Promise for Today - In Light of Failure

When you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.

Luke 22:32 (NLT)

Before Peter had even failed, Jesus gave him a vision of how God could use his failure for good.

When you’re in the middle of a failure, it can seem like nothing good will ever come from it. But God can always bring good from your failures. In fact, your worst failure can become your greatest success. If you let him, God will use your failures to build his church!

After Peter’s failure (when he denied Jesus three times), Jesus died and then was resurrected. And when he and Peter met again on a seashore, Jesus pointed him to the good that God would bring out of his failure. Here’s how the conversation went:

“Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ he said, ‘you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my lambs.’ Again Jesus said, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He answered, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Take care of my sheep.’ The third time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ He said, ‘Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my sheep’” (John 21:15-17 NIV).

Three times Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me?” Why did he ask that three times? He was giving Peter the opportunity to make up for the three times he had denied Jesus.

And each time, Jesus gave Peter another way to use his failure for good: “Feed my lambs...Take care of my sheep... Feed my sheep.”

On the same night that Peter had denied Jesus, another disciple, Judas, also failed Jesus. But ultimately, Judas became a traitor to Jesus, while Peter chose to become a teacher and a leader.

In Matthew 16:18, Jesus says, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (ESV).

God is still building his church by using people who’ve failed. In fact, God only uses failed people—because there aren’t any perfect people!

What are you going to become in light of your failure? It’s your choice.

Talk It Over

What is one way you want to see God use your failure for good? Do you believe that he can do more than you could even ask or imagine?

Think of a fellow Christian you admire. How have you seen God turn a great failure into a great ministry in their life?

What big failure have you experienced? Are you ready to surrender it to God today so you can see how he can bring good from it?

- by Pastor Rick

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Prayer:

Father,

         We come before You, acknowledging the challenges and failures we have faced. We recognize that You are the Source of divine guidance and strength, enabling us to rise above every setback. Help us to remember that failure does not define us but is a stepping stone toward success. Grant us courage to face our fears, wisdom to learn from our mistakes, and resilience to overcome and persevere in every situation. Replace our doubts with faith, our fear with confidence, and our discouragement with hope. We receive Your favor, blessings, and victory in every area of our lives, offering thanksgiving and praise to You, in Jesus' Name. Amen

Promise for Today - Moving Against Your Fear

Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.

Matthew 25:28-29 (NLT)

What keeps you from investing your life? What keeps you from moving toward financial freedom? I’ll tell you what it is: fear.

Many kinds of fear can hold you back. One type of fear is self-doubt, which says: “You’ve failed in the past, so you’re never going to try again.” But just because you fail doesn’t mean you should give up. Everybody fails; it’s the only way you learn what works! God uses ordinary people who choose to keep on going after failure instead of giving up.

Two disciples, Judas and Peter, denied Jesus before his crucifixion. They committed the same sin, but they reacted differently to their failure. Judas focused on his sin and not the forgiveness of God. His remorse overwhelmed him, and he ultimately took his own life. When Peter realized his sin, he repented and asked God for forgiveness. Not long after, Peter preached on Pentecost, and 3,000 people were saved the first day. 

Jesus chose to build the church on the biggest failure in the bunch. What a God! He didn’t choose the superstar. He chose the guy who had blown it the worst.

You may have really messed up financially or in other ways. But it doesn’t matter where you’ve been. What matters is the direction you are going right now.

In the parable of the talents we looked at yesterday in Matthew 25, a rich man entrusted his money to three servants before leaving on a long trip. When he returned, he asked for an account from the servants. Two of them had doubled the master’s money, but the third had been afraid and had hidden his portion instead of working and investing it. His fear disappointed and angered his master, who said, “Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver” (Matthew 25:28 NLT). The master took away everything the servant had been given.

When you try to do things God’s way, you may feel afraid. In fact, Satan will try to get you to ignore God’s principles for money management by making you afraid of failure or making you doubt your ability to be a good steward of God’s money. But if you’re going to be successful in life, you have to move against your fears. You have to do the very thing that you fear the most!

As Matthew 25:29 says, “To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away”. When you move forward in faith and follow God’s guidelines for financial peace, you will experience his blessing; like the servant, God may give you even more...

Talk It Over

What financial failure has kept you from moving forward with God’s financial principles for your life?

Do you pray for God to give you more financial responsibility as a steward of his money? Why or why not?

What is it about God’s way of handling money that makes you afraid to be obedient? Talk to God about those fears today.

- by Pastor Rick

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Prayer:

Father, 

          Thank You for the many blessings You have poured into our lives. Help us to cultivate a heart of contentment and gratitude, even when facing financial challenges or uncertainties. Guard our hearts from feelings of envy or dissatisfaction, and remind us daily of the abundance we have in You. 

        Give us wisdom to manage our finances responsibly and in ways that honor You. Teach us to resist impulsive spending and to embrace discipline in creating and following a budget. Help us prioritize You over material desires and to steward our resources for Your glory. May we be generous with what we have, sharing with others in need and trusting Your provision for our own needs. Inspire us to use our finances as a tool for good and to reflect Your love in all that we do. Thank You for Your unwavering guidance. Strengthen our faith as we trust in Your timing and direction. Help us to remain faithful, patient, and trusting in Your perfect timing. Remind us that Your plans are greater than our own, and that You are always working for our good. Help us remember that all we have and all we are comes from You and is meant to be used for Your glory. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Get Up

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
Proverbs 13:12 NIV

I've mentioned before how I like to read quotes and one of my favorites is from American inventor, Thomas Alva Edison. In response to someone's statement that he (Thomas) had failed so many times in trying to invent the light bulb, Edison replied, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

I love his attitude, but it's one of the reasons I could never be a scientist or inventor. They have to keep record of how many unsuccessful attempts they've made so that they don't make the same mistake twice. I'll just tell you - if it had been left up to me to invent the lightbulb, we'd all still be using candles. I wouldn't want to know that I'd been unsuccessful 10,000 times about anything, let alone keep a record for the world to know...

