Writing Through the Bible in a Year

Job 39:1-42:17

“And Job died an old man, and full of days.” Job 42:17

I have been trying to write this post all day, but as you all well know, I am a mom. I can’t remember who said it first, but whoever they were I highly agree with them when they said, “sometimes life just has to be lived, and written about later.”

The best I can give you today are snapshots from the last few days in our family.

May your many days be FULL of life! God bless you my friend!

Job 34:21-38:41

“For His eyes are on the ways of a man, and He sees all His steps.” Job 33:21

This is one of my all time favorite Truths. God sees your steps, every single one of them. Proverbs 16:9 says, “People can plan what they want to do, but it is the LORD who guides their steps.”

I have that verse written at the top of my daily planner. (click the picture and it will take you to a free printable version.)

No matter how much we plan and think and arrange, in the end, it’s God who guides the steps we actually take. Some of you may disagree, and that’s fine, but God has shown me that this IS how He works in my life. He works this way with me because it’s what I’ve asked Him to do. I’ve given Him control over my life, honestly, because I seem to always screw things up. No matter how many plans I make, how hard I try to make things work out, they never do. But Him; well, when He plans things for me I always seem to be in the right place at the right time for the right reasons. It takes a great deal of the stress out of my life. So I make out my little planner and say to myself, “These are the things I’d like to get done today.” And then I look at the verse at the top of the page and remind myself that if I don’t get a single thing done on MY list, then it’s still OK. I try to hold my plans with an open hand instead of a clenched fist. (But that doesn’t always happen. I’m sure you can understand.)

Yesterday was one of those days. At the end of the day My Top 5 looked like this:

• Write today’s post
• Make 365 Life card (for the paper)
  
• Vacuum
• Put Flea medicine on the cats
• Finish Proofing new book Use Me Lord… Please.
  

I sighed and thought to myself, “I think I remember God telling me to make that a Top 2 instead of a Top 5…” It seems like that’s all that I ever get crossed off the list, the top 2 items. And really, if I had made it a more detailed Top 10 then I would probably get 4 things crossed off every day. Or, if I had made it a Top 2, then only 1, or none would be crossed off. It seems like no matter how hard I try to reach my goals, they slip juuuust out of reach. Kind of like when you’re swimming in the deep end of a pool and you’re trying to swim to a noodle or some other floating toy. The harder you try to get to it the further away you end up pushing it. And yet, when you’re still, often times the water will naturally float the toy to you instead of the other way around.

Anyway, I wanted to tell you the reason why I only got 2 things knocked off my list yesterday, MY “NEW” DISHWASHER!!! I was picking it up yesterday afternoon and didn’t have time to finish my list. (OK, I probably would’ve had time to get flea meds on the cats if I had made the time at some point last night before bed, but I didn’t.)

I have gone around NINE MONTHS without a dishwasher. When it first went out I thought I could hack it and I really made an effort to wash all the dishes by hand. I failed miserably. Then after a few months I found myself BEGGING God for a dishwasher. And that day it dawned (yes, pun intended) on me that I was not the only one using the dishes so why am I the only one washing them? So I went EXTREME. I took away all the dishes and told each member of my family, “You get one plate, one bowl, one set of utensils and one cup. They’re your responsibility. If they’re dirty I’m not cleaning them you are.” I took some of our plastic plates and wrote names on them with a permanent marker (that turned out to be not so permanent). This actually worked and got us through several more months until people started using the “off-limits” items and I went soft and let them.

Paper plates and bowls have been our main source since then, but even then there are just some meals that you can’t eat from paper. Plus there are always the pots and pans to wash. So long story short, there has been a sink and counter full of dishes in my house constantly for the last nine months… until today.

Today it is hereby banished from my house forever! Because I discovered the Habitat for Humanity ReStore! It’s much like a Goodwill or a Salvation Army store, except its only home remodeling type items. Like dishwashers, and refrigerators, sinks and cabinets, and all for CHEAP!

I had been saving all my birthday money to buy a new dishwasher, but when I showed up at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore I was able to walk out of there with a working dishwasher for $15!!!!! And every penny of it went to charity to boot! Now I get to spend my birthday money on other things! 😀 Yay!

My friends, if you have a dishwasher, kiss it today! You never know which load may be its last! Of course, now you know about the Habitat for Humanity ReStore and that you can get another one for $15. I didn’t know about that before.

