TODAY IN THE WORD

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God. - 1 Thessalonians 4:16
TODAY IN THE WORD
Gospel musician Thomas Dorsey was at a revival meeting in St. Louis in 1932 when he received a telegram informing him that both his wife and newborn son had died. Several weeks later, the grief-stricken Dorsey sat down at a piano and wrote the gospel song, “Precious Lord, Take My Hand,” to express the prayer and hope of his heart.

The last words of this popular song pray that the Lord will “lead me home.” In his sorrow, Thomas Dorsey captured the truth Paul stated in 1 Thessa-lonians. Christians do grieve, but not “like the rest of men, who have no hope” (v. 13). That’s because those who die as believers are not gone forever; they will be resurrected at the Lord’s return.

This may be familiar teaching to us, but the Thessalonian believers did not yet have this assurance. Their ignorance on the subject of the future life was due to their newness as Christians and the newness of the church itself.

The first letter to the Thessalonians was written at a very early stage in the church’s history, before the full body of Christian teaching had been completed. Paul probably had not yet addressed this particular issue with his converts at Thessalonica. But in the meantime, friends and family members had died and the survivors in the Thessalonian church were deeply disturbed over what they feared was a permanent loss.

Paul took care of that fear by clearly stating the hope we have in Christ. The antidote to a hopeless grief is the comfort of the resurrection and the hope of heaven. The “sleep” of death suggests the temporary nature of physical death for Christians. The apostle taught the Thessa-lonians that “the dead in Christ will rise,” a doctrine we call the rapture of the church (v. 16).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
“Therefore encourage each other with these words,” Paul urged the Thessa-lonians (v. 18).

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Colossians 1:3-5, 24-27
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope... - Romans 15:13
TODAY IN THE WORD
Hope is a word we keep running into this month in our study of heaven. That’s not surprising because it’s almost impossible to do a biblical study of heaven without discovering very quickly that our expectation of heaven is anchored in hope. In fact, the phrase “the God of hope” in today’s verse means “the God who gives hope.”

Biblical hope differs from ordinary hope in several important ways. For instance, hope in the ordinary sense involves a degree of uncertainty. It’s more like a wish that may or may not come to pass. Biblical hope, however, is firmly anchored in the unchanging character of God. Paul says that the Christian’s hope is stored safely in heaven (v. 5).

Here’s another important difference between the hope that is anchored in God and the hope found in the world. The world’s hope tends to grow dim when its realizations aren’t met, or when circumstances seem to make its fulfillment unlikely.

But true Christian hope grows stronger and brighter with the passing of time: “hope does not disappoint us” (Rom. 5:5). What a great statement of assurance. Ask a Christian who has been walking with the Lord for forty or fifty years, and see if that person’s hope of heaven isn’t clearer and stronger than it was at the beginning.

People will do a lot of things in hope such as plant a garden or make a financial investment, and the hope we have in heaven is active on earth too. Faith and love “spring from” our hope (v. 5), forming the trio of lasting Christian virtues that mark us as God’s children (see 1 Cor. 13:13).

Here are two more encouraging features of our heavenly hope. It is based on solid content that Paul calls “the word of truth, the gospel” (v. 5). The Christian faith is not a hope hung in midair; rather, it’s grounded in the truth about the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ (1 Cor. 15:3-4).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
How have you experienced in your own life the truth that “hope does not disappoint”? Can you think of specific times when you put your trust and hope in God and experienced His faithfulness?

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Hebrews 12:1-3
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith... - Hebrews 12:2a
TODAY IN THE WORD
After operations on both of his Achilles’ tendons, Olympic athlete Derek Redmond was running well in the preliminary heats for the 400 meters race. But in the finals, Derek turned and fell to the track as a sharp pain stabbed his right leg. He struggled to his feet in intense pain and began hobbling toward the finish line. His father Jim, who was in the stands for the race, ran to his son’s aid. Derek leaned on his father’s shoulder as the two finished together, well after the other competitors had finished the race. Thousands of people remained in the stands, and rewarded Derek and his father Jim with a standing ovation.

