Mark 14:54; 66-72  "And Peter had followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest... " 

Mark turns, for just a minute, to give us a picture of Peter.  He is sitting outside the house where they had taken Jesus.  He is warming himself by the fire.. while Jesus is being accused.. tried.. beaten. "And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, 'You, too, were with Jesus the Nazarene' " 

Peter was no longer the bold one who promised "Even though all may fall away, yet I will not."  Instead, he denied even knowing what the girl was talking about. A second time.. and a third time, Peter denied knowing Jesus.. heading out the door.

But.. when he heard the rooster crow.. he remembered the words of Jesus.  He knew that Jesus heard it too and that Jesus knew what he had just done.  "And he began to weep." 

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."  Peter mourned his failure, his loss, and his sin.  He wept for himself.. for he recognized his weaknesses and inability to do what he wanted to do.. he couldn't face the enemy and he could not face himself. 

We all come to that place in our lives..if we are honest.  The place...where we finally realize that we cannot make ourselves do what we want to do and find ourselves doing what we don't want to do.  Paul confessed his own experience with this in Romans 7:15 "For that which I am doing I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate..."   He found only one answer to this.. "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! "  

Jesus restored Peter and Paul.. He restores us when we come to Him in repentance and humility.  As Paul reminds us in the wonderful words of Romans 8:1 "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."  Jesus sets us free from sin and death.. He gives us Life.. He gives us His Spirit.. He gives us Hope. 

Father in heaven, thank You for the restoration and hope we have in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Thank You that You are compassionate and gracious to forgive us our sins and to restore us to fellowship even when we fail.. You know our weaknesses.. but are willing to give us strength.  You know our failures and fears.. but are willing to give us peace and victory. Let the Power of Your Spirit be at work in us today we pray, that we might walk as Jesus walked, trusting You and obeying Your voice. In His name we ask this, Amen.