PRAYER FOR GUIDANCE

I was writing out this prayer to the Lord. About half way through it, He led me to share it as a blogpost. I hope it helps someone that may have the same need for guidance.

My dear heavenly Father,

I have a favor to ask of Thee. Going forward, as we journey the teacher/student path, can we make it more organized? I feel tossed about like a volley ball back and forth. I wished my studies could be more organized. My brain functions better when things are straight forward. We jumped from studying Luke 1, to a deep dive in Luke 16 about the Rich Man and Lazarus. I am now struggling to get back to where I was in Luke 1.

The BSB translation of Psalm 25:12 says, "He will instruct him (or her) in the path chosen for him (or her)." Lord, You comprehend my path and You are acquainted with all my ways. Let's travel the best path for us to arrive at the desired destination.

Since You know me inside and out, this should be easy for You. Teach me Your ways O Lord and lead me on a smooth path, not like a volley ball, but like a fish swimming smoothly upstream from Point A to Point B. I have a spreadsheet called Studies in Progress with 204 rows of studies that I'm not sure if we completed or not. We abruptly went on to something else so I'm not sure if we wrapped it up or if further study is needed.

About 2 months ago, I downloaded the image of a straight bricked path going underneath shade trees arriving at a lit up destination.

That's the image of the smooth path I'm longing for. Because You are a Spirit, I don't have the luxury of a face-to-face meeting. I will do my best to stay on target, but I need Your specific guidance leading me and ensuring that I don't wonder off the path.

In that image, it would be difficult to wonder off the path because it is clearly laid out. To wonder off would be walking on the grass. I know we walk by faith and not by sight, which makes it easy to wonder off path and not realize we have done so.

Psalm 25:10 says, "All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth - unfailing love and faithfulness to all who keeps Your covenant and Your word."

None of this comes as a surprise to the One that knows my thoughts afar off (Psalm 139:2), but just the same I make my plea with a humble heart and a wanting soul. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation, and on You I will wait all the day. I love You, Daddy. These and all blessings I ask and pray in Jesus' holy name, Amen.

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove

PATIENCE IN FULL BLOOM

When Jesus was in His early teens He met the siblings Lazarus, Mary, and Martha on the many trips He made to Jerusalem with Mary and  Joseph. They lived in Bethany which was located about 2 miles east of Jerusalem. The two families would visit often and Mary, Martha, Lazarus, and Jesus became close friends.

Lazarus became very sick so Mary and Martha sent for Jesus to come and heal him. Jesus did not return with the messenger but lingered 2 more days in the place where He was. By the time He made the journey to Bethany, Lazarus was dead and buried.

Even though they were close friends and Jesus loved them, yet He did not rush to their side to spare their grief but lingered until Lazarus was in the grave. Jesus told His disciples that this incident was for the glory of God, so that the Son of God could be glorified through it.

I have been suffering with a constant ringing in my ears for quite some time. I’ve prayed for healing again, and again, and again. Some days it’s very loud and other days it’s quieter, but it’s there 24/7.

About a week ago I confronted the Lord concerning this. “Lord, do I have unforgiveness in my heart toward anyone that is preventing my prayers from being answered? (Mark 11:25-26)

Three days later, this was God’s response:

“If I don’t answer your prayers in the manner you expected, I want you to remember Mary and Martha. I raised Lazarus from the dead and restored him to full health. Their prayers were answered, just not in the way they had initially expected. I will never leave you, nor forsake you. Never… no never. I am your Good Shepherd. My plans are to prosper you, not to harm you. Let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” Daddy

He's allowing it for a reason. Pray without ceasing, but let patience have its perfect work.

James 1:4 (TLB) So let patience grow, and don't try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete.

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove

THE TEST OF SUCCESS

Matthew 18:1-4 (NKJV) At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

First Things First

The first thing we’re taught in these verses is the significance of conversion that is manifested by childlike humility, sincerity, trust, and dependence on God. The surest mark of a true convert is humility, not status in the church.

