LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF PETER (4) How Committed are you?

Mark 10:28 (NIV)

Peter said to him, "We have left everything to follow you!"

            

1 Chronicles 28:9-10 (NIV)

"And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. 10Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a temple as a sanctuary. Be strong and do the work." 

Peter may have fallen at times, but he was committed to Christ. He gave up his career and his home to follow and serve Christ. Such was the step all the disciples but Judas Iscariot took in their pledge to support the course of Christ on earth. They became full-time Christian workers at the expense of their lives. 

Many believers today want to separate their spiritual life from their “real” or daily life. They just want a touch of Jesus. We are so much interested in what we can satisfy ourselves with; and not necessarily what we can offer.

Reflectively ask yourself this: as a youth growing up in the Lord, how committed am I to the cause of Christ? Am I able to deny the sinful desires of the flesh for the sake of Christ? Am I able to willingly share the love of Christ at the expense of my comfort? Am I able to sacrifice my time to intercede for the Church of God? Am I able to cheerfully give to promote the Kingdom Business?

Peter said, “we have left everything to follow you”. Have you left everything to follow Christ? Just think about it?

Author: Ps. Benedict Eghan

LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF PETER (3) Know when you are Sinking

Matthew 14:22-31 (NIV)

22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat was already a considerable distance a from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.25 During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.27 But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." 28 "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." 29 "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"

Peter had been bold in his quest to walk on the water to affirm the personality of Jesus; expressing his faith; something none of the disciples had thought of. Jesus agreed to his quest; and he began to walk on the water. However with the onset of the boisterous wind, Peter became afraid and began to sink. When Peter realised that He was sinking, He cried out to the Lord. Though he was rebuked by Jesus for his unbelief in the face of the storms, he was however saved. Peter could have drowned, but his call. 

In our walk with God as youths, we are called to diligently seek to pursue the ideals of God; desiring to please Him with all that we are and all that we have. Unfortunately, in the course of time, things including our faith may seem to dwindle, and like Peter we begin to sink. Our reaction to this unfortunate stage in our life matters a lot. It is either we pretend that all is well, and we sink or we cry out to Jesus for help, who is the author and finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:2).

What do you do when things are not going in the right direction; when the flesh seems to be prevailing? In such moments, do well to do away with pretension and cry out; and you shall be strengthened once again. 

Author: Ps. Benedict Eghan

LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF PETER (2) Overcoming Inconsistency

(Matt. 14:22-33; Mark 14:66-72; Gal. 2:11-13)

As Peter was growing in the Lord he was inconsistent. We see him having a great success in faith or action and that would be followed by a failure: he started walking on the water to Jesus and then looked around him and sank in the water; he declared his allegiance to Christ and then denied him three times; he brought the gospel to the Gentiles and then later would not eat with them. Part of this problem was caused because he was hasty and didn’t think things through completely before his actions. 

Thinking through things before acting or speaking is very key in ensuring consistency in life as far as our walk with God and our dealings with our world are concerned. When you intend taking any action or speaking, think through to ascertain the stance of God’s word on the matter; availing yourself to the convictions of the Holy Spirit. Many in their rush to take critical decisions had later regretted, having realised that, just giving a further thought on the matter could have saved them from trouble.

Continuous inconsistency can affect our credibility in any field we might find ourselves. As Christian youths, to be able to affect our world, credibility is required and this could be achieved among other things, being consistent in our ways and actions. Consistency in our way of life should never be limited to our public life but also in our private life. Absence of this amounts to hypocrisy.

How consistent have you been in your Christian life?

Written By: Pastor Benedict Eghan