Of all the Christian disciplines and all the examples of Jesus’ life why does the story of Jesus taking a towel and washing His disciples feet seem so difficult? I guess we have to wade through the literal interpretations to see that He is not just giving us a cultural model but something more in depth. We wake up each morning in a self-centered slumber to determine what we want to do. It takes a real disciple to push past our egocentrism to reflect on our brothers’ and sisters’ needs. So, this morning as you read John 13:1-13, think about the towel you will use to serve another. Yes, it is difficult but when will we realize serving others is the great call of our Christian journey, we might go to bed with less anxiety and a greater Christian experience.
Archive for the ‘John’ Category
Day 168: John 13:1-13 — The Towel
Thursday, June 17th, 2010Day 167: John 12:37-50 — Speaking or Cowering
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010John 12:42 gives me cause to wonder. Do we still have this problem today? Do we still hesitate to confess our belief in Jesus because of the multitude of Pharisees in our world today? Some would say there is no problem of believing in Jesus today — at least not in this country.
The following is a quote from Strong exhaustive concordance of the Bible “They sought for distinction and praise by outward observance of external rites and by outward forms of piety, and such as ceremonial washings, fastings, prayers, and alms giving; and, comparatively negligent of genuine piety, they prided themselves on their fancied good works.”
We live in a world where lip service is given to God by so many leaders of society and they carefully define the limits of what service to God should be. We find ourselves disagreeing with their limits, yet fail to speak up because of fear — fear we will be marked as a religious fanatic. We justify our silence by thinking “if I speak up then I’ll lose all chance to influence them”.
Brethren, influence is brought to bear only by people who have the courage to state that conviction in a way that others can see. Will you be a Pharisee or a disciple?
Day 166: 1 Chronicles 1:1-54; John 12:12-36 — His Care
Tuesday, June 15th, 2010Last month I had the chance to return to my home area and visit with old friends and relatives. While talking with my nephew I pointed to his two boys, one four and the other less than a year, and told him to make sure he taught them about their great-grandfather. Dad was one of my heroes. I would hope that the world would never forget him.
From time to time someone in the family will work on our family tree and uncover a new bit of information here or there. 1 Chronicles 1 is a researcher’s dream. It doesn’t give a lot of personal information about each person, but it quickly lays out the family history.
To contrast 1 Chronicles with John 12 might not make sense at first, but there is a connection. In John 12:21 (NAS) — These then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Did you catch it? “We wish to see Jesus.” That same request is made daily by the world of His followers today. In us they wish to see Jesus.
How can they see Jesus in us unless we have learned of Him to the point that we emulate Him in our everyday life? When the world sees Jesus in us, it’s not a performance—it is an automatic reflection of who we have become under His care.
Study of our ancestors will only satisfy our selfish curiosity. Study of the one who saved us and keeps us in God’s grace can lead us and others to an eternity with the Father. Now that is real satisfaction.
Day 165: 2 Kings 23:28-25:30; John 11:45-12:11 — It is not as it seems
Monday, June 14th, 2010So often we have run through spates of time in life in which nothing seems to go right, no matter what we do or how hard we try. So it is in our readings today. Josiah finds himself on the wrong side politically. His children go into exile, one to Egypt, one to Babylon. Zedekiah finds rebellion does not work. There are two other groups in our readings for whom nothing goes right. The Babylonians fool themselves that they have conquered the people of God, that they are the great ones on earth. Actually they are being used by God to preserve the remnant that He talked about through Isaiah. Isaiah 11:11-12. In much the same way, Caiaphas and the other conspirators are completely unaware that they by nature play into the plans of God to make Jesus the Holy One to save the entire world. Their plans to destroy Jesus lead to His resurrection and their own destruction, Rom. 1:3-4. Someone said man proposes, God disposes.
The ones who “win” in our readings today are not the Babylonians nor the Jewish leadership, it is the God whose hand guides history. The same is true of others today who follow their own minds and whimsy or desires. They believe they win, but they are brief and fade away.
So for us today, let us find ourselves always working with our Great God and Creator, working with Christ in His church. Then we can watch over time how the plans of God work, how our choices to work with Him always turn out for good, perhaps ours directly as we see blessing flow, perhaps for others as God uses us to bless and work with other people. Things are not always as they seem. Ultimate Reality lies not with us, whose sight and might are limited, rather with our God.
Day 164: John 11:17-44 — An Earnest Belief
Sunday, June 13th, 2010Last week, a woman that I’ve known for a very long time passed away. Nelda McGann was a strong Christian woman that bravely faced her foe — cancer — for a good number of years. I’ve watched as her family has grown tighter and more steadfast in their faith as her body withered away. Leah and I, along with our daughters, have prayed for her continuously for years. Yet, last Saturday, she died. Why? I don’t know and I won’t even pretend to have an answer. It was just time for her to go home. Praise God for his creation of a wonderful woman who left a lasting legacy of faith and courage.
In John 11:17-44 we read a very familiar story — John’s account of raising Lazarus from the dead. What a touching story of Martha and Mary’s faith and Jesus’ tenderness. I don’t have to break down the verses for you — you know the story. What I want to point out is the absolute faith on the behalf of the women. Both of them say to Jesus, “He wouldn’t have died had you been here.” When Jesus sees the outpouring of grief over the loss of Lazarus, the scriptures tell us that he was deeply moved. It goes on to say that Jesus wept.
Awesome!
What’s awesome? It’s awesome to know that Jesus knows when we are hurting. I know that Jesus is with the McGann family at this very hour and it pains him to see a family grief-stricken. It’s awesome to know that we too shall rise from the grave and be reunited with Him at the Resurrection. It is awesome to know that my Lord and Savior cares for us so much that he chose to give his life for us so that we can be resurrected.
John 11:25-27 — How much more awesome can it get?
Day 163: 2 Kings 19:35; John 11:1-16 — The compassion of Jesus
Saturday, June 12th, 2010We’re all familiar with “the shortest verse in the Bible”, John 11:35 (though if you’re looking for absolutes, there’s at least one verse shorter than that, if you consider the language in which the verse was written). We’re also well aware that it was not Jesus’ sorrow at Lazarus’ death that brought Him to tears, but rather his compassion for Lazarus’ friends and family. That’s a very easy connection to make, and certainly one that I believe to be correct.
What about examples of the compassion of Jesus in the Old Testament? Surely there aren’t any, are there? How could there be any examples in the Old Testament of Jesus at all, since he was born some 300 years after it was completed?
While it’s true that the man known as Jesus Barjoseph was born 2,000 some-odd years ago, the heavenly Being represented on earth as Jesus the Christ wasn’t born at all, and was involved in our lives since before time began. I doubt that will be any great revelation to you, so I’ll get to my point…
In 2 Kings 18, we read of a threat against Israel by the king of Assyria. This disturbed King Hezekiah, but he did the right thing and consulted God’s prophet Isaiah. The prophet told the king not to worry about it, Sennacherib would not succeed. In 2 Kings 19:35, we read this:
That night the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!
“The angel of the LORD” was Jesus. (If that’s a new concept to you, I’d encourage you to study the subject to see if this is correct. Here are two articles with which to begin: 1 2 .) So how does this show His compassion? It shows His compassion by delivering God’s people. God not only won the victory when His Son defeated the enemy, but at the same time He showed the Israelites one more sign that He was their God, and that He will provide.
What signs has God shown you? I believe the age of miracles has ceased, but if you aren’t seeing signs from God, then I suggest you simply aren’t looking.
How do you see Jesus’ compassion demonstrated today? Again, if you don’t see it — look! He’s very much here, and very much still active in the lives of God’s people.
Day 160: 2 Kings 12:4-14:22; John 9:8-34 — Going Home
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010Theologians love to argue about theology. They set up straw men then knock them down. Many times in the process they fail to see and consider the simplest of facts that are before them. The reason is easy to discern — those simple facts will not help them make their case. In truth, many times, they will disprove their position.
The older I get the more I fall in love with words. I can remember a time when I would be reading something and come across an unfamiliar word. If I thought I understood the sentence without the knowing the word I just ignored it and went on. Now my best friend is my dictionary. I want to know what words mean because one or two words can change the entire meaning of something. Each word is like a fact. If we are allowed to pick only the words we want, we have no real understanding.
In this passage there are a lot of words but little or no communication because the leaders of the Jews simply do not want to know the facts. They are seeking evidence that will prove what they have already decided. The man born blind is no scholar and has no credentials but he has evidence. “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
Theologians love the smallest of details but what we need is basic understanding. “Once I was lost but now I’m on my way home.”
