Are You Ready To Make Difficult Choices?
Good Morning Friends,
It is pretty obvious that the choices we make in life are important. Today we get a double dose of mighty men seeking shelter in the Lord after they had made regrettable choices. In the stories of David and Peter we see that God calls us to Him through the grace of repentance and forgiveness. But first we have to make one of the hardest decisions of our life… to ask for help. Are You Ready To Make Difficult Choices?
Scripture: To the leader. A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
Psalm 51:1-3 (NRSV)
‘Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death!’ Jesus said, ‘I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow this day, until you have denied three times that you know me.’
Luke 22: 31-34 (NRSV)
Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house. But Peter was following at a distance. When they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. Then a servant-girl, seeing him in the firelight, stared at him and said, ‘This man also was with him.’ But he denied it, saying, ‘Woman, I do not know him.’ A little later someone else, on seeing him, said, ‘You also are one of them.’ But Peter said, ‘Man, I am not!’ Then about an hour later yet another kept insisting, ‘Surely this man also was with him; for he is a Galilean.’ But Peter said, ‘Man, I do not know what you are talking about!’ At that moment, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.’ And he went out and wept bitterly.
Luke 22:54-62 (NRSV)
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.
John 21:15-17 (NRSV)
Message: We have all disappointed God and when we do, we might wonder if we can ever make things right. There is hope of course. In today’s scripture we get a Psalm, where David asks God for forgiveness of his terrible sins of adultery and murder, and the story of Peter denying Christ. They both guide us to the answer of this problem that separates us from God. The first step of reconciliation is exactly what Peter did after the rooster crowed… He went out and wept bitterly…he admitted his sin to God and I think took the second step almost immediately as it is implied that he asked for mercy. This is resolved in John 21:15-17 after the resurrection when Jesus reinstates Peter. Here Peter goes back to Jesus. And Jesus did not disappoint. He helped him appreciate the outcome of what he had learned. He guided Peter and through Nathan, David on the path of how to glorify God… of how to make the difficult choice of allowing our pride to be shattered, of how our heart-shattered lives are made ready to share what David and Peter had learned….what we all must learn…Choices that honor God are often hard. Through kindness and love we too get a second chance to make the right choices of a redeemed life. We cannot really know all the consequences of our choices. We cannot know in advance all the events to come. Sure some of them are pretty straight forward but then there is this thing called mercy and love that alters the course of what might seem inevitable. There are intended and unintended consequences. The amazing thing is that God through it all walks with us each day. That is a wonderful gift that changes the dynamics of the journey. It is enough to prompt my choice today to go figure out how to show a little gratitude for the mercy and joy I have received. Perhaps by doing just that we begin to change the world.
Pray that God would create a clean heart in each of us, that we would make the difficult choices necessary to admit our sin, ask for mercy and appreciate the outcome in a way that prompts us to forgive others, to feed others with the knowledge of Jesus’ love in the grace of repentance, mercy, forgiveness and love. Pray that we recognize that some choices bring only temporary happiness. Pray that God is reflected in our schedules, spending and speech. Pray that we make choices that lead to long term joy. Pray our hearts figure it out correctly. Pray we ask without doubting. Pray we do what we know to learn to know what to do. Pray we make the right use of the knowledge we have been given. Pray we honor God. Pray our loyalties not be divided. Pray we get on our knees because we have nowhere else to go. Pray we ask God if we have gone too far. Pray when we are confronted with choices we have the character and self-control of Christ.
Pray we realize that God’s choices are sovereign.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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