Psalm 8:1

My Shepherd met me in His green pastures and laid me down in Luke 22. The Mind of the Spirit engaged the spirit of my mind in some interesting things I noticed as I thought about verses 50-51:

Luke 22:50 And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.

Luke 22:51 And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.

John tells us that the ear-hacker was Peter, and the soldier he hacked was Malchus (John 18:10-11). Malchus was the personal servant to the High Priest.

It seems improbable to think Peter had malice in his heart or sought vainglory. We know he had trouble understanding the Cross (Matthew 16:21-23). His refusal to hear his Lord’s rebuke against this flaw in his thinking (Matthew 16:23—“Get thee behind me”), his resistance against the warning concerning his denials (Mark 14:30-31), and his failure to heed the call to watch with Jesus for at least one. hour (Matthew 26:40), set him up for this hack job.

Along the still waters, I thought about how some, in their zeal to serve our Lord, and to show their commitment and loyalty to him, “hack off ears,” and sometimes the sword they use is the Bible: “the sword of the Lord.”

We must always be careful to receive His reproofs, listen when He reveals to us our weaknesses, and heed His prayer calls. Otherwise, we are susceptible to Satan diverting our zeal for Christ against Him, and making it more difficult for sinners to hear our message.

It’s a blessing to know our Saviour has power to heal the ears we’ve inadvertently hacked.

In the valley, kneeling in the shadow of His Cross, I thought about the fact that the root of the series of missteps that led to Peter’s misuse of the sword was a failure to embrace the Cross: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

At the table, Jesus anointed my head with His oil and filled my cup with His grace. Goodness and mercy followed us into the harvest.

Praying for revival! 🙏

Going live after I return home from Valencia.