You Can Come Back After Denial

The sound of a rooster in Luke 22 is more than a detail, it is the moment a man realizes he has denied the One he claimed to love. We start there, with Peter’s collapse and his bitter weeping, because it names something many of us try to dodge: fear can make us compromise, and sin can feel final. But Peter’s story also offers a hard kind of comfort. If God can bring a fallen disciple back, then repentance is still real for us too.

From that lens, we talk plainly about Christian marriage and biblical marriage advice. I share why we have to test any counsel we hear, whether it comes from social media, a friend, or even inside church circles, against Scripture itself. Marriages shape families, and families shape the health of a nation, so “good enough” advice is not good enough. If it does not line up with God’s Word, we should have the courage to stop listening and return to what’s true.

We also read and reflect on Psalm 95 and Psalm 96, a call to worship, gratitude, and a softened heart that actually listens “today,” plus Proverbs 14 on honest witness and the poison of deceit. Along the way we remember American valor through a Medal of Honor account, and we challenge the modern slogan version of “separation of church and state” with historical claims about what the founders intended.

If you want Scripture shaped thinking for faith, family, and public life, press play. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

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Transcript

Peter Denies Jesus And Breaks

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Luke 22, starting with verse 60. And immediately while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. At that moment the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Suddenly the Lord's words flashed through Peter's mind. Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me. And Peter left the courtyard weeping bitterly. Schoolgirl, April 2026, UK, this last month, raped by Shiram Razuli, 19-year-old Muslim Iranian asylum seeker, after he plied her with vodka and cocktails at his migrant accommodation. We're paying for these people to rape our own wives and daughters and granddaughters. Hey folks, this is Jesse Cope, back with another episode of the American Soul Podcast. Sure to appreciate you joining me, giving me a little bit of your time and attention. I know y'all have other things vying for that. So thank you very much. Very grateful for it. And for those of y'all who continue to share the podcast and pray for me and for the podcast, thank you very, very much. Father, thank you for today. Thank you for you, Father, and your son Jesus Christ and your Holy Spirit. Thank you for your forgiveness of our sins. Even when we deny knowing you. Help us to turn back to you. Help us to acknowledge you before anyone and everyone here in this life. Knowing that you will acknowledge us Jesus before God in heaven. Walk beside us, Lord. Help us to feel your presence. Give us your peace and your comfort. Be with those who are abused and abandoned, who are ill and injured. Comfort them. Who those listening to the podcast, Father, please? Bless their marriages, their families. Give them peace and joy. Help us to turn back to you as a nation here in America. To show others a little bit of you, Father, and your son Jesus Christ. To help lead the lost back to you in whatever way we can. And be with those who defend us. Defend them. Keep them safe. Bring them home safe to their families. And guide my words here, Father, please. In your son's name we pray. Amen. There's a couple of accounts on X, multiple that I follow really, that don't openly proclaim to be Christian. And yet they do a great job of promoting the commands for men and women that God lays out in scripture. Not always, not all the time, but but even the people that do openly uh proclaim themselves Christian, who do a good job at marriage counseling don't get everything right. Correct? None of us do. But the point is whether we go back to those values. And the thought that I had while I was reading, yet again, another really solid scriptural, biblical command from one of these individuals was it's tall and sad that we get often today much better. And when I say better, I mean more accurately biblical, scriptural marriage advice outside of the church than we do inside the church. And by inside the church, I mean not only officially from a pulpit, but also just from men and women who claim to be Christian and offer advice on marriage inside the church. Wherever you're getting your marriage advice from, folks, it has to line up with God's word. And as soon as it doesn't, you need to find different advice or stop listening to that person, at least on that particular aspect. And that includes my own advice. The reason that we go through these verses each day is because that's what we need to focus on in marriage. That's the only thing that's really going to repair our marriages, which are the foundation of our families, which is, as Reagan said, the strength, the cornerstone of our nation. Luke 22, 54 through 23, 12. So they