It's Only Two Words!

SECOND CHANCES

Peter denied that he knew Jesus

by Max Lucado

It was small enough to overlook. Only two words. I know I’d read that passage a hundred times. But I’d never seen it.

But I won’t miss it again. It’s highlighted in yellow and underlined in red. You might want to do the same. Look in Mark, chapter 16. Get your pencil ready and enjoy this jewel in the seventh verse (here it comes). The verse reads like this: “But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee.

Did you see it? Read it again. (This time I italicized the words.)

“But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee.”

Now tell me if that’s not a hidden treasure.

If I might paraphrase the words, “Don’t stay here, go tell the disciples,” a pause, then a smile, “and especially tell Peter, that he is going before you to Galilee.”

What a line. It’s as if all of heaven had watched Peter fall—and it’s as if all of heaven wanted to help him back up again. “Be sure and tell Peter that he’s not left out. Tell him that one failure doesn’t make a flop.”

Whew!

No wonder they call it the gospel of the second chance.

Those who know these types of things say that the Gospel of Mark is really the transcribed notes and dictated thoughts of Peter. If this is true, then it was Peter himself who included these two words! And if these really are his words, I can’t help but imagine that the old fisherman had to brush away a tear and swallow a lump when he got to this point in the story.

It’s not every day that you get a second chance. Peter must have known that. The next time he saw Jesus, he got so excited that he barely got his britches on before he jumped into the cold water of the Sea of Galilee. It was also enough, so they say, to cause this backwoods Galilean to carry the gospel of the second chance all the way to Rome where they killed him. If you’ve ever wondered what would cause a man to be willing to be crucified upside down, maybe now you know.

It’s not every day that you find someone who will give you a second chance—much less someone who will give you a second chance every day.

But in Jesus, Peter found both.

The God Who Refuses To Let You Die!

Are you looking for the meaning of life? Are you suffering from some major mistakes? Are you ashamed of what you had done? Is your past haunting you?

Type 51 Chinese Pistol

You are looking at the blog of a man who had been through all these. I was so embarrassed by my mistakes and sins that I had wanted to shoot myself in the head with a Chinese pistol.


After my pastoral ministry and marriage failed, I hid in Cambodia. The shame was unbearable. One night, I took out the Chinese pistol that I bought and put it to my head. A voice said that it would be better to end it all. I felt that not only the whole Christian community had condemned me... and worse than that, I felt that even God did not want me any more.


I had messed up and deserved to die! That voice kept ringing in my ears, pestering and pushing me into the deep darkness of that terrible night. Before I could pull the trigger, another louder voice suddenly thundered through the sound of my sobbing. That voice was loud but gentle. That voice said that God had not given up on me if I were not to give up on God.


The presence of God was suddenly in that room. When we hit bottom and have nowhere else to go, we can always be assured that God will be there. When all our friends and loved ones reject us, we can be assured that God would always be our comfort and joy.


Perhaps you can identify with me. You may have done things that you are really ashamed of. Perhaps you are living in fear that your dirty little secret might one day pop up and destroy your reputation and life. You may have been part of a good Church but no longer attending because you feel that God may not tolerate someone like you. You may feel that you are beyond hope.


If you feel that way, you are not the first. The Bible has many stories of people who messed up. One distinct difference is that they refused to stay messed up. They called upon God and rose up to take on new challenges. They understood the mercy and grace of God; they got back on the path of recovery. 


We may stumble and fall. We may be so ashamed of our mistakes and sins that we just want to wallow in our failure. We just don't want to try any more. Then God would come in the person of Jesus Christ who lovingly coax us on. With His nail-scarred hands, He would pick us up and put us on our feet again. God is the God of second, third, fourth, fifth... hundredth chance. As long as you still have life, the game is not over yet. 


Rev Albert Kang