That dramatic example illustrates the essence of today’s reading from the book of Hebrews. The witnesses in heaven don’t come out of the grandstands to help us literally, but their example is meant to inspire us as we run our race. We can draw strength from the godly lives of Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Rahab, or Moses, or any other biblical hero, as we read of their faith and perseverance and commit ourselves to the same high standard.

The testimony of these witnesses is important because as Christians we are living for heaven’s applause, not for earthly medals or headlines. The lives of the saints teach us that it is possible to run a winning race. From their example we can learn how to throw off the burdens that weigh us down and live for Christ without getting tangled up in concerns that don’t ultimately matter.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
It’s hard to walk, let alone run, when you’re constantly looking down, looking around, or looking backwards. It’s best to keep your eyes forward.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Luke 23:39-43
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” - John 14:6
TODAY IN THE WORD
A national magazine noted that Pan American Airlines once offered tickets for “Clipper Service” commercial flights to the moon. Inspired by the 1968 movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, the airline began selling tickets for the hoped-for flights, and more than 90,000 people still hold reservations.

Regular travel to the moon may still happen someday, although the long delay has probably discouraged many would-be passengers. Aren’t you glad there’s a trip we will take that involves no long wait, no delays en route, and no disappointed hopes? This appears to be the kind of “trip” taken by one of the thieves on the cross.

The story of the repentant thief on the cross has comforted a lot of people. The immediacy of Jesus’ response to the thief is stunning, considering the unimaginable pain and spiritual agony Jesus was enduring for sinners just like this man.

Jesus knew that both He and the thief were going to die that day, so there’s no getting around the “today” of the Lord’s promise. He even prefaced His promise with the solemn formula, “I tell you the truth.” The moment the thief’s body slumped in death on his cross, his spirit would be in God’s presence in heaven.

This wonderful story bothers some people because the thief didn’t do anything right--except repent and believe in the Savior. But Jesus saw into the man’s heart and accepted his request to be remembered as a statement of genuine repentance. That may not seem like much to us, but it was enough for Christ.

This is a highly individualized account. Jesus wasn’t teaching a full-blown doctrine of the afterlife or heaven. But His promise fits perfectly with the Bible’s emphasis on “today” as the day of salvation, to hear God’s voice and not harden our hearts (2 Cor. 6:2; Heb. 3:7). On these two counts, the thief’s response to Christ fits the biblical model of repentance.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
We’ve drawn a lot of comfort and hope from the Bible’s clear teaching that after death, believers will be raised to new life.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Job 1:6-12; 2:1-6; 1 John 2:1-2 12
But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. - 1 John 2:1
TODAY IN THE WORD
Two of the basic principles of our legal system are the right of an accused person to know the charges against him and the right to face his accusers in open court. It’s hard to imagine a more helpless feeling than being accused of something when you have no real idea what you’re being charged with and no opportunity to defend yourself.

A person in this situation needs a defense attorney--and not just a skillful counselor, but someone who knows every fact in the case and can act with complete authority. We have such a Defender in the heavenly courts, Jesus Christ the perfectly Righteous One.

We can be thankful for this because we are the ones under accusation by an accuser who doesn’t follow the rules. “Accuser” is one of Satan’s names (Rev. 12:10), and he’s very good at that dirty business. The amazing thing is that the devil can take his accusations against us directly into the throne room of heaven.

In the book of Job we see the temporary access Satan has to the presence of God. We might think that the story of Job is one of those Old Testament situations that ended when Jesus came. But Revelation 12 indicates that Satan is still standing before God in heaven “day and night” to accuse His people (v. 10).

The reason Satan the Accuser does this is that he thinks he has a case against us. Even as Christians, we sin every day, and Satan knows that God cannot tolerate sin. The good news is that even though Satan tries to bring us up on charges, our Defender has already applied His blood to our sins and God has declared us not guilty. Having sacrificed Himself for our sins, Jesus now represents us in heaven.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
In Revelation 12 we see how these martyrs overcame Satan.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 John 3:1-3
But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. - 1 John 3:2b
TODAY IN THE WORD
Dr. George Sweeting, the former chancellor of Moody Bible Institute, tells how enduring the hardships of the Great Depression “taught my family many life-building lessons. We learned the importance of each family member as we struggled to meet the monthly mortgage payment.... The Depression days also taught us thrift and frugality.... We also learned the value of money and the importance of avoiding credit.” Finally, Dr. Sweeting says, “The Great Depression strengthened our faith.... I look back with gratitude for the lessons we learned.”

