LOVE
Suggested Reading: John 13-14
(click scripture link to read online)
This is the place identified as the "Upper Room" by the Tourist Department of Israel. It probably is not the actual location of the Last Supper, but it is a great place for tourists to meet and pray.
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where Reynold took the photo, click HERE.
Key Verse: John 13:5, 35
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…By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
The words, “love, loved or loves,” are found 14 times in our reading! The Lord Jesus is letting us know what is truly important to Him. When we say, “I love You, Jesus,” we must say it in a practical way by loving one another. Jesus said to His disciples, “I love you,” by washing their feet and by drying them with a towel. What an example to follow! In fact, Jesus tells us all that the way all will know that we are His disciples is by loving one another. Sadly, the history of Christianity has, from time to time, been marked by fights and divisions. Often when we witness for Christ, we have these dark stains on the Church thrown at us. People will look past these historical messes if they see love in us as individuals, or if they experience love from and in the local church. If we are breaking the bonds of love through gossip, self interest, or outright rebellion, STOP!!! Ask God’s forgiveness, confess our sin, repent, and ask God to mend the broken bonds of love. We then are ready to read the love chapter again (1 Corinthians 13 – King James Version).
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Dear loving Lord Jesus, give me the grace and determination to wash the feet of my brothers and sisters (figuratively or maybe now and then literally – it sure wouldn’t hurt to ask someone, “May I wash your feet as Jesus washed His disciples’ feet?” This should be someone I wish to serve or someone with whom I’ve had strife). I’m asking You, Lord Jesus, to grant me the humility I need to do this. Amen!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
I thought one time of washing someone’s feet on the 100 Huntley Street TV program, and then I backed off because It might look like I was trying to be humble, and proud of it. The story is told of the man who was voted the most humble in the congregation and given a button stating this. However, the first day he wore the button to church, they had to take it away! He was no longer the most humble person. As a public school teacher, and later teaching college English, I required my students to memorize 1 Corinthians 13. I’m not the only one who considers the love chapter of the Bible as the finest example of the use of the English language. Of course, we memorized it in the old King James language. In my opinion, it loses some of its beauty in modern translations. I’m a believer today because, as a teenager, I came across people who loved one another and who loved me enough to lead me to Christ.
Yours, not because of my own love, but because the love of Christ is in my life,
David
I too was led to Christ out of the love and witness of another believer. Imagine if each believer led only one person to the lord, the church would double in size in one generation! That would be awesome! The friend who led me to the Lord was faithful, a man of prayer, very disciplined and was well acquainted with the word of God, and still is I might add. All because he had a personal relationship with Jesus and had the love of Christ in his heart that he had a burning desire to share it with someone. Oh Lord, plant this desire in all of our hearts today! Amen.
It is a powerful exercise to imagine washing the feet of someone I’ve had difficulty with. It is humbling and forgiving. As Christ tells us today, to know Him is to know the Father, and to have the Holy Spirit engage our lives, means we can strive to exercise love (God Is Love) as defined in 1 Corinthians 13. The “stains” of the church are our reminders of human failures, which dim in the light of our Lord and His love for us all!
I true agree with what David wrote
Have a good day everyone!
Lianne Hogg
The Love Chapter is our divine guide on how to truly love one another. Regarding the washing of feet, we must be led by the Spirit to do this as we mustn’t do it as a good idea or as a nice exercise. One of our Pastors did this for his Board but unfortunately this did not stop them from turfing him out when trouble came.Even so when done in the right season,what a marvelous and humbling example of a true Servant Heart.
Thankyou…
What beautiful thought provoking Scriptures for today’s reading. The 2 Chapters in John plus the 1 Corinthians 13 Chapter seemed to sink deeply into my heart, my soul, and my mind today as I thought of how many ponderings, probings and quests there are in the church today to find the answers to the relevancy of the church today…perhaps starting with a deep application of these passages would draw us back to once again grasp the GREAT LOVE our LORD demonstrated when HE came to die, and to be brutally punished, so that we could live and have HIM by HIS HOLY SPIRIT living in us forever.
What could be more relevant than that?
Beautiful, life-giving Scriptures! Thank you David Mainse.
David,
You are a living example of the love of Jesus Christ. You commitment to spreading the good news of the gospel for so many years has saved so many people and many pastors and non pastors alike who are on television today have forgotten the true gospel. The account of Jesus washing the feet of the diciples’ is profound. We all, as you have, should meditate on this portion of scripture and seek the Lord’s will as to how we should learn from His example.
P.S. I watched today’s 100 Huntley Street broadcast and it was so wonderful to see you doing what you do so well. We are all praying for you David. May God richly bless you.
I just wept today when I read that Jesus washed the feet of his betrayer. That he exposed his human side when he spoke of the one who would betray him.
He knew what was required of him and he was humble about it. He wanted to glorify the father and serve him only. His confidence came from the father.
But still I wept when I read that he washed the feet of the one who betrayed him.
In Christ
Mellany
Dear David Sr, I remember seeing, as a child in the Catholic Church, the Priest washing peoples feet on Holy Thursday. I also know that my nephew ( in law ) has done it in his church in Pickarville,Alberta. ( you all know where that is, right? ) I must say that I have not had the honor! I will have to find out if the First Baptist Church here in Nanaimo does it.IN any case, on a different subject; I was saddened to hear you, David, state on 100 Huntley Street today that your cancer is Terminal! I certainly do not even think to profess to know the ways or purposes of the Creator or his resoning that I quite often do not understand. His ways and purposes are not ours. We should not question the decisions of God and accept His Will but, from our vantage point, it is often difficult! You are so capable still; why would the Savior take you so soon, it is not for us to know on earth. It will suffice to say, with certainty, that all of us Blog readers and 100 Huntley Street viewers will pray for The Intervention of The LORD on this one! And we all say: AMEN!!
The days in each of our lives are numbered. For each of us, we have a cause of death. For each of us, we will experience its fullness. How do we live now, knowing how temporary our lives are? How do we live now knowing about Christ?
Reading the love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13 got me saved when as a young adult, I thought I no longer believed in a supreme deity. However, I did believe in what I read in that chapter. I found it in an old King James Bible given to me by someone who cared. Somehow, God put me on to that page, I just opened to it. I memorized it, meditated on it while working in a mundane job, and gradually I came out of a huge depression. Its amazing how much power the Word of God has….