Matthew 26
July Memory Verse: But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33 (NIV)
Read: Matthew 26
Matthew 26 includes:
This is a well-known and often recounted story. Peter thought he had himself covered from the temptation of denying Jesus. When challenged by Jesus on this, you could say his response to Jesus was a bit overconfident. Hopefully that overconfidence feels familiar to you, because I think if we’re honest about it, we’ve all been there.
Sin and temptation are powerful, and we are powerless without Christ. I have lost count long ago at the number of times I charged through my day without a thought about needing that power to accomplish anything of eternal worth. I would never say it out loud, but without asking for His power in prayer every day, and even throughout the day, I am saying by my actions “I’ve got this one Jesus, I’ll let you know if I need you!”
In the Garden of Gethsemane, was Jesus telling Peter to pray to stay awake, or was He also warning him of the coming temptations where prayer would be needed to help him overcome? What I know for sure is that temptations are coming. Jesus tells us prayer is a way to gain the power needed to overcome those temptations. Don’t assume you will overcome them without prayer. Genesis 4:7 says, “… sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it”. Let us rule over our temptations and sin with a strong prayer life.
Take a moment to rate your current prayer discipline. Give it a number from 1 to 10 where 1 is non-existent and 10 is you pray like Jesus did. Now, commit to doing something different over the coming weeks to increase that rating by at least one number.
By: Chuck Vellios
Read: Matthew 26
Matthew 26 includes:
- Peter responds to Jesus’ prophecy of all falling away by announcing that even though everyone else may fall away, he will not!
- Along with the others who were with Jesus while he prayed at Gethsemane, Peter falls asleep after being asked to be vigilant and watch with Jesus. Jesus exhorts them that in order to fight temptation, they should be praying.
- Peter and the others fall asleep again.
- Peter succumbs to the temptation of fear when he denies knowing Jesus not once, but three times.
This is a well-known and often recounted story. Peter thought he had himself covered from the temptation of denying Jesus. When challenged by Jesus on this, you could say his response to Jesus was a bit overconfident. Hopefully that overconfidence feels familiar to you, because I think if we’re honest about it, we’ve all been there.
Sin and temptation are powerful, and we are powerless without Christ. I have lost count long ago at the number of times I charged through my day without a thought about needing that power to accomplish anything of eternal worth. I would never say it out loud, but without asking for His power in prayer every day, and even throughout the day, I am saying by my actions “I’ve got this one Jesus, I’ll let you know if I need you!”
In the Garden of Gethsemane, was Jesus telling Peter to pray to stay awake, or was He also warning him of the coming temptations where prayer would be needed to help him overcome? What I know for sure is that temptations are coming. Jesus tells us prayer is a way to gain the power needed to overcome those temptations. Don’t assume you will overcome them without prayer. Genesis 4:7 says, “… sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it”. Let us rule over our temptations and sin with a strong prayer life.
Take a moment to rate your current prayer discipline. Give it a number from 1 to 10 where 1 is non-existent and 10 is you pray like Jesus did. Now, commit to doing something different over the coming weeks to increase that rating by at least one number.
By: Chuck Vellios
3 Comments
We'll done and challenging Chuck. Thank you!
Great points Chuck, I needed to hear that.
In a different lane, how different we treat Judas and Peter's betrayals. Something I've noticed is we think Judas is pure evil and Peter is like us struggling with sin. Both actions they took were complete sin and evil to Jesus. The only difference is we see Peter repent. Many times in my life people who have hurt me are "Judas" to me but I never gave them the opportunity to be forgived. The craziest part is if Judas would have repented, even after the brutal torture and death of Jesus, Jesus WOULD have forgiven him. Praying for strength to love others like He does, even when they may hurt me.
Wonderful blog message, Chuck! I believe that Christ's return is very close. We need to pray more than ever! One of my favorite scriptures is in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing." There are so many difficult things that try to get us "off track" in this world. We need the power of prayer daily!