The Leaf in my Bible, part 3

Read Part 1 here. and part 2 here.
Jesus is dead.
Peter's world has stopped spinning, and he has no idea what to do. He and the other disciples hide in dark rooms, not sure how to proceed. Should they scatter? Pretend it never happened?
And Peter's mind is full of his betrayal. Could it have made a difference? Did Jesus die not knowing how much Peter really loved Him?
On the day after Sabbath, some of the female followers of Jesus go to the tomb to anoint Jesus' body for burial. But when they arrive, the stone has been rolled away! An ANGEL appears to them and says, "He is not here for HE IS RISEN, as He said. Go tell the disciples AND PETER that He is going before you into Galilee." (Mark 16:6-7)
The women run back and tell Peter and John, who in turn run to the tomb. They see the stone rolled away, the tomb empty, except for a folded head cloth.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? They still don't fully understand what has happened! They remain in hiding in upper rooms, not sure of what the authorites will do when they find out the report.
Then Jesus appears to them, through the locked door and says, "Peace be to you!" Then He tells them that as the Father sent Him, so He was going to send them out as well.
In John 21, there is a very interesting account. You would expect, after seeing Jesus alive and risen from the dead, the disciples would be ready to do anything, go anywhere...that they would have no more doubts. But in John 21 we read the Peter says to the other disciples, "I'm going fishing." And they go with him.
What is that all about? THEY HAVE SEEN THE RISEN LORD!
Why go fishing now? And why fishing?


Try to imagine being Peter right now. It was bad enough denying your Master three times when He was dead. But now, He's alive again. He knows that Peter denied Him, He had looked at him right after the fact. Big, loud-mouth Peter - only he and Jesus know that he totally blew it. But Jesus is the One that matters! So much for a top job in the kingdom! So much for being one of the closest three to the Master. So much for being the Peter, the Rock!
Peter looks at himself and sees his failure, and sees his usefulness to the Master as over.
And so he goes fishing. He's a fisherman. Fishing is something he's good at. He knows that even though he's a failure at being a disciple, he is not a failure at fishing.
But there's a problem. They weren't catching anything. Not a minnow. Now a bluegill. Not a sea monster. Nothing.
Peter is now at his absolute low-point. He can't do anything right. He's a failure. He's useless. He can't even FISH!
Then the disciples see a man on the shore of the lake, who calls to them and says, "Children, do you have any fish?"
They reply, "No."
"Cast your net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some."
They obey, and instantly their nets are full of fish. Then John says to Peter, "It is the Lord!"
Simon Peter puts on his outer garment and dives into the sea, headed for Jesus.
The Master had prepared a fire, and offered to them to eat a breakfast of fish and bread. They counted the fish and there were 153 large fish! I love that the Bible tells us that!
The Bible also tells us in John 21:12 that none of them asked Who He was, because they knew it was the Lord. Well,  I would hope so, after following Him for three years!
After they have finished eating, Jesus turns to Simon Peter and says,
"Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?"
Peter answers, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."  You know that, don't You, Lord?
"Feed my lambs."
Then He said to him again, "Simon, do you love me?"
"Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Can't you see my heart, Lord? You know that I love you, though in a moment of weakness I denied you. You know me, Lord! I love you!
"Tend my sheep."
Then He asked Peter a third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?"
And Peter was grieved that He had asked Him a third time. Can't you feel his grief? Three times he had denied that he even knew Jesus, but didn't he love Him? Did he love Him enough? I can picture him fighting the tears, and looking up into Jesus' face and seeing His kind, loving eyes. Or looking at his nail-pierced hands and seeing His love there.
"Lord, You know everything. You know that I love you." Despite what I said, despite my cowardice and fear, I love you! You know me better than I know myself--YOU KNOW THAT I LOVE YOU!
"Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young,you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go." (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) 
And after saying this he said to him, "Follow me."
Peter's worst nightmare was over. He had "passed." 


"Simon, Simon, behold Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again,strengthen your brothers." 

It would seem that Jesus' prayer didn't work, right? 

Actually, the word fail implies "fail utterly" or "fail permanently," so Jesus prayed that when Peter failed (since He knew that he would) that it wouldn't be permanent. Jesus showed confidence that Peter would turn, "WHEN you have turned, strengthen your brothers." 

