Matthew 26:69-75 [NIV] | ⁶⁹ Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said. ⁷⁰ But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said. ⁷¹ Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.” ⁷² He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!” ⁷³ After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.” ⁷⁴ Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. ⁷⁵ Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Like Peter, we may find ourselves in a difficult position as we proclaim God’s Word. In the heat of touchy situations such as abortion, same sex marriage, we may face persecution for our beliefs.  When Peter was confronted with his connection to Jesus, he made a natural and impulsive response—he lied. Peter gave the answer that Jesus had predicted: He denied knowing Jesus. When we are challenged to speak the truth in love, we too may backdown.

There were three stages to Peter’s denial that can lead to denying Christ in our lives. First, Peter acted confused and tried to divert attention from himself by changing the subject. Second, using an oath, he denied that he knew Jesus. Third, he began to curse and swear. Believers who deny Christ often begin doing so subtly by pretending not to know Jesus. When opportunities to discuss Christian beliefs come up, they walk away or pretend they do not know the answers. Like Peter, we may hide in the face of being challenged in our beliefs.

Peter went out and wept bitterly, not only because he realized that he had denied his Lord, the Messiah, but also because he had turned away from a very dear friend, a person who loved and taught him for three years. Jesus is our friend. Jesus says, “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32). Like Peter, we too can be restored and made right with God. As we walk each day in faith, God calls us to be bold witnessed of His love, even when it is hard.

It has never ceased to amaze me that we Christians have developed a kind of selective vision which allows us to be deeply and sincerely involved in worship and church activities and yet almost totally pagan in the day-in, day-out guts of our business lives … and never realize it.
-Keith Miller

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, lead us to be a bold witnesses of Your Son, Jesus. Help us to be strong in the face of persecution when others oppose us in our beliefs in You. Guide us to speak the truth in love to those who do not live according to Your will. Amen.

Action Plan:
I will seek to speak the truth in love when confronted about my faith and desire to live a life of Christ.

Pastor Rod Lindemann
I Can’t | Jesus Can | Jesus Can Through Me

Psalm 31:21-24  [NIV] | ²¹ Praise be to the Lord, for he showed me the wonders of his love when I was in a city under siege. ²² In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from your sight!” Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help. ²³ Love the Lord, all his faithful people! The Lord preserves those who are true to him, but the proud he pays back in full. ²⁴ Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.

In various ways we discover life can be incredibly stressful. The problems we face, the difficult situations we encounter, and the fears we have in facing the unknown can be overwhelming. Trusting the Lord throughout our trials and temptations takes faith in knowing God has our best interests at heart. David cried out to God, “Praise be to the Lord, for he showed me the wonders of his love when I was in a city under siege” (Psalm 31:21).

David reminds us that we can love the Lord even when it is difficult. Through David, we are reminded of God’s goodness and faithfulness. While being overtaken by his enemies, David experiences the wonders of God’s love. As challenging as life can be, we need to take time and open our hearts to God’s faithfulness that He will not leave us to wander alone. Jesus says to us, “I will never leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). In times of despair when it may seem God is void; we cling to our God who preserves those who are true to Him.

God calls us to be strong in Him. There is no expectation we should fight alone. Through the power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives, God sustains us from drifting and falling away. He wraps His loving arms around us assuring us of the hope we have given and shed through the blood of Jesus. God has given us faith to trust in Him throughout the pain and heartache of life’s situations. When our lives feel like they are being taken under siege, God hears our cry for mercy and says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Prayer:
Lord, strengthen my faith to trust in your faithfulness. Help me through the hard times and open my eyes to see your wonders even when I feel cutoff from your sight. Thank You for the promised hope we have in Jesus. Amen.

Action Plan:
Today I will take a moment to see the wonders of God’s love in and all around me.

Pastor Rod Lindemann
I Can’t | Jesus Can | Jesus Can Through Me

Matthew 22:34-40 [NIV] | ³⁴ Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. ³⁵ One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ^{i 38} This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

We live in a time when technology allows us to stay connected with one another. God blesses us with tools to build relationships, share hope, and enjoy the fellowship of life with one another. Social media, Facebook, Instagram, and all the other platforms provided a means for people to share life together. It is unfortunate that the sinful state of our world turns blessings into a platform of sin and harm. Instead of being examples of Christ in a dark world, so many believers join in the chaos of sin, or merely walk away and miss the opportunity to be an example of change.

We look at others and judge them by their actions. We weigh our views and responses by the severity of sin. God does not rank the darkness of our sinful lives – sin is sin. Jesus is clear; we are to reflect his love completely towards him and others. Everything we do reveals our love to God, our families, our friends, and those we do not know. Jesus reveals to us that a person’s total being must be involved in loving God and others. Nothing can be held back because God holds nothing back. A person cannot maintain a strong relationship with God (loving God) without also caring for his or her neighbor (love your neighbor).