I also wanted to share some more good news with you! Yesterday the newspaper that I write for doubled their readership! They combined with another paper the publisher is printing and my articles went from going into 2,000 papers, to 5,000! In ONE day! I was also just notified that my online printer is now offering Expanded Distribution for FREE! I wasn’t able/willing to fork over the $25/book before. This means that bookstore chains like Barnes and Noble and Family Christian Bookstores are now able to order my books! So if you have a bookstore near you, if you would do me the kindness of letting them know that you would like for them to carry my books, I would greatly appreciate that!!! You can, of course, still buy books straight from my website, which brings me more profit, but this way more people will be able to find my books than before.

I also have an Assembly of God women’s conference next weekend where I will be attending and have a table to do a book signing. You’re prayers for this event mean the world to me!!! This is the first conference I’ve been able to do and I am very hopeful that book sales will be GOOD here. I’ve been writing for four years now and have yet to actually turn a profit doing it. I would really like for this to be the start of that!!! Please please please pray for me to SELL OUT of the books I have on hand and to come home with a STACK of order forms filled with requests for more books to be shipped to readers! With GOD all things are possible!!! But it’s ONLY through Him and His will. His word says to ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened. Let’s knock together and see what happens shall we? J

Job 31:1-34:20

“Hear my words, you wise men, and give ear to me, you who know; for the ear tests words as the palate tastes food.” Job 34:1-3

I’m struggling right now my friends and I could really use your prayer support. I have so much I want to tell you and yet at the very same time I seem to never have enough time to tell you!!! God is opening up the word to me like never before and yet I can’t seem to get it down onto the page to share with you. It’s driving me absolutely crazy!

But much like Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings (this clip is 1:40, watch it!) movie when he is battling the demon, I will slam my staff down in front of me and tell Satan “You shall not pass!”. I will stand my ground and refuse to allow him even one more inch of my territory. My readership is increasing by leaps and bounds and I know that that makes him very very mad. But that’s just too bad! He doesn’t get to win. He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world, that I know for certain. I also know that I have been justified by His grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom god put forward as a propitiation by His blood to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. It was to show His righteousness at the present time, so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 2:24-26)

I know that if God can “pass over” the former sins committed by my forefathers, then He can so much more pass over my own sins because of the blood of Jesus that has wiped them all out completely and fully. So much more than the blood of bulls and goats ever could! While their blood faded over time, the blood of Jesus just gets stronger and more resilient. I know that God is just. “The Almighty will not pervert justice.” Job 34:12 His justice requires that my sins be paid in full before I can set foot across the threshold of fellowship with Him. And yet He is not only just but my justifier!!! He is the one that is requiring the payment for sin, but He is also the one who has offered up that payment for me. And He’s offered it as a FREE GIFT! It’s the kind of gift where the giver requires nothing in return. (Otherwise it wouldn’t be free or a gift.)

That word “gift” in the Greek is an awesome word. It’s the word “dorean” and it literally means a gift without cost; a free gift; for nothing. But what is this gift? Justification! Jesus’ payment on our behalf at the cross put us into right relationship with God. It made us acceptable to God and set us free.

In Mark 14:62 Jesus says, “you shall see the Son of Man seated on the right hand of God and coming with the clouds of heaven”. And in Acts 7:55 we read of the vision Stephen had as he was being stoned to death by Saul and his men, “But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God”. Jesus seated next to God illustrates His divinity and His position as the ruler of this creation. Jesus standing at the right hand of God illustrates His willingness to stand up for us before God and mediate a new covenant filled with Grace and forgiveness that was paid for on the cross. There is nothing you can do to pay for this forgiveness, as a mere human you aren’t able. But Jesus wasn’t JUST human, He is GOD. He always has been and he always will be. It is because of His divinity that He was able to walk sinlessly upon this earth and therefore pay the penalty we never could. It is because of His divinity that His rightful place is seated at the right hand of God. And yet it is through faith that we too are seated right there next to God IN CHRIST. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches, in Him we find LIFE. In Him we find fellowship. In the vineyard so long ago He told His disciples, “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.” John 15:15-17

OK, I feel better now. Not much of that was in my notes for today, but it’s obviously what God wanted for me to share with you. I love you my friends, more than you could ever know. You mean the world to me. May God bless you richly this day and every day here after!

Job 26:1-30:31

“God has loosed my cord and humbled me,” Job 30:11

My friends, so much has happened in so little amount of time that I haven’t had time to write it all down, as much as I would have liked to have. Please be praying for me and everything that God has in store for us. Right now He is working mightily in me and I imagine it’s safe to assume that He is doing the same for you as well.

