Sep 25

It is Hard to Miss Naked, But We Do!

It is hard to miss naked!  Yet, Jesus said the church at Laodicea didn’t know they were “naked.”  In fact, Jesus says they do not realize they are “wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked” (Rev. 3:17).  How can you not know you are blind?  How can you not know you are poor?  How do you miss that you are naked?

Obviously Jesus is talking spiritually, not physically.  But which one is worse; to be wretched, poor, blind, and naked spiritually or physically?  Obviously spiritually is worse.

Why is our spiritual nakedness not obvious to us and even embarrassing?  I think it is because we are blinded to the spiritual side of life.  The problem for the Christians at Laodicea was they said, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing” (Rev. 3:17).  If we are not in tune with our spiritual depravity and need for God, then we miss our nakedness and blindness.  When we trust in our money, job, family, and wrap our hearts around our secular pleasures living independent of God we are naked!  Our spiritual blindness and arrogance makes Jesus sick (Rev. 3:15)!  We should consider our spiritual blindness and nakedness–others, and especially Jesus, may already see it!

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  (Mat. 5:3)

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Sep 22

Children and their Bibles: Part 2

In the last post I shared some suggestions for children and their Bibles.  In this post I want to share some of our experiences and make some book recommendations.

Bibles

Bibles

I mentioned in the last post that you should get a child a Bible they can read.

This link gives you the graded reading level for most of the popular versions.  As CBD mentions not everyone agrees with these levels and you may not notice a big difference.  For example, I think the ESV reads pretty easy, but it is rated harder than the NKJV, which was a surprise to me.

Here is another helpful chart comparing versions.

Let me encourage you to stick with a standard translation rather than a paraphrase.  Also, if the child is able, try using a version they can use as an adult so their memory work and familiarity with it will grow.

The International Children’s Bible published by Thomas Nelson is a good version for small children that they can read.  There are other easy to read versions that may serve your child well.

Austin used the ICB from like 4 years of age till he was 7 years of age.  It worked well for him.  At his 7th Birthday, he received an ESV – Seek and Find version for young children and teens.  He has loved it and we found it to be very good.

Brooke, being our girl, had to use what most girls in America use – the Precious Moments Bible.  It is a NKJV version in a custom made case by her Nana.  It has worked well for her.  She has had it for a few years.  She is six now.  We will likely purchase her an ESV sometime in the next couple of years.

Biblestorybooks

Bible Story Books

We have used several Bible story books.  I don’t think I found them all to share at this time in this post, but here are some we have used.  Amanda has used these much more than me because she does Bible time each day during homeschool.

Please understand that I am not endorsing everything in these books.  Often the book will add information that is not in the Bible or may contain false teaching.  But we have found them generally helpful in reading stories to our children.

365 Read-Aloud Bedtime Stories – This book was used for last year’s homeschool and goes through the Bible in the same order as a typical Bible.  It involves a one page story and has a question at the end of each story.

See-It and Say-It Bible Storybook – This one is not very comprehensive but is great for small children who can help you read the story by saying the word for the picture given.  It will have a picture of a horse for example, and the child will say “horse” each time that picture occurs in the story.  It has great illustration and makes a good bed-time book.

The Picture Bible – Amanda found this one at a yard-sale and is using it for Bible this year.  It is written and illustrated like a comic book.  It covers most of the Bible and tries to make the stories understandable, which means that it does add some information not in the text.

Egermeier’s Bible Story Book – This was one from my childhood that we still use.  It contains somewhat longer stories with very little illustrations.  But it does a good job of telling the stories and is very thorough in the material it covers.

What Bible versions and Bible story books has your family found helpful?

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Sep 19

Children and Their Bibles: Part 1

BiblesI wanted to share some thoughts on Bibles and kids in the next two posts. In this post, I will make some general suggestions for you to consider.  In the next post, I will share some of our experiences with various Bible versions and story books.

