Serving in the Lord's Church

I have felt a strong impression to share some thoughts I have had in regards to a new responsibility in my life.  I do this cautiously, not intended to be proud or haughty, but rather to share a bit about a sacred process of building the Lord's kingdom on the earth.

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we have a lay ministry.  There are two major tenets to a lay ministry. The first is that the positions of leadership and service in the church are not compensated monetarily.  This includes teachers, choir directors, youth leaders and our priesthood leaders or ministers.  The second is that we do not choose for ourselves where we will serve.  Through prayerful inspiration, revelation, our priesthood leaders decide who should serve in the various positions and ask the member if they would be willing to do so.  We are then free to decide for ourselves and are encouraged to seek the same inspiration to know from God that this is His will for us.  As many of you may know, I was asked to be a bishop of my local congregation (ward) a little over ten years ago.  It was a big responsibility to preside and lead over the whole congregation for five years.  Though it meant a sacrifice of time away from family and of balancing the demands of my occupation as well, it was a tremendous blessing to me.  It enabled me to be an even better father and a better physician also.  

After five years, a new bishop was called by our Stake President.  He, with two counselors, presides over our geographic region and is responsible for overseeing eight congregations in our area.  My new bishop asked me to teach Sunday School which I did for four years, covering the four stand works: The Old and New Testament, The Book of Mormon (another testament of Jesus Christ written by people in ancient America) and the Doctrine and Covenants (a book of modern scripture, revelation in our day).  I loved the opportunity to deeply study and ponder God's word and the chance to share that with my ward members.  When I was released being a Sunday School teacher, I was asked to serve in our nursery, helping 18-36 month old children so that their parents could participate in their classes.  I loved those little children.  I loved singing with them the songs of Jesus, showing them pictures of Him and simply playing with them.  I was only there for a few short months when I was then asked to be the Boy Scout Master for our young men (mostly 12-13 year old boys) where I have been serving for the last two years.  

Serving as a scoutmaster has been one of the highlights of my life.  I have so many fond memories of camping with my father growing up.  The last two years was very time consuming.  We camped once a month as well as having our weekly scout meetings.  We had all sorts of activities as we worked on the badges and advancements in scouting.  I loved arranging to have the boys meet new people and to do things that they had never done before.  I strived to encourage them to think of scouting as a tool to help them become better, to not just earn their eagle scout award but to become an eagle scout.  More than that, I wanted them to understand that ultimately the ideals found in the scout law would help them to become more than an eagle scout, it would enable them to become a disciple of Christ.

This last weekend I was asked to serve in a new capacity, as the first counselor to our new Stake President.  I am still in awe and quite humbled by this new opportunity.  In a letter to my son, who is currently serving a two year mission to the people of St. Petersburg, Russia, I outlined my thoughts as the events unfolded last week.  I have felt that I should share some of those with you as well:

"I just got home from my interview with the two leaders assigned by the headquarters of the church to come choose a new Stake Presidency.  I wasn't sure what to expect.  Would they call me to repentance?  What would they ask?  Many questions came through my mind.  I went there directly from having returned from a scout overnight.  I literally got out of the shower, put on my suit and drove to the church.  They were running a bit behind schedule so as I waited, more and more people showed up.  Our former Stake President who was called to be a new General Authorities was there and it was fun to talk to him.  He told about how he was called and going to training in Salt Lake and pretty much ALL of the General Authorities were there and participated.  It was fun to be in the room full of men who are either bishops or were bishops.  Men of God who have dedicated their lives to serving him.  Any of them could be asked to serve as the Stake President and would do a great job.  

I enjoyed being part of the process today.  I especially enjoyed being able to bear my testimony of the Savior.  What respect I have for these men who showed up today, were given a book of names and 7 minutes to meet with each one.  Through revelation, they will come to he who should serve.  

I'll write more tomorrow.  I am going to rest now.  

Sunday:

Yesterday seems like a really long time ago now.  I fell into a pretty deep coma after finishing writing yesterday.  That night I went to Sterling's Pop Concert at school.  As it was getting started, I received a phone call stating that the General Authorities wanted to meet with me the next morning at 8:30.