How many times have you tried to do something and not been successful? For me, it's too many times to count. That can be very discouraging. Often we interpret 'unsuccessful' as a nicer way of phrasing 'failure;' however, being unsuccessful is not the same as having failed. Have you ever been so tired of trying that you just quit? The truth is we only fail when we actually give up or quit trying.

Worse than that would be to not even attempt or try to do something because you don't know if you will succeed. That's fear of failure. It can be crippling. You know what I'm talking about. 

How many times have you heard someone say, "I can't be a Christian. I've tried. It's too hard." How many times have you heard the words, "I've tried. I can't. There's no hope for that..." Whatever 'that' is, you can be sure it is a stumbling block put there by the enemy of your soul to discourage you. To make you quit.

Let me give you some hope today. It does NOT matter what the facts are. The TRUTH is found in the Word of God. And God's Truth overwrites the facts.

...for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again... Proverbs 24:16a NIV 

So, get up...

Prayer:

Father,
           Open our hearts to see and know the Truth - and Triumph - of Your Word over every situation in our lives. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.

Failure and Forgiveness

When it was evening, Jesus sat down at the table with the Twelve. While they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.”
Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, “Am I the one, Lord?”
Matthew 26:20-22 NLT

Did you ever pick up on the fact that EACH one asked Jesus if they were the one who would betray Him? Obviously, they each knew they were capable of it... After all, most of us are aware of our character flaws and failures.  In fact, before the night was over, they would all abandon Him at the Garden of Gethsemane to save their own necks.

They failed Him. Miserably! 

However, they did not quit, and while Jesus knew their failures and shortcomings, He knew they would not quit.  In Mark 16:7, the angels told the women to go tell His disciples and Peter that Christ would meet them in Galilee. 

They did not get hung up in their failure. They did not quit. They received the forgiveness He paid for them on the Cross. As a result, they spread the Gospel everywhere they went.

Have you ever failed? I know I have. God knows our failures and shortcomings. However, He had the Master Plan. Christ died on the Cross for the forgiveness of our sins. Our failures. So, don't quit coming back to the Cross.

Prayer:

Father,

          Forgive us for every time we have failed You and let You down. Restore us, O God, to right-standing with You through the Blood of Jesus. Thank You for choosing us. Overwhelm us with Your grace and mercy. We want to fulfill the plan You have for us. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Failing to Quit

When it was evening, Jesus sat down at the table with the Twelve. While they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.”
Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, “Am I the one, Lord?”
Matthew 26:20-22 NLT

Have you ever wondered why Jesus picked the particular twelve as His disciples? Several of them seemed questionable at times to me. 

Today, my pastor taught an extraordinary lesson on this Scripture passage. I've been thinking about it most of the day and thought I'd share it with you.

Did you ever pick up on the fact that EACH one asked Jesus if they were the one who would betray Him? They each knew they were capable of it... After all, most of us are aware of our character flaws and failures.  In fact, before the night was over, they would also abandon Him at the Garden of Gethsemane to save their own necks.

They failed Him. Miserably! 

However, they did NOT quit, and Jesus knew they would not.  In Mark 16:7, the angels told the women to go tell His disciples and Peter that Christ would meet them in Galilee. 

They did not get hung up in their failure. They did not quit. They spread the Gospel everywhere they went.

Have you ever failed? I know I have. Thank God, He had a plan. Christ died on the Cross for the forgiveness of our sins. Our failures. So, just don't quit coming back to the Cross.

Prayer:

Father,

          Forgive us for every time we have failed You and let You down. Restore us, O God, to right-standing with You. Thank You for choosing us. Overwhelm us with Your grace and mercy. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

* Failure to Communicate

When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled.

Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.

But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”

Jesus responded, “Didn't I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me..."

John 11:32-33, 38 - 41

This is basically going to be a Cliff Notes© section - just one section - of the teaching I heard tonight. I hope I can do it justice.

This is for everyone who has ever been frustrated and angry to the point of tears because of the failure to communicate effectively due to the lack of understanding on the part of the hearer. Jesus knows just how you feel.

Ever had one of those days when you know your mouth is moving because your ears hear the sound of your words, and yet nobody 'gets it,' and you know it will have serious repercussion if no one will listen? Our text for today was just one of those kinds of days for Jesus.

Mary and Martha sent for Jesus. He didn't come right away and Lazarus, their brother, died. In fact, Jesus waited a few days before telling His disciples they were going back to Judea. They argued with Him, reminding Him that just a few days prior, the good people of Judea tried to stone Jesus. Then He tells them Lazarus has fallen asleep and He is going to wake him up. They argue with Him again, until He finally tells them plainly, "Lazarus is dead." Then He bids them, "Come, let's go see him." So Thomas resignedly "said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go, too—and die with Jesus.”

He gets to Bethany and Martha can't "hear" what He's saying. (It's all there in John 11.) Mary comes, the one who sat at His feet to gather the wisdom of His teaching, and she can only accuse. "If You'd been here..." 

Think about this for a minute. How many times have we asked God, 

"Where are/were You?" 

"What are You doing?"

"Why didn't You...?"

And always, it is when we take our focus off God and what He has said - and look only at what we see. Only what we can humanly comprehend. How much and how many times have we reasoned away His Truths spoken to our lives?

Prayer:

Father,

         Open our hearts to receive Your Word. Open our ears to hear You. Open our eyes to see only You. You who are high above our circumstances. Keep us focused on You, Father. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen