Romans 15:4 "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
Personal evangelism is sharing the message of Jesus Christ with others.
It is showing and telling and serving others— with, through both word and deed — who Jesus is and how it’s possible to have a relationship with Him.
Think of individual evangelism in light of our own and everyone else’s life’s journeys.
Personal evangelism is simply the privilege of entering into the spiritual journey of another person, living into and out from God’s summons, and discovering how God is at work, and the undeniable role that we can play.
Genesis 24:1-9 GOD’S WORD Translation
Abraham Instructs His Servant
24 By now Abraham was old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. 2 So Abraham said to the senior servant of his household who was in charge of all that he owned, “Take a solemn oath. 3 I want you to swear by the Lord God of heaven and earth that you will not get my son a wife from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I’m living. 4 Instead, you will go to the land of my relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.”
5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman doesn’t want to come back to this land with me? Should I take your son all the way back to the land you came from?”
6 “Make sure that you do not take my son back there,” Abraham said to him. 7 “The Lord God of heaven took me from my father’s home and the land of my family. He spoke to me and swore this oath: ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’
“God will send his angel ahead of you, and you will get my son a wife from there. 8 If the woman doesn’t want to come back with you, then you’ll be free from this oath that you swear to me. But don’t take my son back there.” 9 So the servant did as his master Abraham commanded and swore the oath to him concerning this.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
And Father Abraham Said Unto His Servant, “GO!”
Abraham’s wife Sarah has died (Genesis 23:2).
Isaac is the only son left through whom God will make a great nation of people.
So, the question naturally arises,
“Does not Isaac need a wife if he’s going to have children, bless generations ?”
Abraham is old, and he knows he won’t live much longer.
There is one more thing he needs to take care of – get a wife for his son Isaac.
Of one thing he is very sure: he cannot let Isaac take a bride from the Canaanite women who worship false gods.
Abraham calls on his most trusted servant and commissions him to find a wife for Isaac from among his kin.
Abraham is very clear that Isaac is not to go; he must stay in the land the Lord has promised them.
So, the loyal servant of Abraham swears an oath to Abraham and “Goes Forth.”
That’s the story we come to next.
In Genesis Chapter 24, however, we must first take careful note in our text that we have four main persons: the father, the son, the servant, and the bride.
This is very meaningful.
As we move forward in time and come to the writings of the New Testament, we should see that the Triune God is working, laboring together to obtain a bride for the Son….The subject of the New Testament is the Triune God, the Father, the Son, the Spirit, working, laboring together to obtain the bride for the Son.
From the start, The Father made the plan, the Spirit carries out the Father’s plan, the Son enjoys what the Father has planned, what the Spirit carries out.
Who is the bride?
The bride is that chosen part of the human race which will marry the Son and become His counterpart .
Upon Closer Scrutiny-With One Eye Towards Eternity
If we read this chapter through carefully, we will find that the central character in the text is not Rebekah, who is to become the bride of Abraham’s son Isaac.
Very little of her reaction is actually recorded here; she has a secondary part.
The spotlight of the story really follows Abraham and Abraham’s unnamed senior and most trusted, most faithful servant, who is the central character.
For us, this is a picture of the Holy Spirit’s work.
But remember, the Spirit of God chooses to do His work largely through men and women, through those of us who are His.
This is especially true in the work of the calling out a people for God’s name.
God has given us the responsibility and the privilege of being His instruments to go into the world and faithfully seek out and call His bride out of the world.
So this whole story from Genesis chapter 24 becomes for us a precursor, an ancient beautiful picture of the whole process of PERSONAL EVANGELISM.
PERSONAL EVANGELISM: The process of we, Father God’s loyal and trusted servants bringing others to Christ begins with the command of God the Father.
Genesis 24:1-4 New American Standard Bible
A Bride for Isaac
24 Now Abraham was old, advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in every way. 2 Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household who was in charge of all that he owned, “Please place your hand under my thigh, 3 and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live; 4 but you will go to my country and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”
The initiative here is with Father Abraham, he knew he was advanced in age and his length of years would soon end, and he knew well God blessed in every way.
