2023-08-04
Luke 22:61 NKJV
The Bible says, “Peter remembered the word of the Lord… ‘Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.’ So Peter went out and wept bitterly” (vv. 61-62 NKJV).
What is it that saves us? Our good works? No, it’s our faith in Christ. “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV). Now you understand the words of Christ to Peter: “I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail” (Luke 22:32 NKJV). When you have faith in Christ, you can bounce back. When it comes to God’s grace, there is no statute of limitations.
Peter denied Jesus not once but repeatedly. Perhaps that’s your story too! This wasn’t a moment that Peter would be proud of but an experience he would grow stronger as a result of. When someone fails badly, we say that they “crash and burn.” And when something is burned, all that’s left is ashes. But we serve a God of restoration who gives “beauty for ashes” (See Isaiah 61:3).
If you had seen Peter swearing that he didn’t know the Lord, would you have picked him to be your pastor? God did. He made him the head of the New Testament church. We tell people, “Don’t get into messes” and “Don’t sin.” And that’s good advice – God doesn’t want us sinning. But we should really say, “Don’t walk headfirst into sin when you know better. But when you fail, as you surely will, turn to God and He will restore you and use your failure to strengthen you.”
Soul food: Deut 8-10; Mark 2:13-22; Ps 78:56-64; Prov 16:33
Lukas 22:61 NLV
Die Bybel sê: ‘…Petrus het die Here se woorde onthou… ‘Voordat die haan nog vannag kraai, sal jy drie keer ontken dat jy My ken.’ En hy het buitetoe gegaan en onbedaarlik gehuil’ (verse 61-62 NLV).
Wat red ons? Ons goeie werke? Nee, ons geloof in Christus red ons. ‘Dit is mos dié onverdiende goedheid wat julle gered het toe julle tot geloof gekom het. En julle geloof kom nie uit julleself nie, maar is ‘n gawe van God. Dit is nie die gevolg van julle dade nie. Niemand kan daaroor grootpraat nie’ (Efesiërs 2:8-9 NLV). Nou verstaan jy Christus se woorde aan Petrus: ‘maar Ek het vir jou gebid dat jou geloof jou nie moet begewe nie…’ (Lukas 22:32 NLV).
Wanneer jy geloof in Christus het, kan jy herstel word. Daar is geen vervaldatum as dit by God se genade kom nie. Petrus het Jesus nie net een keer verloën nie, maar herhaaldelik. Miskien is dit ook jou verhaal! Dit was nie ‘n oomblik waarop Petrus trots sou wees nie, maar ‘n ervaring waaruit hy sterker sou stap. Ons dien ‘n God van herstel wat vreugde in die plek van droefheid gee (sien Jesaja 61:3).
Sou jy Petrus as jou pastoor gekies het nadat jy gesien het hoe hy volgehou het dat hy nie die Here ken nie? God het. Hy het hom die hoof van die kerk in die Nuwe Testament gemaak. Ons sê vir mense: ‘Moenie ‘n gemors maak nie’ en ‘Moenie sondig nie.’ Dis goeie raad – God wil nie hê dat ons moet sondig nie. Wat ons egter moet sê is: ‘Moenie kop eerste in sonde inloop wanneer jy van beter weet nie. Wanneer jy egter misluk, soos jy sekerlik sal, draai na God toe en Hy sal jou herstel en jou mislukking gebruik om jou te versterk.’
Sielskos: Deut 8-10; Mark 2:13-22; Ps 78:56-64; Spr 16:33
2023-08-03
Luke 22:31 KJV
Jesus knew Peter would deny Him, yet He called him to be His disciple, saying: “Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren” (vv. 31-32).
The mistakes you make and the messes you create usually don’t happen by accident but by choice. Yet they don’t put you beyond the reach of God’s grace. The secret of victory is to let God use your mistakes to develop you rather than let Satan use them to destroy you. Note the words “Satan hath desired to have you.” Satan wants to take back what he lost – you. When you doubt, he has the power to bring you down; you’re setting yourself up to fail.
