Men came to arrest Jesus, after Judas betrayed Him and they led Him away, taking Him into the high priest’s house. Peter was following from a distance. As Peter was warming himself at the fire, three times he was asked, “Aren’t you also one of His disciples?“ PETER DENIED IT. “The Lord turned and LOOKED RIGHT AT PETER. Then Peter remembered what the Lord had spoken to him. “The rooster will crow today,” Jesus had said. “Before it does, you will say THREE TIMES that you don’t know me.” Peter went out and WEPT SEVERELY (pikrōs: relentlessly).” (Luke 22:61-62)
We must think before we speak. Whatever we say, write, or tweet will be out there forever. We can burn pages, delete tweets and Facebook comments, but we can’t pull our words from someone else’s mind. So, while we may one day forget why we said such hurtful things, those hurtful words will always be there. As we can see, “A certain servant girl, seeing Peter as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him, and said, “This man was also with Him.” But Peter denied, saying, “Woman, I DO NOT KNOW HIM.” (Luke 22:56-57) These unfortunate words were recorded almost 2,000 years ago, things that we speak or write will never go away so we must use wisdom before we put OUR WORDS OUT. “Those who guard their lips preserve their lives, but those who speak rashly WILL COME TO RUIN.” (Proverbs 13:3)
“Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be GOOD AND HELPFUL, so that your words will be an ENCOURAGEMENT to those who hear them.” (Ephesians 4:29)
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart BE ACCEPTABLE IN YOUR SIGHT, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.” (Psalms 19:14)
“Let the words you speak always be FULL OF GRACE. Season them with salt. Then you will know HOW TO ANSWER EVERYONE.” (Colossians 4:6)
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham