Mega Do-over

Greetings,

Have you ever messed up and wished you could get a do-over?  I have.   But rather than share a personal story, I want to talk about Peter in the Bible.  There are failures and then there are epic failures; Peter's would be the later, and the details are found in the 26th chapter of Matthew.

Right after sharing Holy Communion and a few hours before His arrest and subsequent crucifixion, Christ tells Peter and the other disciples in verse 31 that "Tonight all of you will desert Me."  Peter is quick to respond in verse 33, "Even if everyone else deserts You, I will never desert You." 

However, Jesus knows better and replies, "...this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know Me."  Peter, so sure of himself yells, "No!, Even if I have to die with You, I will never deny You!"

Those are reassuring words, and since they are emphatically punctuated with exclamation points Peter really wants Jesus to get the message that he is a true friend.  

A few verses later, however,  Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane.  He is in "anguish and distress" over what's about to happen, and asks Peter to stay close to Him and "keep watch with Me." Suffice to say that Peter fell asleep at the time Christ needed him most.  Christ is then arrested and "Peter followed at a distance."  What happened to "I will never desert You?" 

It gets worse...

As our Lord is being beaten not only is Peter a safe distance away "out in the courtyard," but when someone says to him, "You were one of those with Jesus," verse 70 says, "PETER DENIED IT IN FRONT OF EVERYONE."  Ouch. The third and final time he denied Christ he swore that "I have never laid eyes on the man!"

So much for "I will never deny You!"

The rooster did indeed crow immediately after Peter's final denial, and all Peter could do upon realizing what he had done was, "cry, and cry, and cry."

That's not the end of the story, thank God.

After Christ's death and resurrection He appears to the disciples at the Sea of Galilee where they are fishing.  Peter is there, and Jesus is about to do something very powerful: He invites Peter to a home-cooked breakfast.

He doesn't yell, accuse, express disappointment or anger.  Instead, He lovingly provides for Peter's very real human needs and welcomes him back into fellowship by sharing a meal together. 

Christ's love and grace overwhelms me  and transforms Peter.  It gave him a mega do-over, and after that beachside feast, Peter is on fire for the Lord.  He goes on to heal the sick, preach to thousands, and eventually die for his faith, but not before leading even his jailers to Christ.

(I wonder what would happen if I kept my mouth shut and cooked breakfast more often?)

PRAYER: Dear Lord, You are so forgiving and kind.  It amazes us how You treated the one who denied You, but it also shows us that You are all about do-overs.  We could all use one  -  another chance to get it right.   Thank You that our failures will never have the final say when we accept Your invitation.  In Your name, Amen~

Desert Road~

Happy New Year's Eve!

We are about to usher in a New Year, and I am excited!  Fresh starts, new resolutions, hope on the horizon - that's what a new year brings.  And my prayer for us all as we move in to 2016 is that we will, as it says in Isaiah 43:18-19, “Forget about what's happened; don't keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. See the new thing God is doing.  He is making a road through the desert..."

What was your "desert" road this past year?  Did you travel through a dry, hard, unforgiving place that has left you craving cooling streams?  Are you parched and exhausted? Tired of the same ole' same ole'?

If so, then clap your hands and start thanking God because He is doing something new right now in your life. He is paving the way for you to get out of that mess. 

These verses are loaded with promise and hope, but before we can be alert and present, we have to let go of the past.  We must F-O-R-G-E-T.  Let's take a step of united faith and believe that if God is telling us to stop hashing and rehashing our history, it’s because it’s possible.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, I take You at Your Word and pray that You would help me forget all the junk that brings me down. Help me focus on You and the new and glorious thing You are doing in my life..  I thank You for watching over me and my family this past year, and I look to You for every single thing we need this new year.  In particular, I desire deeply to be able to let go of ________________________;it’s a joy killer, it constantly crushes my hope, it consumes my mind, and it sometimes helps the fear creep in.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN!

Cool Rivers Rising

"I am making a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert..."

 

A wilderness, as defined by dictionary.com, is a "wild and uncultivated region, uninhabited or inhabited only by wild animals; a tract of wasteland."  And a desert is "any area in which few forms of life can exist because of lack of water or any place lacking in something."

 

Sometimes we go through seasons where it feels as though certain things in our lives, whether spiritually, relationally, physically, professionally, or financially etc...have been a waste and nothing new is happening.  Or we think our kids have wasted golden opportunities. The wild animals of fear, hopelessness, fatigue... threaten to overtake us. Or we feel that something in general is simply lacking, and we can't seem to find satisfaction or joy in living.  God acknowledges our feelings, and He loves us too much to leave us out there in the wasteland.  This is why He is actively at work to clear the brush and flood our lives with goodness.  "How?" you may be asking.  We already learned that the first step in being able to see the new thing God is doing is to forget the former junk.  We even learned that God opens our eyes to His miracle wonders when we ask Him.  But the number one thing God did to make a way for us and shower our lives with hope, refreshment, and goodness was to send His son Jesus. 

John 10:10 "I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance, to the full, till it overflows."

Sometimes we may be a little shocked that God wants us to enjoy life because we endure trouble after trouble; we find it hard to believe anything will ever get better.  Yet these verses are telling us that it is possible to move on in a big way: Our deserts turn into rivers. That's a 180° turnaround!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Some of us have been lost, hot, thirsty, and tired for a long time. We long for Christ to give us the abundant life we have longed for. We realize it begins with having a vibrant relationship with You. So today, we rededicate our lives to You and look to You as the Source of the healing, peace, hope, and joy we all need. Since You said that an abundant life is possible, we believe You and take You at your word. We can feel those cool rivers rising already. Thank You that in Christ we have everything we need. In His beautiful name we pray, Amen~

Let "it" Go!

Happy New Year!

2015 is in full swing, and I have, for the first time in my life, already gotten used to the new date when writing checks!

It feels weird that it’s 2015; saying time flies is an understatement.  But it is precisely because time goes by so quickly that we should all optimize however much of it we have.  It is pointless and draining to hold onto stuff that is bringing us down, and yesterday I read a headline that actually inspired today’s DEVO. 

“Shake it Off” narrowly beats “Let it Go” in sales.

These are two completely different songs with different lyrics and different tempos, and apparently they were neck in neck with sales until “Shake it Off” won, but they have “it” in common, and they are both 100% spot on in what we should all do with “it”.

But before we can get rid of “it” we have to identify what “it” is.  That’s the easy part. “It” is anything that drains us mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and physically.  Anything that has us tired, exhausted, discouraged, and/or down.

Sometimes this means attitudes, worries, grudges, and injustices.  But sometimes it means people or our jobs.  And whether it’s a mental thing or an actual person who is our “it” both can feel seemingly impossible to let go of.  

However, and praise His holy name, God encourages us because He wants us to make room for something better.

Isaiah 43:18-19 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”

These verses are loaded with promise and hope, and the first step to inviting that “new thing” is “forgetting the former things.”  We must all now form a figurative Kumbaya circle, hold hands, and take a step of united faith and believe that if God is telling us to forget, shake it off, and let it go, it’s because it’s possible.

Take a moment to identify your “it” before you pray.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for another year of life.  I look to You this year for every single thing I and my family need to live a blessed life.  In particular, I desire deeply to be able to let go of ________________________, because it’s a joy killer, it constantly crushes my hope, it consumes my mind, and it sometimes helps the fear creep in.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN!