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Will You Deny Him?
Peter looked boldly into the
eyes of the Lord and said without hesitation, “though all men shall be offended
because of you, yet will I never be offended.” To which Jesus replied, “assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster
crows, you will deny Me three times.” But Peter said, “…though I should die
with you, yet will I not deny you.” (Mt 26:33-35.)
Soon after this conversation, Judas came with the multitude to
betray Jesus. And as they began to mock and spit upon Jesus, Peter was
following at a distance when he sat to warm himself by a fire. First, a servant
girl saw him and said, “this man was also with Him,”
to which he replied, “woman, I do not know Him." (Lk
22:56-57.) Twice more he denied the Lord and, “immediately, while he was still
speaking, the rooster crowed.” (Lk 22:60.) “And the
Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord…so
Peter went out and wept bitterly.” (Lk 22:61-62.)
We would all hope we could stand up for the Lord in this
situation. The truth is, while we have chances every day to stand with Him or
to deny Him. When given an opportunity
to share the gospel, do you declare as did Paul, “I am not ashamed of the
gospel of Christ,” (Rom
A few days after Peter’s denials of Christ, the risen Lord sat
with the disciples and ate breakfast. When they were finished Jesus turned to
Peter and asked him, “Do you love me more than these?” (Jn 21:15.) This
question He asked twice, both times using a form of the word agape, which describes a complete and
selfless love. Peter replied both questions with a much weaker form of the word
“love,” saying, “yes Lord you know that I phileo you.” Undoubtedly this deeply grieved Peter, but he was aware of
his weakness, and would not boldly profess his undying love for the
Savior. A third time Jesus asked,
“Peter, do you love me?” (Jn 21:17.) But this time Jesus asks as if to say,
“Peter, do you even like me?” To which Peter replied, “Lord, you know all
things. You know that I phileo you.”
Like Peter we are often quick to profess our endless, perfect love
for God. And, like Peter, we are quick
to deny Him with our actions or words. We are fortunate, today, that we don’t
have to fear death when we profess the name of Christ. But we must fear death
if we refuse to obey Him. Jesus said,
“You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.”
(Jn 15:14.) You see, Jesus didn’t require that Peter’s love always be perfect,
but He did require him to be His friend.
Are you Jesus’ friend?
- - - - Darrell Powell
News & Notes
1. Prayer List: VA Hospital,
2. Sympathy Expressed: Our love and
sympathy is expressed to McArthur Taylor in the death of his brother-in-law,
Ronnie Scott.
3. Please Pray For: The following
people are serving in
4. Birthdays: Celebrating birthdays
this week are: April 23rd Brian Klash, April
25th Mary Lou Phelps, and April 26th Cindy
Faulk and Bobby Godwin.
5. Disney On Ice:
Bobby & Mary Lou Terrell have offered to pay for any K-6th
graders to attend Disney on Ice on May 5th at
6. Thank You: (a) Dear Walnut Street Family, Thank you for the wonderful shower,
prayers, and words of encouragement. We received many nice gifts that will
prove useful as we begin our life together. We would like to give special
thanks to those who organized and set up for the shower. Thank you all so much!
In Christian Love, Christopher Bagents & Dusty Dunn (b) The
family of George W Mosley thanks you fore your kind expression of sympathy. May
God bless each of you! The George Mosley Family
7. Prom Alternative: Thank you to all
the wonderful cooks who prepared food, and to Jimmy & Barbara Walker, Bruce
& Ann Cauthen, Paige Barr and Jamie Powell for all their hard work that
made this year’s prom alternative a great success.
8. Sign-Up Sheet: There is a sign-up
sheet on the bulletin board for the Marriage Seminar. If you are planning to
attend please sign the sheet where the ladies will have an idea how many they
will need to prepare lunch for.
9.
10. Backwoods Christian Camp: Our week at Backwoods will be July
8-13. Camp fees will again be paid from the Carl Sessions Camp Fund for all
11. Put These Dates On Your Calendar: (a) April 28th –
Can Faith Save Us?
James poses the very same
question in his New Testament letter. The entire question that he set forth
was, “…if someone says he has faith but does not have works…can faith save
him?” (James 2:14.) Let us observe his
answer.
One illustration that James used was that of helping those in
need. He says if a brother or sister is in need, and you merely say to them,
“depart, be warmed and filled,” but do not give them what they need, what good
does it do?
(James 2:15-16.) Then he makes the indisputable
statement, “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
(James 2:17.)
James continues his letter and mentions that works justified
Abraham’s faith when he was obedient to God in offering up Isaac as a
sacrifice. Likewise, Rahab the harlot was justified when she aided the people
of God in the
One must first take the initiative to study God’s word, for
through this act faith is attained. (Romans 10:17.) Then, belief in Jesus
Christ is required, for if one does not believe, he will die in his sins. (John
8:24.) Next, there must be a decision to cease walking in sin. (Acts
Through no amount of work on our part could we ever earn our way into heaven. But can faith alone save us? “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.” (James 2:26.)
- - - - Darrell Powell
“For I
consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared
with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Rom.
Don’t just own a Bible; read it!
(334-382-3001)