Some Suggestions

  1. Get your children a Bible and require them to bring it to Bible class.  This will typically mean you remembering to bring the Bible when they are small and staying on them to keep up with it, but it is apart of their training.
  2. Get your children a Bible that they can read easily.  Before they can read a small pocket size KJV is fine, because you are just teaching them to take their Bible to class and to love it.  But when they get in Kindergarten and are learning to read, don’t require them to read from the King James Version.  I will share some easier to read versions in the next post.
  3. Don’t let them use an iPod or Tablet for their Bible.  Children need to learn how to navigate a Bible with pages and establish an emotional connection with it being God’s Word.  Also, the temptation is just to great to get distracted with other items on the device.
  4. Make your child’s Bible special to them.  Bibles serve as great gifts for birthdays and Christmas.  Have a grandparent or parents give the Bible and write some counsel or special words in the front of it.  Have the child’s name engraved on it or buy a case for the Bible.  Talk to the child about how  special the Bible is and their need to read and follow it in life.
  5. Read the Bible with your children.  Some ways you can accomplish this include:
    • Having Bible story time regularly as a family. (I will share some good books in the next post.)
    • Reviewing your children’s Bible class material with them.
    • Reading a chapter from the Bible with them.  Instead of a book, sometimes read the Bible before bed, or let them read it to you.
    • Require your children to read the Bible on their own.  The ABR (Advanced Bible Reading) program designed by Chad Thompson and Kyle Butt which functions similar to Accelerated Reader is a great program to use.  Kids read a section of the Bible and then take a test over that section and earn points.

What other suggestions would you have for kids and their Bibles?

Part 2 will be posted Sunday.

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Sep 18

Considering Unwed Birth Statistics

baby by vierdrie from www.sxc.hu

baby by vierdrie from www.sxc.hu

Some Eye Opening Statistics

Being the father of four children, I have spent a few days in the maternity ward.  I have been to enough maternity appointments and lived in this world long enough to know that not all babies are being born into a two parent family joined in the commitment of marriage.  I am sure you know the same thing, whether you have had four kids or not!

But what I didn’t realize is how much our world has changed in the last 50 years.

In 1960, the number of unwed births in our nation was around 5% of all births.  A large percentage of these  were to teenage young mothers (I don’t know the exact percentage in 1960, but 50% of all unwed births were to teenagers in 1970).  In fact, even today it seems that the image we typically think of when it comes to unwed births is a young teenage girl.  What that means is that in 1960, 95% of the children being born were being born into a family with a dad and mom who had committed vows to each other in marriage.

In 2011, there were 1,607,773 babies born to unwed mothers in the United States.  This was some 41% of all births.   And it is not just teenagers having lots of babies, but in 2007 teenagers accounted for only 23% of the unwed births.  As the CDC bulletin states, “Birth rates have risen considerably for unmarried women in their twenties and over, while declining or changing little for unmarried teenagers.”  The bottom line is that 4 out of 10 children born today in America are not born into a traditional married home with a mom and dad.

Some Observations

  1. These statistics reflect the changing views in our culture over the last 50 years regarding marriage and sex.  Many of the births, probably around 40% or more are to cohabiting couples.¹  Marriage is not seen as a necessary prerequisite before having children.  The sexual revolution changed the culture’s view of sex making it accepted to have sex outside of marriage with multiple partners. The commitment of waiting till marriage to have sex is a rare value in our current culture and there is little cultural shame with being pregnant outside of marriage.  It has become a norm, rather than  culturally taboo.
  2. These statistics demonstrate why so many children have a difficult time.  Social science research, agreeing with God’s intended plan, have long proved that the best and ideal environment for children is a loving two-parent home bound together in marriage.  Yet, some 4 in 10 children today come into this world without this reality.  No wonder problems with children from drug use to hyperactivity have accelerated since the 60’s.
  3. Where are the men?  Probably the greatest issue from these statistics is the lack of a loving father in the home who is a husband and father.  Sadly so many children are growing up not seeing what a Biblically-patterned home looks like.  Without the model, they have difficulty creating a godly home.  The role of the father has been shown to be so important to the development of the self-worth, values, and success of boys and girls.  Men have shown for their few minutes of pleasure and passion, but where are they in loving the children and their mother?  Sadly, it seems in most cases they are not there!
  4. God takes us where we are and makes us better!  There may be some who read this who are a part of these statistics.  You may be a pregnant teenager, a 20-something single mother, or a father of two children by different women.  My plea would be to remind you that God has a role and purpose for your life.  He has given us His plan for the family and His plan is for our best.  He offers us forgiveness from past sins (Ps. 32, Rom. 8:1), but expects us to repent and give our life to Christ (Acts 17:30-31).  Through faith in Christ and submission to baptism, we can be cleansed of past sins (1 Pet. 3:21, Acts 2:38, 22:16).  You may not have the ideal, and it may never be the ideal because of past mistakes, but God wants to take you where you are and make you better!    He can transform your life, if you will do it His way.  Let Him!