Instead of seeking a place of service in the kingdom of heaven, the disciples lost sight and began to seek positions of honor and high regard. “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Mark’s version of this story says the disciples had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest among them.

Self-Examination

The test of success is truly a heart-searching test. The apostle Paul told the church of Corinth to examine themselves as to whether or not they were in the faith (2Cor. 13:5).

There will come a day when we, the church, will stand before the judgment seat of Christ to give a personal account of ourselves to God (Rom. 14:10, 12). Something to remember as we pass through this life.

Jesus told an interesting parable about a Pharisee and a Tax Collector…

Luke 18:9-14 (The Message) Jesus told His next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the common people: “Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one was a Pharisee, the other a tax man. The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: ‘Oh God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.’ “Meanwhile the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face buried in his hands, not daring to look up, said, ‘God, give mercy. Forgive me, a sinner.’” Jesus commented, “This tax man, not the Pharisee, went home made right with God. If you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to end up flat on your face, but if you’re content to be simply your (childlike) self, you will become more than yourself.”

We must turn from the mind of the Pharisee to the mind of the Tax Collector, so we may go home justified and made right with God. When we humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord, He will lift us up (Jam. 4:10).

Humility is the passing of the test of success.

The apostle Paul pleaded with the Lord three times about his thorn in the flesh. Jesus said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” From that time Paul’s attitude became, “I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2Cor. 12:9-10).

Paul laid aside his status and influence and laid hold on his weaknesses, because God’s power is better displayed through our weaknesses and limitations.

Every time I sit down to write a blogpost, I have no idea what I’m supposed to say, nor how it needs to be said. I just study the word of God and pray. The next thing I know is that I’m hitting the publish button to post it on my blog. I am always amazed that something came out of nothing. I continue to see God’s power being displayed through my weakness. That’s how He rolls.

Philippians 2:3 (NKJV) Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each one esteem others better than himself.

Go in peace and may God richly bless you.🙏

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove

THE MOST IMPORTANT VICTORY

The Lord Jesus chose 72 other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places He had planned to visit. He said to them, “Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves. Heal the sick, and tell them, 'The Kingdom of God is near you now.'”

When the 72 disciples returned, they joyfully reported to Him, "Lord, even the demons obey us when we use Your name!"

"Yes," He told them, "I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. But don't rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven." (Luke 10:1, 3, 9, 17-20)

Jesus helped them get their priorities straight by reminding them that their most important victory was that their names were recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove

WHEN TRAGEDY STRIKES

In Luke 13, Jesus spoke of eighteen people that were killed when the tower of Siloam collapsed and fell on them. He asked His listeners if they thought those people were more sinful than all the others living in Jerusalem because they suffered this fate. Then He answered His own question saying, “No.”

Unexpected tragedies can happen to any of us. We don’t always understand why God does what He does — why some live and others do not. He could have spared those 18 people that were tragically killed when the tower fell on them. He could’ve prevented the tower from falling. He could’ve caused them not to be there when it fell.

Miraculous testimonies were told after the September 11^th terrorist attacks. Many lived to tell how God delivered them from the tragedy, while thousands of others unfortunately perished when those planes struck the World Trade Center twin towers. Some had missed their flight and wasn’t on the plane that struck the buildings. Some had errands to run before work and wasn’t in the building when the planes flew into them. Twenty survivors were pulled out of the rubble after the buildings collapsed.

The apostle Paul said in Romans 9:14… “Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!”

Isaiah 55:8-9 (NKJV) “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

Recently, I was scrolling through my Facebook feed and heard a preacher say, “God will either change things for you, or He will change you for things. Sometimes God will lighten the burden, and other times He will strengthen your back. And both of them are an answer to prayer. It’s not an either/or, He’s God. Prayer will either change you for things, or it will change things for you.”