Dr. Sweeting offers an example of the positive effect that dire circumstances can have on us. God wants our trials to have a purifying--or sanctifying--effect on our characters (Jas. 1:2-4). He also wants our anticipation of heaven to have the same purifying effect.

We certainly have all the reasons we need to motivate us toward holy living as we look forward to Christ’s return. God has lavished His redeeming love on us for no other reason than His great grace. We have gone from being God’s enemies to being His children--literally, His “born ones” who are also God’s heirs.

But as satisfying as being God’s heirs is now, John says that so much more awaits us in heaven that we can’t grasp it. We can be sure it will be far beyond anything we can imagine or dream.

John does give us one important glimpse of what will happen; he says that when Christ appears our bodies will undergo a transformation that will make us “like him.”

We’re called to be like Jesus Christ spiritually right now. But when He comes back for His church, “We will all be changed--in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Cor. 15:51-52). We will be able to imitate Christ without the battles of sin.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
In what specific ways does your hope of heaven, and the anticipation of seeing Christ, affect your day-to-day life?

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Hebrews 9:11-14, 21-28
[Christ] entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. - Hebrews 9:24b
TODAY IN THE WORD
The king, the priest, and the prophet were three of the most important officials in Israel. These offices were filled by different people during Israel’s history, since no leader had all the qualifications necessary to serve God’s people as a ruler, a representative in God’s presence, and a proclaimer of God’s Word.

But in God’s ultimate plan, that division of labor proved to be a temporary arrangement. God’s purpose was to prepare a leader who would fill each of these roles and fill them perfectly. The people who served Israel as kings, priests, and prophets were types, or examples, of this One who was to come: Jesus Christ who fulfilled all three offices.

The church as the body of Christ is not a direct equivalent to Old Testament Israel, but as God’s people we also need a king, a priest, and a prophet. These needs are met in our perfect Leader and Representative, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus fulfills the office of a King. As an infant He was given kingly gifts; as an adult He was crucified as the King of the Jews. He will ultimately be acknowledged by all as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Jesus fulfilled the office of a prophet during His days on earth as He delivered God’s message to the world (Heb. 1:1-2). People often compared Him to the Old Testament prophets Elijah and Jonah.

Jesus fulfilled the office of priests. Today, as our High Priest in heaven, He represents us before God the Father (v. 24). This is also His present ministry in heaven, as the writer of Hebrews explains. When He offered Himself as a sacrifice for sin on the cross, Jesus entered the “temple” in heaven and applied His blood as the final offering that would ever be needed for sin (v. 12).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Jesus’ ministry as High Priest has a direct application to where you are today in your Christian life.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Hebrews 11:8-16
Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. - Hebrews 11:16b
TODAY IN THE WORD
In 1952, the late King Farouk of Egypt was overthrown and went into exile with his daughters Fadia, Fawziyah, and Ferial. Farouk died in Rome in 1965. Now his daughters are trying to reclaim 1,774 acres of land and a palace in Cairo owned by their mother, Queen Farida, who had divorced Farouk in 1948. The late king’s daughters currently live in Switzerland and are suffering a variety of financial, health, and personal problems.

Few of us know what it’s like to leave behind everything that is familiar, comfortable, and secure to us and to live “like a stranger in a foreign country” (v. 9). However, this is the kind of existence to which God called Abraham and other fathers and mothers of the faith.

But there’s one important difference between those heroes of faith and these exiles like the Egyptian princesses. God’s “exiles” didn’t look back to the place they left to try to reclaim a slice of their former lives (v. 15). They kept looking ahead all the way along the road.

This might sound fairly easy to us, because we’ve read the Book and know how the story ends. But as a true exile, Abraham didn’t even know where he was going when God first called him to put the “For Sale” sign in his front yard at Ur.

