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For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Thursday, September 8, 2022
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :Peter Denies Jesus Bible Verse:Matthew 26:69-75 (ESV) "Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.” And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.” After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.” Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly. " Message:
Matthew nicely intersperses the narrative of Christ’s arrest and trial with descriptions of Peter’s activities. When Jesus was first arrested, the apostles ran away. Their fear was well-grounded: standing before them was a large force of armed men whose sole intention was to stop Christ; and with them was Judas, who knew all of the apostles by sight and was acting as their spotter.
Rooster from illuminated Tanakh
But Peter doesn’t go far; he follows the arrest party and eventually decides to get as close as he can, sitting in the courtyard of the high priest with the soldiers. The moment of decision comes with his first denial. Once he has made up his mind to deny his closeness to Christ, he does so with vigor. Each denial is stronger than the one before.
The people who discuss Peter’s “cowardice” miss the point. Peter was no coward. He had shown his willingness to fight and die for Jesus; yet Jesus stopped him. Peter and the other apostles did not fully comprehend the chain of events that God had ordained for our salvation; it is still extraordinary today. Christ foresaw and God intended their confusion, e.g. John 14:17.
Thinking of Peter in terms of bravery and cowardice ignores the critical fact: It was not part of God’s plan that the apostles should die with Christ; they were intended to live, to receive the Holy Spirit and spread the Gospel to the world.
Their conduct during these events points up the difference between a man who believes in God, and a man in whom God dwells. From the time Christ is arrested and taken from them, until the Pentecost, they are without God’s direct presence. They scatter and hide, in fear of their lives. There is no shame in their self-preservation; It is God’s plan.
“These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (John 14:25-26)
The Bible does not inform us why Christ told Peter that he would deny him three times. But we might infer that Christ, who loved Peter, was preparing him for an emotional ordeal, so that Peter would not feel so guilty about the denial when it happened.
Perhaps Peter was intended to understand the difference between what he might accomplish with his natural gifts, and what he accomplish with the power of God — and we are to learn this as well. For when the Holy Spirit does come, Peter is transformed into utter fearlessness; he will stand before the Sanhedrin, just as Christ did, testifying to Christ’s divinity and calling them a pack of murderers and hypocrites to their very faces. (Acts 4:5-12; Acts 5:27-33)
Meditation : Prayer : I pray to you, dearest Jesus, for all the graces I need to know you, to love you and serve you faithfully unto death, and to save my soul. Give me a tender and fervent devotion to your sacred passion by which I was redeemed, venerating you each day in prayer, and teach me how to unite sorrows and sufferings of my life with your own........Amen |
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