Abraham sends his most senior and trusted servant, who has authority over everything Abraham owns, to do this work, binds him to the task with an oath.
When the servant puts his hand under Abraham’s thigh, he is simply practicing an oriental custom that recognized the loins of the thigh were the source of life.
For the trusted servant, it was a representation of being bound in a solemn oath.
As we apply this to our own situation and see God the Father standing in the place of Abraham here, He is asking every servant to give himself to this task.
The servant is unnamed here so that you and I can put our own names here.
The Father calls us His servants, commands us to go and take a wife for His Son.
This is not an option for a believer in Jesus Christ.
God has said, not only in the fashion we see here but also in direct statements in the Word of God, the obligation rests upon believers to give themselves over to the sacred task of reaching to others for the coming Bride Groom Jesus Christ.
God has commanded, us, His most trusted servants, to take a wife for my Son.
And so unto this end, the Holy Spirit of God has come into our hearts to dwell.
His whole purpose of coming into your life and mine is that He might be what He is and do what He came to do – send us out into the world to find a “Bride.”
Our Lord Jesus is the one dwelling within, and we are told what He came to do.
45 It’s the same way with the Son of Man. He didn’t come so that others could serve him. He came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many people.”Mark 10:45
He said, For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost(Luke 19:10).
If this is what He came to do, we will find Him doing exactly that in our lives, if we give Him the opportunity – we authentically become that “Trusted Servant.”
Do we recognize and live by our servant mandate as disciples of the Lord Jesus?
Are we being .01% authentically responsive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit?
Are we being .01% authentic, responsive to Acts 1:8 “go forth into the world?”
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
A Prayer for Opportunity
God, My Father, Like Abraham’s loyal servant I long to be sent forth, the chance to serve you, for the opportunity to proclaim the goodness of Your name. I long to seek others, engage with them, pray with them, be a servant unto them, draw them closer to you, for service in your Kingdom. As I go out today, please bring me into contact with those who have been given eyes to see, ears to hear. Direct my steps and lead me into those conversations You want me to have today, Jesus. In Jesus’ name, I pray.
13 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
2 And [a]supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, 4 rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. 5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. 6 Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?”
7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.”
8 Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!”
Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”
9 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!”
10 Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.”
12 So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you [b]know what I have done to you? 13 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
Jesus came to model for us, show us what the Kingdom of Heaven is so we could become a dynamic, functional and living part of it.
Spending time reading the Gospels and studying and praying about who he was is a great way to remind ourselves that of all the rich and transformational ways Jesus is never what we expect but, in every way, is better than our expectations.
The story of Jesus redefining kingdom expectations, of kneeling to the floor and as host, gently handing his disciples feet so all could comfortably dine together is truly one of the most profound pictures of our Savior’s heart of love for us!
Jesus, like His Father in Heaven, cared so very much about the minutest details of his followers’ lives!
He was willing to completely surrender himself to the moment His Father set aside, to move into his destiny, to not shy away from God’s plan, get messy, to reach, teach, and show undeserved compassion to his ragtag group of disciples.
This is still true today!
Jesus cares about even the most minute details of your life and still come to us, still willing to model, set the example get messy to show you that you are loved.
None of your fears are too small, too inconsequential, needs much too silly, or stresses too insignificant or too great that God does not care about them all.
He cares about it all… even our stinky feet!
Jesus’ actions in this passage set an example of what it means to imitate him with our lives.
We are called to be more and more like Jesus every day, without exception, the servant of others, selflessly to live with humility, and love in every situation.
Christ-Followers are called to a selfless life as servant, conduct themselves in a very radical counter-cultural fashion – in unity, healing, instead of dividing.
Let’s learn more about what we can learn from the story of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet at Passover.
Where Does the Bible Talk about Jesus Washing the Disciples’ Feet?
The story of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet is recorded in John 13:1-17.
This event occurred in the upper room during the Last Supper.
In the biblical account, we read that when Jesus’ disciples arrived at a special gathering Jesus took the role of the ultimate servant of the house and humbly surrendered to His Father’s will and began washing each of his disciples’ feet.
