Jesus Washes His Disciples Feet

April 5, 2012

It was Thursday.  The day before Jesus was betrayed and sentenced to die on the cross.  What was on his mind?  Was he worried?  Was he begging for his life?  Did he run away? 

No.  Jesus first thought was that his time was short and he had so much yet to teach his disciples.  Humility was next.  Read this beautiful passage of love and humility.  Jesus truly understood what it meant to be a servant leader.  His love for us is never ending.

John 13

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

 1It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

 2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

 6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

 7Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

 8“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

   Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

 9“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

 10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

 12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

In Religion, Thoughts on Jesus
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What is the Cross of Christ?

April 3, 2012

What is the Cross of Christ?  Is it art?  Is it a cool tatoo?  Is it a medieval image of torture?  Is it a rugged image of humility and love showing how far Jesus went to show us his love for us? Is the cross an image of hope and forgiveness leading to eternal life with Jesus in Heaven?  As we move through the Holy Week leading to Good Friday and Easter I thought I would look at the Bible to see what God says about the Cross of Christ. 

Looking at the verses below, the Bible says the Cross of Christ is many things.  Most are taken completely out of context today or are just completely ignored.  As 1 Corinthians 1:18 says it is foolishness to those who are perishing but it is the power of God for those who are being saved.

Matthew 16:24
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

Mark 15:21
[ The Crucifixion of Jesus ] A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross.

Luke 14:27
And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

John 19:17
Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha).

John 19:19
Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Acts 2:23
This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.

Acts 10:39
“We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross,

1 Corinthians 1:17
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

1 Corinthians 1:18
[ Christ Crucified Is God’s Power and Wisdom ] For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Galatians 5:11
Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.

Galatians 6:14
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Philippians 2:8
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

Philippians 3:18
For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

Colossians 2:14
having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.

Colossians 2:15
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Hebrews 12:2
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

1 Peter 2:24
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

The cross is a sign of God’s power, it is a sign of ultimate obedience, it is an image of death, it is a symbol of forgiveness, it is a messenger of hope, it is Jesus’ sign of his extravagant love for us.  When I look on a cross, it makes me feel incredibly humble and grateful.  It also makes me full thankful that Jesus paid my price and I never have to hang from that humiliating apparatus to pay for my sins.  The cross is a sign of finality.  It is indeed finished.  Jesus said so.

In Religion, Thoughts on Jesus
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My prayer of confession

March 27, 2012

My God, You are holy, You are loving, You are just. There is no one greater than You. You are the only true God and I am thankful You chose to love me before I knew You.

Lord Jesus I confess my sins before you. I confess that my life and the words that come out of my mouth do not reveal a man who truly loves you. I confess that I try too hard to keep things comfortable and do not exercise my faith enough to let You work through me for the glory and advancement of your kingdom. My heart wants to be all in and serve You but my fear of possible pain and suffering hold me back. I confess that I fear those things more than I have trusted You. Please forgive me.

Please make me the man you want me to be. Help me to overcome my fear to allow You to work in me. May the power of Your Holy Spirit burn an unquenchable fire within me for the lost in this world. I pray that You give me opportunities to share Your message of hope through Your death and resurrection to those who don’t know You. Hell is as real as Heaven. May You fill me with the desire and the ability to share the Gospel of hope so others go to Heaven. I confess that I don’t always love people and I pray that You fill me with Your love for people. May I weep for the things that make You weep and rejoice for the things that make You rejoice.

Jesus I plead that You will not give up on me but will raise me up and set me on the narrow path of righteousness. I want to be all in for You. I want to be completely in the boat. Overcome my fear and lead me to the place You have for me which is greater than anything I can even imagine.

In Jesus name. Amen.

In Religion, Thoughts on Jesus
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What Would I Do?

March 25, 2012

What would I do if Jesus looked into my eyes and called me to drop everything and follow him?  What could I do?  Would I go or would I walk away?   I get nervous when I think about what my answer would be.

