Lord have mercy!

I'm not sure wich is worse, that trumps setting fire to the states, or that his followers are then lying to us about how great and wonderful it is!

He 2:

9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

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I.e., χάριτι θεοῦ. However, some Greek manuscripts have χωρίς θεοῦ or 'apart from God'.

Does the variant reading change the meaning of the Book of Hebrews?

Not much. But Dr James White asked Ehrman

You have often said there are verses where variants change the meaning of an entire book. Could you give some examples?

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Ehrman thought it changed the entire book. He replied:

Verse of changing entire book, yes, sure. I think that, I actually do think that if Hebrews 2:9 said that if Jesus died 'apart from God' that there is no place then in Hebrews said Jesus to have died by the 'grace of God'. The the meaning now, I think, for the book of Hebrews means that Jesus died like a full flesh and blood human being without any divine comfort or support.

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Ehrman jumped to conclusions. The very next verse:

10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.

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Had God not supported Jesus' death, it would not have been perfect.

A few chapter later, more divine comfort and support, 5:

5 So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,
“You are my Son, today I have begotten you”;

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That's a comforting statement from the Father to the Son.

6 as he says also in another place,
“You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”

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Despite Jesus' death on the Cross, he remains the high priest forever. That's comfort and support.

7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

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I.e., more reassurance from the Book of Hebrews.

He 13:

20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus,

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What more support did Ehrman expect?

the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

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The rest of the Book of Hebrews offers compelling evidence of God’s involvement and support in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.

Does the variant reading of He 2:9 'apart from God' change the meaning of the Book of Hebrews?

A little, but not much. It does not fundamentally alter the theology of the Book of Hebrews. Ehrman’s claim that this single variant reading changes the entire meaning of Hebrews is an overgeneralization. The book contains numerous passages affirming God’s support for Jesus’ mission, making it unlikely that one textual variant could overturn its central theology.

Sad times indeed.

As in previous years, Bishop Hans van den Hende of Rotterdam blessed the flowers destined for St. Peter’s Square at Keukenhof (a botanical garden) in the Dutch town of Lisse. For nearly forty years it has been tradition for Dutch growers to donate flowers to the Vatican for the decoration of St. Peter’s Square around Easter time.

Dozens of arrangements will adorn a total of around 1830 square feet of St. Peter’s Square and the steps surrounding St. Peter’s Basilica. For the current Jubilee Year, the colors of the Holy Year logo – red, yellow, blue and green – will be dominant. Hydrangeas, ranunculus and delphiniums, among others, will be used.

The floral display around St. Peter’s will be managed by the Friezenkerk (Church of the Frisians), the Dutch national church in Rome. According to Alexander Evers, organist and Holy Year coordinator of the Friezenkerk, the flowers “radiate a message of hope,” which, of course, ties in seamlessly with the celebration of Easter

Continued below.

ViaCrucis said:

Not that what's legal or illegal matters anymore. Not in Trumpistan.

-CryptoLutheran

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They've got their own Baghdad Bob, Tokyo Rose, Ri Chun Hee with a cross around her neck.

The passion story of Jesus Christ in the four gospel accounts contains an apparent contradiction. This apparent contradiction concerns the day of the week the celebration of Passover was to occur that year.

One very important detail that needs to be understood in advance of discussing this matter, is that for the Jewish people of that time, each day began at sunset and ended just prior to the following day’s sunset. As a result, Jesus celebrated Passover with his disciples and was crucified and died on the same Jewish day.

The three synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke reveal that the celebration of Passover by Jesus and his disciples that year, which we more commonly call the Lord’s Supper, occurred on a Thursday evening. We know this intuitively as Jesus’ crucifixion occurred on a Friday afternoon before the Jewish Sabbath commenced at sunset that evening.

Continued below.

Amen, Fantine. I appreciate reading your post. It gave me a smile to see that Americans helping each other even though they were strangers to one another. I agree with @RileyG that we ought to love like Jesus did.

I pray that you are all blessed and happy in your lifes in jesus name amen...pray for me brothers and sisters i need it I know my father in heaven is with me but I feel very weak and I need to find my people, my local brothers and sisters, please pray that I find them as I will keep praying untill I do.

