Tag / peter

by In Light Of The Cross

Acts 3; At The Temple Gate

I am writing tonight from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Acts of the Apostles Chapter 6

The disciples of Christ had a deep sense of their own inefficiency, and with humiliation and prayer they joined their weakness to His strength, their ignorance to His wisdom, their unworthiness to His righteousness, their poverty to His exhaustless wealth. Thus strengthened and equipped, they hesitated not to press forward in the service of the Master.  {AA 57.1}  

A short time after the descent of the Holy Spirit, and immediately after a season of earnest prayer, Peter and John, going up to the temple to worship, saw at the gate Beautiful a cripple, forty years of age, whose life, from his birth, had been one of pain and infirmity. This unfortunate man had long desired to see Jesus, that he might be healed; but he was almost helpless, and was far removed from the scene of the great Physician’s labors. His pleadings at last induced some friends to bear him to the gate of the temple, but upon arriving there, he found that the One upon whom his hopes were centered, had been put to a cruel death.  {AA 57.2} 

      His disappointment excited the sympathy of those who knew for how long he had eagerly hoped to be healed by Jesus, and daily they brought him to the temple, in order that passers-by might be induced by pity to give him a trifle to relieve his wants. As Peter and John passed, he asked an alms from them. The disciples regarded him compassionately, and Peter said, “Look on us. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none.” As Peter thus declared his poverty, the countenance of the cripple fell; but it grew bright with hope as the apostle continued, “But such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.  {AA 58.1} 

 In this story what Jesus promised is already taking place; Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.Believe me that I [am] in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater [works] than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.  John 14:10-12

 I believe the church is the body of Christ, and through Christ it is capable of perfectly manifesting God’s love and mercy and bring healing from the power of sin and the diseases that are brought on by the consequences of a sinful world.

 When Peter healed the lame man in Acts 3, he could have taken all the credit, and saved himself ridicule for proclaiming the name of Jesus. The Holy Spirit led Peter right back to many of the same leaders who there in the judgment hall when Peter denied Jesus, to escape ridicule. Just like with us, when we fail on one point God forgives us, but also leads us back through the same situation so that we can get the victory on that point and move on. Peter did not fail the second time. This time, when asked by what power this miracle was done, he boldly declared it was by the power of Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord we can accept the forgiveness of Jesus and experience His victory for ourselves, instead of making the same mistakes over and over again! The second time around, Peter lets God’s love and power flow perfectly through him!

You may find more studies and devotionals at In Light Of  The Cross.

by In Light Of The Cross

John 21; One Condition for Discipleship and Service

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

John 21:15   … Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. 

The question that Christ put to Peter was significant. He mentioned only one condition of discipleship and service. “Lovest thou Me?” He said. This is the essential qualification. Though Peter might possess every other, without the love of Christ he could not be a faithful shepherd over the Lord’s flock. Knowledge, benevolence, eloquence, gratitude, and zeal are all aids in the good work; but without the love of Jesus in the heart, the work of the Christian minister will prove a failure.  {Gospel Workers, p. 183} 

by In Light Of The Cross

Luke 5; Jesus Never Leaves The Sinner

I am writing today from the Beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Luke 5:1 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, 

 5:2         And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing [their] nets. 

 5:3         And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. 

 5:4         Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 

 5:5         And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. 

 5:6         And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. 

 5:7         And they beckoned unto [their] partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. 

 5:8         When Simon Peter saw [it], he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 

I continue for find more and more places in Scripture where Jesus does not leave the sinner but where the sinner cannot stand in the presence of God. See my blog on Mark 1, about how it is not God who cannot dwell with sin, but rather it is sin that cannot dwell with God. Jesus did not tell Peter to go away because he was a sinful man, but rather Peter tells Jesus to go away because he was a sinful man. I am so glad Jesus did not leave Peter. He will not leave us either. We may choose to leave Him but He will never leave us.

by In Light Of The Cross

Mark 9; Recognizing Our Loved Ones in Heaven

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Mark  9:1 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power. 

 9:2         And after six days Jesus taketh [with him] Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. 

 9:3         And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. 

 9:4         And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. 

 9:5         And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. 

 9:6         For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid. 

 9:7         And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. 

Jesus promises that some would see the kingdom before they died. At the transfiguration, they saw the kingdom of God and the Son of man as also the Son of God. But in this story I see something else too. While studying with people, many ask me if we will recognize our loved ones in heaven. I assure them they will. The disciples recognized Jesus after the resurrection and we will recognize each other after the resurrection. However, I believe we will also recognize people we have not even met yet! Why do I say that? Well, I may be reading too much into it I don’t know, but I notice in this story that right away Peter recognizes Moses and Elijah. Moses was resurrected after his death according to Jude. Elijah was taken up in a fiery chariot without ever seeing death, according to 2nd Kings 2. Peter never knew Moses and Elijah by sight as they lived hundreds of years before him, but now in the transfiguration, in Jesus’ Kingdom, Peter recognizes two people he had never even met. So I say, yes we will recognize our loved ones and those we have never met before.

by In Light Of The Cross

Mark 8; The Cross Before The Throne

I am writing tonight from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Mark 8 :29 And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ. 

