Serving

Mind – Motives and Ministry

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, Philippians 2:5 NKJV

I hate dental exams and am not too crazy about routine checkups at my primary care doctor either. It isn’t that I don’t like or trust the medical professionals in my life. My problem is that I worry about what they will find and some of the probing they do can even be a bit painful. Those unsettling sessions remind me of how God works on my motives. Just like many of you, I usually start off into service of one kind or another with enthusiasm, and without a doubt, by God’s grace some good gets done. But after a while, I discover that God schedules a visit to His examination room. There He pokes around in uncomfortable areas of my motivations, shines a bright light on the dark corners of my methods and then sends me off with a referral to a specialist by the name of Dr. Holy Spirit. Then I notice that He has written a recommendation for surgery! It says that I need the removal of at least 10 lbs. of self-promotion and the insertion of a pacemaker to keep my weakened heart in proper rhythm. If you have been to God’s exam room lately and come away feeling discouraged, I want to remind you that along with the referral, He also gives us some prescriptions to fill at Heaven’s pharmacy. Here are three of the medications that He recommended for me that I have found have helped prepare me for the upcoming medical procedures. This first one you will need to take early in the morning, before your day begins: so that you can start things off in the right direction.

Then around midday, when things are getting a little busy, sit down for a moment and take this second one, along with a tall glass of God’s living water. You will find that as soon as it goes down, that it will refresh your heart and put your crazy day back into perspective.

Then in the evening, when you are feeling worn down from all that has been piled on you during the day and it seems like you don’t have anything left to give, try a double dose of this, just before you lie down for the night. This one always gives me peace and rest, because it comes from the one who loves us the most and who is working every detail of our life out for good!

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 
2 Corinthians 13:14 NIV

Do You Wash My Feet?

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” John 13:6 ESV

Photo by Ron Lach on Pexels.com

When I was four years old, we lived in a tiny apartment over a store and my back yard was the flat roof of the building with a wall around its edge. One morning as I was out there playing with some pots and pans, I got the notion of flinging a frying pan over the wall, but my happy smile turned to terror as I heard loud yelling below and then the sound of footsteps coming up the fire escape. Soon the angry face of a delivery truck driver appeared at the top of the stairs holding the frying pan in his hand! My memory fails me as to what happened beyond the well-deserved spanking my mother dished out that day. As she finished, I shouted, “I don’t like you! I want to go live with Gammy and Cap-Cap!” (My grandparents) Mom quietly smiled as she dried my tears, then without argument, fetched my suitcase, put it up on the bed and started to help me pack. Soon I was down on the street, holding my luggage in one hand, staring determinedly ahead as mom pointed, “Okay you walk up this road about 500 miles and you’ll come to their house.” I made it about half a block when the sound of cars swooshing past and the long late afternoon shadows struck fear in my heart and in tears, I ran back to my mom and threw my arms around her. How hard it was to admit that she had been right all along and that I loved her! Just like me, Peter hated to admit how much he needed Jesus. He was ashamed how dirty his feet were, and shocked to see Jesus kneeling to wash them. But Jesus not only washed Peter’s feet, He wants to wash yours and mine as well. If we simply confess our need for Him, what a joy is ours when He washes us, then picks us up and carries us all the way home!

Has He Washed Your Feet?

/ pastorpete51 / 4 Comments

Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” John 13:8 ESV

Peter was shocked that Jesus would kneel and wash his dirty feet. This was unheard of. How could Jesus their master and teacher be willing to wash their feet? But Jesus made it very clear that unless Peter allowed Him to wash his feet; he would not belong to him. The hardest part for some of us is that, like Peter, we don’t mind serving, but if we want to serve in the kingdom of God then He demands that we first humble ourselves and allow Him to wash our feet.

Some years ago I felt led to teach on this passage in a very practical way. Only my wife knew what was planned. So after I closed had finished the message that morning, II stepped out the side door and picked up the wash basins, warm water and towels which we had secretly hidden. “Now we have a chance to do this” I said as our small congregation sat in stunned silence. First I washed my wife’s feet, then she mine and then we split the church in two. The women went to her side and the men to mine. Nancy began washing the first woman’s feet, and then handed a towel to her and then the roles reversed. Now that woman washed the next in line. On the men’s side we did the same. One pair of feet at a time we discovered that doing the washing was pretty easy but allowing someone else to wash our feet was tough and humbling. Many tears flowed at our church that day. Relationships were deepened and in some cases restored. Jesus has promised us a blessing when we wash each other’s feet. But to be a foot washer we must admit that we first need Him to wash our feet. Has Jesus washed your feet? He is waiting with the basin and towel for your response today.