Second Chances

When we fail God, does He give us a second chance?

For our answer, we need only look as far as Peter in the New Testament. In Matthew 26, we read of Peter's declaration that "Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away." Jesus then tells Peter that he would deny Christ three times which we read about in Matthew 26:69-75. When Peter denies Jesus for the third time, "he went out and wept bitterly."

Fortunately, that is not how it ends. God provides Peter and us, with a second chance. In John 21:15-19, Jesus asks Peter, "Do you love Me?" Peter responds, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you."

Yes, God gives us second (and third) chances. God's desire is to take us from where we are, and bring us to where He wants us to be. In the face of failure, don't give up - God is not finished with you.

Lessons from Nehemiah

When the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem and took many of the people captive, Nehemiah was among the captives. Nehemiah became "Cupbearer to the king" which really meant he was the king's food tester. But God gave Nehemiah another task - go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the wall.

The task was enormous - not only were the walls destroyed, but the volunteers were unskilled in repairing stone walls, Nehemiah's enemies were all around and there was no shortage of criticism.

But Nehemiah persevered - he established some guidelines. Everyone was responsible for the section of wall directly in front of them. They made sure that they help each other. To combat the enemies, the workers held their tools in one hand and there sword in the other. Finally, they focused on their goal - to rebuild the wall. Eventually the wall was completed - to which God got all the glory.

Here are some lessons we could learn from Nehemiah (From Chuck Swindell - Nehemiah: A Model of Pioneer Determination):

1. Never let life's difficulties surprise you - problems will come.

2. Be positive - remember God is in control - focus on building the wall.

3. Fight your battles in prayer.

4. Don't do this alone - a cord of three strands is not easily broken.

Love

John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

The Bible shows us that love is an action. Love comes from the heart and shows care and concern for others. We love others because we know exactly who they are and we love them just the same.

God loves us not because of what we try to do or to be. God loves us because He knows exactly who we are.

On the Road Again

In Luke 24:13-35 we meet two fellows on the road to Emmaus. Like many of us, we are traveling along a road without knowledge of where we are going or why we are on the road.

Fortunately for these two men, Jesus comes alongside them. Again, like many of us, Jesus has also come up alongside. The two men are discussing the recent events surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus. And like Mary, they did not recognize Him - at first.

Jesus then asks what they are discussing. They told Jesus about the man they had hoped would be the Messiah. Jesus begins to tell the men of the Scriptures and how the Scriptures speak of Jesus.

For Mary, she recognized Jesus when He spoke her name. For these two men, it was when their hearts burned.

So when you seek Jesus, it may not be with your eyes that you will find Him. It will be with your heart.