Word of the Day (8-24-11)

Good Morning Everyone

Today is Wednesday August 24, 2011

The word of the day comes from John 13:1-5 NIV

John 13

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

 ¹ It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

 ² The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴ so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵ 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.

My Interpretation

This scripture really spoke to me regarding going the extra mile even when we know some of the people in which we may be going the extra mile for are our betrayers. They smile with you but secretly they are looking to do evil against you, plotting on you, speaking ill will of you and I know, trust me, my flesh wants to speak how I really feel, or my fist want to do the talking but yet again, Monday’s Word (Philippians 2:5-11) reminds me that if I want to have the mind of Christ, then the way in which I want to react is the wrong reaction and the way in which Christ would have reacted or wants me to react through the Holy Ghost is the correct reaction.

We see in verse 2 that Jesus knew the devil had already prompted Judas to betray Him. Yet He still had him sitting at the table with Him. How many of us can say that? If you knew the person who would speak bad about you, is speaking bad about you, going behind your back plotting against you, would you still be eating with them? That is what makes Jesus so awesome and difficult to understand. Human nature will not allow me to do that but the Holy Ghost that works inside of me can and will provide me with the power to overcome my own feelings to still show the love of God. It is amazing and crazy to me at the same time. I know the Lord is working on me with these words because even typing it my flesh wants to boil up thinking of the people spreading lies about me after all I do for them but at the same time God reassuring me that He sees all and that all things still work together for good for they that love Him to the called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28) & that He knows the thoughts that He thinks towards us says the Lord, thoughts to do us good and not evil to bring us to an expected end, to give us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). So in reading these two scriptures, if we know that the God is looking to do us good in what looks to be evil, we can be prepared and reassured that when life looks it bleakest and the storm is raging at its worst, that God is looking to elevate us over it.

Jesus is a great example of that. Prior to the resurrection He dealt with the same people He previously healed/restored/redeemed trying to crucify Him, someone He walked with daily betrayed Him for 30 pieces of silver, the people He came to die for to show His love showed their gratitude by crucifying Him. I’m sure the entire world thought it was over for Him but little did they know that EVERYTHING that happened to Him was part of God’s plan. God preordained and knew everything that would happen to Jesus His Son and He allowed it. Yep, He allowed it. And you know what the end result was, He rose from the grave with all power in His hand, He overcame death, He broke the gateway of sin and destruction between us and the Father, He set us free, He was glorified before the Father, He is sitting at the right hand of the Father, He is interceding on our behalf and Philippians 2:9-11 ⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

So just as the Lord is telling me, I know He is telling you, don’t give up, and don’t stress out if your enemies look to be winning. They aren’t and they won’t Child of God. All that is happening to you is like landmarks to let you know you are going the right direction. Car broke down landmark, boss and coworkers make it unbearable to be there landmark, every sickness you could possibly get, you have landmark, unfortunate circumstances been happening to you landmark. Keep going. What is happening won’t kill you, keep going. Remember all that happened to Job in Job 1? Everything that could go wrong went wrong and continued to go wrong until God said enough. Remember God presented the devil with Job because God knew that Job could handle it. Ever think that God just presented you to the devil because He knew you could handle it? That’s why you’re not dead but everything that could go wrong is happening to you. Satan may have free reign on everything in your life but your soul because that belongs to God. But just as the story of Job went, at the end He rewarded Job with more than he originally started with.

Job 1:8 ⁸ Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” Job 1:12 ¹² The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Job 42:12-17 ¹² The LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. ¹³ And he also had seven sons and three daughters. ¹⁴ The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. ¹⁵ Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.  ¹⁶ After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. ¹⁷ And so Job died, an old man and full of years.  

Have a wonderful, blessed, productive, stress free day!