Key Thought

Peter suffered the brokenness of sin and shame. The Lord had warned him, yet he failed anyway. Despite his rash promises, Peter denied the Lord ... three times. The crowing of the rooster roused Peter from his confused stupor and ushered him into the bitter and undeniable reality of his sinful desertion of his friend and Lord. I have had a moment or two like that. Maybe you have, too. It's that moment when you realize that you've dishonored the Lord and let him down, even though you promised yourself, and the Savior, that you wouldn't let him down ... again. Peter is our great reminder that our failures don't determine our future with the Lord. God can take those failures and make something good of them. While our messy failures are not his plan for us, he can take our messes and restore us back into his plan. So please, don't give up when you think you have failed the Lord. Instead, let your sin break you and then come back and openly confess that sin to the Lord and be restored. He will bless you and use you to bless others if you will come back to him.

Today's Prayer

Today's Verses in Context

They arrested Jesus and took him away. They brought Jesus into the house of the high priest. Peter followed them, but he did not come near Jesus. The soldiers started a fire in the middle of the yard and sat together. Peter sat with them. A servant girl saw Peter sitting there. She could see because of the light from the fire. The girl looked closely at Peter's face. Then she said, "This man was also with him (Jesus)!" But Peter said this was not true. He said, "Lady, I don't know him." A short time later, another person saw Peter and said, "You are also one of those people that follow him (Jesus)." But Peter said, "Man, I am not one of his followers!" About an hour later, another man said, "It is true! This man was with him (Jesus). He is from Galilee!" The man said he was sure about this. But Peter said, "Man, I don't know what you are talking about!" Immediately, while Peter was still speaking, a rooster crowed. Then the Lord (Jesus) turned and looked into Peter's eyes. And Peter remembered what the Lord had said: "Before the rooster crows in the morning, you will say three times that you don't know me." Then Peter went outside and cried bitterly. Some men were holding (guarding) Jesus. They made fun of Jesus and beat him. They covered his eyes so that he could not see them. Then they hit him and said, "Be a prophet and tell us who hit you!" And they said many very bad things to Jesus. The next morning, the older leaders of the people, the leading priests, and the teachers of the law came together. They led Jesus away to their highest court. They said, "If you are the Christ, then tell us that you are!" Jesus said to them, "If I tell you I am the Christ, you will not believe me. And if I ask you, you will not answer. But beginning now, the Son of Man will sit at the right side of God's throne." They all said, "Then are you the Son of God?" Jesus said to them, "Yes, you are right when you say that I am." They said, "Why do we need witnesses now? We ourselves heardhim say this!"

— Luke 22:54-71 (ERV)

Comments on "The Brokenness of Sin and Shame":

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