Christ the Servant
Week 11 Day 4
Pray:
Ask God to reorient you to Himself. Confess any known sin. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s Word. Pray for others in your life that they, too, would know and love God today.
Read:
John 13:1 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. 2 The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, 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. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” 8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” 9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” 10 .Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. 12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
Reflect:
If you have given your life to Christ, you are clean. He has washed your sins away. This is a settled fact. As you live your life as a “washed person,” though you do not have to sin, you will sin. When you do sin, it is not necessary to go back and be “washed again” you need only to have your feet cleansed. One of Jesus’ twelve disciples refused the cleansing of Jesus. He heard, he saw, but he did not receive. There is mystery in his rebellion, but there is also mystery in the belief of the other eleven. Eleven received the grace of his cleansing life while one refused it. What is not a mystery is that even those who are “clean” will be in need of having their feet washed by the Savior as they walk through life. Peter and the other eleven were clean, but they would still fail the Savior. They would need him to wash their feet again, and he would do so. Are you in need of having your feet washed by the Savior? Are they soiled by the places you have walked in your mind, heart, and life? Have you been putting off looking fully at him because of shame or fear? Have you been hiding from his gaze? If you have been, then you have also been sliding away from his peace. If you will look at him right now, you will not see him standing over you in judgment. You will see him with towel in hand ready to wash your feet again. The day will come when he will return as the judge of all the earth. On that day nothing will matter more than whether you have been “washed” by Jesus. But today, he is the Servant Savior…he is ready to forgive and to cleanse again. Close the gap between you and him now. Let him wash your feet. If you have “messed up”, “fess up” and then get up and move on. Do not walk into another day or lie down for another night with this sin between you and the Savior.
Pray:
(Personalize this prayer today; make it specific to the circumstances that face you.)
Ask God to lead you through His Spirit as you go through your day. Ask Him to bring to mind the truth of the gospel and its implications for what you will encounter today. Tell Him “Yes” to His will and ask Him for His power and protection to live this “yes.” Ask God to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today.