I’m sure Congress will happily rubber-stamp any law that the President proposes.

What does love WITH hypocrisy look like? It is fake, it is not honest, not sincere. It is superficial only, not from the heart, perhaps to give a particular impression which is willfully and deliberately false to the truth. It is duplicity, like the person who is double-minded or two-faced who says one thing but does the opposite, in practice, who speaks kind words to a person’s face while he/she (they) gossip and slander the person out of sight. For it is words spoken, but followed up with actions going in the opposite direction.

So, love without hypocrisy is the opposite of that. It is honest, sincere, trustworthy, kind, with no pretense, no fakery. It does not speak words of love and then do the opposite. And we are talking about biblical agape love here which means to prefer what God prefers, and to choose his choices, and to obey them in his power. So this love prefers what is holy, righteous, godly, morally pure, honest, faithful, and obedient to our Lord and to his commands. But it doesn’t fake love. The love is sincere and godly.

So, it will mean that we love others in the same manner in which Jesus loved others. So this is not “love” based in our human flesh and conditional upon our emotions or the actions of others. We love even when we are hated and reviled and persecuted in return. And we speak the truth in love to others, which is for their good, and not the lies which may make them feel good but which will not go well for them in the end if they believe and follow them. So sometimes this is exercised in what we refer to as “tough love,” of God.

And when we love with this kind of love we will hate evil, and we will cling to what is good. We will not hate good, and cling to what is evil, which is what many professing Christians have come to accept as the standard of what their lives will look like. And this is because they have been convinced that they don’t have to repent of (forsake, die to) their sins and that they don’t have to obey God as necessary components of biblical faith, which is of God, not of us, and which results in salvation from sin and eternal life with God.

Now if we are to be devoted to one another in brotherly love, and to give preference to one another in honor, this has to be in agreement with the nature, character, and divine will of God for our lives. We do not devote ourselves to nor give preference to anything which is sinful, and which is contrary to God’s will and purpose for our lives. So, we don’t blend in with and join in with what is worldly, of the flesh, ungodly, immoral, and anything which keeps us from obeying the Lord and serving him with our lives.

For, as members of the body of Christ, we are to be serving the Lord and one another in love. And we are to be utilizing the gifts of the Spirit given to us by the Spirit in encouraging one another in our walks of faith in obedience to our Lord. And all of us are to be speaking the truth in love, one to the other, so that none of us are being taken captive by sin’s deceitfulness or by liars, deceivers, and schemers who speak lies to us and who try to lead us to follow after a false gospel. And all of us are to be doing this, out of love.

And even if others reject, persecute, chastise, and otherwise shun us who are speaking the truth of the gospel, in love, we are to keep persevering in loving them, in speaking the truth, in refuting the lies, in praying for them, and in showing them love and kindness and mercy, even if they treat us with hate, in return. For that is how Jesus loved. And if we are contributing to the needs of the saints, these could be legitimate physical needs, but they also could be spiritual and emotional needs, but all done with propriety, in love.

[Acts 2:42-47; Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]

Walk With Me

By Al Langdon and P.J. Zondervan

Walk with me, walk with me,
Lest mine eyes no longer see
All the glory, all the story of Your love;
Talk to me, talk to me,
Like You spoke so tenderly,
When You talked there,
When You walked there by the sea.

Talk to me, talk to me,
Lest mine ears no longer hear
All the wonder, all the beauty of Your grace;
Walk with me, walk with me,
As You walked so lovingly,
When You walked there,
When You talked there by the sea.

Let me follow in the footsteps
That trod the shore of Galilee,
Let me learn to pray like He did
In the Garden of Gethsemane;
Take my hand, take my hand,
Teach me Lord to understand,
All the duty, all the beauty of Your love.

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Love Without Hypocrisy
An Original Work / April 16, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Today is April 16, Wednesday of Holy Week.

In today’s Gospel, we hear, “Jesus said in reply, ‘He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.’ Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, ‘Surely it is not I, Rabbi?’ He answered, ‘You have said so'” (Mt 26:23-25).

