Luke 22; John 13 – November 9

Peter had a confidence that He would stand up for Jesus Christ regardless of the price, but his confidence was mostly rooted in himself. Peter says in Luke 22:33,"Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death." Just previous to this, the Lord Jesus said to him in Luke 22:31-32, "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." Satan wanted to use the pride of Peter to be able to completely sift him away from Jesus, but the Lord prayed for Peter so that he would “return.” Peter ended up denying Jesus three times, just as Jesus predicted, but because of his repentance, he was restored. After he was restored, he was in a position to “strengthen” his brothers. We can despise someone who fails, but don’t write them off; God wants to bring restoration to them and use them to help others where they failed. 

Jesus said in John 13:35, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." It’s our willingness to put others above ourselves and serve them that reveals that we have truly learned the ways of Jesus Christ.  Jesus preached, taught and did miracles, and we should too, but what really shows we are His disciples is our love.