Digging Deeper: Forgiveness

I am a fan of Peter’s. My small group has heard me say that Peter is my Bible boyfriend! My favorite thing about him is that he has done something no one else but Jesus has—Peter walked on water! (Matthew 14:28-30) That is amazing, but as we heard in our message this week, Peter also denied knowing Jesus—not just once, but three times. After the third time, Peter hears a rooster crow and remembers that Jesus had told him this would happen (Matthew 26:31-35). It is hard to imagine how disillusioned and discouraged Peter must have felt at that moment. Matthew 26 closes with Peter leaving the courtyard, weeping bitterly. He was devastated.

Thankfully, scripture gives us more of Peter’s story. In Acts 2, we find Peter preaching and sharing the Gospel. Verse 41 says, “So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them.” In Acts 3, Peter and John are going to the temple to pray. A lame man stops them and asks for money. Peter responds, “I don’t have silver or gold, but what I do have, I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!” They help the man get up, and he enters the temple with them, praising God. Peter performs a miracle—the first one recorded in scripture after Jesus’ ascension.

Yes, Peter sinned and denied Christ, but God still used him mightily. Like Peter, whatever has you disillusioned has not disqualified you from God’s kingdom. Ask God to give you the strength to stand firm in your faith and the courage to embrace His forgiveness and transform your life for His glory.

Praying scripture is one of the most powerful ways we can ask God to help us. David, another Bible hero, wrote Psalm 51 after he was caught in sin and disillusioned with himself. Take a little time today and pray these verses over yourself:

“Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
so that sinners will turn back to you.”
—Psalm 51:10-13