By the Enemy’s Fire But Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest’s courtyard. And he went in and sat with the servants to see the end.
– Matthew 26:58
A series of steps led to Peter’s denial of Christ. The first was self-confidence, and the second was following at a distance. The third was hanging out with the wrong people.
In Luke 22:55, we find Peter warming himself at the fire in the courtyard of Caiaphas, who was trying Jesus; we might call it the enemy’s fire. At this point Peter was worn down, defeated, and weak. He was vulnerable, and the last place he should have been was at a fire surrounded by unbelievers.
Matthew’s Gospel tells us that he sat down with the servants to see the end. He was resigned now to the fate of Jesus. There was nothing he felt he could do So he was just sitting there. Peter was with the wrong people in the wrong place at the wrong time, about to do the wrong thing.
That is why we need to give a lot of thought as to who we spend the bulk of our time with. We think we are influencing others, but the question is, are they influencing us? We think that we are pulling them up, but the real issue may be that they are pulling us down. That is why Psalm 1:1 says, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.” Have you ever noticed the progressionor shall I say the regression; of the words in Psalm 1? First there is walking. Then there is standing. And finally there is sitting.
When we fall into sin, it most often begins with a series of steps. And when we hang around with the wrong people in the wrong places, we are going to end up doing the wrong thing. Sin is a horrible thing. It makes you feel, well… just plain bad. It makes me feel week, sad, hollow and empty inside. I know that I really hate when I sin and, afterwards… it usually seems that there’s always someone there to rub it in. You know who that is? The devil. That’s right… He is there when you don’t need him to kick you down when your are down and rub it in. He’s there to remind you of all the wrongs you’ve done and everything you’ve done to offend our Lord. Remember this, my brothers and sisters that the Lord died for you and I that our sins would be forgiven in the Father’s eye. He sacrificed His very Life for ours and shed His blood for us that it will atone for all our transgretions. Most importantly, He forgave us all for all our wrong doings…
Now then. It’s up to us, to forgive ourselves. Yes, that’s right, healing begins with action. Healing starts with you. You must want to be healed to be healed.
Brother Jonathan R. L. Spann
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Brother Jonathan's Daily Devotion 