Yeah your faith is going to be tested.

It would be foolish for us to think that our faith would not be tested repeatedly. Think about the repercussions of a faith that is not tested. It would not grow. It would not flourish and blossom into something that is worth of the Lord. Look to the life of Peter. The Apostle Peter had his faith tested multiple times. He succeeded in walking on water. He owns the record of water walking by a human. He only sank into the water after he questioned his faith. Of course Jesus was there to save him but up until that point Peter had walked on water. So that takes us to today’s scriptures I want us to look at.  Luke 22:31-34, Luke 22:54-62 and John 21:15-17

         Here we find the Apostles and Jesus reclining at the Last Supper. Jesus lets Peter know that Satan wants to test him. Well of course Peter says he ready to follow Him anywhere no matter the cost. Well Peter had the faith to say that but was his faith strong enough to actually follow through on it? Jesus looked right at Him and told Peter that before sunrise that he would even deny knowing Jesus. I am sure Peter was doubtful because he was so comfortable in his faith. Now one of the things that has always amazed me about this scripture is the phrase in in Luke: 22:32 where Jesus gives a bit of two sides of the coin to Peter.

“But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

         Jesus breaks Peter down here. Jesus speaks to Peter and tells him without a doubt that he is going to stumble in his faith. He is not going to fail because Jesus has prayed for him but he is going to stumble. Then Jesus builds him up by telling Peter that when he returns to his faith to strengthen his brothers. Jesus knows that Peter is going to deny Him. Jesus knows the pain and agonizing that Peter is going to go through by denying Him. Jesus, as only Jesus could do, gives it to Peter straight that he would stumble but would return and be able to further strengthen the brothers. Now if we look ahead, we know Peter does indeed stumble and deny Jesus. He is terribly upset with himself and had to be frustrated too. Here he is having denied Jesus and now Jesus has been crucified and is dead and Peter is left with no way to be restored. It is here that we come to one of my favorite stories of Peter.

         The disciples were out fishing after Jesus resurrection and a man walking along the shore tells them where they can find fish. They cast their net and do indeed find fish. Peter then recognizes that this man is Jesus Christ. Peter demonstrates that he has learned a lesson. Instead of making his way back to shore on the boat, Peter goes overboard into the sea and is swimming back to shore. Why? He so wanted the Lord, so wanted to be forgiven that he just jumped. So Jesus restores Peter by asking Peter three questions.

1.   Simon Peter son of John do you love Me more than these? Yes, Lord.  “Feed my Lambs”

2.   Simon Peter do you love me? Yes. “Then Shepard My sheep.”

3.   “Simon Peter, son of John, do you love Me?’ Yes, Lord, You know everything!” You know I love You. “Feed My sheep.”

This is what the Lord Jesus wants to do in your life. Restore you, refresh you and love you. Jesus knew Peter would stumble. Jesus knew he would suffer emotionally. Jesus knew He would die and rise again. Jesus knew that He would restore Peter. He also knew how Peter would die. He also knew that Peter would affect the Gospel being shared to this day and until the day of the return of Christ.

More Than We Can Handle?

"You know God will not give you more than you can handle." This is a piece of advice that I have heard over and over. I was in the car and heard it during a song and it got me to thinking. I began to wonder if it was true or whether it was just an overused phrase inside the feel goodish religion of the day. So as my mind turned this subject over and over I came to a couple conclusions. 

First thing to ask is that a true statement. Will God only give you what you can handle? Or, will He give you more than you can handle? I find this to be a false statement. I came to this conclusion based on my personal past and upon observations I have made of other people’s lives. There are things in this world that happen to us that we just are not capable of handling. I am not just talking about death, cancer, divorce, sickness or that type. I am looking at the day to day things of our lives. The financial, work, personal and all of those things. God does not call us to be a comfortable Christian. He gives us these things as ways to move us out of our comfort zone. We move out of these comfortable spots based solely on faith. Well, here we are at that sticking point. Having faith. Believing that God is going to be there to help and fulfill His end of the bargain. Its where the rubber meets the road. Sure the preacher on Sunday does a great job, the music is great, my spot is always available, we give to missions but when God speaks and says believe, what then? Do we go outside of the comfort zone? Do we talk to those around us that are lost? Look at this list and see if any apply.

1.  Are you attending church without an expectation of God "showing up and showing out"?

2  You are no longer concerned with the spiritual condition of your family, friends, neighbors or those people in your life.

3  When's the last time you have talked to a lost person about Jesus?

4  Does your Bible have a coat of dust on it? When is the last time you dug deeper into a subject?

5  Your happiness on Sunday morning is more important than the amount of work it takes to reach the unchurched.

6  The poor, homeless and needy just doesn't concern you.

7  The foreign mission field is in another country, not your own backyard.

8  It’s hard to let go of that tithe check each week. Are you tithing sacrificially?

9  Your prayer life is very still and stale.

10          You don't even recognize the fact that God wants to do great things through you and in your life.

Secondly, if we going to be given more than we can handle, how do we handle it? The Christian must come to realize that Jesus Christ lives in us!! The same man who walked on water, healed the sick, loved the poor, took an enormous beating, suffered a crucifixion, died, rose and defeated death, ascended to Heaven and is coming again, lives within you. That’s awesome. That’s powerful. That is life changing and should change our perspective on how we live this life! Then just to top it off God sent the Holy Spirit to help guide us and help us deal with these things.  

So there is the answer. God does give us more than we can handle. He does it to move us out of our comfort zones. He does it to test our faith. He does it so that we will rely on Jesus Christ who lives in us. He does it so we will learn to listen to the Holy Spirit and rely on Him.