Have you ever seen wheat going through a threshing process? It’s not a pretty sight. And when it happens in your life, it doesn’t feel good. So the question is, if Peter, one of Christ’s handpicked disciples, could fail, how much more likely is it to happen to you? And when it does, what do you suppose the Lord wants to accomplish through it?
Today your life may be a mess, but if you turn to God, He can make something beautiful out of it. And one more thought: Jesus told Peter, “I have prayed for thee.” Today, Jesus is praying for you. “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1 KJV). So, if you have fallen, Jesus will lift you up and restore you.
Soul food: Deut 5-7; Mark 2:1-12; Ps 78:40-55; Prov 16:32
Lukas 22:31 NLV
Jesus het geweet dat Petrus Hom sou verloën, tog het Hy hom steeds geroep om sy dissipel te wees en gesê: ‘…die Satan het ernstig geëis om julle soos koring te kan sif, maar Ek het vir jou gebid dat jou geloof jou nie moet begewe nie. As jy weer tot inkeer gekom het, moet jy jou medegelowiges gaan ondersteun’ (verse 31-32 NLV).
Die foute wat jy maak en die gemors waarin jy jou bevind gebeur gewoonlik nie per ongeluk nie, maar deur keuses wat jy maak. Tog plaas dit jou nie buite bereik van God se genade nie. Die geheim tot oorwinning is om God toe te laat om jou foute te gebruik om jou te ontwikkel, eerder as om Satan toe te laat om dit te gebruik om jou te vernietig.
Let op die woorde: ‘…die Satan het ernstig geëis om julle soos koring te kan sif’. Satan wil dit wat hy verloor het, terughê – vir jou. Wanneer jy twyfel, het hy die mag om jou te laat val; jy stel jouself oop om te misluk. Die vraag is dus: as Petrus, een van Christus se dissipels wat Hy self uitgekies het, kon faal, hoeveel te meer gaan dit waarskynlik met jou gebeur? Wanneer dit gebeur, wat veronderstel jy wil die Here daardeur bereik?
Jou lewe mag dalk vandag ‘n gemors wees, maar as jy na God toe draai, kan Hy iets moois daaruit maak. Jesus het vir Petrus gesê: ‘…Ek het vir jou gebid…’ Jesus bid vandag vir jou. ‘…As iemand egter sonde doen, ons het ‘n Helper by die Vader wat ons saak stel, Jesus Christus, die regverdige’ (1 Johannes 2:1 NLV). As jy dus geval het, sal Jesus jou optel en jou weer herstel.
Sielskos: Deut 5-7; Mark 2:1-12; Ps 78:40-55; Spr 16:32
2023-08-02
Proverbs 3:2 NIV
By the year 2030, one in five of us will be seventy years of age or older. That’s about 20 percent of the world’s population. Millions of us will live to be a hundred or more. When asked at his birthday party how he felt about turning eighty, President Dwight D. Eisenhower replied, “It sure does beat the alternative!”
Anita Bogan died in 2007 at the ripe old age of 106. Her obituary in the Los Angeles Times read: “Blessed with good health and a sound mind, Bogan spent most of her old age doing what she wanted to do, with a feisty, what’s-age-got-to-do-with-it attitude. In the decades following her 80th year, she created a non-profit foundation to build senior housing… opened a floral shop, played golf daily… took cruises to celebrate her… birthdays… and inspired people. On Bogan’s 100th birthday, the Kern County Board of Supervisors declared an ‘Anita Bogan Day.'” By her attitude toward life, Anita changed the way people around her viewed aging.
And the Bible doesn’t just promise long life, it promises quality life. “My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity” (vv. 1-2 NIV). “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For through wisdom your days will be many, and years will be added to your life” (Proverbs 9:10-11 NIV). The secret of enjoying the aging process is to build a close relationship with God and live according to His principles.
Soul food: Deut 3-4; Mark 1:35-45; Ps 78:32-39; Prov 16:31