There is so much I’d like to share with you at this time, and so little time in which to share it. Plus, I don’t believe that it’s time to share quite yet.

So I guess for the time being, just know that I’m thinking of you, praying for you and your strength, and preparing something amazing for you.

May God bless you with a prepared heart to receive, an open mind to learn and open ears to hear. May the Grace of Jesus overtake you this very day in such an overwhelming magnitude that you are brought to your knees in gratitude. May the love of Christ compel you in all your ways and may your knowledge of Him abound all the more because of it. In Jesus’ name; Amen!

Job 21:1-25:6

“Their houses are safe from fear, and no rod of God is upon them.” Job 21:9

My friends, can you image a place like that? A place that is set so far above Fear that it literally can not be touched. A house that is so set apart that it is unaffected by Fear and all of his counterparts. It makes me think of the 23^rd Psalm,

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

A while back I was watching a show with my kids about sheep. It was a show where the kids in the show got to be shepherds for a day and spent the show learning things about the sheep. One of the things that the shepherd said to them, I doubt I will ever forget. He handed one of the kids a shepherd’s crook and then immediately followed it with, “Do NOT hit the sheep. We never use the crook to hit the sheep. We use it to point them in the direction we want them to go.” Then he called to his sheep dogs and told the child to point the crook toward the shed where they were trying to herd the sheep. And the sheep went toward the shed. They had heard their shepherd’s call and they had seen his rod pointing in the direction he wanted them to go (which conveniently was away from the dogs that were chasing them).

In today’s Word of the Day, the scripture I pulled out is something that Job was saying about people who don’t follow God. He was commenting on how, it seemed to him, that even though they didn’t follow God their house was safe from fear even though God’s rod of direction wasn’t on them. So often we can look at others outside the faith and see their wealth and possessions. We can see their seemingly absence of trouble in life and think that they’ve got it made. But we have to remember that there are always things that we simply can not see. We can’t see inside their hearts, but God can; and does. We may be able to look at those people and think, “He’s not afraid of anything”. But the truth may be that he’s actually afraid of everything.

This doesn’t have to be the case for those who see God as their Shepherd in life. His rod and His staff can comfort us.

In addition to using the Shepherd’s crook as a way to direct the sheep, the crook is also used to defend and safe the sheep. It was often used to ward off wild animals who had come to attack the sheep. As well as using the crook itself for keeping the sheep in line and away from danger altogether. The shepherd could use the crook to hook a sheep that had fallen into a pit and lift him out.

Our Good Shepherd uses His rod and staff to comfort us, to lift us up from the pit of doubt and fear. He uses it to direct our steps and deliver us from evil. He uses it to lead us in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. He is Jesus, the house of the LORD that is safe from FEAR. And you can dwell in Him all the days of your life.

Job 11:1-15:35

“Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves.” Job 11:6

I don’t think any greater understatement has ever been spoken!

In Matthew 6:11-13 Jesus tells us to pray, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

That word “deliver”, in the Greek is the word “rhoumai” and it means to rush or draw to oneself in salvation or deliverance. This word finds its origin in two words: “rheo” which refers to a rushing flow as in water & “rhusis” which refers to a flow as in blood. What a beautiful word!

Lord, evil surrounds us on all sides, in every way, please give us that daily bread of Jesus on the cross that reminds us of your mercies morning by morning. Yours The kind of mercy that decided to forgive us in the garden and provided the means of that forgiveness at the cross before we were even born. Help us to accept and receive your amazingly generous gift of forgiveness day by day, moment by moment. Help us to pick it up from the earth and wield it like the weapon it was created to be. Help us to swing that sword of the Spirit against the Enemy, the accuser of the brethren. DELIVER us from his evil, keep us far away from his temptations by helping us focus not on the problems, but on Your faithfulness. It is our shield and rampart in times of trouble. (Psalm 91)

Thank You Lord that You are the GOOD SHEPHERD and You don’t lead your flock into dangerous situations unless absolutely necessarily. I thank You that it is in those times of danger as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death that we will fear no evil because Your rod and Your staff will be a comfort to us. You are our defender. We are but weak sheep who don’t know any better. Help us to better tune our ears to hear Your voice, O Good Shepherd. Help us to follow Your feet through the darkness of night as the dew settles on the grass preparing to sweeten it for the morning munching.

