March 5, 2009
God Is Faithful
If we are
faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself. 2 Timothy 2:13
Do you ever get frustrated with yourself
and think, “What is so hard about simply doing what God is asking me to do?”
Sometimes I can really beat myself up pretty bad. 2 Timothy 2:13 reminds me that
when I fail to remain faithful, God is constant, because He is incapable of
denying Himself. That means when I am not operating in faith, I am denying Him.
Ouch!
I find comfort in knowing that neither
Peter nor any of the other disciples thought it was even possible to deny Jesus,
because of their devotion to Him. Yet before their promises were even 24 hours
old, they all did.
Peter
answered and said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I
will never be made to stumble."
Jesus said
to him, "Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you
will deny Me three times."
Peter said
to Him, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!"
And so said
all the disciples. Mathew 26:33-35
Praise God that Jesus stayed faithful to
mankind by enduring the cross even when those closest to Him deserted Him. It
was right after this conversation where Jesus warned in Matthew 26:41,
“Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.
The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Our flesh: it stinks, it is fickle, it
cannot be satisfied. Oh, to walk in the Spirit at all times! Who can rescue us,
but Jesus Himself! Remember, we are told in John 21:15-19, how Jesus came to the
disciples after He was resurrected and encouraged them. He didn’t condemn them.
He didn’t get mad at them. He didn’t even rebuke them. He encouraged and
instructed them. He specifically asked Peter a question: Do you love me?
Answering with the affirmative, Peter was given two commands: Feed my sheep and
follow me.
As Christians, we may stumble. We may
walk in the flesh more than we would like. But Jesus. But Jesus! He is faithful
for He cannot deny Himself. So, if we love Him, we get up and love and care for
His people and follow Him no matter what! NO MATTER WHAT! No matter how bad we
fell, matter how we feel, no matter what the enemy is throwing at us. We follow
Him. Jesus told Peter that sometimes he’d be led where he didn’t want to go, but
still to follow.
I praise the Lord, that He told us that
His sheep know His voice and follow Him.
Because I love Him, I obey His commands.
I will follow.
I am one of His sheep! If I am
faithless, He is faithful!
Blessings to All,
Janet Fairbrother