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Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins.

Acts 13:38 (New Living Translation)

Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins;

Acts 13:38 (New King James Version)

I want you to know, my very dear friends, that it is on account of this resurrected Jesus that the forgiveness of your sins can be promised.

Acts 13:38 (The Message)

Give in to God, come to terms with him
and everything will turn out just fine.

Job 22:21 (The Message)

Submit to God and be at peace with him;
in this way prosperity will come to you.

Job 22:21 (New International Version)

Submit to God, and you will have peace;
then things will go well for you.

Job 22:21 (New Living Translation)

Be still in the presence of the Lord,
and wait patiently for him to act.
Don’t worry about evil people who prosper
or fret about their wicked schemes.

Psalm 37:7 (New Living Translation)

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Psalm 37:7 (New International Version)

Quiet down before God,
be prayerful before him.
Don’t bother with those who climb the ladder,
who elbow their way to the top.

Psalm 37:7 (The Message)

It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God.

2 Corinthians 3:5 (New Living Translation)

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God.

2 Corinthians 3:5 (New King James Version)

We wouldn’t think of writing this kind of letter about ourselves. Only God can write such a letter.

2 Corinthians 3:5 (The Message)

I know I’d read that passage a hundred times. But I’d never seen it. Maybe I’d passed over it in the excitement of the resurrection.

But I won’t miss it again. It’s highlighted in yellow and underlined in red. You might want to do the same. Look in Mark, chapter 16. Read the first five verses about the women’s surprise when they find the stone moved to the side. Then feast on that beautiful phrase spoken by the angel, “He is not here, he is risen,” but don’t pause for too long. Go a bit further. Get your pencil ready and enjoy this jewel in the seventh verse (here it comes). The verse reads like this: “But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee.

Did you see it? Read it again. (This time I italicized the words.)

“But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee.”

Now tell me if that’s not a hidden treasure.

What a line. It’s as if all of heaven had watched Peter fall—and it’s as if all of heaven wanted to help him back up again. “Be sure and tell Peter that he’s not left out. Tell him that one failure doesn’t make a flop.”

Whew!

No wonder they call it the gospel of the second chance.

Not many second chances exist in the world today. Just ask the kid who didn’t make the little league team or the fellow who got the pink slip or the mother of three who got dumped for a “pretty little thing.”

Not many second chances. Nowadays it’s more like, “It’s now or never.” “Around here we don’t tolerate incompetence.” “Not much room at the top.” “Three strikes and you’re out.” “It’s a dog-eat-dog world!”

Jesus has a simple answer to our masochistic mania. “It’s a dog-eat-dog world?” he would say. “Then don’t live with the dogs.” That makes sense doesn’t it? Why let a bunch of other failures tell you how much of a failure you are?

Sure you can have a second chance.

Just ask Peter. The message came loud and clear from the celestial Throne Room through the divine courier. “Be sure and tell Peter that he gets to bat again.”

It’s not every day that you get a second chance. Peter must have known that. The next time he saw Jesus, he got so excited that he barely got his britches on before he jumped into the cold water of the Sea of Galilee. It was also enough, so they say, to cause this backwoods Galilean to carry the gospel of the second chance all the way to Rome where they killed him. If you’ve ever wondered what would cause a man to be willing to be crucified upside down, maybe now you know.

It’s not every day that you find someone who will give you a second chance—much less someone who will give you a second chance every day.

But in Jesus, Peter found both.

by Max Lucado

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.

Jeremiah 17:7 (New Living Translation)

But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.

Jeremiah 17:7 (New International Version)

But blessed is the man who trusts me, God,
the woman who sticks with God.

Jeremiah 17:7 (The Message)

A troublemaker plants seeds of strife;
gossip separates the best of friends.

Proverbs 16:28 (New Living Translation)

A perverse man sows strife,
And a whisperer separates the best of friends.

Proverbs 16:28 (New King James Version)

Troublemakers start fights;
gossips break up friendships.

Proverbs 16:28 (The Message)