Lessons From Peter

In the last devotional, I discussed how Peter was sifted as wheat in order for him to be the shepherd that God desired him to be. There is much to learn from Peter. Today we will take a look at Peter’s life and learn from what he did right!!  Below I highlighted a few of those areas:

1. Peter was confident in his relationship with Jesus. When Peter saw Jesus walking on water, he was the only one who wanted to be on water with Jesus!! Although he began to sink when he noticed the water, for a short period of time he walked on water!!  (Matthew 14:26-31) What I love about Peter is that he really loved Jesus and because of that relationship, he found great liberty to do things that others would have never thought of.  While we don’t want to be presumptuous people, we must understand the depth of our relationship with Jesus because that gives us great power and freedom to walk like Jesus walked. We don’t have to be a theologian or have several prophesies spoken over us to believe what Jesus has spoken clearly about who we are and what He is calling us do in His word.

2. Peter knew continual forgiveness is a necessity in life. Peter asked Jesus how many times one should forgive his brother. (Matthew 18:21-22) It wouldn’t be surprising with his level of energy and action that Peter easily offended people and got offended as well!! I wonder if he knew that in his relationship to Jesus, he had to be forgiven over and over again for his inappropriate statements and actions. Jesus’ statements about forgiving someone seventy times seven could have been comforting to Peter when he denied Jesus three times!!

3. Peter was Bold to declare the truth. Peter was the first one who declared Jesus as the “Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). He, James and John had the privilege of seeing Jesus being transfigured on a mountain. (Mark 9:2) Peter’s boldness coupled with his first hand witnessing of Jesus’ glory made him a perfect person to spread the gospel for the first time. If he would have been an analytical and an intellectual person, he would have wanted to spend some time getting his message right. He would have done his homework and research making sure what he observed was accurate in order to avoid looking foolish. An analytical person would have also preferred not to make grand, risky, statements. They would have preferred somebody else do it and see what happens to them first before taking a stand. The beauty of Peter was that he was not afraid of looking like a fool. Many times in the past, he had done it in the flesh. Now, it was worth looking foolish for the one he loved and his own personal experience with the I AM.

4. Peter learned Jesus’ heart. Peter was with Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane when Jesus shared with him and the sons of Zebedee that his soul was sorrowful to the point of death!! (Matthew 26:37-38) Peter saw Jesus’ burden for humanity and his difficult decision and the resolve He came to before going to the cross. If we are going to be effective in ministering to people, not only do we need to know the scripture well, but we also need to capture Jesus’ heart for people. The truth is powerful and weighty and unless it is clothed with great love and compassion towards people, it can cause harm more than restore healing.

Jesus saw the raw material of Peter the fisherman by the Sea of Galilee.  He knew that someday through much pain, headaches, and heart aches, the Lord would transform him into a shepherd for His flock. Peter’s boldness allowed him to be the first one to declare who Jesus was and what He came to do on the earth.  Being filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, he launched the propagation of the church that Jesus began.

Peter ministers to all of us. Those who are impulsive, brash, or action oriented can see themselves in Peter. If Jesus didn’t give up on Peter, then He won’t give up on you regardless of how many times you have messed things up in the past. The process may not be easy, but God will ensure that our rough edges are smoothed out over time if we relinquish control of our lives. For those who are calm, collected, analytical, and reserved, Peter is very convicting. If it wasn’t for Peter who declared for the first time who Jesus really was as he did in Acts 2, was there anyone else in that room that was willing to do it? He was the one who painted a picture of Jesus’ plan of salvation, explaining the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophesies in the person of Jesus. That’s amazing!! Peter is an inspiration!! We all have much to learn from him.