Page 58 - Livin Light Issue 81

PRAYER FOR TODAY
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Monday August 7 - Unforgettable sins
“Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” John 21:15
I once attended a review for a prisoner who had been in a high security prison for fifty years, and was shocked when one of the psychologists said, “More work needs to be done to understand his index offence” (the crime he committed that brought him into prison fifty years earlier).
Imagine living your whole life through the lens of your worst moment? I feel some pity for the ‘cautionary tale’ characters of the Bible, like Adam and Eve, Cain, Samson, Saul, David, Judas, Peter, Thomas, Ananias and Sapphira. Their stories are forever told from the perspective of their sins.
Peter failed spectacularly in denying Jesus. Three years of fellowship, friendship and discipleship were seemingly undone in three statements, totalling 19 words in Matthew’s gospel (26:69-75). The cockerel of judgement crowed, and Peter wept bitterly.
If you have denied Jesus, or are supporting somebody who has failed significantly, there is something key that you must – absolutely must – remember: Humans will always look at your potential through the lens of your sin. God, however, will always look at your sin through the lens of your potential.
In Peter, we see the denier, whilst Jesus saw the first shepherd of the church. The question then is not ‘what have you done?’ but ‘who will you be?’
Father, let my sin not trip me and trap me in cycles of failure. Let my memory, my words and my actions tell a different story – the story of me, written by you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Tuesday August 8 - Gut instincts
As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him... and jumped into the water. John 21:7
I admit that I have on occasion avoided people, heading for the side exit of church because the person who annoyed me last Christmas was at the back. Our gut feeling says it’s wrong, but we make an intellectual decision and try to justify it to ourselves.
Science has shown that gut instincts tell the truth! All our senses, experience and understanding merge to create a complex algorithm that generates an accurate ‘gut response’. Apparently, the gut’s nervous system does not have the ability to doubt or second-guess its conclusions!
Before we get to Peter’s frustrated response to Jesus questioning his love, let’s consider Peter’s gut reaction to the appearance of Jesus on the shore. Seeing him, Peter leapt out of the boat fully clothed and swam towards Jesus! He had denied Jesus but now, before he could over-think it, he reacted according to his gut. Over a long period, Jesus had loved him, fed him, taught him, equipped him, corrected him and healed him. All that love and care produced a gut response.
Before you get caught up in overthinking your relationship with Jesus, turn your eyes to him and let your gut reaction reveal his goodness, love, mercy, and compassion for you. Don’t turn away; jump out of the boat and swim to him!
Father, help me not to frustrate myself with overly analytical feelings of inadequacy and fear. I want to be like a child running into their father’s arms. Here I come Lord, in Jesus’s name. Amen!
PRAYER FOR TODAY