Meanwhile, Peter was
in the courtyard below. One of the servant girls who worked for the high priest
came by and noticed Peter warming himself at the fire. She looked at him
closely and said, “You were one of those with Jesus of Nazareth.
But Peter denied it.
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” he said, and he went out into the
entry way. Just then, a rooster crowed.
When the servant girl
saw him standing there, she began telling the others, “This man is definitely
one of them!” But Peter denied it again.
A little later some of
the other bystanders confronted Peter and said, “You must be one of them,
because you are a Galilean.”
Peter swore, “A curse
on me if I’m lying—I don’t know this man you’re talking about!” And immediately
the rooster crowed the second time.
Suddenly, Jesus’ words
flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny
three times that you even know me. “And he broke down and wept.
(Mark 14:66-72)
Hard to imagine? You may say to yourself, “I can’t imagine denying
Jesus Christ AT ALL, let alone three times!” Before you get too puffed up with
pride, think again.
You and I may not ever verbally “deny” Jesus to anyone, but
think of the many different times we have “denied” Jesus by the way we live.
Saying, “I believe in Jesus” with our mouths is one thing, but how we live our
lives truly speaks to the fact of whether we “Truly believe in Jesus” or
not. Many times, what we “say” and what
we “do” don’t line up.
“Such people claim to
know God, but by their actions they deny him…” (Titus 1:16)
When we “say” we believe in you Jesus, yet find ourselves
gossiping about others—we deny Him. When we “say” we believe in you Jesus, yet
find ourselves with hatred or unforgiveness in our hearts—we deny Him. When we
“say” we believe in you Jesus, yet don’t honor the Lord’s Day—we deny Him. When
we “say” we love Jesus, yet don’t love others—we deny Him. Who are we kidding?
“But don’t just listen
to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling
yourselves.” (James 1:22)
"For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives." (Romans 6:4)
Because Jesus Christ has risen from the dead we have been empowered to lives that promote godliness not deny it.
Today, may we show the world that we love and know Jesus, by
living according to Jesus’ words.
