Category Devotionals

Peter Learns to Report for Duty

Todd R 2 Comments

In a small group study of the apostle Peter, we studied Mark 1:29-39, where Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law, then “That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons.  And the whole city was gathered together at the door.  And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons.”  Jesus was certainly up most of the night ministering to the crowds that showed up.  But “rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.”

Simon Peter had to look for Him, since he wasn’t up early enough to see Jesus go to pray.  Peter was exhausted.  This is one of the subtle ways Jesus discipled Peter – by His example of being in constant contact with God the Father, even when it was hard or inconvenient.  Even Jesus needed to report to the Father regularly.  He put the Father first.  Every day, even when He was up most of the night.  Peter didn’t just witness many miracles, but he witnessed the relationship of Son to Father, and the dependence of the Son on the Father.  Peter had to learn that we can’t minister to others solely on our own knowledge and strength.

Photo by Jakub Kapusnak on Unsplash

The study then moved on to Luke 5:1-11, which is a story of Peter and other fishermen hauling in a miraculous catch of fish.  Jesus finds these fishermen washing their nets, after a long, frustrating night of catching nothing.  Jesus tells Simon “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”  Peter protests: “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”  Imagine how Peter (a professional fisherman) would feel about a rabbi (not a professional fisherman) giving fishing advice!  But soon their nets caught so many fish that “their nets were breaking.”

What made the difference?  Sometimes what determines whether nothing happens, or something amazing happens is our willingness to listen and to obey.  Our ability to keep in constant contact with the Father, through Jesus His Son.  Jesus made time for the Father even after a long night of ministry, and Peter saw Him do it.  Shortly after, Jesus showed Peter that even small changes in our routines and lives, done in obedience to Him, can make a big difference, but how can we know how to follow Jesus if we aren’t showing up to listen?

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.
It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.” – Proverbs 3:5-8

Is it a Lion or a Squirrel?

Todd R 1 Comment
Photo by Bhargava Srivari on Unsplash

“The sluggard says, ‘There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!’” – Proverbs 26:13

Laziness has many motives, one being willful misunderstanding of circumstances.  This Proverb reminds me to pause and pray for an accurate appraisal of any situation before reacting.

“What you hear in the forest but cannot see might be a tiger. It might even be a conspiracy of tigers, each hungrier and more vicious than the other, led by a crocodile.  But it might not be, too.  If you turn and look, perhaps you’ll see that it’s just a squirrel…If you refuse to look, however, then it’s a dragon” – Jordan Peterson

Leviathan Defeated!

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Isaiah 27:1 declares: “In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.“

We must acknowledge the enemy as a powerful dragon to know the difficulty of our struggle, and also that it is the LORD who ultimately must, and will, destroy him “In that day” (rather than now or when we want Him to)

“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations” – J.R.R. Tolkien, in The Hobbit

Peter Decides to Follow Jesus

Todd R 2 Comments

In a small group study of the apostle Peter, we brainstormed whatever words and phrases came to mind when thinking of Peter, and the first one that came up for multiple people was “impulsive.”  We covered one example of Peter’s impulsiveness in the second part of the study, which comes from the use of the word “immediately” near the end of Matthew 4:18-20:

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“While walking by the Sea of Galilee, [Jesus] saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.  And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  Immediately they left their nets and followed him.”

Taken on their own, these verses make it look like Peter dropped everything “immediately” the first time he met Jesus.  Very impulsive!  However, there is some important background found earlier in John 1:35-41:

“The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”  The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.  Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?”  He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.  One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.  He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).”

From this we know that Andrew was Peter’s brother, and that Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist.  Andrew began to follow Jesus, partly based on John’s testimony then, believing that Jesus was the Messiah, testified to his brother Simon, who is soon re-named, in John 1:42 –

“[Andrew] brought [Peter] to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).”

Another bit of important context is the verse leading up to Peter’s call in Matthew, chapter 4, verse 17: “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”  Mark also prefaces the story of Peter’s call by Jesus with a call to repentance (Mark 1:15).  Both gospel writers are implying that Peter’s response to Jesus is an example of repentance for us to learn from.

But what is repentance and how does Peter’s call illustrate it?  The word repent means to think differently about something.  I’ve heard repentance defined as “a U-turn on the road of life” which includes both a turning away from sin, and a turning toward God in thankful obedience.  Peter, in following Jesus, was thinking differently about the best way to live his life.  He turned to Jesus as the best answer to his life’s meaning and purpose.

This decision is not one to be taken lightly, and while Peter followed “immediately,” he was not as impulsive as we might think.

“For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?” – Luke 14:28

Jesus Even Makes the Deaf Hear

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As a child of deaf parents, some details of stories from the life of Jesus especially catch my attention.  This miracle recorded in Mark 7:32-37 is one example:

“And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him.  And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue.  And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, ‘Ephphatha,’ that is, ‘Be opened.’ And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.  And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.  And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.’”

In the second sentence, we see Jesus’ “bedside manner.”  His compassion for this individual led to specific actions, as noted by Warren Wiersbe: “Since the man was deaf, he could not hear our Lord’s words, but he could feel Jesus’ fingers in his ear and the touch on his tongue, and this would encourage the man’s faith.”[1]  Not only did Jesus heal Him, but He did it in a way that would be meaningful to this one man.

Another detail Mark records is that Jesus spoke, but why, if this man couldn’t hear him?  Jesus touched the man as a testimony to him, but these words were a testimony to anyone nearby that the power of Jesus healed this man, not the man’s response to the words, since he couldn’t hear them.  There was to be no question as to the source of the healing.

Third, the word “immediately” appears many times in Mark’s gospel, including at least 5 references to healing miracles (1:42, 2:12, 5:29, 5:42, and 10:52).  A big part of this miracle is that deaf people do not immediately “speak plainly” if they recover their hearing or begin using hearing aids.  It can take years of training.  By saying “he spoke plainly,” Mark makes clear that Jesus did not just put this man on the path to recovery; He gave Him a full recovery “immediately”!

Lastly, when the people said, “He has done all things well,” they were testifying that Jesus was fulfilling a Messianic expectation from Isaiah 35:5-6, which says:

“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
            and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
            and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
For waters break forth in the wilderness,
            and streams in the desert”

In this miracle and others, Jesus showed that He was the fulfillment of all the hopes of the Old Testament, and of all mankind.  His kingdom could overcome any problem, and His kingdom is superior to any other kingdom.  No problem He encountered was beyond His power and He offers a way to a world where all problems are solved for those who believe in Him.

Praise Him!

[1] Wiersbe, Warren.  Be Diligent (Mark) (1987).  P. 95.