Sifted as Wheat

I doubt anyone can dispute the depth of Peter's love for Christ.

He was the first disciple, hand picked by Christ along with his brother Andrew. Peter's partners John and James (brothers and sons of Zebedee) were also chosen at that time.

These four were present as Christ stepped into Peter's boat. He asked Peter to put out a little and He sat and taught the people. When Jesus finished he told Simon Peter to "put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch."(Luke 5:4)
Peter resisted because they had been unsuccessful all night but eventually relented and did as he was instructed. The nets were so full the boats were nearly capsized. This is of course when Peter repented, dropped everything and followed Jesus.

Peter witnessed many more marvelous and miraculous events. He was witness to the calming of the storm. He was witness to much healing. Only Peter, James, and John were with the Lord at the Transfiguration. Peter saw Christ, Moses, and Elijah in conversation. If that were not enough to solidify his faith, Peter also heard the voice of God say to them, " This is my son, whom I have chosen; listen to him."

Peter should have had no doubt within him that he was with the Son of God. Alas, Peter often lost faith and failed.

In Matthew 14:22 Peter walks on the water with Jesus. His fear of the wind and the water cause him to sink and he cries out, " Lord, save me." Christ reaches out and catches Peter. " You of little faith," he said, " Why did you doubt?"

I often ask the same thing. How could there be any doubt in Peter's mind that he was in the company of Christ. Peter was standing on water and did not sink - until his faith wavered. Even then, Peter cried out to the Lord and was saved.

None of us have ever witnessed miracles as Peter had. Peter had felt the warmth of Christ's hand. Peter had looked into the eyes of the Son and heard the voice of the Father and doubt still crept into his heart.

How much more vulnerable we must be than Peter. How much shame do we feel when we fail? How much sadness, when we disobey God? We say to ourselves, " I am a new creature in Christ. I am saved by the blood of the Lamb. Baptized in the Holy Spirit. And yet I continue to fail. I continue to choose the wrong path. I confessed and was saved. What am I doing?"

God knows that our confession and acceptance was heartfelt, just as He knew Peter's was.

Peter had confessed that Jesus was the Christ eight days prior to the transfiguration. Jesus said to him,"Blessed are you , Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."(Matthew 16:17-19)

Jesus, Himself, promised Peter the keys to heaven. Peter's faith and resolve must have been stronger than ever. But his greatest failure was yet to come.

At the Last Supper, Jesus said, "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." Here we see Peter's resolve when he replies, " Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death." 

Jesus answered, " I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me." (Luke 22:34)

As Jesus prayed in Gethsemane, Peter fell asleep. Jesus had warned them to keep watch and pray that they not fall into temptation. In fact, He told them twice. (Luke 22:39)

Of course, we all know that Peter did deny Christ three times and Luke 22:60-62 tells us that when the rooster crowed, " The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the words the Lord had spoken to him: ' Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.' And he went outside and wept bitterly."

Can you imagine the conviction and the shame that Peter must have felt when the Christ that he had confessed locked eyes with him as the rooster crowed? Can you imagine the shame and the feeling of utter uselessness? I doubt any of us have felt a cut that deep.

When I fail Him, and I often do, I look to Peter.

You see, Peter was sifted and it seems to me that the farther from Christ's presence he was, the weaker he became. When Jesus was taken, Peter was no longer near Him. He became more susceptible to the temptations of Satan. This applies to our lives as well. If we do not remain close to Christ, through daily prayer, study, devotion, and worship, we too become more vulnerable to temptation and sin.

 Peter would later dive headlong into the sea and swim to shore and embrace the risen Christ. (John 21)

What is interesting to me is that this was the third time that Jesus had appeared to the disciples. And He chose this time to reinstate Peter. We see in John 21:15-19 that Jesus asks three times, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was given, through the grace of God, three more questions and a chance at redemption for his previous denials. And Peter answered," Yes Lord, you know that I love you." And Jesus responded to him and instructed him to, " Feed my sheep" and " Follow me".

Even in Peter's denial, Christ knew his heart.. Though Peter failed, Jesus knew that he would one day soon have his eyes opened and would become the rock and keeper of the keys of heaven. Peter was now to turn back and strengthen his brothers, as he had previously been told.

How Gracious is our God?

Through his love and forgiveness, we are renewed and recreated. We are often sifted and tossed and sink in deep water, but Jesus remains always by our side. He lifts us from the depths of our own betrayals and makes us whole again, in Him.

Praise God and may He bless you abundantly as we come together and give thanks tomorrow -

David

How Can God Love Me?

I have the great honor of being friends with many brave men. I know men who have earned Silver Stars and Bronze Stars for Valor. I also know men that have earned Purple Hearts; some posthumously. All these men have a commonality; a single thread that binds the fiber of their fortitude. What they have, or had, is commitment. A commitment to their cause, a commitment to their profession, and above all - a commitment to one another. Their very lives often depend on it.

Mistakes and errors in judgement often hold very real, and very permanent, consequences. The difference of a single digit when calling in a fire mission could result in fratricide. Moving East instead of West may forever alter the life of  a sleeping child thousands of miles away. Believe me, these men know the cost of making a bad choice. Many are never able to forgive themselves and live with shame and guilt for the remainder of their days. Can you imagine the torment and the grief?