Day 159: 2 Kings 10:1-12:3; John 8:46-9:7 — Power
Tuesday, June 8th, 2010EF2 tornado hits Rockport. Over 65,000 without power in the Corpus Christi area; my electricity off for thirty hours. Took two people a full day to get all the things fixed the lightning destroyed. People are looking at God and wondering “Why?”. Why did God allow these terrible storms to cause all this destruction?
Good question and the answer will not be found in the news reports on TV, newspaper or the internet. All they will do is report a list of items that were destroyed, but provide no answers. Men will analyze the weather patterns and put their combined knowledge on display and cite the various conditions that allowed the storms to develop, but this still does not answer the question “Why?”.
In his trials Job kept asking “Why?” God never told him about Satan bringing false charges against Job and that Job had to prove Satan wrong. Job’s friends keep pointing a finger at Job accusing him of great sin. Isn’t that just like us to think all bad things are punishment from God?
In John we find a different view of things. The disciples thought they knew the answer to the question but just not the specific ones responsible. Jesus blew them away with His answer. “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”
Wow! So life isn’t all about us. It really has to do with the Creator of the universe. Has anyone stopped to think the number of man hours it has taken, and continues to take, to put back what God changed with what to Him was just a gentle breeze? God’s power is on display. Can we see it?
Day 158: 2 Kings 8:1-9:37; John 8:21-45 — Family ties
Monday, June 7th, 2010I have been doing a little reading into my family history in the last year or so, going over papers my mother gave me and some history on the internet. We are all descended from kings and queens, I suppose. One ancestor was half brother of William the Conqueror and came to England during the raids of 1066, another, Nesta, a beautiful princess among the Welsh. So if I am descended from royalty, why am I making my own breakfast this morning? (By the way, I like making breakfast.)
Jehoshaphat brought great religious reform and was loyal to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the covenant brought by Moses, favored by God. Not so with Jehoram, his son. He chose to live as someone else’s child, like Jeroboam, like his mother and his wife, both the daughters of Ahab. How can a man be so doubly cursed to be both the grandchild and son-in-law of Ahab? He lived as they did and died with no one’s regret, 2 Chron. 21:20. His son Azariah lived and died a rank pagan, killed by the men of Jehu.
Jesus challenges the cantankerous Jews to own up to their true heritage. “Abraham is our father and we have never been slaves to anyone.” Jesus reveals the truth: Your blood line may be one thing, your spiritual heritage is another. Your foundation of life and your actions tell who your true “father” is. When Jesus claimed God as his Father this context may reflect his Deity, and certainly he says this later, but the point being he is the child of the one he imitates, Eph. 5:1. The counterpoint of the whole confrontation comes when Jesus forces the realities upon them: Your father, your allegiance, your true nature are known by your actions: you are the spawn of Satan, liars, hating the truth. Rejecting Jesus, later they will become his murderers.
So, I am a Celt, and a few other things. I like to play with the Irish language, and enjoy the green of the rolling fields on the emerald isle–perhaps some day I will see it with my own eyes. Yet, you can read of the beliefs and practices of ancient Celts I do not share, and a few from the 18th century Restoration leaders which I do share. I must choose each day who my “father” is, who my real “family” is. My parents came to Christ as young adults, and I am blessed that my father and mother are my “brother and sister” and my siblings are doubly my “brothers.” Yet, again, each day I must choose who my family and “Father” is, to be faithful, they cannot do it for me.
So, who is your Father?
Prayer: Thank You, Holy One, that we may call You “Father.” May our lives bear out that we are truly Your children. For Jesus sake and in His name, we thank You. Amen.
Day 157: John 8:1-20 — But What Was He Writing?
Sunday, June 6th, 2010This week we focus on one of the most familiar stories in the Bible. John 8:7 is a line that so many people quote for both good and bad reasons. Unrepentant Christians and sinners alike will sometimes throw this line at you if you engage them in a discussion about making changes in their lives.
However, today I’d like to focus on a different verse in this story. You are all aware of what happens. Pharisees bring a woman caught in the act of adultery. Yes! They finally have a way to trap Jesus! What to do with this woman? There is a big crowd around anxiously awaiting Jesus to either a.) fire back or b.) shrink to the challenge. Big moment here. The fate of this woman hangs in the balance. The fate of Jesus’ teaching hangs in the balance.
What will he do?
My question is – what was he writing in the ground? The Beatitudes? The Ten Commandments? What about the names and sins of the woman’s accusers? Just a thought here – check out Jeremiah 17:13. I know that had Jesus written my name and my sins for others to see, it would have gotten my attention real quick.
May God bless you this week.