The old name for today was Spy Wednesday, which speaks to where we are at as we watch the preliminary drama of Jesus’s passion unfold. Judas already has the 30 pieces of silver in his pocket. He has sold Jesus. All Judas needs is the right moment to hand Jesus over to his buyers. Judas is at the Last Supper a spy with evil intentions in his heart.

Approaching Easter with love​

Continued below.

Although some would dispute it, models that accurately predict global
warming, as a function of air pollution, have been around for decades.

And, the modern scientific models have increased in their accuracy.

Elijah proclaimed in 1K 21:

23 And the LORD also speaks concerning Jezebel: ‘The dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’
24 Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone who dies in the field will be eaten by the birds of the air.”

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A decade later, Jehu ordered the killing of Ahab's sons. They did it and brought the heads to him. 2K 10:

9 The next morning, Jehu went out and stood before all the people and said, “You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him. But who killed all these?

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Jehu knew he had ordered that killing. He knew the officials who sided with him carried out his orders. Why did he pose this rhetorical question?

He understood the horizontal reasons. Now, he aimed to address the vertical reason: God did it.

10 Know, then, that not a word the LORD has spoken against the house of Ahab will fail, for the LORD has done what He promised through His servant Elijah.”

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Jehu wanted his followers to understand that he and they were carrying out the will of God. Don't feel bad about betraying the former king's sons.

His question aimed to direct people away from human agency and toward divine sovereignty. While the leaders of Samaria physically executed the killings, Jehu wanted the people to recognize that the ultimate cause of these deaths was God's judgment on Ahab's house. Their actions fulfilled Elijah's prophecy.

ViaCrucis said:

He lives and reigns as King Messiah, seated at the right hand of the Father. The Prophet and Seer Daniel behold in his vision the Son of Man taken up before the Ancient of Days and given everlasting kingdom and dominion. This was fulfilled when our Lord, after He had been raised, Ascended into the heavens, having been given all power and authority, and took His seat at the right hand of the Father. So that He is Lord, King, right now. The kingdom of the heavens--the kingdom of God--the reign and rule of God is now (and not yet) for Christ rules and reigns right now.

And all who are baptized are baptized into Christ, and are partakers of Christ, members of His Body, which is His Holy Church, which He Himself instituted when He said, "On this rock I will build My Church, and not even the gates of Hades can prevail against it". So that on that Day when the Holy Spirit condescended as fire on Pentecost, the Church was birthed, baptized with the Spirit and with fire by Christ.

So you are absolutely correct, of course God's kingdom is here, Christ our Lord is seated in glory as King Messiah, Lord over all things, who reigns and rules until all enemies are brought under His feet. The last enemy to be defeated, St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians, is death; so that when He comes again and the dead are raised, "Death is swallowed up in victory". And God shall be all in all.

-CryptoLutheran

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Amen

Desk trauma said:

No comment on the price point yet?

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Inflation is rough on everyone.

The Liturgist said:

Metropolitan Kallistos Ware wrote that the life of the World to Come will consist of a process of infinite perfection as we approach the Father.

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I'm focusing on this, because I think it's important.

When I read this I was reminded of when St. Augustine describes God as "Ever-ancient, Ever-new". That "Ever-new" dimension especially. Even in this life we experience the ever-newness of God as we grow in faith, as we experience the newness and refreshment of grace throughout our lives. In the Age to Come I believe it is absolutely correct to say that there is an infinite newness we shall discover, as we grow closer and experience the Beatific Vision. The Beatific Vision is not static, there will be an eternity of infinite newness as we are drawn always toward God in the transcendant beauty of His love. An infinite perfection, as you describe Blessed Kallistos Ware talking about.

I recently listened to an episode of the Just & Sinner podcast from Rev Jordan Cooper (a Lutheran pastor of the AALC) that focused on the Beatific Vision and in which he had an interview with Dr. Sam Parkison who recently wrote a book on the subject. It was a very good listen, and while the time was limited to discuss the subject, it had some really good meaty bits. The Beatific Vision isn't merely the end goal, it means something even right now; and it's not merely an end point, it goes on into eternity and continues to mean something forever. It's not merely beholding God, though gloriously great as that is, it is transformative, "We see but through a glass dimly now, but then face to face, and then I shall know even as I am known" (St. Paul) and "What we shall become we do not know, but we shall be like Him" (St. John).

