John 1:42 (NIV)

And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter).

And he brought him to Jesus… This is where Peter’s journey begins.

Peter wasn’t always “Peter the Apostle” that preaches to thousands, heals people, and builds the church. No. Peter wasn’t even born Peter…His name was Simon…and he made his living as a commercial fisherman. He was average, normal, and ordinary. He was also loud, boisterous, and obnoxious. Not the best qualities for leading the church into a new direction. Let’s be honest…we don’t make it a habit of following average, normal, ordinary, loud, and obnoxious people…at least not on purpose, right?

So here is Simon, normal smelling like fish Simon. His day started out normal. He got up early…probably before daylight…because that is what fisherman do. He got his sandals on…made his cup of coffee. (Ok the coffee part might be farfetched but I’m pretty sure that God made coffee and God’s people drink it. Moving on…) He gets his nets and the rest of the fishing gear ready. Another normal day in the life of Simon…you know what he did yesterday? The same thing he is doing today. The exact same things…nothing’s changed…nothing’s different…until this day…today Simon meets Jesus.

That’s how it is isn’t it? Everything changes when we meet Jesus.

This sentence is located in the first chapter of the Gospel of John. This is not coincidence. For Simon, this is where he meets Jesus. This is where Simon’s dreams ended and Peter’s dreams began. This is Peter’s first chapter… This is where his journey begins.

Listen and hear me…All life begins and ends with Jesus…the real journey to answering all your questions in life…the real journey to change…the real journey to happiness…the real journey to a more fulfilled life is found when we are brought to Jesus. You see we walk up to Jesus a Simon…but we walk away a Peter. We walk up an average ordinary person, but become a supernatural extraordinary Christ follower. That’s how it is…

Don’t get me wrong there is a process…there is always a process…It took time to produce a Peter. Peter didn’t just understand everything from the beginning. In the beginning it starts out simple…Peter watched Jesus…because that is what we do…we watch leaders before we truly follow them. So Peter watched Jesus as he healed the sick. He listened to Jesus as he taught. Slowly the relationship formed and slowly Simon was becoming Peter…so much in fact that Peter is the first one to have the revelation that Jesus was the Christ. But it’s not always like that…just because you are brought to Jesus doesn’t mean it’s going to easy…Again we need to just look into Peter’s life to see that…

Over and over Peter’s life is one of ups and downs…One day proclaiming Christ is Lord and having revelations from God…another day barely understanding what Christ is teaching…but this is normal. This is how our journey goes sometimes. Sometimes everything is right and we get it. We understand our purpose and what we are here for. The next day comes and we are wondering how we ever got this far. We wonder when the bad times will end. We fill ourselves with such shame and guilt that we barely can move on…We get frustrated about our struggle to get things right…to live right…to make right choices.

Peter isn’t any different…even after being the right hand man to the Savior of the World, Peter denied ever knowing him at all…and he didn’t just do it all nice and polite…no he cursed the name of Jesus…

Mark 14:72
Immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times." And he broke down and wept.

Now let me tell you at this point it had been 3 years of following Jesus. His relationship was filled with ups and downs…but there was never a doubt that Jesus loved Peter. Jesus had prophesied over Peter’s life…Jesus had invested his last few years of life on this rough man that struggled with being selfish, short-sighted, and prideful…and for what…to only deny him at his final moments on earth. The scripture says that the failure of not being there for Jesus…his teacher…his friend… left Peter broken and weeping.

Can anyone relate to this?

Have you have ever been so troubled by failure that you find yourself overwhelmed with emotion. Are you like Peter? Is your heart crushed because you feel as if you are falling short of what you are supposed to be? Or maybe, you are more like Simon…stuck in the rut of life…living everyday as the same day…everything seems grey and shadows…

Listen…as I think on my life, my kids, and my church…I can’t help but think that everyone’s first chapter of their life truly starts when they are brought to Jesus. I think…”I just need to bring whatever I’m going through…whatever it is that is bothering me…whatever questions I might have…I just need to bring them to Jesus, He’ll know what to do.” Because all great beginnings are birthed in Him…and today if you have something on your mind…if life’s issues and troubles are weighing you down and it feels as if there is no way up…or maybe you have never met Jesus or have had your life touched by Jesus…then let this day be your day…let today be the first chapter to your great journey…