Dirty Feet

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Psalms 51:10

Wet grass all over my feet and sandals! How can I go inside the church like this? I’ll track this mess everywhere. I had walked up with a friend from the Sunday School classes through freshly mown dew covered grass. Her shoes were a mess too. Actually she was the one who noticed our problem. One of the men saw our dilemma and brought us paper towels to clean our shoes and feet. It was embarrassing leaning against the building and wiping my feet but it was better than messing up the foyer and aisles.

Jesus took a towel and washed the feet of his disciples. Peter didn’t want his Lord to perform such a lowly task for him. Peter wanted to serve Jesus, not have Jesus serve him. What Peter didn’t understand was that Jesus was the greatest of servants. He not only served, He sacrificed himself for Peter and for us. Later in the same chapter Jesus tried to explain the symbolism of what he was doing. We walk through this world every day and pick up “dirt” from the world. Not the dust of the ground but the bad things of this world, the attitude, the language, the selfishness, etc. Jesus wants us spiritually clean. He washed the disciples’ feet as an example to serve our fellow Christians by watching out for each other and helping each other keep our lives clean.

In the days of the tabernacle, the priest had to wash at a laver before going into the tabernacle. They first passed by the burnt offering, then washed hands and feet before entering the tabernacle to offer the incense. The incense of prayers needed to be offered by spiritually clean priest. Priest still covered with blood and ashes from the burnt offering would not symbolize spiritual cleanness.

How often do I rush to God with my desires without stopping to ask for the cleansing of His forgiveness? I want my prayers to have a sweet savor to God.

Dear Lord, thank you for a friend who noticed the dirt on our feet. Help me Lord to notice the dirt on my heart. Create in me a clean heart; and renew a right spirit within me. In Jesus name. Amen.

God Loves a Copy Cat

 

That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou has sent me. John 17: 21

He pulled an old green sheet over and shoved it up under his bike. He put his goggles on and picked up the drill. Turning himself around backwards he sat down on the sheet and laid back under the bike. Then the real work began. How cute is that, I thought. He has watched his Papa work on cars enough to know just what to do. Apparently his sister is learning as well.

God, our Father, wants us to learn what to do by copying His Son, Jesus. Jesus prayed for us in John 17 for us to be one with Christ as Christ is one with the Father and the Father one with the Son. We can’t go watch Jesus as the first disciples did but, we can read the Word He left us. We can learn the care, the love, and the sacrifice that Jesus gave to us. He wants us to follow him so closely that the world will know that the Father sent Jesus to be our sacrifice. That’s what millions of Christians have done since Jesus ascended back to the Father. They have been his witness in word and in deed so that you and I know what Jesus did for us. We don’t usually like a copy cat but God loves it when we copy His Son. Won’t you be God’s Copy Cat that the world may know?

What have you discovered by being a copy cat of God? Leave us a message so we all may be one in the Father.

Building on a Rock

And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spririt. Ephesians 2:20, 21, 22.

Have you ever used blocks or bricks or stones to build a house? Playing, we usually build towers that fall pretty quickly. But if we build a corner first, then lay the rest of the house or tower, it will stand.  We also need to overlalp the breaks between the blocks.  Try making a wall without over lapping the breaks of the rectangles or squares. The wall comes down quickly.  Try making the wall overlapping the breaks like a brick mason . Take a look at a house that has bricks in the foundation or walls. Do you see the overlaps? The house is strong becasuse it has a corner stone or brick. It can stand very tall because the bricks or stones  are overlapped in the breaks.

This is exactly what Paul was trying to tell the Ephesians. Our lives must be built on Jesus Christ. He is our foundation. Without him our lives will fall. We may turn over a new leaf but it won’t last long unless Jesus has become our Rock, our cornerstone, our foundation. To be strong in the Lord there needs to be that overlapping of the “bricks” in our lives. The bricks that build us into strong Christians are the reading of God’s Word, and the studying of God’s Word with others, and putting those things we learn into action. We as Christians working together are the place, the habitat, of God’s Spirit. Wow! God’s spirit lives within us if we have been born again. We can do great things together with God’s direction.

We would love to share your experiences in God’s Word. Together we can go into all the world and preach the gospel. Use the comment space to share. On the day of Pentecost 3000 souls were added to the church because the Christians shared the gospel.

Blessings. Gail

Caught any tadpoles lately?

Sing - along  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4KVwX44Z9A

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. II Cor. 5:17

I love camping. I love to watch the lightning bugs and listen to the night sounds of crickets and frogs. Speaking of frogs, have you ever thought about the change that takes place in their lives? First the mother frog lays the eggs in the water. They look like little balls of jelly. Then they hatch into tadpoles. They have frilly gills and breathe water like a fish. Then as they begin to grow their legs begin to appear. Their tails begin to disappear. But what you can’t see is their lungs are beginning to form. There is a bigger change on the inside than on the outside. When the frog is fully developed, he can swim in the water but he can no longer live in the water. He must come up for air. He must get his food outside the water. He is a new creature, a land creature. He will never be a water creature again. His old life has passed away.

How about people? We need a change too, a change that will make us new creatures. When we first begin our lives, we are sinners. We live our lives our way. We make wrong choices. We are in need of a change. Then, when we realize that Jesus paid for our sins on the cross, we make another choice. We either choose to continue to live as we always have and die in our sins or we choose to give our lives to Jesus, repenting of our sins. Our family and friends will notice some changes in the way we live our lives but the biggest change is on the inside where no one can see but God. He doesn’t give us new lungs like the frog. He gives us a new heart, a heart that will love Him and serve Him the rest of our lives. We can never be our old selves again. We are new creatures in Christ!

Why not catch a few tadpoles this summer and place them in pond water to watch them grow and change. Be sure to take them back to a pond once they become frogs.

Also why not let us know how Jesus has made a new creature out of you. What changes have you noticed in yourself since Jesus made a change in you.

Blessing, Gail

Sing