Kristen -
"So 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.' He said to him, 'Tend my lambs.' He said to him again a second time, 'Simon, son of John, do you love Me?' He said to Him, 'Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.' He said to him, 'Shepherd My sheep.' He said to him the third time, 'Simon, son of John, do you love Me?' Peter was grieved because He said to him the third, 'Do you love Me?' And he said to Him, 'Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.' Jesus said to him, 'Tend My sheep.'" – John 21:15-23
Communicate the Gospel by caring for those whom God has entrusted to you. Your spouses, your children, and your neighbors (i.e. everyone you come into contact with).
The parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) comes to mind when I read this passage. Especially verses 29-30a, "For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."
You see, a major part of proving our love for God is caring for His sheep and His creation. A heavy, burdensome, wearisome task we have sometimes, I know, but I do love My Lord and I want Him to know it. Besides isn't He really the One doing all the good work in and through us? Isn't He really the One who has already taken responsibility for all of our mistakes? Isn't He really the One who will see His own words accomplished?
If we truly believe the things we read and speak of from His word then we must intentionally be shepherding one another and the world. We must be protection from wolves and providers of food and shelter. We must go out and search for the lost, and we must rejoice when they return home. We must be shepherds worthy of the sheep that have been entrusted to us, all the while knowing that almighty God is the shepherd of us all. Praise God!
Pastor Chris -
Matthew 14:30 -
"But when [Peter] saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, 'Lord, save me.'"
Like her older sister, Calley, last year, my daughter, Cassidy, was quite the pacesetter at camp last week. She wasn't necessarily the best at everything, but she was often the first.
Like the 757, which is a 50-feet high telephone pole, topped by a 14-inch square board, which you're supposed to stand up on so you can jump out 7 feet to a trapeze bar that is 7 feet higher than the top of the pole. Cassidy was the first in our group to scamper up 50 feet, jump out 7, and grab a hold of the 7 feet higher (or 57 feet high) trapeze bar.
Or like the Alpine Tower, which has all sorts of poles and ropes, but is 10 feet higher than the 757. Cassidy was the first in our group to climb that 60-feet high craziness.
So, many people at camp, even ones we hadn't even met but who were watching all this, these people start to call Cassidy "Fearless."
And I said to her, "Cassidy, I'm so proud of you." She said, "Why?" I said, "Because you're so courageous with all this stuff." And then she said, "Dad, I'm afraid, but I just want to try these things and grow in the Lord."
Friends, there were all sorts of famously faithful people in the Bible who, just like Cassidy, were afraid, but they did stuff because they wanted to grow in the Lord: Gideon, Moses, Abraham, Sarah, David, the New Testament Joseph and Mary, Peter, the women at Jesus' empty tomb. Along with many other faithful ones, they all experienced fear, but they kept going because they wanted to grow in the Lord, who leads us through things with a love and wisdom that are greater than our fears.
So, as challenging things are set before you today, don't kick yourself and call yourself "weak" or "chicken" if you happen to be afraid. Instead, put your eyes on Jesus because he promises to lead you through whatever might come your way.
Praise God!
Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson
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