Peter's Warning

I've spent the last week finishing the book of Mark and reading through 1 Peter. The life of Peter grabbed me at the end of Mark and so that was the next place I started reading. Peter is so passionate in his love for Christ, he's an all in kind of guy. He can never imagine denying Christ, even once. But it happens, 3 times before the rooster crows twice, just as Jesus said it would. Denying Christ hit me hard this week; maybe not in the same way it hit Peter. I didn't deny knowing Jesus, being a Christian or even working for a church, but I denied Him in other ways.

In 1 Peter 2:11 it says, "Dear friends, I warn you as 'temporary residents and foreigners' to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls." Peter warns us because he's lived with worldly desires. He's chosen the "safety of this world, this body" over following Jesus. Just as I've chosen FaceBook, Internet, games, tv, sleep, shopping, and other things, over spending time with Jesus. This life is temporary, but the decisions we make in it are not. Choosing worldly desires will have eternal consequences for all of us, as will choosing to follow Christ in spite of those temptations. Today, my desire for more of Christ is stronger than my worldly desires. So strong in fact that the one thing constantly tempting me away from Christ was simply deactivated because it is better to cut it off than to miss out on knowing and loving Christ more.

As we move one week closer to the cross, closer to the promise of new life, I challenge all of us to remember Peter's warning. Let's overcome the worldly desires that will wage war on our souls, and with a stronger, deeper and more intimate relationship with Christ.

Aimee