Jentezen Franklin Ministry Daily Devotional 8 June  2024 | Topic: The Lord Knows Your Heart 

Click HERE for Previous MESSAGES

The Lord Knows Your Heart

“He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?’ Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to Him, ‘Lord, You know all things; You know that I love you.” John 21:17

Have you ever wondered why Peter was restored in his relationship with God, but Judas was not? There was a stark difference between Peter and Judas. They both failed, and they both wept. But Peter wept out of repentance and brokenness over what he had done. Judas wept because he was mad at himself and at God because things did not turn out the way he had planned. Judas planned his sin. It was premeditated, and he was getting paid for his sin. Peter wept because he didn’t plan to mess up. He never intended to deny Jesus; he even told all the disciples that he never would. Judas was a deliberate sinner, but Peter had a different spirit.

There are deliberate sinners who know what God wants, but they don’t care. They have their mind made up that no one is going to tell them what to do. Then there are people like Peter who make a mistake out of a dumb, momentary, fleshly decision and then regret it. The Bible says that while Peter was warming his hands by the fire, they brought Jesus across the courtyard in chains after he had been beaten. He was bleeding all over his body with the crown of thorns already shoved on his head, and Peter caught Jesus’ eye. And when Peter’s eyes connected with Jesus’ eyes, he turned and went away and wept bitterly.

There’s a difference between being overtaken in a fall and being overtaken in sin. When you are overtaken in sin, it is part of who you are. It is a part of your character, and you have not confessed it. You have no desire to change. But the Bible says, “A righteous man falls seven times a day but rises again.” The important thing is that when you fall, you fall forward. You fall toward Him. There’s something in you that needs Jesus, and you desire to get back to Him quickly. When you fall, is there something in you that says, “Oh Jesus, I’m so sorry. Wash me and cleanse me, and by your grace, I never want to go back to that sin again?” 

Peter was a colossal failure, but he repented from his heart and was restored. In Heaven, one of the 12 names on the 12 foundations of the city of the New Jerusalem will be Simon Peter. When Jesus rose from the dead and the women ran up to Him, He said, “Go tell my disciples” and “Go tell Peter” to meet me at a particular place. Peter was the only name that Jesus called out because He wanted him to know that all was forgiven and forgotten. Jesus wanted him to know that He still wanted to use him to feed His sheep and fulfill his destiny. 

God never expects perfection out of His children. He can deal with anything you are struggling with as long as you still love Him. The Lord sees your heart.

ALSO READ: CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW US ON TWITTER ⊗ OPEN HEAVEN ⊗ JOEL OSTEEN DEVOTIONAL⊗ ABOVE ONLY ⊗ OUR DAILY BREAD ⊗ SEEDS OF DESTINY ⊗ JOYCE MEYER DEVOTIONAL ⊗ RHAPSODY OF REALITIES ⊗ JOHN HAGEE ⊗ MFM DAILY DEVOTIONALUTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST⊗DCLM DAILY MANNA ⊗ JOHN PIPER DEVOTIONAL ⊗