Daily Devotional for Sunday, November 12

Peter’s Denial

“And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept,” Mark 14:72.

Oftentimes when two people end up in some sort of altercation verbally, and thankfully it does not end in physical violence, one or more of the parties might be heard saying something to the effect of, “If that guy had just mouthed off one more time!” The rest of us know that is just empty talk and had the person actually been such a tough guy, they would have done as their words said. People often talk themselves up with far more bravery and capability in their minds than they possess in real life. So, when we want to get all judgmental about Peter’s conduct, we should remember that we are not much better ourselves. We all tend to be legends in our own minds.

Despite his later history of passion and bravery, we know Peter did have a tendency to run off at the mouth. He had vehemently stated that he would never deny his Lord, and Jesus informed him that he would, not just once but three times. In our devotional passage, Peter understood what he had done and was quite convicted. In fact, he was convicted to the point of tears. Was Peter done here? Was his usefulness to God at an end? Of course not! Peter went on to do many great works for the Lord, including that powerful sermon on the day of Pentecost. Jesus forgave Peter completely. If you think you are too far gone to be of use to the Lord, remember that you are not. Go to the Lord in repentance, and He will forgive you and use you, perhaps greatly as He did Peter.

JUST A THOUGHT: When we think we are really something, we need to remember that without Jesus we are nothing.

Wally Fry