Sounds alot like "tend my sheep," doesn't it?

Isn't it incredible that God used proud, foot-in-mouth Peter to boister the church all over, especially in Rome, to write two inspired epistles and to give his life as a martyr for his Lord? 

The apostle Peter is my hero:) He failed, but turned/repented and ended up doing great things despite, or, perhaps, because of his failure. Sometimes realizing how much of a failure we are helps us become better servants of the Lord because we know that WE aren't that great or wonderful, but our GOD is! 

The message of the leaf in my Bible is that we all have times of wandering from the Lord. It's part of our spiritual growth. Sometimes it's only a short time of wandering, i.e. a week or so where you are spiritually blind, but other times there are years of wandering, when we refuse to let go of our sin. 

Negin, the name of the girl on my leaf, was the example of this. She was walking away from the Lord. She had been active in church and made a profession of faith, then all of a sudden gave up. Just left and was gone. She cut off contact and would not explain why. 

I don't know her situation now. But whenever I see the leaf in my Bible, I pray for her. I pray that, if she is still wandering, she would turn back to God.  I also pray for myself, that the Lord would "let His goodness, like a fetter, bind my wand'ring heart to Thee." I also pray that when I wander, that He would do WHATEVER IT TAKES to draw my heart back to Him. "Whatever it takes" is a serious stake. But I know that if I am wandering, I will not be happy, or fulfilled, or at peace, until I am back in communion with God. 

When Miss Walker spoke on Simon Peter, she told us to each go out and get a leaf. This leaf should be placed in Luke 22.

When you look at a leaf, you see the main stem. Coming out from the stem, do you see the little shoots headed out to the side? 

These little off-shoots don't go far, and neither should we.

The reminder of the leaf in my Bible is "May your wanderings be short and may you always come back to the Main Stem! And when you return, strengthen your brothers! Encourage them to do the same!"

Jesus is the Only Source of True Joy, Peace, Happiness, Contentment, and every good thing! Don't wander from Him, but when you do...repent and see that the Lord is good!

The Savior's Love

I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene,
and wonder how He could love me,
a sinner, condemned, unclean.
How marvelous! How wonderful!
And my song shall ever be,
How marvelous! How wonderful is my Savior's love for me!

Revelling in such unfathomable love today, which gives me hope, joy and contentment!

what God wants

"The sovereign God wants to be loved for Himself and honored for Himself, but that is only part of what He wants. The other part is that He wants us to know that when we have Him we have everything -- we have all the rest." - A.W Tozer

People will always fail you...

...BUT GOD NEVER WILL!

It seems like I am learning this at least once a week. Do I expect too much of people? Do I not give them enough slack? Do I expect them to be perfect?

Yeah, I think I do sometimes. I think it comes from my desire for perfection. My desire to be perfect someday! When I fail, I am discouraged. Will I never learn?

I am such a sinner! I realize it anew every day! I cannot do right on my own! The things I want to do I do not do, and the things I despise I do (to paraphrase Paul in Romans 7). Without God I can do no good, like it says in Psalm 14:1-3, "there is none who does good, no not one."

And yet, why do I expect others to be better than I?

I expect the other kids in my youth group to be responsible, sincere and attentive.

I expect my parents to have ALL the answers and always have it together.

I expect my little siblings to always obey, with a cheerful smile.

I expect my friends on facebook to always say something that reflects the Lord's work in their lives.

I expect everyone I meet to greet me with a smile and a kind word.

Alas, I expect perfect people and a perfect world, whereas I live in quite the opposite.

Not to say that those things I expect do not happen ever, they do at times. But I should consider that a blessing, not normal.

I'm so grateful for the Lord's work in my life and in those around me, because without Him I would never be blessed by anyone or anything. As in Genesis 6:5, in which "every intent of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually."

But now, in Christ Jesus, we who were utterly depraved and dead in our wicked works, are now His workmanship, "created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

If I look to people for joy, for encouragement, for blessings, I will be disappointed.

But if I look to MY GOD, Who is always faithful, always loving, always comforting, always holy, always good, always sovereign, always gentle, always just, always merciful, always all-powerful, always all-knowing, always in control....I will never be disappointed.

