Tuesday Reading: John 21:15-19
Key Verse: John 21:17
17 He said to him the third time, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me? Peter was grieved because He said to him a third time, Do you love Me? And he said to Him, Lord, You know all things, You know that I love You. Jesus said to him, Feed My sheep.
Devotion:
How many times have you been asked to do things that you did not want to do? I am not just talking about the simple things such as tidying your room when your parents asked you to do so but to the things that have been asked of you when you could come up with many arguments as to why you should not have to do things. One such thing may be to have to tell of the things that you friends have got up to when confronted by people in authority. None of us like to be the one who lets the cat out of the bag as to what our friends have got up to, even when we know that they have done wrong; but the truth has to come out.
When Christ confronted Peter before His death He told Peter that he would deny Christ three times before the morning, and he did. Now that Christ had risen and Peter knew his own weaknesses, Christ reminds him of those weaknesses but also forewarns him that he will have to face up to things that he does not like because of his love for Christ. When we go out and try to tell others of Christ’s ways and His Word we are faced with all manner of criticism, mockery and even persecution for the truth that we try to tell. Christ warned Peter that he would have to face such things and even to face a terrible death because of those beliefs. Thankfully the law does protect us to a large extent today but there is coming a time when that will not be the case.
When we love Christ we have to be prepared to stand up and be counted as a supporter of Christ. He was the one who willingly stood up in our stead even though we willingly went against Him in our lives. He was the one who showed us His amazing love first and did it completely. Let us therefore be willing to complete our love for Him by showing others we too are willing to lift up the truth – always...
Points to Ponder:
Do you like to always tell the truth?
Will you always tell others the truth about God?
