Judas vs. Peter

I am teaching a Wednesday night class at Berry's Chapel this quarter from the book "The Barnabas Factor" by Aubrey Johnson. The book is about encouragement and I am really enjoying the class and participation. We have about 20 in the class.

We just finished the chapter that talks about discouragement. There are 2 common causes of discouragement: misfortunes and mistakes. Misfortunes are things that happen to you and mistakes are things that you cause. Aubrey talked about a great comparison which really made me think.

What was the difference between Judas and Peter. Both denied Jesus in their own way but ended up reacting differently to the guilt and sin of doing it. Judas turned Jesus in to the authorities; Peter denied Jesus repeatedly. Judas hanged himself; Peter went on to be a great preacher for Jesus. What happened that caused the two to take two totally different routes in life after their sin?

Let me encourage you to look back in the Gospels and read the stories of Judas and Peter. Look at their response after their sin. Judas lost hope. He thought that he could not overcome the sin which he committed. Peter dealt with his pain and sin and made the most out of it. He learned from his mistake and changed his life to be different.

How do you deal with sin in your life? Do you believe that you have no hope to get by it and do great things? Do you feel like you need to just lie down and die because you can't handle it anymore? Are there too many things being thrown at you which you feel you cannot handle? It is easy in life to get overwhelmed with the negatives in our lives and think that we cannot make it. It is easy to give up, to throw our hands in the air and forget about it. It is easy to roll over and die.

That is not an encouraging person though. We have a Savior who died for us and gave us life. We have hope because we have a God who is on our side. We can be encouraged by learning from our mistakes and building upon them. How do you deal with your sin? Let's be encouraged. Let's share with one another. Let's put aside our masks and encourage one another in our struggles. There are people in your church who are struggling with the same sin you are. Judas did not utilize his brothers and sisters. Peter pulled them together and built upon them.

Encourage someone today. Share in their struggles.

Chad