Then he poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. Then he came to Simon Peter. He said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?" Jesus answered him, "You don't know what I am doing now, but you will understand later." Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet!" John 13:5'8 WEB.It had been over three years since Jesus had chosen them to be His disciples. The twelve of them had traveled together, ministered together, ate together, and saw miracle after miracle while following Jesus. Yet, the night that Jesus was betrayed, He poured water in a basin, took a towel, and washed the feet of His disciples. When He came to Peter, Peter said, "You will never wash my feet!"
The Apostle Peter tended to correct Jesus when He broke out of his envisioned mold. In Matthew 16:22, Peter rebuked Jesus for saying that He would be crucified. In Mark 14:29, they disagreed, and Peter said, "If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" Then he denied Him, three times. In John 4:27, the disciples marveled when Jesus talked with the Samaritan woman. In Luke 8:25, they marveled, saying, "Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!"
See, Peter meant well, but sometimes it was his flesh speaking and not the Holy Spirit. The disciples knew Jesus very well, yet, they were always surprised by His actions. Because Jesus didn't always act as they thought He should. They kept trying to build a mental box to fit the Lord in, but He always appeared outside of it. Making God behave was a constant problem for the religious Pharisees and Scribes as well. They seemed to have irreconcilable differences.
Paul wrote this in 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21, "Don't quench the Spirit. Don't despise prophecies. Test all things, and hold firmly that which is good." Now I have attended churches that lived the exact opposite of that verse. We try to limit what He can do and place God Almighty inside a neat little box to make Him behave as we want. We tell Him what to do as if He was our pet. All that will bring is frustration when He doesn't obey you. We are made in the likeness of God, in His image. Yet, we sometimes behave as if we made Him in ours.
Leave room for God to be God in your life. Don't try to tell Him how to fix things. No one walked on water until someone did (Matthew 14:29). Donkeys didn't talk to people until one did (Numbers 22:28). To think that, "My Lord would never do that!" limits God to the size of your own mind. To believe that God has to be like you is the ultimate form of pride. God is full of surprises, and the Bible is full of Him surprising people just like us. So don't limit the God of the universe to your experience.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, please keep me aware of Your Awesomeness. You are the Almighty, incredibly awesome God. The Creator of heaven and earth. The Maker of mankind. Let me never forget this. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!Note: For those following the Creation Photography weekly challenges, here is this week's theme from group leader, Dianna Wyles: Matthew 6:26 "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" ~ 'For the Love of Birds' or 'Abundant Provisions' will be our next fun-tastic theme choices and, as always, are wide open for creative interpretation so let the merriment begin! You are also encouraged to post anything else that inspires you as well. My photos this week reflect just a few of my favorite (recent) birding joys, including the owlet and mama, as well as my interpretation of 'Abundant Provisions". I may not always have EVERYTHING I want but I have found I am always provided everything I need, including the abundance of love, family, and friendship surrounding me always. Thank you all for being a part of that very important 'abundant provision'. Have a fantastic week everyone! Grace and blessings be yours always! Here is the link:
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Amen
Amen!
Praise the Lord. Amen!
Amen!
Thank you pastor Dion for reminding us that God's plan is not always easy for us to understand. This a great reminder to me since my brother in law recently came home after many months in the hospital and rehab after suffering a brain bleed that has done damage to his brain. This man, a retired minister, iwho was a gentle, soft spoken, friendly, intelligent person is now blind, confused and yelling all day and night. My sister took an early retirement to stay home to care for him. They live in a different state so helping isn't an easy option. I sat with him this past weekend so my sister could leave the house to get a haircut. Seeing him act like this was very disturbing because it is the opposite of who he really is. I know the teacher is always silent during the test, but I believe I failed the test that day as I couldn't understand why God was allowing him and my sister to go through this. I admit I felt like God had abandoned them, even though my Christian self knows that's not true, I let doubt creep in. Today's devotion is another reminder that God IS ALWAYS PRESENT AND IN CONTROL. Please keep my brother in law joe andy sister Becky lifted up in prayer.
Praying for Joe's healing and strength for Becky. Amen.
Lifting Joe and Becky to the Lord for strength and restoration ❤️
PRAISE THE LORD. THE LORD IS EVER LOVING AND FAITHFUL GOD. I Lifted up Joe and Becky in to your hand LORD, IN JESUS NAME AMEN.
AMEN. Heavenly Father, You Are an awesome God. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Thank You. Thank You. Amen
Thank You Father Amen Good Morning Everyone
Amen!
Amen! God You are Awesome! Thank You for loving us when can be so unloveable, There is nothing you cant do! Amen
Amen
Thank You for being so awesome Father! Amen.
You are an awesome God Amen
Amen thank you Father for all you do
Amen and Amen
Amen!! Alleluia!! Amen!!
Amen
AMEN! All praise to You, Almighty, incredibly awesome God. Creator of heaven and earth. Maker of me. Father, thank you.
Amen yes Lord. Help me never forget this.. You are God. You are Holy.
Amen Lord
I agree with this. It reminds me of the following:
"GOD works in mysterious ways." HE is all knowing which is why we need to trust HIM. HE usually doesn't explain why or else we would not need faith or need to trust HIM.
Sadly, I learned this the hard way, by not trusting or making assumptions until the reasoning was clear and it was too late.
Amen!
In Lord Yeshua's name I ask this, Amen.