The Twelve
Peter
The Rock, the Restored
Second Chances
Scripture (NIV)
“Simon son of John, do you love me? ... Jesus said, 'Feed my sheep.'”
Message
Peter failed loudly and was restored gently. Your worst moment is not your final identity. Restoration usually begins with a question about love, not a verdict about guilt.
Practice
Write down one failure you still rehearse. Beneath it, write the sentence: this is not the last page.
Prayer
Jesus, You called Peter back by the fire. Call me back too, and let me love You more than I fear my own weakness. Amen.
Lived out
Short practices that fit Peter's virtue of second chances.
A practice to try
The rope before your feet touch the floor
“Every morning, before I put my feet on the floor, I picture a rope fixed to God, a safety line. I reach up, take hold of it and tie it around my waist. Then I get up. The whole day is done roped to Him: the drive, the meeting I dread, the conversation I keep putting off. When I feel the pull, I remember I am held on the other end.”
TRY TODAY
Tomorrow, before you stand up, take ten seconds to picture the rope and say: 'Everything today is done with You.'
“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.”
Psalm 18:2 (NIV)
A practice to try
Handing back what is not mine
“I write the worry on a scrap of paper, the actual worry in plain words, and put it in a jar on the shelf. It is not magic and the problem does not vanish. But I stop rehearsing it at 2am, because I have physically put it somewhere else and told God it is His to carry now.”
TRY TODAY
Write down one worry in one sentence, pray it once, and put the paper out of sight.
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)