I get a lot of bold statements from my little eight year old.
They all start out with “Mom”.
“Mom, when we go to the baseball field, I think I’ll be able to hit a ball OVER the fence. In fact, I’m probably the best hitter on the team. I’ve actually caught more balls than anyone, and I can probably run the fastest too, right Mom?”
Next I hear, “Mom, I’ve already killed a six-point deer and next time I’ll probably bring home the ten-point we’ve been hunting for three years.”
I can hear him buttering himself up while he completes a puzzle. “I’m the strongest kid in our family,” he mutters to himself. “And I could do my little brothers’ schoolwork SO MUCH BETTER than they can!”
Then, out pops this statement….
“Mom!” he says loudly. “If we were driving and we went over a bridge and then the bridge collapsed into the water I would GIVE MY LIFE to save my little sisters!”
I think to myself, “Child, you don’t even know how to swim!” but I don’t say it. Instead, my eyes probably do a little eye-roll, then I smile at him and I say, “Well, maybe in the summer we’ll practice learning how to swim. That would be a good decision right?”
I turn back to scrubbing the kitchen counter-top, shaking my head a little and laughing quietly under my breath.
All these bold, bold, statements floating out of his psyche and into space.
Suddenly I’m thinking about someone else who spouted a whole lot of bold statements. His name was Peter.
Peter was one of Jesus’s twelve disciples. He was chosen to be one of the closest companions and followers of our Lord Jesus Christ.(Matthew 10:1-4)
If you read the gospels you’ll soon discover that Peter likes to talk.
He talks a lot.
In fact, although you don’t read much about Bartholomew or Matthew, who were also of the twelve, you do hear quite a bit about Peter.
In Matthew 14:26-33 we find Peter saying, “Lord, if that’s you walking out on that water, I’ll come if you tell me to!”
In Matthew 16: 16-17, Jesus asks His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” And Peter blurts out boldly, “You’re the Christ, the Son of the living God!”.
When taken at face value, some of Peter’s boldly spoken statements can even sound a little foolish.
In Matthew 17:1-9, Moses and Elijah appear to Jesus on a high mountain where Peter, James and John are part of the close-knit group along for the ride. Peter, of course, can’t keep quiet in this holy moment, and instead, he begins making plans to settle down, and build tents so that they can stay there forever. “Lord it’s good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah”(vs 4).
I think it’s pretty hilarious that the Bible tells us that Almighty God interrupts Peter’s flow of mindless wordiness. Verse 5 says, “He(Peter) was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.” God was probably just shaking His head at Peter, because they didn’t come to settle, they came to hear truth that would sustain them on the journey.
Events turn serious as we move on to Matthew 26:31-35. Here we find Peter arguing with the Lord Himself. Jesus begins speaking about His crucifixion that will happen later that night and He says to His disciples, “You will all stumble tonight because of what’s about to happen to Me”.
Peter, of course says, “Even if everybody else stumbles, I WON’T!” Jesus replies, “Oh but you will, and actually you, Peter, will deny me three times this very night”.
Verse 35 echos the themes I heard from my own son this very afternoon; “Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to DIE with You, I will not deny You!”
Of course, Jesus, our Master and Savior, was completely correct and Peter did end up denying the Lord that night.
Today though, my focus is not really on Peter’s mistakes or his off-the-wall statements. I’m intrigued by his boldness.
Even though Peter didn’t always have it together, he was still the one who stepped out of the boat, called Jesus the Son of God, and was ready to do whatever Jesus wanted him to. If Peter had a catchphrase it would have been, “Let’s do this thing! Who cares about a plan, we’re just going to start, and worry about the details later!”
What I love most, is Jesus’s response to Peter’s all-in-attitude.
In Matthew 16:17-18, after Peter says, “You are the Son of God,” Jesus replies, “Blessed are you Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
Even though Peter didn’t have everything together, he still was willing to be all-in for Jesus.
This was the quality that the Lord was seeking from His disciples. Jesus knew that almost all His disciples would die martyr’s deaths. He knew that the way they were taking was not an easy path, and would involve eventual torture, pain, suffering, and hatred.
Jesus wanted someone bold who would jump out of the boat. He wanted a man who wouldn’t turn back when the going got tough, but instead would press in. Jesus wanted a man who would respond with courage when given an ultimatum from religious leaders to stop preaching Jesus. Peter’s answer was, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:18-20
There is a verse I’ve been praying over my bold little son who is so far ahead of my plans that I don’t always know how to handle him.
I want to pray this verse over him at night when he falls into bed with grass-green feet.
I want to pray it when I find him creating a deer stand 30 feet up a tree with a hammer, nails and a few rickety, rotten, boards. This verse is my mantra when I see him greeting strangers at the ball field, or explaining our life-history to the little old lady at Dollar General who just wants to get her cat food and go home.
The Lord specifically gave me this verse to pray over my own “Peter”.
This verse is found in Acts 4:29 and it says, “And now Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak Your word with all boldness.”
This is my prayer for my son: that God would channel all that boldness and energy into His kingdom purposes and that the gates of hell would not withstand the invasion of a man sold-out for the glory of Christ.
This should be the prayer we pray for all our children.
This should be the prayer we pray for ourselves.
Boldness.
Boldness in truth, boldness in sharing the gospel, boldness in bringing hope and peace to a world that needs Jesus. The world needs a cure, and His Name is Jesus of Nazareth. He is the image of the invisible God,(Col 1:15) and the only Savior who came to rescue us from the curse of sin. Freedom comes as we breathe in His truth and believe that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life!(John 14:6)
If you’re feeling a little bit of uncertainty, and a whole lot of fear, go to Jesus. He’s got the remedy to turn your anxiety into boldness. I’m mesmerized by Acts 4:13 which says, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.
THEY REALIZED THEY HAD BEEN WITH JESUS.
This is the key to our boldness. Just to be with Jesus.
I pray for you and I dear friend, that we would have boldness in these challenging times to share the hope of Jesus. As a benediction, I leave you with Jude vs 1-2
To those who are called,
beloved in God the Father
and kept for Jesus Christ:
May mercy,
peace,
and love
be multiplied to you.
