Tag Archives: deny

MARK’S GOSPEL…EXPOSED – 36

Bible Study, ,

Mark 14:27-31 NIV

“You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written: “ ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.” “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.” But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same.”

‭‭

Oh, the cockiness of the flesh! So arrogant…and so weak!

In a matter-of-fact, almost “by-the-way” manner, Jesus foretold the disciples about their desertion and Peter about his denial. He spoke as though the cowardly abandonment of their Master  was a foregone conclusion. For Him, it was done, so He brushed aside their failure with an instruction…

“But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

Isn’t that strange? It’s almost as though Jesus were replaying everything that was yet to happen as if it had already happened…yet what they did to Him didn’t faze Him. It was part of a process, and He knew the conclusion. 

For Peter, though, this prediction heralded an unforgettable moment…a terrible humiliation that would unlock his understanding to the real Peter, open his eyes to the real Jesus, and change his life forever. 

Until the moment when the cock crowed, Peter was in charge of his own life. He was cocksure of his abilities, his strengths, his ways. He could cope with every eventuality on his own, thank you very much. 

Peter brushed aside Jesus’ warning with a self-confident  retort… “Me, Jesus! No, never me! All the others may fail you but not me!” …implying, of course, “I can do it, all by myself.”

Little did Peter know how far he would fall. He didn’t just run away like the  others. He denied any knowledge of Jesus with oaths and curses…just as if he were a known criminal denying his guilt! From self-proclaimed head disciple to coward and liar, Peter crashed…and he only woke up to the truth when he heard the rooster crowing in the distance. 

Imagine that! Peter was so self-assured that he thought the bystanders would believe him until…the truth hit him. He had done exactly what Jesus said he would do! How he hated the sound of the rooster at that moment. It was as if it were announcing his guilt to the world.

Peter was devastated, humiliated, destroyed. That look…that compassion so palpable he could feel it…those eyes boring into his soul, unpacking every thought, every motive, every intention…not anger, not judgment, not “I told you so”…just sorrow, grief, and pure love. 

Peter couldn’t handle it. He turned and ran…away from the people who had witnessed his shame…away from the glowing fire where he had warmed his hands…into the cold, dark night where he could weep alone. He was broken, all his bluster and self-confidence gone. He could never look Jesus in the eyes again, the words of his denial replaying inside his brain like a stuck record. 

We would be left hanging if it were not for John’s story of reconciliation and restoration, but that is for another time. 

It had to be. For Peter, at that moment, it was death to his ego as real as the death of his Master. How often did the recollection of his failure return when his old natural self threatened to destroy him again? 

Was it a lesson well learned or just another bump in the road? Only time and experience would tell.





THE GOSPEL OF MARK – IT’S ALL OR NOTHING

Bible Study, ,

IT’S ALL OR NOTHING

34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” Mark 8:34-38

This entire incident at Caesarea Philippi was loaded. First of all, it was a shocking visual spectacle for the disciples to underscore the impact Jesus, His kingdom and His yoke will have on the world systems that ignore the revelation of God and set up their own ungodly system. No matter how tenacious the hold that man-made religions has on people, the power of God’s love, demonstrated by Jesus and His true followers, will break it.

Jesus is the pioneer of this way. He had to go before, unmask and destroy Satan’s deception of the whole world by submitting Himself to Satan’s way – power through control – and coming back from the dead to declare that it is a lie and doesn’t work. The only way that works is ECHAD with the Father so that His way of love is channelled through every believer. The only way to overcome this world system is to allow it to do its worst, and to trust and obey the Father by applying Jesus’ yoke in every situation – His gentleness and humility.

If that way causes embarrassment, Jesus said when you are ridiculed by the world, and then you will be an embarrassment to Him in the presence of the Father. The world’s way – the yetzer harah, and God’s way – the yetzer tov, are diametrically opposed to one another. They cannot function together in one life. Only one mind-set, only one philosophy of life, only one passion, will stand in God’s presence – the way of true discipleship – complete abandonment to Jesus as Lord, willingness to embrace the suffering that accompanies fellowship with Jesus, and the lifestyle of denying self, wearing the Rabbi’s yoke and reconnecting with God’s original man created in His image to be ECHAD with Him.

