Scripture

“No!” Peter insisted. “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!” And all the other disciples vowed the same.

~Matthew 26:35, NLT

Quote

Learn all you can about your own heart, and when you have learned all you can, remember you have seen but a few feet into a pit that is unfathomable.

~Robert Murray McCheyne

The one thing I do not want to do is deny Christ, but I am afraid what Peter did once, I have done more than once. Bro. Inman use to quote Matthew 10:32-33 practically every Sunday. I memorized these verses just by listening to him. “Therefore, whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” These verses send shock waves through my system. Is it possible? Could I actually deny Christ? Peter did and I am not better than he; so, I pray constantly for the LORD’s grace to give me courage. I do not trust the flesh. The flesh is strong when it comes to doing my its will, but it is weak when it comes to doing God’s will. I want to deny myself but not Jesus. I’m not about to pick on Peter or to make light of his denial. Peter was restored by grace and died a martyr’s death. He has my respect, not my scorn.

Calvin Miller tells a story about a woman whose face got severely burned in a house fire. People could not stand to look at her face and many times would move to the other side of the street just to avoid her. She had a little girl that accompanied her until the child got old enough to notice the reaction of people to her mother’s face. As the daughter grew older, she accompanied her mother less and less. By the time she was a teenager, she avoided being seen with her mother all together. When she married, she moved away and had nothing to do with her mother. She treated her as if she did not exist. Her aging mother spent years alone and in need but her only daughter was nowhere to be found. Then accidentally, the daughter discovered the truth, her mother was burned while saving her from the fire. She had wrapped the daughter’s face, but she could not wrap her own and see to get out of the fire, so her face was severely burned and scarred. This ungrateful daughter realized for the first time that she was alive and unscarred because of her mother’s love and sacrifice. Suddenly she felt shame, hideous shame. The truth set her free. From that point on, she saw her mother’s scars as something beautiful and she never mistreated her again.

Extra

The trees and the rye grass are still a deep green thanks to all the rain. We got another soaker yesterday. We have mud in the garden and the ditches are too wet to mow but it beats a drought. Have a good Friday and thanks for reading the blog.