Jesus Foretells Peter's Denial

 July 3, 2020

 

Mark 14: 26 -31

 

Jesus Foretells Peter's Denial

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.   And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’   But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.”   Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.”  And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.”   But he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same.

It is written, but they were clueless as was I to where it was written, I found it in the Holman Study Bible page 1714.  “Awake, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!” declares the Lord Almighty. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones.  (Zechhariah13:7)

 

We citizens of the USA have taken freedom for granted and the freedom of speech and worship as something we will always have.  My prayer is that the Church will awake to how close we are to losing that freedom.  I believe this COVID-19 has taught me how easy it will be to control the masses by fear of getting sick and dying.  We saw mayors and governors in our land who hate the Church, do terrible things and the Church as a whole was silent.  I was reminded of Hitler’s Germany, only a few Germans were in the Nazi party, but they were willing to use any means to control Germany.  Hitler and his group hated Jews, and the Church was silent when they began to remove them from not only Germany, but Poland, and all countries they took in the war.  They killed six million Jews, and along with Japan were responsible for the deaths of around sixty-five million people in a world war that lasted six years and one day.  And by the way after the Jews, they began targeting Christian leaders.

 

Now you who have Christ living in you are the Church, many a person who goes by the name Christian are like the disciples before the Spirit of God enters into them.  They liked Jesus, He is a leader and He is good, and we are told that Peter was asked by Jesus, but who do you say I am?  The answer is found in Matthew 16:16, Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  Jesus replies, in verse 17, and Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.”  

 

For anyone to go from denying Jesus three times and standing at Pentecost and proclaim Christ rose and three thousand people entered into Christ that day, and Jesus entered into them.  A man cannot do that, it requires God, doing it all for us.

 

A neighbor who was willing to take my garden Vegetables’ told me I was living recklessly because I was not locking myself in the house and having everything delivered.  Folks give me liberty or death, but God is my provider and protector, not a big government or a pretense mask.   I know a little about masks, 3M makes the N-95 that if fitted correctly will protect you, but many will put their hope in it and if not fitted correctly will not protect you.  The few that believe the government has all the answers, one party is doing their best to place a poor man who has lost much of his mental capabilities into the office of the President.  Why, to do as they please in the darkness, for they hate the light, for it exposes the evil in their hearts?

 

My dad was a student of history, and would often say we do not learn from history, that’s why it is repeated often.  Are we do that now, a small minority with the help of the press are trying to push a lot of garbage down our throat.  

 

From the Back Porch,

 Bob Rice