As Christians, we can choose to hide from the world and attempt to protect ourselves from the turmoil of the surroundings we live in. We have the option to be in the world and be witnesses of what God has accomplished and his desire for how we live our lives. We can block, unfollow, or even unfriend someone, but is that what God desires?  The world gives us permission to turn our heads and walk away. It is time people see Christ is us through our actions. Do not miss an opportunity to show love.

Prayer:
Lord, help us live a life that reflects our love to you. Lead us to places where people need to hear of your mercy and grace. When we are tempted to hide, give us strength to be bold. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Action Plan:
Today I will reflect the love I have for God to my neighbors.

Pastor Rod Lindemann
I Can’t | Jesus Can | Jesus Can Through Me

Exodus 18:13-23 [NIV] | ¹³ The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. ¹⁴ When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?” ¹⁵ Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. ¹⁶ Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.” ¹⁷ Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. ¹⁸ You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. ¹⁹ Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. ²⁰ Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. ²¹ But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. ²² Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. ²³ If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”

We all look for a hero, that special person who can do it all, right? The Israelites looked to Moses for answers to fix the community problems. Moses sought out the challenge and made himself available to everyone thinking that was God’s will for his life – to handle the full load. We do the same thing in our churches. We seek a leader who has the gifts and talents to meet the needs of all people. Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, witnessed how inefficient Moses was to the people in his struggle to be all things to everyone who approached him. We can learn a great lesson from Moses in how we can be a part of the solution, and not the challenge.

History repeats itself and today we see churches burning out their pastors and key leaders over unimportant matters that only distract the church from its key purpose – making disciples of all nations and teaching them to obey Jesus. We place unrealistic burdens upon our leaders drawing them away from the purpose for which they were called. When the purpose of being the church of God gets diluted by the business of church, people get tired, restless, and eventually lose site and hope. Satan would have it no other way than for the people of God to be distracted from the true purpose for which one serves.

Being and doing church is a team effort woven together with many gifted people whom God has called to lead. God chooses capable men and women to serve those entrusted to the churches care. As God’s people serve together in harmony, each can stand the strain and challenges. It takes everyone in the church doing their part together to build thriving ministries and opportunities to grow God’s kingdom. We must ask ourselves, “What is my role in the church of God? How can I help, and not hinder, as God leads?” Yes, we all want a Moses leading the way, but God tells us it is not good to have a leader take on a heavy load. It takes team doing their part together and you are on the team.

Prayer:
Lord, open my eyes to the opportunities to serve you and your church. Lead me to be an instrument of your mercy and grace. In Jesus name. Amen.

Action Plan:
Today I will seek God’s will for my life in being a team player in the mission of the church to be God’s instrument.

Pastor Rod Lindemann
I Can’t | Jesus Can | Jesus Can Through Me

Matthew 19:16-21 [NIV] | ¹⁶ Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” ¹⁷ “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” ¹⁸ “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, ¹⁹ honor your father and mother,’ ^h and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’” ²⁰ “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” ²¹ Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

People all around are asking, “What must I do to enter eternal life?” Our society is misled by the world into believing they can do good things for others to gain access into God’s heavenly kingdom. Feelings of uncertainty can fill the mind of a person who is unable to fully accept the forgiveness God freely gives us through death and resurrection of Jesus. We can face times of doubt as Satan temps us into denying the gift of grace and mercy of God. Unfortunately, there are people who live their lives wondering if they have passed some test.

Like the young man in our reading, we need to evaluate ourselves and see what interferes with the relationship we have with God so we can experience his full blessings. We get distracted by the business of life and the collection of material wealth. We can get trapped into seeking the things of the world not putting our complete trust in God. Jesus does not ask us to giveaway our wealth, our material blessings, or taking time to experience God’s creation. He wants to share the importance of letting go of the things that hinder us from being a follower of Christ.

When asked the question, “What do I lack?” We should look at our calendars, check registers, list of possessions, or work schedule and see what is inhibiting a growing relationship with our Lord, Our Savior. Salvation is not based on our good deeds; Jesus has already completed the good work. We can get distracted and lose sight of God’s plan for our lives. God’s first Commandment, “Love the Lord with all you heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” It is time we make sure God is first in our lives. We can rest in the sure hope that we have already inherited the gift of eternal life.

Prayer:
Lord, help me to remain focused on you and your love for me. Give me strength to let go of the things in life that hinder my relationship with you. May I always put you first. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Action Plan:
Today I will evaluate the things in life that hinder me from growing in my relationship with God.

Pastor Rod Lindemann
I Can’t | Jesus Can | Jesus Can Through Me