GOD’S WORD FOR DECEMBER 23

Our  book this month  is a continuation of “Chiseled by the Master’s Hand ~ Lessons From the Life of Peter,” by Erwin  Lutzer.  Dr. Lutzer is  Canadian-born and served as Senior Pastor of the Moody Church in Chicago for 36 years, until his retirement in 2016.   He now serves as Pastor Emeritus of Moody Church.  He’s written many books and has radio and internet teaching programs.

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FROM REGRET TO RESTORATION

(Read Luke 22:31-62)

“For of all the sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, “It might have been.”  So wrote John Greenleaf Whittier.

All of us can identify with that statement.  We know how painful regret can be.  To have missed an opportunity or to have made a painful mistake can lead us to the brink of despair.  We keep thinking how really different it all could have been, if…..if…..if….. You complete the sentence.

There are two kinds of regret.  There is the regret caused by human error.  A missionary airplane mechanic had an excellent record in servicing airplanes.  One day he had just completed the initial hand-tightening on a nut when he was called away.  Completely distracted by the new problem, he forgot to tighten the nut with a wrench.  The airplane took off with seven people in it.  The loose nut let gasoline leak out of the motor.  The plane eventually caught fire and crashed, killing all seven aboard.

At the funeral the mechanic saw the seven coffins lined up in a row.  Waves of regret washed over him in agony of soul and spirit.  One momentary lapse and seven lives had been snuffed out.  Here were seven new widows, many of them with children who had lost their fathers.  Put yourself in the mechanic’s shoes and feel, as far as possible, the deep regret he experienced.

You may have been driving carefully in a residential district.  The curb was lined with cars. You were momentarily distracted by a person on one side of the street.  As your eyes refocused on the road ahead of you, you saw a toddler run into the street.  You slammed on the brakes, but it was too late.  By the time the ambulance arrived you already suspected the worst.

About all that we can do in such situations is ask others to forgive us for our errors in judgment.  Hopefully, the mother of the child will understand despite her deep grief.  The missionary mechanic was fortunate because he was assured by the bereaved widows that they would not be angry at him for making a mistake.  Receiving the forgiveness of others enabled him to forgive himself.

Such feelings of regret are not the promptings of the Holy Spirit.  We are all prone to human error.  An honest mistake is very different from willful sin, though the consequences might be similar.  God does not want us to be overcome with regret; FOR EVEN SUCH MISTAKES FALL WITHIN THE CIRCLE OF HIS DIVINE PROVIDENCE.  We must forgive ourselves.  Our mistakes must be put behind us.  In humanity is the essence of error, and God looks at the heart.

A second form of regret flows out of deliberate disobedience.  We choose a certain lifestyle even though we know it is wrong.  A small voice tells us our choice is sinful, but we continue to follow our willful desires.  One day we page through the family album and see a picture of ourselves and suddenly we wonder what life would have been like if  our choices had been different.

Or the regret may come at the end of life, as death approaches.  A friend went to see a former employer, a newspaper publisher, in the hospital.  “I know I am going to die.” He began.  “I have wasted my life in a vain pursuit of riches and public acclaim.  Now I realize my mistake and want to get right with God.”  Better late than never, but oh, the pain of regret!

Peter felt both the pain and the blessing of regret.  Interestingly, the one disciple who loved Christ so fervently is the very one who denied Him so vehemently.

Real Luke 22:31-34 carefully, for it sets the stage for a denial that Peter, the disciple of Christ, will deeply bemoan.  God will use it to teach him about grace and to help him make the best of his future.  We will then learn from his mistake.

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Ps 94:19

In the multitude of my anxieties within me,

Your comforts delight my soul.

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Titus 3:5

not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,

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Isaiah 43:25

“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake;

And I will not remember your sins.”

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Matthew 11:28

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

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2 Peter 1:3

 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,

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Psalm 68:19 (NASB)

Blessed be the Lord,

Who daily bears our burdens

The God of our salvation!

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John 8:36

Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

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Galatians 5:1

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

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