THE DENIAL

Matt 26:[33] But Peter said to Him, "Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away." [34] Jesus said to him, "Truly I say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows, you will DENY Me three times." [35] Peter said to Him, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not DENY You." All the disciples said the same thing too.
DEVOTE:
… And I’ve said the same thing – “I will never fall away”, and “I will not deny You”. But, when the crosses of hardship, failure, pain and shortage walk into our world, we find that “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak”, and we ask things like, “God, where are you?” But that’s not the right question, is it? The real question is, “Where are YOU?” It’s the same question God asked Adam in the garden when he was hiding! God’s not the one “missing in action” – Adam was, Peter was, and so are we!
In the face of our crosses in life, it is not Christ that we must deny – it is ourselves! Jesus said, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must DENY HIMSELF, and take up his CROSS and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24) The cross gives us the power to deny ourselves, so that we have the power to witness for Jesus! Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for salvation” (Rom 1:16) Jesus said in Luke 9:26 "Whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him”, The cross gives us the power to deny ourselves, so that we will not deny Him, and be denied by Him! (Matthew 10:33)
PRAY:
Lord God, please help me to unashamedly identify with your Cross, so that my cowardice is not confirmed by the “rooster crows” of lost souls that have slipped through the cracks of my weak witness! (Matthew 26:75)