Grains of Sand

Google Images It’s a scene often described to us. It’s an example we are told to follow. But how often do we stop to think about why Peter felt the horror he did when Jesus bent down to wash the disciples’ feet. “ It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love ” (John 13:1) In the hustle and bustle of the Passover preparations, apparently no one thought to look after the custom of washing the feet of the guests as they entered for the meal. It would have been proper for one of the disciples to at least wash the Rabbi’s feet. But, it seems, no one did. So when Jesus got up, removed his outer garment, wrapped himself in a towel, filled a basin with water and knelt on the floor to wash His disciples’ feet, they should have been appalled. We have no record that anyone jumped up to take His place, or objected—except Peter....

Google Images I had occasion to do a little research recently on a well-known evangelical figure. I knew the name, having come across it in several of our denomination’s old publications. But someone had passed on some disturbing news about this man and I thought I’d check it out. The picture was not pretty. He ended badly. Last night in prayer meeting, the group leader shared some thoughts from the lives of several Old Testament kings. The same scenario—begin well, end badly. The opposite can be true as well, but often our attention is only drawn to those who end badly. The disturbing thing about these examples is that these men were leaders. A leader has followers and as is expected of followers, they follow. If the example is bad; well, you don’t have to strain your brain to figure out what the results are. In Matthew 23, the Lord has some choice words for the religious leaders of His day. Jesus warned people to be careful how they responded to their leaders. The Pharisees and t...

Okay, it's an ambitious scheme, and if I don't get past the first verse of the book soon, it will never happen, at least not in my lifetime. I've been working on a revision of the original series of studies I did in the Book of Romans. It struck me yesterday that perhaps I should be thinking bigger than just a nine week series, that maybe I should turn the course into a book. So I went back this morning to my first study and began to amplify it. The trouble is—I haven't been able to get past the first verse! This project could take a while. Since I'm on the first verse, allow me to share it with you. Paul writes: " Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God… " (1:1, NIV). Not only can't I get past the first verse, I haven't managed to get past the word " servant ." Who could know there was so much in a word. Paul not only committed himself to being a servant of Christ Jesus, he als...