Why did Abraham keep going? His obedience to God motivated him, as did his hope of reaching a city built by God--heaven. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob reached the promised land of Canaan, but they understood that God’s promise pointed even farther ahead to their heavenly home.

In other words, faithful spiritual pioneers like Abraham and Sarah didn’t experience the full extent of God’s promises on earth because God’s promises reach far beyond this life. Abra-ham was constantly reminded of his temporary status on earth because he never had a permanent home in Canaan. Living in tents makes you realize you’re just passing through.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
The apostle Paul has a great word of counsel for us today as we think about heaven once again.

He writes in Colossians 3:1-2, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Our ultimate home is in heaven with Christ, so it makes sense that our thoughts should center on things above.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Revelation 21:1-8
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” - Revelation 21:5a
TODAY IN THE WORD
Dwight L. Moody once wrote, “This earth is not a stranger to tears. Neither is the present the only time when they could be found in abundance. From Adam’s day down to ours, tears have been shed and wails have gone up from the brokenhearted.” Moody then went on to say there is no heart so broken that Jesus cannot heal it.

This world will continue to be a place of tears, and people will continue to need the spiritual healing that only Jesus can provide, until He comes again and brings heaven to earth. The announcement that creation has waited to hear since the Garden of Eden will come when God says, “I am making everything new” (v. 5). This is a “trustworthy and true” promise that we can depend on.

We’re going to finish this study of heaven where the Bible finishes it, in the final two chapters of Revelation. John saw the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, and the sight must have been overwhelming. God will also retool the earth and the rest of the universe so completely that they can only be described as new (v. 1).

We’re not sure exactly how the earth and the heavenly city will interact or be arranged in eternity, but it’s clear that God is going to put His creation back in order, according to His original specifications. Paul says the entire creation groans for that day when the curse of sin will be lifted (Rom. 8:18-22).

John heard a loud voice from the throne in heaven making these announcements concerning the eternal state. When God begins to remove the “old order of things” (v. 4), all of those things which make earth a place of tears and suffering will be eliminated.

Heaven is not only a place of eternal joy and perfection, but it’s also a place of current welcome: its doors are still wide open in invitation. A sense of urgency marks the appeals God makes in Revelation 21-22. The time to respond is now, and verses 6-7 of today’s reading contain wonderful promises to anyone who will come to God on His terms.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
As we close out the month with the description of heaven in Revelation 21-22, let’s take these last four days to praise God for specific blessings of heaven.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Revelation 21:9-21
The Holy City, Jerusalem,... shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel. - Revelation 21:10-11
TODAY IN THE WORD
If you have ever read the apostle John’s detailed description of heaven in Revelation 21 and felt overwhelmed trying to imagine what it will be like, you’ll appreciate this observation from Dr. John F. Walvoord, chancellor of Dallas Theological Seminary. “The overall impression of the city as a gigantic brilliant jewel compared to jasper, clear as crystal, indicates its great beauty. John was trying to describe what he saw and to relate it to what might be familiar. However, it is evident that his revelation transcends anything that can be experienced.”

Amen to that. It’s obvious that we don’t have the space to consider these verses in great detail--and as Dr. Walvoord indicated, many descriptions here defy comparison. That’s by God’s design; there probably aren’t enough words in the language to fully describe heaven, or enough books to hold the details. The information we have is enough to make us long for heaven and to know that God will fulfill all of His promises.

The apostle says the new Jerusalem is a city, but he also sees it as a beautiful bride prepared for her wedding day. The Bible calls the church the bride of Christ, and Paul says he will present the church to Christ someday (2 Cor. 11:2). As His people we will be married to Christ for eternity.

The number twelve is prominent throughout these verses. The city has twelve gates and twelve foundations. The names of Israel’s twelve tribes are on the gates, and the names of the apostles are etched into the foundations. These names and numbers represent the redeemed people in all ages. No one who has trusted God for salvation will be excluded.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
It’s a real understatement to say that the beauty of heaven is staggering.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Revelation 21:22-27
The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. - Revelation 21:23
TODAY IN THE WORD
David Brainerd, an eighteenth-century missionary, died serving Christ at the age of twenty-nine. Brainerd’s journals have become a devotional classic because of passages like this: “I do not go to heaven to be advanced, but to give honor to God. It is no matter where I shall be stationed in heaven; to love, and please, and glorify God is everything.... I long to be in heaven, praising and glorifying God with all the holy angels.”