This gathering, this time of communion, of the breaking and sharing of the bread, fruit of the vine, would later come to be known as the Last Supper.
It was the last time Jesus and his disciples broke bread together before his death on the cross.
It was during this Passover meal that Rabbi Jesus served as host, took the first communion with the disciples and also quietly identified Judas as his betrayer.
The act of feet washing was a necessary custom during this time period when gathering to have a communal meal.
The men would have come in with their feet dust-covered and dirty from their walking the undoubtedly, the decidedly unhygienic sun baked Roman roads.
Cleaning of the feet would have been necessary because the group would have likely been reclining together at a low table and dirty feet would not be the least bit welcomed so close to their food.
It was the servant of a household’s job to wash the feet of incoming guests.
Why Did Jesus Do This and What Was the Significance of Washing Their Feet?
In the Old Testament, priests performed and received ceremonial foot washings before they entered the temple for worship.
Foot washing was a serious matter: a basin for foot washing would have been placed between the Tent of Meeting and the altar so Aaron and his sons could wash before entering the Tent of Meeting,“Whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die”(Exodus 30:20).
Disregarding the ritual cleansing meant death to a priest.
In John 13:4-5, Jesus “got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”
Jesus has placed the basin between the disciples and the altar, His cross.
Through the witness of His death and the testimony of His resurrection, Jesus makes holy all who do come to the cross through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Through Christ’s atoning work on the cross the disciples and all believers are made holy and righteous before God and then cleansed of their sin and set apart by GOD for service in His body, the Church, a holy priesthood of believers.
Jesus set himself aside, washes his disciples’ feet to purify and cleanse them for their service to God: “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me” (John 13:8).
Jesus, knowing his coming destiny, washing the feet of his disciples came with so much significance for both his disciples in this intimate moment and for all Christians who strive to live, to love, to follow Jesus’ example and teachings.
This selfless act displayed Jesus’ amazing humility!
He took the role of a servant to wash the dusty and dirt-covered feet of his disciples.
Rabbi Jesus was setting an incredible example of what it is to be “Christ-like” through his decidedly humble actions.
Status, pride, or even dirt did not stop him from rolling up his sleeves to serve the men who had been at his side throughout the duration of his ministry.
Prior to this encounter, the disciples had been fighting amongst themselves trying to determine who was the “greatest” among them (Luke 22:24).
Jesus was in a very hands-on way showing them that in his Kingdom the last shall be first and the first shall be last (Matthew 20:16).
Jesus even prompts his disciples to show the same heart of service for each other (John 13:15).
He is clear that servanthood is essential to what it means to be his follower.
This washing also is symbolic of the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus to wash away our sins.
Peter objects to Jesus’ actions but then Jesus rebukes him by saying that unless he washed him, Peter had no part in him (John 13:7-8).
Peter then in a display of passion for the Lord asks him to then wash him from head to toe!
Jesus explains Peter does not need to be washed from head to toe because his actions were symbolic of the cleansing power that being a Christ-follower has in our lives (John 13:10).
Once washed by the blood of a lamb you are free from the stains of sin!
Jesus anoints the disciples for their new role as priests in the new temple that God Himself will raise up.
Jesus ordains them so they can serve His church when He leaves this world, returning to the Father.
Through the act of purification, Jesus imparts His holiness to the disciples so they will be set apart from the world even though they will remain in the world.
Jesus teaches his disciples that His holiness, salvation, and purity will all come through Him and His suffering.
Through the cleansing blood of our Savior – No repeat washing is necessary.
Our Healing is in our Becoming a Servant
John 13:14-15 New King James Version
14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.
In our culture today, sadly we don’t have an automatic equivalent to Jesus’ instruction to wash one another’s feet.
But we can figure out that it’s mainly about showing hospitality and serving one another.
The roads of Palestine were unpaved, and with sandals as common footwear, people’s feet would get really dirty—sometimes caked with dust and mud.
As a result, before you entered someone’s home, a servant would come with a pitcher of water, a basin and a towel and wash your feet, an act of hospitality.
It was a customary act of hospitality—like someone offering to hang up your coat and scarf on a cold day as you entered their warm home.
