“Haunting Words”


BIBLE READING: Luke 12-13
DISCUSSION                                                            
                "And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.” (Luke 12:8-9).  We all have words or phrases that when we hear them, they pierce our soul to its core.   I wonder if that is what these words were for the Apostle Peter.  We all have our weak moments and we may all deny that we know Jesus by our actions, but few openly deny the Son of God to the extent that Peter did.   I bet these words of Jesus just haunted Peter for those three days while Jesus was still in the tomb.   Just imagine how you would have felt if the last words you ever said in the presence of Jesus were open denials that you even knew Him.  For those three days, time must have stood still for Peter as he kept remembering these words of Jesus “… but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God”. Although Peter wasn’t fully informed concerning the afterlife, he must have thought, whatever awaits me after death is not going to be very pleasant; yet those three days did end, and Peter was given some very comforting words of hope as we read Mark’s account of the resurrection morning.  “But go and tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you to Galilee.  There you will see Him” (Mark 16.7).  Peter now would understand the true meaning of the term “second chance”.  The same thing can be said of us today.  You may be haunted by this verse in Luke, because your actions have not been consistent with your faith.  Maybe you have openly denied the Son of God before your peers.  Just remember that if there is life with us, we have a second chance to make sure we acknowledge and confess that we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  If we are willing to confess Him before others, He will confess us before His Father.   Don’t let these words haunt you, but rather let them serve as your motivation for allowing your confession to be your profession.
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