Beloved, you must say what is consistent with sound doctrine, namely, that older men should be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, love, and endurance. Similarly, older women should be reverent in their behavior, not slanderers, not addicted to drink, teaching what is good, so that they may train younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, chaste, good homemakers, under the control of their husbands, so that the word of God may not be discredited. Urge the younger men, similarly, to control themselves, showing yourself as a model of good deeds in every respect, with integrity in your teaching, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be criticized, so that the opponent will be put to shame without anything bad to say about us. For the grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of the great God and of our savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people as his own, eager to do what is good.

God's voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, "Fall on the earth," and to the rain shower, "Be a mighty downpour."

—Job 37:5-6

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

Aren't those beautiful words?! "God's voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding." Amen! Isn't that so?! Instead of spending a lot of time talking or thinking about how marvelous God is - if he is greater than our words can capture (And he is!) - let's praise him in prayer through what we do today; not just in words, but in words and deeds. Like the rain and snow, let's do what the LORD asks of us and bring refreshment to our dry and weary world!

My Prayer...

Holy, righteous, and eternal God, you alone are marvelous, mighty, gracious, and holy. God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - we can barely comprehend the distant "outskirts" of your ways,* but we do love you. We admire you. We worship you. You are so far beyond and above us on our best days. We can't quite understand why you would pay such a terribly high cost to redeem people like us and bring us into your holy presence. But, dear God, we thank you and praise you from the bottom of our hearts for loving us, redeeming us, and bringing us your refreshment. In Jesus' name, we praise you. Amen.

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* This wonderful thought comes from Job 26:14 ESV:

Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power, who can understand?

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.

Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land.

—Proverbs 25:25

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He alone is your God, the only one who is worthy of your praise, the one who has done these mighty miracles that you have seen with your own eyes.

—Deuteronomy 10:21 NLT

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Simon Peter followed Jesus [when he was taken away after being arrested and bound], as did another of the disciples. That other disciple was acquainted with the high priest, so he was allowed to enter the high priest's courtyard with Jesus. Peter had to stay outside the gate. Then the disciple who knew the high priest spoke to the woman watching at the gate, and she let Peter in. The woman asked Peter, "You're not one of that man's disciples, are you?"

"No," he said, "I am not."

Because it was cold, the household servants and the guards had made a charcoal fire. They stood around it, warming themselves, and Peter stood with them, warming himself.

—John 18:15-18 NLT

Key Thought

Jesus protected his disciples from harm. ^[1] On the other hand, Peter certainly had forgotten his commitment to Jesus. Hours earlier, he had proclaimed his love and had predicted his faithfulness to Jesus even in the face of death. ^[2] He had proved that faithfulness by drawing a sword and starting to fight to help defend his LORD. ^[3] Now, however, he wavered in his loyalty when the prospects were not a glorious victory in battle. Confusion, opposition, and disappointment with what we think should be God's methods often lead us to moments of withered loyalty, too. Let's remember the lesson of Peter; just because things are not going the way we think they should go doesn't mean that God has abandoned us. God does bring the victory, but oftentimes it comes at a different time and through a different doorway than we presume.

Today's Prayer

Our LORD God, forgive me for those times my loyalty wavered and withered under the onslaught of unexpected trials. So often, dear Father, I get an idea of how I think things should go. I expect you to follow my path, rather than for me to be faithful as I follow your path. Forgive my arrogance, my impatience, and my Peter-like confusion and failure. Thank you, dear Father, for the sure knowledge that you do restore those of us who waver and that you do make us stronger even when our weakness has caused that failure. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Related Scripture Readings

• Luke 22:21-32
• Proverbs 16:25
• Proverbs 3:1-7

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Ⓒ 1996-2026 Heartlight, Inc. This material may not be reproduced in part or whole for commercial use without written consent. What Jesus Did! is written by Phil Ware and is available in book form. Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.