On the night of the last supper, Jesus took the role of a servant as he got up from the meal and began washing his disciple’s feet.
In doing this, Jesus was teaching his disciples an important spiritual principle.
We come to Jesus with nothing of our own, and we must receive from him and be ministered to by him before we have anything to give.
Then, having been served, we go and do the same, we surrender ourselves to God, serving, sharing with others the fullness God has poured into our hearts.
In this example, Jesus provided a profound symbol of his call to servanthood.
Following him is not about position, power, or prestige.
We serve because Jesus Christ came to us as sinners, yet he has served us first.
Jesus shows no squeamishness: He performs this ceremonial washing of His disciples’ feet with a solemn purpose – so others may be prepared to serve.
Setting aside their squeamishness to serve all others as Jesus first served all.
Jesus’ determination made me want to explore the Scriptures more deeply.
What Does Jesus Show When He Washes the Disciples’ Feet?
Through this simple act of foot washing, Jesus demonstrates to His disciples His eternal role as God’s High Priest and Mediator and the disciples part in the priesthood.
Even though He, Jesus must suffer and die and be raised again, the disciples can by faith in the empty tomb be certain He will never leave them or forsake them.
Scripture says, “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek”(Hebrews 5:7-10).
Jesus is the High Priest of Heaven.
Through the foot washing, He ordained His disciples to be priests of the church in the world.
1 Peter 2:4-10 New King James Version
The Chosen Stone and His Chosen People
4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,
“Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”
7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who [a]are disobedient,
“The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,”
8 and
“A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense.”
They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
Christ, our permanent High Priest, sitting at the right hand of the Father;
He will offer up prayers on their behalf, “he always lives to intercede for them” (Hebrews 7:25), and will empower them through the Holy Spirit to perform their priestly duties to the glory of God.
3 Lessons from Jesus Washing the Disciples’ Feet
1. God’s Kingdom Works In Reverse Order
Matthew 18:4 says, “Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Humility, trust, simplicity, joy, full of wonder, and playfulness are all words that could be used to characterize children.
In Jesus’ Kingdom what seems logical to adults oftentimes goes against the way God works. Jesus calls the last to be first (Matthew 20:16).
His Word prompts us to serve one another in love (Galatians 5:13).
The Bible teaches us to humble ourselves before the Lord (James 4:10).
In Matthew 5:38-40, Jesus teaches that when we are wronged not to fight back but to offer our offenders more of ourselves!
All of these ideas go against everything that seems logical, right, or justified in our world!
We live in a world where pride, greed, and ambition rule our systems.
Money talks, looking out for yourself is prized, and caring for those who are hurt so you can get ahead is not often considered.
Jesus intentionally sets an example of how we are to live as his followers through his actions at the Last Supper.
He makes it clear that we are called to be the feet washers of our community.
Our mission as Believers is to be those who love beyond reason every chance we get.
2. Jesus Washes Us Clean
Isaiah 1:18 says, “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”
The prophet foretold of the cleansing power of Jesus years before Jesus physically walked the earth.
His followers would have seen the feet washing and the breaking of bread and sharing of wine at the first communion that happened at the Last Supper as symbolic of Jesus’ cleansing power.
When we bring our sins to the Lord he is willing and able to wash us clean.
All Jesus did led up to the work of the cross, where he took the weight of our sins onto himself, so we could be forgiven.
Don’t be ashamed of your “dirty feet” bring all that you are to the Lord and he is willing and able to set you free.
3. Jesus Was Not What the World Expected
Peter was shocked by Jesus’ actions and asked him to stop because in his mind his king and Savior wouldn’t stoop to the level of a feet-washing-servant.
Jesus was not what the world expected.
They were looking for a political liberator, someone who would help restore power to the Jewish people, and they thought their Messiah would be powerful in the same way the world measures power.
Jesus was full of heavenly ability and did many miracles but he never strove for a place of worldly power or influence.
Jesus rebuked the Pharisees (Matthew 23), avoided political confrontation (John 18:10-11), and took the posture of a servant throughout his ministry.
Meanwhile, his disciples were concerned about who would get the best seat in Heaven next to Jesus.