We often hear it said that one reason we need to learn how to worship God on earth is because that’s what we will be doing for eternity. The book of Revelation supports this statement. We’ll be consumed with worship in heaven, because we will be immersed in the presence of God, with God Himself being the temple of the city. David Brainerd was right. We will join the angels in worshiping God, an activity which has been their joyous assignment since the day they were created. “Praise Him all creatures here below! Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts!”

The glory of God is also the light of heaven. Whenever the glory of God appeared on earth, as it did when the angels announced the Savior’s birth (Lk. 2:9), people were overwhelmed by a shining light. And that was just a glimpse.

But in heaven, nothing will dim the full display of God’s glory. The Lamb, Jesus Christ, will also shine in His glory, as He did at His transfiguration (see the May 10 study). With this kind of glory shining for eternity, it’s easy to understand why there will be no night in heaven (v. 25).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
The light, worship, and glory of heaven are three more reasons to thank the Lord for our future home.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Revelation 22:1-5
No longer will there be any curse. - Revelation 22:3a
TODAY IN THE WORD
In The Best Is Yet to Be, Dr. Tony Evans writes, “As he described the joys of the new Jerusalem, John said, 'The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His bond-servants shall serve Him’ (Revelation 22:3). That’s you and me. We were saved to serve God here on earth, and we will continue serving Him in heaven.... Heaven will be filled with all kinds of organizations and structures that need management and oversight. So don’t worry about being bored in eternity. We are going to be serving God as His bond-servants, managing the universe. We will have perfect, productive, eternally fulfilling service to perform.”

That’s a pretty good summary statement of what heaven will be like. Revelation 22 is the right place to wrap up our study of our future home, since verse 5 is the Bible’s final descriptive statement of heaven.

We need to read these verses with Genesis 1-2 in mind, because the elements of God’s original paradise are found in heaven--restored to their original purpose. The tree of life (v. 2) will provide life-sustaining nourishment, and mankind will be able to eat of it freely.

The curse of sin that fell on the creation in Genesis 3 will also be lifted. Lifting the curse has always been God’s intention; even in pronouncing it, God promised Adam and Eve a coming Redeemer (Gen. 3:15). Jesus the Redeemer bore the curse of sin on the cross, which became the tree of life for us, and heaven will bring the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise.

Heaven will also include service to God (v. 3). Certainly our worship will be part of that service, but beyond that the passage doesn’t give many specifics. All we need to know now is that in heaven we will fully realize the purpose for which we were created: to love and serve and glorify God.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
It just keeps getting better as we collect reasons to praise God for heaven. Today’s list may top them all.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Luke 22:1-38
I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. - Luke 22:15
TODAY IN THE WORD
When Jesus sent out the twelve disciples in chapter 9, and later the seventy-two in chapter 10, He instructed them to leave behind the traditional equipment for travel. God provided for them through people who believed in Jesus. When they faced rejection, they were free to move on to the next town with little or no heavy opposition. It was as if the disciples were in no danger at all. After the Last Supper, Jesus told them, the mood of safety was about to change.

After tempting Jesus for forty days, Satan left until a more opportune time (4:13). Although his minions had approached Jesus many times, Satan's entry into Judas was Satan's next major attack, and it brought perilous results. The plotting between Satan, Judas, and the Pharisees gave them the opportunity to arrest Jesus without an outcry from the masses.

But at this point, nothing was a surprise to Jesus. He knew every last detail that would transpire, from the fact that a seemingly random servant would lead His disciples to a place furnished for them, to His betrayal at the hands of Judas. He knew that He would suffer, and He attempted to brace the Twelve for what would happen. The disciples responded with a severe case of selective hearing.