 8:30       And he charged them that they should tell no man of him. 

 8:31       And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and [of] the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 

 8:32       And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. 

 8:33       But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. 

 8:34       And when he had called the people [unto him] with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 

 8:35       For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. 

 8:36       For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 

 8:37       Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 

 8:38       Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. 

Peter could not comprehend or imagine Jesus being crucified. I think this is why Peter was so sure of himself, when later he swore he would never deny Jesus. I think he made that promise while only thinking of Jesus upon a throne, never dreaming Jesus would be crucified on a cross. Jesus rebuked Peter, because Peter was telling Him he did not need to die to self on the cross. Jesus at once recognized this as a message from Satan. Earlier Satan had told Jesus He would not have to die if He would just worship him. If he would, then Satan would give Jesus the world back without Him needing to die. Long before this, Satan spoke through false prophets in the Old Testament, prophesying smooth things that kings longed to hear. The kings would get upset when a real prophet would prophesy about death and destruction, because they did not want to hear it. Peter did not want to hear it either. Peter only wanted smooth things prophesied to him. Jesus, the King of Kings had to overcome where the former kings failed, and be willing to accept a prophecy of death and loss.  Jesus gives Peter a further rebuke, when he tells him that if he is ashamed of these words about the cross, then Jesus would also be ashamed of Him when He comes in glory. Peter, who at the time could only imagine a throne and glory, finally found that glory-in the cross. He who loses his life finds it. Jesus was glorified after he was crucified. Do you want glory and honor and a throne too? Then pick up your cross and follow Jesus in death to self. Find the glory that many Old Testament kings greatly desired, but were never willing to die to self for.

by In Light Of The Cross

Matthew 26; Jesus Called Judas “friend”!

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.  Matthew 26:50

Even after years of study I have no idea what Jesus, in His humanity was going through, in the garden that night He was betrayed. Many things impress me and I would like to share a couple of them here.

When Judas betrayed Jesus, did you notice what Jesus calls him in the verse above? He did not call him a traitor. He did not call him a back stabber. He called him friend. I don’t think Jesus was just trying to be nice either. Jesus always called things the way He saw them. He was straight forward even with the Pharisees calling them whited sepulchers and brood of vipers. So when Jesus called Judas friend I am sure as far as He was concerned they were friends. Jesus knew His war was not with flesh and blood but against Satan himself. Jesus looked past how Satan was using Judas and He saw a friend. Let us accept the invitation in 2 Peter 1:4 and partake of the divine nature, and look past the faults of those around us and only see friends as Christ did on the night He was betrayed.

In the next verse we read, “And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out [his] hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear.”

 

In Peter’s zeal for the right he cuts off the ear of a soldier arresting Jesus. We read how Jesus heals the ear and rebukes Peter who meant well but just went too far. Have I ever spoke a word in the defense of truth that hurt someone needlessly? I am afraid I have. I have asked Jesus to do for me what He did for Peter and heal the person that I needlessly wounded. Even in Gethsemane Jesus never stopped healing. He is a healing Jesus!

 

by In Light Of The Cross

Matthew 17; Faith in God’s Love

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

In a few of my previous posts I have pointed out that sin is in effect, saying, we don’t believe God really loves us.  We sin, not when we lose faith in God’s power as much as when we lose faith in God’s love. This is clearly seen in Matthew 17. Jesus takes Peter, James and John to the mountain top to see the transfiguration. Meanwhile the other disciples are left behind. They felt left out because Jesus did not take them too. What they did not realize was, that Jesus had left them behind so that they cold minister to a boy harassed by an evil spirit. However, they were unable to deliver the boy of the evil spirit, and Jesus had to do it Himself when he got back. When asked why they could not do it, Jesus responded, “Because you have so little faith.” But their lack of faith was not in God’s power but in His love. They doubted God’s love for them when they were not privileged to go to the transfiguration. They did not realize that God did love them and left them behind so they could do something special for Him.

 

God has you right where you are today because He loves you and wants to do something special through you.