What are your observations?

——————-

¹ – The 40% figure was from 2002 and it has likely only increased since then.

Sources:

Kids Count Data Center

CDC Data Brief – May 2009

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Sep 14

Is Worship Special to You?

Worship; something Christians do regularly, but does the commonness and routine of it cause us to  lose its specialness?

I have been teaching Revelation in West Kentucky Bible School and have been reminded of the importance of worship.  The great heavenly throne room chapters (4-5) show us where our song ends.  They show us that preaching is about proclaiming the slain lamb.  They show the reasons Christians sing and how in heaven the four living creatures, 24 elders, and the innumerable host praise God.  Worship is when we join nature, the heavenly redeemed, angels, and these 24 elders in praising God. We see the prayers of the saints changing heaven and earth (ch. 5, ch. 8).  In chapter 7, we see the redeemed from all nations who have come out of the tribulation crying out, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb” (7:10).

Revelation describes these exciting, beautiful scenes of worship that thrill our hearts and souls.  Yet, I must ask how much are they in contrast to our typical worship?

We need to value and appreciate the spiritual and emotional importance of worship.

We need to prioritize attendance.  Just like this story.  

[important]At the last Revelation class I had a conversation with a middle-aged father, who is a policeman.  He works the midnight shift.  He commented to me that he was tired as we were preparing for class to start.  I commented that I know that shift must be difficult with having normal hours on the weekend and then going back to midnights.  I asked him if he had the possibility of going to day hours.  He said he does, but it would involve working every weekend, because of seniority issues.  He said he would rather work midnight shift than have to miss worship every Sunday with his family.  I was impressed with his value and appreciation of worship.[/important]

We need to sing with heart and joy.  Would we sing so lethargic and quiet if we really considered God hearing our songs in heaven?  What about Christ sitting beside us?

We need to prepare for worship and sanctify the Lord’s day as holy.  I really appreaciate men who consider what public role they will be fulfilling and give attention to being ready for this assignment.

We need to have an awe and respect of worship throughout the building.  The nursery is not a place for teenagers or ladies just to go to avoid worship.  When in the hallways and foyer areas while the church is worshipping we should be respectful and reverent.  Technology allows us to stream the worship into nurseries or other areas, those in these rooms should use these as they are able.

We need to look past the human frailties and failings of our worship, and still see the spiritual importance.  Sermons are not always the best.  Preachers are sometimes boring, chasing rabbits, and not connecting.  The song leader may be off key and the man leading prayer may be rote and memorized.  Yet, we should not be overly discouraged and focused on these human elements, we need to do our best at keeping the focus on our personal offering of worship in spirit and truth (Jn 4:24).

Worship may be the hardest thing we try to do in this life.  Let us not treat it casually and habitual.  It is special and holy and should be treated as such.  

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Sep 12

Two Cool Videos

Over the last couple of weeks I have watched these two videos and just had to share them with you. The first is one that Amanda showed me.  She first saw it in a lecture at Polishing the Pulpit.  We had a good laugh watching it together; not that we could relate :).

 

 

In order to balance things out for the ladies.  Adam Faughn at Polishing the Pulpit shared this video with me.  It makes a great illustration and has a powerful point.  It is no wonder our young girls and women in our culture feel like they never measure up.  Dove has some other videos along a similar line called Dove Beauty Sketches.

 

 

 

**Not responsible nor endorsing ads or videos that appear after these two.

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Sep 11

Polishing the Pulpit (PTP) From a First-time Perspective

ptpOur family finally gave into the encouragement of friends and went to PtP this year.  Polishing the Pulpit is a gathering of over 3000 Christians in Sevierville, TN (Gatlinburg area). Here is their website for more information.  I want to share our experience as a first time family attending and also some reasons that held us back from going, so that it might convince others to attend in future years.