Jesus prayed, “Father, let this cup pass from Me.” God sent an angel to strengthen Jesus and He endured the cross, despising the shame, having drank the full cup of God’s indignation, bringing us salvation and everlasting life.

Enduring trials and tribulations is hard, but AFTERWARD we will have become someone that only the experience could’ve created.

Hebrews 12:11 (NKJV) Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, AFTERWARD it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

God has a purpose for everything He does, and everything He allows. We won’t always understand it, but we must trust in His character… that He is loving. In fact, God is love. He is the very essence of love.

One day I happened to stumble across the NIV translation of Jer. 29:11…

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

I gasped loud and deep in total surprise at the phrase “not to harm you”. Why would I ever think He meant to harm me? Why was it such a surprise to know that He didn't want to? Because, I didn’t know Him as well as I thought I did. The apostle Peter encouraged us not to think it strange when we fall into fiery trials, because they will come, but the Lord has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

When Satan came to the Lord concerning Job, the Lord threw Job under the bus (so to speak) when He asked Satan to consider His servant Job. The Lord took down the hedge that protected Job and allowed Satan to devastate him. But AFTERWARD, Job came away from his tragedy a totally different person. God addressed Job as “My servant” in the first chapter, and in the last chapter He still called Job “My servant”. God kept him through it all. He restored Job’s losses with twice as much as he had before, and made his last days on earth better than his younger days.

Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NIV) This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom, or the strong boast of their strength, or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.

To God be the glory.
Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove

THE BRIDGE OF COMMUNICATION

Bridge of Deep Heart Connection

The notion of a bridge can symbolize the communication passage (or union) between God and the believer. A bridge can symbolize the passage from one state to another… or the crossing over from one cycle to another… or the end of one season and the beginning of another. If this symbolic bridge has been damaged in some way, then the link we have with God can be broken. God said that He is restoring the bridge of deep heart connection that was damaged by years of enduring devastation and turmoil and caused our communication to fade.

If we have been submitting prayer petitions for a long time but have not seen or heard a response from God, that can damage the bridge connecting us to God. Our faith and confidence in prayer diminishes, because we wonder what’s the point if nothing comes out of it. In this season, God is repairing that bridge and restoring our confidence in the effectiveness of fervent prayers.

If we plead the blood of Jesus over something and nothing never-ever changes, that decreases our confidence in our authority over the enemy. Then when the enemy sees that we don’t believe we have power, he devastates us, and we feel powerless to stop him.

Luke 11:21-22 (NKJV) When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.

God is repairing the bridge of deep heart connection between us and Him in this season. We are crossing over the bridge into a greater and more powerful partnership with Almighty God. Our confidence in the effectiveness of our prayers is about to soar, and as you pray and intercede you will begin to see the greatest manifestation of God’s power in prayer that you have ever experienced.

Luke 10:19 (NKJV) Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove

WHEN IS IT OKAY TO BE ANGRY?

Jesus Cleansing The Temple

Jesus and His disciples went to Jerusalem for the annual Passover celebration. When He came into the temple He found the merchants and money changers had set up their booths in the Court of the Gentiles. The merchants were selling sacrificial animals such as doves at very high prices, taking advantage of those who had to travel long distances to the temple.

The merchants selling the sacrificial animals would only accept the temple coins. The money changers exchanged all international currency for the special temple coins. The money changers were known for being dishonest in their exchanges and often cheated folks out of their money. Their buying, selling and trading in the house of God was a major distraction and frustrated people’s attempts to worship God. This angered Jesus greatly and He put a stop to it by driving them out of the temple.

He made a whip and chased them out. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. He would not let anyone carry merchandise through the temple. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have made it a den of thieves. Get these things out of here! Do not make My Father’s house a marketplace!” Then His disciples remembered that verse in Psalms that says, “Zeal for God’s house has eaten me up, and the reproaches of those who insult Him has fallen on me.”