When that Tabor-light fills all things, and we are brought into that fullness as we approach God, when we are perfectly clothed, and behold all that we cannot possibly comprehend now--how could it not be an infinite newness, an eternity of infinite newness, of infinite joy, of infinite perfection? To experience the Ever-Ancient, Ever-New always, forever, unto the ages of the ages.

-CryptoLutheran

Reluctant Theologian said:

I'm pretty sure they try to do that - but mistakes made can't be used to torpedo the plan altogether. The numbers they face are massive because previous admins have chosen to ignore that problem, or as it more seems, were accommodating it.

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It’s not hard to get it right if you don’t rush your work. Of course, for this amateur administration, even the simplest things they seem to get completely wrong.

BROAD COALITION OF MAINSTREAM JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS RELEASE STATEMENT REJECTING FALSE CHOICE BETWEEN JEWISH SAFETY & DEMOCRACY​

The Pope, who has described himself as an ‘impatient patient,’ is hardly unique among the ailing, especially the elderly, in bridling at the directives of physicians.

The day before Pope Francis left the hospital last month, after 38 days of treatment for double pneumonia, his doctors held a press conference. They said his recovery would require at least two months in convalescence at his residence in the Vatican. He should not meet with groups of people, and particularly not with children, to avoid viruses and other infections.

It hasn’t worked out that way.

For the first two weeks after his release, following a brief appearance on the balcony of his hospital room on the day of his departure, the Pope stayed out of the public eye. Then, on April 6, during the Jubilee of the Sick and Health Care Workers, he showed up in St. Peter’s Square at the end of Sunday Mass. He wore the nasal cannulas that he uses to take oxygen and looked weary but cheerful, his voice strained as he wished everyone a happy Sunday. The appearance, which the Vatican Press Office had broadly hinted at ahead of time, raised hopes that he would join if only briefly in at least one of the liturgies for the Paschal Triduum or Easter.

The Pope’s private meeting with the British king and queen three days later, after their official visit to the Vatican had been called off, was another sign that things were getting back to normal earlier than expected. A photo showed Pope Francis shaking hands with Queen Camilla.

Continued below.

The anti-woke crowd has become what they claim to decry. Peevish and reactionary.

Lets look in James 5:7 which tells us something important on this:

James 5:7
Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.

You see what it says, it puts together the 'latter rain' and the 'early rain' that is poured out as we wait. Now its important to understand that we need to experience the early rain to awaken us and spiritually grow to be prepared for the latter rain which prepares Christians for the final crisis and Christ’s return. And this is where we are today, and there is no reason to hold back and not ask now for the Holy Spirit even in its early rain stage for us, because there are some in the church that wrongly feel that they must wait for the latter rain of the Spirit in order to change spiritually and truly overcome. Is that what we should do, as Paul says, 'God forbid', we have the signs of the time showing up daily. If we hesitate and hold back now, it can take you down a wrong path if allowed, as the early rain of the Spirit, brings us to the level we need to be at, in order to receive and grow from the latter rain.

We see more on this from SOP:
“The latter rain, ripening earth’s harvest, represents the spiritual grace that prepares the church for the coming of the Son of man. But unless the former rain has fallen, there will be no life; the green blade will not spring up. Unless the early showers have done their work, the latter rain can bring no seed to perfection” (The Faith I Live By, p. 333).

