Matthew 26: 34: "Jesus said to him, 'Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three time.'" A rooster would begin to crow around 3:00am. Even though the disciples had pledged their loyalty to Jesus, they were only a few hours away from all denying Him. Have you ever made promises to the Lord that you didn't keep. Perhaps, it was some secret sin that you really wanted to forsake but it had taken hold of you. Try as you might, you just couldn't break free. If you have, you may feel like it's too late for you. That's not true. That is the enemy of your soul whispering in your ear. Satan wants you to give up on the mercy and grace of God. But can you guess who doesn't want you to give up? In John 21: 15-16, after the resurrection, Jesus asks Peter three times did he love Him? Three times, Peter said he did love Him. (There is more to this encounter we will see at another time) I believe Jesus had Peter say three times that he loved Him, one for each time he denied Him before the crucifixion. The idea to grasp is that Jesus wanted to forgive Peter. Jesus wanted to restore Peter. Jesus wanted Peter to be ready to be the man of God he was intended to be, that Jesus died for. Today, if you feel like you have let the Lord Jesus Christ down, don't despair, run to Him in brokenness, repentance and have faith that His blood makes you clean.
No comments:
Post a Comment