arrested him, Jesus, and led him to the high priest's home. And Peter followed at a distance. The guards lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it, and Peter joined them there. A servant girl noticed him in the firelight and began staring at him. Finally, she said, This man was one of Jesus' followers. But Peter denied it. Woman, he said, I don't even know him. After a while, someone else looked at him and said, You must be one of them. No, man, I'm not, Peter retorted. About an hour later, someone else insisted, This must be one of them, because he is a Galilean too. But Peter said, Man, I don't know what you were talking about. And immediately while he was seeing Rooster. At that moment the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Suddenly the Lord's words flashed through Peter's mind. Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me. And Peter left the courtyard weeping bitterly. Take comfort in that, folks, when you think that your sins are so high, so insurmountable, take comfort in Peter. The guards in charge of Jesus began mocking and beating him. They blindfolded him and said, Prophesy to us, who hit you that time? And they hurled all sorts of terrible insults at him. At daybreak, the elders of the people assembled, including the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. Jesus was led before this high council, and they said, Tell us, are you the Messiah? And he replied, If I tell you, you won't believe me. And if I ask you a question, you won't answer. But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated in the place of power at God's right hand. They all shouted, So are you claiming to be the Son of God? And he replied, You say that I am. Why do we need other witnesses? They said. We ourselves heard him say it. Then the entire council took Jesus to Pilate, the Roman governor. They began to state their case. This man has been leading our people astray by telling them not to pay their taxes to the Roman government, and by claiming that he is the Messiah, a king. So Pilate asked him, Are you the king of the Jews? Jesus replied, You have said it. Pilate turned to the leading priests and to the crowd and said, I find nothing wrong with this man. Then they became insistent, but he is causing riots by his teaching wherever he goes, all over Judea from Galilee to Jerusalem. Oh, is he a Galilean? Pilate asked. When they said that he was, Pilate sent him to Herod Antipas, because Galilee was under Herod's jurisdiction, and Herod happened to be in Jerusalem at the time. Herod was delighted at the opportunity to see Jesus because he had heard about him and had been hoping for a long time to see him perform a miracle. He asked Jesus question after question, but Jesus refused to answer. Meanwhile, the leading priests and the teachers of religious law stood there shouting their accusations. Then Herod and his soldiers began mocking and ridiculing Jesus. Finally, they put a royal robe on him and sent him back to Pilate. Herod and Pilate, who had been enemies before, became friends that day. Psalm 95.1 to 96.13. Come, let us sing to the Lord. Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him. For the Lord is a great God, a great king above all gods. He holds in his hands the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains. The sea belongs to him, for he made it. His hands formed the dry land too. Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, for he is our God. We are the people he watches over the flock under his care. If only you would listen to his voice today. The Lord says, Don't harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah, as they did at Masah in the wilderness. For there your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they saw everything I did. For forty years I was angry with them, and I said, They are a people who turn away from me. They refused to do what I tell them, so in my anger I took an oath, they will never enter my place of rest. Sing a new song to the Lord, let the whole earth sing to the Lord. Sing to the Lord, praise his name. Each day proclaim the good news that he saves. Publish his glorious deeds among the nations, tell everyone about the amazing things he does. Great is the Lord, he is most worthy of praise. He is to be feared above all gods. The gods of other nations are mere idols. But the Lord made the heavens. Honor and majesty surround him, strength and beauty fill his sanctuary. O nations of the world, recognize the Lord. Recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong. Give to the Lord the glory he deserves. Bring your offering and come into his courts. Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor. Let all the earth tremble before him, tell all the nations the Lord reigns. The world stands firm and cannot be shaken. He will judge all peoples fairly. Let the heavens be glad and let the earth rejoice. Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise. Let the fields and the crops burst out with joy. Let the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for he is coming. He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with justice and the nations with his truth. Proverbs 14, 5 and 6. An honest witness does not lie, a false witness breathes. A mocker seeks wisdom and never finds it. But knowledge comes easily to those with understanding. Countryside, the Book of the Wise, middle grade fantasy series, kind of like Darnia the Hobbit, Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, Fable Haven. If you get a chance, if you enjoy that kind of thing, if you'd check it out, this is a five-star review on Amazon, a very enjoyable read, a beautiful coming-of-age story about a boy who faces the battle between good and evil with the loving support of family and friends in a magical country. And if you read it and you enjoy it, if you'd leave a review too, I would appreciate that. Also, if you feel like you're getting something out of the podcast, if you can leave a review for that. And if you have five or$10 each month to spare, there's a link in the show notes where you can set up that monthly donation. And I would be very grateful for that. December 10th, 2007, Masagwa, Ontario, Canada, Asuka Parvez. 16-year-old Pakistani-Canadian girl was strangled to death by her father, Muhammad Parvez, Muslim immigrant, and an honor killing for refusing to wear the hijab, adopting Western clothing, and wanting more freedom. Her brother Wakis was also convicted as an accessory. Medal of Honor for today, Lloyd Leslie Scooter, Burke, 1st Lieutenant, highest rank colonel, Korean War, Gulf Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, U.S. Army, October 28, 1951. Chongdong, Korea. 1st Lieutenant Burke distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and outstanding courage above and beyond the call of duty and action against the enemy. Intense enemy fire had pinned down leading elements of his company committed to secure commanding ground when 1st Lieutenant Burke left the command post to rally and urge the men to follow him toward three bunkers, impeding the advance. Dashing to an exposed vantage point, he threw several grenades at the bunkers, then returning for an M1 rifle and adapter, he made a lone assault, wiping out the position and killing the crew. Closing on the center bunker, he lobbed grenades through an opening and with his pistol killed three of its occupants attempting to surround him. Ordering his men forward, he charged the third in placement, catching several grenades in mid-air and hurling them back at the enemy. Inspired by his display of valor, his men stormed forward, overran the hostile position, but were again pinned down by increased fire. Securing a light machine gun and three boxes of ammunition, First Lieutenant Burke dashed through the impact area to an open knoll, set up his gun, and poured a crippling fire into the ranks of the enemy, killing approximately 75. Although wounded, he ordered more ammunition, reloading and destroying two mortar emplacements in a machine gun position with his accurate fire. Cradling the weapon in his arms, he then led his men forward, killing some 25 more of the retreating enemy and securing the objective. First Lieutenant Burke's heroic action and daring exploits inspired his small force of 35 troops. His unflinching courage and outstanding leadership were accredited to the infantry and the U.S. Army. Accredited to Stuttgart, Arkansas County, Arkansas, not awarded posthumously, presented April 11, 1952 at the White House by President Harry S. Truman. Born September 29th, 1924, Arkansas, died June 1st, 1999, Hot Springs, Arkansas. Buried Arlington National Cemetery, MH 780 TAC 155, Arlington, Virginia. Lloyd Leslie Scooter Burke, definitely a name and exploits we need to remember far more than many of the athletes, singer-songwriters, actors and actresses, etc., that we remember today. Just one little blip of American history, heritage today. When people tell you that the modern version of the separation of church and state is correct, which it means nothing like what Jefferson and the pastor before him who said it meant, right? They didn't want the state controlling the church, and they didn't want one particular denomination of Christianity being favored above all others, but they wanted Christianity in the process, right? The state of Massachusetts paid the salaries of the congregational ministers in that state until 1833. Other states had cut official ties to a church previous to Massachusetts, but you see the point here, folks. 1833 is decades after the Declaration of Independence and even the Constitution. And the state of Massachusetts was still paying the salaries of congressional ministers. Our founders wanted Jesus Christ, very much wanted him, involved in our courts, constitutions, institutions. Don't let anybody say they don't know what they're talking about. They don't know history. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not to temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. God bless y'all. God bless your families, your marriages if you're married. God bless your country, wherever you are around the world, listening. God bless America. We'll talk to you all again real soon. Folks, looking forward to it.