Thursday November 09th, 2023
« Happy are those who reject the advice of evil people, who do not follow the example of sinners or join those who have no use for God »
54 So they arrested him and led him to the high priest’s home. And Peter followed at a distance.
55 The guards lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it, and Peter joined them there.
56 A servant girl noticed him in the firelight and began staring at him. Finally she said, “This man was one of Jesus’ followers!”
57 But Peter denied it. “Woman,” he said, “I don’t even know him!”
58 After a while someone else looked at him and said, “You must be one of them!” “No, man, I’m not!” Peter retorted.
59 About an hour later someone else insisted, “This must be one of them, because he is a Galilean, too.”
60 But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.
An adage says “Show me your friends and I’ll tell you who you are”.
The company you keep will go a long way to show who you are, what you do and how you respond to situation in life.
The story in our Bible reading of today tells us how peter eventually denied the master as predicted by Jesus Christ.
Why did Peter deny Jesus?
One, the Bible says when Jesus was taken and brought into the high priest’s house, Peter followed him “afar off” (Luke 22:54).
It is dangerous to follow Jesus from afar.
Secondly, because it was so cold out there, Peter moved into the hall and sat down with those enjoying the warmth of the fire that was set.
It is unfortunate today that some so-called believers are enjoying the fire or the warmth of sin in the bosom of strange men and women. Psalm 1:1 CW
« Blessed is the person who doesn’t follow unbeliever’s advice, doesn’t befriend non Christians, and doesn’t sit with the disrespectful »
Peter, forgetting that he had the identity of a Galilean, sat in the midst of the resident of Jerusalem.
He was confronted with the truth that he was a Galilean and follower of Jesus Christ for that matter.
Many pretend they are not Christians so that they may conform to some so called ‘comfort zones’ in life, whereas, the Bible says we should not be conformed to this world (Romans 12:2).
Peter was not sensitive enough in the spirit to recognize that his location did not support his commitment to Jesus Christ.
He denied Jesus to the point of swearing and the cook crew (Matthew 26:74-75).
Beloved, let us learn from Peter that we should not follow Jesus from afar.
We must not patronize places that would compromise our spiritual health, no matter how attractive they may be.
Sometime ago, I was on a road trip and was accosted by armed robbers. I asked my Daddy why such a thing would happen to me and He said “It is because you are dressed like the people the robber are looking for!” Truly, that day, I was dressed flamboyantly in the traditional attire of one of the major ethnic groups in Nigeria and the robbers mistook me for a chief!
Beloved, God wants us to be mindful of how we dress and the people we spend our time with.
We are called to identify with the Lord always.
Prayer focus – Father, please help me never to deny You, however tough the trial may be.
Author: Bishop Enoch. A. Adeboye.
Edited by Naomie
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