Reason #625
Finally, I am almost caught up from all the stuff I didn't do last week. I certainly did not win the award for most put-together wife last week. We did, oh, 5 loads of laundry today and still have at least one more to go. Cleaned for a good 2 hours, and spent a small fortune at the grocery store to stock back our condiments only fridge. It was rough week last week, but I'm feeling better about this one. I think we're starting out ahead of the game, and that's a good feeling.
The sermon at church this morning went hand in hand with my blog from Friday night, and I always love when the Lord does that for me. Sometimes He'll stick a song in my head that we sing on Sunday mornings, and it's as if He's just reminding me of how involved in my life He is. Of how aware of me He is. Of how much He loves me. And so today the pastor preached about Peter's denial of Jesus. In John 18, Peter ends up denying Jesus 3 times, as predicted. In verse 18, it is noted that Peter stands around a charcoal fire with guards, the very ones who had become enemies of Jesus, warming himself. Now, that seems like a random detail in the story. Why would the writer even bother to mention that? But that's the amazing thing about scripture. Every detail is important, and as well all know, God is in the details.
Don't you know Peter felt so ashamed of what he had done? Of the fact that he had actually denied being a disciple of Jesus? And this was at the end. There wasn't a whole lot of time for Peter to clear this up or apologize for what he did. Jesus was headed to the cross and this was how Peter was sending him off. And so can you imagine the guilt Peter felt? Don't you know he wanted to kick himself over and over and over again for what he had done? Yet we fast forward a few chapters, and Jesus is alive. He had conquered death and, in John 21, the disciples find Him waiting on the side of the shore to meet with them. "When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread." (John 21:9) Did you catch it? Charcoal fire! Because the last time Peter stood around a charcoal fire, he denied Jesus. Doing one of the things he regretted most, one of the things he couldn't take back. And the Lord, who is so gracious, compassionate, and forgiving, recreates the scene for Peter. A chance at redemption. A chance to make right what went wrong. A chance to clear things up. And even though Jesus never said a word, you know Peter knew. Because I can only guess that every time since that initial charcoal fire experience, when Peter walked by a charcoal fire, his stomach turned. I bet he wanted to just melt and wished he could forget what happened that night. But here he was, standing with Jesus at a charcoal fire, and Jesus was there pouring out love on Peter. Showing Peter that He cared about him. Letting Peter know that He didn't have to walk around in shame and regret anymore. He could move forward in freedom because Jesus was forgiving him.
God doesn't have it out for us. He's not out to get us when we mess up or make us pay with misery for our wrongdoings. Jesus did that for us. And aren't you so relieved that when we do mess up, we can come to Jesus without fear and receive compassion and forgiveness? He isn't there to demean us or make us feel even worse. He's there to give us a second chance to make things right. Another opportunity to clear the air so that we can move forward in freedom and not be bound by guilt, shame, and regret. And what better way the wiping away the old, bad memories and replacing them with new ones? That way, when we think back, we can see the process of redemption. We can view our circumstances through the lenses of grace. And we realize that Jesus always brings us back to those places to give us a new hope, a clean slate, and a fresh start.
#625 - Because He takes us back to give us new hope, a clean slate, and fresh start.
"When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer." - Psalm 94:19
The sermon at church this morning went hand in hand with my blog from Friday night, and I always love when the Lord does that for me. Sometimes He'll stick a song in my head that we sing on Sunday mornings, and it's as if He's just reminding me of how involved in my life He is. Of how aware of me He is. Of how much He loves me. And so today the pastor preached about Peter's denial of Jesus. In John 18, Peter ends up denying Jesus 3 times, as predicted. In verse 18, it is noted that Peter stands around a charcoal fire with guards, the very ones who had become enemies of Jesus, warming himself. Now, that seems like a random detail in the story. Why would the writer even bother to mention that? But that's the amazing thing about scripture. Every detail is important, and as well all know, God is in the details.
Don't you know Peter felt so ashamed of what he had done? Of the fact that he had actually denied being a disciple of Jesus? And this was at the end. There wasn't a whole lot of time for Peter to clear this up or apologize for what he did. Jesus was headed to the cross and this was how Peter was sending him off. And so can you imagine the guilt Peter felt? Don't you know he wanted to kick himself over and over and over again for what he had done? Yet we fast forward a few chapters, and Jesus is alive. He had conquered death and, in John 21, the disciples find Him waiting on the side of the shore to meet with them. "When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread." (John 21:9) Did you catch it? Charcoal fire! Because the last time Peter stood around a charcoal fire, he denied Jesus. Doing one of the things he regretted most, one of the things he couldn't take back. And the Lord, who is so gracious, compassionate, and forgiving, recreates the scene for Peter. A chance at redemption. A chance to make right what went wrong. A chance to clear things up. And even though Jesus never said a word, you know Peter knew. Because I can only guess that every time since that initial charcoal fire experience, when Peter walked by a charcoal fire, his stomach turned. I bet he wanted to just melt and wished he could forget what happened that night. But here he was, standing with Jesus at a charcoal fire, and Jesus was there pouring out love on Peter. Showing Peter that He cared about him. Letting Peter know that He didn't have to walk around in shame and regret anymore. He could move forward in freedom because Jesus was forgiving him.
God doesn't have it out for us. He's not out to get us when we mess up or make us pay with misery for our wrongdoings. Jesus did that for us. And aren't you so relieved that when we do mess up, we can come to Jesus without fear and receive compassion and forgiveness? He isn't there to demean us or make us feel even worse. He's there to give us a second chance to make things right. Another opportunity to clear the air so that we can move forward in freedom and not be bound by guilt, shame, and regret. And what better way the wiping away the old, bad memories and replacing them with new ones? That way, when we think back, we can see the process of redemption. We can view our circumstances through the lenses of grace. And we realize that Jesus always brings us back to those places to give us a new hope, a clean slate, and a fresh start.
#625 - Because He takes us back to give us new hope, a clean slate, and fresh start.
"When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer." - Psalm 94:19
Comments
Post a Comment