Jesus at the Feet of the Traitor

W.E. Vine writes in his commentary on John 13:

It does not seem to have entered the minds of the disciples that they might wash one another's feet. Indeed they do not appear to have been in a mood for it (Luke 22:24). If, as Edersheim thinks, Judas, as the manager for the company, took the first place, the Lord may have washed his feet first. In any case here was malice met with kindness. Here was long-suffering manifested with grace and dignity. It has been well remarked, "Jesus at the feet of the traitor--what a picture! What lessons for us!"

Adorn the Doctrine

So that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

~ Titus 2:10

Frank Turk at TeamPyro writes (full post here):

To Titus, who is sent to put things in order, and who must raise up elders, and is in a culture that is, frankly, as far from the Gospel as the most unchurched city in the ancient world could be, Paul tells Titus, "teach people how to adorn the Gospel." Teach what accords with sound doctrine because these people need to adorn the Gospel.

I could probably name ten men right now who would take this post here at TeamPyro and accuse me of adding works to faith, adding works to grace, thereby voiding the Gospel by reading this paragraph exactly as it is written. But this passage is astonishing for one reason only: it says unequivocally that the church ought to be training itself up in such a way that the word of God will not be reviled. That is: it ought to be teaching people how to live after they know the Gospel is true.

The doctrine in this passage is shoe-leather doctrine. It says that those of us who are in the church must act like the church -- that it is necessary and not optional. And in that: we have to be building each other up. The older must teach the younger -- not merely systematics but pragmatics, like how to love one's husband and be submissive to him, how to be a self-controlled young man, how to grow old with dignity and sound in faith.

And this makes perfect sense, given what Paul has already said about raising up elders: if elders ought to be men who are clinging to the word of God, and are formed by the word of God, bearing fruit by the word of God, somehow the church has to be the place where these kinds of men are grown.

Worship Is My Response To God

Shaun Groves' intro to the live songs on his Twilight CD:

"You guys ready to worship with me tonight?

Worship is not a song.

Worship is my response to God with all that I am

to all that He is, all that He has done is doing and will do,

in me, through me, around me, and in spite of me.

But it's not just a song

Worship is our response with all of our lives, everything we've been given, to all that God is.

So, if we come in here to this place and we raise our hands and we raise our voices but we don't stretch these hands out when we leave this place to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and fight for the poor and the oppressed.

Then what you and I have done is worshipped a singer or a song, but not a God

So, let me ask you again--are you ready to worship with me tonight?"

Immediately the Boat Was at the Land

Then they were glad to take Him into the boat,

and immediately the boat was at the land

to which they were going. John 6:21

The account of Jesus walking on the water is found here in John 6 but also in Matthew 14 and Mark 6. Only John includes the content of this verse.

Two things that I find striking. First, the obvious nature of the statement "they were glad to take Him into the boat". Why wouldn't they be glad! He had come to them in their hour of great need. Their faith had been tested--but in obedience to His will they had endured the storm. And now, He comes to the ship--and they were thrilled to have Him!

Secondly, I'm struck by "immediately the boat was at the land". Was it a miracle? Did He set aside space and time and simply "translate" or "beam" the ship with the disciples in it to the otherside of the sea? He had just walked the 3-4 miles from the shore to where they were. Certainly, it was within His power to do so. But perhaps there is something richer here.

G. Campbell Morgan writes:

In our eagerness to retain all the miracles we need not be eager to read miracles into things that are not miracles. John the mystic, John the lover, John the man who talks mos tabout fellowship says, When He came on board we were there directly. Did not John go as far as the rest? "Straightway!" Every youth and maiden who is in love understands that. A longer journey may be covered in what seems but a few moments.

The storms are about us yet, and He is trying our faith by being absent from us, or so it seems. We are never far from Him nor He from us. He is coming over the waters and through the wind. Presently in the company of the King, we shall be home, and we shall hear His voice more clearly and see His face perfectly. O that God may help us to be so true to Him that He may be able to correct all our faltering and failing! May we be in His Kingdom, and He our King.

"Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."

Commenting on Mark 6:47-52, William Barclay writes:

It is the simple fact of life, a fact which has been proved by countless thousands of men and women in every generation, that when Christ is there the storm becomes a calm, the tumult becomes a peace, what cannot be done is done, the unbearable becomes bearable, and men pass the breaking point and do not break. To walk with Christ will be for us also the conquest of the storm.

Sam Agrees: We Need To "Prae"

While cleaning out my work notebook (the notebook I use for everything work-related), I stumbled across several pages of drawings. I had forgotten that I borrowed the work notebook to Sam so he could write during one of the meetings at the chapel. Sam agrees with yesterday's post!

Oh Brother, Pray

“Oh brother, pray; in spite of Satan, pray; spend hours in prayer; rather neglect friends than not pray; rather fast, and lose breakfast, dinner, tea, and supper – and sleep too – than not pray. And we must not talk about prayer, we must pray in right earnest. The Lord is near. He comes softly...”

~ Andrew A. Bonar