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    • Jesus…our example

      Posted at 5:45 am by sneuhofer, on November 7, 2018

      John 13:14 – 17 (NCV) “If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash each other’s feet. I did this as an example so that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, a servant is not greater than his master. A messenger is not greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

      Today’s reading: John 13: 1- 17

      Jesus is our example to follow. He gave up the perfection of heaven to come to an imperfect world and show us the way to live, love, and serve. The biggest example of serving others is displayed in the verses of John 13:3-17. As we read, we see Jesus and his disciples gathered around the table for the evening meal. Jesus was fully aware of the circumstances he would face. In fact, the things he would walk through wouldn’t be easy…but in a few short hours, he would be back with the Father in heaven. Knowing this, he still continued to teach – there was still an example to set and a lesson to be taught.

      John 13:4 (NIV) “so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.”

      Have you ever wondered what the disciples may have been thinking when they saw Jesus with a towel wrapped around his waist reaching for the empty bowl? Sometimes I wonder if they even questioned why he had gotten up from the table.

      Jesus reached for a pitcher of water and filled the bowl then began to take on the job of the lowest servant in the house…foot washer. Whoa… can you imagine what is going through their minds? Peter’s boldness breaks through the silence “You will never wash my feet—ever!” I love Peter’s zeal! Jesus replied, “Peter, you don’t understand what I am doing now, but you will later.” (v.7)

      Jesus is right Peter doesn’t get it. “No Lord you will never wash my feet.” He must have been confused about what he saw. Why would Jesus take on the job of a servant?

      “Peter, if I don’t wash your feet you’re not one of my people.” There is an immediate change in Peter. Can you just imagine him standing there with his arms open wide “Wash all of me, Lord!” The disciples didn’t yet understand what was happening but they would soon find out. Jesus responded “After a person has had a bath, his whole body is clean. He needs only to wash his feet.” (v.10)

      That night, before he ever washed the first foot, Jesus knew one of the twelve would betray him and one would deny him before morning, yet he still washed all of their feet. He cleansed their sin. He forgave them. By morning, Judas would hand Jesus over for thirty pieces of silver and Peter would reject him three times.

      It is so important to remember the fact that all twelve of his disciples were present in the upper room that night. Have you ever let that little detail sink in? Perhaps you feel as if you’ve done something so horrible, so detestable, that Jesus will never forgive you or even love you. Think again. Knowing his disciples and what they were about to do, Jesus still humbled himself and served every one of them.

      This display of service in the upper room should be a huge example for us, as Christians. Jesus died for all of us – not just the lovable. He died for the broken, the angry, the thief,  the poor, the peculiar, the adulterer, the liar, the murderer…and yes, even the most difficult to love. Take some time to search within yourself. Are there people you don’t want to be around because you feel you are better than they are? What about when it comes to acts of service? Are there people you won’t help because you feel like they are capable of helping themselves?

      Remember… Jesus served all and he wants us to follow that example. “For I have given you an example that you also should do just as I have done for you.” John 13:17 (HCSB)

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      Posted in becoming like Christ, christian living, Serving | 0 Comments
    • Trying vs. Training

      Posted at 8:00 am by sneuhofer, on March 16, 2018

      Stop Trying and Start Training!

      2 Peter 1: 3 – 4 (NLT) By his divine power, God has given us everything we need (emphasis mine) for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him (emphasis mine), the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises (emphasis mine). These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

      I have been challenged lately to think about how I am living my Christian life. Am I “trying” to live by simply “trying” to abide by God’s word fully knowing that when I mess up, I can just “try” again? Or, am I “training” to live this one and only life by getting into His word on a daily basis? Am I fully repenting of the things in my life that are not of Him and engaging the power of the Holy Spirit to be my helper and my guide. I heard a sermon about this topic a few years back and I can remember having to chuckle  as I thought “he must have had my cell phone line tapped this week in preparation for today’s sermon!” The Tuesday before I heard that sermon, a friend and I were “venting” about how chaotic our schedules had become and how our morning quiet times with God had suffered. We were both able to tell a difference in our attitudes at work and at home.

      Chaotic schedules – I am sure on some level you can relate, right? The stress of full-time jobs (whether you are a stay at home mom, have a career, or are a care-giver at some level) and the responsibility to meet deadlines coupled with the desire to make up the time we spend at work with our families, have made spending quality time with God an after-thought at best or non-existent at worst. How am I supposed to be fully devoted follower of Christ if I am not filling myself with the living water that springs up from the truth of God’s word on a daily basis?

