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Tag Archives: Peter

Peter & John — Matthew 4:18-22

26 Aug

18 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. 19 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 20 And they left their nets at once and followed him.

21 A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. 22 They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.

Matthew 4:18-22

 

Dear God, I’ve decided I’d like to learn more about Peter and John, how they related to you, and how they compare with each other. To that end, I’m going to start a series where I look at all of the Bible stories that include them as well as the books that they wrote. They were very different people, and yet they were both critical to your earthly ministry and the formation of the church thereafter.  

In this case, I just noticed how Matthew captures these stories. The first people you called were sets of brothers. It wasn’t Matthew, working alone as a tax collector. It was Simon (later renamed Peter—I’ll need to get deeper into that) and Andrew, and then James and John (I wonder if Matthew listed each set of brothers by age or by his perception of their importance). I wonder if it was easier for them to break with their families if they went along with their brothers. Did Simon go along more willingly since Andrew went along too? James with John?  

It can be hard to feel like I am doing the absolute right thing according to your will and feel at odds with your family. I have several examples of my own life, but one example I’ve been thinking about lately is the example of Joseph and Mary. I’m sure their parents were very disappointed with how their lives were turning out. Did Joseph have living parents, and did they express any disapproval to him? After all, he married a pregnant girl and moved with her to Egypt. On the surface, it’s a disastrous result for your child back then. And then the family moved back to Nazareth with Jesus still a boy. Did Jesus understand isolation from this? Did he intentionally call the brothers together for their sake because he saw something in his dad’s experience? I know that I am making all kinds of wild guesses here, and that can be unsafe. But it just seems interesting that Matthew’s first recording of Jesus’ called disciples were brothers.  

Father, give me the courage to do what needs to be done at any given time, regardless of who joins me in it. But do a few things for me, please. Help me to really be sure it is you I am following in it. And please help me to be completely united with my wife through any of it. Speak to her the same thing you are speaking to me at any given time so that me might be one soul, mind, heart, and body at all times.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 26, 2018 in Matthew, Peter and John

 

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My Utmost for His Highest

23 Aug

Dear God, I was reading a friend’s blog this morning–it’s a weekly that I never miss. He talked about finding work that is within your gifting and how there is really nothing quite like it. I resonated with it. I’m in a job right now that I really do love, and my skillset seems to fit what’s required of me to be effective. It stretches me. It stretches my faith. I’m still wholly dependent upon you for the success of the organization, and I still do my best to give you the glory for the good that we do. But I feel really good about my career and am not seeking anything else.

As Fred’s blog progressed, however, he talked about Peter and how Jesus called him out of his natural proclivity for fishing and made him a “shepherd” instead. This wasn’t necessarily in Peter’s gifting, but he certainly had specific gifts of personality and ability that he brought to the job. One gift was his boldness. The church needed Peter in a way that it didn’t need John. For example, in Acts 3:1-10 Peter and John are walking to the Temple when a man “crippled from birth” calls to them for money. “Peter looked at him, as did John.” (verse 4) But it was Peter who spoke. It was Peter who called on Jesus’ power to heal the man. John was great, but he was often just a witness. The church wouldn’t have grown nearly as much if John had been the rock on which Jesus built his church. Being a “shepherd” might not have been in Peter’s wheelhouse, but it wasn’t “Peter’s Utmost for Peter’s Happiest.” It’s “Peter’s Utmost for Your Highest.” (For anyone reading this, this title and these quoted phrases are a reference to a daily devotion by Oswald Chambers called “My Utmost for His Highest.”)

This part of Fred’s blog got me to thinking about the things I’ve been called to do at which I didn’t turn out to be very good. One was parenting a teenager. Maybe there are a lot of people who would say that no one is good at parenting a teenager–and there might be some truth to that. For me, however, this is an area at which I feel like a complete failure. My children are older now and out of the house, but I still feel like I am an inadequate father for them. My prayer is that you are giving something that they specifically need through me of which I’m not aware. You made me their parent for a reason. I know I’ve prayed for them every day. I have faith that you have your hand directing their lives in ways that I cannot see. Part of that faith is believing that there is something I’m giving them as a father that I can’t see either.