Your mom and I figured that it would be a counselor's position but it was hard to fall asleep that night.  When I woke up, I thought, "Oh good, I slept well," but when I looked at the clock it was 4:30 AM.  I stayed there till 5:00 AM and then got up.  I met the General Authorities at the Stake Center.  When I was asked to serve as the first counselor in the stake presidency, my first reaction was, "AWESOME."  I knew both the new president and the second counselor and I couldn't imagine serving with two greater men.  It immediately felt so right."

I was given a few minutes to share my feelings in the meeting to our whole stake that followed.  I wanted to be brief and yet have the Lord's spirit present so that others too could feel the Lord behind this request to serve. After expressing gratitude to those who had served before and especially to my supportive family, I mentioned Devin's advice to me to not worry, reminding me of my previous commitment to the Lord.  I then mentioned that just two nights previous, under a star filled sky, I stood around a campfire with a group of 12 and 13 year old boys and talked about what it means to have a testimony of Christ and what it means to be converted to him.  The spirit came so strong as I then said, "and so my calling in the church has not really changed.  I will now just be doing the same thing with all of you."

I realize that this is rather personal but hope it is received by anyone who reads it in the spirit in which it is intended.  When Jesus was on the earth, he called ordinary men to be his apostles.  They came from all walks of life and so it is in his church today.  We have been promised by our living prophet that "whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies."  I have faith that He will be with us as we serve and that He will guide and direct us in the work that He would have us do.  I invite anyone who may have a desire, to "come and see" the blessings that the Lord has in store for you.  

More information regarding our beliefs and doctrine is available at www.mormon.org.  

My Testimony of Christ

As we commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ over two millennia ago, I offer my testimony of the reality of His matchless life and the infinite virtue of His great atoning sacrifice. None other has had so profound an influence upon all who have lived and will yet live upon the earth.[1]

Having been born of goodly parents, I, like Nephi, was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father and have been highly favored of the Lord in all my days.[2]

My parents are just—for they have taught me through their example and in the nurture and admonition of the Lord—and blessed be the name of my God for it—As a young child, the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning his love for the Book of Mormon and for the Savior of the world, sank deep into my heart.[3]

I was raised in a family where we talked of Christ, we rejoiced in Christ, and we knew to what source we might look for a remission of our sins.[4]

As I read The Lord’s words on the pages of the Holy Scriptures, I knew that they were not of men nor of man but of him.  I have heard the Savior’s voice speak these words unto my soul by his spirit.  I have cried unto him by night that I might know the truth of these things and he did speak peace to my mind.  No greater witness can I have than from God.  I testify that I have heard his voice and know his words.[5] 

As a young missionary, I was ordained of him and sent forth to preach his word by the spirit of truth.  As I preached and others received the Lord’s word, we understood one another and both of us were edified and we rejoiced together.[6]

Verily was his promise fulfilled saying, “and whoso receiveth you, there I will be also for I will go before your face.  I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you to bear you up.”[7]

Oh, how great has been my joy to have brought souls unto him into the Kingdom of our Father.[8] Yea, so much that he has filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh.[9]

It was his by his power that my wife and I were sealed by the holy spirit of promise.[10]  As we have trusted in him and leaned not unto our own understanding, always acknowledging him, he has directed our paths.[11]  We have walked and communed with him, and our hearts have burned within us.[12]  I am striving to love my wife, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.[13]

 I have had no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.[14]

Karalee has testified of Christ, quoting, “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.  But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”[15]

Rachael was inspired by the Savior to prepare now to serve a mission.  Truly, “a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men. Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.  Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work.”[16]

I witnessed the spirit of Christ inspire Devin, as he rose at Stake Conference without having taken thought beforehand what he should say; but having treasured up in his mind continually the words of life, and it was given him in the very hour that portion that was meted unto him.[17]

I have felt Jesus’ presence in the midst of Sterling and I, as the two of us have gathered together in his name to visit those to whom we have been asked to home teach.[18]  We have learned that in as much as we have done it unto one of the least of these, we have done it unto Him[19]; and that when we are in the service of our fellow beings, we are only in the service of our God.[20]

I bear testimony, as a member of the Lord’s only true and living church[21]—that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.[22]

In the blessed name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.

