DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL AUTHOR: - REV (ENGR) J.A. OBILOMO SUNDAY 23 NOVEMBER, 2014 TOPIC: - APOSTLE PETER’S DENIAL TEXT: - MARK 14:66-72 “When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, “This fellow is one of them.” 70 Again he denied it.” MSG: - After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.” He began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about.” We can learn a very good set of lessons from Peter’s gracious recovery from one of the most public failures, and one of the deepest personal embarrassments of his life. Peter is forever on record and in everyone’s memory for denying that he even knew Jesus. That denial was not once, not twice but three times. This portion of the Scriptures gives us a good understanding of forgiveness and restoration which some preachers call the Gospel of the New Beginning. This is God’s Word hope; hope for a new start, hope for complete forgiveness, hope in the God of the second chance. Many people would look at a failure as big as this and an event as public as Peter (of all people) denying Jesus as being the end for Peter. It was scandalous and may even have echoed around Jerusalem. In today’s world, Newspaper headlines such as “Peter, the lead representative of Christ, decamped” or “Peter melted in the face of threat from servant girls” would fill Newsstands the next morning. But beyond this, there are lessons we can learn from Peter about how we all need to heed and apply God’s Word today. Dr. John Barnett in his discover the book series pointed out a number of things but let’s look at just three things that Peter at this time ignored or at least seemed to have forgotten. The first is that JESUS KNOWS WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN IN EACH DAY OF MY LIFE. He did not insulate us from temptation. So He says temptations will come, but He will always make a way of escape. Peter temporarily forgot this. Secondly, JESUS WANTS US TO WATCH AND PRAY. Luke 22:40-46 says of Jesus, “When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” “The effects of Temptations are often strong when we are not watching, when we are not on ground. Peter forgot that Jesus had warned him clearly about not “entering into temptation”. Thirdly, JESUS HAS WARNED US TO FLESS TEMPTATIONS. The simple instruction that God gives on temptations is FLEE! Beware, heed, and flee! Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:22, “Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” So in whatever situation, always remember that Jesus knows what will happen each day of our lives, He asks us to watch and pray, and He has warned us to flee temptations and not stay around and try to overcome them on our own. When Peter denied the Lord, the Scriptures tell us that he went away and wept bitterly. Through repentance and compunction, Peter was able to learn not to trust his own abilities but to put his trust entirely in the Lord. So in addition to the lessons learnt from his mistake we discover that left to our own abilities, we will continue to fall. However, united to the power of God’s grace, we can overcome self-confidence and rely wholly on Him and His word and persevere in fidelity. PRAYER: - Thank you Father for the opportunity you have given me to start again even after I have failed you. Grant me the grace to extend such love to those who have disappointed me in one way or the other. Amen.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Nov 2014 05:59:38 +0000
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