It wasn’t until Jesus’ death and resurrection that the full picture of Jesus as a Messiah as their foretold Savior was fully understood because while on Earth he never did as they were expecting.
When we think of what it means to be a Christ-Follower do our expectations line up with the example of Jesus?
It is easy to put God in a box, thinking he should work in ways that make sense to our worldly sensibilities.
The Bible reminds us that God rarely plays by our rules.
Jesus came to show us what the Kingdom of Heaven is so we could become a part of it.
Spending time reading the Gospels and studying and Praying over who he was is a great way to remind ourselves of all the ways Jesus is never what we expect but, in every way, abundantly, utterly, infinitely better than our expectations.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
“Unless I wash you
you have no share with me.”
If only it were otherwise.
If only I could present my credentials,
show my record of service,
get some kind of unlimited pass.
In every area of my life
I am more used
to proving how adequate I am,
presenting a polished image,
gaining certain privileges.
But you, Lord,
you bring me down
to where you are kneeling,
and take hold
of the feet I prefer to hide.
We are here together,
near the ground,
and in this humble position
I am touched by you
and made clean.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
13 Let love of your fellow believers continue. 2 Do not neglect to extend hospitality to strangers [especially among the family of believers—being friendly, cordial, and gracious, sharing the comforts of your home and doing your part generously], for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. 3 Remember those who are in prison, as if you were their fellow prisoner, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body [and subject to physical suffering].
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
Love’s Generous Expression
Hebrews 13:1-3 Common English Bible
Our acts of service and sacrifice
13 Keep loving each other like family. 2 Don’t neglect to open up your homes to guests, because by doing this some have been hosts to angels without knowing it. 3 Remember prisoners as if you were in prison with them, and people who are mistreated as if you were in their place.
Keep Loving each other like family.
Do not neglect to open your homes to guests.
Remember the prisoners as if you were in prison with them.
What an incredibly interesting array of both ancient, contemporary ideas!
Loving each other like family – respecting and honoring one another!
Respecting the home, respecting the life of the family and their belongings.
By showing kindness to strangers, you could be showing kindness to a messenger of God.
Paying it forward, buying an extra burger to share with a homeless person, helping someone change a flat tire on their car, offering a ride to a colleague who needs one—in these ways and countless more, our God often gives us all opportunities to show hospitality and compassion for someone who has a need.
As I encounter people who are not part of a faith community, it saddens me when they describe Christians as less-than-compassionate people.
Words I often hear in these conversations are that Christians are aloof,not friendly or forthcoming; cool and distant.and judgmental and condescending.
Many people see church buildings in their communities as little more than social clubs, entertainment centers or worse, only occupied on any Sunday.
Any other day, the parking lots are 99.99% empty of cars and any activity.
They hear church people speak out mostly about what the members oppose.
Where is that sound of “little children of all ages” glorifying God and Jesus?
The world needs to see the Body of Christians as people of compassion—good-news people who minister and act like Jesus.
That will happen only when we finally nurture a habit of practicing compassion.
It is not by accident that the writer of Hebrews urges readers to love each other and to look out for the needs of strangers.
It’s easy to overlook the unusual or the unfamiliar.
It takes the love of Christ to step out, move out and reach out to the stranger who might just bring a singularly unique blessing that you never saw coming.
Learning, Growing, Living, in the Family of Faith
There’s all the difference in the world between describing what it means to ride a bicycle and actually helping somebody learn to get on the seat and pedal away.
Making a layer cake seems to be fairly straightforward when I look at the recipe books, but I haven’t had much success in making one that actually tastes right!
What I need is hands-on guidance: somebody to actually take the time to teach me to do it in front of me and then patiently allow me to try my hand at it too.
The moral instruction provided for us in Hebrews 13 is to be trained and formed in our lives not by learning to apply abstract principles but as a result of seeing these principles successfully or erroneously worked out in the family of faith.
We can read, for example, about what it means to love one another, but it is far better to observe such love in the lives of loving people.
We can understand that we are supposed to care for strangers, but we can experience it firsthand if we are brought up and raised in a home where such care, consideration and compassion for one another is faithfully practiced.
