A Changed Life - part 5

Another one of Peter's problems was boasting about himself.  Do you have that problem?  I am asking myself if I do.  I am sure that you know some braggers, they are around and sometimes they are not very pleasant to be around.  I know someone that loves to put me down under and lift himself high above others and really he is not pleasant to be around.  He hasn't seemed to learn the lesson of humility yet,  some day I am hoping he does.

God has something to say about those who think they are holier than others.

Isaiah 65:5  "Who say, 'keep to yourself, Do not come near me for I  am holier than you.  These are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all the day."  I guess this person never read this verse.  It wouldn't be very comfortable to be called smoke in God's nose.  Smoke is unpleasant to breathe.  Well, Peter had this problem and you can read it in:

Matthew 26:33,34  "Peter answered and said to Him, (Jesus) even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.  Jesus said to him, 'Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."  Did he deny Christ three times?  Very much so.  Sometimes we don't know ourselves, just like Peter didn't know himself.  We need to ask God to show us what we are really like and believe Him when He tells us.

Peter didn't believe that he could stoop so low as to deny his Lord, but he did.  This shows us that we can do things that we ordinarily wouldn't do except when put into a tight circumstance, something happens to us and we lose it, like Peter did.  He looked up and saw Jesus looking at him, not with hate or anything like that, but with love in His eyes for Peter.  Peter went back to the garden and wept his heart out for denying his Lord.

This is the way we should be when we sin against our Lord, Peter's Lord.  We don't do it on purpose, but we do it, just like Peter did.  We need to weep before Him with repentance and ask for forgiveness, like Peter did.  Peter was forgiven and reinstated with the other disciples and they forgave him too and he became a great preacher of the gospel.  We can do the same, we may not become a great preacher, but we can witness of Christ's love to those around us by the things we do and say and pray for them that our lives will change their lives.

Do you want to become like Peter after Pentecost or stay like you are?  A great question, isn't it?  I want to become like Peter after Pentecost and bless those around me.  Let's try to be like Peter after Pentecost.
Grandma Joan