Good morning! It's a chilly morning here in my neck of the woods. Still beautiful, though. I've been discussing the first chapter of John with my husband, who grew up in the church.
I'm finding this chapter interesting, because it gives a little background on how some of the disciples met Jesus. Andrew had been a follower of John the baptizer, and apparently was there when Jesus was baptized, or heard John speak of him, because he and another follower of John decided to follow Jesus in order to learn more about him. Jesus spoke with them, and showed them where he was staying at the time, and they stayed with him for the night. Andrew introduced his brother Peter to Jesus, and Jesus told him he would be called Cephas, which means a stone. It was during this time that Jesus met Philip and Nathanael. Nathanael instantly believed on Jesus when Jesus told him he had seen him sitting under a fig tree.
Jesus replied to this Because I said unto thee I saw thee under the fig tree believest thou? Thou shalt see greater things than these (v50).
And he said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and see the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.(v51.)
I am so looking forward to reading John and hearing this account of the life of Jesus. What a wonderful opportunity we have, to be able to read God's word and know the love that he has for us. Have a great day.
Showing posts with label Peter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Peter. Show all posts
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Sunday, October 30, 2011
A Morning Cup of Tea: The Capture, The Denial
Good morning! I'm cuddled up in a blanket this morning, mindful of the time. I don't want to be late this morning for services.
Jesus took his disciples with him to pray. Most he left at a certain spot, but he took Peter, James and John with him a little closer. He told these three to watch and pray,his soul was exceedingly sorrowful. Jesus went a little further away from the three to be alone when he prayed. He prayed that God the Father would take this cup from him, but also said thy will be done, not mine (v36). He knew what was coming up, what was to happen. As he was in the flesh, he would feel every bit of the pain and agony.
When he went back to the three, he found them sleeping. He woke them up and admonished them again to pray. And he went back and prayed again himself. A second time he came back and found his companions asleep. He woke them up again and admonished them to pray, and for a third time he prayed also. After the third time he woke them and told them that the people who were coming for him were near.
Almost as soon as he said this, Judas appeared with a group of people brandishing swords. One of the disciples grabbed a sword and cut off someone's ear, but the disciples did not stay to defend Jesus or to be counted as being with him. They all fled, even Peter, who had earlier vehemently insisted that he would never leave Jesus, nor would he deny him.
The mob took Jesus to the high priest, where a council had been waiting, trying to find witness enough to convict Jesus. Those who spoke against Jesus all told lies, and none could even agree with one another.
Jesus stood there, hearing all that the people were saying about him, and he said nothing. The high priest asked him, Don't you hear what they are saying? Don't you have anything to say about all this? Still Jesus said nothing. Finally the high priest asked him, Are you the Christ? The Son of the Blessed? (v61)
62. And Jesus said, I am; and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of prayer, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
The chief priest considered Jesus' words blasphemy, and they decided it was enough to put him to death. They began to spit in his face, and hit him with their hands, taunting him to "prophesy".
Out in the courtyard Peter was warming himself. A woman saw him, and pointed him out as one who had been with Jesus. Peter denied this accusation, saying I don't know the man and I dont even understand what you are saying. A rooster crowed in the distance. A second time someone pointed out Peter as having been associated with Jesus and once again he denied it. The third time a woman said he had ties with Jesus he began to swear and curse, loudly denying he knew Jesus. He heard the rooster crow once more, and he remembered what Jesus had told him earlier, and he wept. (Scripture and lesson is from Mark 14:27-72.)
Jesus took his disciples with him to pray. Most he left at a certain spot, but he took Peter, James and John with him a little closer. He told these three to watch and pray,his soul was exceedingly sorrowful. Jesus went a little further away from the three to be alone when he prayed. He prayed that God the Father would take this cup from him, but also said thy will be done, not mine (v36). He knew what was coming up, what was to happen. As he was in the flesh, he would feel every bit of the pain and agony.
When he went back to the three, he found them sleeping. He woke them up and admonished them again to pray. And he went back and prayed again himself. A second time he came back and found his companions asleep. He woke them up again and admonished them to pray, and for a third time he prayed also. After the third time he woke them and told them that the people who were coming for him were near.
Almost as soon as he said this, Judas appeared with a group of people brandishing swords. One of the disciples grabbed a sword and cut off someone's ear, but the disciples did not stay to defend Jesus or to be counted as being with him. They all fled, even Peter, who had earlier vehemently insisted that he would never leave Jesus, nor would he deny him.
The mob took Jesus to the high priest, where a council had been waiting, trying to find witness enough to convict Jesus. Those who spoke against Jesus all told lies, and none could even agree with one another.
Jesus stood there, hearing all that the people were saying about him, and he said nothing. The high priest asked him, Don't you hear what they are saying? Don't you have anything to say about all this? Still Jesus said nothing. Finally the high priest asked him, Are you the Christ? The Son of the Blessed? (v61)
62. And Jesus said, I am; and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of prayer, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
The chief priest considered Jesus' words blasphemy, and they decided it was enough to put him to death. They began to spit in his face, and hit him with their hands, taunting him to "prophesy".