Surprises

  1. It was lectureship style.  I know this might sound silly to many of you, but I had heard so much about the various tracts, the practical nature, and interaction that I thought it was more like a workshop.  But it is like a lectureship, in that there are many classes going on at the same time and you choose which one you want to attend.  You do not go to a series of tract lessons unless you choose.
  2. I was surprised with the number of people and the diversity of people.  There were people from all ages, geographical areas, and roles in the church.  I believe this is one reason it is so popular, that despite its name, it serves a wide range of people.  No matter your role in the church from new Christian to church leader, male or female, young or old, you will find something for you.
  3. The facility is great.  The hotel is beautiful and the conference area served the needs very well.  It was great to have it in a vacation area with so much to do.
  4. I knew the Jacksonville church of Christ and the House-to-House folks did things well, but they do things top-notch in their quality, professionalism, and organization.
  5. The number of times some speakers spoke.  There is a lot of repeat in speakers and continuation of themes.  Some spoke as many as 9 times, maybe more.  They had to be exhausted.

Our Favorite Things

  1. It is a great family spiritual retreat.  We combined it with a family vacation by staying from Thursday to Sunday to explore the Smoky Mountains.  It was nice to go to a conference as a preacher and be able to take my family and have them benefit as much or more.
  2. The kid classes were incredible.  The real heros were the teachers and caretakers of the kids.  Our kids were in class each day Monday – Thursday.  The morning was from 8:15 – 11:15 and the afternoon was from 1:15 – 4:15.  They learned a lot of Bible, made friends, and had fun.
  3. Seeing good friends and reacquainting ourselves with some old ones.
  4. Staying in a cabin less than a mile from the hotel.  We rented a cabin for the week cheaper than staying in the hotel for a family of six.  We ate most of our meals there and enjoyed the privacy and experience.
  5. How much my wife was encouraged.  PTP was one of the best things we have done that includes a mutual blessing and enrichment for Amanda.  So many workshops are geared for preachers, but PTP offered many classes on all kinds of areas for Amanda as a wife, mother, and minister’s wife.
  6. The lessons were top-notch.  We heard some great lessons and are still listening to many more on the jump drive they gave attendees that includes all the lessons.  I came away challenged to be a better preacher, father, and husband;  and I got tools to do just that!

Barriers You Should Overcome

  1. It is expensive.  We had not gone for years because of this factor, but we are glad we overcame it this year.  The Seven Oaks congregation helped support the trip and we combined it with our vacation this year.  We likely will not go every year, but it is something you should consider.  Eric Lyons suggested churches rotating an elder and his wife that they send each year.
  2. It is too conservative or legalistic.  Maybe it was me, but I think PTP has the reputation amongst some that it is pretty stiff and conservative.  But all of the lessons we heard were very Biblical, loving, truth-centered, and not bashing, overly negative, or legalistic.  We had a great experience.
  3. It is just for homeschooling families.  While it does lend itself for homeschool families because it takes place after most schools have started, and they do have some ladies’ classes with that as a theme, it is not just for homeschool families.  Families with kids in school can still attend for the weekend only or miss school a few days if you stay for the week.  It is for all Christians.

Thanks for reading.  I know this has been a little longer post, but I had a lot to share.  I hope your family will consider PTP next year.  We are trying to get some more families from Seven Oaks to attend.  

Adam Faughn had a good post on what he saw at PTP you might check out as well.  

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Sep 08

Which is Your Spirituality: Microwave Dinner or Home-cooking?

 

via flickr by spike55151

via flickr by spike55151

“Quick and easy” are two buzz words we all love to hear. All it takes is a trip to the local grocery store to see how products advertise “quick and easy.”  Home cooked meals, that may take hours, have been replaced with frozen TV dinners and quick microwave dishes.  With our busy schedules, this shift in meal preparation is not surprising, but the question is: Do we ever try to make our religion “quick and easy”?

Proverbs 13:4 states, “The soul of a lazy man desires and has nothing, but the soul of the diligent shall be rich.” 

How true this proverb is for the church and world today.  So many desire to be spiritually rich, but they want to have this close relationship with God “quick and easy”.  In the church, people want to attend worship when they can.  We fall to thinking attending worship should be enough.  We want our sermons short and we don’t have time to read the Bible during the week.  Prayer is something we do at dinnertime, before we eat those quickly prepared meals, but we don’t have time to pray outside of meals.  Christian service is reduced to sending a card, because it is “quick and easy”.  Then we wonder why we never have that relationship with God we desire.  Maybe it is because we tried to get it “quick and easy” instead of “diligently”.

