Go and do what Jesus said!
In His Word-8-24-18
How do we know what He said
to do?
We get in His Word!
Since the creation of the
Bible we have not kept such detailed testimonies as the writers Paul, Peter,
Moses and the Prophets did. From Genesis to revelation we study and teach and
share what we have read over and over. Mostly we tell others, or share scriptures and
tell others what Jesus did then; but what is He doing in your life today? It’s
not because God is not working in and through us today, but because we do not
all share what He is doing in our lives. We do not all go and do likewise.
More important, what have we
done for Him that we were told to do? When Jesus washed the disciples feet it
was humbling to them, it was out of love and tender mercies that the feet were
washed. I mean, think for a moment, if you walked around I sandals for days and
days in the sandy dirt, went fishing, walked some more… lived life in them:
then took your shoes off they would be horrible dirty! I imagine that Jesus
water and wash cloths were pretty dirty. I usually look at it as washing off
the world from us and how dirty we were with sin but how clean we were after. But
today I want to look at the service He did for the men who were called to
follow Him and do as He did.
If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have
washed your feet, you also
ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do
as I have done to you. Most
assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he
who is sent greater than he who sent him. John 13:14-16
Maybe we need to take a
moment at the end of the day and ask ourselves;
have I shown mercy today? I know that I am not always as merciful
as I would like to be. I have a problem when I see things that need to be done
and the people who need to do them can find trouble in someone else’s job but
not do their own job.
Still, if mercy is what we are told to give, then we need try to
be merciful and kind. We need to remember it is not about us.
And he said, “He who showed
mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” Luke 10:37
Do you or I
really love on other people? Even the people you are around every day? I ask
this because sometimes it is easier to be kind, merciful and love on complete
strangers than it is to our own household. Why do you think that is? Perhaps we know them too well and so we are
relaxed around them? Or it could be that
we have formed preconceived ideas about
what they deserve to get from us?
Dear
children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish
leaders, you will search for me, but you can’t come where I am going. So
now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved
you, you should love each other. Your love for one
another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” John 13:33-35
Jesus says to love each
other as He has loved us. He loves us unconditionally and yet we put conditions
on our love. This is what we do, when we
say ” I can love you when you do what I want; but not when you don’t.”
We need to do what Jesus
did, and what we do will be Him working through us.
If we continue to fight the
fight alone we will fail to win, if we step up and allow Christ to battle along
side of us we will succeed.
We should take not thought
that it does not say do what you want and claim it as Jesus’ work. Thought He
will take credit where its due, and honor and glory are His, we need to know that
the Word of God it is here for us to read so that know where to follow His
direction and what His commands are so that we may obey them. If we do not read
our Bible to start with, we will not recognize what God is doing in our lives
either.
God did not breathe life
into the Bible to have us put it on a shelf and carry it back and forth to
church occasionally. He gave us the Word of God to be our life line to His
guidance and help in our daily lives.
While Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, he was going through the
area between Samaria and Galilee. As he came into a small town, ten men
who had a skin disease met him there. They did not come close to Jesus 13 but called
to him, “Jesus! Master! Have mercy on us!” When Jesus
saw the men, he said, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.”
As the ten men were going, they were healed. When one of them saw that he was
healed, he went back to Jesus, praising God in a loud voice. Then he bowed down at Jesus’ feet and
thanked him. (And this man was a Samaritan.) Jesus said, “Weren’t ten men
healed? Where are the other nine? Is this Samaritan the
only one who came back to thank God?” Then Jesus said to him, “Stand up and go on
your way. You were healed because you believed.” Luke 17:11-19
When we do what God
instructs us to do then we will see the answers He has given us are good. If we
choose to do things our own way instead of following Jesus’ examples then we
could end up going the wrong way or doing the wrong thing; I for one want to
walk in His guidance and direction, I do not want to be floundering trying to
figure God out myself when He has already put
all I need to know about Him, in His Word.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank
you for the Word of God that You have given us to glean from, to grow from and
to follow directions that You have had put there for each of us. Thank you for
your timely studies, and the divine appointments that You give us to share with
people how Your Word works in our lives. Help us to share more about You each
day, in Jesus name, amen.
Suggested Reading: John
13:1-38 , Luke 17:1-37, Proverbs 3:5-8, 1 Corinthians 4:1-21 and Matthew 24:1-49