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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Saturday, 13 April 2024:
John 21:3 — Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
Trained for three years as a disciple of Jesus, charged with seeking lost souls, Peter, in fear and doubt, went back to his old business, doing what was comfortable for him, doing what he knew he could do under his own strength rather than doing what now seemed impossible to him. When the walk of faith is hard or seemingly hopeless, it can be very tempting to go back to the old life, just like the Israelites in the desert were often tempted to go back to slavery in Egypt when things seemed impossible for them. (Numbers 11:4-6; Numbers 14:1-4; Numbers 16:12-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13) However, it is when you go through “the valley of the shadow of death,” you can discover in greater ways that the Lord is with you, and He will comfort you and empower you to face the challenges while you fulfill your ultimate purpose of becoming like Him and one with Him. The discomfort you feel in the faith journey, in the refiner’s fire, is more spiritual than physical (though the physical discomfort can be tremendous) as God removes from you the habits of self-sovereignty and self-sufficiency. God wants you to trust Him, not yourself, others, or other things. He will always place you in situations you can’t handle and ask you to do what is impossible for you because He doesn’t want you to see what you can do by yourself. He wants you to see what He can do through you and what He intends to do with you. Faith grows as you become increasingly self-insufficient and fully dependent upon Him, but confidently and joyfully.
- Romans 15:4, 5 — For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus….
- I Corinthians 1:9-14 — And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
- Revelation 3:10, 14:12 — Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth…. Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
Peter was, perhaps, confused and discouraged and went back to the life he knew before his walk with Jesus, but Jesus didn’t give up on Peter. Jesus called out to him, and Peter was listening. When you feel discouraged. Seek the Lord, and you will find He has already come to you. Go to Him, listen to Him, and obey Him.
John 21:15 – So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?”
From Henry T. Blackaby –“Jesus has a wonderful way of restoring us when we fail Him! He does not humiliate us. He does not criticize us. He does not ask us to make a resolution to try harder. Rather, He takes us aside and asks us to reaffirm our love for Him. Peter miserably failed his Lord when he fled with the other disciples from the Garden of Gethsemane. Later, he publicly denied that he even knew Jesus. Peter must have wondered if he had been capable of being Jesus’ disciple when he was unfaithful to Jesus in His most crucial hour….
You may be painfully aware that you have failed your Lord in many ways. Perhaps you were not faithful. Perhaps you disobeyed His word to you. Perhaps you denied Him by the way you lived. Jesus will take you aside, as He did Peter. He will not berate you. He will not humiliate you. He will ask you to examine your love for Him. He asked Peter, “Do you love Me?” If your answer, like Peter’s, is “Yes, Lord,” He will reaffirm His will for you. If you truly love Him, you will obey Him (John 14:15). Jesus does not need your resolutions, your recommitments, or your promises to try harder…. If your resolve to obey God last year did not help you to be faithful, it will not make you successful this year. Jesus asks for your love. If you truly love Him, your service for Him… will be of the quality that He desires.”
John 21:15-19 – 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 the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the 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. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”
Previously Peter denied Jesus three times; here Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him three times. In the original language Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him unconditionally, but Peter, now humbled by the truth of himself, can only say to Jesus that he loves Him as a brother. Jesus accepts Peter’s imperfect love and charges Peter to “follow” Him and to “feed [His] sheep.” This is Peter’s call to do more than just work for a living in order to meet his worldly needs. It is his call to accomplish his purpose in life to be Christ’s Ambassador. This is your call too.
“Do you truly love me (John 21:15-17)?” We can all agree that we don’t love Jesus perfectly, and every day we fail in our attempts to follow Jesus and to remain obedient in love. So, what do we do in the face of our failures? Don’t accept sin or make light of it (God doesn’t), but rejoice in your state of grace and keep trying. Seek to enjoy God and glorify Him better each day. Keep pressing forward, not looking backwards but keeping your eyes on the prize, Jesus, one day at a time. “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day (Proverbs 4:18).”
“He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was grieved because he said to him the 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.'” When you love someone, you care about what they care about. You earnestly desire to please them. Jesus said that the proof of our love for Him was revealed in our love for others. What could be more loving than to lead someone to Jesus, to disciple them in the Lord?
John 21:20-21 – Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following…. Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?”
From Henry T. Blackaby – “The first thing you do after God speaks to you is critical. Jesus was telling Peter what type of ministry he would have and what type of death he would suffer (vv. 18-19). It was a sacred moment in Peter’s life, as his Lord pulled back the curtain to his future. His was not to be an easy life but a life ordained and blessed by his Lord and Master. Rather than responding to what Jesus told him, Peter looked around at his fellow disciples. His glance fell upon John, the disciple whom Jesus loved. “But Lord, what about this man?” Peter asked. Peter had just been given the somber news of his future death. How natural to compare his assignment with that of the others! This is the great temptation of God’s servants: to compare our situation with that of others. Did God give my friend a larger house? Did God heal my friend’s loved one and not mine? Did God allow my friend to receive appreciation and praise for his work while I remain anonymous? Did God allow another Christian to remain close to her family while I am far removed from mine? Jesus assigned Peter and John to walk two different paths, but both Peter and John have enriched our lives. Jesus knew how dangerous it is when a servant takes his eyes off the master to focus on a fellow servant. Where is your focus? Have you become more concerned with how God is treating someone else than you are with how He is relating to you?
John 21:22 — Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”
Jesus does not want you to compare yourself with other Christians or to worry about what God is doing in their lives. Jesus wants you to follow Him one day and a time and to be faith with the resources, opportunities, and relationships that you have been given.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 13 April 2024: Today, meditate upon what is means to be an ambassador of the King of kings and Lord of lords and recommit to walking “in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” (Ephesians 4:1) Boldly proclaim the Gospel under the power and authority of Jesus Christ. Today, focus on abiding in Jesus’ love and bearing fruit through His love.
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 