Everyday Yes #15 --

Check me out, blogging a message 2 days in a row!! Hey, it's a recent record after multiple delays this throughout the Summer so far... ;p Peaceful night for the remainder last night (it was about 9:20 pm by the time I finished) I really wish I could connect my Interior Design boards from Pinterest on here, but there just isn't a way. All I can do (if/when I decide) would be to start a board for my blog posts or connect my blog to Pinterest so you can share bits that appeal to you. I've searched every option Pinterest has, and that's the conclusion I've come to... So, as I say on my "About" page on here, you'll just have to search me (Iris Ifemey) and follow my Design Boards from there. I only bring it up because I spent the remainder of my time "playing" on Pinterest last night, so it's still kinda "on my radar", especially where one of my site tags is for Interior Design... *Sigh* But, hey, if anyone has a question in that direction, feel free to ask me on here or text me 1-(603) 369-7062. :) Peaceful day so far with Church this morning, a short shopping trip, a bit of snack, and a good walk to a City Park that's nearly a mile away. So now that I've done my "outing and abouting"; I'm ready to settle in with you and blog this morning's message...

I'm sure we've all had moments in our lives when we've felt that we messed up one too many times and that person will never forgive us or want to speak to us again. Or we are the person who is feared in the scenario. I relate more to the latter one myself. At least in terms of people. In terms of God?? Well, those moments are higher in number than I'd care to count. There may have been times in my life where I've felt superior to others in some way or another; but when I'm back on the ground after dismounting my "high horse", I'm well aware of my own imperfections and weaknesses. I'm happy to say that I don't spend nearly as much time "in the saddle" these days. Not that I've arrived anywhere, just that I'm closer to the destination and headed toward it fairly consistently. And really, that's the best we can honestly hope for, isn't it?? To be a better person today than we were yesterday?? But it's only with God's help that we have any real support in that goal. Today's message explores Jesus' response to someone who thought he was a complete failure in relation to and in ministry with the Savior. Let's turn together and read from John 21:15-23 --

John 21:15-23 New International Version

Jesus Reinstates Peter 15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” 16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” 17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!” 20 Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) 21 When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” 22 Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” 23 Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”

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I think it's pretty safe to say that no one else in history has ever been closer to Jesus and had reason to feel farther from Him than Peter. I mean, Peter's track record as a Disciple would be tough to beat, right?? At the beginning he was so enthusiastic that he didn't question anything Jesus told him to do. He was "all in" and nothing was going to stop him from serving Messiah. By the end, he was denying all knowledge of Jesus out of fear for his life. Some of us today may come somewhere near equal with Peter to the extent that is possible without direct physical connection; but I don't see anyone surpassing it.

This passage relates the circumstances in which Jesus reinstates Peter back into both fellowship and ministry. The fellowship piece was important because this was post-resurrection, and Jesus would be leaving soon. But the ministry piece was equally important in reestablishing Peter's authority as a Preacher of the Gospel. I was almost going to say it was more important, but I realized that, without the fellowship bit, Peter wouldn't have felt worthy to the ministry bit, even on Jesus' "say so". That's my take on it, anyway, because without the fellowship restored, Peter wouldn't have had the same passion for the message as he ended up having with it. His words would have fallen on deaf ears because he wouldn't have the proof of it in delivering them. It would have been akin to having an amateur standing in for a professional actor. The lines may be accurate, but the emotions behind them wouldn't come through the same. The delivery would be ineffective to convince the audience of the truth being conveyed.

Jesus understood this, not just on the surface of it, but all the way down to Peter's heart and soul, and mind. He knew that a major shift needed to happen in order to repair the relationship and in turn, Peter's ability and confidence to minister.

