Tuesday, April 7, 2020
About My Father’s
Business:
A Lenten Devotional Guide
“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like
wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when
once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
Luke 22:31-32 NASB
Isn’t this an
amazing passage? First of all, can we even imagine that Satan would talk to
Jesus about Peter, perhaps the way he talked to God about Job. He didn’t just
ask, he demanded permission to give Peter a hard time, and Jesus didn’t question
that. This surely reveals a kind of authority that I don’t often think of Satan
as having!
This
conversation took place right after Peter had sworn that he would go to the
death for Jesus and just before Jesus told Peter that he would deny him three
times. Peter, from this moment until he sees Christ after the resurrection, had
a lot to think about. He was going to spend several miserable days, but his
faith would not fail because God would grant the prayer of his beloved son on
Peter’s behalf.
We don’t want
to miss the forgiving heart of Jesus in the final words of this passage.
Knowing that his friend is going to deny him, knowing that fear has weakened
him at this point, Jesus still speaks words of encouragement to Peter: when you
get straightened out, help your brothers. Peter looked weak at the moment, but
Jesus had confidence that he would be a strong leader when he got through this
crisis of faith.
Wouldn’t we
all like to believe that Jesus had that kind of confidence in us? “When you
have turned again…” is surely the statement of a God of second chances. We
don’t want to ever turn away, but isn’t it comforting that we know he gives
second chances.
Father, Thank you for helping us “turn
again” so we can strengthen others. Amen
About My Father’s Business:
A Lenten Devotional
Guide
prepared for First United Methodist Church
of Homosassa, Florida
Spring 2010
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator
prepared for First United Methodist Church
of Homosassa, Florida
Spring 2010
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator
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