| Good Morning Everyone, Our theme for this month: “Resilience” Our Bible verse for today: “So he got up from supper; laid aside his outer clothing, took a towel, and tied it around himself. Next, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel tied around him.” John 13:4-5 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Be one of the greatest” We’re now ending our second month of devotionals on the theme of resilience. As we conclude this study, I want to spend our last few days reviewing the most important principles about being a resilient Christian. Remember, being resilient is more than just persevering. While it certainly is about sticking with a worthy endeavor, more than that resiliency enables us to live well and to thrive while we’re doing it. Resilient Christians are observably victorious and joyful, in addition to being consistent and dependable. A resilient Christian is also humble enough, and sufficiently committed to the cause of Christ, that he or she is willing to assume the role of a servant in order to most effectively advance the kingdom agenda in a world that is often confused, angry, and hurting. This isn’t easy to do. Servants are usually viewed as being weak and unimportant. In our angry society today the temptation for Christians is sometimes to see ourselves as cultural warriors charging off into the fray. But Jesus showed us a different way. In John chapter 13 we find Jesus and His disciples at the Last Supper on the night before He was to be crucified. In the scene recorded for us by John in verses 4-5, Jesus taught a powerful lesson about servant-leadership. Here’s how Richard Foster described it: “When Jesus gathered His disciples for the Last Supper, they were having trouble over which one was the greatest. Gathered at the Passover feast, the disciples were keenly aware that someone needed to wash the others’ feet. The problem was that the only people who washed feet were the least. So there they sat, feet caked in dirt. It was such a sore point that they were not even going to talk about it. No one wanted to be considered the least. Then Jesus took a towel and a basin and so redefined greatness.” This was not an isolated lesson. All throughout His ministry Jesus consistently taught us to serve others as a means of serving Him, and for advancing His kingdom agenda. He made the point repeatedly that those who were willing to do that, they were the greatest of all His followers. Will you commit yourself to the hard and long and often difficult work of service, and then trust the Lord that in the long run that’s what will make the real difference for good? If you will, then you will be one of the greatest among us. God Bless, Pastor Jim |
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