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the  Preachers  blog

Blogs are posted every Wednesday

Broken by Grace

4/15/2020

 
John 21: 15-25
 
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.”
1 Peter 5: 6
 
     Why do we do what we do? Why do we enter relationships, why struggle for promotion, seek education, compete in sports; or conversely why do we not do what we could do? Our motives in these matters reveal our hearts, our characters and personalities; but understanding ourselves and our motives is a complicated matter! Understanding God and our relationship with Him is complicated too. If we are honest with ourselves, often in this relationship, we see God as the one to make our lives as we think they should be; our motives in seeking His will and glory are at best mixed. Think about these matters in the context of our current situation. We will all be trying to figure out how we feel, what we are supposed to do and what is God doing in it all? Dependent on our character and personality we will be responding in different ways: coping; thriving; struggling; feeling down; fearful; hopeful; and so on. There will be differing tensions in our lives and relationships.
 
     Our Gospel reading today in John 21 follows on from that which we considered on Monday. It is the famous reinstatement of Peter following his denial of Christ (John 18: 15-18, 25-27). Peter is a person whom most of us can relate to. He gets things right, he gets things wrong, he is quick to understand and often misses the point (e.g. Matthew 16: 13-23); he’s obviously human! If we follow Peter’s life through the Gospels, into Acts and in his own letters we witness his growth as God refines him often through gracefully breaking him. In today’s reading Jesus is really working on Peter’s motives. Does Peter love Christ, if so look after the Church (vs. 15-17). Peter was to love Christ above all else, this would motivate him to care for the Church and be prepared to give up his life for the Lord (vs. 19); Jesus the author of Peter’s faith was perfecting that faith, that person.
 
     We, like Peter, will often fail and often obey Christ. We will all be struggling in our lives in different ways. The best way to cope, no to overcome, is to “humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand,” to submit to Him and trust Him. He will work His purposes out in us, refine us and bless us, then “lift us up in due time.” He will gracefully break us to bless us and to give glory to His name; Hallowed be His name.

​To Ponder: What are you struggling with right now? Tell your loving Father and ask Him to reveal your heart to you. How can you submit to Him and trust Him in a way that would enable His power to work in you? Who can you love and bless?
 
Prayer: By the raising of your Son you have broken the chains of death and hell: fill your Church with faith and hope; for a new day has dawned and the way to life stands open in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
 
Praise:

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St Aidan’s Anglican Church
274 Campbell Street | Winnipeg, MB R3N 1B5
Phone: 204.489.3390 Email: staidans.churchoffice@gmail.com
  • Home
  • Worship Online
  • The Preachers Blog
  • Bible in a Year
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • The Re-Gathering
  • RSVP for a Service
  • Youth
  • Cords
  • Prayer Requests
  • Request Pastoral Care
  • Give
  • Grocery Pick Up
  • Statement of Faith
  • Video Archive
    • 2023 Videos
    • Real Lives
    • 2022 Videos
    • 2021 Videos
    • 2020 Videos
  • Sermon Audio Archive
    • 2020 Sermons
    • 2019 Sermons
    • 2019 Sermon Series >
      • Gospel Centered Eternities November 2019
      • The Real Joy of Easter - Holy Week 2019
    • 2018 Sermons
    • 2018 Sermon Series >
      • Gospel Centred Church Spring 2018
      • A Gospel Shaped Church Fall 2018
    • 2017 Sermon Series >
      • The Servant King Christmas 2016
      • The Saviour King Lent 2017
      • The Victorious King Holy Week 2017
      • The Living King Easter 2017
      • The Brother King Fall 2017
      • Worship the King Advent 2017
    • 2016 Sermon Series >
      • Real Obedience Lent 2016
      • Unity of the Church
      • The Servant King Christmas 2016
    • 2015 Sermon Series >
      • Real Gifts 2015
      • Real Mission 2015
      • Mission Discerned
    • 2014 Sermon Series >
      • Real Church 2014
      • Real Lives 2014
    • 2013 Sermon Series >
      • Real God 2013
    • Sermon Archive From 2014 - 2017
  • Christianity 101
  • The Psalms Blog
  • Bible in a Year
  • The Re-Gathering