Those who do not heed it, will be like those on the day of Pentecost who did not receive the initial outpouring of the early rain, and wondered what it is. They will not understand what is happening and will be confused or even try to hold back those who are experiencing the fullness of God’s power at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. They have not prepared, and we dont want to be in this state at the end, we want to be ready, so there is work to be done now. We cant come on Sabbath and just warm the seat and say I will just wait for the signs, to what we know will be the time such as never was, where the image to Beast will rise up and more, and then decided to ask for the outpouring. We cannot wait but ask for the Holy Spirit with much prayer, allow its power, and we put on the whole armor of God, for the time such as never was of the end. We see what it says in Ephesians 6:13-18:

Ephesians 6:13-18
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Notice how it says to pray, "with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit". We put on the whole armor and as the Holy Spirit is imparted, it gives strength to not only the proclamation of the Gospel but what is the loud cry of the third angel and its message. The effect of the loud cry on the world will cause a reaction, and much as the High Priest and religious leaders at the words of Peter, we will see a strong rejection and they will seek ways to stop it or do away with those giving it rather than listen to the truth. And one of things that will happen is Sunday laws will come into effect. Whether the leaders of the world, spurred on by the Image or the Beast itself or even the false Christ, declaring this needs to be done, and people will think it is for the 'common good' or from God. So we see how the latter rain, the loud cry, and the Sunday laws, all come into play. As they do, God’s people who have received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit with with power and conviction, spread the truth and proclaim the Sabbath with great power. We see what the SOP tells us on this:

"And at the commencement of the time of trouble, we were filled with the Holy Ghost as we went forth and proclaimed the Sabbath more fully. This enraged the churches and nominal Adventists, as they could not refute the Sabbath truth. And at this time God’s chosen all saw clearly that we had the truth, and they came out and endured the persecution with us. I saw the sword, famine, pestilence, and great confusion in the land." {EW 33.2}

Now we see it here before us so the Sabbath must be proclaimed more fully as we see in the events unfolding in front of us, and we need to prepare ourselves to receive the latter rain and be ready for Christ’s coming.

By Sue Love
Saturday, October 13, 2007

I spent the day today in VA/WV. My husband Rick’s employer, Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated, sponsors regular mission trips to Bradshaw, WV. This was their big annual mission trip and it was my first mission trip ever, I think. So, I had no expectations. I just wanted to serve the Lord.

We arrived last night and enjoyed dinner and fellowship with a group of about 50 volunteers who came here just because they love Jesus. The Lord worked it out that we invited a married couple from NC to ride to dinner with us – a couple we had not met previously, and we ended up eating dinner with them and fellowshipping with them and with a man from Ohio. Their excitement for the Lord was very apparent.

We all met for devotions this morning before traveling to the mission site. The options for ministry were listed. There was one that was planned evangelism - where I would have the opportunity to share the gospel with people one on one. There was only one catch – I had to wash people’s feet. It just so happened that this is the ministry group that this couple was a part of.

Now, I am not a foot person. I don’t generally touch people with my feet, I don’t like to have anyone touch my feet and I don’t touch other people’s feet, except for maybe my grandchildren’s. So, this was going to stretch me, but I figured I could use the dose of humility – can’t we all?

This ministry group, who was washing people’s feet was also supplying them with new socks and shoes, so the first thing we did was to unbox the shoes, remove papers from inside them, etc. so they were ready to be placed on people’s feet. They asked for the first four volunteers to wash people’s feet, but since I had never done anything like that before, I wanted to watch first. So, I went and observed. I listened to see what kinds of things they said, how they approached the gospel, and just in general how they did the service of foot washing.

The man in charge walked in and asked me if I was ready to begin washing feet yet but I told him I would just serve as prayer support for right now. I just wasn’t ready to get my feet wet. Then, I talked with the Lord about it. I said, “Lord, you talk with me all the time. Let me know what you want me to do.”

The Lord immediately gave me this verse:


Immediately the Lord plugged into my mind that washing people’s feet and giving them new shoes to wear symbolized the truth of this passage of scripture. Then, I knew I was ready.

So, I sat down on the stool to wash the first person’s feet. It was a man. I imagined that this was going to be difficult for me, but the Lord just took over and it was amazing because when I was talking about Jesus to people and washing their feet, it really felt how I had imagined many times over in my mind that I was Mary washing Jesus’ feet with my tears and my hair. Now, I was his hands and his feet and his voice, too, to these people who came to get a new pair of shoes. And I really did not even think twice about washing their feet. It was as though I had always done it, like the Lord just took over my hands.

