Peter, Do You Love Me?

"Peter, do you love me?" are the famous words of Jesus to Peter. Jesus spoke these words to Peter after His resurrection and Peter's subsequent denial of the Lord, not once but three times. Before the trial and crucifixion Peter made the bold claim, "though all men deny thee Lord I will not." Peter soon discovered that his boldness was founded in self-confidence and not in relationship.

Jesus encounters Peter on the shores of the Sea of Galilee for the purpose of doing a restorative work in him. It is there, around the fire, after breakfast that Jesus asks the pointed questions, "do you love me more than these?" And what you see is a different man, one who is not resting in self-confidence but who is aware of his own follies and weaknesses.

Barnes has this is to say: "Peter now made no pretensions to love superior to his brethren. His sad denial had convinced him of the folly of that claim; but still he could appeal to the Searcher of the heart, and say that he knew that he loved him. Here is the expression of a humbled soul--a soul made sensible of its weakness and need of strength, yet with evidence of true attachment to the Saviour. It is not the most confident pretensions that constitute the highest proof of love to Christ; and the happiest and best state of feeling is when we can with humility, yet with confidence, look to the Lord Jesus and say, "Thou knowest that I love thee."

May our boldness be grounded, not in our self confidence but in our relationship with Jesus!

This is Today,

Pastor Gary

The Bribe

Matthew in his gospel records the guards and religious leaders reaction to the resurrection of Jesus from the grave (Matthew 28:11-15) The religious leaders, in an attempt to conceal Jesus' resurrection, bribed the guards and told them to say, "the disciples stole his body."

What we see here is how far the religious leaders were willing to go in order to conceal the truth and protect their status quo. We also see the fact the guards were willing to be bought. They had a price!

We may not take money or a bribe, because that is too obvious; but often, we too have a price. Offensive? Yes, you are right, it is. It is offensive!

We all need His grace...His mercy...His forgiveness. Be aware, alert, a tune to your own heart. Tell the Lord you do not want to be bought and bribed by the world. Ask Him to strengthen area's in your own life where compromise comes a little too easy. Ask the Holy Spirit to manifest the resurrection power of Jesus in your life.

This is today,

Pastor Gary

Telling Others

John 15:27 says, "And you must tell others about me because you have been with me from the beginning." This was the words of Jesus to His disciples. They were to tell others what they had experienced in the presence of Christ. They had been with Him from the beginning and they were to tell others all about it. They were to talk about the things they had seen and heard for themselves.

What a challenge for us! To tell others what we have seen, heard and experienced for ourselves. May we talk about His love. May we tell about His grace. May we speak about how He has changed our lives. This message of redemption and forgiveness has been told for generations. The challenge for each of us is to continue to carry the torch.

This is today,

Pastor Gary

Mary

The Christmas season is here! What a great time of the year. Take a moment and think back to that first Christmas. Imagine what it must have been like for Mary when the Angel Gabriel arrived in her little obscure town of Nazareth in Galilee. Think about how awe-struck she must have been when the Angel addressed her. Let us take a moment and ease drop on a part of his conversation with Mary: "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" (Luke 1:28) But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. (Luke 1:29) Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. (Luke 1:30)

I can only imagine how afraid Mary was. She suddenly found herself at the center of God's redemptive plan for mankind. She found herself at the center of all that God was about to do in "the fullness of time." This is what the nation of Israel had been waiting for since its very conception. This was going to be the beginning of the fulfillment of the promise that God made in the Garden of Eden that there would be a champion from the seed of woman. Genesis 3:15 "And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel." This is what the patriarchs had believed in and what the prophets spoke about, and, Mary finds herself in the middle of this great salvation plan.

Is this not how God still operates today? He takes ordinary people (the Mary's) and He uses them to bring about His great plan. God wants to take you and place you at the center of all that He is doing. Do not be afraid. Ponder what He is doing around you and say like Mary said, "I am the Lord's servant" (vs. 38).

This is today,

Pastor Gary

Great Deals

Everyone loves a great deal. Many people rise early in the morning on the day after Thanksgiving with the thought of finding a good deal. Some wait in line's for hours in the wee hours of the morning just to be one of the first people in the store to get a "great deal." It is amusing to watch the evening news the day after thanksgiving as they show the video clips of people rushing into the store as the doors open early. By nature, most of us love a great deal. It is just a part of who we are.

Think about the great deal God the Father offers us. He offers freedom to those who are bond. He offers peace to the troubled heart. Joy to the saddened. Forgiveness for the guilty. Strength for the weak. He offers eternal life. This is the deal of a life-time. I am grateful I found this great deal, or should I say, He found me.

This is today,

Pastor Gary

Thankfulness

Thanksgiving is a great holiday. A time when all of us take the time to think upon the blessings we all have. As Christians, we have a lot to be thankful for. Family, friends, health, life, work, salvation, forgiveness, mercy, and the list can go on and on. I am reminded what Paul said to the Church at Thessalonica, "In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

"In everything," that is, all things, in every circumstance give thanks. In all situations, yes, the bad and the good, give thanks! Lord, help us, that is me, learn to live with a heart of gratefulness. Help us to see your hand in all things that come our way. We can give thanks because your promise is, "and all things work together for good" for every believer. What a great promise!

May thanksgiving simply not be a holiday, may it be a way of living for each of us. Jesus, when I am tempted to grumble help me to be reminded that you have called me and placed your hand upon me. When I am tempted to focus only on the negative, help me to refocus my attention on the good. For you are good and your mercies are new every morning and great is your faithfulness.

Take the time today to list a few things you are thankful for and tell someone about it. Express your thankfulness!

This is today,

Pastor Gary

The Word

The Word of God is always a source of strength. If you need guidance, comfort, direction, hope, encouragement (and the list goes on and on), whatever your need or circumstance is, the Word of God is your place to go.

A great verse for today is found in 2 Chronicles 16:9 (NIV) "For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him." May you find strength and encouragement in this verse today. The following is a quote I read recently, I actually do not know the author but may you find encouragement in this thought today:

HIS STRENGTH IS PERFECT. God knows how we are doing at all times. He knows when we are strong and when our strength begins to falter. God created a special niche for us to fill. He wants us to go for the long haul and fulfill our mission. He needs us to serve right where He placed us. Therefore, He will give us the strength we need to make it through. With His strength, we can go all the way to the end and complete His goal.

Allow the truth of this to sink deep into you spirit. May you feel the perfect strength of God with you today. Now go out and accomplish His great design for your life!

This is today,

Pastor Gary