In Him we all consist and have our being. In Him alone we can do good and bless those around us. In Him we are new creatures, "zealous for good works." In Him we are capable of doing what was impossible before: pleasing Him.

"Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6

Not "Normal"

My brain and heart are full of things to say this morning.  I want to wax eloquent on so many issues...but I decided on this one.

Last night my dad took my 13-year-old sister and I on a daddy daughter since my mom and younger siblings are visiting our grandparents. We went to a mall and ate supper at Panera bread. 
Do you ever feel like you stand out? Do you ever get this lightning bolt feeling that you are not normal?  I did last night.
Not that I haven't felt this before, but I haven't been to the mall in awhile:)  All over there were clusters of teenagers and middle schoolers, dressed in things that I blushed to even see and would never wear, and behaving in a way that shocked me. Not that I've never seen such things before, of course I have! I live in a fallen world, and though my parents protect us from as much of the wicked out there as possible, I am still exposed to people and the way people act and dress. 
Should I be ashamed of this?  Should I cower and cringe and say, "Oh, I guess that's just how the world is, and I must be too sheltered"?  Should I be ashamed that sin still shocks me and I abhor it? 
No! And I am not ashamed!  What breaks my heart is that these young people don't know any different! They think they are normal!
And so I ask, "What is normal?"  Or maybe the question should be,
                                                                                                           "What should be normal?"
Modesty should be normal. 
In a perfect, unfallen world, women would not dress in such a way that men can see their every curve and that would cause them to stumble.  If everyone lived as God intended for them based on what we see in the scripture, would I be keeping my eyes on the floor or ceiling as we pass by certain stores? 
Family should be normal.
How many families did I see at the mall last night, one, two? And those were young couples who were dragging their screaming children through to the movie theater.  I saw many clusters of young people, hanging all over one another, and couples who I can't imagine were married, and groups of middle aged ladies taking a break from hectic schedules by gossiping with their friends and spending their husband's hard-earned money....okay, so they may not all be like that!  But where are the families? Does the fact that I see few families encourage me to spend my time at the mall? Or should the fact it doesn't seem like a family event discourage me from frequenting it?
My family is important to me, and I believe that it is the building block of society.  But the mall and all places like it are focused on self! Not that you can't have a good time there (we did!) but it is not an atmosphere that encourages building relationships or glorifying Christ!
Contentment should be normal.
"Now godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content!" 1 Timothy 6:6-7
I really don't intend to give a guilt trip to anyone who enjoys a trip to the mall, I really don't! But when we really think and consider what the mall teaches us....it might help us question whether it is a valuable use of time!  ("Do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is, redeeming the time because the days are evil.")
If you think that the mall (or more precisely, the world's way of seeing things) is not trying to draw you in, to make you want more and more and to think that you can't be happy without that pair of shoes....you're wrong.  We must be sober and vigilant because we are not going for a picnic in the park...we're in a war! And the enemy is not honest or kind, but deceitful and sneaky and evil! The world ( and the Father of it) loves to see us distracted from what really matters: Christ! Why? Because when we are content with Christ, we do not need the things of the world!
I am in the midst of reading, "The Pursuit of God," by A.W. Tozer for the second time, and yesterday I was struck by this thought. "The man who has God for his treasure has all things in One."
Being content in Christ does not mean that we are excluded from having fun, or rejoicing, or being passionate about anything else, but when we are wholly committed to following Christ, He gives us the capacity to enjoy much! 

I need to get off the computer, but in closing, consider that we typically judge "normalcy" by the company we keep.  If our friends act or dress in a certain way, we think that is normal.  But what if we weren't bound by "normalcy" at all, what if instead of thinking "do I fit in or stick out?" we thought, "How does my behavior reflect on Christ and my family? Can people tell instantly that something about me is different and that I have a freedom to not be normal?"

Joh 15:18:19 "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."
If Jesus says we should not be surprised that the world hates us, why should we be surprised if the world looks at us funny, or be cause we are different than them? 

Eph 5:1 "Therefore be imitators of God as dear children."
Who are we trying to mimic, the world or Jesus Christ?