Jesus got up from supper and began to do the job of the lowliest of all servants: washing other’s dirty feet. Peter’s response was to tell Him that by no means would he allow HIm to wash his feet. Jesus responded,

“Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”” (John 13:8 ESV)

The issue is one that is much larger than the washing of Peter’s feet. Jesus plainly states that by telling Peter that the one who is washed by Him needs only to have his feet washed. That is, the one who has his sins washed away only needs the daily cleansing from daily defilement.

Just as the man in those times who bathed would often get dirty feet on his way home from the bath, we often find ourselves clean but defiled. We fail. We err. We sin. We’re washed, but we’re dirty.

Jesus offers cleansing for our dirty feet. He washes us with the water of His Word.

There is one thing that we must recognize, however. That thing is that we must yield to Christ and accept His offer of grace.

Peter’s reluctance to accept Jesus’ washing of his feet was probably due to the fact that he felt Jesus was too great to bow down and do such a menial task. After all did not Peter and the other eleven think the same of themselves? How much more would Peter think this of his Lord?

What Peter failed to realize at that moment is the fact that the greatness of Christ is seen in His serving. The glory of God is seen in His giving. The exaltation of Jesus was through dying.

Unless we recognize and accept the grace of God we will not enjoy the pleasures He offers.

Too often we think that we must give to God.

Too many times we feel that we should try to repay God.

Far too many times we think that we should not ask anything of God because we have done so little for Him.

God is neither worshiped nor served by our hands (Acts 17:22-26). He needs nothing that we have to give to Him. It is all His already (Psalm 50:8-15).

We cannot give to God. We must receive from Him.

God is not glorified in what we do for Him, but in what He does for us. The greatest deeds that we can do can never be any more than an expression of how much we believe that God is worth. They will never be issues of need on His part, nor matters of deficiency in Him. They will only be expressions of praise to Him, and nothing more.

If we are to partake with Jesus we must receive from Jesus.

“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

“Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us

Israel's Escape from Egypt, illustration from a Bible card published 1907 by the Providence Lithograph Company (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways.” Therefore I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter my rest.”” (Psalm 95, ESV)

What was God’s complaint against Israel? The tempted Him. They didn’t trust Him enough to obey Him.

Why did Israel neither trust nor obey God? Because they did not worship Him as they should have. They failed to remember Him as Creator. They failed to recognize His eternal power. They neglected to consider that all of the world is His possession and His domain.

Worst of all, Israel failed to consider Providence. They did not stop to consider the work of God in their own lives.

Israel had crossed the Red Sea on dry ground. Their feet didn’t even get muddy. Among the hundreds of thousands who departed Egypt in the Exodus, none were in wheelchairs or on stretchers. All were strong and able-bodied.

Israel had seen YHWH provide water out of a rock. They had seen Him send the quail to eat and experienced the wonder of waking every morning to the sight of manna on the ground just waiting for them to pick it up and prepare a meal from it.

Israel did not consider the works of God.

They did not learn His ways.

They did not learn to worship God by trusting Him and faithfully obeying Him.

Israel’s failure was a failure to observe the providential works of God and learn from them how to trust God.

Let us not make the same mistake.

“To you, O LORD, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary. Do not drag me off with the wicked, with the workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbors while evil is in their hearts. Give to them according to their work and according to the evil of their deeds; give to them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward. Because they do not regard the works of the LORD or the work of his hands, he will tear them down and build them up no more. Blessed be the LORD! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. The LORD is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed. Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever.” (Psalm 28, ESV)

David declares that He will worship YHWH by praying to Him.

There are those who do not pray. They are wicked. They will be destroyed.

The wicked will be destroyed because they will not take the time to consider the works of God. Because of this, God will destroy them.

On the other hand, David will trust in YHWH, rejoice in Him, and sing his thanks to Him.