 Christianity is like so many other things, we get out of it what we put into it.  If we are lazy and seek spirituality “quick and easy” we will have that superficial relationship with God for years.  But if we start seeking diligently to put Christ first through disciplined prayer, study, worship, and service then we will be “rich”.  We will then discover that it really isn’t about the time, as much as it is a relationship with Jesus through all of life!

So instead of eating microwaved spiritual meals, try some home-cooked, labor-intensive, slow-cooked spiritual meals and your spirituality will take off!

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Sep 05

The Outward Shell – Our Cicada hunt Lesson

The kids have been hunting cicada shells this week.  They are not hard to find!

photo 1

I did a little research for this post and found that this exoskeleton of the cicada is from the nymph stage.  They actually live underground, emerge, select a plant, and then molt a final time.  This begins their adult life as a flying adult cicada.  The kids actually watched an adult cicada in our garage and listened to his music.  Here are some pictures of their collection of exoskeletons or shells as we call them.

photo 2

photo 3As a preacher, I am always looking and thinking about illustrations.  As parents, we are always trying to teach our kids.  So I could not resist drawing some lessons from this activtiy .  I wanted to share it with you as well!  You get the longer version, but hey, I think most of you are a little older!

Lessons from the Cicada Shells

  1. This is a great illustration of transformation and change.  Just like the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly, so this transformation from a nymph to a flying insect is incredible.  You can certainly tell the difference.  You know there has been a CHANGE!  So it should be for us as Christians.  We are different. When we put on Christ in baptism we are changed (Gal. 3:26-27, 1 Peter 3:21, etc).  One of the big problems with the church today is the lack of distinction from the world.  Often there is not even a difference from our former lives.  We must be transformed (Rom. 12:1-2, 2 Cor. 5:16-17).
  2. This is a great illustration of our physical bodies.  Landon, our 4 year old, was afraid the shells would escape.  We explained to him that the insect had flown away and left this outward skin behind.  That is the same concept I try to explain at funerals and in many sermons.  We are a soul with a body.  We are not a body with a soul.  Our primary life is in our spirit and soul.  Our body is the outward tent.  It is a shell that gets old, has aches, pains, and wears out.  We will one day leave it behind and go to be with Jesus (Phil. 1:20-23, 2 Cor. 5:6-7).  Peter speaks of soon “putting off” his body (2 Peter 1:14), and Paul talks about how we groan in this earthly tent and long to put it off and be clothed with the “heavenly dwelling” (2 Cor. 5:1-5).

So when you see the cicada shells stuck to your trees, remember these lessons.  If you have children or grandchildren use it as an opportunity to teach a fundamental and important Bible lesson.

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Aug 27

At the Feet of Jesus

[I am not blogging this week.  So I thought it would be a good opportunity to put up a longer article I wrote in 2007 that was published in the Gospel Advocate.  It makes a great sermon or Bible class, and hopefully, a pretty good article.  May God bless.]

Clay Feet by Lolie Smith at www.flickr.com

Clay Feet by Lolie Smith at www.flickr.com

How do you picture the feet of Jesus?  Most likely, the thought of Jesus’ feet hanging on the cross, nail-pierced, dirty, and blood-trickled crosses your mind.  This rendition of Jesus’ feet by artists has made indelible impressions on our minds.  Possibly your mind also thought of Jesus’ feet wearing sandals and dirty from much walking on the streets of Israel.  Interestingly, the Bible writers reference the feet of Jesus specifically sixteen times.  When these passages are studied, they reveal five themes found at the feet of Jesus.  

Instruction

Once Jesus was at the house of Martha, who obviously felt a great since of obligation with Jesus in her home, and thus was “distracted with much serving” (Luke 8:38-42 NKJV).  But Mary, her sister, “sat at Jesus’ feet and heard his word.”  Mary chose to stop and listen to Jesus’ instruction and the Lord, when encouraged by Martha to rebuke Mary, said she had “chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Earlier in Luke, the demon-possessed man known as Legion is described as “sitting at the feet of Jesus” after Christ cast the demons into a herd of swine (8:26-39).  Don’t you know the Lord was instructing, comforting, and ministering to this man whom he had just given a new life.

Even today we use the phrase “sitting at the feet” to describe receiving instruction from a teacher.  Today, we need to be reminded that at the feet of Jesus is found instruction for life and salvation (John 6:68).  Sadly we, like Martha, often miss opportunities to sit at the feet of Jesus, because we are distracted with much activity.

