"Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him; Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean. So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you" (John 13:1-15)
Today's Morsel: Have you ever gotten to the point where you have felt like just stopping giving and doing things for others because they never seem appreciative of what you are doing for them? I mean you bake them a meal and they never say thanks. You give them a ride to work and they give you a look as if to say this is what you're suppose to do as a Christian. They send their kids to your house without being cleaned and fed and you take care of them and not a word of thanks is given back to you. And so after a period of time you start feeling like you are being used. And so you say, that's it, I'm not going to do this again. And then you find yourself doing it all over again for them because you think this just might be the time that the light bulb goes on, and they give their lives to Christ. And it's the same old thing all over again. Nothing changes. Sound familiar? Well, welcome to Jesus' world. The Bible says, "Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end." Jesus knew He was going to be crucified and yet He still loved people. He still gave us an example of servitude. Do you know that He washed Judas' feet as well as Peter's. Judas sold him for 30 pieces of silver, and Peter denied Him three times and yet He still loved them to the end. But after Peter's conversion, He wrote to encourage us, "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf" (1 Peter 4:12-16). God's love isn't about us, it's about Jesus.
Sing: There've been times when giving and loving brought pain, and I promised I would never let it happen again; but I found out that loving was well worth the risk, and that even in losing you win.
I'm going to live the way He wants me to live, I'm going to give until there's just no more to give; I'm going to love, love till there's just no more love, I could never, never out love the Lord.
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