Other posts on this topic:

 

https://christianservant.wordpress.com/2010/08/08/victory-of-sin-what-is-sin-redemption-in-romans-lesson-7/

 

https://christianservant.wordpress.com/2010/12/03/matthew-4-faith-in-gods-love/

by In Light Of The Cross

Matthew 16; Good Questions

 

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”  They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”  “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:13-16

 

After Jesus asks the disciples what everyone else thought about Him, He asks them what they thought about Him. Often we are tempted to wonder what others think about us, when we should be asking Jesus what He thinks about us. In Revelation 3:5 Jesus says if we are overcomers through Him, He will confess our name before the Father. Isn’t that an amazing thought; Your name rolling off the tongue of the Son of God before the Father on His throne! Shouldn’t our thoughts be centered on what Jesus is saying about us and not man? When wondering what others say about us, shouldn’t we turn and ask Jesus the same question He asked His disciples, “But who do you say that I am?”

 

I heard the title of a book that I have never got to read yet, but I think just the title says it all. The book is titled, “What you think of me is none of my business.” Really that is true. Let people think what they want. There are millions of opinions flying through the atmosphere about a million different things.  The only Person whose opinion matters is Jesus. What Jesus thinks about me is my business. What others think about me is none of my business.

by In Light Of The Cross

Matthew 14; Walking on Water

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

When we read about Jesus walking on the water in Matthew 14, we often think that is something He was able to do only because He was God. I remember looking at a greeting card a while back that read, “Some people say I think too much of you, just because I worship the water you walk on.” I have even joked about walking on water because years ago in Oklahoma, I walked across a frozen lake. All joking aside though, Jesus did not do anything that He did not also make possible for us to do as well. Jesus rose raised the dead but so did Peter in Acts 9. Jesus shares His victories over sin and evil with us, and lets us experience the same victories in our lives.

Notice in John 14:10 Jesus attributes His success to His relationship with the Father.  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

 

Notice in John 14:12 that when we enter into a relationship with Him and the Father that the same success is possible for us.   Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater [works] than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

 

In the story of Jesus and Peter walking on the water in Matthew 14, folks are quick to point out that Peter started to fall in the water when He took his eyes off Jesus, but they fail to point out that he was walking on water, just like Jesus was, so long as he kept His eyes on Jesus. Peter did walk on water! Before Jesus is recorded walking on water, earlier in chapter 14 we see Him spending quality time in prayer alone with the Father. I wonder, if Peter had spent that time in prayer, could he too have walked without falling into the water? Before we can begin to walk like Jesus we must first learn to pray like Jesus.

 

For a Desire of Ages study on how we can experience the same victories Jesus had click here.

by In Light Of The Cross

He is Risen!

I am writing this morning from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Happy Resurrection Morning! When Jesus rose from the dead so did all of our hopes and dreams. As we contemplate this incredible event here are some of my thoughts.

It’s a good thing I’m not Jesus. I would have done things so differently. First, when I had risen I would have gone straight to the leaders in Jerusalem and tell them I was back and now they were done in for not believing in me. Not Jesus, He never did that. I guess He had nothing to prove to them. Instead He appears to a former prostitute and tells her He is going to heaven to live forever as her Savior. That’s the thing about Jesus, He seemed to spend all His time impressing the wrong people if you know what I mean. How can little children, publicans and sinners help you get ahead in life? I guess getting ahead in life was not his aim. His aim was helping people.

Not only does Jesus not have anything to prove to the religious leaders of His day, but He also seemed to have a bad memory after His resurrection. He tells the women to tell Peter He is alive and will see him soon. Peter had denied Him. Jesus calls his betrayer “friend” and is given His life back so He can live His life saving people who denied Him!

Romans 6:3-6 tells us that baptism, not Sunday observance is the memorial to the resurrection. We too die to self and begin a new life. Our new life can be like Christ’s life! Imagine living your life with nothing to prove. Baseball season is starting and there are a lot of guys out there who will be hitting homeruns to prove why they should be given bigger contracts and be the league MVP at the end of the year. Some guys though, will be hitting homeruns to help their team win the game. Why do you want to hit the homeruns in your life? If you believe that Jesus died and rose again and behold the love that makes us children of God then you too, have nothing to prove. Just bask in God’s love.

If we are risen like Christ, then we too can go to all the world and tell them Jesus is risen and wants to meet us soon! This includes the Peters and Judas’ in my life. Joseph was born with an ambition to be great. After being sold as a salve in Egypt that dream died. He was given a new life in Egypt though, but He realized that the dream God had for Him was not to rule over those brothers who had hurt him, but rather to save them!  He easily forgave them because after all, he was a new creature. The old man that they betrayed and denied did not exist anymore! He became a new man that had never been hurt. His dreams and ambitions were resurrected, but his dream and ambition is to save others and not himself.

When Jesus rose He brought your dreams and ambitions back to life. Everything is new again. Enjoy your new life! Tell everyone, including Peter about your new life!

Here is a collection of Easter devotionals.