Hey, so I was reading the Bible the other day and I prayed before I started reading that God would speak to me and teach me what He needs me to know. I always do that before I read the Bible and God always and without fail teaches me something - because He loves me and also because I always have so much to learn from Him. Sometimes its something really basic and simple... and sometimes its something really deep that just blows your mind to bits. So I was reading John chapter 21 which is after Jesus had died and come back to life. He sees the disciples on the lake in their boats downcast, depressed and feeling lost and calls out to them telling them to throw their nets on the other side of the boat to catch some fish. They do and they catch the biggest load of fish they've ever seen - in fact it's enough to fill two boats. The disciples then tow their boats to shore and have a very unique and remarkable breakfast with the risen King of all Kings... Jesus. Here's the bit that really struck me. While they are eating and talking on the beach Jesus says to Peter "Peter... Do you love me?". Peter replies immediately "Of course I love you!" Jesus answers "then feed my sheep...".
Interestingly Jesus asks this same question to Peter two more times and by the third time Peter is sad and offended to be repeatedly asked this very heart tugging question. Here's what God revealed to me... Right before Jesus was dragged away to be crucified Peter denied Jesus three times by the words of his mouth. He openly told others He didn't know Jesus and didn't follow Him. To be blunt, Peter made a point of being quite angry and annoyed that He was associated with Jesus. By doing this Peter brought a curse upon himself. Proverbs 6:2 talks about this type of self cursing and says "you become trapped by your own words". In Matthew 10:33 Jesus also said "He who denies me before men, I will deny before my Father in Heaven." Here's the thing, the Bible is infallible and eternally perfect in it's laws and precepts so this means that Peter truly was stuck. He had no hope to help himself out of what he'd said and what he'd done. He truly was trapped by the words of his own mouth. What Jesus did by asking Peter "Do you love me?" and giving him the chance to respond taught us the power of two things. Number one... the power of our own words. But far more importantly that that... the power of Love.
You see, when Peter said three times out loud in reply to Jesus "Yes, I love you" he unknowingly broke the curse that he had put on himself three times before Jesus death. It was love that broke the curse of death holding Peter's future in failure and shame. Jesus was teaching us a very powerful truth here. Be very careful about the words you say, especially the ones you say about others and yourself. The Bible says in Proverbs18:21 that "death and life are in the power of the tongue..." and Jesus showed us this to be true when He taught Peter the power of his own words to bring death and life upon himself. In obedience and through faith in Jesus, Peter was set free of the curse he had brought on himself and at the same time was released into the life and position that Jesus had for him - to lead the very first church and tend to Jesus followers while He was gone. You may have seen the movie 'The Matrix' and might remember the epic scene where Neo is sparring with Morpheus in the virtual dojo. Neo is struggling with the concept of the Matrix and Morpheus says to him "Neo... in here there are rules... some can be bent... some can be broken..." While the Matrix is only clever sci-fi movie - Jesus was the first one to speak like this and what He said wasn't just a clever concept or an interesting ideology... He was speaking the truth.
The fact is there are rules, there are consequences, there is cause and effect for what we do... but there is always a higher law. The law of love. It can be seen several other times in the Bible. In Matthew chapter 17 a foreign woman comes to Jesus begging His mercy for her daughter that's severely oppressed by a demon. Jesus replies to her "I wasn't sent to help you, I was sent first to the Jews". She pleads on His mercy asking for just a crumb... just the tiniest scrap and Jesus responds telling her that the faith she has in Him has set her daughter free. The same happened again when Jesus attended a wedding in Cana in John chapter 2. Jesus mother Mary comes to Him and tells Him they've ran out of wine asking Him if He can help them. Jesus replies and says "It's not my time yet to be known for doing miracles..." Mary then looks at the servants and says "You do exactly as He says...". What happens next is the very first recorded miracle of Jesus... the water in to wine. Many times this happened - The Centurion who believed in nothing but Jesus spoken authority, the woman who touched the corner of Jesus robe, the two blind men who followed Jesus pleading His mercy for their sight the be restored, and the thief on the cross that finally saw who Jesus really was and humbly asked for His mercy.
So why and I saying all this? I'll tell you why. We are all fallen, we all sin and we all make mistakes. Sooner or later in life no matter how careful you are you are going to get stuck somewhere along to the way. It might be something you do - a bad choice - or it might even be something someone else does to you. Either way, life isn't perfect and you're going to need help. The rules will say "too bad, you brought this on yourself - you made your bed now sleep in it..." but there is a higher law... Love. So if that's you and you're stuck, call out to the King just like these others did and appeal to His love and mercy. He never turns away anyone who comes to him humbly and broken seeking His help. If you appeal to love you will be replied with exactly that... Love. It doesn't matter how badly you've messed up - His love for you is greater. If doesn't matter how deep the hole is you've got yourself into - His love for you is greater. It doesn't matter how far gone you think you are - His love reaches further. It doesn't matter how lost you feel - His love will find you. If doesn't matter how broken things look - His love will put the pieces back together.