His approach in this venture was to bring a level of deja vu into Peter's experiences. As you may or may not know, scent is the physical sense most connected with memory. Jesus used this fact to "bring Peter back" to the fire around which he had stood denying Him the first time. The environment needed a level of "commonality" in order to work a complete healing in Peter's heart. Now whether Jesus' further questioning of Peter that brought the number equal to Peter's denials was done by walking down the beach a bit to change the environment accordingly, we are not told. It seems fairly likely though, considering... But Jesus' point here lies in the understanding that sin sinks deep roots into our lives that need complete removal before restoration and healing can take place*. There are numerous ways in which various things in our lives may produce deeply rooted damage to either our hearts, our minds, our bodies, or any combination thereof. Pastor Matt brought up the struggle of some Military Veterans during 4th of July celebrations. PTSD may cause extreme reactions to the fireworks the rest of us enjoy as part of our traditions. For others, poor parenting habits may have been passed down through generations or opposite decisions may result in equally poor parenting from the other direction. Those were the ones he brought up, but as we know, the damage may be physical or emotional as well. The point is that sin develops to the same depths and causes similar problems if allowed to invade.

God's love for Peter, and for each of us, is so pure, so true, and so real that He meets us where we are and proceeds to invite us back into fellowship with Him no matter what we've done. And no matter how many times we've messed up*. God's grace, mercy, and forgiveness are so abundant and so rich that it can never run out of supply or effect. (there's no expiration dates or statutes of limitation)

Many of us may live our lives resistant to God's healing. We ignore the signs of separation out of fear that He won't accept us and so it would hurt too much to try. And that's just how Peter felt. He had denied Jesus, not just once or twice, but three times!! That had to be too much, didn't it?? How could Jesus ever forgive such blatant betrayal?? (He seems to have missed the fact that Jesus had predicted it the night before) But Jesus didn't send a note to Peter, challenging him to fight in the courtyard and asking Peter to meet him somewhere... nothing like that at all... Instead, Jesus meets Peter where he's at. He literally walks towards Peter!! He knew that Peter had given up on both the relationship and the ministry because he no longer felt worthy of either. In the verses just prior to our passage above, Peter has gone back to what he knows best. He's back in his boat, fishing. He feels like a complete failure, a total "loser" at the life Jesus had chosen him for and called him to. Anyone with a conscience would feel the same.

As we touched on above, scent is the physical sense most connected to memory. The campfire was significant not only for the reason of Peter's denial, but to relax him in the moment of restoration. Maybe some of you have never experienced a campfire, firepit, or even a fireplace indoors; may I just say, you're sadly deprived if you haven't. The scent of burning wood, the "dance" of the flames, the colors, the warmth... it's all so peaceful, or it can be if given enough time and the right company (or none, if that's what's needed)*. Jesus didn't shame Peter or "rub his nose in it" like you would with a dog who'd messed on the rug. His mission was simply that of restoration. It gives us the assurance that He will always react the same with us. No. Matter. What. Relationship mistakes?? Workplace issues/competition?? Parenting mistakes??*

In the process of this healing "operation", Jesus wielded His "scalpel" with precision. He didn't cut Peter to increase injury, but to heal the wound*. Jesus gave 100% to Peter's healing and restoration. In turn, Peter gave 100% back in accepting Jesus' invitation to return to a good relationship with Him, followed naturally by return to Ministry ahead of, and continuing after, Jesus' Ascent into Heaven.

As with Peter's moments of failure*, our moments are likewise driven by fear. When Peter took his eyes off Jesus in the water and "noticed the waves", he was fearful and started to sink. When he cut the ear of the soldier in Gethsemane, he was fearful. There are numerous other occasions on which Peter messed up as well. But Jesus never gave up on him. We see that, even in the process of restoration, Peter is still caught in the trap of competition. Verses 20-21 show us that Peter's attention is caught by John and he asks Jesus, "What about him??" But Jesus didn't let Peter get away with the weaknesses of fear and comparison. Jesus' healing "draws the poison out" and frees us completely from whatever may be pulling us down*. Jesus reminds Peter that His restoration, and His method was important to preparing Peter for the future that was laid out before him. And we can trust that Jesus' redemption and restoration of relationship with Him works in exactly the same way. Each stage in our growth prepares us for a future we cannot yet see*.

So what do we do with this?? How do we respond in our daily lives??

The most important thing we can do is this --

Pay attention to our emotions -- I know that the very idea of this is making some of you cringe, if not back away from your screens in fear. But hear me out. Please. If we don't pay attention to our emotions, they will take over our lives and cause division and destruction to our relationships, jobs, and potentially, to our children. Ignoring and denial brings nothing but anger and resentment.