I know that this is an extreme example. Many will never find themselves in such dire circumstances. What is certain, however, is that we will all fail. We will all make bad choices that impact our lives and the lives of others. We will feel shame and guilt and know that we alone are responsible.

At times, we will question our worth. We will question our usefulness to the Kingdom of God. We often ask "How can God love me when I continue to fail? I keep asking for forgiveness for the same things, over and over. Why can't I get it right? I can't possibly be good enough for Him. I give up!"

I have a two word answer for this problem: Simon Peter.

I am no expert on Peter. Very simply, this is how I have learned to apply his shortcomings to my life.

Oh yes, despite being the Rock upon which Christ would build His Church, Peter often failed.

The first sermon that I heard at Rock Bridge was about Peter's failures. I have since read Beautiful Outlaw  by John Eldredge  and most of Traveling Light by Max Lucado. Both of these deal with issues surrounding Peter and how his experiences can help us all better understand Christ's infinate love and absolute forgiveness.

In my next post, I will do my best to illustrate how I apply Simon Peter to my own life and perhaps some of you will look to Peter and find Him as well.

As Max Lucado so eloquently puts it in his book Traveling Light  :

"Jesus tends to his sheep. And He will tend to you."

God Bless -

David

Learning to Crawl

Although heavily cliched, learning to crawl seems to be the best analogy to describe the last few years of my life. I have at long last advanced from lying helpless and prostrate to moving forward, albeit with difficulty.

You see, crawling is not the most efficient method of getting about. Crawlers seem to suffer from bumps, bruises, carpet-burns and various other maladies.
But crawl we must. If ever we are to walk and, dare I say it, run; first we must crawl.

The point that I am stumbling to make is that the movement is worth the sufferage.

As we move forward in Christ, we will have to contend with many bumps and bruises. There are wounds within us all that can only be healed through the opening of new ones. Our pride will be wounded, as it should. Our hardened heart will be struck hard with conviction, as it should. The very foundation of our lives will shake and crumble beneath our feet, as it must.

The good news is that all this is by His design. Rest assured that the foundations will be built up, hearts will soften, and pride will submit to His word.

I have lived most of my life far from Christ, while he has remained near. Too many times, I have ignored the whisper in my ear; the hand on my shoulder.

I first encountered Jesus at the age of 17 and was saved at Welcome Hill Baptist Church in Dalton, GA. I had spent many months listening to our pastor breathlessly preach fire and brimstone for all that fail to find Christ. The alter call came every Sunday and I was convicted. I have no doubt that the conviction was real and I was scared to death to stay in my seat. I was sincere but I had no idea what I was getting into.

You see, I knew how to bow my head and listen to the preacher pray, but I had no idea how to pray by myself. I knew that God could be found at church, but I didn't know how to find him on the street. I didn't have the ability to see Him in my daily fight.

If ever there is a time to pluck a man from Christ that is it. The enemy will open both barrels on a fresh new convert. Spiritual Guerilla Warfare had descended upon me and the most frightful aspect is that I was completely oblivious. The attack was masterfully evil. The liar came and filled me with darkness and I had not the weapons with which to defend.

"What will you do now? None of your friends will want you around anymore."
"How can you have any fun living like that?"
"Dude, there is no way that you can keep your hands to yourself."

And the worst lie of all, "You've got plenty of time for that. Live a little. Live a lot. He can wait a little longer. You can always come back later."

Of course, there comes a time when you can no longer come home. Thank God I was afforded the time to get it right.

Of course, I listened at the time. I slid farther back than when I started.

Next came 8 years of military service, 4 years back at home, 2 divorces and Breanna, my daughter, became the product of a broken home.

 I had put Jesus away and called on him only when I was hurt or scared. Now, I know that I was not complete without Him.

In 2002, I met an amazing woman. In 2004, she married me and a seed was sown.  Her example would nourish and care for that seed over many years and some difficult times. Though the germination was long, the seed finally emerged and is at long last attempting to bear fruit. I was baptized and our family joined Wesley Chapel UMC in Sanoraville, GA. We attended Wesley for a couple of years and we have now found our home at Rock Bridge Community Church in Calhoun, GA. Amanda and I have two amazing boys together - Elijah, 6 and Luke, 2. I am sure that they are a gift from God and my hope is to honor them in Christ all my days.

That, my friends is the reason for this blog. This is my attempt to bear fruit through study and prayerful reflection. I want to share my journey with anyone that cares to listen. I expect to stumble. I am sure that I will make mistakes and that I may misunderstand His Word. My prayer is that all that read my writings will remember that I am a layperson of the Lord. I am struggling to grow in Him and pray that His hand will guide me and help me to bring others near to Him. I am not a teacher, I have not attended Seminary, nor have I heard a call to pastor a church.

What I have is a conviction of the spirit. I have been convicted and summoned to convict others by sharing my brokeness and struggles. May my imperfections shine brightly, that I can see them easily and correct them for my Lord.

On this endeavor, I expect terrible turbulence. My fight has moved to an entirely new level. Please pray for me.

May God bless you all as he has surely blessed me,

David