Thoughts From My Brother

My brother James is a teacher, church leader and one of the best examples of what a disciple is. Here are some of his thoughts on Peter and what it means to be a Disciple of Christ.

A former pastor of mine, Rev Creede Hinshaw, Mulberry United Methodist Church, Macon, Ga. once said Jesus always calls us to action. I have always remembered that and as Disciples I think we should take our lead from Peter when Jesus asked him if he loved him. Oswald Chambers wrote on this subject inserted below. Oswald always seems to get it right when he writes about what it means to be a Disciple of Christ. When I studied this scripture in the Disciple 1 class I understood and identified with Peter. I too, followed Jesus like Peter and then left when the going got rough and I was fearful of the future. When I returned to the road of Discipleship, I too had to answer the question and I too heard the reply, Feed My Sheep. Faith in action; following in the foot steps and obeying the commands of our Lord and Savior, this is what we are called to do. I pray that we persevere and hold steadfast to what we know as truth and justice and his will for our lives. As we give thanks this week we should be thankful for a loving, saving, all powerful God who is in total charge of all that can happen and does happen. -James

Have You Felt the Pain Inflicted by the Lord?

He said to him the third time, . . . “Do you love Me?” —John 21:17
From My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers

Have you ever felt the pain, inflicted by the Lord, at the very center of your being, deep down in the most sensitive area of your life? The devil never inflicts pain there, and neither can sin nor human emotions. Nothing can cut through to that part of our being but the Word of God. "Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ’Do you love Me?’ "Yet he was awakened to the fact that at the center of his personal life he was devoted to Jesus. And then he began to see what Jesus’ patient questioning meant. There was not the slightest bit of doubt left in Peter’s mind; he could never be deceived again. And there was no need for an impassioned response; no need for immediate action or an emotional display. It was a revelation to him to realize how much he did love the Lord, and with amazement he simply said, "Lord, You know all things . . . ." Peter began to see how very much he did love Jesus, and there was no need to say, "Look at this or that as proof of my love." Peter was beginning to discover within himself just how much he really did love the Lord. He discovered that his eyes were so fixed on Jesus Christ that he saw no one else in heaven above or on the earth below. But he did not know it until the probing, hurting questions of the Lord were asked. The Lord’s questions always reveal the true me to myself.
Oh, the wonder of the patient directness and skill of Jesus Christ with Peter! Our Lord never asks questions until the perfect time. Rarely, but probably once in each of our lives, He will back us into a corner where He will hurt us with His piercing questions. Then we will realize that we do love Him far more deeply than our words can ever say.--Oswald Chambers

His Commission to Us
—John 21:17

This is love in the making. The love of God is not created— it is His nature. When we receive the life of Christ through the Holy Spirit, He unites us with God so that His love is demonstrated in us. The goal of the indwelling Holy Spirit is not just to unite us with God, but to do it in such a way that we will be one with the Father in exactly the same way Jesus was. And what kind of oneness did Jesus Christ have with the Father? He had such a oneness with the Father that He was obedient when His Father sent Him down here to be poured out for us. And He says to us, "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you" ( John 20:21 ).
Peter now realizes that he does love Him, due to the revelation that came with the Lord’s piercing question. The Lord’s next point is— "Pour yourself out. Don’t testify about how much you love Me and don’t talk about the wonderful revelation you have had, just ’Feed My sheep.’ "Jesus has some extraordinarily peculiar sheep: some that are unkempt and dirty, some that are awkward or pushy, and some that have gone astray! But it is impossible to exhaust God’s love, and it is impossible to exhaust my love if it flows from the Spirit of God within me. The love of God pays no attention to my prejudices caused by my natural individuality. If I love my Lord, I have no business being guided by natural emotions— I have to feed His sheep. We will not be delivered or released from His commission to us. Beware of counterfeiting the love of God by following your own natural human emotions, sympathies, or understandings. That will only serve to revile and abuse the true love of God. - Oswald Chambers