We can read the principles and hear sermons, demands for sexual purity, but we will do far better if we are raised in a flourishing home where they are modeled or we are even able to sit in such homes as we visit other families in our church.
Praise God, the list of mission and ministry opportunities goes on and on.
Establishing these ethical norms is demanding.
It takes the first love of God, our time, effort and patience, and involvement.
The miracles wrought through purposeful discipleship, transformation cannot be achieved by searching the internet, watching a video or reading an article.
If information was enough to bring about transformation, then all we would need to do is write it down or say it.
But you can’t learn love, honor, and faithfulness from the content on a screen.
No, if you are to be content, pure, loving, and hospitable, then that is going to have to be proactively discovered and actively worked out in the family of faith.
Look, then, to your brothers and sisters who exemplify Christ-likeness in these ways.
Read Hebrews 13:1-3 again, praise God for those you know who live these verses out, then be sure to learn from them so in these ways you become like them.
Make it your aim to follow their example that you, like Paul, might humbly be able to say to others, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).
Easter is but a short time away.
Celebrating the ultimate act of agape love and sacrifice and service.
What will your efforts at discipleship and transformation in preparation for this coming Easter look like, sound like, be more Christ like in these coming weeks?
I have heard repeatedly: “it takes an entire community, an entire village.”
According to Wikipedia, the original quote “it takes a village to raise a child” is an African proverb meaning it takes a whole community of people interacting with a child to ensure he or she grows in a healthy and safe environment.
Regardless of which stage of life we are all in: parents raising children, married with no children, single, or late adulthood, even a church, we need community.
In these times of recovery, perhaps we need to go back to the essential basics of the Gospel to learn it all over again – to teach it unto each other all over again?
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Heavenly Father, thank You that while we were yet sinners You loved us and gave Christ to be the propitiation for our sins. Help us in word and deed to increase and abound in brotherly love for one another, just as we also do for You. Give us wisdom as we enter into mission and ministry to our brothers and sisters in Christ and may we speak the truth in love to Your praise and glory. This we ask in Jesus name, AMEN.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
There is a song whose lyrics go something like this,
“Shyness is nice, and Shyness can stop you from doing all the things in life You’d like to… Coyness is nice, and Coyness can stop you from saying all the things in life you’d like to. So, if there’s something you’d like to try. If there’s something you’d like to try. Ask me, I won’t say no, how could I?”
Rather cute lyrics, to a lovely and funny and very interesting song.
…I love the people who are courageous enough to ask me…
But where are the people who are courageous enough to ask me?
Summer Vacation? It is that long awaited time and season of the year.
Spread all over the globe.
Spread all over God’s creation having their own special and unique kind of fun.
We are never shy about our having our fun. We want and need our family time.
Yep! We are never shy about having our fun. We earn our fun – are entitled to it!
“Shyness is nice, and Shyness can stop you from doing all the things in life You’d like to… Coyness is nice, and Coyness can stop you from saying all the things in life you’d like to. So, if there’s something you’d like to try. If there’s something you’d like to try. Ask me, I won’t say no, how could I?”
Rather cute lyrics, to a lovely and funny and interesting and intriguing song.
…I love the people who are courageous enough to ask me…
But where are the people who are courageous enough ……
To ask me about MY SOUL and the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?
2 Timothy 1:3-12Amplified Bible
3 I thank God, whom I worship and serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my prayer’s night and day, 4 and as I recall your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I remember your sincere and unqualified faith [the surrendering of your entire self to God in Christ with confident trust in His power, wisdom and goodness, a faith] which first lived in [the heart of] your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am confident that it is in you as well. 6 That is why I remind you to [a]fan into flame the gracious gift of God, [that inner fire—the special endowment] which is in you through the laying on of my hands [with those of the elders at your ordination]. 7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control].
