Luke 9:62 NLT, John 21:17 NLT, Philippians 3:13 NLT and Philippians 3:19 NLT

Luke 9:62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Peter denied Jesus 3 times. Although he said he would never do it, he did it. Peter was warming himself by the fire and people approached him to ask him about Jesus. He denied ever knowing Jesus right in front of Jesus. I'm sure Peter said in his heart, "I can deny him verbally now and not really mean it. I am just human, so I am entitled to some mistakes." But what about the people that he lied to? What about their walk and their confidence in Jesus? Sometimes we wanna do what we wanna do even though it's the wrong thing and we never consider those around us being hurt or devastated by our actions. That's why it's so dangerous to walk in the mistakes of your past because you pull yourself backwards and everyone else that is attached to you will go backwards as well. So, it wasn't something Peter could just do and get away with, but it was something that would affect all those that believed in him. I'm sure afterwards, Peter felt sorry for himself. But that is dangerous as well because feeling sorry for yourself will only make you replay your past again. You see, in order to feel sorry for yourself and get people to feel sorry with you, you have to replay all your hurts and pains from your past again. But this leads to selfishness and stops forward progress. Selfishness is the enemy of God because when you please the flesh, you cannot please God. And when you are in self, you cannot focus on the needs of others! So, because you are not hearing God, you have to surround yourself with people that will feel sorry for you and pity you and justify your selfishness. You have to remove those that push on you to be better, and replace them with people that will make you feel good even when you are not where you should be. What's even sadder is that, when you remove the challenge to be better, you replace it with the consequences of bad decisions. Then you are in a worse state than before. Though it may be uncomfortable to move forward, it's God's will that you do. Your past can make you feel content because it's already happened and it's common to you. Even misery and sorrows of the past can be a comfort zone because you are so familiar with it. But the future is where you must go if you are going to fulfill the call on your life.

God wanted Peter to get past his denial and move forward. I'm sure Peter kept thinking about it and was feeling terrible about it the whole time Jesus was being crucified. But God did something that was wonderful. After Jesus rose from the dead and was sitting with the disciples eating, God allowed Peter to be at a fire again. Peter was sitting there, by a fire, just like before. And Jesus asked him 3 times, "Peter, do you love me?" For every time that Peter denied him, Jesus asked did he love him. But he didn't mention Peter's past, he only spoke his future. "Feed my sheep!" In other words, get past it Peter because I have ministry for you to do! Jesus recreated the whole scene so that Peter could be tested once again. But Peter passed with flying colors this time and not many days later started the first church! You see, the promise is always right behind the test! Don't fail the test my friends. Though the scene is recreated, don't do what you did before. This time, do the right thing and get past your past errors and mistakes. Stay focused and keep following the plan of God and not the path of your emotions. Don't make decisions based on how you feel and what you want because that's what you did in times past. That got you nothing but sorrow and heartaches that you are still battling to this day. This time, you must follow the voice of God and endure the pain of growth and progress. After the test, you will receive the prize.

Suggested Reading: John 21:17, Phil. 3:13, Phil 3:19