Lies I Believe Part 4: God Doesn't Like Meనమూనా

Reflection:

The lie is that you’re not worthy to be loved, that God doesn’t even like you. And behind that lie is the “evidence” that the enemy of your heart holds up as proof. But the truth reveals both the lie and the evidence to be false. Let’s examine a third life that resisted the lie with truth.

Peter was guilty. He, who had once sworn to follow Jesus anywhere, had just denied that he even knew Jesus. And not one denial, but three. And Jesus knew Peter had done it. Jesus had predicted it! Oh, the shame! Peter had given his whole life to following this rabbi. Jesus even called him “friend.”

But Peter had thrown it all away out of fear. He abandoned Jesus. He must have been tempted to believe the lie that what he had done was too terrible, that Jesus couldn’t like him, much less love him, anymore.

But at a fireside meal on a lake, Jesus gently, kindly, and purposefully reveals both Peter’s heart and His own heart toward Peter. Love. Peter loved his Savior. And his Savior loved him. Truth overcame the lie. And because Peter believed the truth, God used the rest of his life to launch the Church and take the good news of Jesus to all people.

Ask Yourself:

-What have I done that leads me to believe the lie that I am too overwhelmingly guilty, that I must live in shame and not love?

-How does Peter’s story speak truth to the lies in your heart?

Pause to Pray:

Jesus, I love You! Like Peter, I have must messed up so badly, but I believe You love me.

Take a Next Step:

There is a simple children's song called “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so…” Try saying those words out loud. “Jesus loves me.” Let that truth speak louder than the lies.