Jesus became angry, but He did not sin. There is a right time and place for righteous indignation. As believers, we have a right to be indignant about sin and injustice and should take a stand against it.

There are several scriptures in the Bible that warn us to be slow to anger, so we certainly do need to be sure that our anger is directed toward the right issues, and carried out in a controlled godly manner. Anger over someone offending you can be dealt with in private prayer time. That is not a time for uncontrolled rage. Righteous indignation is anger that is primarily motivated by sin and injustice, or some other profound moral lapse. Jesus was clearly angry about the disrespect of the worship place of God, and He dealt with it. The Bible also speaks about the wrath of God, so clearly anger is not a sin, it just needs to be dealt with righteously.❤💙💚💛💜

To God be the glory.
Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove

RENEWING DEVOTION

I am by no means a prophet, nor do I pretend to be anything greater than a teacher of God’s word, which is my calling. But I believe I got a word from the Lord that judgment is coming. We need to seriously humble ourselves before God, return from our backsliding, and ask God for forgiveness.

Let’s just take a moment to acknowledge the Everlasting Father and Mighty God, that He is holy… and we are a product of His holiness through Christ Jesus.

Romans 10:10-11 (NKJV) For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."

To God be the glory.
Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove

HAVING COFFEE WITH JESUS

For a long, long time, I have wished that the Lord and I could meet up at Starbucks and have coffee together. Then, I could ask Him all my questions and get direct feedback without having to use spiritual discernment to guess at what He might be saying back to me.

Recently, I ran across John 4:24 that says, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.” The first thing I said was, “Well… looks like we’re not gonna be meeting up at Starbucks for that face-to-face.”

Our relationship with Heavenly Father is spiritual, unlike our relationship with one another where we can see, hear, and touch each other.

But we can still grow in our relationship with Heavenly Father, much like we do with each other. Jesus said the sheep follow the Shepherd and know His voice (John 10:4). When we have been trained to discern His voice, we are able to distinguish what is Him, and what's not Him (Heb 5:14). In the same way that I have come to know my husband's voice, even if he's not in the same room with me, we can learn to discern the voice of God.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. If you seek Him, He will be found by you as One hiding out in the open, wanting to be found.

Jeremiah 29:13 (NKJV) You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove

RAISED IN CHURCH

We grew up attending church on a regular basis. We had church on Sunday morning and Sunday night. Occasionally, we had a Sunday 3:00 service where we worshiped with other congregations to celebrate church and pastoral anniversaries. We had the midweek service and Friday night service. Occasionally, we came together with other congregations for Joint Meeting services on Saturday night. We were in church at least 3 days a week.

Today’s families are not attending that much church and therefore, this generation is not being exposed to learning about God as previous generations did. Yesterday, I was reading in the book of Judges and noticed how quickly the Israelites kept backsliding and worshiping idol gods. While the appointed judge was alive, they served Almighty God. But as soon as the judge died, they backslid and worshiped worthless idols. Their commitment and dedication to God was shallow so it did not last when the judge left them.

The Israelites were cautioned to teach God’s word to their children, speaking it to them when they were at home, traveling down the road, before they went to bed and as soon as they woke up.

Deuteronomy 11:19 (NKJV) You shall teach them to your children, speaking the word to them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.

In the New Testament, the apostle Paul said to bring the children up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

Ephesians 6:4 (NKJV) And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

We must be diligent to teach children about God so they can develop their own relationship with Him, as they come to know Him personally for themselves. Then when life hits them, they will not back away from God, they will run to Him. Let's prepare this generation to face what the future holds by getting Christ in their hearts, and getting them rooted and grounded in His love.

Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV) Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

To God be the glory.
Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove

SAY IT!

I was watching a rerun episode of Celebrity Name Game, and they were in the head-to-head round where the host, Craig Ferguson, would give a clue and the first contestant to buzz in and give the correct answer would win the designated money for that question. The first contestants to reach $3,000 would advance to the next round.

