A rooster crows

The soldiers who arrested Jesus in the garden took Him to the High Priest’s house. A fire had been lit in the courtyard, and Peter, who wanted to be near Jesus, joined those sitting around the fire. In the flickering light, one of the servant girls recognized Peter and said, “This man was with Jesus too!”

But Peter said, “I don’t even know Jesus!”

Later, one of the men said, “You are also one of them.”

But Peter replied crossly, “I am not!”

About an hour later, someone else said, “This man is definitely one of them. He comes from Galilee.”

Peter replied, “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

As Peter was speaking, a rooster crowed. Jesus turned and looked at Peter. At once, Peter remembered that the Lord had said, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” Then Peter went away and wept bitterly.

Can someone who has denied Jesus still go to heaven?

We don’t get to heaven by what we do (or by what we don’t do). All our good deeds put together cannot get rid of our sin, and no one with a sinful heart can enter heaven.

We can only be saved from sin through Jesus. When you ask Him to forgive you and trust Him to change your life, He forgives you and makes you right with God. Even then, you won’t always do the right thing. You may say or do something wrong, as Peter did. But when you are truly sorry and turn back to Jesus, you can ask Him for forgiveness and know that He is ready to forgive you.

While you are on earth, you will never be perfect. Peter discovered that. He thought he would be strong and defend Jesus, but later he became fearful and denied Him. Yet Jesus did not reject Peter. He forgave him, and Peter carried on following Jesus and serving Him for the rest of his life (John 21:19).

Whenever you are tempted to side with the world rather than stand with Jesus, ask God to give you the courage to stand firm and let others know that Jesus is your friend.

Verse for today

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith … be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13

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