Those are three words a Christian will never hear from God.  He will never look at you after a failure… a second failure… or even a third one and say, “That’s it!  You’ve blown it for the last time and I’ll never give you another chance.”

  How do I know that?  Because Peter’s “batting average” in the Christian life was less than stellar.  There are numerous instances of him putting his foot in his mouth… misunderstanding Jesus… doing the wrong thing (Even with good intentions)… and royally messing up.  Instances?

Well for one thing he denied Jesus three times.  Then after the resurrection Jesus asked Peter if he loved him three times (Agape… unconditional love… was the term Jesus used twice) and three times Peter responded he did love him (Phileo love… like a brother.  Which was short of what Jesus was looking for).  But then who was it that preached the message at Pentecost when The Spirit was poured out?  PETER!

But then Peter messed up again.  In fact, he messed up so bad that Paul confronted in before the whole church regarding how hypocritical he was acting.  Still, Peter continued to be the leader of the church and was the pivotal evangelist to the Jewish people.

The point is that even though Peter failed, God never abandoned him or put him in the dugout for the rest of his days.  And that is good news for us!

You have failed (I have too).  Maybe as recently as just before reading this post.  But as a Christian there is good news.  God has promised never (!) to leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).  He can and will use you for His glory!  Even after you fail multiple times, God is so loving… merciful… and gracious that He will use you AND bless you.

The key is repentance.  Turning from your failure and to God.  No matter what you do, there is NOTHING that can seperate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38-39).

So if you have failed and think your usefulness is over… don’t believe the lie but rather the Word of God.  Repent and start back over serving God and living for Him.  After all, God isn’t like us… He is God and the ONLY people He uses are those who have failed previously!