Jesus wants to give me a new start

Here is a story from the Bible. It is all about Peter.
You can find it in Luke chapter 22 verses 54-62 and John chapter 21.

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Peter was very upset.
Jesus had just been arrested!
Peter had tried to fight the guards taking him away. But Jesus told him to stop.

Peter did not understand.
Why wouldn’t Jesus let him help?
Why was this happening?

Peter followed the guards to the house where the chief priest lived.
The guards took Jesus into the house.
Peter stayed outside. He sat with the chief priest’s servants.

The servants looked at Peter. One of them asked “Are you one of Jesus’s disciples?”
Peter was afraid. He shook his head and said “No!”
But they asked again. Peter said, “No! Not me.”
Someone else said “Didn’t I see you with Jesus?”
Peter said “No! I have never even met Jesus!”

Then a rooster crowed. It was morning.
Peter remembered something Jesus had said to him.
Jesus had said that before the rooster crowed, Peter would say he did not know Jesus 3 times.

Peter could not believe what he had done. He had let Jesus down.
He ran away and cried.

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The next day, Peter watched Jesus die on the cross. It was the worst day of Peter’s life.

But on Sunday, some of the women told him Jesus had come back to life again!
Peter did not believe it, but then he saw Jesus himself!
Jesus really was alive!

All Jesus’s disciples were very happy. Peter was happy too. But part of him was still sad.
Peter had done a very bad thing. He had lied about knowing Jesus.
He thought Jesus must be angry with him.
He thought Jesus would not want to be his friend any more.

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Soon after this, Peter went fishing in a boat one night with some other disciples.
But they did not catch any fish.

In the morning, a man called to them from the shore, “Throw your net on the other side of the boat.”
They did what the man said. And they caught lots and lots of fish!

Then they knew the man was Jesus!
Peter could not keep still. He jumped into the water and swam to Jesus!

Jesus cooked some of the fish and made breakfast for his disciples.
Then he talked to Peter.
He knew what Peter had done.

Jesus said to Peter, “Do you love me?” Peter said “Yes!”
Jesus asked him again, “Do you love me?” Peter said “Yes! I do!”
One more time Jesus said, “Peter, do you love me?”
Peter was sad that Jesus kept asking. He said, “Yes Lord! You know I love you.”
Jesus said “Look after the people who want to follow me.”

Then Peter knew that Jesus had forgiven him.
Jesus still wanted to be his friend!
Peter had lied about knowing Jesus three times.
Now he had said he loved Jesus three times.
This was Jesus’s way of giving Peter a new start.

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Jesus knew that Peter did the wrong thing because he was confused and afraid.
He knew that Peter really loved him and wanted to do the right thing.

Jesus knows that we do bad things too.
That is why he died for us. He died so that we can be forgiven.

So when we do bad things, we do not need to be worried like Peter was.
Jesus is not angry with us. He still wants to be our friend.
When we come back to Jesus, he always forgives us.
He is always ready to give us a new start.

Let’s say a prayer about these things now.