"Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him.
'You also were with Jesus of Galilee,' she said. But he denied it before them
all. 'I don't know what you're talking about,' he said. Then he went out to the
gateway, where another girl saw him and said to the people there, 'This fellow
was with Jesus of Nazareth.' He denied it again, with an oath: 'I don't know the
man!' After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said,
'Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away.' Then he began to
call down curses on himself and he swore to them, 'I don't know the man!'
Immediately a rooster crowed. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken:
'Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.' And he went outside
and wept bitterly." (Matt 26:69-75 NIV)
Can you imagine being in Peter's shoes? For three and a half years he had
followed someone he believed to be the Messiah. He had forsaking his home, his
family, even his career, truly believing that this man was THE one who would
make all things right. After all, he had watched Jesus heal the sick, free the
possessed and proclaim the Good News that the end of oppression was at hand.
Popular interpretation of prophecy now pointed to the next step: The Romans
would be defeated and Israel would become THE world power, all because of Jesus!
But it had all been nothing but pipe dreams. Jesus had just been arrested and
condemned to death. No Romans would ever be defeated by this man. Israel would
continue to serve Rome and suffer under its cruelty and oppression. It must have
seemed to Peter that he had been following nothing more than a lie. How could he
have been so wrong? And now he was accused of being one of Jesus' followers.
What if he, too, were arrested for a lie? He couldn't let THAT happen! So he
swore, he called down curses, he disassociated himself from the One he had
followed so faithfully.
Before you come down too hard on Peter, think about this for a moment. Have you
ever fervently believed in something, only to be disappointed when you learned
that it was not true? Perhaps you are, right now, believing in something or
someone that is a hoax. How can you be sure? So many proclaim to follow God's
Word and even to have a personal relationship with God, but are they really from
God, or are they proclaiming the doctrines of men?
When I was 16 years old, I was introduced to God's Word. The religion I had been
raised under never promoted the reading of the Bible, and my eyes were opened
with astonishment and excitement. I welcomed the opportunity to learn more about
this book, and when the man who first introduced me to the Bible asked me if I
would like to take Bible studies, I readily agreed. Soon I was baptized into his
church, and for the next 25 years, I fervently supported this denomination.
As time went on, however, I began wondering about certain doctrines this church
promoted. For example, people seemed to be measured by their works, and often
judgments were pronounced against certain members who didn't measure up. Where
was grace in all of this? Also, if these people were really following the Bible,
why did they place the writings of their 19th century prophet equal to, or even
above God's Word? Oh, they always said they would NEVER do this, but whenever
disagreements arose, Bible texts were ignored in favor of that prophet's
writing.
The longer I supported this denomination, the emptier I felt. Subconsciously I
thought that if I just tried harder, I would be filled, so I served the church
all the more fervently. Nothing changed, however. I continued to feel emptier
and emptier, until one day, discouraged and disappointed, I cried out to the
Lord, "Lord, show me Your truth!"
Little did I know that this prayer would change my life!
Within 2 weeks, a Messianic Jew I knew over the Internet invited me to visit his
synagogue. I wasn't interested, even then, in changing churches, but I was
curious about how Messianics worship God, and when I learned that the synagogue
was only a two hour drive from my home, I decided to accept the invitation.
It turned out to be a life-changing experience. I entered the synagogue, I was
overcome, for the first time in my life, by the presence of the Holy Spirit. At
the close of the service, the Rabbi's wife began to prophecy. She said that
there was someone in the congregation who was facing an open door, the door of
the Messiah Yeshua. She then proceeded to encourage that person to not hesitate
any longer, but to go through that door. Little did she know that she was
prophesying to me.
As I later thought about this experience, I decided that the Holy Spirit had to
be present in my own church as well, even if I had never sensed it before. After
all, this was the one true church! Surely now that my eyes had been opened, I
would sense His presence there as well! But I was in for a bitter
disappointment. God's presence wasn't at my own church at all!
I started to attend services at the synagogue once a month after that, and each
time, upon returning to my church, I was again disappointed. What was the
difference?
I started to study God's Word more vehemently. To my surprise, the One Who I had
invited into my heart at the synagogue, God's Spirit, began making His Word come
alive for me. It is then that I remembered: "But when he, the Spirit of truth,
comes, he will guide you into all truth." (John 16:13 NIV)
I was now faced with a tough decision. I had believed and promoted the doctrines
of this denomination for more than 25 years, but now that I realized that God's
Spirit didn't reside in this church, how could I continue to support it? I
decided to separate myself from that church and start to follow God instead. The
Messianic synagogue served as my stepping stone to experiencing God personally,
and though I still enjoy visiting there whenever I can, God directed my family
and I to a local Bible believing church. Here, His Word became my guide and His
Spirit made it come alive. I soon discovered that God's Truth is not a set of
doctrines, nor is it a book of abstract concepts. God's Truth is a person and
that person is Jesus Christ! "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6 NIV) Jesus became a reality
to me. No longer did I feel empty. Peace now flooded my soul and His dwelling in
my heart became precious. "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may
strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ
may dwell in your hearts through faith." (Eph 3:16-17 NIV)
In reality, I was no different from Peter. Peter had believed something other
than Truth about Jesus. He had believed Him to be the One who would free Israel
from the Romans. However Jesus came to bring true freedom: "So if the Son sets
you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:36 NIV)
Let's look at the rest of Peter's story. A few days later, after Jesus'
resurrection, he was out fishing and he realized Jesus was ashore: "Then the
disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, 'It is the Lord!' As soon as Simon
Peter heard him say, 'It is the Lord,' he wrapped his outer garment around him
(for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water." (John 21:7 NIV) Peter
suddenly realized that his beliefs about the Messiah had been wrong. He
remembered Jesus' prediction: "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the
hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise." (Mark 9:31
NIV) Jesus had not come to free the oppressed Israelites from the Romans, He had
come to reconcile the world with God! "For God so loved the world that he gave
his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have
eternal life." (John 3:16 NIV) What did Peter do with this new Truth? He swam
ashore to be with Jesus!
Are you following a lie? If you aren't sure, then just utter this simple prayer
to God, our Father: "Lord, lead me to Your truth."
Be aware that this prayer could be earth shattering!
"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except
through me." (John 14:6 NIV)
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
messages. HTML and plain text versions available.
The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.