Like Peter Like Me

On this final day of another spent week, we come as people, returned to our Lord, craving once again, the Old Gospel, the Old Wine, the Old Truth of Joel’s prophecy and the Old Fire Baptism of Jesus, in fullest measure. We are people, many of us, who have been brought back to past or old commitments, desires, and covenants to our Lord, to be His obedient servants.

Having kept our eyes and ears fixed on Peter, our representative disciple, representing you and me, as believers and disciples of Jesus, we cannot continue in our acquired new ways.  These are our new ways of human-assisted faith, hand-crafted trust and head-sorting belief. We need to return, no, it is imperative that we return to sound, old ways of childlike faith, trust and belief in God. Our new ways will never hold the New Wine of our Lord’s Baptism. Remember His Parable.

No one puts new wine in old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskin will be ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved. And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, The old is better. Luke 5: 37 – 39.

Without the faith of our fathers, living still in us, the ‘old time faith’, which defied human possibilities and inadequacies, how do we expect to see and know the undeniable works of the Holy Spirit in frail, weak human beings? We believe Jesus. The old is better. 

We believe and accept that the same old, long ago, Holy Spirit, who worked in Peter, is still with you and me. He is the Person of Power, working in believers, making us powerful witnesses of Jesus, our Lord, Master and King.

As we close, we fix our gaze once more on Peter, in this poem of promise, prayer and privilege.

Peter at Pentecost  

Peter at Pentecost, was Spirit filled,

At Pentecost he was used as God willed,

Once his life by fear was beaten and stilled,

Today by the Spirit he’s touched and thrilled.

Peter at Pentecost spoke with different tongue,

At Pentecost he stood up bold and strong,

Fearless to speak he addressed the present wrong,

Of the mocking folk whom they stood among. 

Peter at Pentecost Christ’s words did keep,

At Pentecost he feeds all the lost sheep,

In folly and mockery their minds they steep,

He speaks! They’re awakened from folly’s sleep.

Peter at Pentecost lifts high God’s Son,

At Pentecost, many a soul was won,

E’en some who of the Spirit’s work made fun,

In the Holy Spirit were all made one.

 Peter at Pentecost of Jesus did witness,

At Pentecost he fulfilled God’s promise,

His words still speak to all who’ve gone amiss,

Listen and heed, do not this filling miss.

Peter at Pentecost, may we your words hear,

At Pentecost we want to Christ draw near,

Fill us Holy Spirit, for we declare,

Christ Jesus in faith, trust and holy fear.

Amen!

When the Spirit of the Lord is present, in the life of a human being, be that person old or young, weak or strong, rich or poor, humanly impossible things happen.

Next week we shall track the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of men and women who were servants of God.