Father, I give you my utmost for your highest in every aspect of my life. Of course, I will fail at this pledge, but I promise I’m not intentionally holding anything back. At this point, while my happiness is not irrelevant, it is certainly secondary (or even tertiary) to your will, your plan, and my duty to love you with all of my strength and love my neighbor as myself. You might now have happiness for me down this path, but I am assured by your word that you have peace for me there.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 23, 2018 in Acts, Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories, My Utmost for His Highest Scripture of the Day

 

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Emails to God – Pure Spiritual Milk (1 Peter 2:1-3)

02 Nov

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Dear God, what drives me away from pure spiritual milk and towards malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander? Yes, I know there is spiritual warfare, and I know Satan drives me to these things, but, I guess what frustrates me is that he is so effective at it. What is he able to do to me that makes him so effective?

I wonder if a lot of it is simply him messing around with our feelings of being loved at any given time. For example, if I am truly feeling completely, 100% loved then can I really slander or envy someone in that moment? If I am basking in your presence and tuned into how you feel about me then can I hold on to malice or be deceitful?

The only way to really feel you like this, I think, is to discipline myself to drink your pure spiritual milk until my soul adjusts to it and I crave it. As I take it in and crave it then I will be able to feel you and you will increase in me as I decrease. The trick is to drink your pure spiritual milk. What does that look like? I suppose it looks like me spending regular time in the Word, bringing my different daily challenges to you, praying continuously, and eliminating things from my life that Satan wants to use to draw me away from you.

Father, help me to have a complete day of drinking your pure milk. Help me to not let it be limited to this time I spend journaling to you. Holy Spirit, remind me throughout the day of my need for pure nourishment and help me to gladly and hungrily take it in.

 
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Posted by on November 2, 2012 in Miscellaneous

 

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Emails to God – What’s With All Of The Suffering Verses? (1 Peter 4:12-19)

10 Aug

12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And,

“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

Dear God, I know I sound like a broken record on this, but I seem to keep coming across verses that remind me that suffering is not outside of your plan for me. It’s funny because I think I know that, but then you apparently keep bringing these passages to me so it makes me wonder if I still haven’t gotten it.

So, yes, I’ve been going through some trials lately, both at home and at work. Compared to what other people experience in life, however, I am hard-pressed to classify it as real suffering. And I’m certainly not suffering for your name or anything like that—I’m just going through normal life stuff. But I guess the question is, do I feel sorry for myself and angry with you for my suffering, or do I just accept it as part of the journey and move forward. I thought I was doing the latter, but perhaps I am doing the former more than I know.

Father, all I ask for myself is that you give me your wisdom, discernment, and peace. Whatever else you need to do to or through me to accomplish your will, so be it. You are my God. I am your servant. I already have it better than I deserve.

 
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Posted by on August 10, 2012 in My Utmost for His Highest Scripture of the Day

 

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Emails to God – Similarities Between Judas and Peter (Matthew 27:1-10)

09 May

27 Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed. 2 So they bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor.

3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”

“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”

5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

6 The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” 7 So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. 8 That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him by the people of Israel, 10 and they used them to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”

Dear God, it’s interesting that this story of Judas’ “remorse” immediately follows Peter’s story of remorse. Maybe the distance between the highest-ranking apostle and the most despicable disciple is razor thin. Maybe even the “best” of us are closer to the “worst” of us than we think.

