The Most Amazing Feat

Read: Joshua 9-10 & John 18
“Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear.” John 18:10

Examine:
Peter’s blind loyalty was touching, but it missed God’s plan. Zeal without knowledge often leads men astray. Over the course of the night Peter would display three ways a man of God can miss the direction of God: 1) Zeal for Jesus without knowledge of the Father’s will. 2) Passivity in following Jesus. 3) Denial of Jesus to avoid pain.

Apply:
The Bible teaches that there is no sin except that which is common to man. These three traps to which Peter fell are sill alive and active today. I have to guard against them as I hope to stay close to God.

Zeal without knowledge is trying to do things for God with a heart, attitude, and method that do not honor Him. I have to know what the Father is doing and carry out my part of the plan in a manner that honors His character.

Passivity in following Jesus means that I go through the motions and try to stay in touch with Jesus, yet I keep enough distance to stay safe and maintain control. I have to follow after Jesus fully. There is never a good time to throttle back and play it safe.

Denial of Christ is folding under pressure. There have been many times in my life that I have felt God give me the conviction that I should do or say something. In those moments my stomach usually churns and nervousness sets in. As the pressure mounts I have often found myself denying the thing I knew I should do.

Prayer:
Jesus, I stand amazed at all the crazy things that You did on earth. From the feeding of the 5,000 to the raising of the dead; the Bible is full of stories of Your greatness. Of all the things that are recorded in the scriptures, the feat that amazes me most is how well tuned-in You stayed to the Father’s will. You never allowed Your zeal to push You ahead, You never allowed fatigue or fear to pull You back, and when the chips fell against You, You always stood firm.

I seem to carry a great deal of doubt. My doubt is not of You or the Father. Most of my doubt is caused from simply not knowing what it is that I am supposed to do. I am asking that You teach me to learn to hear the voice of our Father in the way You modeled.