Every believer needs to make a non-negotiable decision that he no longer belongs to himself, that he has chosen, like Jesus, to let himself be nailed to the cross so that resurrection life may be revealed in him, and to allow God-awareness to overtake self-awareness so that his life will bring “up there, down here.”

IT’S ALL ABOUT CHOICE

Pastor's Desk, ,

Dear Family
Life is all about the choices we make. Whether rich or poor, in sickness or in health, young or old, we have choices. These choices will present themselves differently at different times in our lives, but whatever station we find ourselves in on any given day, we always have choices to make. Our reality is that the choices we make determine the lives we live, positively and negatively—it’s the principle of either sowing to please the Spirit or sowing to please ourselves. Very often it appears that the choices others have to make are a lot easier than ours, particularly when our bank balance is less impressive than others, or when our health limitations are more severe than others. I cannot, for example, choose to go on a world cruise if I have no means to do it, or to run the Comrades marathon when even my walking is impeded. That’s just silly!
Joshua, when he stood before the people of Israel at Shechem (Joshua 24), called on them to decide between the ways of the world and the ways of God where the following words are recorded in verse 15: “But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
“But as for me…” powerful, insightful words. A decision had been made which would invoke a life-long clause to ensure that all his actions and that of his family would be subject to the will of God.
Jesus said it like this in Luke 9:23: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
The most important choice we can ever make is obviously to give ourselves completely to God and to decide to follow Jesus in a sense every single day, but there are many, many times in any given day that we are compelled to make choices that are very often either for or against what His word teaches us.
For example, do I participate in the office gossip? Do I steal my employer’s time like everyone else is by getting to work late or leaving early or spending time on social media? Do I tell those little harmless untruths in order to save face? And so the list goes on.
Make it your mission in 2017 and beyond to always choose His will above your own, knowing that eternal consequences far outweigh our temporary earthly existences.
Every blessing!

Save Your Skin – Lose your Life

Christian Life, , ,

SAVE YOUR SKIN – LOSE YOUR LIFE

“‘Stand up for me among the people you meet and the Son of Man will stand up for you before all God’s angels. But if you pretend you don’t know me, do you think I’ll defend you before God’s angels?'” Luke 12:8, 9 (The Message).

What was Jesus getting at? Does He need people to defend Him? Is He like other religious groups that go hysterical and murder people who so-called ‘insult’ their religious leaders? Does He really want us to behave like that? Will it make any difference to His reputation if we don’t vehemently defend Him every time someone bad-mouths Him?

This is not so much about Jesus as it is about us. When we recognised and acknowledged that Jesus is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead, several things happened supernaturally.

Our dead spirits were made alive by God’s Spirit and He reconciled and reconnected us to God, our Father. We were rescued from the dominion of darkness and made citizens of God’s kingdom of light. We became the slaves of a new Master, Jesus and set free from the law of sin and death. We were given a new nature and have a new destiny – life in the eternal realm of God’s presence.

All of these blessings are guaranteed and have already become ours because Jesus paid the debt of our sin on the cross to restore us to God and to His eternal purpose for us. God raised Him from the dead, gave Him a name above every other name and seated Him in the place of supreme authority above all powers that have made a bid for His place and lost.

So why then, did Jesus insist that we must acknowledge Him before men? It will definitely not make a difference to Him or His position but it will make a difference to us. To acknowledge Jesus, even if it costs us to do so, is to acknowledge everything He has done for us and to take our stand on His promises and in our position in His eternal kingdom.

Once again it is to take the long look at life. If our sights are only upon our safety and comfort in this life, to choose not to acknowledge Jesus will be the easiest way out to save our skin. But if we are secure in our awareness of who we really are, sons and daughters of the living God, we will be more troubled about dissociating ourselves from Jesus than about what people might say about him or us.

Jesus is not giving a warning that He will treat us like we treat Him. It is much more than that. The choice to acknowledge who He is lies with us. If we choose to confess Him before men in our hostile earthly environment, He will affirm our sonship in the environment of heaven. To deny Him is to cut ourselves off from everything He has done for us. He has no other alternative but to confirm our choice for or against Him.