Peter's Grievous Mistake

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat: but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers" (Luke 22:31-32).

 Hey Gang: Have you ever felt like Satan was trying to "sift your life like wheat?"  I know that feeling.  But, Jesus said, "I have prayed for you!"  Wow, the Son of God, who died to take the sins of the world away and free us from the bondage of our iniquities, sits at the right hand of the Father and prays for you and me.  Can you say, "Thank you Jesus?"  His prayed that - "our faith will not fail" and when we do fail in our walk with Him, "we will turn around and strengthen the brethren".   

 I can remember, as a boy, my grandmother making apple dumplings for the family.  Wow, do I like apple dumplings.  She always sifted the flour, I thought to remove the impurities, but I suspect it was to spread the flour evenly over the dough.  I have since learned that to sift means to separate.  I believe God seeks to separate us from our sins. 

 Remember the story of the silversmith? He takes the impure ore and places it on the fire until it melts, and the impurities rise to the top.  When is it pure?  When he can see his face in the silver.  When are we pure? When we are molded into the image of His Son, Father can see his reflection in us.

  James talks about growing stronger in the Lord through our experiences in alligator alley.  This is also the story of the growth of the church.  Without ‘sifting’, even suffering, we can become very weak and lazy.    It is the sifting experiences that prepare us for the "go" command given by Jesus (Matthew 28:19).

 The disciples had been with Jesus for nearly three years and had sufficient knowledge to do as Christ had prepared them to do but, that knowledge had to be transferred from head knowledge to action.  Jesus’’ trial, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension back to the Father, moved them from the gawking stage to the action mode.   If there had been no sand- paper experiences, the disciples may have remained in Jerusalem and the gospel would have died on the vine. 

 Satan's plan from day one is to divide and conquer.  Many like to think that Satan is one smart dude.  But his true purpose is to destroy the Jews and church, so that Jesus has no place and no family to return to. 

 Think about that for a moment.  If you were trying to reduce the number and every place where you persecuted the believers the church grew by leaps and bounds, would you not stop persecuting- the source of growth?   I, therefore, nominate Satan for the "dunce chair" in the moron's club.  

 Sooooo, the major point that Jesus is making in these verses: Yes, Satan does place a bull’s eye on the back of every believer and continually waits for those times when our armor is not spit-polished, hanging in a closet and not affixed to our mortal bodies.  When God asked Satan where he had been, Satan remarked: "roaming about the earth" (Job 1). 

 I suspect, as the prophetic clock continues to count down to the coming of Jesus, Satan is roaming with a great deal more intensity seeking whom he may devourer (I Peter 5:8).  But look up for your "redemption is also drawing neigh" (Luke 21:29) and remember: "Jesus is praying for you" (I John 17:20).

 Blessings,  

Gramps