You are good, help us to SEE Your goodness, right here in the land of the living, while it is still called TODAY! Help us to lay down and sleep IN PEACE because You alone, O LORD, make us dwell in safety. Help us to be still and know that YOU alone are God. Help us to remember the words of Moses to the Israelites in the moments before You parted the Red Sea. “The LORD will fight for you, you need only to be still.” (Exodus 14:14) You have plans for us, and they are for our good and not our harm. Help us to focus on those plans; Your plans and not our own. Although the man plans the way, the LORD guides his steps. I call on that today LORD. Help us to remember who it is that guides our steps. Help us to see Your footprints in the sand during this time Father God. Help us to remember that we are NOT alone in this mess of a time. You have promised never to leave us or forsake us, and Your word never comes back void. You are incapable of lying so that means that You MUST be with us, not matter how alone the Devil tries to make us feel. You are good and you are not only just, but our JUSTIFIER. You’re not just the judge, you’re the attorney too. Thank You for everything that you do for us Lord. Thank You for pouring Your love out on us in such abundance that it puddles up in the streets like that water that collects after a day filled with rain clouds.

You cloak yourself in darkness to hide Your glory. You led the Israelites through the desert in a cloud by day and fire by night. Lord, I KNOW that You are cloaked in this darkness… somewhere, You are the silver lining to every cloud. You are the light in every fire. You are there, and I will find You. I will seek you with all my heart and I will find You. I will call to You and Your word in Jeremiah 33:3 tells me that You will answer me and tell me great and unsearchable things that I do not know.

Oh Jesus thank You for not leaving me abandoned in this hopeless place and time. Thank You for using people along the way to make sure that Your words were not just preserved, but made public! Thank You for using regular people to make sure that we today would have Bibles on our phones and in our pockets! Help us to remember what a tremendous blessing that is. Help us to remember that there are some places in this world right now that to have that Bible in their possession would mean a prison sentence, or death. We are so privileged to have the Bibles that we have, help us to remember that and to READ THEM!!!!!

Your word is the bread of life, give to us to eat from it fresh morning by morning. I pray that You will waken our ears to hear You calling us early in the morning to rise and shine our light into this dark world but first rising and allowing Your light to shine on us through Your Word. Lord, Your presence is such a gift, help us to never take it for granted.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen!

Job 6:1-10:22

“What is man, that you make so much of him, and that you set your heart on him, visit him every morning and test him every moment?” Job 7:17-18

I latched onto this verse today like a nursing baby to its mother after a long night. GOD, the God of the universe, the creator of ALL things, GOD visits us EVERY morning. Is that not the most beautiful Truth? Drink deep from its nourishment and hope. Warm yourself with the comfort of this TRUTH. Jesus comes to visit you EVERY morning.

Lamentations 3:22-23 reads “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”

His faithfulness IS great! But when life starts to get messy it’s all too easy to forget how Awesome He is. We forget to remember the million and one things He’s done for us lately and focus on the one thing He doesn’t seem to be acting on today. We sink our teeth into that one thing and forsake all the rest. It kind of reminds me of a specific tree in a specific garden that has become the symbol of humanity’s downfall over the years. We had permission to eat from ANY tree in the entire world. The whole WORLD! That’s a LOT of trees my friend. Yet there was only one tree that Adam and Eve found themselves standing right next to and eyeing the fruit.

There is a whole world of trees out there that are pleasing to the eye and good for food, let’s try focusing on one of them instead of this tree that Satan keeps calling you over to. And he does. He beacons like a siren; calling you to come and focus your attention on one thing. It’s the one thing that God wants you to forget and stay away from; your sinful imperfection.

“As far as the east is from the west”; is how far you have been separated from your sins. Did you know that if you start going north and keep going north, once you get to the North Pole the only direction you can go is south? But if you start going east, no matter how far you go you will NEVER reach a point where you will be forced to go west. The east is so far separated from the west that no matter how far east you go you will never reach west. How far you’ve been separated from your sins? So far that no matter how far you go to try and find them again, you never will.

God says in Hebrews 8:12, “For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

Tell me, if God doesn’t remember our sins anymore, should we? If God has forgiven us of our sins, shouldn’t we also forgive ourselves? If God isn’t holding them against us, then why are we holding them against ourselves (or others for that matter)?

In Exodus 16 God rained down manna on the Israelites. Each and every single morning (except the Sabbath) they would wake up, put their shoes on, and go out to their back yard to pick up the food that God had rained down for them during the night. Every day, for forty years He did this for them.