What is it that drives David to trust in the LORD? What is it that causes him to rejoice and sing? He regards the works of the LORD. He contemplates the work of Providence and sees the glorious hand of God as He works all things for the good of His children.

The wicked does not stop to think about God. God is not in all of His thoughts (Psalm 10:4). He does not trust His Creator, and does not look to Him to take care of him.

For those who consider the works of God, however, is deliverance and strength; because all who contemplate His works trust in Him.

Let us never forget to meditate on the providential works of our Savior. He does these things not only for our good, but to strengthen our faith and inspire our praise.

AUGUSTINE. (ut sup.) Although He was made the Son of man upon earth, yet His Divinity with which, remaining in heaven, He descended to

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earth, He hath declared not to disagree with the title of Son of man, as He hath thought His flesh worthy the name of Son of God. For through the Unity of person, by which both substances are one Christ, He walked upon earth, being Son of God; and remained in heaven, being Son of man. And the belief of the greater, involves belief in the less. If then the Divine substance, which is so far more removed from us, and could for our sake take up the substance of man so as to unite them in one person; how much more easily may we believe, that the Saints united with the man Christ, become with Him one Christ; so that while it is true of all, that they ascend by grace, it is at the same time true, that He alone ascends to heaven, Who came down from heaven.

Saint Thomas Aquinas and John Henry Newman, Catena Aurea: Commentary on the Four Gospels, Collected Out of the Works of the Fathers, Volume 4: St. John, 112 (Oxford: John Henry Parker, 1845).

 

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. xii. c. 8) But thou wonderest that He was at once here, and in heaven. Yet such power hath He given to His disciples. Hear Paul, Our conversation is in heaven. (Phil. 3:20) If the man Paul walked upon earth, and had his conversation in heaven; shall not the God of heaven and earth be able to be in heaven and earth?

Saint Thomas Aquinas and John Henry Newman, Catena Aurea: Commentary on the Four Gospels, Collected Out of the Works of the Fathers, Volume 4: St. John, 113 (Oxford: John Henry Parker, 1845).

“fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right

hand.” (Isaiah 41:10, ESV)

This week has not been easy for me. I will not go into the details, because that would break the confidence that the congregation I shepherd has in me. Nevertheless, the week has been rough.

I’ve struggled with doubt, anger, fear, and a general malaise. That is exactly what I should not be doing, but I find that almost three years of depression have left me weakened. Though much improved over the last year, I still struggle.

Thankfully I find signs of improvement almost every week. This past week I have found that the Word of God comes to mind a little more often than it did for quite some time. I find myself able to meditate on Scripture a little more. That is very helpful.

This happened in the nick of time, too. This morning I remembered the Word of the Father to Israel

“fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10, ESV)

Indeed.

And so also shall He be with the Israel of God who belongs to Him by faith. How do we know that? His own promise.

“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” (Hebrews 13:5–6, AV 1873)

Let us take comfort, whatever we may be going through, that the Father has said, “I am with you.”

Sometimes life is very difficult. In fact, it’s often down-right hard and confusing. Many times we’re left with no clue about what to do, where to turn, or whom to trust.

Prayer (Photo credit: Chris Yarzab)

What do we do at those times?

What does a person do when he knows not what to do?

Sometimes we must cry out to God.

What I mean is that we need do nothing else. We should not try to devise a plan. We should not seek to find counsel. We should do nothing other than cry out to God.

The Psalmist said,

“From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” (Psalm 61:2, AV 1873)

Instead of trying to find something that works, sometimes must cry out to God, and do nothing other than that.

A Prayer For The Lord’s Day

Father, this week we have been in the world, and have sadly been a part of it.

Today we come to you desiring to be in your Spirit; He in us and us in Him, and we all in You through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Though that is the position of those of us who are trusting in you, we yet long for your forgiving grace that we might enjoy that privilege even more.

Turn our minds from those passing, temporal pleasures that tempt us and taint us.

Turn our hearts to your Son, our minds to your Word, and our worship to yourself.