---

[1] The Living Christ, 1^st paragraph

[2] 1 Nephi 1:1

[3] Enos 1:1,3

[4] 2 Nephi 25:26

[5] Doctrine & Covenants 18:34-36; 6:22-23

[6] Doctrine & Covenants 50:17,21-22

[7] Doctrine & Covenants 84:88

[8] Doctrine & Covenants 18:16

[9] 2 Nephi 4:21

[10] Doctrine & Covenants 132:7

[11] Proverbs 3:5-6

[12] Luke 24:32

[13] Ephesians 5:25

[14] 3 John 1:4

[15] Isaiah 53:4-5

[16] Doctrine & Covenants 4:1-3

[17] Doctrine & Covenants 84:85

[18] Doctrine & Covenants 6:32

[19] Matthew 25:40

[20] Mosiah 2:17

[21] Doctrine & Covenants 1:30

[22] Living Christ, last paragraph

Knowing His Voice

"And the Lord passed by, and a great strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice" (1 Kings 19:11-12).

One of the most important aspects of knowing the Lord is knowing his voice.  We have a tendency to assume that the most glorious, powerful being in the universe would speak to us in such a way, but he does not.  Elijah learned that he speaks to us in a "still small voice."  The nephites in the Book of Mormon who heard the voice of the Lord described it saying, "it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice, nevertheless and not withstanding it being a small voice it did pierce them that did hear to the very center insomuch that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause to quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn" (3 Nephi 11:3).  Great blessing await those that will hear the voice of the Lord.  The blessings of Abraham came because "Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge" (Genesis 26:5).  Conversely we are taught, "whoso receiveth not my voice is not acquainted with my voice, and is not of me" (Doctrine & Covenants 84:52).

How then do we become acquainted with the voice of the Lord?  First we must listen with our heart rather than with our ears. When Nephi admonished his brothers for not listening to the voice of the Lord he bemoaned, "ye have heard his voice from time to time; and he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words" (1 Nephi 17:45). The Lord's voice is felt more than it is heard.  Our hearts must first be turned to him and our minds must be single to his.  "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, saith the Lord" (Isaiah 55:8).

Once our heart and mind is attuned to the Lord, we must then acquaint ourselves with his words.  It has been said that when we pray, we talk to God; when we read the scriptures, we hear his answers.  "Scriptures are like packets of light that illuminate our minds and give place to guidance and inspiration from on high.  They can become the key to open the channel to our communion with our Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ" (Richard G. Scott, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles).  As we immerse ourselves in the scriptures, God's word seeps deep within our soul; we feel his voice speak to us.  The Lord has declared, "these words are not of men, nor of man, but of me; wherefore ye shall testify they are of me and not of man; for it is my voice which speaketh them unto you; for they are given by my spirit unto you, and by my power you can read them one to another; and save it were by my power you could not have them; wherefore, you can testify that you have heard my voice, and know my words (Doctrine & Covenants 18:34-36).

Another Testament

In a court of law, a witness is asked to testify as to what he or she knows according to what has been seen and experienced.  Do we know Jesus Christ well enough that we could stand as a witness of him?  Those who knew the Savior best were called to be his apostles, special witnesses of Him to testify to all the world.  We read of them in God's holy writ.  For centuries, God's word was collected and passed down as scrolls.  Jesus himself studied and read them as he grew.  In his ministry he taught from and quoted the prophesies concerning his coming.  These scrolls, together, now form what we know to be the Old Testament.  In Jesus' day, those who knew the savior best recorded his words, his actions and his miracles from their first hand accounts.  Those were written down as were the scrolls or "books" of the Old Testament.  Several hundred years after Jesus' death, they were compiled into one book which we now recognize as the "New" Testament.  The Old Testament witnesses of the promise of a Messiah, given to ancient Israel.  The people were given laws through the Prophet Moses to point them towards Christ.  When Jesus came to earth he fulfilled the law of Moses.  The New Testament witnesses of his great atoning sacrifice, of his glorious resurrection and his abounding love for all mankind. Together, they form the Bible.  They both witness of the covenant that God made with his people.  

