything unclean”. And again, the Lord
had to rebuke him.
4. Peter Had a Calling on His Life, Regardless
of His Imperfections - Yesterday we read his powerful sermon on the day of
Pentecost. Paul referred to Peter as a pillar of the church. He was an advocate
for including Gentiles in the Christian church. His writings ended up being a
part of the Bible we read today. Peter was a missionary.
Like Peter, I have messed up BIG TIME on many occasions. However,
I truly love Christ and I am a woman of faith. I too have had so many
opportunities to remember that I need humility.
Like Peter, sometimes those are prideful situations but they can also be
the result of a sincere (but slightly misdirected) love for Christ – i.e.
cutting off the ear of the Roman soldier. And like Peter, I have a clear call
on my life even though I am far from perfect. The relationship with Peter and
Christ was special and precious and our Lord dealt with Peter in a way that was
unique from the other disciples. Just as he deals with each of us according to
how He has uniquely made us. Because Peter was impetuous and suffered with a
“foot in mouth” condition, Christ was so tender with Him, giving him
opportunities for redemption, and opportunities to express himself freely.
I identify so well with Peter because of the fact that I
also am prone to run off at the mouth and to act before thinking. And like
Peter I have a calling that, in the natural, one might question my capacity to
fulfill. But with the Spirit of Christ dwelling in me, as He was in Peter, I
make every effort to confirm my calling and do all that I’m called to. (2 Peter
1:10) Regardless of the mess-ups, regardless of the imperfections we all are
quite capable of making a great impact on this world for the benefit of others
and to the glory of God...just like Peter. I’m encouraged by his life and so
glad to know that even in my imperfection, the Lord can still use me to do
great things!
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