May we learn to become ever learning that we might find greater pleasure in your presence than in that of worldlings.

May we learn to relinquish the world and our passion for it, and may we have grace to cling more tightly to you that we might glorify you in our joyful dependence upon you.

Our hearts are sinful, depraved, wandering, foolish, prone to stray and find delight in lesser pleasures. Turn us, and we shall be turned.

Delight us and we shall truly find joy.

Cleanse us and we shall truly worship.

Fill us today with yourself, your Son, and your Spirit.

Oh, Holy Father! May we decrease that your Son might increase! For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.

Amen.

“he be not far from every one of us:” (Acts 17:27, AV 1873)

Our Creator is near to us.

“But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:8–13, AV 1873)

Our Savior is near to us.

“he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5, AV 1873)

Our help is always near to us.

“And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.” (Ge 6:5-6) KJV

God repents? Say what?!?! I thought that God did not change His mind – ever! Now we read that God repents?????

How will we respond to this? We can say, I guess the Bible must be full of inconsistencies. We can also say, I’m sure there’s an answer, but I don’t know what it is.

Better yet, we can seek an answer. Yeah, that would honor the Scriptures, and the God who gave them to us. Let’s see what that answer is.

First of all let us note that there other places where God is said to have repented.

“Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying, It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments.” (1 Sam 15:10-11) KJV

“When the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand.” (2 Sam 24:16) KJV

“If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you.” (Jer 42:10) KJV

Next let us indeed affirm that God is immutable and that His counsel shall stand.

“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken and shall he not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19) KJV

“But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.” (Job 23:13) KJV

“Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.” (Is 46:9-11) KJV

“I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” (Mal 3:6) KJV

Then we must also see that God’s treatment of men is conditioned upon their response to Him.

“The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.” (Jer 18:1-10) KJV

‘Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?” (Joe 2:12-14) KJV

Having seen these things let us then come to this conclusion:

1. This passage is speaking of God in an anthropopathic way. That is, God is spoken of as having human attributes. It is a representation of God in such a way that men might understand a little of the workings of God.

2. God knows the end from the beginning. God knows what He will do, and He knows what we will do. God’s repentance is part of His foreknowledge and foreordained plan.

3. God’s repentance is not a change of heart such as you and I experience. God remains holy, pure, righteous, gracious, merciful, loving, et al. When man turns from God and sins, God’s righteousness demands that He respond to the sin of man. Why? Because God’s glory has been despised in man’s sin. Thus, God did not change, but man did.

   When the wicked man repents of his sin and turns to God for grace, neither does God’s heart change then. God’s righteousness and grace demands that God receive and forgive the one to whom He promised forgiveness if he repented. Again, God did not change His mind and heart. Man’s heart and mind were changed.

Thus we see that God is immutable, His promise infallible, His Word unchangeable, and His ways unsearchable. At the same time we see that God’s repentance is a vital part of His character in which His outlook toward man is changed based upon man’s response to God and His Word. God’s repentance does not mean that He makes mistakes. His repentance is perfect repentance. It is the reflection of His unchanging, holy character.

Just musing…

There was once an occasion when Jesus called his followers apart for one simple purpose: rest.

God declared the Sabbath holy, still calls us to rest.

Thus it is that, after a busy week both on and off line, that I’m taking a week off.

I’m having to deal with the fact that I’m middle aged. That neither disturbs nor worries me. It does mean that the pace that I kept in the past is not one that I can keep now.

ScottL, one of my online friends who comments here, once warned me about burnout. That was two or three years ago. I now understand the reality of it and have to adjust my lifestyle to that. I must rest this week, if possible.

I shall study, preach, teach, and fulfill whatever God sends my way in the ministry. I shall rest from being on this blog. I shall stay home as much as possible and enjoy my front porch while the children play with their puppy.

I shall rejoice in the goodness of God to me and my family.

See y’all later.