Does God love us today as much as he did the ancient Israelites?  Are the Israelites the only civilization fortunate enough to receive his word and witness of him?  The God I know loves all of his children.  He will speak to whom he will.  Who are we to place limits on an all powerful, all knowing God?  It is declared in the Old Testament, by Jesus himself and also by the Apostle Paul that by two or three witnesses shall every word be established (Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:5, Matthew 18:16, 2 Corinthians 13:1). The glorious truth is that there is Another Testament of Jesus Christ, even the Book of Mormon.  


The Book of Mormon is the spiritual account of a civilization that left Jerusalem 600 years before Christ's birth, led by a prophet of God.  They crossed the ocean and settled on the American Continent.  They too lived the law of Moses.  After the death and resurrection of the Savior, Jesus came and appeared to them.  Like the apostles of old to whom Jesus appeared and who felt the marks in his hands and in his feet, these people also witnessed of their experience.  It is recorded: 


  "And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.  And when they had all gone forth and had witnessed for themselves, they did cry out with one accord, saying: Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him" (3 Nephi 11:15-17).

We have this additional witness of the Savior because God speaks to man today.  As He did with Moses, God appeared to the boy Joseph Smith in the year 1820.  He sent to him angelic messengers as he did to Mary and to Joseph and to Jesus himself (see my post Angels).  He was shown where the record of this people had been hidden.  By the power of God, Joseph translated the record which is now known as The Book of Mormon.  Hand in hand with the Old and the New Testament, it is Another Testament of Jesus Christ.  I testify that it is true.  I have felt the spirit of the Lord, confirm its veracity to me in my mind and in my heart.  I have grown to know my Savior through reading its words and living its teachings.

Said the Prophet Joseph Smith, "I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book."  I invite all to examine, read and experience for themselves this record.  I invite all to know Christ for themselves.  For more information, please visit http://mormon.org/book-of-mormon/.

The Unknown God?

Altar to "The Unknown God"

Paul, when preaching in Athens, Greece came across an altar with the inscription, "TO THE UNKNOWN GOD" (Acts 17:23).  At this time Athens was considered the cultural and intellectual center of the civilized world yet in all their learning, they failed to grasp the knowledge most important of all, the knowledge of God.  Paul went on to teach them what he considered to be the core, basic tenet of who God is.  He first referred to Him as the creator, not having been created by the works of man.  More important even than having created the universe, he is the creator of men.  He "hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth.  For in him we live, and move, and have our being...for we are also his offspring (vs.26, 28).

In the Doctrine & Covenants, we learn that the "key of the knowledge of God" is held by the greater or Melchizedek Priesthood in the great treatise on the priesthood found in section 84.  We are taught that it is in the ordinances of the priesthood that the power of godliness is manifest (vs. 19-20).  This starts with baptism, it continues with the sacrament.  We grow close to God in the covenants that we make to him in the temple endowment and achieve our highest potential in the culminating ordinance of being sealed to God with our spouse for time and all eternity.  We are told that without this, "no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live" (vs. 22).  I believe it is in this short three word definition of God that the key to knowing him resides.  The scripture simply states, "even the Father."  As Paul told the Greeks, we are not mere creations of God, we are "his offspring."

Mars Hill as seen from Corinth

 A prophet in our day defined our relationship to God by succinctly stating, "all human beings-male and female-are created in the image of God.  Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny" (The Family: A Proclamation to the World).  Being married for eternity, then, is more than the wonderful blessing of uniting families forever, it is teaching us of God's true nature and the potential within us to become like him. The family is more than a convenient social organization to raise children.  It is the core unit in God's plan to teach us who he is and how we can reach our highest potential.  In the scriptures I learn of the God-like qualities of persuasion, longsuffering, gentleness, meekness, love and kindness (see Doctrine & Covenants 121:41-42).  It is in my role as a father that I learn how to live these qualities.  The more closely that I learn to live as God does, the more clearly I can see who God is, the better I can know God, even my Father.

