"Our Portion!" - To

 "Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I was thee not, thou hast no part with me." (John 13:8 KJV)

  "Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day, while it is still "today," so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. Remember what it says: "Today when you hear his voice, don't harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled."" (Hebrews 3:12-15 NLT)

 This is not easy to illustrate; but I pray that it is easy to understand. What Jesus is doing here, demands nothing from Peter, but to allow Him to wash his feet. Simple as that task might be, to just put forth his feet and allow Jesus to was them, it is something that Jesus wants to do, and expects Peter to be a part of! 

 This is not something we can neglect to do, as simple as it might appear, it is highly important to our Lord that we are faithful in the little things; little things being, the things we think are beneath us! A really good example of this, is the reaction we may have to the turnout at church, as we have prepared to share to a large gathering, and only a couple dozen people show up. What is the heart of the matter? Is there something the matter? 

 To be totally truthful, usually when I share a message, there are only about a dozen people, maybe less, that I focus upon; no matter how large the crowd is, the message is usually only really going to be received by a few. Most people that hear the message will miss the point or receive it as something totally different than it was intended to be. 

 I heard a message the other day that was addressed on T.E.M.A. yesterday, which had to do with the blind man Jesus made the mud from His spit, and put it over his eyes, and asked, "What do you see?" The blind man answered, "I see men as trees." The question that was presented, "Did Jesus not heal him the first time, and needed to do it again?" 

 From the message Pastor Robert shared, he spoke about having heard another Pastor teach that Jesus didn't get it right the first time, and He had to do it again. After hearing that said, he wanted to throw something at the television, as it really upset him to hear someone say that Jesus failed to do it right. He then began to study the Scripture, looking for some explanation, without having much to go on; so, he prayed about it, hearing the Lord say, 'Why don't you ask me?'

 Almost immediately, as soon as he surrendered, saying, "Okay Lord, what," the Lord opened his eyes, and he saw that the man had his spiritual eyes opened, seeing men as trees! And then he began to search the Scriptures for all the references to the men of God being like trees! There are more than you might think. 

 The two Pastors that answered the question yesterday, were a little less spiritual and little more down to earth. Their answer was closer to my heart, as I relate to my unanswered prayers: "Jesus may not heal someone immediately, and it could take years, maybe even when they get their new bodies; He never healed people the same way all of the time." Isn't that a little easier to swallow; because it sure is a lot easier to explain... 

""But I did obey the LORD," Saul insisted. "I carried out the mission he gave me. I brought back King Agag, but I destroyed everyone else. Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and plunder to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal." But Samuel replied, "What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshipping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the LORD, he has rejected you as king."" (1 Samuel 15:20-23 NLT)