As tension mounted, one of the contestants buzzed in with an answer that would’ve put them over $3000. Instead of confirming whether the contestant was right or wrong, Craig Ferguson just stood there in a long, cold silence. When the contestant couldn’t take it anymore, he began jumping up and down screaming, “Say it!!” Finally, Craig Ferguson acknowledged the answer was correct and they had won their bank and advanced.

While this contestant was uncontrollably jumping up and down, and screaming at the top of his lungs, the Lord showed me that this contestant was ME!

There are times when I’m desperately waiting for my prayers to be answered and my impatience resembles that contestant jumping up and down screaming “Say it!!” at the top of my lungs, wanting God to hurry up and respond.

The psalmist David said, “I would’ve lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”

That’s what I need… a believing heart that is secure in the goodness and faithfulness of God.

The Lord said to the prophet Habakkuk, “The vision awaits an appointed time – though it might linger, wait for it because it will surely come to pass, and it will not delay.”

Habakkuk had a lot of hard questions to ask the Lord because some things just made no sense at all to him. The Lord was patient to answer his questions, and strengthen his faith, even in the day of trouble when impatience wanted to make him scream, holler and jump up and down.

Yet, the prophet said, “I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in the God of my salvation.”

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Isaiah 41:10…

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

To God be the glory.
Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove

BE KIND

Two years ago, I kept receiving messages to “be kind”. These were pictures and posts that kept popping up here and there that I knew could not just be a coincidence because it happened too many times. It had me scratching my head trying to figure out when I had been unkind, and to whom I had been unkind. Why did the Lord keep sending me this message?

It was my thoughts about strangers in the grocery store, or the neighbor next door that wouldn’t keep his dog quiet, or the annoying neighbor on the other side who seems to be irritating on purpose. My silent thoughts about these people could be most unkind at times. The Lord was telling me to be just as kind in my thoughts, as I am in my actions, not because they earned it but because it’s the right and human thing to do. Show kindness, even when they can’t see it.

Ephesians 4:32 (NASB) Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove

IN THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD

When God created Adam, He said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” Before Jesus became a human being, He existed in past eternity. He was the Word in the bosom of God. Before the Holy Spirit came to earth, He also existed. They created Adam in the moral, spiritual, and intellectual nature of God… in His image and likeness.

When Adam and Eve sinned, that image and likeness became very flawed. They developed a sin-nature that was passed on to their children. By the time Noah’s generation came along, that sin-nature was only evil continually. God wiped the earth clean through the flood and started over with Noah and his family.

Any efforts to remain godly became futile because of the weakness of man’s sin-nature to remain godly. The apostle Paul said, “I don’t practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate.” That is the power of the sin-nature in mankind. The Ten Commandments became a struggle because of the power of the sin-nature working against their will to do the right thing. The image and likeness of God that once defined Adam, no longer existed.

Along came Christ Jesus. He was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, but did not have a sin-nature. He was conceived in Mary’s womb by the Holy Spirit. Jesus was not conceived by a human father, so He was not born with the sin-nature that we have through Adam. He was completely human, and remained completely God, the Word.

The apostle Paul said, “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Once again, we have been made in the image and likeness of God through the last Adam.

Romans 7:24-25 (NLT) Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove

MY LOW SELF-WORTH

Over the past 2 years, the Lord has suffered me to endure a long hard trial. We are finally coming to the end of it, and here is what I’ve learned about my self-worth (the core beliefs I have about my worth and value).

The former me would never ask for help because I didn’t think people wanted to help me. I sure didn’t want to be a burden on anyone, so I just did everything for myself and if I was not able to do it by myself, I would just suffer the need to go unmet, but I was certainly not going to ask anyone for help.