We have patients here at the Center who frustrate us because we can tell they are “drug seekers” and they can try to manipulate us to give them more pills. So we deny their requests and make our judgments about them. But then I read a story today about a famous man who died recently. He was an outwardly professing lover of you. He was your servant. Yet, his autopsy showed that he died from an accidental overdose of anxiety medication and alcohol. He, apparently, was an alcoholic and struggled to manage this part of his life. No different, really, from the people who try to manipulate us for more meds. Perhaps more polished and subtle, but no different.

Father, I have the same struggles in my life. No, mine don’t involve alcohol or pills, but I can’t fool myself—and I certainly can’t fool you. You know my depravity. My challenge is to remember that I am no better than the patient who frustrates me. I am no better than my neighbor because, like Peter and Judas, weeping together, but separately, on the same night, my soul needs a savior just as much as theirs does.

 
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Posted by on May 9, 2012 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Serious Repentance (Matthew 26:69-75)

08 May

69 Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.

70 But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.

71 Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

72 He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”

73 After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.”

74 Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!”

Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Dear God, when is the last time I actually felt shame for a sin I committed and repented at this level? I know that Peter was in an extreme situation and his emotions were high, but I am still touched by his regret for the sin he swore to himself he would never commit.

Do I take my sin this seriously? Sure, Peter was in an exceptional situation and I can see where his actions would drive him to weep bitterly, but still, when I commit a sin, do I allow the gravity of its consequences to penetrate my soul and call me to a deep repentance?

Father, too many people read this prayer for me to enumerate my sins here, but you know the ones that are on my heart. You know the thoughts that are running through my head right now as I type this. Frankly, it all comes back to selfishness. So I confess these things to you and I ask that you will forgive me. Thank you that Peter is an example of not only zeal for you, but of failure and repentance as well. I am grateful for what he did and was recorded for me to see.

 
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Posted by on May 8, 2012 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Caiaphas’ Passover (Matthew 26:57-68)

04 May

57 Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. 58 But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see the outcome.

59 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. 60 But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.

Finally two came forward 61 and declared, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”

62 Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” 63 But Jesus remained silent.

The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”

64 “You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. 66 What do you think?”

“He is worthy of death,” they answered.

67 Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him 68 and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?”

Dear God, I wonder if they had to wake Caiaphas up when they brought Jesus in, or if he was sitting and waiting for them to come. After all, it was late, and in a society with no electricity, bed time was a little earlier than it might be now. I’m betting it was the latter. I would imagine that he knew the guards had followed Judas out to find Jesus, and he was sitting there waiting for Jesus to arrive.

I also wonder what this Passover was like for Caiaphas. I don’t know when he would have celebrated the Passover meal (I don’t know if Jesus did it early to accommodate his crucifixion, or if he did it with his disciples on the normal night), but I wonder what was going through his mind as he celebrated with his family and friends. Was his heart heavy? Was he apprehensive? Was he just flat out mad? Was he a victim of a mob mentality, or was he the creator of the mob mentality? Did you put a check in his spirit that made him wonder if Jesus might, in fact, be who he said he was? Did he rest easy in the thought that he had defended you against a heretic?

The truth is, there are no answers to these questions. Thanks to your grace, I will probably get a chance to talk to him about it one day in heaven. Either way, I am sure he now knows about the mistakes he made that week, but I also wonder how much you would hold an earnest heart against him (if that’s what he had) since it was part of your plan to begin with.

Father, I can see that there might be a difference between Judas and Caiaphas. I’m not saying there was one, but I can see where there would be one. Where Judas simply allowed his anger toward Jesus to become murder (see the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus saying that one was as bad as the other), Caiaphas might have been protecting himself, but he also might have been, legitimately, protecting you. So my prayer is, when (not if) I make mistakes, let them be the kind that are out of pure motive. Help me to discern between my own agenda and your agenda. Minimize my mistakes as much as possible and be glorified in my life.