Jesus said He wouldn't eat the Passover again until the kingdom was in place; the disciples thought that might be days away. He said one of them would betray Him; they worried only about the identity of the traitor with no apparent concern for the outcome of the betrayal. He stressed genuine service; they wondered who would be greatest. He said Peter would deny Him; Peter denied the possibility. He told them a fight was coming; they assumed they could win with a pair of swords. The disciples just weren't grasping what Jesus was saying, and the point arrived when Jesus simply had to say, “That is enough.” They would soon find out that everything would be exactly as Jesus had said and exactly the opposite of what they had thought.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
The beginning of the disciples' misunderstanding was rooted in their selfish ambition for their own glory. Don't allow personal desires to cloud what God is saying to you. When we employ selective hearing, we can manipulate Scripture to boost our confidence in misguided attitudes and foolish decisions. Seek God's heart before you try to determine God's will. When the Holy Spirit is guiding your desires, your decisions will follow God's plan.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Matthew 4:18-20; Luke 5:1-11
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” - Matthew 4:19
TODAY IN THE WORD
Author Frederick Buechner wrote of the man who became the apostle Peter: “A rock isn’t the prettiest thing in creation or the fanciest, or the smartest, and if it gets rolling in the wrong direction, watch out, but there’s no nonsense about a rock, and once it settles down, it’s pretty much there to stay. There’s not a lot you can do to change a rock or crack it or get under its skin. . . . So Jesus called [Peter] the Rock, and it stuck with him the rest of his life.”

That truly describes Simon the fisherman from Galilee, who underwent a radical transformation when he met Jesus. Like others whom God claimed for His service, Simon received a new name during his first encounter with the Lord. On

the day Andrew brought his brother Simon to meet the Messiah, Jesus gave Simon the name Peter, or “rock” (John 1:40-42). As Frederick Buechner indicates, however, it would be a while before Peter the rock started rolling the right way.

We begin this month by reviewing the events that helped to shape Peter, because his New Testament letters are the focus of our study this month. By the time he wrote First and Second Peter, he had long since become the settled, rock-solid leader in the church that Jesus called and trained him to be.

Peter wrote his two epistles to communicate a God-given message for the church in his day. And because First and Second Peter are the inspired Word of God (2 Peter 1:19-21), their message remains vital for God’s people today.

Peter and Andrew were acquainted with Jesus from the start--when He called them to leave their fishing business and follow Him--and their obedience is quite remarkable.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Let’s begin this month where Peter began with Jesus.

Peter’s first recorded words to Jesus were an objection, followed by obedience to Jesus’ word (Luke 5:5).

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Mark 14:26-42
If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! - 1 Corinthians 10:12
TODAY IN THE WORD
The late pastor and author A. W. Tozer once said that he doubted whether God could use anyone greatly until He had wounded that person deeply.

For many people whom God has used in great ways that wounding comes in the form of a crisis that strips away the individual’s pride and illusions of self-sufficiency. Peter is a prime example. His very public failure during the crucifixion of Jesus, and the Lord’s restoration of Peter, helped to forge the apostle’s ministry that eventually culminated in the writing of First and Second Peter.

Peter’s pride and self-sufficiency were obvious the night that Jesus was betrayed and arrested. To begin with, only an overly self-confident person would say, “Even if all fall away, I will not” (v. 29).

Even when Jesus warned him pointedly that he would fail and disown his Lord, Peter refused to hear what Jesus was saying. When Peter insisted on his ability to stand firm, the other disciples readily agreed with him.

It didn’t take long, however, for Peter’s weakness to become evident. Jesus and the disciples left the Last Supper and headed for the Garden of Gethsemane, where Peter was given a preview of how he would act under the intense pressure of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion.

Three times Peter failed to stay alert and to pray while Jesus was agonizing with His Father in the garden. Recogniz-ing Peter’s position of leadership, Jesus asked him, “Could you not keep watch for one hour?” (v. 37).

Since we know the end of the story, it seems plain to us that Peter should have stopped at this point, confessed his weakness to Christ, and asked for His strength. But he didn’t know what to say, and, by the time he had fully recovered from his sleepiness, Judas and the soldiers had already arrived. From that point, things went downhill quickly for Peter.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Peter did not ultimately fail because Jesus was acting as his great high priest, praying for him (Heb. 7:25).