Who can make me whole, wash my sins away?
I have searched and I have found, only the blood of the Lamb.
Oh the blood of the Lamb, has never lost its power,
Oh the blood of Jesus, still saves through ages past.
It remains the same, taking all my shame, my pain,
Oh oh the blood of the Lamb, Oh oh the blood of the Lamb.
There are times when our heart is so wretched, that we think we can hardly go on living. And with each heartbeat the heart aches. Filled with a pain so dull that it begins to harden the heart.
Yet, deep down beneath the layers of callousness, the heart still struggles against all hope and disappointments; to be set free, to enjoy the fullness of life and joy, or to simply find rest for the soul. Hoping against hope. Hanging by the thread through the dark night of the soul, needing in desperation the deliverance that can only come from above. That when day breaks, when the first ray of sun illuminates the sky; the waiting, the struggle would end.
The world may not stand with you, your family may not understand you, your closest friends may not be able to be there for you. But the one who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow; the one who has always been; who gave His life for you that you might have a chance at living a full life, will have you know that your mistakes are not permanent. Regardless of what you have done, regardless of how undeserving you think you are of forgiveness, He will forgive you. And He will not stop at forgiveness, He will take it further to embrace you. Give you a new name, and encourage you to start life afresh.
"And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Matthew 16:18-19 NKJV. Jesus said these words to Simon Peter before Peter denied his Master not one but three times after Jesus was arrested. Jesus knew that Peter would desert Him at His lowest point, but He loved him and chose him anyway. After His death and resurrection, one of the first people whose name was mentioned, was Peter.
And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. "But go, tell His disciples - and Peter - that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you." Mark 16:5-7 NKJV.
And Jesus sought out the one who had betrayed him, the one who said that he would never forsake Him. So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Feed My lambs." He said to him a second time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Tend My sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?" Peter grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." Jesus said to him, "Feed My sheep. John 21:15-17 NKJV.
Peter wanted to be there for his Lord, but he let himself down terribly. Jesus saw Peter's heart but he also knew that Peter could only go as far as his own limitations. Peter had to be broken so that the frailties of the human nature can be exposed, shattered, discarded; and be replaced, renewed, and re-commissioned; by the love of Jesus, by what God saw Peter would be. Peter represents some of the frailties that every human being possess. Some of us have through that, some of us are there, and some of us will be there. The "Peter experience" shows us that when human frailty encounters divine grace, we learn to live by faith and not by sight; and there is always hope in Him.
Sv ".+
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