We need to be brave enough to "sit by the fire" with Jesus and first of all, allow ourselves to fully experience our emotions*, secondly, we need to allow healing to take place in whatever form is needed. Maybe a hard conversation, maybe just a "coming to terms" with something in our own hearts. Maybe an apology followed by changed behavior... Whatever it needs to look like, no matter how hard it may seem in the moment, the results will be worth the effort because you will be free.

Pastor Matt's father died when he was just 7 yrs old. Sadly, the "rule of thumb" was that "emotions are too hard, so we don't talk about them". Here he was, "Man of the House" at waaaay too young an age; and he wasn't allowed to express any feelings about it. :( This resulted in a long-standing backlog of grief and pain in relation to future losses in his life. It wasn't until he heard the essence of the above message that he felt that he had "permission" to fully process his pain and deal with it as was needed. That freedom has been priceless to him so he no longer has to "shove the pain down" and ignore the feelings.

Jesus "walks towards" each of us in His love, grace, and mercy with an invitation to restoration of fellowship and ministry. His forgiveness and healing are deep, complete, and real. Just now, I'm reminded of Heb. 13:5 where we are encouraged by the fact that God will never leave us or forsake us.

Will you choose the campfire or the boat?? -- God Bless!!

Footnotes --

Although I didn't mention it above, this week's Missionaries were Greg and Asa Swenson. They are working to plant House Churches in an area just west of Tokyo. Asa shared briefly about how God was using "broken people" to lead His work there. There are physically and mentally disabled people, there's a widow, a single mom, and the list goes on. Proof positive that God uses anybody who's willing in the building of His Kingdom.
Deep roots put me in mind of invasive plants such as the Poison Ivy I grew up with at the edge of the garden or the Water Lillies I saw at the park earlier this afternoon. (some were taller than me!!) There's a plan to remove them that will take 2-3 yrs in the process...
No matter what we've done... This idea puts me in mind of the old Amy Grant song, "Arms of Love". I once sang it at a Talent Show and the audio went out in the middle!! But Praise God, enough people remembered it and started singing with me. It was that much more of a blessing in a moment that could have been disastrous!! I'll add it below.
I grew up with woodstoves as the only heat in our house until I was 15 or 16 yrs old. We had the Kitchen "cook stove" (although we mostly used the electric on the porch) and we had the Dining Room "parlor stove" for the rest of the house. The Living Room fireplace shared a chimney with the Dining Room, but it was never used in my memory. But rest assured when it comes to campfires, I'm likely to be right in line with the smoke... ;p Bottom line, wood smoke is "home" to me...
Right company or none... sometimes we can best process our thoughts and feelings by being alone. Other times it can be fun to sit around a fire with friends and/or family and enjoy the fellowship that brings.
Relationship mistakes?? (check) Workplace issues?? (check) Parenting mistakes?? (check) Divorce, bad attitude, harsh treatment of my kids... yep... all of those are a part of my history... But the point lies in owning those mistakes, learning from them, and moving on to continued improvement.
Cutting to heal rather than harm -- Jesus knew the exact level of pressure, depth, and size of the treatment Peter needed. He wasn't about to cut off a finger to get rid of a splinter, for example...
In a brief search for another point of Peter's failures Pastor Matt brought out, but I didn't quite find, I came across the following list -- http://www.godisjustlikejesus.com/13-failures-peter-jesus-loves-imperfect-people/
Jesus frees us from whatever may be pulling us down... My thoughts here ran to the scene in Harry Potter where he, Ron, and Hermione are caught in The Devil's Snare plant. The secret of their success lie in relaxing into it and trusting the process. They needed to fully experience it in order to build their faith for later events.
Coinciding with my last point, the idea of God's restoration preparing us for a future we cannot see also relates to my relationships. Mike and I have both gained the maturity to understand that we weren't ready for each other 30 yrs ago. We needed other experiences that our separate lives brought us in order to learn the lessons that made us into the people we are today. (One of these days, I'll do a Reflections post that tells more of the story)
Fully experiencing our emotions relates back to the personal story that Andy Needham brought in yesterday's post.