Thursday, December 8, 2016

AT A DISTANCE...

Charles H. Perkins
At A Distance
(Mark 14:53-54/66-72) 53 And they led Jesus away to the high priest; and with him were assembled all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes. 54 But Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire. 66 Now as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came. 67 And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with Jesus of Nazareth. 68 But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are saying.” And he went out on the porch, and a rooster crowed. 69 And the servant girl saw him again, and began to say to those who stood by, “This is one of them.” 70 But he denied it again. And a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, “Surely you are one of them; for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it.” 71 Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this Man of whom you speak!” 72 A second time the rooster crowed. Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And when he thought about it, he wept.
In these verses, we see Peter following The Lord at a distance as He was being taken to be tried. It does not say that Peter no longer believed in The Lord, that He was not saved or that he no longer followed Him. He followed Him, but, at a distance. Because of this distance between Peter and The Lord, people were able to get between them. Peter found himself in the midst of non-believers. They were able to push him to the point of denying The Lord three times. Because He was no longer as close to The Lord as He should have been, they were able to discourage him.
Lord, I pray that I will always be mindful to stay as close to You as possible so that the ways of the world, the distractions of the world can never come between us. I want to always be close enough to You so that peer pressure and the temptations of the world (good or bad) can never come between us. Thank You, Lord for keeping me aware of Your presence in my life. I will cling to you forever, O Lord…I love You.

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