Knowing Us By Name

I was deeply touched this week reading the account of when Mary Magdalene encounters the empty tomb. Of all the people we read of in the New Testament, she certainly knew and had a special bond with the Savior of the world.  She sensed his goodness and felt of his divinity.  She knew that he would redeem her soul for he already had.  Luke's first description of her as "Mary, called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils" (Luke 8:2). Recall the words of the master to her sister Martha when Mary chose to sit at his feet rather than to perform her household tasks, "But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:42).  She was also rebuked by Judas Iscariot for anointing the Lord with copious amount of costly oil at the last supper.  Said, Jesus, "Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.  For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.  For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial" (Matthew 26:10-12).

I find it significant that the very first person that Jesus appeared to after his resurrection was this woman who loved him so much.  He had changed her life.  She feasted on his words, trusted in him and would do anything for him.  Indeed at that moment she had come to finish the embalming of his body.  How she must have suffered and sorrowed in those dark days.  To add to her grief, when she arrived at the tomb, the stone had been rolled away, the body was gone!  Horror stricken, she ran to tell the apostles.  They came and saw the empty tomb and then left.  She remained, weeping outside the tomb.  As she looked in she saw two angels who asked her why she was so distraught.  Replying that her Lord had been taken she turned and saw a man she took to be the gardener "and knew not that it was Jesus" (John 20:14).  He asked her, "Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou?" (vs 15).  In my minds eye, I can picture Mary, so full of grief and anxiety that she started just bursting forth, pleading and begging with the man to see if he knew what had happened to the body, telling him that she would care for it.  One word changed her entire outlook.  One word spoken by the Savior of the whole world ceased her babbling.  One word was enough for her to know him.  Jesus simply said, "Mary" (vs. 16).  Her tears turned to those of joy.  Her heart leaped for joy.  Her soul filled with the hope that was lost.  Answering, she simply replied, "master."

I firmly believe that it is possibly to personally know Jesus Christ, the creator of the world, the one who is the author of the salvation for all the human race.  It is possible because he knows us.  To a young boy seeking the truth in prayer he appeared with his Father.  The first word spoken to him was simply "Joseph."  He knows me and he knows you as well.  After showing Moses a vision of all the worlds that he created, of all the inhabitants thereof, and of the heavens above, he told him "Behold this is my work and my glory-- to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39).  He did not say "men" but "man."  He atoned individually for all of our sins.  Through the ordinance of the sacrament he has asked us to take upon us his name.  We can do so because he has taken upon him ours.  That is why our burden is heavy and his is light.  He knows us by name because he has experienced and suffered all that we have and will ever go through.  If there were only one soul on the earth, you, he would still descend into the valley of death and go through the atonement  just for you.  I know he would do so because he already has, for each of us, one soul, one name at a time.

"Feed My Sheep"

If there was ever a person that could say they knew their Savior, it was Peter.  I have loved reading and pondering the life of this man.  I suspect that Peter may have known Jesus prior to his being called as an apostle. He was likely a person of considerable means as we know that he was an owner of several larger sized fishing boats and commanded their fleets.  He was an active owner, working along side his employees.  He was well aware of hard work and of the elements.  He would have known about the sea and the wind and the waves.  Jesus was familiar with his family as there is mention of him healing Peter's mother-in-law early on.

Peter's ministry, though, began on that morning when he returned with his crew from a fruitless night of fishing.  As they sat on the shore performing the dull chore of cleaning their nets, Jesus approached him and asked if he could use one of his boats to deliver a message to those on the shore.  When Jesus was done teaching, he returned the boat and admonished Peter to launch out again a little deeper and let out his nets.  Having just finished cleaning the nets and knowing that the best time for catching fish had just passed, Peter somewhat begrudgingly accepted the counsel from the carpenter's son.  The nets of course were filled beyond capacity.  Peter cried, "I am a sinful man," and Jesus told him that from henceforth he would be "fishers of men."  Peter then "straightway left his nets" and accepted the call of Jesus to "come follow me."