 Luke 5:1-11 – The calling of Simon Peter

[1] One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, [2] he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. [3] He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

[4] When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

[5] Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

[6] When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. [7] So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

[8] When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” [9] For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, [10] and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” [11] So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

I like to imagine what if that was me.  What if that was my encounter with Jesus.  Would I leave everything and follow Jesus after an experience like the one Simon Peter had?  What would I tell my wife.  It might go something like this:

My wife:  Hi honey, how was your day?

Me:  It was interesting.  I met a guy.  I am not sure what it was about him but there was something about him that I bonded to.  He was different but different in a good way.  I can’t really explain but we connected.

My wife:  That’s nice that you met a new friend!

Me:  Well there is something else I need to tell you.  I am not sure you are going to like this.  He asked me to follow him.  And I said yes.

My wife:  Follow him where?  Where is he going?

Me: I am not sure but I do know that I need to follow him.  By the way I quit my job and I leave right away.  I was told not to pack anything, bring any food or water and to be back in 5 minutes.

My wife:  You what???  You quit your job and are leaving to follow some guy you don’t even know and have no idea where you are going and leave me behind?   What about us?  What about your committment to me??

It wouldn’t be an easy conversation would it?  My wife would be understandably upset.  I would even think I might be crazy but such as it was when Jesus called his disciples.  They dropped everything and followed him without knowing where they were headed but they blindly believed they were heading in the right direction.

The truth is Jesus has called each and every one of us to follow him.  To put him first in our lives and become his disciple.  Not all of us will go.  In fact most will not.  It is too costly and we are not willing to pay the price.  We like our comfortable life we can count on everyday.  I admit I like an orderly life.  I like to plan and if something goes wrong I don’t want it to happen again so I try to fix it so it won’t.  I like my life to be predictable.  Especially as I get older.  But Jesus never promised me and orderly, predictable, boring life.  He wants me to be ready to move left when I want to go right.  Sometimes Jesus asks me to do difficult things when I want to find the shortcut and get to my favorite chair as soon as possible.  There was a song from the ’70′s called “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden”.  One of the lines is, “along with the sunshine, there’s got to be a little rain sometime”.  Corny yes, but truthful too.  Things don’t grow without rain and sun.  There has to be a mix.

God loves us and wants us to grow.  Jesus has called us to be his disciples and be willing to give it all up for him.  I admit I am willing but nervous.  I want to take that big step even though I cannot see what my foot is going to land on.  Will you come with me?

In Journey with Jesus, Religion
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Is it an Option to Share our Faith?

March 20, 2012

Isn’t that cartoon funny and convicting at the same time?  Have you ever felt that way?  Witnessing/evangelizing/sharing our faith for some of us is the equivalent of having the doctor tell us to drink castor oil.  It give us an unpleasant feeling, our hands start to sweat, our hearts start to run a little faster.  We start looking for things to do in order to get out of it. 

Why is that?  Why is it so hard for some of us to share the greatest gift we have been given with people we come in contact with, even those whom we love?

My guess is we don’t want to face rejection and ridicule.  We are more interested in what someone thinks of us than what the consequences are for someone to not come to a saving faith in Christ.  Hell is a real place.  Just like Heaven. The consequences are real.  But really there is not any pressure on us when we share our faith.  Remember, Jesus died on the cross and was raised from the dead.  Not us.  We cannot save anyone.  But we can be a tool that God can use.

The Great Commission Matthew 28:18-20:

 16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

You will be my witnesses Acts 1:8:

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
 
We have been given all we need to feel free to share our faith.  We have Jesus with us and he has all the authority and with that authority he commanded us to make disciples/followers of him.  We have the power of the Holy Spirit living inside if us.
 
Don’t worry if you are not a Bible scholar.   You really don’t need to be.  But it is helpful to have a few Bible verses under your belt to refer to.  But the greatest thing you have is your faith story also called your testimony.  That is the story you have that tell how God reached you.  How you came to him.  Nobody can argue that with you and nobody can take that away either.
 
Practice telling your testimony by first writing it out and then saying it out loud.  You will be amazed at what saying it out loud will do for you and your confidence that what Christ did for you is true.  The most important thing regarding sharing your faith is to do it.  And then leave the results to God.
 
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