      There it was…the truth about the “chaos” of my life. I had fallen into a pattern of “trying” to follow God wholeheartedly. I would stay up late working and then set my alarm in an attempt to get up early and start my day with a quiet time. It would work for weeks, sometimes months at a time. But all I was doing was “trying” to get up. My mind was not set that I was “going” to get up – I had not made it a priority. If I got up, I had a quiet time. If I didn’t, I blamed it on my hectic schedule, hit the alarm and rolled back over for one more hour of sleep. I had shoved spending daily time in God’s word to the “back-burner” of my day (or the back-burner of another day) and it was beginning to show across every area of my life.

      When we accept Christ as Lord and Savior, we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit exposes the truth about our sin (John 16:8), leads us into all truth (John 16:13), and takes what Jesus has to say and conveys it to us. That’s what Jesus promised and John wrote about in the sixteenth chapter of his gospel. But, there’s always a “but” isn’t there? But, we must do our part once we have accepted Christ by to get to know Him better. Acceptance of what Jesus did for us on the cross is not enough. Spending time in the Bible and hiding His words and promises in our hearts (Psalm 119:11) is essential on a daily basis. By doing this, we arm (or equip) ourselves with the “sword of the Spirit” (Eph. 6:17) so that when hard times come, we will be able to stand firm on the promises of God’s word and not falter.

      So what do you say? Are you “trying” to live this Christian life, relying more on yourself instead of the power of the Holy Spirit living within you? Or, are you in “training” to press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called you heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14)

      If you are tired of doing the same thing over and over again just to get the same results, stop trying to follow Christ and start training. There are blessings that abound when we hide God’s word in our hearts.

      Father – Thank you for opening my eyes to your truth. I know I have fallen into a pattern of trying to follow you. That is not how I want to live this one and only life. I want to train to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus. I want to engage the Holy Spirit living inside of me and start listening to His voice. Help me to remove anything in my life that may be causing me to look at my circumstances first and you last. I want to put you first Father. Open my heart so that I may receive what you have for me each and every morning. For it’s in your son’s name I pray. Amen

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      Posted in becoming like Christ, choosing Christ, Quiet time | 2 Comments
    • I AM a MESS…But God loves me anyway

      Posted at 8:15 am by sneuhofer, on December 15, 2017

      Growing up, I was in church every time the doors were open – Sunday morning, Sunday evening and Wednesday night. I gave my life to Christ at a very young age (11) but didn’t fully understand the words Paul wrote in Romans 12:1-2 (verses provided below). Yes, I did feel led to step out of my pew and walk what seemed like miles down to the alter at the front of the church and talk to the preacher that morning. I felt led to tell him I wanted to accept Christ as my savior because of all he had done for me. But “offer my body as a living sacrifice?” I didn’t know what that meant at all. As a result, in my mid-teens I fell away from God and the church completely.

      By the time I was 20, I had made some really poor decisions. I never once thought of asking Christ to be a part of the decision making process….I was following the world’s ideals instead of following Him. When I went back to church as an adult (32), I realized how far I had gotten away from God and how desperately I needed Him in the decisions I was making throughout the course of my everyday life. I often wonder if I hadn’t fallen away, I probably wouldn’t have made the same mistakes…well at least not so many of them.

      My commitment to follow Christ as an adult, has led me down another road entirely. About 18 years ago, as I stood in the middle of a group of people who so desired to be drawn closer to God through singing songs of worship and praise. In that moment I knew I wanted what they had. It was time for me to lay aside my own agenda and follow Christ. This realization brought me to tears…and believe me they fell like rain making my mascara run all over my face. It was ugly…but as ugly as it might have looked on the outside, Christ was beginning to work on the inside. He was transforming my mess into a beautiful new creation (2 Cor. 5:17) in Him.

      He began to change me from the inside out. Sure, my friends saw the same old me but something had changed INSIDE. God was at work in the way I saw the world around me. From that day to this, He is molding me into the person he desires me to be. Just like a potter starts out with an unformed lump of clay, God has placed me on his potter’s wheel and is giving my life a “make-over” of epic proportions. He is developing (or cultivating) inner-beauty in me. The gentle and gracious kind He delights in (taken from 1 Peter 3:4-6) All I have to do is be willing to get out of the way and let him do the work.

      Romans 12: 1-2 (MSG) So here’s what I (Paul) want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

      Romans 12: 1-2 (NLT) And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

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      Posted in becoming like Christ, Biblical world view, changing to be like Christ, Christian growth | 1 Comment
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