Today's Reading: Matthew 26: 69-75
**For a simple and good way of Daily Devotion method please click this link: Subject Shifting Devotion.pdf.
Please click this link to read Matthew 26: 69-75
Bible Study
This passage shows at the same time how foolish Peter was to deny Jesus three times. The first time he denied, the second time he swore and denied, the third time he cursed, swore and denied! That was too much, too ugly, and that was Peter, Jesus trusted apostle!
But, at the same time, Peter repented quickly. N.T. Wright says:
Peter's tears at the end of this story are the main thing that distinguish him from Judas in the next chapter. There is all the difference in the world between genuine repentance and mere remorse, as Paul wryly notes in one of his letters to Corinth (2 Cor. 7:10). The one leads to life, the other to death. Peter's tears, shaming, humiliating and devastating though they were, were a sign of life. Judas's anger and bitterness led straight to death.
Bishop Wright also says:
Denying Jesus is such a sad thing to do. And yet we all do it.
A good dinner, plenty of wine. Lots of excitement. Short on sleep but determined to stay in the action. Then a few questions from people we don't even know.
'You're not one of those Jesus-freaks, are you?'
'I mean, nobody here actually believes in Jesus, do they?'
'Well, it's all right to be interested in Jesus, but you don't want to take it to extremes, do you?'
Or perhaps it's more subtle. Where frontal attack fails, the enemy will sneak round to an unlocked side entrance.
'If I don't make it in tomorrow, you will sign the office list for me to say I was there, won't you?'
'Go on - it's just this once and nobody will know.'
'You don't mind making a little bit on the side, do you?'
By those daily traps that Satan puts before us, Bishop Wright gives us vivid examples that we might deny Jesus any time with our awareness or unaware.
Be prepare for such kind of tests! Don't deny Jesus!
But, at the same time, Peter repented quickly. N.T. Wright says:
Peter's tears at the end of this story are the main thing that distinguish him from Judas in the next chapter. There is all the difference in the world between genuine repentance and mere remorse, as Paul wryly notes in one of his letters to Corinth (2 Cor. 7:10). The one leads to life, the other to death. Peter's tears, shaming, humiliating and devastating though they were, were a sign of life. Judas's anger and bitterness led straight to death.
Bishop Wright also says:
Denying Jesus is such a sad thing to do. And yet we all do it.
A good dinner, plenty of wine. Lots of excitement. Short on sleep but determined to stay in the action. Then a few questions from people we don't even know.
'You're not one of those Jesus-freaks, are you?'
'I mean, nobody here actually believes in Jesus, do they?'
'Well, it's all right to be interested in Jesus, but you don't want to take it to extremes, do you?'
Or perhaps it's more subtle. Where frontal attack fails, the enemy will sneak round to an unlocked side entrance.
'If I don't make it in tomorrow, you will sign the office list for me to say I was there, won't you?'
'Go on - it's just this once and nobody will know.'
'You don't mind making a little bit on the side, do you?'
By those daily traps that Satan puts before us, Bishop Wright gives us vivid examples that we might deny Jesus any time with our awareness or unaware.
Be prepare for such kind of tests! Don't deny Jesus!
Let's have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passage of scripture we have just read. Offer this time up to Jesus as you listen to him, while listening to "Gabriel's Oboe"
Spiritual Journal
What I heard from Jesus today is: Foolish denial and true repentance!
What I got from Jesus today is a comfort to release our guilty feeling when we dare to admit that we have fallen into the same trap of Peter to deny Jesus. The most important thing is that whether we have truly repented.
Have you truly repented like what Peter did in today's passage?
Have you truly repented like what Peter did in today's passage?
Dear Lord Jesus,
Lead us to be willing to repent if we have denied you. Help us to stand firm so that we won't deny you again. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
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