October 10
The Peter and Jesus Moment
When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” ––John 21:15-17
Writing these devotionals over the years has been a joy for me and my team. One of the things we diligently do is ask the Holy Spirit for direction regarding topics and themes. So if you like what you read every day, you can credit Him. (If you don’t like some of the readings, well, that’s on us.) Either way, we love to hear from you. Seriously, we do! Your comments get read, I promise. But one of the other challenges of staying fresh, relevant, and (most importantly) biblical, is to avoid being redundant. We actually have a system where we log each month’s readings, what Scripture verses we use, and the topic and theme. That way, we can keep track of what we’ve published and avoid repeating topics too much.
So when I had the idea for today’s reading, I found that we’ve actually published a similar devotional: Peter’s denial of Christ and Christ’s forgiveness toward Peter. However, this is a topic I believe needs repeating. We all know the story:
About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.” Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly. ––Luke 22:59-62
This is arguably the lowest point in Peter’s life. (You could argue that decades later, when Nero crucified Peter upside down, that was his nadir. However, I think His denial of Jesus was right up there.) Fast forward to after Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, and you have Jesus forgiving Peter. It’s one of those lump-in-the-throat moments in Scripture.
Man of God, I’m writing this today directly to you. Yes, I know I probably don’t know you, but here’s what I mean: As I prayed about today’s reading, the Lord whispered to me: “My men need to hear this again: Just as Jesus did not condemn Peter for his errant ways, neither do I condemn the man of God who will read this.” No condemnation. No shame. The sins you woke up with today? He’s forgiven you if you are His disciple. The shame of past mistakes and decisions? Swept away by His grace.
Second to salvation, there is nothing as valuable and precious as restoration—to literally be restored from a fallen position and then dusted off, lifted up, and placed into a position of victory and favor. Like a criminal trespassing on private property, Satan has no jurisdiction to keep you locked in shame and condemnation. Jesus served the enemy his eviction notice—our role is to exercise our “tenant’s rights” and give him no leeway, no authority.
Now take a moment to imagine you are standing before Jesus—sins and all—and Him asking you, “(Your name here), do you love Me?” Even before you respond, He’s already forgiven and restored you. How cool is that?!
Lord, sometimes I still slip into a shame-based, works mindset that makes me feel less than worthy of Your love. Today I ask You to give me a new revelation of Your unchanging, unconditional love for me.