Category: Follow

The God of All Restoration

Posted on by Dorci

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To Him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 5:10-11

I’ve been reading through 1 Peter again, but this time more through the eyes of Peter.  Precious Peter.

The man who was given three chances to pray along with Jesus on the night He was betrayed, instead fell asleep and three times fell into temptation.

He had looked into Jesus’ eyes and said he would be the lone faithful holdout among everyone else on earth…and then denied Him the very next day.

He had gone so far as to tell Jesus would rather die with Him than deny Him…then denied Him with an oath.

He had impulsively cut an ear off one of the high priest’s servants when they came to arrest Jesus, and then fell so fast and so hard that that very day he called down curses and emphatically swore on oath that he…did…not…know…the…Man.

And then a rooster crowed, and Jesus stopped everything and looked into his eyes. 

Peter fled, found a solitary place and wept bitterly.

It must have seemed like an eternity from that moment until the moment after Jesus had risen from the dead and met them on the beach with fish frying over a fire and Jesus once again looked him in the eye,  asking him not once, but three times, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?” John 21:15-17

 

And three times Peter answered yes.

And in that moment Jesus restored him with his new assignment, saying “Feed my sheep.” (John 21:17) And then the command “Follow Me.” (John 21:19)

And Peter became a fisher of men.

The man who had been so filled with pride before became the man who wrote “be self-controlled.” (1 Peter 1:13)

The man who had let fear rule in his heart is the same man who would later write “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.” (1 Peter 13:14-17)

Peter knew true suffering.  Those days he spent with guilt and shame, far from his friend, far from God, far from forgiveness, were agonizing. He probably spent much of those days with his head hanging down looking at the ground, or into the sea, as he resigned himself to his old life of fishing for fish.  Jesus was gone; his life with Him was over. Simon Peter discovered there is no greater suffering than to be separated from God.

Maybe circumstances in your life have changed and you’re feeling like a failure.  Maybe they’ve left you on the sidelines. Maybe you think God’s done with you.

Let me tell you something: He isn’t.  He wasn’t done with Peter and He’s not done with you.

He’s using circumstances to mature you, to perfect you, to make you wholly dependent on Him. And when the time is right, with His resurrection power, He will restore you. 

You are His domain, His glory.  He started the work and He will complete it. Hold onto to the hope that Peter discovered was not a vain hope.

Be careful not to fill that heartache with something less than God’s perfect will, something of this earth.  Don’t go back to fishing. Keep waiting and filling your heart with truth, hope and His promises. 

Ultimate restoration will come for all of us who trust in Him when we see our Savior face to face.  As long as we’re on this side of heaven and away from the Lord we will feel a longing to be with Him, to be restored body and soul.  In the meantime, keep following Christ on the narrow road.

He’s coming back soon!

Grace and peace,

 

Less of Me, More of Him

Posted on by Dorci

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

“Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.” 1 Peter 2:16

Something isn’t a sin just because God says so. It’s a sin because it opposes the very nature and character of God. The more we allow the Spirit of God to live in and through us, the more we will exhibit His nature and give in less to ours.

The High Road

Posted on by Dorci

It takes a very humble and very willing servant of Yeshua, the Everlasting God, to put one foot in front of the other and walk the road high enough to pray in agreement with these words. For the sake of these souls – both the lost whom Christ loved and died for as well as for us, and for those who would be their next victims, I pray we would each examine our hearts and be willing to walk that high road, following closely behind our Savior.

Halfhearted Won’t Do

Posted on by Dorci

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  Jeremiah 29:13

Have you ever had someone come in the room and try talking to you when you’re in the middle of watching tv?  You try listening to what’s being said but half your attention is still on your show.  You end up either missing what’s going on on the tube (that’s what we called it in the old days – the “tube”), or you miss most of what was said, and you end up nodding your head, pretending you heard, or you have to fess up and say “What did you say?”.

God says we will find Him when we seek Him with our whole heart.  Why?  Why can’t we seek Him with part of our heart?  Because then the rest of our heart is seeking after something else, or many somethings else.

Our attention would be divided, and our God’s is a still, small voice.

He has visions to give, wisdom to impart, paths to share, but He won’t compete with the world.  He won’t compete with us. There is room for only one throne in the heart of each person.  If we’re on it, God can’t be.  But when we get down, all the way down, get rid of the distractions, and let God have His rightful place, then we’re in the position to hear Him.

Then we’ll find Him.  And that’s where the real treasure is. 

Grace and peace,

Never Say Never

Posted on by Dorci

Jesus and His friends had just finished eating Passover supper, where Jesus revealed to them that Judas would betray Him.  I wonder at the thoughts that ran through the minds of the eleven, perhaps looking at Judas in horror and judgment, saying to themselves they would never do that.

Jesus then used the bread and the cup to remind them again that He was about to give up His body and His blood as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins.  He looked into their eyes and urged them “…do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

“When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Mount of Olives

Then Jesus told them, ‘This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written:

‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.’ (Zechariah 13:7)

Peter replied, ‘Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.’

‘Truly I tell you,’ Jesus answered, ‘this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.’

But Peter declared, ‘Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.’ And all the other disciples said the same.

Matthew 26:31-35

They stood at the Mount of Olives – a mountain ridge that held not only olive groves, but cemeteries, as well.  Surely there the gravity of the circumstances would sink into their hearts.  And suddenly He was telling them that not only would Judas betray them, but the rest of them would, too.

The disciples’ response to Him showed they still trusted in themselves over Jesus and over the prophecy laid out in God’s Word.  It was this thinking – their pride, their self-sufficiency, their leaning on their own understanding – that led them to fall away.

They had allowed the seeds of pride sin to be planted in their minds and they were budding.  Soon they would see how watering those seeds with pride and fear would quickly grow them into weeds that were out of control.

Never say, “I would never do that…” Never judge another person’s actions and say “I would never…”

The Lord knows what we are capable of.  He warns us today the way He warned his friends that night. He tells us to “Be alert. Be watchful. Be prayerful. Be humble.  Be sober in your thinking of yourselves.”

If we haven’t done or said something that shocked us then we haven’t yet faced the kind of overwhelming fear that could lead us to betraying Christ.

But times are changing fast. It should come as no surprise to anyone that conditions are becoming more and more hostile toward Believers.  What are we willing to give up to follow Christ?  Our friends? Our family? Our reputations? Our livelihood?  Our freedom?

We have yet to face anywhere near the kind of pressure the disciples faced on the night they ran and hid and denied ever knowing Christ.

They all meant what they said that night as they stood among the olive trees, burial caves and tombstones, but in just 24 hours they would come to find out just how shallow and immature their faith still was.

But faith grows in the face of trouble.

Of course Jesus knew who and what they were, that they were still spiritual babes.  He would give them another chance to heed His warning, as God’s mercy often does.  He would lead them to the garden, taking Peter, James and John even closer.

Grow closer, my friends.  Don’t wait until the enemy makes it personal…makes you choose.  Choose Him now.  Be resolute to walk with Him all the way to the cross.

Tomorrow: The Garden