Jesus Is Coming. Are You Ready?

The Example of Peter

I love the apostle Peter. He was passionate and real. He attempted big things, succeeded to great heights and had great failures. But he was never mediocre.

When Christ called Peter as a disciple he immediately gave up everything he had every known, threw down his nets and followed this guy he had never before met. Then when Jesus told him to launch his boat out into the deep to catch fish Peter immediately followed and did so. You know what’s amazing about this? Peter was a life long fisherman. He had been fishing this spot all night and caught nothing. Jesus was not a fisherman and had not been fishing this spot all night. Peter knew there were no fish there but he, in all his human wisdom, did not argue with Jesus. I want to be like that, submitting to the word of Jesus even if it does not make sense to my human mind.

Though he was zealous to follow God in every way, Peter still struggled with his humanness. He argued over who would be the greatest in the kingdom of God. He was a tool of the enemy trying to keep Jesus from His death. Though He followed Jesus with reckless abandon, when left to his own devices he still saw things with his eyes and not with his spirit. He saw things as they fit his little world and his ideas. But Jesus saw each detail in the perspective of all eternity. He saw that sometimes horrible things must happen so that God’s end purpose could be worked. He viewed human life not from a moment but from the lens of the entire life. Oh that God would give us that insight and faith.

Then Peter failed. He had been in close intimite contact with Jesus himself for 3+ years and in his best friend’s deepest hour of need Peter denied he ever even knew Him. Oh the pain to Jesus. But oh the pain to Peter. Can you imagine what it would have been like to live with yourself after that? The utter disgrace, humiliation and shame to know that you are the kind of person that could do that to your best friend. Oh man, that would be painful beyond belief.

But precious Jesus brought about restoration for Peter. As Peter had denied Him three times, Christ asked him three times if he loved Him. And after lovingly accepting Peter back, Christ commissioned him to “feed my sheep.”

God has a plan and a purpose for each of us. We have natural gifts and talents and they take us a certain distance. But in order to grow beyond our giftings we must reach that point of absolute surrender to God. We must reach the point where we submit what our humanity knows is true, where we submit all of our fears and failures and all of our giftings. God does not need us. But He wants us. When we let go and trust Him, He will transform us and blow us past the human limits of our natural giftings. And together we will change the world!

These thoughts are taken from Absolute Surrender by Andrew Murray. It’s a most excellent book that everyone should read at least once in their lives.




Happy Resurrection Day: He’s Alive by Dolly Parton

This is a great old Dolly Parton classic from the 70s. There’s no day more important than this day in all of history. He’s alive! He’s alive! He’s alive and I’m forgiven. Heaven’s gates are open wide. Happy Resurrection!

Thank you Jesus! The Son of God became man. He lived a perfect life. He was crucified, dead and buried. He rose from the dead and defeated sin so that we can be foregiven and spend eternity in heaven. If you do not understand this or it is not reality in your life please email me at [email protected] and I will gladly explain it more fully. Following Jesus will be the best decision you ever make.

Jesus, Judas and Accusation

Judas is the most famous betrayer in history. Leading up to Good Friday I’ve been thinking about the relationship of Jesus Christ the Son of God and the man who turned Him over to the enemy who wanted to destroy Him.

This part of the Bible always makes me cry. Jesus was betrayed by one of his close personal friends. Judas was not just part of the crowd following Jesus from town to town. Judas was someone Jesus spent day in and day out with for 3 years. Judas knew Jesus’ heart like few others did. Judas had even given up everything to follow the Call. These men were friends. They ate together, hung out together, saw God move together. How could a man that close to the Son of God betray a friend…with a kiss? Every year this question gets me.

Lately, however, I’ve been pondering a point I didn’t pay attention to previously. The gospels point out that Jesus really knew all along that Judas was going to betray Him. It did not come as a surprise. It was not just revealed to him at the Last Supper. For 3 years Jesus chose to share his life with someone he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt would turn Him over to be beaten, mocked, scorned, humiliated and ultimately killed.

Jesus was 100% right and was utterly and completely wronged by this friend. There was no miscommunication here, no misunderstanding. Yet Jesus chose to walk side by side with His betrayer. He stood and took it while He was spat upon and falsely accused by someone He was laying His life down for. One of His best friends denied he even knew Him not once, but 3 times. This did not come as a surprise to Jesus either. Jesus was fully man. All of these things absolutely hurt. And being right did not make the them less painful. Probably everything in Him rose up and wanted to respond. But He stood in silence. And was falsely convicted. And was put to death. And as He breathed His dying breath He felt forsaken. The pain of it all was so overwhelming that a perfectly sinless man who knew His purpose in life was to die for all mankind felt, just as He was about to accomplish everything His life had been for, that maybe it was all for naught. Talk about despair. Everything He was and believed in was publicly mocked and it really looked like He was a fraud when He died. All of the accusations looked true.

But looks were deceiving
But accusations were false
But life conquered death

And yet even today there are clearly 2 camps. Those who believe Him and believe He was vindicated and those you do not and believe he got His just deserves. After 2000+ years His name is not YET cleared in large parts of the world.

Accusation is just accusation. Accusation is not truth. Maybe God will vindicate the accusations, maybe He will not. That is His business not ours. Our business is to let God defend us and to work His purposes and plans from whatever He brings us to. If He brings us to it, He will see us through it.