After 2 years of enduring this trial (it took that long to come to my senses), here is what I’ve learned: I love people and people love me. I am not a burden. I’m easy to love. I am worthy to receive the blessings of those who want to bless me. I can stop turning them down. My needs and wants are valid. I no longer have low self-worth. I didn’t choose the Lord, He chose and appointed me to bear fruit, and walk with my head above my shoulders and know that I am somebody. I’m God’s child, an heir and joint heir with Christ, seated together with Him at His right hand in heavenly places. No longer will I look in the mirror and see a no-body looking back at me, but I’ll walk with my head held high as a daughter of the Most High God, because that’s who I am.

I AM SOMEBODY

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove

A RESTORED LEADER

The Perfect Example of Restoration

PETER AND THE ROOSTER

Jesus and His disciples had finished celebrating the Passover in the Upper Room and were singing a hymn as they headed to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. Jesus told His disciples that what was prophesied in Zechariah 13:7 would happen that night, saying to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written by the prophet Zechariah: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’”

Peter stubbornly declared that even if all the other disciples stumbled in this area that he never would. All the other disciples agreed with Peter. Jesus turned to Peter, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” Peter responded, “Lord, I am ready to go to prison with You, and to die for You.” Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny that you know Me three times.”

They reached the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus normally prayed. He told His disciples to stay in a certain spot and pray that they may not enter into temptation. He separated Himself a short distance from them to pray because He was in agony over what was about to occur in His life. When Jesus rose up from His prayer, and came to where the disciples were, He found them asleep. Jesus said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me for one hour Peter? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak.”

After they arrested Jesus, they took Him to Caiaphas the high priest’s house for a hearing. The people lit a fire in the courtyard and sat around the fire. Peter sat among them. Caiaphas’s servant girl that had stood at the front door recognized Peter and said to the crowd, “This man was also with Jesus of Nazareth.” Peter denied it, “Woman, I don’t know Him.” A little while later, someone who had been present at the arrest looked at Peter and said, “You were also with Him.” But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” About an hour later, someone else said, “You must be one of them. You’re a Galilean, like He is, and your accent proves it.” Peter began to curse and swear, “May God strike me dead right now if I am lying. I don’t know this Man of whom you speak!” Immediately, while Peter was still talking, the rooster crowed. Jesus turned from facing Caiaphas and looked at Peter. He suddenly remembered what Jesus told him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” Peter went out to a secluded location and had a bitter, ugly cry. After that, Jesus was crucified and Peter never got a chance to speak with the Lord anymore before He died.

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning as the sun was rising, Mary Magdalene and the other ladies came to Jesus’s tomb with spices to anoint his body. Jesus was not there, but an angel greeted them and told them Jesus was risen. He told the ladies to go tell the disciples — including Peter — to meet Jesus in Galilee as they had been instructed. The angel made special mention of Peter to show that even after his denials, Jesus had not disowned him. Peter had stumbled, but not fallen from grace.

Early one morning after Jesus had been resurrected from the dead, He met the disciples on the beach and they had breakfast. Jesus had a conversation with Peter:

• Jesus: "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?" 
• Peter: "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You."
• Jesus: "Feed My lambs."
• Jesus (a second time): "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?"
• Peter (a second time): "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You."
• Jesus: "Tend My sheep."
• Jesus (a third time): "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?"
• Peter (grieved because He asked him a third time): "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You."
• Jesus: "Feed My sheep.

Peter had denied Jesus three times and was asked to re-affirm his love for the Lord three times. When He had spoken this, Jesus said to Peter, "Follow Me."

There’s a passage in Matthew 10^th chapter where Christ says, whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father. But this story proves one thing to me… and it is that love never fails. Now abides these three things: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love.

I am reminded of the recent stumblings of two mega church pastors in the Dallas area. I pray Lord, forgive and purify the leaders of Your church, the shepherds of Your sheep. Help all of us to face the sin in our lives and confess our sins, receive your grace, be restored to Your full glory, and take up our cross and follow You. Create in us a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within us. Restore the joy of Your salvation, and uphold us by Your generous Spirit. In Jesus's name we humbly ask and pray. Amen.

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove