“Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now?" —John 13:37
“[…] When God brings a time of waiting,
and appears to be unresponsive, don’t fill it with busyness, just wait. The
time of waiting may come to teach you the meaning of sanctification— to be set
apart from sin and made holy— or it may come after the process of
sanctification has begun to teach you what service means. Never run before God
gives you His direction. If you have the slightest doubt, then He is not
guiding. Whenever there is doubt— wait. […] …never act on the impulse of […]
feeling. Peter did not wait for God. He predicted in his own mind where the
test would come, and it came where he did not expect it. “I will lay down my
life for Your sake.” Peter’s statement was honest but ignorant. “Jesus answered
him, ‘…the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times’ ” (John
13:38). […] Natural devotion may be enough to attract us to Jesus[…] but it
will never make us disciples. Natural devotion will deny Jesus, always falling
short of what it means to truly follow Him.” Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His
Highest
“‘Not by might nor by power, but by
My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.” – Zechariah 4:6
Peter thought that he could do a
spiritual thing through the strength of his own will. You know how that worked for him. It’s easy to sit in judgement over Peter. Shaking our knowing heads. No way Peter! Who do you think you are? And yet, we are guilty of the same
thing. Trying to be Christians … do the
right thing … in the power of our flesh.
Letting our emotions be a poor substitute for the Spirit of God. Thinking that our own plans are equal with
the plans and will of God. Essentially
denying the sovereignty of God .. trying to be our own god. What! No way you say. Yes way!
Everything we do .. everything we say .. what we think .. what we want
.. should be .. must be … in the context of whose we are and who God is. Look … our life after our rebirth is a
struggle. Our old nature wants to rule
and guide, but our new nature has another ruler and another guide. In all fairness to Peter, he had not received
the Holy Spirit so he lacked the power to be and do in a way that would
overcome. Read this account of Peter
being confronted after he received the Spirit of God.
“The next day the rulers, the elders
and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there,
and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family.
They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By
what power or what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy
Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called
to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are
being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of
Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but
whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the cornerstone.’” – Acts 4:5-11
Is that the same guy that denied Jesus
before people around a fire? Yes and
no. It was Peter, but the new Peter not
the old one. Now Peter could have stood
before those religious leaders, even with the Spirit in him and responded with
his flesh. If he had, he would have
failed just like before. The first time,
Peter did not glorify God, he protected himself. The second time, he did glorify God at the
peril of prison or worse. The difference
was who he was trusting in.
“Now this I know: The Lord gives
victory to his anointed. He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary with the
victorious power of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees
and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.” – Psalm 20:6-8
Brother or Sister that can be you as
you face life each day. You will always
be tested to trust in yourself and not God.
To respond to a situation with emotion and not devotion. If you are wondering where the victory in
Jesus is in daily living .. that may be the root of your problem. You are trying to do what only God can do
through you. Examine your heart. Draw close to God through the Word and
prayer. Pick up your cross daily and
follow Jesus.
Does that describe
you? I want to encourage you to let your light Shine Bright my friend and give
God the place and glory He is due.
By Faith Alone By
His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone
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