Matthew 26:75 (KJV)
And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.
I don’t question that Peter was sincere when he said he was willing to die with Jesus. I imagine if a battle had ensued when they came with swords and staves, Peter would have been in the thick of it.
But dying for a cause is often easier than living for it.
The flesh truly is weak.
Peter couldn’t pray an hour.
Peter then denied Christ three times, even going so far as to curse to prove his anti-Christian testimony.
But Peter was restored, and I believe the key to that restoration is found right here: he remembered the Word of Jesus.
None of us know how we will handle pressure. Life gets to us. As sincere and well-meaning as we might be, as determined as we believe ourselves to be, we know not what a day may bring forth.
The key to an ongoing Christian testimony is to remember God’s Word. I was taught that whenever tempted by sin, I ought to replace that temptation with a Bible passage. I suggest this doesn’t mean that, in tense situations, we try to recall some random piece of Scripture. What I believe is more helpful is to spend enough time studying, meditating on, and hearing the Word of God that it brings itself up in those moments of testing.
When Peter remembered the words of Jesus, his first response was to weep bitterly. Don’t be surprised or disappointed that the fruit of God’s Word produces conviction long before it produces repentance—and that joy comes sometime after that. The weakness of the flesh is not quick to respond to the working of the Holy Ghost.
But the working of the Holy Ghost is sure and finally complete.
#RememberGodsWord #WeaknessOfTheFlesh #RestorationThroughChrist #PowerOfConviction #LivingForChrist
Where Restoration Begins: Conviction, Repentance, and the Work of the Holy Ghost
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