Peter was the impetuous one, always eager to go above and beyond. When Jesus first told the disciples of his impending death, Peter was the one who jumped to his defense. He even rebuked Jesus saying, "This shall never happen to you." And then in the Garden of Gethsemane, he took a sword and chopped off a man's ear to protect the Lord. That was Peter.

And then Jesus was arrested, beaten and tried. What Jesus said to Peter was going to happen happened. It frightened Peter to the core. And when a servant girl asked if he was one of the ones with Jesus, he cowered in denial. This one brave, impetuous man unraveled in the face of danger; so much so, he denied the Lord three times.

Peter was broken. He had boldly proclaimed to the Lord, "Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will." Yet, when the test came he failed. And he was undone. But not as far as Jesus was concerned.

After his resurrection, Jesus met with Peter and restored him, instructing him to "feed my sheep." Then he told him, along with the other disciples, to wait in Jerusalem "to receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you" (Acts 1:8). On the day of Pentecost, that power came upon Peter, and he stood before the crowd in Jerusalem as a bold witness proclaiming to all Israel that "God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and God" (Acts 2:36).

What a change in such a short period of time! One that can only be attributed to the presence of the Holy Spirit. Peter was new and filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. In this power, he looked into the faces of those who had crucified his Lord and offered them forgiveness and life through faith in the resurrected One. What an incredible demonstration of the grace of God!

And here is the good news. Every believer has that same power because every believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit.