Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall lack nothing.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.
He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his names sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,I will fear no evil, for you are with me;your rod and staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever."
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THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH
"When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these"? "Yes, Lord," he said, "You know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."
St. John 21: 15
Peter had claimed before Jesus was crucified that he loved Jesus so much that he was ready to die for him. Jesus had responded that during his trial Peter would deny him three times. As we know Peter in fear did deny Jesus three times, and when Jesus looked at him, Peter collapsed in shame and wept bitterly. Since then Peter felt he had failed so greatly that Jesus would surely reject him as an apostle. This incident which begins with the text above is the risen Christ's response to Peter's failure.
Peter had to be brought, not only to face his awful failure, but also to face his weakness and sinfulness. This is the background for the three questions which Jesus asked Peter. If we are to appreciate the way Jesus dealt with Peter, we need to know the original speech of Jesus in the Greek language. In the first two questions Jesus asked Peter whether he had real truly deep sacrificial love for him by which he was willing to give his life for Jesus. Peter's response was that he truly had friendship and human love for Jesus, but he was so ashamed he could not say he loved Jesus in this deeper love.
In the third question Jesus does not use the higher form of love but sinply asks Peter whether he truly loved Jesus with friendships and human love. Jesus was causing Peter to face his weakness and failure, and Peter was torn apart that Jesus seemed to even doubt his affection for him. Why did Jesus search Peter and treat him in this way? Surely, the reason was that Peter needed to be truly humbled and face his weakness before Jesus could use him as an apostle. Jesus was seeking to restore Peter deeply,and he did this when he said three time 'Feed my sheep, feed my lambs.
We learn from this the fact of the deepness of the love of Jesus for Peter, and this represents his love for all his saved loved ones in all our failure and weakness. The devil will seek to depress us, Jesus humbles us to build us up and cause us to face our weakness and wholly trust him.
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Living Word