And on those Sabbath days when there was no manna to collect, it wasn’t because they had been disobedient, it was because God didn’t want them to have to go out and even bend over to pick it up! He wanted them to REST on those days. So the day before the Sabbath they were to collect twice as much and keep it over the Sabbath. And it never went bad on those Sabbath days either.

Well, in John 6:31-35 it says, “‘Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ Jesus then said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’

Jesus said to them, “‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.'”

Jesus is the daily bread, the manna from heaven. His death on the cross is to be gathered and eaten up each day; mourning by mourning. “Sufficient for today is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:34) We needn’t dwell on tomorrow’s possibilities and troubles; they aren’t here yet and may never arrive – God willing.

Today, right now, there is something in your life that God has given you to cause you JOY unspeakable. Something that no matter how hard the Thief tries to steal it, he will never be able to wrangle it away from you. It’s Jesus through the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Right now, if you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you have access to God Almighty through the power of the Holy Spirit and prayer – USE IT!

Job 1:1-5:27

Ahhhhhh…… I love that new book smell! And it’s funny because so often people talk about the book of Job and how much he suffers. But they miss the whole point of the story! The book of Job isn’t about Job, just like the book of John isn’t about John. Every book in this Bible is about Jesus. They all either point forward toward Him or backward to what He did in His ministry and on the cross or forward to what He is doing now and in the future. The book of Job is no different.

Here in the opening chapter of Job we’re introduced to Job and his astounding wealth and prosperity. We’re told that he is “the greatest of all the people of the east”. (Job 1:3) Next we find God holding a heavenly counsel, to which Satan is in attendance. And at some point in this soiree Satan sidles up to God and strikes up a conversation with Him. God asks Satan, “So whatcha been up to lately?”

To which the Accuser of the brethren replies, “Eh, you know, the same old, same old. I’ve been here, there and everywhere; just doin’ what I do.”

With His thumbs stuck proudly under the hems of His robe at His chest God said, “Mmmm…. HEY! Have you seen my man Job lately? Boy that’s a guy I’m awfully proud of. There’s nobody like HIM in all the earth. He’s a real stand up kind of guy that Job. And boy does he hate you.”

“Well sure he loves You! You’ve given him everything a man could ever want; ten kids, all the livestock he could ever need and more, servants to care for his every wish. You’ve got such a high hedge of protection around him that he has no reason NOT to love You. I bet if you took that hedge of protection away and let me at him for a few days he would curse you and spit in your face.”

At this God rubbed His long white beard as He considered the merit of what Satan was saying, he might have a point… and not just the ones on the top of his head.

“Alright,” God said, “I’ll take you up on that bet. Everything he has is in your hands now. But you are NOT allowed to touch him.”

Satan swirled around in his haste to set his plot against Job into action. He knew that if he hit just the right buttons he would be able to get Job to turn away from God. And by the end of chapter one we find Job’s servants coming to him one right on the heels of the other. “The oxen and donkeys and the servants watching them have all been killed except for me.” As the first servant was finishing his report the next one came, “Lightning just struck all the sheep and your servants! They’re all fried crispy but me!” Then the next servant came and reported, “Master, the Chaldeans just surrounded your camels and servants in the fields! It was a massacre! I’m the only one left!” And just when Job had to be thinking, “Dear God, please, no more!” The final servant came to him and breathlessly reported, “A tornado just hit the house where ALL your children were having a party! The house collapsed and killed every single one of them; I’m the only one that survived!”

THAT, my friends, is a bad day.

In a matter of a few simple hours Job literally lost everything but his house, his wife, his life and four servants. Just this should make your day seem at least a LITTLE better. But it’s what happens next that absolutely blows my mind. After all these reports what is Job’s reaction? He worships.

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” Job 1:21

Honestly, I don’t know how in the world he did it.

Now I need to tell you another man’s story of Satan working in his life. I think his reaction we’ll be able to relate to a little more readily; at least I know I can anyway. He had a very different reaction than Job did. Come with me to the Last Supper and I’ll tell you the story of Peter.

(Luke 22:31-34) “‘Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.’ Peter said to him, ‘Lord, I am ready to go with you, both to prison and to death.’ Jesus said, ‘I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know Me.'”