True Worship

When we go to the feet of Jesus, we can also find true worship. Truly the essence of worship is bowing at the feet of Jesus.  The one leper, who returned out of the ten healed, “with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks” (Luke 17:15-16).  Mary, the same who had sat at his feet earlier, comes in John 12 and anointed his feet and wiped his feet with her hair.  The disciples fall at the feet of the resurrected Lord in worship (Matthew 28:9) and John in witnessing Jesus again falls at his feet in worship (Revelation 1:17).  These were acts of adoration and worship.

All of these stories challenge our worship attitude!  They were free-will actions. They were a natural response from grateful, adoring hearts.  The heart of worship, its’ essence, is found and experienced at the feet of Jesus.  Worship should be an experience of falling at the feet of Jesus in humility, adoration, and devotion.  Is our worship like these who fell at His feet?

Burdens Are Lifted

People in the gospels came to the feet of Jesus when they were in dire need.  They were broken and desperate.  The lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others were laid down at Jesus’ feet (Matthew 15:30).  The prominent ruler of the Synagogue, Jairus, comes and falls at the feet of Jesus begging for the life of his little daughter (Mark 5:22).  A mother with a daughter who had an unclean spirit came and fell at his feet (Mark 7:25).  Mary falls at Jesus feet venting her frustration that Jesus let Lazarus die (John 11:32).

We learn from these stories that desperate people don’t focus on cultural image, their reputation, or even criticism, but they get radical and surrender all pride at the feet of Jesus.  We need to take our burdens to the feet of Jesus.  In each gospel case, Jesus acts.  He heals!  He comforts!  When we are burdened, we need to spend time at the feet of Jesus.  He will give us peace, healing, and power.

Submission

Outside the gospel accounts, the feet of Jesus are associated with the virtue of submission.  Paul says, “He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet.  The last enemy that will be destroyed is death” (1 Cor. 15:25-26).  In Ephesians, Paul states, “He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church” (1:22).  These references to his feet flow naturally in these passages, because Christ is the reigning King of His Kingdom and Head of His church.  He has all power and authority (Matthew 28:18).

The very act of falling at someone’s feet indicates submission.  At the feet of Jesus our mind and heart say, “Not my will, but Thine.”  At the feet of Jesus we say like Samuel of old, “Speak Lord, for your servant hears” (1 Samuel 3:9).  You do not look up when bowing at the feet of Jesus and give requirements, doctrines, stipulations, and conditions to Jesus.  You listen, accept, submit, and obey.  Questions like:  Which church should I be a member of?  Is baptism necessary?  Do I really have to love my brethren? How should I worship God acceptably?  Are all answered with humble, submissive hearts at the feet of Jesus!

Forgiveness

Jesus’ feet are prominent in the story of a sinful woman coming into Simon the Pharisee’s house to wash and anoint them (Luke 7:36-50).  She washes his feet with free flowing tears motivated by her guilt and wipes them with her hair.  She then anoints his feet with fragrant oil.  Because of her demonstrated faith, He gives her forgiveness.  By coming to the feet of Jesus in faith and love, this woman found forgiveness.

David had long ago prophesied, “They pierced My hands and My feet” (Psalm 22:16).  In discussing the feet of Jesus we cannot overlook the nails that pierced them and the blood that flowed from and over them, dropping to the dirt of Golgotha.  These nail-pierced feet offer us forgiveness.  The sinful woman was desperate, guilty, and condemned because of her sin.  At the feet of Jesus she found forgiveness.  If we go to the feet of Jesus, we likewise find forgiveness, cleansing, and a new life!  At the feet of Jesus we can hear him say, “Your sins are forgiven” (Luke 7:48).

Conclusion

What tremendous blessings are found at the feet of Jesus.  Yet, one other gospel story involves the feet of Jesus.  In the upper room before his betrayal, Jesus teaches the disciples a lesson in servanthood by washing their feet (John 13:1-17).  Jesus washed all of the disciples’ feet, yet no mention is made of his own feet being washed.  Quite possibly, he had the only dirty feet in the room.  These five blessings are found at the feet of Jesus: instruction, true worship, burdens lifted, submission, and forgiveness.  When we obtain these blessings at Jesus’ feet, what do we give back to Jesus?  Do we also leave his feet dirty?  Let us be motivated at the feet of Jesus to obey and serve in His Name.

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