This week, we have examined the experience of failure in Peter’s life. Today, we see how Jesus handles failure ... we see something extraordinary.
John 21
15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.
16 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” “Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.
17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.
18 “I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.”
19 Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.”
Then. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be “called to the Principal’s office” by Jesus? Do you imagine Jesus saying, “I guess you know why I have called you in here today”? Do you think he would roll out some sort of footage that would replay the moment you screwed up? Would He express words of disappointment? Include a sternly written reprimand in your permanent file? Suspend you? Thankfully, we have this passage to answer those questions. Jesus does two things. First, Jesus asks Peter to search his heart and determine if he truly loves Him. When we fail Jesus, it is usually an issue of the heart ... pride, selfishness, greed, lust. Love is what we need to overcome those issues ... what we need to renew so that we can overcome our failures. Second, Jesus tells Peter to get back to work ... get back to serving Him ... get back to following Him. If you have failed, bring your failures to Jesus ... allow Him to correct your heart, heal your heart, renew your heart. Then, get back to expressing Jesus’ heart ... serving, caring, loving.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Again
This week, we are talking about failure by walking through five scenes in the life of Peter. So far, we have experienced the depths of Peter’s denial and the hope of Jesus’ resurrection with him. Today, we see Peter encounter Jesus.
John 21
1 Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened.
2 Several of the disciples were there - Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples.
3 Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.” “We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.
4 At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was.
5 He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?” “No,” they replied.
6 Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.
7 Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore.
8 The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards from shore.
9 When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them - fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.
10 “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said.
11 So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn.
12 “Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.
13 Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish.
14 This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.
Again. Typically, failure leads us away from the people we have failed. It creates a fear within us that the people we have failed will reject us. I think that fear is exponential when it comes to our relationship with Jesus. How could Jesus continue to love me ... accept me after I have failed Him, again?! That is why I love the phrase “Jesus appeared again” in this passage. If you live in fear that your failures have caused Jesus to abandon you, I encourage you to mediate on that phrase ... Jesus appeared again ... Jesus appeared again ... allow it to bypass your fears and touch the depths of your heart and mind.
John 21
1 Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened.
2 Several of the disciples were there - Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples.
3 Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.” “We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.
4 At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was.
5 He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?” “No,” they replied.
6 Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.
7 Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore.
8 The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards from shore.
9 When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them - fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.
10 “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said.
11 So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn.
12 “Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.
13 Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish.
14 This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.
Again. Typically, failure leads us away from the people we have failed. It creates a fear within us that the people we have failed will reject us. I think that fear is exponential when it comes to our relationship with Jesus. How could Jesus continue to love me ... accept me after I have failed Him, again?! That is why I love the phrase “Jesus appeared again” in this passage. If you live in fear that your failures have caused Jesus to abandon you, I encourage you to mediate on that phrase ... Jesus appeared again ... Jesus appeared again ... allow it to bypass your fears and touch the depths of your heart and mind.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Until then
This week, we are talking about failure by walking through five scenes in the life of Peter. So far, we have heard Jesus’ prediction of Peter’s denial and Peter’s actual denial (all three of them). Today, Peter experiences hope for the first time since his denial.
John 20
1 Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.
2 She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
3 Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb.
4 They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.
5 He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in.
6 Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there,
7 while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings.
8 Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed
9 for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead.
Until then. My failures, along with the guilt and shame of those failures, have always been accompanied with a sense of darkness in my life. That is why I love the phrase “while it was still dark” in this passage. While it was still dark in my life, a darkness that I had created, God was at work creating light for my life. If you are still sitting in the darkness of your failures, I encourage you to walk through that passage with Peter ... running to the tomb ... going inside ... seeing the linen wrappings ... encountering hope. It says that “until then” they didn’t understand. If you are still sitting in the darkness, my prayer is that you will experience an “until then” moment where you begin to understand the hope that can be found in Jesus’ resurrection. If you have experienced that hope, my prayer is that you will be reminded of the “until then” moment when you first saw the light in the darkness.
John 20
1 Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.
2 She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
3 Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb.
4 They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.
5 He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in.
6 Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there,
7 while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings.
8 Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed
9 for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead.
Until then. My failures, along with the guilt and shame of those failures, have always been accompanied with a sense of darkness in my life. That is why I love the phrase “while it was still dark” in this passage. While it was still dark in my life, a darkness that I had created, God was at work creating light for my life. If you are still sitting in the darkness of your failures, I encourage you to walk through that passage with Peter ... running to the tomb ... going inside ... seeing the linen wrappings ... encountering hope. It says that “until then” they didn’t understand. If you are still sitting in the darkness, my prayer is that you will experience an “until then” moment where you begin to understand the hope that can be found in Jesus’ resurrection. If you have experienced that hope, my prayer is that you will be reminded of the “until then” moment when you first saw the light in the darkness.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Are you?
This week, we are talking about failure by walking through five scenes in the life of Peter. Yesterday, we heard Jesus’ prediction of Peter’s denial. Today, we hear Peter’s denial.
John 18
15 Simon Peter followed Jesus, as did another of the disciples. That other disciple was acquainted with the high priest, so he was allowed to enter the high priest’s courtyard with Jesus. 16 Peter had to stay outside the gate. Then the disciple who knew the high priest spoke to the woman watching at the gate, and she let Peter in.