From that day on, Peter walked side by side with the master.  When others left, he responded, "to whom shall we go?  Thou has the words of eternal life" (John 6:68).  When asked by Jesus, "but whom say ye that I am" he resolutely responded, "thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God" (Matthew 16:16).  He was promised to receive the keys of the kingdom of heaven, receiving power to bind on heaven what he would bind on earth (Matthew 16:19).  He stood by the Savior as he was transfigured before the Father, witnessing the appearance also of Moses and Elijah.  In all this Peter was not yet what he would become.  He was allowed to have weaknesses and challenges to humble himself.  He was learning how to rely on the Lord.  He was admonished to let the children come unto Jesus, to forgive even to seven times seventy.  When unable to heal a man with an evil spirit he and his disciples were told to have faith as a mustard seed.  To the end of Jesus' mortal mission, Peter's spirit was willing but the flesh was weak.  He misunderstood the Lord's purpose for washing their feet.  At the last supper he boldly declared that he would never deny the Lord.  Jesus warned him that Satan desired to have him and that Jesus had prayed for him that his faith would not fail.  He then told him "when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethern" (Luke 22:32).

What followed was likely regarded by Peter as the worst night of his life.  Jesus took him with James and John to the garden of Gethsemane.  The were admonished to watch and pray lest they enter into temptation.  Three times the Lord came back to find them sleeping while he suffered alone.  In the savior's greatest hour of need, Peter was not there to support him.  Immediately thereafter came Judas' betrayal.  Quick to show his willingness to standby his master, Peter drew his sword, cutting off the ear of one of the men who came for Jesus.  He was tenderly restrained and Jesus miraculously cured the man.  The soldiers took Jesus away to the High Priest, Caiaphas and all the disciples fled, though Peter followed from afar. Caiaphas accused Jesus of blasphemy to which he was answered not a word.  He then asked Jesus, "Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?"  While Jesus answered in the affirmative, Peter's previous declaration of the same rang somewhat hollow as he once then twice and finally three times denied being an associate of the man from Galilee.  Immediately the cock crew.  "And the Lord turned and looked upon Peter.  And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow that shalt deny me thrice.  And Peter went out and wept bitterly" (Luke 22:61-62).  The man he had left his nets for, the man he had devoted his life to, the man he knew to be his savior was then taken, condemned, scoured and hanged on a cross.  I cannot imagine the depths of Peter's remorse.  He must have thought that all was lost.  I would imagine he thought that he had failed.

News of his sighting by Mary Magdalene three days hence must have come as a great shock.  He ran to the empty tomb.  Later, with the disciples, the Lord appeared to them all while they conversed among themselves.  They felt the marks in his hands and in his feet from the nails.  He talked with them and ate with them.  Still, Peter was unsure of what he should do, what direction he should take.  Like most of us would, he went back to doing what he knew best.  He went back to his nets.  One night while on the lake, a man from the shore called, telling the men to throw the nets on the other side of the boat.  As they did so, the nets filled again as they had only filled once before.  Peter, knowing immediately that it was Jesus, leaped into the water to get to the shore as quickly as possible.  That night, Peter's life changed forever, this time for the good.

While eating the fish together, Jesus turned to Peter and queried, "lovest thou me more than these [the fish]?"  Peter answered, "Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee."  Jesus answered, "feed my lambs."  Again Jesus looked at Peter and asked, "lovest thou me?" Again the answer, "yea Lord, thou knowest that I love thee.  This time came the injunction, "feed my sheep."  Fresh with the memory of his failure in his mind, Peter was asked one more time, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?  Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee.   Jesus saith unto him, feed my sheep" (John 21:14-17).  Just as he had denied Jesus thrice, the Lord blessed him with the opportunity to affirm his conviction three times as well.  From then on, Peter never wavered.  From the converting of thousands on the day of Pentecost, to the establishing and running of the Lord's church, to the healing of the lame man outside the temple Peter was truly changed.  He devoted the rest of his life to feeding the Lord's sheep.  His path was not easy.  Walking with the Savior stretched him to the limit.  Through his trials, Peter grew to know the Lord.  As one of His most trusted companions, he became an instrument in the hands of the master.  His flesh became as strong as his spirit was willing.  Never again would his devotion to his savior be questioned.  Peter had become a man of God.