The Apostle Peter denied Jesus 3 times at Jesus' greatest time of need (John 18:15-27). After his resurrection Jesus took time to specifically let Peter know that he loved him and forgave him (John 21:15-17). It is interesting that Jesus told Peter, who would become a leader in the early church, to feed his lambs, tend his sheep and feed his sheep.

Feed means to feed or keep, while tend can also mean to feed but also to shepherd or pastor. Peter exhorted the elders (shepherds) of the church to oversee, care for, shepherd and feed the flock, or church (1 Peter 5:2). The shepherd leads, protects, feeds and pastures his flock (Ps 23, John 10:1-30).

We have shepherds, our pastors and elders, who provide spiritual food from the Bible. When Jesus charged Peter there was such a clear emphasis on feeding the flock. We should heed this emphasis in our own lives.

God's word is truth (John 17:17) and this truth sets us free (John 8:32). God's word is life (Psalm 119:50); it is vibrant, alive and full of power (Heb 4:12). This power will change us (Rom 12:2), make us all God wants us to be, bring God's blessings and grow our faith (Rom 10:17).

No wonder the psalmist said "thy word have I hid in mine heart" (Psalm 119:11; KJV). We would do well to heed this advice.

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"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth" (Phil 2: 9-10; KJV).

The name of Jesus is higher than any other name; that means anything else that can be named - any kind of problem, any kind of illness, any kind of anything - must bow to the name of Jesus. The word "name" in Greek means not just a person's name but also their character and authority.

That is why our Lord told us to pray in the name of Jesus (John 14:13-14; John 16:24). He actually said he would do whatever we ask when we pray in the name of Jesus and that we would be full of joy as a result.

Peter did just that in Acts 3:6 when he commanded a lame man to be healed in the name of Jesus: “Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk”. In Acts 3:16 Peter added the it was through faith in the name of Jesus that the lame man was healed.

We can command demons to leave in Jesus name, sickness to leave, relationships to be restored and so on. There is power in the name of Jesus. Use the name of Jesus today with the authority that is behind that name and expect results.

Please recommend our book: “On the Way: Basic Christian Training” to others. Check out our web site for information on our book and more encouraging Bible based blogs. ASK US FOR A FREE COPY OF A CHAPTER FROM OUR BOOK, using the contact us page on our website; click here: www.onthewayinlove.com    

"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us" (Heb 12:1; KJV).

When we are born again as Christians we embark on a wonderful journey of faith, culminating in our transfer to heaven to be with the Lord forever (1 Peter 1:9). In the verse above from Hebrews Paul exhorts us to run the race. We don't just coast through life. Someone once told me that as Christians we are either growing or going backwards in our walk with God, never standing still.

Our verse from Hebrews tells us we need to lay aside the weights and sins that can slow, distract, or hold us back in our growth and maturation as Christians. We need focus and discipline just like the athlete who trains to win a race (1 Cor 9:24). We all know what sin is but weights are the distractions of life. Some of them may be good things but if they are not kept in proper priority, or even removed from our lives, they can slow, or even stop the progress and growth in our Christian walk.

We need to be single minded and focused in our walk with God and continuously examining what we call priorities. As Paul said, all things are permissible for me but not all things are useful (1 Cor 10:23). In other words, many of our goals may seem good to us but do they take us where God wants us to go? In the end we all need to be able to say, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith" (2 Tim 4:7 KJV).

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 Please recommend our book: “On the Way: Basic Christian Training” to others. Check out our web site for information on our book and more encouraging Bible based blogs. ASK US FOR A FREE COPY OF A CHAPTER FROM OUR BOOK, using the contact us page on our website; click here: www.onthewayinlove.com    

"According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." (2 Peter 1:3,4 KJV).

Two amazing verses of scripture. When we were born again and became Christians our spirit was made new but not our soul (mind, will and emotions) or body (John 3:3,5-6). We need to work to sanctify our body and soul (Rom 12:2; 1 Cor 9:27) or bring them under the control and dominance of our spirit, influenced by the Holy Spirit.

Our passage from second Peter above shows us how God provides for us to sanctify and change our body and soul; to put off the old man and put on the new life in Christ (Eph 4:22-24). We are told we can have God's divine nature and put off the ways of the world (v4). We can live the kind of life God lives and walk in godliness (v3). We can discover his new life in Christ, all God's promises to us, as we grow in the knowledge of our Father God and our Savior, Jesus.

How do we do this? We do it by spending time in the Bible. As we prayerfully ask the Holy Spirit to reveal God's word to us (John 14:26), the revelation releases the power of the Holy Spirit to bring change in our lives and enables us to walk in all God has for us. Wow. What a deal, what a loving God! He gives us salvation freely by his grace; gives us our operators manual, the Bible and also the power of the Holy Spirit to change. All we have to do is cooperate.

Please recommend our book: “On the Way: Basic Christian Training” to others. Check out our web site for information on our book and more encouraging Bible based blogs. ASK US FOR A FREE COPY OF A CHAPTER FROM OUR BOOK, using the contact us page on our website; click here: www.onthewayinlove.com    

"This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shall meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success" (Josh 1:8, KJV).

Who wouldn't want to be successful and prosperous? One of the meanings of the Hebrew word for prosperous is: "to break out”. In order for that to happen we have some instructions to follow. In Deuteronomy 6:6-9 it says that God’s commandments should be in our heart and we should talk about them throughout the day.

In Deuteronomy 29:9 we see something very similar to Joshua 1:8. It says we must remember and do the words of God’s covenant and then we will have wisdom and prosperity. In Psalm 1:2-3, we are told that the godly man meditates day and night in the law and whatever he does prospers. To meditate means to think about God's word by speaking it, not just thinking about it.

So, we learn from these few verses above that in order to be prosperous and successful we should be meditating on the word, speaking the word and obeying the word. However, we know there are many other benefits to doing these things in addition to the ones mentioned. Remember that in Matthew 6:33 the Apostle directed us to seek God’s kingdom and his righteousness FIRST and then we would receive all we need. So, put God's word first in your day today and enjoy the benefits.

Please recommend our book: “On the Way: Basic Christian Training” to others. Check out our web site for information on our book and more encouraging Bible based blogs. ASK US FOR A FREE COPY OF A CHAPTER FROM OUR BOOK, using the contact us page on our website; click here: www.onthewayinlove.com