Daily Devotional For Thursday, April 18, 2024

If is Terrific Thursday, also called “thirstday because you are one day from the weekend.. One of the numerous truths I love about Jesus is how He sees and believes in the potential in us rather than just remembering our failures and sins. A good example, is the disciples Jesus called. Most of them were rough, red-neck, profane fishermen. They had a lot of rough edges that Jesus would eventually smooth out. 

Take the Apostle Peter for example. Jesus told Peter that he would deny knowing Jesus 3 times. We see this in John 13:31-38:

“As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, “The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into His glory, and God will be glorified because of Him. (32) And since God receives glory because of the Son, He will give hHs own glory to the Son, and He will do so at once. (33) Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for Me, but you can’t come where I am going. (34) So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. (35) Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples.” (36) Simon Peter asked, “Lord, where are You going?” And Jesus replied, “You can’t go with Me now, but you will follow Me later.” (37) “But why can’t I come now, Lord?” he asked. “I’m ready to die for You.” (38) Jesus answered, “Die for Me? I tell you the truth, Peter—before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know Me” (NLT).

I really like Apostle Peter because he is a mirror that reflects all of us. Peter made such a bold and brash statement that he was ready to die for Jesus, when in reality he was not. When Jesus said these words to Peter, I wonder what Peter thought and felt? And you know that 24 hours later, Peter not only denied knowing Jesus, he brought a curse upon himself. 

Peter’s denying Jesus was such a pivotal event that all 4 Gospels record it. Peter’s first denial was not planned. He was caught off guard by the servant girl who pointed him out. Embarrassed and eager to escape, Peter denied, left the fire and went out on the porch. Yet, his escape would be short-lived. This time the servant girl is joined by several others in accusing him of being a disciple. Unlike Peter’s first act of being coward, this one was premeditated because he was not caught off guard as before. 

Peter’s third denial comes on the heel of a servant of the high priest who recognized Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane when he cut off the ear of one of the servants who had come to help arrest Jesus. This time, Peter goes to the extreme to distance himself from being affiliated with Jesus. The Bible says he began to bring a curse on himself. The Greek New Testament word used here is [ἀναθεματίζω. anathematizo] and from which the English word “anathematize” is derived) indicates that Peter pronounced a curse of divine judgment on his own head if he were lying. Children might say, “Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye” when being emphatic with the truth. 

The verb to swear (a form of [ὀμνύω, omnuō) refers to a solemn pledge of truthfulness. What began as a knee-jerk reaction to the inquiry of a servant girl had escalated into a premeditated tirade of dogmatic deceit and disloyalty, punctuated with cursing and swearing, that echoed throughout the courtyard. This is the pre-resurrection Peter. The post-resurrection Peter is unafraid to preach and take a stand for Jesus Christ. What changes Jesus made in this Peter’s life is nothing more than miraculous. 

It is an act of grace that Jesus Christ is less concerned about our background and failures and more focused on using us in the present and the future. Jesus didn’t just see a man who got cross and cursed in his denial of Jesus. Jesus saw a man who would eventually be crucified upside down for being a committed disciple of Jesus. Sometimes, one act can define us, but Jesus did not let that happen with Peter. Sometimes our memories are long and we never let a person get out from under a mistake they made. Sometimes people will always bring up what a person did in their past or how they failed or sin. Sadly, this is their attempt to mark this person as being worse than themselves. Jesus. Christ is long on grace and overdoing on restoration. He loves to turn us into new creatures from the old we were.

Pastor Scott Sauls tells a story about an unnamed nursery worker who bumped into a first time visitor named Janet who had dropped her two boys off in the nursery. Sauls writes:

“After the service, while Janet was waiting in the nursery line to retrieve her boys, one of the nursery workers quietly approached her and said that there had been some issues. Both of her boys had picked fights with other children. Also, one of her boys had broken several of the toys that belonged to the church. In front of a room filled with other children and their parents, Janet scolded her boys and then screamed in a bellowing voice, "S—!" Deeply ashamed and feeling like a failure, Janet got her boys and skulked out of the building. No doubt, we were never going to see her again.

But that unnamed nursery volunteer called the church office that Monday and asked if I could check the visitor notebook to see if Janet had left her contact information. She had. I gave the nursery worker Janet's address, and unbeknownst to me, she sent Janet a note. The note read something like this:

Dear Janet, I'm so glad that you and your boys visited our church. Oh, and about that little exchange when you picked them up from the nursery? Let's just say that I found it so refreshing—that you would feel freedom to speak with an honest vocabulary like that in church. I am really drawn to honesty, and you are clearly an honest person. I hope we can become friends. Love, Unnamed Nursery Worker.

The nursery worker and Janet did in fact become friends. Janet came back the next Sunday. And the Sunday after that. And the Sunday after that. And eventually, Janet became the nursery director for the church. Later on I would discover that when Janet started coming to our church she was a recovering heroin addict” (Source: Scott Sauls, Befriend, pp. 29-30). 

Just like Jesus gave Peter what he needed (i.e., grace, forgiveness and a second chance) rather than what he deserved (i.e., kicked out of the band of disciples, and just like that lady in the nursery gave that recovering heroin addict what she needed (i.e., grace), rather than what she deserved (i.e., being band from the nursery forever), we need to give people what they need, not what they deserve. Why? Because Jesus does that every day with us.

Questions To Consider

1. Is there anything in you past that you believe disqualifies you to serve the Lord? Why?
2. Jesus not only told Peter he would deny Him 3, times, which means, Jesus was not shocked when Peter denied Jesus 3 times, Jesus restored Peter to being an Apostle afterwards. Read John 21:12-19 in your Bible. Jesus said to Peter in John 21:19, “Follow Me.” What does this tell you about how your background is less of an issue for God than your foreground?
3. In your conversations, whenever a specific person’s name comes up, do you or other people mention the failure of that person? Why? Compare the grace God gives to you. How much grace should you give to that person and why?
4. What do you think your life would be like if Jesus gave you what you deserved, rather than what you needed?

Scripture To Meditate On: Colossians 3:13, “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others”  (NLT).

Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus, thank You that you do not see me only for who I really am, but who I can be in You. Thank You for the grace, mercy and forgiveness you have given me. Jesus, You said in Luke 12:48, “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required” (ESV). Since You have given my lots of grace through my life You expect me to do that with others. Please give me a love for people like You. In Jesus’ name, Amen!!”

I love you Southside!— Pastor Kelly