Many people have a false assumption that the ultimate goal of Christianity is to come to a relationship with Jesus Christ so that when you die you can go to heaven. Make no mistake about it: it will be a glorious day, moment, and eternity when we finally see Jesus in heaven! I love the promise of Romans 8:18: "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Far more often, however, Jesus focuses not on escaping this world so one day we go up in the clouds of heaven, but on bringing heaven down to earth.

The central message that Jesus came to announce was that the Kingdom of Heaven is available to all - now. It had always been available prior to Jesus, but His arrival, coming down from heaven to earth, brought new accessibility. The light coming into the darkness brought this reality to life like never before seen.

While God's kingdom is at hand now, there are other kingdoms at work now as well. This is ultimately why we are still struggling to be free. There is still a spiritual battle raging as we speak. Just as there is a "now" aspect to God's kingdom, there is also a "not yet" aspect to fully seeing God's restored kingdom. Ultimately, that is why Jesus urges us to pray these words in the Lord's Prayer, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

--
 

Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

We started with the idea of the nail-scarred hands of Jesus bringing the opportunity of freedom to all of us. But did you know that the nails that went through the hands and feet of Jesus were not the only nails used in the crucifixion story?

The soldiers in charge of His crucifixion also nailed a sign above his head that read "King of the Jews." But as they were using nails to hang a man and a sign upon a cross, Jesus was nailing something else to the cross that day. Look at Colossians 2:13-14:

"He has forgiven you all your sins: Christ has utterly wiped out the damning evidence of broken laws and commandments which always hung over our heads, and has completely annulled it by nailing it over his own head on the cross."
 

Jesus nailed all sin on the cross. May the declaration that Jesus says over you yesterday, today, and forever - "I forgive you" - be forever nailed to your heart.

--
 

Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,
 

Mark 16:7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, "He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you."

Did you catch that? The angel said, "The disciples and Peter." The disciples and Peter. Jesus distinguishes Peter from the rest.

What does this show us? In the course of the grand rescue mission for all people, Jesus put Peter's freedom opportunity at the forefront of His rescue. This friend of His, to whom he had trusted so much and empowered with such a high calling, was still on the mind of Jesus! The angel says to tell all of the disciples, which means that every single one will be offered grace, forgiveness, and an invitation to follow Jesus again. But He also singles out Peter. God has special forgiveness, special hope, and a special opportunity for Peter.

Do you see how far God will go to get back what is His? Do you see how loving and kind our God is to allow chance after chance after chance to us?

If He did this for Peter, He can do it for you. How amazing that in the midst of this rescue story and mission, in which Jesus will bring freedom to all, He is also able to have a singular focus in the "one."

Jesus fought the ultimate fight for you so you would stop fighting yourself. His declaration and full payment of sins include the whole world. And it includes you!
--
 

Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

In the Greek, there are four different words for love. "Agape" and "phileo" were the two used the most often. Agape refers to an unconditional love, a love that goes beyond a feeling; it's love that is there not just in the good times, but the bad as well. Agape love also has the connotation of a love that requires sacrifice. The most famous wedding passage, 1 Corinthians 13:4-13 - the one that starts by saying, "Love is patient, love is kind..." - is referring to an agape love. God's love for us is most commonly thought of as agape love. God loves us unconditionally, sacrificially, at all times no matter what.

Phileo refers to an affectionate, or brotherly, love. That's why the city of Philadelphia is known as the city of brotherly love. This is the type of love that close friends have for one another. It is a companionable and relational type of love.

The exchange between Peter and Jesus uses both types of love. Let's take another look at John 21:15-17.

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you AGAPE love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said "you know that I PHILEO love you" Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you AGAPE love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I PHILEO love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you PHILEO love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you PHILEO love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I PHILEO love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep."

In the first two instances Jesus used the word agape and yet Peter returned with phileo. Finally, asking for the third time, Jesus changes to phileo. In this instance, we can see that Peter was hurt. But even while grieving, he responds back with a phileo declaration of love.

What Peter needed was to be reminded that even in his failure to agape and phileo Jesus, the Lord never failed to agape and phileo him. What we need to be reminded of today is that God doesn't need us to right all of our wrongs. He's already paid the price in full for us. Jesus agape's us. Jesus phileo's us. You are forgiven.
--
 

Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

After we fail, it's easy for feelings of embarrassment and shame to come over us. It's easy for us to run further away from our problems and to lack confidence.

If you feel like you "dropped the ball" in your pursuit of following Jesus, you might feel unworthy to be in His presence. Maybe you feel a lack of confidence in approaching Jesus. But the Scriptures teach us that we don't need to come to Him with our tails between our legs; we can approach Him confidently, even after our sin.

Check out these words from Hebrews 4:16: "Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

God is not an unapproachable God. He is a loving God who made Himself available for you by the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Rather than trying to come to God all buttoned up, as if everything is perfect, what if you just came to God however you are today?

Mike Foster writes, "God doesn't ask us to first clean up our sloppy messes. He does not approach us with a guarded politeness or condescendingly pat us on the head and squeeze our dirty cheeks. He simply invites us to jump into Daddy's arms and let Him be our source of love and identity. He beckons us to live the free way."

Just like Peter, He'll take you as you are, but His grace will not leave you as you are.
--
 

Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Confession in the modern-day courtroom leads to prison sentences. Therefore, you may feel like the worst step you could take in your journey to find freedom would be to confess your sins. But God's justice system doesn't work the same as our justice system today.

In God's justice system, confession of sin will not lead to a prison sentence, but to a life of freedom.

Freedom begins with an admission of sin.

Psalm 32:3-5  When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, "I will confess my rebellion to the Lord." And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.
--
 

Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

John 21:1-3 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathaniel from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. "I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We'll go with you."

After his denials of Jesus prior to the crucifixion, Peter goes back to fishing. Having failed, Peter goes back to a mediocre, lesser life than God has called him to. There is nothing wrong with fishing for fish, except if God has called you to fish for something greater. After we've failed, too many of us believe in the lie of the enemy that says we are unfit and unworthy of what God had originally called us into, so we go back to a lesser life.

Peter was a lifetime fisherman. Fishing was all that he knew. Even though Jesus invited him into another life, Peter failed Jesus badly. And in light of that he said, "I'm going fishing." He just dove back into something that he felt like he could win at. That's what we often do when we fail. Unless we experience God's freedom, most of us, after sin, will just pinball from distractions and busyness and step away from what God wants to do in our lives. We move into what is comfortable - a slow bleed into a lesser, mediocre life than what God had intended.

In the aftermath of Peter's greatest failure, what does Jesus do? He appears to him on the shore, and He recreates the very first moment that He met Peter. When Jesus meets Peter in Luke 5:1-11, He tells him to go out into deeper water and let down his nets, even though the disciples had worked all night without catching anything. When they obey, they catch so many fish that their nets begin to break. Sound familiar? In John 21, Jesus recreates the same fish miracle to remind Peter that their relationship is still open, and the opportunity is still there for him.
 

 It's the same with you...how does Jesus treat you in your failure? He appears to you and reminds you that the opportunity is still there for you.

--
 

Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,