8 So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord or about me His prisoner, but with me take your share of suffering for the gospel [continue to preach regardless of the circumstances], in accordance with the power of God [for His power is invincible], 9 for He delivered us and saved us and called us with a holy calling [a calling that leads to a consecrated life—a life set apart—a life of purpose], not because of our works [or because of any personal merit—we could do nothing to earn this], but because of His own purpose and grace [His amazing, undeserved favor] which was granted to us in Christ Jesus before the world began [eternal ages ago], 10 but now [that extraordinary purpose and grace] has been fully disclosed and realized by us through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus who [through His incarnation and earthly ministry] abolished death [making it null and void] and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher [of this good news regarding salvation]. 12 This is why I suffer as I do. Still, I am not ashamed; for I know Him [and I am personally acquainted with Him] whom I have believed [with absolute trust and confidence in Him and in the truth of His deity], and I am persuaded [beyond any doubt] that He is able to guard that which I have entrusted to Him until [b]that day [when I stand before Him].
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
Personal Shyness can be excruciating debilitating at times.
It has definitely affected and impacted my life negatively over the years. How many times has shyness stopped me accepting the invitation of life, too many?
Some folks might find this hard to believe, but I can be embarrassingly shy. It takes me time to feel comfortable enough to be myself in new environments.
There is a very definite and palpable shyness about me.
I’m better than I used to be.
Or at least I like to believe I am ….
Or maybe I am still playing myself for the king’s fool ….
Doing better or doing worse?
Some days it is almost impossible for me to tell myself there is a difference.
I’m sure folks who see me in my day-to-day stuff find this hard to believe, but it is true all the same. It takes me time to feel comfortable in my own being, in new company, with my neighbors and new situations. Thank God though that, by His Grace alone, these days it rarely leads me to turn down the invitation.
There have been times when I have hidden myself from view, literally hidden my face, afraid to pop my head above the parapet for fear of being shot down.
My mother and my kindergarten teacher knew this and saw how different and silent I was towards my fellow students on my first days at elementary school.
She took us all to school on our first days, but I reacted differently from my siblings who just so easily ran and freely joined the other children. I did not,
I walked through the doors of my new classroom, swallowed hard and sat down in the corner utterly overwhelmed and bewildered by it all. I did in time adjust and found a level of comfort in the crowd, but it took time. It has been the same throughout my life. I do eventually become a part of the whole, but it takes time.
I do not seriously believe I am alone in these feelings; in fact, I know I am not.
We all experience shyness in some form or another, especially when invited and take the first steps into something new, particularly if is something that might be wonderful, but will definitely make them feel uncomfortable and vulnerable.
By the way we are always uncomfortable, vulnerable, that is the nature of life.
Think about the first time and that last time you walked into a new community, a new neighborhood or a new school or new classroom you became a part of. It takes time to feel you belong and can be wholly yourself. I know it does for me.
For those about to go to college, away from home, for the first time, far away in another state or in another state – you are moving into the university’s dorms, about to move in with another human being who will be your roommate for the four years or even more – yes! shyness can be good – In the beginning of it all.
Shyness is a beautiful thing, so long as it does not stop or short circuit us from doing those things our hearts and our souls’ desire. It’s ok to feel the trembling excitement of shyness, but it can become unhealthy if it burdens, enslaves us.
The Irish Poet David Whyte writes that “Shyness is the sense of a great unknown, suddenly about to be known. It is the exquisite and vulnerable frontier between what we think is possible and what we think we deserve”.
This is an exciting feeling actually. Yes, there is fear there, but perhaps also an excited kind of anticipated joy too. It is not in and of itself a negative feeling.
To me these feelings are the essence of the spiritual journey, which is not a safety-first way of living and breathing by the way.
No, it compels us to deal with powerful feelings and discover new ways of being in the world. This can feel quite daunting at times but should not cause shame.
It is natural, healthy and necessary actually. To just brashly step into anything without any shyness can lead to problems not only for ourselves but others too.
These uncomfortable feelings are needed as we explore the great new mysteries life is offering us. This is the invitational nature of life and the Gospel of Jesus.
That said we are not alone in these feelings, no matter how alone we might feel, this is why it is so vital, so critical, to be a part of a community that journeys on through these adventures, inviting us onto the great unknown that is our lives.
2 Timothy 1:7-8 Amplified Bible
7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control].