Out in the courtyard Peter was warming himself. A woman saw him, and pointed him out as one who had been with Jesus. Peter denied this accusation, saying I don't know the man and I dont even understand what you are saying. A rooster crowed in the distance. A second time someone pointed out Peter as having been associated with Jesus and once again he denied it. The third time a woman said he had ties with Jesus he began to swear and curse, loudly denying he knew Jesus. He heard the rooster crow once more, and he remembered what Jesus had told him earlier, and he wept. (Scripture and lesson is from Mark 14:27-72.)
Thursday, August 18, 2011
A Morning Cup of Tea : Losing Sight of Jesus.
Have you ever begun to do something, then let something distract you to the point you couldn't do what you had planned in the first place? Say you wanted to go to college, and you found the right classes to go to, you looked into financial aid, the whole bit. But then the baby gets sick, the car won't start, and hubby decides he doesn't like your turkey lasagna and hey, could you iron my uniform for me?
Okay, so that's an extreme example. But in today's reading, Matthew 14 : 24 -36, Peter lost sight of his goal. I'll be paraphrasing the story a bit, but please take the time to read it.
Jesus had already sent out the multitudes, and the disciples were on a boat, so that Jesus could go up on a mountain to be alone and pray. Sometime during the night, the wind picked up and sea started tossing the boat a little. About the fourth watch of the night (somewhere between 3 and 6 am) Jesus walked on water to meet the boat. The boat at this time is nowhere near the shore. His disciples see someone coming toward them, walking on water and their first reaction is fear. It's a spirit! But Jesus calls out to them. It's okay, he says. It's me, Jesus.
Peter says Lord, if it's you, call me to come to you. Jesus says come. Peter steps out of the boat and begins to walk on water. As long as he keeps his goal in mind --reaching Jesus, he does fine. But then he starts noticing the wind blowing real hard, and the waves crashing, and he lets fear creep in. Peter began to sink. Lord save me! he cried. Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him.
O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? (verse 31b) Jesus said to him. Jesus and Peter got into the boat and immediately the wind and the waves calmed down. If the disciples had doubted before, they understood now that Jesus was the Son of God. (v33)
In our day to day lives things will always be there to distract us. Those things usually work themselves out with prayer and patience. In our spiritual lives, we do well when we keep our eyes on Jesus. We sometimes have to get out of the boat for things to happen, but if we trust, its going to be okay. If, however, we get distracted and worried like Peter, we're going to sink. But as with Peter, Jesus is there to pull us out of the water. When we commit our lives to serving Him, we learn daily to trust Him.
Now the boat has taken them to Geneseret. Like other places, once they knew Jesus could help, they brought to him all who needed healing.Some had such faith that all they had to do was touch his garment and be healed. And all that did were made perfectly whole. Do we have faith that Jesus can take care of us?
Okay, so that's an extreme example. But in today's reading, Matthew 14 : 24 -36, Peter lost sight of his goal. I'll be paraphrasing the story a bit, but please take the time to read it.
Jesus had already sent out the multitudes, and the disciples were on a boat, so that Jesus could go up on a mountain to be alone and pray. Sometime during the night, the wind picked up and sea started tossing the boat a little. About the fourth watch of the night (somewhere between 3 and 6 am) Jesus walked on water to meet the boat. The boat at this time is nowhere near the shore. His disciples see someone coming toward them, walking on water and their first reaction is fear. It's a spirit! But Jesus calls out to them. It's okay, he says. It's me, Jesus.
Peter says Lord, if it's you, call me to come to you. Jesus says come. Peter steps out of the boat and begins to walk on water. As long as he keeps his goal in mind --reaching Jesus, he does fine. But then he starts noticing the wind blowing real hard, and the waves crashing, and he lets fear creep in. Peter began to sink. Lord save me! he cried. Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him.
O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? (verse 31b) Jesus said to him. Jesus and Peter got into the boat and immediately the wind and the waves calmed down. If the disciples had doubted before, they understood now that Jesus was the Son of God. (v33)
In our day to day lives things will always be there to distract us. Those things usually work themselves out with prayer and patience. In our spiritual lives, we do well when we keep our eyes on Jesus. We sometimes have to get out of the boat for things to happen, but if we trust, its going to be okay. If, however, we get distracted and worried like Peter, we're going to sink. But as with Peter, Jesus is there to pull us out of the water. When we commit our lives to serving Him, we learn daily to trust Him.
Now the boat has taken them to Geneseret. Like other places, once they knew Jesus could help, they brought to him all who needed healing.Some had such faith that all they had to do was touch his garment and be healed. And all that did were made perfectly whole. Do we have faith that Jesus can take care of us?
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