Later that night Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane and the soldiers,

“seized Him and led Him away, bringing Him into the high priest’s house, and Peter was following at a distance. And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together. Peter sat down among them.” (Luke 22:54-55) “And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, ‘You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.’ But he denied it, saying, ‘I neither know nor understand what you mean.’ And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed. And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders. ‘This man is one of them.’ But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, ‘Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.’ But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, ‘I do not know this man of whom you speak.’ And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, ‘Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.’ And he broke down and wept.” (Mark 14:66-72)

Here we have the stories of two men; both good upright men being “sifted” (as Jesus puts it) by Satan. One of them boasts in the LORD and His provision and protection and when he has been sifted he continues boasting in the LORD. The second man boasts in his own love and loyalty toward the Lord Jesus. He boasts that even though Jesus tells him that he will deny even knowing Him, Peter adamantly sticks to his guns professing that even if everyone else runs away and hides in fear, he won’t. He promises that even if everyone else denies Jesus, He won’t. Yet when the time comes, He may have been the only one to follow Jesus to the high priest’s house, but he was also the only one even tempted with denying knowing Jesus.

When I read Peter’s story this time I found it quite interesting that it’s a rooster crowing that signals the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophetic statement of Peter’s denial. It was Peter that was “crowing” about his love and loyalty to Jesus just a few hours earlier. I’d never noticed that before.

Like I said, Peter’s story is an all too familiar one for us, myself oh so included. All too often we crow about our accomplishments to make ourselves look good in front of others, or to make us feel good about ourselves. But that’s not where our identity and safety are found. They’re not found in our generous wealth, or the abundance of our friends, or the amount of our paycheck. Our identity and safety are found in the LORD alone.

For all of us who have fallen short of the glory of God I think we need to finish Peter’s story and receive some hope for the future.

(John 21:1517) “When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’

He said to him a second time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love You.’ He said to him, ‘Tend My sheep.’

He said to him a third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me?’ Peter was grieved because He said it to him a third time. ‘Do you love me?’ and he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed My sheep,”

At the Last Supper Jesus alerts Peter to the coming danger of Satan sifting him like wheat and then foretells of Peter’s denial of even knowing Jesus. How many times did Jesus say Peter would deny Him? Three.

In the courtyard next to the warm glow of the fire, how many times did Peter actually deny knowing Jesus? Three, and the third time it was even with curses!

On the sea shore after breakfast how many times did Jesus ask Peter if he loved Him? Three.

My friends, this passage is so lacking when it is translated into English!!! So allow me, if you will, a few extra moments to pack in the extra punch that the original Greek contains. There’s a secret play on words that is hidden in the English that is plain as day in the Greek. There are two different words here that have been translated into “love”. There’s “agape”, which is the kind of love that only God can give. It’s a deep relationship and intimacy that has a one-sided generosity without ANY expectation of repayment. And then there’s “philos”. This kind of love is a deep emotional attachment that comes with a deep and abiding friendship. If we were to look back at their conversation in “Greek-lish” it would look more like this.

Jesus said, “Simon, son of John, do you agape Me more than these?”

Peter said to Him, “Yes Lord, you know that I philos you.”

Jesus told him, “Feed my lambs.

Simon, son of John, do you agape Me?”

Peter said, “Yes Lord, you know that I philos You.”

And Jesus said, “Tend My sheep.

Simon, son of John, do you philos Me?”

And Peter, grieved, said, “Lord, You know everything, You know that I philos You.”

To which Jesus replied a third time, “Feed My sheep.”

In Peter’s confession of his own faithfulness, he was crowing about his agape for Jesus. In Jesus’ questioning of Peter’s agape for Him, Jesus was calling Peter to come to terms with his humanity. As humans we aren’t capable of giving agape, only receiving it.

In Peter’s reply to Jesus questioning him THREE times about his love for Him, we see Peter’s heart break on the third time through the process. The first two were to humble him and remind him that his betray was proof of his lack of agape love for Jesus. On the third time through the questioning Jesus comes down to Peter’s level which emphasizes His acceptance of this level of love for Him. “Do you philos Me?” And with a sigh Peter responds, “You know EVERYTHING”.

Jesus KNOWS that we aren’t capable of agape love. He knows that as humans we can do our best to attempt the kind of love towards God that doesn’t expect anything in return, but at some point we will always fall short of the glory of God because we simply were not made to be gods. We were made to be justified by HIS grace. It’s a GIFT and should be received as such. An agape gift where He has given IT with no expectation of repayment; because honestly, He knows that there is absolutely no possible way for us TO repay Him for it. That’s agape! Not that we loved Him. But that He first loved us. And while we do our utmost best for our Highness, we will fall short. And that’s OK.