Have you ever denied that you follow Jesus? Have you been afraid to let others know you are a Christian? Have you realized you need to be redeemed? Have you asked Jesus for forgiveness? Do you know that He will reconcile you to Himself?
We all deny Jesus at some point in our lives. Whether it is out of fear of reprisal or because we are ashamed. Perhaps many of us are beyond those days, but it is a very real challenge for our young folks and those who are new Christians.
Peter had denied Jesus on the night He was betrayed. Though Peter had been with Him for three years, he feared being captured and facing the same fate Jesus would face. It is one thing to talk boldly when things are going along well and quite another when suddenly faced with persecution or bodily harm.
Jesus knew He needed to redeem Peter. Not only did He need to redeem him, but He needed to do it in a way that Peter would both know without a doubt he was redeemed, and he would feel contrition. Jesus knew exactly what to do and how to do it. He has the same knowledge about each one of us.
Perhaps the question we need to wrestle with is, are we willing to allow Jesus to redeem us? The only other option is to continue to wallow in our brokenness. Therefore, we should confess our denials and sins to Him and ask Him to redeem us with His grace.
I pray we all realize we deny Jesus at some point in our lives. I pray we ask Jesus to redeem us. I pray each one of us trusts that Jesus will redeem us, welcome us back into the fold, and make us whole. Ask Jesus to redeem you. Trust that He will. Be made whole by Jesus.
John 21:17 He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”
Marty Pressey 