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.

Easter Message

In John 20, we read about a tomb. This one is empty. Jesus has been crucified and He has been buried. Mary Magdalene arrives at the tomb only to find the stone removed and the tomb empty. In John 20:11 we read, "but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?"

When we are faced with some crisis, when our walk with Christ doesn’t seem especially joyful, it in some ways it might have felt like how Mary felt looking into the empty tomb. It may seem like things do not make sense. We may even ask the question, “Why does God allow this to happen?” We must remember that God is working out all the details and He makes no mistakes.

As Christians, we are often tempted to be discouraged or depressed when faced with situations that may seem insurmountable or uncontrollable. But Paul tells us in Philippians 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" And he wrote this while in prison.

Perhaps like Mary, we peer into an empty tomb. But that can be a good thing. When we are discouraged, look to the tomb. Instead of weeping, we should be rejoicing. The empty tomb is a sign of our hope. It is the sign of our new life. It shows us that nothing can prevent the plans of God.

Two Crosses

When Jesus was crucified, there were two other men crucified alongside. The first criminal hurled insults at Jesus stating, "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" The second criminal rebuked him saying, "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." (Luke 23:39-41)

The first criminal did not acknowledge his guilt and remained in his sin. The second criminal recognized his guilt and reached out to Jesus saying, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:42-43)

Each man eventually dies and stands before God to give an account of himself. The first man stands alone. The second man stands with Jesus as his substitute.

Just as each of these two men, each of takes our place on either side of Christ. The one that we identify with, the one that represents your view of Christ will indicate where you will spend eternity.

The Man

In October, 1555, two men were being led from Bocardo Prison in England. Hugh Lattimer and Nicholas Ridley had been imprisoned for refusing to recant their faith in Jesus Christ. However, today they were not being released, but led to the town square were they would be burned at the stake.

As they approached the stakes, Lattimer turned to his companion and said, "Be of good cheer Ridley, Play the man."

We sometimes look to athletes or other hero-types and declare that 'they are the man!' In John 19, we read of Jesus appearing before Pontius Pilate. After being scourged, Jesus is brought before the crowds to which Pilate states, "Behold, the man!'

What Pilate didn't realize, but Jesus was indeed, 'The Man.' Jesus represented all that we could or should be. Our dads are imperfect as are any of the male figures in our lives. And while we are not perfect, we still have the responsibility to 'play the man.' But when in comes to declaring someone as 'the man' we should look to Jesus as our example.

Straining Towards the Goal

Jimmy Johnson was the coach of the Dallas Cowboys and in 1989, his first year of coaching the team, they had a record of 1 win and 15 losses making them the worst team in the NFL.

Philippians 3:13 tells us, "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead..." And that is exactly what Jimmy Johnson coached. Learn from mistakes - but don't dwell on them and when you lose, plan for the next win.

As we strain toward the goal of living like Christ, we must cast off the old self and put on the new person. Forgetting what is behind, and strain toward what lies ahead.

Eventually the Cowboys won the Super Bowl in 1993 and 1994, 4 years after going 1-15.

As

Knocked Down But Not Knocked Out

Emmitt Smith was a running back in the NFL for 15 years, most of them with the Dallas Cowboys. In his career he ran for over 18,000 yards - that works out to over 10 miles. Considering the number of actual running plays, Emmitt Smith average 4 yards per carry. This means that each time Emmitt ran he was knocked down every 12 feet (on average). And in spite of being tackled every 12 feet, he still managed to amass over 10 miles of yardage in his career.

The apostle Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy while in prison, presumably awaiting execution. Paul had been beaten, stoned and shipwrecked, all for preaching the Gospel. Yet he writes to Timothy, in verse 7, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

Paul's words and Emmitt Smith's career show us that there is a difference between being knocked down and being knocked out.

The enemy, Satan wants us to quit. He wants to knock us out of the game. Keep your eyes focused on the goal, knowing that with Christ's help, you may be knocked down, but you will not be knocked out.

Facing the Giants

In First Samuel 17:1-54 we read about David and Goliath. Now to set up the story, the people of Israel are facing off with their dreaded enemy the Philistines. The two armies are on opposite sides of a valley. Then, the Philistine army steps apart and out comes Goliath. A huge man, nearly 10 feet tall carry 200 pounds of armament - a sword, spear, shield and armor. As Goliath approaches, he taunts the army of Israel.

Enter David, the youngest of his brothers, he is carrying supplies. David does not understand why the other soldiers are just standing around. He knows that God is with him and so, decides to confront Goliath. Goliath laughs but David is not intimidated.

David loads his slingshot, takes aim and hits Goliath right between the eyes. David then takes Goliath's sword and beheads the giant. The Philistines flee with the army of Israel in pursuit.

We face our own Goliaths everyday. So what can we learn from David?

1. Facing giants is an intimidating experience - remember, Goliath towered over David.

2. Doing battle is a lonely experience. Your Goliaths are your Goliaths. They may not be gigantic to anyone else, but they are gigantic to you. The battle is for you and God to fight - together. Friends can stand with you , but you must cross the battle line yourself.

3. Trust in God - David was calm knowing that God was with him.

4. Remember your victories- when the next battle comes, you will remember how God was with you.

Thanks to Chuck Swindoll's book titled, David: A Man of Passion and Destiny.