8 So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord or about me His prisoner, but with me take your share of suffering for the gospel [continue to preach regardless of the circumstances], in accordance with the power of God [for His power is invincible],
Spiritual shyness is that uncomfortable feeling or sense of anxiety that grips you and me when we have an opportunity to talk with someone about the Lord.
We have all been there, haven’t we?
The opportunity presents itself, even on vacation, but we choke under pressure.
We are on vacation to have fun, relax, decompress from all the stress of work.
We need to be with our family and our friends to quite simply: max out our fun!
Most everyone we encounter – campers etcetera, are there to do the very same!
We are the last ones who want or desire to interrupt our fun and someone else’s.
We do not want, nor do we desire to be a “killjoy” of someone else’s fun times.
We kind of tell God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit “its ok to take a break, find Shalom, take several Sabbath Days or weeks of rest from having to deal all of the time with all of our moaning, groaning, perpetual bent towards sinning.”
It is okay, God! Take Your Rest! Because that is exactly what we are going to do.
We take our rest! We seek or Shalom! and gave God permission to seek His Rest!
So, we then unexpectedly encounter that “stirring deep within our souls.”
Our hearts subtly, suddenly, become “strangely warmed” by a close encounter.
It is God who refused our “invitation” to go on His much-deserved vacation.
God is whispering into our pursuit of Shalom:
“HOW IS IT WITH YOUR SOUL?”
“HOW IS IT WITH “YOUR NEIGHBORS” SOUL?” sitting alone with their drink at the bar, with their feet propped up on the ottoman by the nice warm fire?
And we effectively – DO NOTHING to respond to the stirring within our souls.
Spiritual shyness afflicts all of us at times.
In these situations, we never quite get around to asking someone “the big question” about their soul or offering “the invitation” to come, seek Jesus.
Matthew 10:40-42Amplified Bible
The Reward of Service
40 “He who receives and welcomes you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 41 He who receives and welcomes a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous (honorable) man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. 42 And whoever gives to one of these little ones [these who are humble in rank or influence] even a cup of cold water to drink because he is my disciple, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.”
Back in the early 1900s, Henry Ford purchased a large insurance policy for all his employees. A newspaper got wind of the story and publicized the details.
One of Ford’s close friends, who was an insurance salesman, read about it and became quite upset. He called Ford and asked why he hadn’t purchased a policy from his company. Henry Ford simply replied, “Because you never asked me.”
How many of our family, friends, coworkers, and acquaintances could say to us, “I never believed in Jesus because you nor anyone else never dared asked me to?
“I never joined God’s family because you never invited me to.”
What is our vacationing God trying to communicate to us about our neighbor nursing their drink all alone at the bar or with both their feet up, by the fire?
Paul reminds us “God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power.”
God is the One who can be on vacation and at the same time “tame” our fears about whatever it is we are fearful of or whatever it is we believe we are being shy about. With prayer and discipline, we can vacation as an effective witness.
“Shyness is nice, and Shyness can stop you from doing all the things in life You’d like to… Coyness is nice, and Coyness can stop you from saying all the things in life you’d like to. So, if there’s something you’d like to try. If there’s something you’d like to try. Ask me, I won’t say no, how could I?”
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Here we are again, Lord,
At thy Invitation, we are here again ……
With much timidity and with much trembling ……
on our knees, trying, pleading, seeking thy Face, Crying mercy. Mercy for our souls, Mercy for one another, Mercy for our churches, Mercy for our nation, mercy for our world.
Here we are again, at thy invitation, Standing in your presence in awe of you your holiness, your otherness, your mystery, and your incarnation
With much Timidity and with much Trembling,
seeking Your Holiness,
seeking to be more like You
and less and less like our true and embarrassingly timid selves,
Acts 1:8 Amplified Bible
8 But you will receive power and ability when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be My witnesses [to tell people about Me] both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth.”
From my wholehearted timidity into and unto thy resurrection courage ……
Give “thy teeth” today unto, into my prayer and my affirmation of faith ……
A Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition
I am no longer my own, but thine. Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed by thee or laid aside by thee. Exalted for thee or brought low for thee. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, Let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 