17 The woman asked Peter, “You’re not one of that man’s disciples, are you?” “No,” he said, “I am not.”
18 Because it was cold, the household servants and the guards had made a charcoal fire. They stood around it, warming themselves, and Peter stood with them, warming himself.
25 Meanwhile, as Simon Peter was standing by the fire warming himself, they asked him again, “You’re not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.”
26 But one of the household slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Didn’t I see you out there in the olive grove with Jesus?”
27 Again Peter denied it. And immediately a rooster crowed.
Are you? There are some days that I read part of God’s story and I don’t feel any hope. I am only reminded of the moments when I, like Peter, failed to demonstrate that I was a Jesus follower ... moments when I could have expressed kindness instead of selfishness, grace instead of judgment, peace instead of anger, patience instead of frustration, faith instead of fear. Thankfully, Jesus doesn’t leave us in those moments of denial; but we will have to wait until tomorrow to relive that hope. For now, my prayer is that this reminder will continue to cultivate the humility my heart needs to become a more passionate Jesus follower.
John 18
15 Simon Peter followed Jesus, as did another of the disciples. That other disciple was acquainted with the high priest, so he was allowed to enter the high priest’s courtyard with Jesus. 16 Peter had to stay outside the gate. Then the disciple who knew the high priest spoke to the woman watching at the gate, and she let Peter in.
17 The woman asked Peter, “You’re not one of that man’s disciples, are you?” “No,” he said, “I am not.”
18 Because it was cold, the household servants and the guards had made a charcoal fire. They stood around it, warming themselves, and Peter stood with them, warming himself.
25 Meanwhile, as Simon Peter was standing by the fire warming himself, they asked him again, “You’re not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.”
26 But one of the household slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Didn’t I see you out there in the olive grove with Jesus?”
27 Again Peter denied it. And immediately a rooster crowed.
Are you? There are some days that I read part of God’s story and I don’t feel any hope. I am only reminded of the moments when I, like Peter, failed to demonstrate that I was a Jesus follower ... moments when I could have expressed kindness instead of selfishness, grace instead of judgment, peace instead of anger, patience instead of frustration, faith instead of fear. Thankfully, Jesus doesn’t leave us in those moments of denial; but we will have to wait until tomorrow to relive that hope. For now, my prayer is that this reminder will continue to cultivate the humility my heart needs to become a more passionate Jesus follower.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Ready
This past weekend, Jonathan talked about failure by looking at the life of a famous Jesus follower ... Peter. This week, we are going to walk through five scenes in Peter’s life that surround Jesus’ arrest, death and resurrection. They will reveal an experience that is common to all of us (failure) along with hope for something extraordinary (reconciliation).
This first scene takes place the night Jesus is arrested while He is having dinner with His disciples. Jesus has just predicted that Judas, one of His disciples, would betray Him.
John 13
31 As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, “The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory, and God will be glorified because of him.
32 And since God receives glory because of the Son, he will soon give glory to the Son.
33 Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but you can’t come where I am going.
34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.
35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
36 Simon Peter asked, “Lord, where are you going?” And Jesus replied, “You can’t go with me now, but you will follow me later.”
37 “But why can’t I come now, Lord?” he asked. “I’m ready to die for you.”
38 Jesus answered, “Die for me? I tell you the truth, Peter - before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.
Ready. I believe the statement Peter makes is where Jesus wants us to arrive in our journey of faith ... “I’m ready to die for you”. In other words, I am ready to sacrifice everything for you ... I am ready to surrender everything to you. The problem for Peter, and us, is that it takes a long time to arrive at that place in our journey. There are storms we have to weather and challenges we have to overcome with and decisions we have to wrestle with in our journey that prepare us for that place. Peter thought he was ready; but there was at least one more lesson he had to learn ... humility. He still needed to surrender his pride before he could arrive at the “I’m ready to die for you” stage in his journey. The beautiful irony is that Jesus was preparing to offer the ultimate example in humility and surrender by dying for Peter. If you are journeying toward that place of being ready, pray and ask God to reveal what might be keeping you from being ready and then ask Him to help you surrender it.
This first scene takes place the night Jesus is arrested while He is having dinner with His disciples. Jesus has just predicted that Judas, one of His disciples, would betray Him.
John 13
31 As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, “The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory, and God will be glorified because of him.
32 And since God receives glory because of the Son, he will soon give glory to the Son.
33 Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but you can’t come where I am going.
34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.
35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
36 Simon Peter asked, “Lord, where are you going?” And Jesus replied, “You can’t go with me now, but you will follow me later.”
37 “But why can’t I come now, Lord?” he asked. “I’m ready to die for you.”
38 Jesus answered, “Die for me? I tell you the truth, Peter - before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.
Ready. I believe the statement Peter makes is where Jesus wants us to arrive in our journey of faith ... “I’m ready to die for you”. In other words, I am ready to sacrifice everything for you ... I am ready to surrender everything to you. The problem for Peter, and us, is that it takes a long time to arrive at that place in our journey. There are storms we have to weather and challenges we have to overcome with and decisions we have to wrestle with in our journey that prepare us for that place. Peter thought he was ready; but there was at least one more lesson he had to learn ... humility. He still needed to surrender his pride before he could arrive at the “I’m ready to die for you” stage in his journey. The beautiful irony is that Jesus was preparing to offer the ultimate example in humility and surrender by dying for Peter. If you are journeying toward that place of being ready, pray and ask God to reveal what might be keeping you from being ready and then ask Him to help you surrender it.
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