~Be Who You Are~

~~~ Acts 28:16-20, 30-31 ~~~ Psalm 11 ~~~ John 21: 20-25 ~~~

Today's scripture gives us the two strong 'P's'...Paul and Peter.

The first a convert and the later a close follower of Jesus.

They each offer much for us to learn about them but also ourselves.

Paul is put under house arrest where he remained for two full years receiving all who came to him. Chained to his residence nothing stopped Paul from proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about Jesus Christ.

Paul is a wonderful example of perseverance and determination. He did not give up in the face of adversity, false acquisitions, or imprisonment.

How easy it is when we are faced with far less to give up, walk away, and quit.

Paul might have easily been content with his own love and knowledge of God. He could have gone on as a free man with the knowledge of his own salvation.

But instead Paul was so convicted by his beliefs that nothing stood in the way of his inviting others to come into the fold.

Peter is inquisitive about who is to betray Jesus when later it would he who would deny knowing Jesus. Jesus replies with a reprimand, "...What concern is it of yours?"

Ouch! Peter must have felt the blow to his ego without even realizing his ego was asking the question.

Why is it that we measure those around us by our own standards?

We want to know about those with whom we associate.

Peter wanted to know who Jesus was allowing to be in his inner circle knowing he would betray him. I suppose Peter would have been more than willing to remove Judas from their group had he known in advance.

Had Jesus allowed that to happen where would we be today? This betrayal had to be allowed for the fulfillment of the scriptures. Peter could not have been permitted to prevent it from occurring; even though he meant well.

John goes on to write at the end of his Gospel that so numerous were the things that Jesus did, that 'the world could not contain the books that would be written.'

What this inspires in me is that no matter how creative I can be in thinking about all that Jesus did while he walked our earth...it could never be near enough.

We cannot fathom the infinite possibilities of the power of Jesus,

 acting always on behalf of the Father.

Jesus wants us to follow him...he does not want us to constantly compare

ourselves to those around us. We each have been given individual

gifts and they can all be used for good. For God even used the betrayal of his Son to bring about good...a good so profound that we are still reaping the benefits.

Be Blessed in all your works.