How can I say this with such a surety? Because I was lost, broken, trapped, addicted, hurting, alone and with gaping holes right through me - and it was His love that found me, healed me, teaches me, keeps me and completes me. So if that's you, appeal to His love and simply pray calling out to Him "Jesus, I need your help... please help me" and He will. This is why we can come boldly before God asking for His help - not because we are any good or have done anything worth any merit - simply because of His love for us. God loves you.
[ Psalm 51:17 - The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God ]
Interestingly Jesus asks this same question to Peter two more times and by the third time Peter is sad and offended to be repeatedly asked this very heart tugging question. Here's what God revealed to me... Right before Jesus was dragged away to be crucified Peter denied Jesus three times by the words of his mouth. He openly told others He didn't know Jesus and didn't follow Him. To be blunt, Peter made a point of being quite angry and annoyed that He was associated with Jesus. By doing this Peter brought a curse upon himself. Proverbs 6:2 talks about this type of self cursing and says "you become trapped by your own words". In Matthew 10:33 Jesus also said "He who denies me before men, I will deny before my Father in Heaven." Here's the thing, the Bible is infallible and eternally perfect in it's laws and precepts so this means that Peter truly was stuck. He had no hope to help himself out of what he'd said and what he'd done. He truly was trapped by the words of his own mouth. What Jesus did by asking Peter "Do you love me?" and giving him the chance to respond taught us the power of two things. Number one... the power of our own words. But far more importantly that that... the power of Love.
You see, when Peter said three times out loud in reply to Jesus "Yes, I love you" he unknowingly broke the curse that he had put on himself three times before Jesus death. It was love that broke the curse of death holding Peter's future in failure and shame. Jesus was teaching us a very powerful truth here. Be very careful about the words you say, especially the ones you say about others and yourself. The Bible says in Proverbs18:21 that "death and life are in the power of the tongue..." and Jesus showed us this to be true when He taught Peter the power of his own words to bring death and life upon himself. In obedience and through faith in Jesus, Peter was set free of the curse he had brought on himself and at the same time was released into the life and position that Jesus had for him - to lead the very first church and tend to Jesus followers while He was gone. You may have seen the movie 'The Matrix' and might remember the epic scene where Neo is sparring with Morpheus in the virtual dojo. Neo is struggling with the concept of the Matrix and Morpheus says to him "Neo... in here there are rules... some can be bent... some can be broken..." While the Matrix is only clever sci-fi movie - Jesus was the first one to speak like this and what He said wasn't just a clever concept or an interesting ideology... He was speaking the truth.
The fact is there are rules, there are consequences, there is cause and effect for what we do... but there is always a higher law. The law of love. It can be seen several other times in the Bible. In Matthew chapter 17 a foreign woman comes to Jesus begging His mercy for her daughter that's severely oppressed by a demon. Jesus replies to her "I wasn't sent to help you, I was sent first to the Jews". She pleads on His mercy asking for just a crumb... just the tiniest scrap and Jesus responds telling her that the faith she has in Him has set her daughter free. The same happened again when Jesus attended a wedding in Cana in John chapter 2. Jesus mother Mary comes to Him and tells Him they've ran out of wine asking Him if He can help them. Jesus replies and says "It's not my time yet to be known for doing miracles..." Mary then looks at the servants and says "You do exactly as He says...". What happens next is the very first recorded miracle of Jesus... the water in to wine. Many times this happened - The Centurion who believed in nothing but Jesus spoken authority, the woman who touched the corner of Jesus robe, the two blind men who followed Jesus pleading His mercy for their sight the be restored, and the thief on the cross that finally saw who Jesus really was and humbly asked for His mercy.
So why and I saying all this? I'll tell you why. We are all fallen, we all sin and we all make mistakes. Sooner or later in life no matter how careful you are you are going to get stuck somewhere along to the way. It might be something you do - a bad choice - or it might even be something someone else does to you. Either way, life isn't perfect and you're going to need help. The rules will say "too bad, you brought this on yourself - you made your bed now sleep in it..." but there is a higher law... Love. So if that's you and you're stuck, call out to the King just like these others did and appeal to His love and mercy. He never turns away anyone who comes to him humbly and broken seeking His help. If you appeal to love you will be replied with exactly that... Love. It doesn't matter how badly you've messed up - His love for you is greater. If doesn't matter how deep the hole is you've got yourself into - His love for you is greater. It doesn't matter how far gone you think you are - His love reaches further. It doesn't matter how lost you feel - His love will find you. If doesn't matter how broken things look - His love will put the pieces back together.
How can I say this with such a surety? Because I was lost, broken, trapped, addicted, hurting, alone and with gaping holes right through me - and it was His love that found me, healed me, teaches me, keeps me and completes me. So if that's you, appeal to His love and simply pray calling out to Him "Jesus, I need your help... please help me" and He will. This is why we can come boldly before God asking for His help - not because we are any good or have done anything worth any merit - simply because of His love for us. God loves you.
[ Psalm 51:17 - The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God ]
