As Peter was below in the courtyard, one of
the servant-girls of the high priest came, and seeing Peter warming himself,
she looked at him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Nazarene.” But he
denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking
about.” And he went out onto the porch. The servant-girl saw him, and began
once more to say to the bystanders, “This is one of them!” But again he
denied it. And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter,
“Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean too.” But he began
to curse and swear, “I do not know this man you are talking about!” Immediately
a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had made the
remark to him, “Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.”
And he began to weep.
Mark 14: 66-72
Thoughts~
I read quite a few commentaries on this passage of
scripture and what I gathered from them all is this: While Peter loved Jesus,
he wasn’t completely ready to follow Him with his whole heart. After all, the
Lord had not been crucified and resurrected yet, so Peter, like the other
disciples, did not completely get that Jesus was going to not only be crucified
but He would overcome death. Peter loved Jesus, but, his faith was still
growing. When he wept, it was, according to all of the commentaries, an act of
repentance.
There were times as a brand new believer that I was
totally gung-ho about my faith and other times I didn’t share it for fear of
ridicule. I truly loved Jesus way back then, but nothing like I do now.
As a follower of His for nearly 44 years, my faith has grown and I have matured. Today, I am strong and would never, I pray, deny the Lord. However, over the years there were times I was silent about my faith. A quiet denial. Maybe the worst kind of all.
As a follower of His for nearly 44 years, my faith has grown and I have matured. Today, I am strong and would never, I pray, deny the Lord. However, over the years there were times I was silent about my faith. A quiet denial. Maybe the worst kind of all.
Action~
I have a small photo of a rooster in my cell phone as a
reminder to stay true to the Lord, to show boldness without being obnoxious. You
may print this rooster out on this page or find one as a simple reminder to
you. It’s amazing how a little reminder encourages us to stay strong in our
faith and share it in both words and actions.
Pray~
Lord, search my heart and show me if I ever, in any
way, deny You. Please forgive my acts of denial and strengthen my faith as I
lean on You and pour my heart into Your word.
Trusting the Lord,
Becky
Dear Becky, I have a friend who has posted that he is an atheist. There were comments about this and his brother who was one, also, professing his Faith. I didn't write anything. I wasn't sure what to write. I asked God to forgive me and prayed for my friends soul. Isn't it a coincidence that this is what your post was. Learning to grow.
ReplyDeleteJennie
Sometimes, Jennie, we don't have words. God always forgives our silence and now next time you will have the words, right? Sometimes it's the simplest thing to even say "I believe in Jesus."
ReplyDeleteYou ARE growing, Jennie!
<><
Becky