I found this a wonderful opportunity to share the gospel with people. First off, I don’t do something just because everyone else is doing it or because it is the thing to do. So, I asked myself, “Why are we doing this? What is its purpose? What does it mean?” Since I wondered that myself, I figured other people might have the same question, so I began by asking them if they knew why we were doing this.

Some people knew it was an act of humility and servanthood and that Jesus had set an example for us when he washed the feet of his disciples. I knew that, too. Others didn’t know and still others saw it as a religious ritual that they did at communion but really didn’t know why they did it. But, the Lord gave me a picture, not only of servanthood and humility, but of the gospel message.

He helped me to see that just as people came in there with dirty feet and needed to have their feet cleansed, many of them also came in there with dirty hearts. We are all born with dirty hearts (born into sin) and we need to have our hearts cleansed just like we were washing their feet. Also, just as they removed their old shoes (or we removed them for them) and we put new shoes on them after we washed their feet, the Lord has provided the way that we can have our old dirty hearts removed and we can leave there not only with new shoes, but with new hearts.

I saw the symbolism of new shoes to be really interesting from another viewpoint, too, and that is that shoes are made for walking, so when the Lord cleanses our hearts and gives us new hearts, they are like new shoes – they are made for walking. In other words, He gives us a new walk. He doesn’t save us just so we can go to heaven one day, though that is certainly a wonderful promise, but he saves us to give us a new walk, i.e. a new direction in life; a new life period.

Also, another thing stood out to me. No one could have clean feet or new shoes just by standing there and believing that they had clean feet or new shoes. They had to humble themselves, sit down, remove their old shoes (or we removed them), put their feet in the water and allow us to put new shoes on their feet. So, this was faith in action. It showed them that faith is action, not just words or a state of mind, but we have to come to the Lord and we have to humble ourselves and bow before him and allow him to remove our old hearts, to cleanse us and to give us new hearts. That, to me, is awesome!! But it all begins with the Father drawing them first. They also could not have clean feet and new shoes if we had not showed up and we had not invited them to come in and to receive this cleansing and these new shoes.

I could see in the looks of some of the people that the Holy Spirit was drawing them to himself, but at least three of the ones I spoke with have said they are not ready. One young lady said she knows God is calling her and is drawing her to himself and I could see it in her eyes, yet she still would not give her heart to Jesus. It broke my heart. Jesus is calling so many to himself, but they just aren’t ready, like I wasn’t ready to wash their feet until the Lord spoke to my heart and said, “the old has gone and the new has come,” and then I knew I was ready. But, I still had to say “yes.” I pray that the people whose feet we washed today will say “yes” to Jesus because they got to see Jesus in action today through the lives of these ministers of HIS.

Sunday, October 14, 2007 – Rick and I were on our way home from WV/VA and we were listening to my Avalon CD when the song New Day played. Rick said, “That sounds like your foot washing,” and I agreed. Here is the chorus:

It's a new day
Oh, it's a new time
And there's a new way
I'm gonna live my life
All the old has, passed away
And the new has come
Thank God, It's a brand new day

The Lord gave me one more illustration from my foot washing experience which is based upon this statement that I made above:

They asked for the first four volunteers to wash people’s feet, but since I had never done anything like that before, I wanted to watch first. So, I went and observed. I listened to see what kinds of things they said, how they approached the gospel, and just in general how they did the service of foot washing.

Just as I observed the washers to make sure they were the real thing, that they were presenting the real gospel of Jesus Christ, and that they weren’t just going through a religious ritual before I would join them, unbelievers are also watching our lives to see if we are the real thing or if we are just going through the motions before they will make that decision to say “yes” to Jesus. So, it is really important that they see that Jesus is everything to us (Everything to Me / Avalon):

We're living in uncertain times
And more and more I find that I'm aware
Of just how fragile life can be
I want to tell the world I found
A love that turned my life around
They need to know that they can taste and see
Now everyday I'm praying
Just to give my heart away
I want live for Jesus
So that someone else might see that he is...

Everything to me
He's more than a story
more than words on a page of history
He's the air that I breathe
The water I thirst for
And the ground beneath my feet
He's everything, everything to me

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Foot Washing
An Original Work / October 13, 2007
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love