Today’s scripture: Luke 22:31-34 (ESV-text and audio) (KJV) (The Message)
As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.
My thoughts (Steve Adams):
After seeing all of the miracles Jesus performed, hearing His teachings, and even receiving power to defeat demons and heal diseases, Peter’s faith must have been stronger than he ever dreamed it could be! Peter must have been downright exhilarated!
But things change. It gets bigger and scarier and more complicated than he ever dreamed it would. And Jesus knows he’ll do something that could only happen in a bad dream. He’ll deny his Lord – and then deny Him again – and then deny Him again!
What I love about the Peter story, and had never noticed before, is that Jesus had prayed “that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Jesus knew the disciples, especially Peter, would stumble badly, so He had prayed that their faith would carry them through. Imagine how that must have helped Peter survive his bitter regret about his denials (22:62), empowering him to strengthen not only the other disciples, but thousands of his sisters and brothers as recorded in the Book of Acts.
This reminds me of when I was a young driver. It was exhilarating to get behind the wheel of my grandfather’s 1965 Dodge truck and drive to “the timbers,” a hilly, wooded area that was a dramatic departure from the Illinois prairie on which they lived. One day, though, driving by myself, I suddenly got in “over my head.” I got stuck at the bottom of a hill in a quagmire of mud! I tried first gear and then reverse, time after time, until I literally had “that sinking feeling” — the realization I was going to have to walk to a nearby house, call my grandfather, and tell him I had made a big, foolish, stupid mistake! My grandfather had a heart of gold, but he hadn’t been afraid to tell me, “You’d better watch what you’re doing, or you’ll end up in the ditch!” So, to say I was ashamed and disappointed in myself is an understatement!
Sometimes when I remember the “truck incident,” a spontaneous, irrational thought emerges that says, “Glad I’ll never do anything like that again!”
But, fast-forward to six days ago — my husband and I pull into the driveway on my new motorcycle at the end of our first trip with him as my passenger. It’s the end of a nice ride on a beautiful day when, just after coming to a stop, the motorcycle nearly falls over onto the cement driveway; pressing our legs against the hot exhaust pipe and burning both of us. I don’t mind all that much that I nearly cooked part of my leg for dinner, but burning my beloved’s leg — now that, for me, necessitates forgiveness on the scale of what Peter needed!
Thought and prayer for the day: Thank you Lord, that you help rescue me from the shame of my mistakes and then empower me to strengthen my sisters and brothers.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.