 
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Posted by on May 4, 2012 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – When God was Afraid (Matthew 26:36-46)

01 May

36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

Dear God, thank you that Jesus was fully human. Thank you that, through his earthly life, you understand fear. You understand the sorrow of a suffering parent. You understand being on the receiving end of injustice. You understand being let down by your friends in your own time of need. You understand betrayal when you are vulnerable. Without the sacrifice of Jesus spending 33 years on earth and then being killed in such a terrible way, then we would have a God who doesn’t really know us. You could sympathize, but could you empathize.

I know that Jesus’ death and resurrection was essential to salvation (especially for Gentiles like me), but what made it the perfect plan was that you brought yourself into the world, not to condemn it, but to save it. You came to tell people like me that it is okay. You love me. You support me. You understand me in a way that only an empathetic creator can.

Father, this is a hard scene to read. It is hard to see Jesus afraid. It is hard to see him reluctant and scared. But then I’m sure it is hard for you to see us afraid. I know that a piece of you hurts when we suffer. I know that I hurt the worst for my own children when they experience a pain in their childhood that I experienced in mine, so I am sure the same is true for you. Thank you again for coming down to my level and experiencing all of this. It could have played out differently to accomplish your goals, but your plan’s perfection included your ability to empathize with me.

 
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Posted by on May 1, 2012 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Good Intentions, Disappointing Results (Matthew 26:31-35)

30 Apr

31 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.’

32 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

33 Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”

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

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

Dear God, there are so many times when my intentions are great, and my expectations of myself are really high, and then I end up falling way short of both. It plays into my relationships with those around me. It shows up in my relationship with you and the time I intend to spend with you, studying your Word and experiencing you in prayer. It even shows up in how much I intend to exercise during a given period. I expect to do great things, but I often fall short.

While some may see this story as a story of Peter’s hubris and overconfidence, Matthew is careful to tell us two things about this exchange:

  1. Jesus knew that Peter would fail and it was okay.
  2. The other disciples were just as overconfident (or at least overconfident in their words) as Peter.

Father, I know I am overconfident and that I often fail. I understand that I need your power and redemption over my failings. But I am also grateful that you know my weaknesses and you allow for them. You don’t like them, and you want me to do better, but you know they lay of the land and what is going on with me. You know my heart and its love for you. You also know the laziness of my heart and how I sometimes just give up. Please forgive me for my weaknesses and help me to reflect you to others.

 
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Posted by on April 30, 2012 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Mission IMPOSSIBLE (Matthew 19:16-30)

23 Mar

16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

18 “Which ones?” he inquired.

Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”

20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter thekingdom ofGod.”

25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”

28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

Dear God, verse 26 makes me think of a line I read in a book yesterday. It basically said that the God of Judaism and Christianity (you) is the only God who loves sinners. All other false gods that men make up hate sinners, but the true God loves sinners and made a way to connect with us by reaching out to us. When the disciples asked in verse 25, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus basically answered them that no one can be saved by their own merit—you have to do it for them.

I also like how Peter totally missed the meaning of verse 26 and goes back to a performance-based system in verse 27: “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” It’s like a little kid trying to know how impressed you are with him and what he gets as his reward.

I once had a man work for me who was pretty insecure. He was always comparing himself with coworkers and trying to show how he was superior to them in how he did his job. It was hard to watch, but then when I stop and wonder how much of that I do myself I get a little humbled. I love for people to be impressed with me. I love it when I get glory and rewards. I’m better about it and less needy than I used to be, but it is still an issue.

Father, help me to embrace verse 26. Help me to embrace and absorb the idea that “impossible” means “IMPOSSIBLE”. It doesn’t mean “REALLY HARD”. It’s not like the show “Mission Impossible” where it really possible if you are smart enough, brave enough, and fortunate enough to pull it off—it is truly IMPOSSIBLE to be saved by my own ability or actions. It’s too late. That ship has sailed. I cannot save myself. I need YOU to make it POSSIBLE, which of course you already have. I just need to remember it and BELIEVE it.

 
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Posted by on March 23, 2012 in Matthew

 

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